"It seems like the others are having fun too. Well, I'm not sure we can really call this fun. I just wanted to let you know, King of Knights, that none of us intended exactly to kill you. We're just helping out a friend, that's all."
"And what happens once that egg hatches?"
"We'll kill whatever comes out of it. So, again, if you just go away, we won't have any problem."
"I'm afraid we can't do that. We don't know how much time it will take for that egg to hatch, and in the meantime, reality may permanently fuse with this fake world, causing all kinds of problems. We can't afford to take that risk."
"Well, I can't afford to let a friend down. So I guess we have no choice but to fight."
Musashi concluded as she charged forward. Saber tried defending herself, but she had already found it quite difficult to defend against Musashi's two-sword style. Cuts had accumulated on her body, luckily, they had been somewhat tuned down due to her armour.
"She's nimble enough to dodge my sword even though it's invisible... and I can't block all her strikes... it's like fighting Nero... not only is she fast, but having two different options to block and slash with makes it difficult for me to predict her next move... she's probably the most skilled swordsman I have ever fought."
Musashi blocked Excalibur with her right sword, then prepared to hit Saber with her other katana. Artoria moved her sword to anticipate the strike, but, to her surprise, Mushashi's left hand was no longer holding a katana.
In the early 17th century, a renowned swordsman, Ono Tadaki, introduced a new style of fighting: Ono-ha Itto-ryu. His principle was "One sword, one blow."
"Sanbon-me Uchi Otoshi!"
Musashi performed a downward diagonal strike that took Saber completely by surprise, piercing through her defenses and drawing blood.
"I was sure that I had to strike you with all my might if I wanted to hurt you for real. But I'm still not sure on one thing: why didn't you use your sword? If you unleashed your full strength, I doubt I could have kept up."
"This may sound stupid to you... but... I don't want to kill you."
"... honestly, yeah, it sounds pretty stupid, if I have to be honest. You think I'll go easy on you because of this?"
"No. That's not who you are. But this... this is who I want to be. The world is full of evil and struggle. So what I truly desire... is to protect the small part of it that's good, to shield it, to help it, to make it win. That's what I want more than anything. I don't aspire to destroy evil. Not anymore. I don't even want to pretend that I can single-handedly contain it or defeat it. I'm human, I do what I can. I'm often wrong, I'm often weak, and I can be evil. But what I'll never stop doing... is protecting what's dear to me."
"To protect what you find dear? Even if it means going against the entire world? You know that's a utopic wish, right?"
"Why do you think I was the one entrusted with Avalon?"
"Avalon?"
"I am the one who wields Excalibur and bears the burden of those who have never stopped dreaming... I am Artoria, and I'm the King... I'm the Queen of Knights."
As she pointed her sword toward Musashi, a golden glow surrounded her, slowly healing the wounds that she had sustained. Her conviction in her ideals was renewed, and so Avalon responded accordingly, activating to protect her.
In their following exchanges, whatever wounds Musashi was able to give to Artoria were immediately healed. The result of this was that the Japanese swordswoman was put on the defensive, barely avoiding defeat several times.
"I thought that what I had to fear of you was your famous sword... instead, you seem to possess something even more powerful."
"Do not be mistaken, great hero. What gives me this power isn't my scabbard, but my determination and my ideals. Without them, I wouldn't be myself. And this sword is their sublimation. Excalibur is my soul, and Avalon is simply the reflection of my soul's unwavering nature on my body."
"Yeah well, cheating is still cheating, no matter how poetically you put it."
"You're right, this is cheating. But I'm sure that you running away now is also a tactic, so who's really cheating here?"
"Both of us, I assume."
"Exactly."
"Well, when you put it that way, there's no point in hiding it anymore. Queen of Knights, I'll show you this technique, which I was able to master only after my death! My absolute Zero."
"Very well, I'll face your nothingness with my everything!"
"Six Realms Five Rings - The Divine Figure of Kurikara!
ISHANA, DAITENSHOU!"
A huge figure seemed to appear behind the Flower of Tengen, wielding golden swords. But Saber could tell this was just an effect of her Noble Phantasm. And yet, she could see it: the sword of Zero, the true Void, the .
Revealing her sword, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was in a beautiful, untouched landscape. Pure peace. The perfect utopia. Avalon. That was the perfect place.
"But this is not where I want to be anymore. Because you're not here... Mordred. And my friends, my allies and my followers aren't here either... I want you all with me... I want you by my side... I don't wish to be alone in this life anymore... that's why... I'll create a utopia for all of you..."
Saber didn't move, however, the place all around her moved away, away from her, away until... it reached her sword and entered it. Now she was back where she was before, and the miracle she was in was in her hands. She raised it high above her head.
"EXCALIBUR AVALON! - Sword of the Everlasting Utopia"
Avalon and the Void clashed. Two entire worlds, two antithetical concepts faced each other. A plus and a minus, smashing together, nullifying each other, ending in a zero. But this perfect symmetry was broken by one simple and yet decisive factor: Excalibur was there. Artoria was there. What remained from their clash, from the clash between Avalon and the Void, was Excalibur's raw power.
And while that couldn't compete alone with the power of Avalon or the Void, it was just enough to make sure that the former prevailed. Musashi fell to her knees, having been cut.
"I see... so I lost because you had more options than me."
"No. As strong as it is, Avalon is still a place. A concept. There's no logical reason for why you shouldn't be able to erase it. But there's only one explanation: you can't. Not because you don't have enough power, but because you don't want to. Because you're also... a dreamer."