[This was the true course of action you intended to take.]
[Caster could not be hit by conventional means.]
[Therefore—]
[To defeat him, an unexpected approach was necessary.]
[Atalante, Ibaraki Doji, Scathach, and Rin Tohsaka were all part of the plan.]
[Their failures were not in vain—everything was to make Caster believe he had the upper hand.]
[You needed to make Caster lower his guard, allowing Artoria's fatal blow to be hidden within this seemingly hopeless battle.]
[You executed this perfectly, but it was all in vain.]
As the true master of Dún Stallion, Ian's control over it was absolutely flawless. Every tug of the reins had no wasted movement. At the same time, due to the effect of his Noble Phantasm, "Shadow of the King of Knights," Ian could uniquely disguise himself as King Arthur without being detected by others. This was the culmination of his military career, now sublimated into a powerful Noble Phantasm.
Now, Ian intended to use this disguise to attract Caster's attention, thereby actualizing the theoretically possible annihilation! Furthermore—for Ian, he was facing the most dangerous part. To leave no opening, he had to face the amplified Excalibur E-en simultaneously with Caster! Ian even lied about it—he told them he had a foolproof way to escape. But in reality, what the man intended was very similar to Scathach's plan. If he could trade places with Caster, then no matter who achieved the final victory, it would be within acceptable bounds!
The dark-black beam shot from the mountaintop, directly rushing towards Solomon in the center of the battlefield. This was a strike that eliminated all possibility of evasion. Come on—! Strike him down now! Entangling Caster, Ian felt as if he was back fighting in Britain.
However—things didn't go as smoothly as imagined. Faced with the approaching Excalibur E-en, the flow of time around Caster noticeably slowed. He gently pushed Marisbury, making him disappear. After this, Ian heard his emotionless inquiry.
"Is this the strike you laid in ambush?"
"..."
"That's right," Ian no longer concealed it. "Caster, even if it costs my life, I will absolutely not let you evade this strike!"
"I see—" Caster looked at the close-range beam, nodding expressionlessly. "Then I won't dodge."
"What?" Ian was shocked by his words.
The next moment, time returned to normal. Excalibur E-en struck the spot where both of them were.
Boom! The dark-black wave of light originated from there, piercing into the depths of Mount Enzou. Every spot it touched instantly burst into flames.
Sizzle, sizzle— The mountain range began to turn into a sea of fire from within, even dyeing the long night an endless red.
The light dissipated. Dún Stallion was nowhere to be seen. Only Ian remained, holding the unsheathed Excalibur Galatine, half-kneeling, struggling to support himself on the ground. Caster still stood in place, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
"You can still stand?" Solomon's eyes changed slightly. "As a mortal, you possess an incredibly strong will—this is a rare occurrence."
"That has nothing to do with you," Ian said, struggling to stand up, clearly intending to continue the fight. At the same time, he also understood the reason for Scathach's defeat. "Caster, you didn't nullify Scathach's Gáe Bolg Alternative by setting up magecraft in advance. Instead, you're simply unaffected by magecraft, aren't you?"
[You discerned the essence of Caster's victory.]
[He didn't set up any traps to ambush Scathach and her Lancer.]
[Instead, he solved the problem from the root—he is unaffected by magecraft!]
[But learning this truth, you felt even greater pressure.]
[This meant that Caster's power was already far beyond what any Servant in this Holy Grail War could reach.]
[But you still decided to draw your sword.]
"..." Looking at the knight struggling to stand and also comprehending the situation, Solomon, uncharacteristically, felt some emotion. "What is your name?" the King of Magic asked.
At this point, Ian no longer feared stating his name. "Ian Pendragon. A knight under Queen Morgan le Fay of Britain!"
"If you are a knight," Solomon said, looking at him, "then you should know that I cannot be defeated." The King of Magic's gaze swept over Ian from top to bottom, seeing a body already falling apart. Even the slightest wavering of his will would cause his immediate dissipation. Furthermore, this man named Ian Pendragon should have disappeared immediately after enduring such an attack. Yet, he stood before him like a miracle.
"Because I feel I cannot fall here," Ian gripped his sword. "There must still be a chance to defeat you."
"But—" Solomon looked towards the summit of Mount Enzou. "They have already collapsed, haven't they?"
"What?"
At the same instant, at the summit of Mount Enzou. Solomon was not speaking idly. The Excalibur E-en unleashed by Artoria not only failed to achieve its expected destructive effect but instead severely injured the three collaborators. As the primary caster of the attack, Artoria now knelt on the ground, looking as if she could disappear at any moment. Sakura Tohsaka, with poorer physical constitution, tightly clutched her chest, appearing to be in great pain. In comparison, Morgan's condition was somewhat better. But even so, her situation was not ideal, and even moving was difficult.
The witch couldn't help but wonder. Who was Caster? How could he launch such a terrifying counterattack while enduring the attack?
"Sister," Artoria gasped, her voice incredibly weak. "This method failed... Is there anything else we can do to help Ian?"
"..." Seeing her sister still thinking of him at this moment, Morgan's emotions became incredibly complex. She wanted to say something encouraging, but she couldn't ignore the reality of the situation. Caster's combat power truly crushed all the other Servants in this Holy Grail War. This was a profoundly despairing fact. No matter what words she used to mask it, it could not be changed.
"Artoria, I..." Morgan grasped her sister's hand, her voice trembling slightly. Artoria was not dull—she knew what her sister's reaction meant.
"Is it over?" she whispered. "I'm still too weak, it seems—if I were stronger, I could have helped Ian, right?"
"No, this isn't your fault," Morgan said, looking at Artoria. "We... did our best."
And just then, Sakura Tohsaka slowly moved her nearly paralyzed body, with great difficulty, to the Britannian sisters' side. She used all her strength to raise her hand, and for the first time in a long while, she actively asked Morgan:
"Teacher. I have one Command Spell left—if I use it, will it help Mr. Ian?"
"How could this be..." Morgan, who was about to refute Sakura Tohsaka's idea, suddenly paused. She realized there was still a possibility of giving Ian one last chance to attack. That would be to gather all Command Spells to Sakura Tohsaka, and then have her use them directly on Ian, achieving the most efficient magical energy supply. This process didn't need to worry about physical space constraints—Morgan knew she could use magecraft to convey this idea and complete the ethereal transfer of Command Spells with Irisviel's assistance.
The key question was whether they would agree. After all, transferring them in such a weakened state would inevitably directly sever the magical energy connection between Master and Servant. In short—all Servants other than Ian would disappear at the same moment, and their respective Masters would also endure immense pain. In exchange for this, Ian would get one chance to attack.
Would such a thing... truly be agreed upon? Morgan dared not dwell on it.
Seeing that her sister seemed to have thought of a strategy, Artoria immediately grasped her hand and asked anxiously, "Sister! If there's a way, please tell me quickly—Ian needs our help greatly!"
"..." Morgan's throat moved slightly. Finally, she nodded and spoke of the idea of concentrating the Command Spells. Hearing this, Artoria was overjoyed. "Then what are you waiting for—let's start now."
"Artoria," Morgan said, looking at her, her eyes filled with reluctance. "If you do this, you will disappear immediately." The witch, who had once wished for Artoria to disappear, now wished just as strongly for her to stay. This change in mindset was something the old Morgan could never have predicted.
"..." Artoria was silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Then please begin, Sister. Morgan, do you truly accept this?"
"Of course I don't want to leave like this—especially after finally seeing Ian again. But if he needs my help," Artoria looked at Mount Enzou, which had become a sea of flames, "then I am willing. Sister, go tell them. Please... don't ignore the love others have for Ian."
[This was a reinforcement you couldn't have imagined.]
[Morgan conveyed the idea of a final concentrated strike to everyone's ears.]
[Without any hesitation—the three Servants other than you all chose to sacrifice themselves.]
[And their Masters also transferred their Command Spells to you.]
[Including Sakura Tohsaka's Command Spell—you now had a total of ten Command Spells' worth of magical energy!]
"Mr. Ian, please fight with all your might!" Sakura Tohsaka's desperate voice reached the knight's ears.
And Caster Solomon also noticed the change in Ian's magical energy. He realized something.
"Ian Pendragon—you were able to unite the fairies and dragons of Britain, the oni of the Heian era, the beasts of the Age of Gods, and even modern humans." Solomon asked, "How did you manage this?"
"..."
"You can ask me that after you win," Ian said, feeling the abundant magical energy within him and daring not to be negligent. He knew that such powerful strength could never appear out of nowhere. It was magical energy offered by them, from various eras, with their lives!
Then—he absolutely could not hesitate any longer. He needed to recall the weapon most likely to defeat Caster!
Ian thought, and his mind quickly recalled the weapon that had once destroyed him—Rhongomyniad, the Spear that Shines at the End! Ten Command Spells were not enough to sustain its materialization. In the current situation, it was even less possible to demand magical energy from Sakura Tohsaka.
Then, he would burn his own body!
Sizzle. The knight gradually transformed into an unrecognizable dark shadow. He raised his hand, and a weapon tinged with a dark mist materialized.
"Illusory Rhongomyniad!" Ian roared. "Caster, can you withstand this strike?!"
Boom! Ian, at the closest range, threw the illusory object he had created by converging everyone's magical energy!
[However—]
[Reality was a cruel existence that could not be changed by a single individual's power.]
[The Illusory Rhongomyniad you forged by burning yourself still failed to kill Caster.]
[Under his gaze, you dispersed into the wind.]
[And what you didn't know was that your strike stirred a thought within him.]
On the burning Mount Enzou. Marisbury looked at the hundreds of newly formed ravines, taking a sharp breath. If it weren't for Solomon, he probably would have been utterly incapable of withstanding that strike. And—Marisbury looked at Solomon beside him, a hint of cold sweat on his forehead. This was the first time he had seen the King of Magic with blood all over his hands.
It seemed that shattering the Noble Phantasm named Illusory Rhongomyniad was far more difficult than imagined.
Fortunately, it was all over. This Holy Grail War, he and Solomon had won!
Blue light rose from the leyline in front of them, soaring into the sky—the manifestation of the Holy Grail.
"King of Magic," Marisbury bowed to Solomon. "Thank you for your protection just now."
Facing this gratitude, Solomon asked about something else. "You said the Holy Grail can grant wishes, right?"
"That's right," Marisbury answered respectfully. "My wish has already been decided—I wish to obtain immense wealth."
"I see—" Solomon nodded, then asked, "Then I also have the right to make a wish, don't I?"
"..." Hearing this, Marisbury froze—he had never heard him mention such a thing before. "King of Magic, do you... have a wish you want to fulfill?"
"Yes." Solomon stretched out his hand towards the sky, letting the blood, along with the tears in his eyes, drift away with the night wind. "To exert all one's strength to achieve the impossible. I finally felt that possibility—the limit that humanity can reach, apart from the gods."
"I want to witness the future it arrives at. Ian Pendragon—we shall meet again as humans. At that time, let me watch you fulfill the impossible vision."