Alaric gazed at the King of Knights before him—or rather, the Tyrant of Dragons.
There was little change in her appearance; the only true difference lay in her pale golden eyes and the incomparably cold aura she now exuded.
The dignity of a king does not permit offense.
The overwhelming presence of the Red Dragon, something Alaric was deeply familiar with, spread and roared, igniting a terrifying frenzy in an instant.
The wind howled. The moment the Invisible Air was unleashed, an unimaginably horrifying wind pressure erupted. Each gust alone was enough to tear a human body apart, causing fatal wounds.
This ruthless monarch was no longer suppressing her absolute power. The mere release of the Invisible Air made Alarc feel an imminent threat—
Whoosh!
Almost simultaneously, the Chains of Heaven materialized, piercing through the raging wind. The moment they severed the Lines of Death, they extinguished the fearsome storm pressure.
No one paid attention to this brief interlude. At this moment, all of Alaric's focus was captured by the ruler standing before him.
The King before him seemed to have undergone some subtle changes in her mental structure. The Holy Sword in her hands radiated an unparalleled brilliance, its charged magical energy transforming into sheer momentum as she brought it down on Alaric in a vicious slash!
The radiance she unleashed—was a dark light that devoured all illumination!
Since Artoria no longer restrained her magical energy output, the full-force swing of her Holy Sword caused the magical particles to shift—not into light, but into darkness that consumed light.
The surging magic transformed into a blade of destruction, roaring towards Alaric with heat so intense it could vaporize entire buildings!
Witnessing this, Alaric's gemstone-like eyes gleamed as he reversed his grip and summoned Gram. The ancient blade's surface erupted with an equally profound, abyssal magical radiance!
Boom!!
The clash of Holy Sword against Holy Sword—even just the released magic—was utterly terrifying!
Dark waves howled, surging in all directions.
The devastating heat rampaged unchecked, turning everything it touched into a hell of molten lava. The very air twisted from the boiling heat, evaporating the last remnants of moisture.
Tap. Tap.
Two figures chased each other through the molten inferno, their frosty sword flashes flickering between them. Each clash of blades unleashed a fearsome sword aura.
Within dozens of meters, the surrounding ground was marred by ghastly sword scars!
There was no doubt—Artoria's swordsmanship had reached the realm of gods, far beyond what Alaric could match. However, through sheer overwhelming power and instinctive combat prowess,
Alaric was still able to match her swordplay evenly at this moment!
Yet, despite no longer suppressing her magic, her supply of magical energy was insufficient to sustain such an extravagant wasteful style of combat.
From the very first exchange, Alaric keenly realized this.
The way Artoria fought—such an approach could only be sustained if she had infinite mana, just like if Alaric himself had infinite mana.
At the highest levels, Mana Burst, when fully supported and unshackled, could unleash unfathomable destruction.
Even though Alaric had undergone multiple evolutions, and divine reinforcement, and had even broken free from the Dragonblood lineage that Artoria embodied, he could not deny the overwhelming power of her origins.
"How alike she is!"
Gazing at the King of Knights before him, Alaric couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
As that fleeting thought passed, a low hum resonated through the air.
From the void, dark starlight began to shimmer. Countless Gates of Holy Judgment manifested across the battlefield, blanketing the entire sky.
The sheer surge of magic was so intense that Iskandar and Lancelot, standing at a distance, couldn't help but turn their heads in shock.
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who had just barely escaped divine intervention and had yet to join the battle, furrowed his brows.
Because—
The sheer number of Holy Judgment Gates Alaric had just deployed was no less than what he had used the previous night against Archer!
But this time, Archer was not present.
If attacks of this magnitude were to rain down upon the city, the casualties would be catastrophic!
The Hyatt Hotel may have been evacuated, but this entire district was still full of civilians!
Even in just the brief skirmish between Alaric and Artoria, who knows how many people had already been caught in the crossfire?
These two warriors, moving like walking natural disasters, seemed to have no regard for the people around them.
"They must be forced to move the battlefield elsewhere!"
But before Diarmuid could act, the Holy Judgment Gates unleashed their overwhelming bombardment!
At that moment, dark Chains of Heaven streaked across the sky like writhing dragons, their motion distorting the very air with thunderous roars!
As the judgment rained down, the King of Knights, Artoria, who had been locked in relentless combat with Alaric, was forced to retreat.
Alaric's mastery over Holy Judgment was too precise, leaving no blind spots, making it an inescapable onslaught.
The sheer volume of attacks was staggering beyond belief.
By deploying multiple Holy Judgment Gates at once, Alaric gained an overwhelming advantage in battle.
And in that instant when Artoria retreated—
Alaric turned and ran.
Because ultimately—
Alaric was never here to fight Artoria or Iskandar.
His true objective had always been clear.
If he abandoned his goal just to fight Artoria, that would be the real loss.
Alaric's target was only one thing—
"Little Red Riding Hood."
From the moment the battle began, Alaric had never once lost track of either her or Kayneth.
Tap. Tap.
A figure swiftly moved to block Alaric's path.
The knight, moving just as fast as Alaric, twirled his twin spears in an attempt to intercept him!
But the moment Alaric confirmed that Diarmuid posed no real threat to him, he no longer considered him a priority.
Without hesitation, Alaric swung Gram towards him!
His gem-like eyes reflected the death of all things.
Though he had no intention of killing Diarmuid at this moment,
Alaric could inflict an irreversible wound upon him!
Until his Second Holy Grail had fully matured, Alaric had no plans to kill any Servant.
Killing Servants prematurely would only cause their souls to be absorbed into Irisviel, which would disrupt Alaric's plans.
Alaric would not eliminate top-tier combatants who could change the course of the war—he needed to keep them alive in case things went south later.
Which meant—
Clang!
Just as combat resumed—
A furious roar erupted from a distance, accompanied by a surge of magical energy, charging straight at Alaric!
"AR—THURRRR!!!!"
Under the absolute command of his Master, even Berserker could not disobey—
Now, alongside Artoria, he joined forces to eliminate Alaric!
At the same time, Iskandar, having just been holding back Berserker, was now free to act—
Riding atop the Gordias Wheel, he charged straight for Alaric!
In mere moments—
Alaric's enemies had grown to four Servants!
A desperate battle unfolded at this moment!