Although she had inwardly raised her evaluation of Aaron, in Saber's eyes, the follow-up of this attack wasn't enough to make her feel it was 'difficult to deal with' for the time being.
Using the acceleration from *Mana Burst*, Saber quickly retreated backward. The speed at which the ice spread clearly couldn't keep up with her retreat.
After retreating to a spot she deemed safe, Artoria, landing lightly on the ground, stared at the enemy before her, preparing to launch the next round of offensive.
But just then, her 'Instinct' suddenly began warning her: 'There is danger nearby'?
*Strange. I absolutely didn't misread that man's movements. The strike he just blasted into the ground should have ended by now.*
*He has no opportunity to launch an attack from other angles. After all, from the start, my eyes haven't left this man's body... Wait!*
At this moment, Saber suddenly realized there was one place from which the opponent could launch an attack that she couldn't observe.
That was the ground beneath her feet.
Regrettably, the instant she realized this, a terrifying power suddenly erupted from the ground, hitting the ahoge knight who was preparing to evade.
Although Aaron still hadn't actively broken through Current Push to Magnetic Field Rotation, he vaguely felt he had already touched the threshold of the Perfect Realm.
So in terms of power control, he was much stronger than his previous self.
From the start of this Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist, he had prepared for the opponent to complete an evasion.
Rather, facing Artoria who possessed Instinct, this kind of fist technique attacking directly from the front was inherently difficult to land on the opponent when there was a certain distance between them.
So when throwing this punch, apart from mobilizing the power of ice via the Meta-Morph Factor, Aaron also attached the power of Current Push.
However, he didn't forcibly fuse the two powers to amplify destructive power; instead, he allowed them to separate.
The power of ice was used by him to raid Artoria from the front—of course, this was also a feint.
And as he expected, Artoria indeed completed the evasion easily.
But the power of Current Push, having been blasted into the ground by him, began to advance toward the position beneath Artoria's feet.
The moment Artoria completed her evasion, the power of Current Push erupted from the ground, blasting directly onto Artoria's body.
"This is...!"
Artoria, hit by this strike, didn't feel much pain in her body.
But now, looking at the powerful electric current appearing on her feet, she immediately understood the opponent's idea.
Although the opponent used the ice power as a feint to let the electric power hit her body, he was also very clear about exactly how strong the destructive power of this strike was.
This strike was intentionally suppressed in power to avoid detection, and after passing through the ground, the power was consumed slightly. So rather than using this power as a lethal attack, it was better to try using this move as a crowd control technique.
*My feet can't move. Do I have to be forced to fight the opponent in place...*
*Although the ability 'Instinct' is strong, the opponent seems to have seen through my ability and found a way to counter Instinct.*
*Because of Mana Burst, I can make my body erupt with greater speed. Combined with Instinct sensing crises, his hit rate would be suppressed to an unacceptable number.*
*But with my feet controlled, even if I have strong mobility, I can't evade before breaking free. So now...*
Looking at Aaron leaping into the air, Artoria's gaze sharpened. With incredible decisiveness, she poured magical energy into *Excalibur*.
*There isn't time to fully release the Sword of Victory, but—releasing part of the Star Holy Sword's power via Mana Burst is achievable.*
*If you want to go head-to-head, then come on!*
Aaron, leaping into the air, saw the Current Push power beginning to dissipate and immediately looked at the Holy Sword erupting with golden light in Artoria's hands.
*In a short time, she can't fully release the Holy Sword's power. And from this angle, she'll use her dominant right hand to slash at me from the right, and the position she's striking from the right is my left ribs...*
*Heh, although 'getting injured' is also part of my plan, there's no need to take all the damage with my flesh just like that.*
*First mobilize the internal Meta-Morph Factor to form armor at the left ribs, then use Knight of Owner to turn it into a Noble Phantasm.*
*Finally...*
Looking at the golden-haired knight before him, Aaron poured power into both fists simultaneously and used that fist technique on Artoria once again.
"Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist!"
"You guy...!"
Seeing Aaron actually abandon defense at this moment, Artoria couldn't help but feel a bit more anxiety and unease in her heart.
*Even though he prepared armor at the position I was preparing to attack, this momentum... Is this guy really planning to trade injury for injury?*
*This is a guy who doesn't care about his life.*
In an instant, both of them completed their attacks simultaneously.
Aaron's fists smashed heavily onto Artoria's shoulders, sending power blasting directly into her body through her shoulders.
And the sword Artoria pushed via *Mana Burst*, after easily slicing open the Honkai Beast Carapace transformed into a D-rank Noble Phantasm by Aaron, slashed directly into Aaron's body.
If not for her nearly losing her grip on the sword due to the power of the dual fists, she was confident she could have churned up the opponent's organs with this strike.
[Saber, what was the light that erupted just now? My familiar can't see the scene anymore.]
[Kiritsugu, I'll reply to you later... I feel it's not time to retreat yet.]
[Be careful yourself.]
After the dust and light dispersed, Artoria, struggling to hold the Star Holy Sword with her painfully throbbing arms, forcibly suppressed the pain about to surface on her face.
Then, she looked to the other side of the dust—that enemy who had clashed with her head-on was clutching the wound on his left ribs, kneeling on one knee on the ground.
[There's a chance.]
[What chance?]
[We exchanged a blow just now, and the opponent is hurt worse than me. he probably thought my small frame had average resistance to damage, so he planned to disable my hands through an attack to stop me from wielding the Holy Sword.]
[But regrettably, I have suffered more severe injuries on the battlefield. Although this strike cracked my bones, it does not affect my wielding of the weapon.]
[How is that man now?]
[I can see his left ribs... the entire left rib area has been blown away by my magical energy.]
[...Is it possible it's a trap?]
[If it is a trap, the price is too high. With Rider and Caster's victor undecided, does it make sense for him, a human Master, to force himself into such desperate straits?]
Kiritsugu Emiya wanted to refute his Servant, but from his perspective, as someone who couldn't see the situation on the scene, he couldn't ignore the status quo and spout nonsense.
The Holy Grail War didn't necessarily require defeating the Master, but if there was a chance to defeat that terrifying human Master, Kiritsugu Emiya indeed felt—it was worth trying to continue the attack.
[Safety first. Of course, if there is a chance...]
[I understand. Then, let's end this first.]
Watching Aaron using the carapace to adhere to his blown-away flesh, Artoria rushed toward Aaron without a word.
And if Artoria could see the expression under Aaron's mask, she absolutely wouldn't have made such a radical move.
At this moment, Aaron's expression under the mask naturally held pain—after all, having flesh blown away was a genuine heavy injury. If not for his ability 'Battle Continuation,' he estimated he would have lost over half his combat power.
Of course, he had the Spirit [Guts], so he could definitely recover from the injury instantly.
But if he did that, Artoria would inevitably fight him with greater vigilance because Aaron possessed such tyrannical instant recovery ability.
When hunting, one must throw out sufficient bait. And now, facing this lion, 'Aaron is already heavily injured' was the best bait for this lion.
Only by making the opponent feel 'there is a chance to finish off this guy' could Aaron lure the opponent into continuing the fight with him.
As for the price of throwing out this bait... Heh, mere pain, what kind of price was that?
He was used to it anyway. If short-term pain could be exchanged for a chance to kill the enemy, then for Aaron, it was a complete profit.
Judging from the current situation, Artoria, raiding toward him, had clearly taken the bait.
*Heh, it's good that she's charging over.*
*If she charges over... the opportunity comes!*
Putting on a flustered expression, Aaron, retreating backward in a panic, immediately and incredibly frantically slapped both palms onto the ground.
Accompanying Aaron's action, three thick walls of ice rose directly from the ground, blocking Artoria's path.
Seeing this scene, Artoria felt her odds of winning were even greater.
The opponent had been trying to force an attack from the start until now, and yet—this man actually chose to defend with ice?
*Heh, it seems that strike just now indeed caused him significant damage.*
*Just a pity. Can this ice... stop me?*
Lightly swinging her weapon, Artoria easily blasted away the three walls of ice with the Holy Sword in her hand.
But in the next instant, she shockingly saw...
—The muscles on the opponent's body that had undergone beast transformation actually turned back into human muscles?
If it were just this, Artoria would feel incredibly relieved, thinking the opponent couldn't transform because he had exhausted his power due to injury.
But now, staring at the sniper cannon appearing in the opponent's hands, how could Artoria still have such laughable thoughts?
"You...!"
"As expected of King Arthur, the 'sense of crisis' you give me is indeed great enough. So..."
Aaron, having deactivated the Honkai Beast transformation, allowed the Meta-Morph Factor on his hands to fade finally.
And before the Meta-Morph Factor on his hands faded, Aaron took out the [Roman Artillery: Pumpkin], which he had never used once until now, and locked directly onto Artoria's head.
King Arthur was undoubtedly a strong enemy to Aaron. And now, King Arthur, holding the Holy Sword, was charging menacingly toward Aaron.
At the same time, the power on Aaron's body had faded, and part of his flesh had been blown away; he was heavily injured. In other words—the current Aaron was undoubtedly in a great crisis.
[Roman Artillery: Pumpkin]'s output increases based on the crisis appearing on the user, and the Trump Card of this Teigu is very simple: purely releasing restrictions to drastically increase weapon power.
Although after using the Trump Card, Pumpkin would enter a state where it couldn't be used, for the current Aaron—blasting out one shot was enough.
[Spirit Command—Valor, Activate!]
Without saying another word, Aaron fired a shot directly at Artoria, who had just completed her attack and revealed a small opening.
Accompanying this blast, Artoria, hit directly in the head, immediately felt her consciousness sink into darkness.
The instant he pulled the trigger, Aaron had already thrown aside the overheated gun-cannon. Using Lionelle's [Lion Never Perishes], he forcibly performed Honkai Beast transformation on his arm.
Within less than half a second, Aaron had already pounced in front of Artoria. With a fist condensed with a gauntlet, he smashed directly into Artoria's neck.
If it were normal times, Artoria definitely wouldn't have been sent away directly by two attacks.
But in this moment, the mental energy shelling converted by Pumpkin was simply too strong. Coupled with the fact that this strike also mixed in the power Aaron generated through the arm's Meta-Morph Factor, and finally with the boost from the [Valor] Spirit Command, Artoria not being beaten to death directly by the lock-on shot was already proof her skull was hard enough.
Kiritsugu Emiya, having already sensed something was wrong, didn't attempt to contact his Servant this time.
Watching the petite figure flying backward amidst light and shadow, he immediately activated a Command Spell.
[By the name of the Command Spell, Saber, return to my side!]
Just as Saber said, she didn't use Magic Resistance to resist Kiritsugu Emiya's Command Spell.
It was just that when Kiritsugu Emiya saw the state of that young girl...
He was utterly speechless.
Because of the direct hit to the head, in the end, Artoria couldn't defend, nor could she even hold the Holy Sword in her hand.
The King of Knights, hit in the neck by Aaron's Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist, at this moment, after swallowing her last breath...
—Completely dissipated from before Kiritsugu Emiya's eyes.