To become a king and a magician

If the opponent is truly Arthur's Shadow Heroic Spirit, then her strength cannot be compared to Artoria's, not to mention that Shadow Heroic Spirits can use Noble Phantasms.

Natsukawa Torato already knew the immense power of Arthur's Star Sword; as his trump card, it was undoubtedly the strongest. But if he were to face it himself...

"Crack!"

As the last footsteps faded, a dark figure emerged from the thin mist.

The jet-black armor, similar in style to Arthur's, was somewhat duller than gold, even bordering on grayish-white, with tousled hair, and a cold-blooded and ruthless expression, as if he had just survived the battlefield—along with the jet-black Star Sword held in his hand.

Arthur Pendragon.

No, it should be Arthur Pendragon [Alter].

Looking at this familiar stranger who appeared in front of him, Xia Chuanhu's feelings were complicated. To be honest, he never thought that he would be on the opposite side of Arthur.

"Phew...that being said, we still have to fight—"

[This seems like a good idea?]

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Aya Sajou's sudden remark made Natsukawa Tora choke on it several times.

"What...what did you just say out of the blue?"

Although the prince is always a perfect being, like sunshine, he sometimes shows this cool, moonlit side... This contrast is irresistible to me. He truly is my favorite prince!

Ah, this girl is beyond saving; she's completely infected with the Arthur virus.

【but--】

Sajo Aika abruptly changed the subject.

Although I think it's quite good, what's in front of me is undoubtedly a fake of the prince, an imposter who stole the prince's power, just like you, you vixen. The very fact that you exist makes me feel disgusted and angry.

This false existence is a desecration of His Highness the Prince.

His voice was clearly tinged with anger.

Sajō Aika knew about the class card. Although she kept crying and feeling bad for mistaking someone else, Natsukawa Torato's thoughts would still be inputted into her regardless of her wishes.

So she knew everything about the class cards and Einzworth.

(How dare they covet the prince's power, and use it at will for their own selfish desires... Unforgivable!)

No matter what method Sajou Aika uses, she is determined to make the Eindsworth family disappear completely from this world!

Now, destroying this fake is the first step.

Sensing the emotions emanating from Ayaka Sajou within him, Natsukawa Torara sighed softly: "So, you're unhappy with this Heroic Spirit, right? But you acted so happy before, so rounding up, you've mistaken someone else for someone else again, haven't you?"

No, the power it possesses belonging to the prince is genuine, and that's precisely why I can't tolerate it. Can you?

"What do you think?"

The magic circuits are fully activated.

Summoning Magic - Fairy Possession, Activate.

Grasping the burning, simulated holy sword, Natsukawa Torama looked at the fake Arthur before him.

"It's rare that I can understand your thoughts this time."

【Then let's deal with it cleanly and efficiently, you vixen】

11. Perfect teamwork? Impossible!

What do Arthur's enemies feel when they fight him?

Because he had never imagined facing him directly, Natsukawa Torara had never paid attention to this. But now, having truly grasped the sword and faced Arthur's blade, even though it was a fake born from the power of a class card, Natsukawa Torara felt the pressure deeply.

In terms of physical ability alone, Natsukawa Tora surpasses the fake Arthur. The Shadow Heroic Spirit's ability value is lower than the original, while Natsukawa Tora's ability value is the same as the real Arthur. In addition, with the addition of enhancement magic, Natsukawa Tora has already surpassed him by two levels in terms of pure ability.

But that's all there is to it.

"Clang clang clang clang——————!"

The Black Holy Sword and the Flame Sword clashed in mid-air, exchanging blows dozens of times in just a few breaths. Black magical mist and scorching sparks flew everywhere, gradually turning the area around the two into a chaotic sea of ​​fire.

(In terms of swordsmanship...am I at a disadvantage?)

Natsukawa Torato had never systematically studied swordsmanship. In fact, the time he fought Flov was the first time he had ever held a sword. Before that, he had always been unarmed and had only practiced unarmed combat techniques. The swordsmanship he used now came entirely from the muscle memory of his body, which had been assimilated with Arthur Lingji.

Under normal circumstances, this is certainly sufficient, but if you are facing a fake Arthur with the same swordsmanship as yourself, it will be a bit of a stretch. The most obvious shortcoming is the lack of proficiency in swordsmanship and the methods of dealing with various situations.

To put it simply, it's a difference in experience as a swordsman.

Natsukawa Tora mostly replicates known sword techniques and situations, but Pseudo-Arthur can use techniques that Natsukawa Tora never thought of, depending on the situation.

Several times, Natsukawa had used his strength and speed to suppress the fake Arthur and gain the upper hand, but each time the fake Arthur found a way to break free and create distance, bringing the battle back to square one. What Natsukawa had envisioned as a battle that would end in a few minutes had now long exceeded ten minutes.

"A swordsman who has the same swordsmanship as me, and whose proficiency is even higher than mine?"

Is it no longer possible, you vixen?

Sajou Aika's cold laughter echoed in her mind.

Although the swordsmanship is the same, your swordsmanship is too honest.

"Using formulas by rote, as if they know nothing of cunning..."

"Your swordsmanship is simply not enough to..."

"—You defeated this fake Arthur in front of you, didn't you?"

Clang!

Parrying the magical slash that flew from the fake Arthur, Natsukawa Torara couldn't help but feel a little helpless: "Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like we've developed some kind of 'tacit understanding'? Were we just thinking the same thing?"

[I simply stated what you already knew but never intended to do. Don't push your luck, you vixen. There's absolutely no possibility of any unspoken understanding between us; that's something reserved for me and the prince—up there!]

"Isn't it below?"

Looking down in the opposite direction to what Ayaka Sajou had warned him about, and facing the fake Arthur who was about to enter his attack range, Natsukawa Torama gripped his sword with both hands and slashed upwards, and a wave of flames immediately burst forth from the ground!

[Pfft, I didn't fall for it...]

(Even if you lower your voice, I can still hear you!)

Although a consensus was (seemingly) reached, Ayaka Sajou would definitely take the opportunity to kill Natsukawa Torato if given the chance. She had already done this several times in the last few rounds of their confrontation, deliberately giving false warnings.

Can't people be a little more sincere in their interactions? At least we agree now.

So, how long do you plan to play like this?

"Well..."

"Bang------!"

Just as Natsukawa Torama and Sajou Aika were exchanging thoughts, the pitch-black holy sword suddenly cleaved the flames in two from the very center. After taking a step forward and entering Natsukawa Torama's attack range without hesitation, a deep black light suddenly shone on the pseudo-Arthur's holy sword!

Arthur's holy sword, simply by being infused with magic and sweeping across, is as powerful as an anti-Japanese Noble Phantasm. Even after being weakened, its power is not significantly diminished.

Like magma erupting from the ground, a deep black slash burst forth directly from beneath Natsukawa Tora! Seizing the opening after his upward slash, it struck him at almost point-blank range!

"Boom—!"

A trench appeared in the ground as if ravaged by an excavator, and the dark sword light effortlessly shattered everything in its path. However, just as the fake Arthur's eyes clearly saw whether there was a figure in front of him—

"Puff puff puff puff!"

Hundreds of rock spears rose up from beneath him without warning, riddling his body with holes!

“Elemental magic used in fairy armor form, while technically magic, is not magic in terms of its process.”

Before the fake Arthur, Natsukawa Tora, whose entire body was encased in high-strength rock armor, revealed his figure.

"After all, fairies and elves are born with the touch of stars, so it is only natural for them to be able to influence the world."

The fire fairy can influence things related to fire, the wind fairy can freely control the wind element and even affect the weather... Now, the rock spear that pierced through the fake Arthur is just the earth fairy changing a part of the earth's shape.

"That's about right."

"I would like to trouble you to demonstrate my swordsmanship for me. It is definitely more efficient to feel it with my body than to rely on my senses. Thank you."

Lift your foot and kick.

"Bang------!"

The rock spear was kicked in two! The fake Arthur was instantly kicked nearly a hundred meters away by Natsukawa Tiger!

"Crack!"

Pseudo-Arthur used the Holy Sword to stab the ground to stabilize his body and was about to regroup when, at the same time he looked ahead, Natsukawa Tiger had already entered his field of vision, and the heavy stone sword crashed down!

"Thump—!"

Even though he managed to block the attack with the Holy Sword at the last second, the heavy blow still sent the fake Arthur flying once again!

Couldn't you have gone a little easier?

Sajo Aika's voice sounded somewhat dissatisfied.

Xia Chuanhu frowned: "Why are you so demanding? You want me to deal with that imposter, but you also want me to go easy on him. You say I'm taking advantage of you? Well, you shouldn't take advantage of me. You're not some client who can do whatever he wants."

【Well, that's the prince! Even if it's a fake, seeing the prince get beaten up would still make me—】

"Next time I go to Arthur's grave, I'll tell him that you've fallen for someone else."

【You—! Despicable! Shameless! I have never fallen in love with anyone else! My love for the prince will never change, even if the world ends!】

"If you're going to confess your feelings, don't do it in my head."

As he spoke, he dodged another magical slash that came from not far away. Looking at the fake Arthur, whose body was shrouded in magical mist and whose form was becoming indistinct, Natsukawa Torama knew that he was almost at his limit.

Being pierced through the body by the rock spear would be a fatal blow to a Shadow Servant. If it were any other Shadow Servant besides Saber and Berserker, the outcome would have been decided in a single strike. The reason Pseudo-Arthur is still alive is probably because the scabbard is barely keeping him alive.

Even so, he no longer had the strength to fight.

Grasping the simulated holy sword made of rock, he charged in an instant and arrived in front of the fake Arthur, piercing his heart with a single sword strike!

"Bang----!"

The Sword Spirit's body instantly transformed into a large number of light particles and dissipated, and its class card, which served as its spirit core, immediately appeared in front of Natsukawa Torato.

The sixth class card, Saber.