Watching the Thunderbird depart, the Shogun turned her gaze toward Karna, who had once again gathered himself. During her brief exchange with the bird, he had not taken the opportunity to strike. Though an attack then would have yielded little, it spoke to his quality as a warrior. This, at least, she found satisfying.
"Saber…"
He called to her.
"…What is it?"
The Shogun, slightly puzzled, still answered him.
"Do you remember the vow we made during our first battle?"
Karna asked with his usual calm.
"…Of course I remember. The blade I draw tonight—I have reserved it for you."
There was no need for him to remind her. Her memory was flawless. In truth, she had worried he might forget, but it seemed there was no need. Their confrontation here was nothing less than destiny—what began must find its end.
"Good. Tonight, one of us must fall. Which it shall be… let our strength decide."
He lowered his spear toward her, voice grave, as the air thickened with suffocating tension.
"That suits me well."
She twirled her naginata in one hand, gathering dense lightning around her body. In the next instant, the space around them shattered like glass.
As with Mordred before, darkness seeped from the cracks, enveloping both her and Karna. The world twisted, warping into an unfamiliar, abyssal realm.
"!"
Karna's brow furrowed. He steeled his mind, carefully watching the transformation.
...
After a long silence, fragments reassembled into a new scene.
Smooth stone spread outward in rippling patterns, filling the ground beneath them. The horizon stretched into infinity, sky and earth alike bathed in soft, dreamlike blue light. There was nothing else—no walls, no boundaries—just endless expanse.
At the edge of the land, ocean shimmered. Far across the waters, where sea met sky, a vast whirlpool of rippling waves rose like a morning sun upon the horizon. From above, sakura petals drifted gently downward like rain, some landing upon Karna's shoulder.
If Ei's Plane of Euthymia represented fear and despair, then this Shogun's inner realm embodied peace and hope, carrying with it a profound serenity that calmed the heart.
Aside from the soft breeze and the steady rhythm of waves, all was silence. The entire place flowed like water, soothing in its stillness.
This Plane had once belonged to Makoto. After her passing, Ei entrusted it to the Shogun, who inherited it seamlessly. Perhaps it was because, at her first awakening, Makoto's final fragment of soul had been instilled within her—that the realm resonated with her as perfectly as if it were her own.
Since she usually fought in the outside world while Ei remained within her own domain, chances to wield this place had been rare. Yet today, it found its use again.
"Here, none may disturb us."
The Shogun dissolved her naginata into motes of light, then raised her hand to her chest.
Bzzz…
Lightning gathered thickly at her breast. From the rift between her garments emerged the ornate hilt of Musou Isshin. Grasping it, she pressed her toes lightly upon the ground, lifting her body to float in the air. Sparks of thunder swirled around her, the space itself trembling in resonance.
As she drew Musou Isshin, the entire realm quaked as though it revolved around that single blade. Landing gracefully, she stepped forward, leveling the elegant katana at Karna.
"Come, then. This strike is yours alone."
Her cold words, paired with the glow in her violet eyes, emanated the presence of a god.
"Heh…"
Karna chuckled softly. His body erupted in fire greater than ever before, golden armor gleaming like a sun. With his blazing spear, he charged toward the woman wreathed in lightning.
The Shogun answered in kind, transforming into a storm of thunder as their weapons collided.
BOOM!
The impact exploded outward in a shockwave. Karna immediately sensed it—the terrifying power of her blade. This was no ordinary naginata. With each clash, the space around his spear twisted violently, as if dragged toward a force that could tear through the fabric of the world itself.
BOOM!
Rebounding from the clash, Karna unleashed a flurry of thrusts with his spear.
Bang! ×N
The Shogun parried each one with flawless precision. Every sweep of Musou Isshin's blade carved streaks of starlight into the void, rending the fabric of space itself. After dozens of exchanges, she began to overwhelm his offense.
In the art of the blade, none could shake her confidence.
Musou Isshin flowed in her hands like a living extension of her will—swift, unrelenting, merciless. Each motion carried Ei's lingering habits, covering every flaw, leaving no opening behind. Her form was immaculate.
Bang!
She slid low, her shapely leg curving elegantly against the stone as she crouched.
Swish~
In the next instant, she drew Musou Isshin to her waist, sliding it into its sheath at a downward angle, her movements slowing to deliberate calm.
Clack!
The clear sound of blade meeting scabbard rang out—
Squelch!!
In that moment, countless violet slashes blossomed across the void like fields of straw. Time itself seemed to halt for a heartbeat—
Slash! ×N
Then, the storm erupted.
Karna leapt back just in time, barely evading the torrential downpour of blades. Even so, shallow cuts lined his skin, proof of how narrowly he had escaped.
But the Shogun gave no respite. Raising Musou Isshin high, she called down the storm. The pale sky darkened instantly, clouds boiling into heavy thunderheads. From above, a massive vortex churned, lightning spiraling into the blade. The power of her inner world fused with raw thunder, condensing into deep violet energy.
She leveled her sword at Karna.
BOOM!!
A colossal beam erupted forth.
"!"
Karna's cloak wrapped around his body, his golden shield manifesting to block the raging torrent.
Crash!
The ground of the Plane trembled, cracks spiderwebbing across the stone as dust lifted into the air. Explosions roared skyward, fire billowing like stormclouds.
As his barrier began to splinter, Karna invoked his next strike.
"Brahmastra!!"
Vmmm~!
The true hero slays with his gaze!
Covering his right eye, crimson light burst forth. A blood-red beam tore across the ground like a blade, slicing toward the Shogun.
She raised Musou Isshin across her chest, catching the blast with perfect precision.
Clang…
The clear note of steel rang out.
The beam, upon striking Musou Isshin, refracted like light off a mirror. With a subtle twist of her wrist, she redirected it, the crimson arc slashing through air and stone before whipping back toward its caster.
Karna instantly abandoned the attack, leaping high into the air to evade what nearly became self-destruction.
BOOM!!
The blast detonated upon the spot where he had stood, fire surging upward like a wall of clouds, swallowing the battlefield in its glare.
A wave of searing heat swept through, scattering the dust and smoke to reveal Karna, his entire body ablaze with fire. At the same time, the Shogun swept her blade, lightning tearing apart the haze before her. Once again, the two stood facing one another.
"So that's how it is… this blade is your strongest Noble Phantasm. To draw it against me means you acknowledge my strength, does it not, Saber?"
Karna fixed his gaze on the radiant Musou Isshin, then lifted his eyes back to her.
"Not so. This vessel already acknowledged your mastery long ago. I draw this blade only because it is time to end this."
If they continued, the battle would never end. Now was the time to close the curtain.
"As I thought. From our first clash, I knew your skill was extraordinary. To fight you has been a joy. But… Black remains Red's enemy, and so do you. I should have struck down Ruler first, but I swore to fight you before all else. Breaking that vow would not be my way."
He spun his golden spear once through the air, then leveled it at her. The star-tipped head shimmered with golden light, flames gathering at its point.
"To defeat the Black Faction and grant Red the Holy Grail—that is my Master's command. And you, Saber, stand as a grave threat to our victory. Thus, it falls to me to end you. This is battle between warriors—where we stake our very lives!"
For the first time, his composure cracked. His voice rose with fiery passion, his body trembling with exhilaration. To face an equal foe was a rare glory, and it set his very soul alight.
"Saber! Your existence alone compels me to fight with all I possess!"
BOOM!
Flames roared from his body like a storm, crimson eyes blazing with light. The jewel on his chest glimmered, and his cloak whipped upward like fire itself. The blue world around them was swallowed by his heat, dyed scarlet by his blaze.
"Good. Then this blade shall answer in kind. For you, I shall strike with everything."
The Shogun raised Musou Isshin, stance resolute.
"Steel yourself, Saber!"
BOOM!
Karna became fire itself, flashing forward in an instant. She answered just as swiftly, lightning and flame colliding like twin storms, twisting and coiling endlessly. Explosions burst without pause, sword-wind and firestorm shredding the Plane of Euthymia, tearing its ground into abstract ruin.
Clash!
Blades met again, fissures splitting outward from their clash, stones lifting into the air.
Clash! ×N
They struck again and again, faster than gunfire, their battle breaking the ground into deeper ruin. Floating rubble and drifting sakura petals swirled together before falling skyward like snow.
Breaking apart once more, Karna strode through the air aflame, drawing back his golden spear in a throwing stance. Fire surged into its shaft, the heat so fierce the very air rippled.
"Brahmastra Kundala!!"
It was the same Noble Phantasm he had unleashed in their first battle. Now, once more, he released it—the flaming spear hurled down like a meteor, burning across the heavens toward her.
"Illusion Shattered!"
The Shogun stepped upon a staircase of violet light, scattering several floating Eyes of Electro into place around her. She brushed her fingers across Musou Isshin's blade. A sheath of violet energy condensed upon it.
Then—she drew.
"In this moment… all shall be cut away!"
With Musou Isshin already released, she could not draw it from her chest as with Musou Shinsetsu. Instead, she forged this sheath of lightning to unleash its true, explosive might in the draw-cut.
Swish~
The Eye of Stormy Judgment appeared once more. As her eyes closed, a single slash wide enough to distort space itself tore across the void. Yet this was only the beginning—through the deployment of Illusion Shatter, the strike triggered a chain reaction. Dozens of Eyes of Electro closed simultaneously, unleashing an endless storm of slashes. Each one carried the full might of a Musou Shinsetsu.
Within that web of eyes, time itself seemed to halt. The countless blades of light crisscrossed in a forest of destruction. In the next instant, Karna's flaming spear collided with them. Space trembled, fire burst apart, and a blinding mushroom cloud roared skyward, its shockwaves tearing across the ground.
The Shogun did not relent. With Musou Isshin in its released state, she cleaved the mushroom cloud in two with a single swing, revealing Karna beyond. She slashed again, releasing another cut that severed the very air.
"!"
Karna sprang backward, narrowly evading the devastating arc. Landing, he glanced upward at the gash in space itself, awe flashing across his eyes.
"So this is your strength—unleashing Noble Phantasms of such power in succession! Excellent… I can feel a warrior's spirit in every stroke of your blade!"
Whoosh whoosh…
Clang…
He caught his golden spear as it returned to him, heat rippling in the air as he rose once more. Magma-like energy welled up around him, the pressure distorting the very world.
"If that is so… then this alone is not enough to erase you, Saber! Let us both unleash a strike worthy of staking all!"
Flames consumed his form as he ascended into the sky, lifting his spear high. Fire swallowed even his gaze, his eyes no longer visible through the blaze. The Plane trembled beneath the rising storm.
"Saber! You, who stand as a god—can you withstand this spear?!"
BOOM!!
In that instant, his golden armor and crimson cloak were incinerated. His golden spear dissolved, reshaping into a magic circle of interwoven red and gold light. His face twisted with pain, blood seeping between bursts of fire, his very body burning as sacrifice.
The armor of flame reformed above him, condensing into a new weapon. His spear returned, fused with the fire of his soul, transformed into a sacred and terrible light-lance—a spear to slay gods, capable of dragging even divinity from their throne.
At its tip, a colossal fireball erupted, vast enough to cover the sky, fusing with the lance to shatter the realm itself.
[!]
In meditation, Ei's eyes opened sharply. For once, her expression changed, grave and tense.
[Shogun… that spear carries power enough to erase us both. It is a strike meant to bring down gods.]
She could feel it from afar—the weapon's presence pressed even against her divinity. Such an opponent was rare, stirring not fear but a warrior's admiration. It reminded her of the Archon War, of battles where gods staked all.
'…Truly?'
The Shogun's brow furrowed at her words.
[Yes. I do not mistake it. Be on guard.]
As a warrior, Ei's instincts never dulled, and this surge of power confirmed them.
'...'
The Shogun stepped back, raising her naginata before her as the storm winds pressed down. Her hair and sleeves whipped wildly in the gale.
[Shogun… let me—]
'No. This vessel can bear it. Rest easy, Ei.'
Her reply was steady, her tone calm as she reassured her other self.
Indeed, she had not misjudged him. The foe before her was worthy.
"..."
A faint smile curved her lips.
If that was the case… then it was time she grew serious as well.