Fate in Bleach: Unlimited Blade Works!-Chapter 465: The Final Battle, Vasto Lorde

If she passed up this night, once the effects of the Command Spells faded, Artoria didn't believe she could defeat Berserker. She found herself utterly torn. Should she disregard the lives of hundreds of thousands in the city to seize the Grail, settling the score with Berserker tonight? Or should she uphold her principles, forgo this golden opportunity, and accept defeat in this Holy Grail War?

Ailin stood with his arms crossed, perceiving Artoria's hesitation.

"Saber, with our current strength, if we fight with all our might, this city will inevitably be destroyed. If you trust me, you can envelop me within Avalon's barrier as well. We can fight within the world Avalon creates."

"Of course, I also know Avalon is your strongest defensive Noble Phantasm. Pulling me into the Utopia it creates would put you at a great disadvantage. Therefore, I can promise you here and now: after entering the Utopia, I will not use any other Noble Phantasms. I will fight you using only the inherent abilities of this body I descended with. How about it?"

Hearing Berserker's proposal, Artoria considered it briefly and found merit in his words. Normally, the Utopia unfolded by Avalon's release only enveloped herself. But boosted by over twenty Command Spells, Artoria felt she could expand Avalon's barrier to a size suitable for combat.

Berserker's proposal seemed reasonable, even advantageous to her. A Heroic Spirit's strength relied heavily on their Noble Phantasms, accounting for at least half their power. Without the Sword of Promised Victory, Artoria felt she'd be merely a B+ rank Heroic Spirit, perhaps slightly stronger than Lancer Diarmuid.

Berserker, however, even without Noble Phantasms, was no weakling among A-rank Heroic Spirits, purely based on his profound mastery of swordsmanship. Add his Noble Phantasms to the equation—hadn't even Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, been defeated by him?

Trading the protection of Avalon for Berserker refraining from using other Noble Phantasms seemed like a fair exchange. More importantly, Artoria felt that if her current state wasn't enough to defeat a Berserker holding back his Noble Phantasms, then even with Avalon's defense, the best she could achieve was a stalemate.

If Berserker decided to stop engaging her and instead target her Master, Kiritsugu Emiya, Artoria didn't believe her side stood any chance of victory. Berserker had killed all the other Servants in this war; clearly, he possessed some kind of searching ability. Given enough time, finding Kiritsugu and Irisviel wouldn't be difficult for him.

"Very well, I agree!" Artoria declared. "Come, Berserker!" Having made her decision, she wouldn't delay. She didn't know how long her current enhanced state would last. It was best to settle the score with Berserker while she was at her absolute peak.

"Excellent!"

Ailin's figure flashed, appearing instantly three meters in front of Artoria.

"Please—" Artoria took a deep breath and extended her left hand towards Ailin. "Avalon!"

At her call, golden light gathered in Artoria's hand, finally coalescing into a scabbard interwoven with gold and blue patterns. White light erupted from the golden scabbard, enveloping both Ailin and Artoria.

"The Everdistant Utopia!"

When their vision cleared, Ailin and Artoria were no longer in the church grounds, but on a beautiful meadow covered in blooming flowers of various colors. This was the world created by Avalon—The Everdistant Utopia!

From the barrier Avalon unfolded, Ailin felt that, in a way, Avalon's ability was similar to a Reality Marble. However, while a Reality Marble was the materialization of an individual's inner mental landscape, Avalon was a world forged from the collective dreams of countless people yearning for a beautiful world.

In terms of conceptual level, the Everdistant Utopia created by Avalon had already surpassed the limits of a Reality Marble, reaching the level of the "Second Magic"—parallel worlds. This was even higher than the spatial level of Ailin's Unlimited Blade Works.

Although Ailin's Unlimited Blade Works had been transformed into a real space by the spatial power of the Royal Seal, it still fell considerably short of the "world" created by Avalon.

However, Unlimited Blade Works was an ability of Ailin's Zanpakutō. Having already grasped his own essence, this ability had completely merged with Ailin's being, no longer requiring the Zanpakutō as a medium. This meant that as Ailin's strength grew, the space of Unlimited Blade Works would gradually strengthen, eventually evolving into a true "Sword Realm."

"Come, Berserker!"

"Very well, then I won't hold back, Saber!"

Opposite Ailin, Artoria held her sword with both hands, furious magical energy erupting from the Sword of Promised Victory.

"Ex—calibur!"

Facing Ailin, even though he had promised not to use Noble Phantasms and rely only on the abilities of his descended body, Artoria dared not be careless. She began with a full-power Excalibur strike. Boosted by over twenty Command Spells, Artoria was confident she could overwhelm even the replica Sword of Promised Victory that Berserker had used to suppress her before.

Facing Artoria's attack, Ailin's expression turned serious. He then covered his face with his left hand. Blackish-red spiritual pressure swirled around his fingers. Then, he dragged his fingers downward—

"GWAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—"

Instantly, an incredibly terrifying sound burst from Ailin's mouth. A mask interwoven with black, red, and white patterns materialized on his face. Ailin's eyes turned black, his pupils becoming blood-red, filled with brutal, bloodthirsty killing intent. Blackish-red flames of spiritual pressure wreathed his body.

This was Ailin's true form, descended into this world as Berserker.

Revealing his true form, Ailin extended his right index finger. Blackish-red lightning-like spiritual pressure gathered at his fingertip.

"Cero!"

BOOM!

The Cero, formed from countless condensed blackish-red lightning bolts, shot forth, colliding with the golden torrent of Artoria's Excalibur, creating a tremendous roar.

Shockwaves spread, and the blackish-red spiritual pressure and golden magical energy dyed the Everdistant Utopia in three clashing colors.

Beneath the brilliant display, however, lay terrifying destructive power. The ground buckled and shattered under the force of their collision, and the vibrant flowers on the meadow were torn apart by the violent shockwaves.

"Haaaaah!"

Artoria roared, pouring all her magical energy into the Sword of Promised Victory, causing the torrent of light from Excalibur to surge. At her full power, the light of the Sword of Promised Victory began to push back Ailin's Cero.

At this moment, Artoria's Excalibur was no less powerful than Gilgamesh's Ea, at least when Ea wasn't targeting space itself. Its power was roughly equivalent to Artoria's current Excalibur.

WHOOSH! BOOM—

Seeing his Cero overwhelmed, Ailin used Sonído to evade. The torrent of light from the Sword of Promised Victory swallowed the blackish-red Cero and streaked past Ailin's side.

RUMBLE!

The ground was annihilated by the torrent of light. Hundreds of meters away, the power of the Sword of Promised Victory erupted, creating a mushroom cloud over a hundred meters high.

WHOOSH!

Ailin's figure flickered along the path of Excalibur's light, appearing instantly before Artoria. He drew the Zanpakutō at his waist, blackish-red light swirling around it as he slashed down at her.

BOOM!

Artoria flared her magical energy, unleashing another Excalibur blast.

BOOM—

The blackish-red Cero infused into Ailin's Zanpakutō transformed into a slash, colliding with Artoria's Excalibur. The razor-sharp strike sliced the torrent of light in half down the middle. The divided torrent flew past Ailin on either side, carving two ravines dozens of meters deep into the ground centered on his position. However, although Ailin's slash cleaved Artoria's Excalibur, he himself was forced back by the immense power of the Sword of Promised Victory.

From then on, the battle between Ailin and Artoria devolved into a clash of maximum magical output. Even before receiving the Command Spell boost, Artoria, possessing Avalon, was constantly maintained at her peak. Excalibur had essentially become her standard attack. After the Command Spell enhancement, the power of her Excalibur surged dramatically. Each swing unleashed a giant sword of magical energy dozens of meters long.

On Ailin's side, after entering his Hollowfied state, his own spiritual pressure had also increased significantly. The power of his Cero and Gran Rey Cero was greatly amplified. Although still weaker than Excalibur boosted by over twenty Command Spells, it was enough to hold his own against her attacks.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…

Blackish-red and golden light intertwined, erupting within the Utopia with world-shattering power. It was only because the Utopia was a miniature world created by Avalon that it could withstand the devastation of their battle. Even so, the miniature world was being torn apart by their clash. Fortunately, neither Ailin's nor Artoria's attacks specifically targeted "space" or the "world" itself. So, while the Utopia's interior was ravaged, the world barrier constituting it remained intact. This was why both Ailin and Artoria could fight with their full power without restraint.

BOOM! RUMBLE RUMBLE…

Artoria, continuously maintaining Excalibur, wielded it like a giant sword dozens of meters long, keeping Ailin forced back beyond ten meters. Ailin, relying on his profound swordsmanship, transformed his Cero into slashes, cutting through Artoria's Excalibur attacks as he tried to close the distance.

The battle had now become a fight over distance. If Ailin got close, Artoria knew she stood no chance in melee combat. As long as she constantly kept the Sword of Promised Victory released, she could completely block Berserker and continuously attack him with Excalibur's power. From the current situation, Artoria felt that only Excalibur seemed capable of harming Berserker.

However, as the battle dragged on, sweat dripped down Artoria's face, and her heart sank steadily. Her current strength was amplified by over twenty Command Spells, her absolute peak state. Yet, even with the Sword of Promised Victory at maximum output, she was helpless against Berserker, managing only to push him back. As time passed, the effects of the Command Spell enhancement would fade. At that point, Artoria would be no match for Berserker.

Driven by this realization, Artoria unleashed her light cannons faster, more fiercely. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Faced with the increased intensity of attacks, Ailin showed no signs of strain. With his current Hollowfied spiritual pressure, countering this form of Excalibur was indeed somewhat difficult. However, Artoria's 'curry stick' would find it extremely difficult to truly injure Ailin. His mastery of swordsmanship allowed him to turn Cero into incredibly sharp slashes, cutting through Artoria's Excalibur to protect himself.

Essentially, Ailin only needed to stall until Artoria's enhancement ended. Then, he could defeat the significantly weakened Artoria.

Both Artoria and Ailin were currently within Avalon's Utopia. Unless Artoria deactivated Avalon and expelled Ailin, she would be unable to defend against his attacks and would inevitably be forced to withdraw.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…

Gradually, as time passed within the Utopia, the golden light began to be suppressed by the blackish-red spiritual pressure. The distance between Ailin and Artoria also steadily decreased. Previously, Artoria's Excalibur could push Ailin back beyond ten meters. But as the Command Spell boost waned, that distance shrank. Nine meters, eight meters…

Finally, Ailin's Zanpakutō, wreathed in blackish-red Cero, could safely cut through the light of Artoria's Excalibur completely, allowing him to close within three meters of her.

CLANG!

The blackish-red light collided with the golden torrent. Finally, Ailin's slash struck the physical blade of Artoria's Sword of Promised Victory, sending her staggering back.

Damn it!

Feeling the immense force transmitted through the Sword of Promised Victory, Artoria's expression changed. I'm going to lose! Without the Command Spell enhancement, Artoria had lost her overwhelming power and was now being suppressed by Ailin.

SCHLICK—

"Ah..."

Without any surprise, the red Cero enveloped Artoria, inflicting tremendous damage. After the blackish-red light flashed past, the charred form of Artoria plummeted from the sky.