"To breach the King's defenses so easily... No wonder the King decided to advance the plan."
Protected within the Light Curtain, Agravain remained unaffected by the celestial phenomena. He had witnessed King Hassan's strike with perfect clarity, and a primal fear of death gripped him at the sight of that single sword strike. The irony was not lost on him: an undead Heroic Spirit, fearing death.
"With you and that other one from before, you might actually pose a threat to the King."
Agravain blocked Jiang You's path, now the final line of defense before the Throne Room. He knew the Royal Guard Knights stood no chance against this group, so he prepared to employ delaying tactics. The King's Holy Lance would soon revert to the Tower at the End; even if they possessed the strength to overcome him, time would be against them.
"I won't let you pass!"
"That look in his eyes... he's trying to stall us."
Minamoto no Raikou saw through Agravain's intentions. A warrior's battle intent never lies. For martial artists of a certain caliber, a single glance is enough to read an opponent's mind in battle.
"Jiang You, if you want to stop those above, you need to hurry now."
Medea saw the situation even more clearly. The flow of Magical Power was converging toward the Throne Room with increasing intensity. There was no time left to waste on Agravain.
"Minamoto no Raikou, he's yours!"
Earlier, Raikou had expressed her desire to fight a Knight of the Round Table. Jiang You was happy to oblige. Agravain had explicitly stated in the game that he hadn't sought the Lion King's Blessing. Given his strength and legendary status, he was likely no match for Raikou. Even if she lost, she would simply return to the Fifth Holy Grail War timeline—a win-win situation.
"Leave him to me."
Minamoto no Raikou nodded. Since the Fifth Holy Grail War, she hadn't truly clashed with other Heroic Spirits, and she had long yearned to test her mettle against legendary figures from different eras.
"Not so fast!"
Seeing Jiang You charging forward with Medea, Agravain drew his sword to intercept them. But a bolt of lightning flashed across his path, blocking his advance.
"Don't misunderstand—your opponent is me."
Minamoto no Raikou drew Dōjigiri Yasutsuna. Purple lightning crackled along the blade, and her battle intent solidified, locking firmly onto Agravain.
"An Eastern Saber?"
Agravain knew that if he didn't take Raikou seriously, he wouldn't just fail to stop Jiang You—he'd be dead in the next instant. He had initially underestimated Raikou, assuming that as a lower-tier summon, her strength would at most equal Jiang You's.
"Hmph! I, Agravain of the Knights of the Round Table, stand before you as your opponent. I vow to present your head to My King!"
"Though I was indeed known as a swordsman in life, I now serve as a Berserker."
Following the etiquette of battle, Raikou reciprocated by announcing her name: "Minamoto no Raikou, warrior of Heian-kyō, enters the fray!"
"Berserker?"
Agravain completely failed to recognize that Minamoto no Raikou was a Berserker. In his understanding, Berserkers were supposed to be raving lunatics incapable of coherent communication, yet Raikou appeared perfectly rational. Then again, Jiang You's servants had included an Assassin who could cleave through the Lion King's Light Curtain with a single sword strike. Agravain had long concluded that Jiang You's companions were all extraordinary oddities.
"Hahahaha..."
Agravain burst into laughter, but this realization also reminded him of the urgency of the situation. Time was running out, and he no longer needed to concern himself with the consequences.
"The King no longer requires a scribe. Then I shall join the Enforcement Knights in entering 'Mad Enhancement'! This is for Camelot!"
A violent aura erupted from Agravain as he invoked the highest level of Mad Enhancement, sacrificing part of his Spirit Origin. Just as he had once used this method to kill Lancelot in the original timeline, Agravain now crossed the threshold into becoming a First-Rate Heroic Spirit.
"To what lengths would you go for your Lords?"
Minamoto no Raikou acknowledged Agravain's unwavering loyalty and sense of duty. Regardless of his past deeds, his current devotion deserved admiration. "Very well," she declared, "I shall exert my full strength as well."
Minamoto no Raikou pinched a seal with two fingers and gently stroked her blade. Four humanoid figures of purple lightning coalesced around her, each tightly gripping the weapons of her Four Heavenly Kings. Facing an opponent who would lay down his life for his lord, she deemed it worthy to unleash her Noble Phantasm: "Come, Four Heavenly Kings! ...No, messengers of Goze Tenno! Take the form of my memories—advance! Goze Tenno's Thunderous Net of Retribution!"
Amidst the roaring thunder, the purple lightning figures attacked Agravain from four directions, each executing martial techniques characteristic of their respective wielders.
The area of effect for her anti-army Noble Phantasm was immense, but Agravain showed no intention of dodging. A ferocious grin twisted his face as he charged directly into Raikou's Noble Phantasm. His eyes burned with the sole purpose of slaying Raikou—forward, always forward!
"How's this?"
Medea's Magic Bullets easily pierced the Royal Guard Knights' armor, blasting their flesh beneath into bloody fragments.
Facing an opponent they had no chance of defeating, the Royal Guard Knights guarding the Throne Room showed no sign of retreating. One after another, they threw themselves between Jiang You and Medea, sacrificing their lives to halt the duo's advance.
"I have this urge to turn them all golden," Jiang You muttered, staring at the knights as if seeing a hallucination. His gaze lingered particularly on the largest figure at the top—a golden-haired giant still seated imperiously on the throne.
"With the world's survival hanging by a thread, you're still worrying about trivial things."
Medea often heard Jiang You say things she didn't understand. At first, she had tried to ask for explanations, but she had since learned to ignore them.
"My spell is ready. I'll teleport you behind the Knights in a moment. There seems to be some kind of barrier there—they can't ascend those stairs. As long as you step onto the stairs, they won't be able to pursue you, and you'll be able to reach the Lion King."
Without waiting for Jiang You's response, Medea immediately activated her spell. When Jiang You regained his senses, he found himself standing before the stairs.
"Leave this to me."
Medea kept the Royal Guard Knights occupied. Given enough time to prepare, she could unleash a large-scale spell to clear the entire area in one go. But with time running out and fighting on enemy territory, she had no choice but to deal with them one by one.
Jiang You gave Medea a thumbs-up and dashed toward the throne.
The Lion King Artoria sat regally on her throne, radiating both elegance and majesty.
Behind the throne stretched a breathtaking blue-purple sky, vibrant and otherworldly, unlike anything mortal eyes had ever seen.
Indeed, this was no earthly realm. It was the landscape at the world's end, a place closer to Avalon, the eternal paradise.
"Truly beautiful..."
Jiang You sighed inwardly. A place worthy of being called paradise was naturally breathtakingly beautiful. He wondered what splendor would unfold once the world's transformation was complete.
"As a monument to humanity, it's indeed a magnificent sight," he mused. "This is the best end I could have imagined."
The Lion King rose to her feet. The silver, spiraling Holy Lance Longinus slowly unfurled its interlocking outer shell, revealing its golden core, which pulsed with overwhelming magical power.
"Even so, do you still intend to oppose me?"
"I am indeed curious to witness the world's end," Jiang You replied, shaking his head. "But that's not for this timeline. Let me at least achieve a Happy End this time around."