3,324"-Can you endure it?"
At one time, Arturia had been brimming with confidence and self motivation. Despite his warnings of what would come if she followed through with her make-shift plan to rescue him, she had had all the confidence.
Call it blind faith, but she was on something of a confidence high after if clicked in Arturia's mind that she had been the one to put down Ishtar in the battle of the Mediterranean. She still had the very sword that enabled her to do that, and which allowed her to feel so empowered despite not exactly remembering how she'd won against Ishtar.
Well, blind confidence was supposedly the best start to everything.
Now though?
Arturia swallowed audibly as she watched Godou slice away the last vestige of Metis's Authority to devour Steel.
As the fading pressure of snake divinity was expelled from her person, Metis's expression grew monotone, the reflection in her eyes brimming with an untold spark. That spark gave way to embers, and those embers into a growing flame.
Wind spiralled around Metis, wisps carrying fire that smoldered the surroundings and forced Godou to back away.
"I am the Bone of my Sword."
The power that welled up from words denoted themselves as spell words of Authority, but in this case, it was closer to conviction.
Guinevere, who was managing the barrier around the area tightened her expression as the words were uttered, while Athena herself knit her brows.
Athena, the ever-composed goddess was no longer looking so composed, which left a lot to be imagined for Arturia.
Arturia among anyone else present knew full-well what was coming. She may only have read of it in Merlin's transcript, but even then, she could empathize.
That was the path that the man in a billowing red mantle had walked.
To remain true to his ideals while yearning for a promised miracle. The star he sought, and the grains of sand that fell between outstretched palms represented an ageless crusade driven by hope.
That world was…Shirou's very reflection, the representation of his ideals and purpose.
And Arturia would have to face it for what it was.
Because she was his Master.
If she couldn't do this, then what right did she have to maintain the feelings budding in her heart? Just as Shirou's Saber had melted her way through that world of unlimited blades, Arturia would have to do the same if only to step onto the same playing field.
Metis's form cracked, her left arm falling off before rows and rows of interlocking swords formed a new mechanical appendage.
Godou's shocked cry echoed out even as Arturia and the others spectated in the distance.
"Arthenia, this is your chance to reconsider." Athena gently nudged Arturia on the side, her expression stern. "I cannot aid you in this battle. Whether Metis's Authority has been stripped from her or not, should she slay me, she'll become whole. It's not a variable that's worth testing."
"Even still, it's something that I have to do," Arturia let out a long breath. Knowing what she did of Pandora, and the terms they had left each other with, there was no basis for trust. "Athena, please."
"Hn," Athena could see the determination in Arturia's eyes. It was clear as day, and something that reminded her of the heroes she'd met in her lifetime. Fools all of them, but their Steel was what was immortalized in legend.
Wisdom dictated that Athena keep Arturia away from danger as she was the anchor point keeping Athena's Curse of Madness at bay. However, one of Athena's aspects was a helper of Heroes, or a Hero maker.
The drive within Arturia's demeanor was undeniable.
Very well.
Athena snapped her fingers, and the very armour Arturia had worn in imitation of Shirou's Saber manifested over her.
In Arturia's hands, the Authority, Caliburn was already growing bright.
To cleave a way to the brightest star, the darkness between must be cut.
"Just give me a moment," Arturia clapped her hands over her cheeks. More than her nerves, what was scarier to her was the result of inaction. "Sword of the Victorious, lend me your strength."
Resonating with Arturia's resolve, the blue magic armour Athena had molded over Arturia was bathed further in Caliburn's light. What replaced the regal blues and gold was an ephemeral white.
The armour of the lilies said to have been word by a young knight aspiring to be the ideal King.
Arturia took one step, a then another.
This was a battle she could not shy from.
/-/
Left behind, Athena was struck at her own inaction.
As a Goddess of Wisdom, it was already a stretch for her to remain in Japan with Metis as a variable. However, here she remained, spurred on by the sentiments of a teenage girl whose connection through Command Seals resonated their emotions together.
Truly, was Athena growing soft?
Opening and closing her palms, Athena deliberated with summoning her scythe and taking to the battle, but such thoughts were put on the way side as a voice called out to her.
"Forsooth…What is that?" Guinevere's voice called out from who knows where.
As the Divine Ancestor employing the barrier to contain the fighting away from Japan's metropolitan area, it was likely that Guinevere's perception spanned the entire barrier.
It was a good question, and one that Athena had been dwelling over for many many nights, and yet the answer was one that couldn't be easily explained. There were many factors and variables that made an accurate discernment impossible, however, there was one aspect Athena never doubted.
"That is the Strongest Steel." Athena eventually said, Guinevere appearing in a ripple of magic energy beside her with a twisted expression.
"…Lies." Guinevere hissed, facial muscles hardening into a sneer. "I-It doesn't make sense."
Guinevere had personally experienced the strength and demeanor of the Strongest Steel. The form may be different after numerous years had passed, but the essence doesn't change. It is the purest form of Steel designed as the bane of all Campione.
Therefore, Athena was a liar.
Guinevere gradually felt annoyance build, but the look of surety Athena shot her was genuine.
Assured of her conjecture, Athena narrowed her eyes at Guinevere.
"Truly? Then do you accuse this Goddess of lying when you can feel it for yourself?"
Guinevere flinched, hurriedly pulling out a golden chalice which she lined in Metis's direction.
Athena craned her chin up.
"I know not of thy experience or connection with the Strongest Steel of old, but if the God you know is truly different than the God of Steel before us, then perhaps that God is outdated?" Athena said objectively, light gleaming from her eyes.
"…" Guinevere opened and closed her mouth, choosing to remain silent as she stared intently at the Holy Grail in her palms for an answer.
Suddenly, something happened that caused Guinevere to swallow audibly regardless of Athena's tone.
"That, or your own memories have blurred since your days of Godhood?" Athena chuckled, able to discern Guinevere's growing doubts and internal conflict and focusing on what truly had Guinevere's attention.
"Pray tell why that little trinket of yours is resonating if thine words can be trusted?"
"…"
Indeed. A golden hue was covering the Holy Grail in Guinevere's palms. It was faint, but it was reacting to a familiar aura of Steel buried within the confines of the Steel Metis had swallowed. Buried as it was, it didn't change the fact that it was there, an immutable variable.
Whether Athena's words were true or not, there was a lead to the Strongest Steel in the God that Metis had swallowed.
"Thy Gods of wisdom and their petty mind games. Tch." Guinevere grimaced and stared ahead, no longer paying attention to Athena.
Despite everything, Guinevere's voice was shaken, no longer as obtuse or proud.
Rather, it was muted.
She would see for herself.
Feeling the brunt of the Authority of Steel Metis exuded, Godou buckled under the strain, his nerves fraying as his instincts screamed at him to flee.
This wasn't something that could be handled alone. Yet, given the state of Metis's body, it was also evident to Godou that Metis would not be able to last for much longer.
All he had to do was wait her out, and Godou could win.
With that in mind, strength pooled into Godou's body as he overcame fear with reckless courage.
Without hesitation, Godou back pedaled. With Guinevere maintaining the barrier, the aim was not to initiate battle, but to flee away from it until Metis eventually gave out.
"Fear of the winged," Godou muttered under his breath, ready to accelerate out of any harm's way. "All shall fear I who carry these wings."
The Avatar of the Raptor came to the front of Godou's mind, his pupils dilating as a shower of swords relentlessly pelted the spot he'd once stood over.
Heart beating rapidly, Godou didn't even have a moment to catch his breath as he looked back at Metis who'd discarded the two-meter longsword and raised an arm up into the air.
A deluge of divine pressure erupted as a new Authority of Steel was seemingly invoked.
Godou's eyes widened.
How was she still using Authorities beyond that of her own?!
Hadn't Godou already deprived her of that Authority?
There was no time for Godou to think.
In hindsight, it was rather simple, but in actuality, everything changed from the moment Metis was no longer able to usurp the Steel within her. What manifested next was an avatar Godou discerned wasn't able to contain the weight of Steel and endlessly spewed forth what it had eaten.
He rationalized it like a popped balloon with all its air escaping at once, never believing that every Authority stemmed from an ability known as Tracing.
With the speed of the Raptor Avatar, Godou was confident that he could at least stay alive by dodging everything coming his way. Godspeed wasn't as simple as moving from A to B, but an instantaneous movement closer to true teleportation.
Godou had that in spades, especially as he wasn't trying to fight any longer. Just as Metis would wage battle with her stamina and deteriorating body in the line, the demerit was the same for Godou with the Raptor's prolonged use.
But Godou would learn that from the very beginning, the Metis he had faced was no longer the same. The difference in Metis who was holding back in order to maintain her sanity, and a Metis who could not longer differentiate her body's condition was like night and day.
One of Metis's legs fell off and was replaced by more interlocking steel swords just like one of her arms. And from there, power surged.
Godou's eyes trailed left and right, seeking to dodge the next attack that was to come, but as if analyzing the opponent before her like a versatile machine, an answer was determined to combat against extreme speed.
The shadow of a massive blade formed, the hilt filling up the base of a mountain while the blade stretched on into the clouds.
The answer was rather simple.
Destroy everything in a single direction with a size that covered the entire battlefield.
Godou's mouth opened as panic caused adrenaline to surge.
How was he supposed to stop this?!
"Ig-Alima." The words were spoken in monotone, the actualized Authority, not so much.
The towering blade surged forward, its size belying its speed as the force of gravity aided in its descent. It was so massive that the suction of the air being cut uprooted trees and debris towards the blade.
The Authority of Steel was a literal mountain cleaving sword.
Godou screamed as his tiny body was sucked in by the vacuum effect of the sword's swing.
"THE BOAR WILL CRUSH YOU! THE BOAR WILL RAVAGE YOU!"
Verethragna's Avatar of the Boar was actualized, switching Godou out from the Raptor in his haste.
Red lightning surged as a Divine boar with flaming tusks and a fiery mane charged forth from the ether and roared in defiance against the obstruction in its charge.
Shockwaves spewed forth when the boar met charged the flat of Ig-Alima's blade, but the moment was short lived.
The divine boar had halted the mountainous sword's descent...but was subsequently met with a more tragic end.
"Sul-Sagana."
Godou's expression twisted into horror.
The hairs on the back of Godou's neck rose as an overwhelming heat sailed overhead.
While the Boar's tusks were locked against Ig-Alima's steel, another towering sword that represented the Horizon slashed down from the heaven, cutting the boar in half with an incinerating blade. The glow of the hot embers had the sword's serrated edge red hot.
The two halves of the boar quickly caught fire and were reduced to ashes.
"My Core is Twisted in Madness."
Stiffly, Godou had a single moment to turn his gaze to Metis before a he noticed a spiralled sword inches from his face.
"Caladbolg."
"O hallmark of the righte-" Godou could not get the words in before the attack struck true.
He'd tried to dodge out of reflex, but the weapon itself distorted the fabric of space and time and drew him in with an astonishing suction force.
Blood spurted as Godou's arm twisted and snapped in an inhuman direction as the spiral sword passed him by.
Call it a fleshy body, but Godou's skin was easily pierced through before the weapon itself sailed off and impacted the ground. A deafening explosion resounded as Godou was hurled to the wayside, battered and bleeding.
W-What the hell?
Glancing down, Godou could only see a hole where his torso once was.
"O gift…of…the Ram…keh," Godou coughed out blood, his vision swimming as he lost feeling in his body.
Just before Godou lost consciousness, he managed to see Arturia stand in front of him.
He wished her good luck.
They were fighting a monster.
Sweat dripped over Arturia's forehead before her complexion paled when she arrived and assessed Godou's condition.
Godou wasn't breathing.
If not for the faint feeling of Divinity still wrapping around Godou, Arturia would have assumed he was dead.
Not like it was going to matter much now.
What mattered had not changed.
Moving to pick Godou up, Arturia threw him towards a spot where Guinevere and Athena had been.
Augmented by Caliburn's Authority, Arturia's physical capabilities were now similar to that of a Campione's.
Yet what could she do here against Metis?
Fortunately, or not, Metis had frozen upon seeing Arturia equipped with sword and armour. As much as Metis had consumed Shirou's Steel, aspects still remained.
Presently, Metis was being controlled by instinct, and that instinct was Shirou's.
And Shirou…would not hurt his Saber.
That aspect was what Arturia was banking on. She knew she wasn't as skilled as Doni with a sword, or possessed as many Authorities as Godou, but she did have her appearance.
Vain as that sounded, it wasn't without merit.
The stronger Arturia could associate herself with the Saber Shirou knew, the less likely the Steel controlling Metis would be too heavy-handed.
So, keep calm.
Merlin had based Saber's image on Arturia, the tomboy, herself. By keeping a level mind and boldly facing adversity, she would be no different from Saber, the King of Knights.
Caliburn thrummed in Arturia's grip, its light and assurance revealing to her a path to victory.
Even if she didn't have confidence, Arturia needed to muster it.
"Get a grip."
Tightening her hold on Caliburn, Arturia drew it and positioned herself into a ready stance.
One foot inched forward while the armoured battle skirt that Arturia wore clinked with each subtle movement. As much as its design accentuated a feminine appearance, its durability wasn't to be scoffed at.
Like flowing white lilies, the tips of Arturia's battle skirt lifted as she dashed towards Metis, making use of Metis's frozen state.
Years of sword training had caused calluses to form on her hands.
Years of living in a family of boys had hardened her demeanor into a stout and candid woman.
And finally, years of being mistaken for a boy due to her mannerism had given her practical experience against street thugs.
Metis's new metal sword limbs were disproportionate to the rest of her demure body.
Even as Metis stood in place, her center of balance favoured the shorter limb. If Arturia could destabilize her balance or even slow Metis down, Shirou's Steel should soon overwhelm Metis's body.
Blood spurted from Metis's stomach as it was torn open by protruding blades.
It wouldn't be long now.
Arturia steadied her breath and swung her sword forward.
Aiming for another limb, Arturia's sword grated against metal when Metis stiffly blocked with an arm.
Left open after Arturia's initial strike had been blocked, Metis did not retaliate. Rather, she tried, but the new arm made of swords obstructed Metis's arm from attacking.
Arturia's pupils dilated. It was a good sign that revealed that Shirou was gradually taking back full control.
Digging an armoured heel into the ground, Arturia spun and wound down another heavy strike. This time, her attack was met with success.
Caliburn's sharp edge cut a diagonal slash from Metis's shoulder to hip, but Metis didn't even react. It was as if the wound was cumbersome at best.
A sword formed in the air and launched, the manifestation significantly delayed compared to how it was against Doni and Godou.
Clenching her jaw, Arturia parried the sword aimed at her heart and avoided getting grabbed by Metis's free hand.
The skin of Metis's hand was elusive. A single touch would cut from the sharpness of the swords protruding from out of her.
"N-Not…like…this!" A mad glint of light flickered in Metis's gaze before she glared at Arturia.
Call it coincidence, but Shirou's Steel really did let up against Arturia.
And that was a double-edged sword.
For a fraction of a second, a moment of clarity befell Metis whose anger surged when she assessed herself and saw Arturia before her.
If Metis was going to die, then she wasn't going to die alone.
Reaching her good arm forward, Metis tried to claw at Arturia's throat, but Caliburn rose to bat Metis's attempt aside.
With little Divinity left to hold herself together, and her body breaking apart, it didn't take much strength to stagger Metis.
But that was an act.
Snakes are opportunistic animals that relied on ambushes and quick strikes. Baring her fangs, Metis tackled Arturia when she feigned a loss of balance.
Too close to react, Metis pushed Arturia to the ground. The sound of scraping metal reverberated as the entirety of Metis soft flesh had broken away to be replaced by sharp swords.
"You. You." Metis hissed between breaths, madness overcoming her. "This Steel reacts to YOU!"
If not for Arturia's armour, any direct contact with Metis would have had Arturia bleeding.
Thrashing, Arturia tried to kick the smaller version of Athena off, but she was persistent and refused to let go after sinking her fangs into prey.
Gradually, the sound of Arturia's armour warping and bending began to reach her ears. Blood pumped quickly through her body as a constricting pain poured into her limbs.
A groan escaped Arturia's lips as she bucked her hips and tried to flip positions. However, it didn't matter what position Metis was in. She just kept tightening and tightening her grip, seeking to crush Arturia in two.
Metis's jaw unhinged, her mouth opening abnormally wide to swallow Arturia whole.
Metis had an inkling that if she could just consume this girl, the Steel within her would settle far more effectively than if she consumed Athena.
Caliburn hummed in Arturia's grasp, but there was no space to swing it.
Yet Caliburn's light persisted, growing stronger and stronger.
Arturia thought that Caliburn had been encouraging her, but far from it, its energy was serving another purpose all together.
Swords weren't made solely on their own. Rather, they always came paired. Indeed. The common terminology was Sword and Sheath.
If Authority was bound to Caliburn as a Legendary sword, then that Authority was tied to its counterpart.
Without warning, Metis screamed, blood showering over Arturia as an object that wasn't a sword pierced through her abdomen and fell atop of Arturia.
A sheath fell into Arturia grasp.
Adorned with regal blues and tinged with noble gold, the script etched over the casing was of a language outside of mortal means.
That sheath sunk directly into Arturia, and from there, everything changed.
The pain vanished, the tension eased, and a garden of grass over a green hill manifested in Arturia's mind.
Yes.
This place.
She knew it.
There was no longer any need for fear, rather it was instinctual.
Because here, in an ever-distant Utopia-
Nothing could touch her.
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