Without giving Saber any time to think, Berserker had already swung that massive demonized iron pillar, bringing it down with a fierce roar that tore through the air!
Clang—!!!!
Saber raised her Invisible Sword to block, the sound of clashing metal deafening.
A massive Impact traveled through the blade into her entire body. Saber felt her palms go numb, and the ground beneath her feet shattered instantly, her legs sinking deep into the soil.
"What a heavy blow!" Saber was horrified.
This was by no means just a boost in physical strength from Mad Enhancement; this was technique!
Technique forged through a thousand trials, reaching the pinnacle of martial arts!
Even though he had lost his sanity, the opponent could still rely on instinct to maintain a perfect center of gravity and power point while wielding such a heavy weapon.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Berserker was like a tireless pile driver, the demonized iron pillar in his hands turning into a sky full of black shadows, pouring down on Saber like a violent storm.
Saber could only defend passively.
Because her master Kiritsugu Emiya had adopted a special tactic, he had not provided her with a sufficient mana supply, and she had not yet recovered from her previous sparring match with Hansen.
Facing this mad warrior bolstered by command spells, she was actually starting to fall behind!
"Hahahaha! That's it! Berserker! Kill her! Kill that woman who stands in my way!!"
At the edge of the battlefield, Kariya Matou let out a demented laugh.
Watching the high-and-mighty Saber being suppressed by his own Servant, a twisted sense of pleasure rose in his heart.
It's you... it's you so-called allies of justice, you so-called prestigious magus families, who took away my Sakura!
"Tohsaka Tokiomi! Do you see this!? This is... my power!"
Kariya Matou coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his eyes blurred and crazed.
His logic was completely muddled; in his script, as long as he killed everyone before him, Sakura would return, and everything would be fine.
"Berserker! Stop playing around! Use that move! Cleave these guys and this damned castle apart together!!"
Accompanying Kariya's hysterical command, another of the command spells vanished from the back of his hand.
"Roar..."
The Black Knight, who was frantically suppressing Saber, suddenly stopped his movements.
He threw away the twisted and deformed iron pillar in his hand and slowly reached for his waist.
There, he wore a sword that had never been unsheathed.
The moment his hand gripped the hilt, the violent black mist that had been swirling around him underwent a qualitative change.
If it was disordered madness before, now it was pure and extreme killing intent.
That was... the omen of some kind of seal being released.
Saber stared fixedly at that sword, her heart feeling as if it were being squeezed hard by an invisible hand.
"Could it be..."
Zzz—
The blade was unsheathed.
It was a divine sword just as exquisite as the Excalibur in Saber's hand that had yet to reveal its true form, but it was stained with an ominous black-purple color.
Elven letters were carved on the blade, and under the flow of that pitch-black mana, it seemed to be weeping blood.
Noble Phantasm—Arondight.
"Sir... Lancelot?"
Saber's voice was trembling; it was a truth she refused to believe no matter what.
The one hailed as the Knight of the Lake, the strongest, most perfect, and most loyal knight of the Round Table.
He had actually fallen into this state?
To think he would manifest in the Berserker class, carrying such resentment toward her?
"A——rr——thur——!!!!"
This time, Berserker's roar was no longer a simple beastly howl, but clearly called out that name.
It was a curse, a regret, and also an endless agony.
When those eyes, crimson as blood, peered through the slits of the helmet, Saber's mental defenses completely collapsed.
"Is it because of me... is it because of my imperfection that you became like this?"
Guilt flooded over this young girl-king like a tide.
The sword in her hand wavered, and the battle aura on her body dissipated.
In this very instant.
Berserker moved.
Aside from Kariya, his master, no one would leave an opponent time for repentance.
The Black Knight raised the demonic sword high, his attributes suddenly skyrocketing under the mana supply of the command spells and the release of his Noble Phantasm!
He could even form a one-sided suppression against Saber, who was the strongest class in the traditional sense!
"Die!!" Kariya roared wildly.
A black-purple torrent of mana gathered at the blade's edge, bringing with it the power to sever everything as it struck down!
Saber stared blankly at the falling demonic sword, her body seemingly losing control, unable to make any move to dodge.
If this strike landed, she would undoubtedly die.
At this critical juncture.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind gently brushed past Saber's cheek.
There was no imagined pain, nor the darkness of descending death.
Saber only felt a tightening at her waist, and then her whole person fell into a broad, warm embrace.
That warm body temperature, carrying a faint air of dominance, instantly dispelled the chill in her heart.
Clang—!!!!
A metallic collision loud enough to shatter eardrums exploded above their heads.
A terrifying airwave swept outward with the three of them at the center, blowing away all the snow within a hundred-meter radius and revealing the scorched earth beneath.
"Have you lost even the courage to hold your sword when facing a traitorous knight? Such a King is truly incompetent."
Hearing the familiar mocking voice in her ears, Saber opened her eyes blankly.
The first thing that came into view was Hansen's sharp jawline and those eyes, burning with platinum divine fire, calm as water.
He had one arm around Saber's slender waist, shielding her in his embrace.
And the other hand... Saber did not refute Hansen's mockery; instead, her pupils suddenly contracted.
Because Hansen's other hand was actually holding her... Excalibur!
And it wasn't just holding it.
That sword of selection, which only recognized King Arthur, showed no rejection in Hansen's hand; instead, it erupted with an unprecedented, brilliant golden light!
The golden holy sword steadily parried that black-purple Arondight.
No matter how Berserker roared or how much power he exerted, the sword in Hansen's hand remained motionless, like an impassable chasm between heaven and earth.
Saber:!!!
"It seems our Lady King of Knights is inevitably a bit shaken upon seeing an old acquaintance."
Hansen looked down at the shaken Saber in his arms, his tone carrying a hint of teasing, but without any intent to blame.
"Since you can't bring yourself to do it, then let me borrow this sword for a while."
Saber's mind was a complete blank at this moment; she even forgot to struggle, forgot that she was being held by a man in such an intimate posture.
"You... how could you possibly use..."
"Shh, just watch quietly."
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