Type-Moon: Shinji Matou Also Wants to Be the Protagonist

But Yan Fengli remained completely still, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Because he is already dead, and the dead, of course, will never wake up again.

"how so……!"

Irisviel involuntarily took a step back, one hand gripping the collar of her dress tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

A chill ran through her; Kotomine Risei was a priest officially sent by the Holy Church.

Killing him would be tantamount to declaring war on the entire Church, and would inevitably invite severe and cruel retaliation from the other side.

Moreover, setting aside the forces behind him, Kotomine Risei himself is also a highly skilled master.

His Bajiquan technique was powerful, domineering, and incredibly skillful; ordinary people simply couldn't get close to him.

What kind of person could have caused him to die so quietly without even a chance to resist?

"careful!"

The sudden accident made Artoria immediately alert and she shielded Irisviel behind her.

Regardless of who killed the priest of the Holy Church, the fact that they specifically arranged for Kotomine Risei's body to be placed in the church is concerning.

It's probably a trap set specifically for them.

As expected, Artoria's guess was correct; golden light shone throughout the church.

A torrential rain of Noble Phantasms shot out from the dense golden ripples, enveloping everyone in the church.

The clanging sounds continued as Artoria, having regained her strength, calmly and collectedly wielded her longsword.

He deflected all the incoming Noble Phantasms and at the same time watched the golden figure appear on the altar at the very front of the church.

"archer!"

"Haha, Saber, your expression now is much cuter than before."

Standing on the altar, Gilgamesh wore a smile of great interest.

He looked down at Artoria, a mocking glint in his scarlet snake eyes.

Gilgamesh spread his arms, his golden armor gleaming arrogantly in the candlelight of the church.

More magical artifacts appeared in the void behind him: swords, spears, axes, halberds...

All the glorious weapons in human history have now become playthings he can throw at will.

"Anger? Confusion? Or—"

He paused deliberately, a wicked smile curving his lips.

"Finally realizing that you're nothing but a deceived puppet?"

Artoria did not answer.

Her gaze swept over Kotomine Risei's corpse, then fell on the tightly closed side door behind the altar.

A subtle magical fluctuation emanated from there, and something unsettling was brewing within her.

"Alice, step back."

She whispered as she channeled her magic into the sword.

The invisible holy sword hummed in the air, and the Wind King's barrier distorted the surrounding light, blurring the outline of the blade.

"Oh? You still want to resist?"

Gilgamesh chuckled softly and tapped his finger lightly.

A short sword inlaid with rubies shot out, its speed leaving a crimson afterimage in the air.

Artoria dodged to the side, the short sword grazing her shoulder armor and embedding itself in the bench behind her, sending splinters flying.

But then came the second and the third—the torrent of Noble Phantasms poured down like a torrential downpour, giving the opponent no chance to breathe.

Artoria dodged and weaved through the narrow church.

Her movements were precise and efficient; each swing of her sword perfectly deflected or knocked away incoming Noble Phantasms.

But she also clearly realized that the other party was not serious at all.

Although the number of those treasures was astonishing, none of them truly targeted vital points.

He was toying with her.

This realization fueled the Knight King's anger, but it also forced her to calm down.

Archer's arrogance is his weakness, and she needs to use this to buy Irisviel time to escape.

"Alice, go through the back door!"

"But--"

"Walk!"

Irisviel bit her lip and placed her hand on Artoria's body, a piece of her formal attire subtly shifting with the touch.

Irisviel had witnessed Archer's terrifying power firsthand, but Saber in her normal state would have a hard time defeating him.

Now is the time to return the sword to its sheath.

He sensed the new Noble Phantasm that had appeared on his body.

Even while on guard against Gilgamesh, Artoria couldn't help but glance at Irisviel.

The moment the scabbard came off, Irisviel's face turned deathly pale.

But she simply smiled at Artoria, then without further hesitation, turned and ran toward the side door.

Gilgamesh merely glanced at her and did not stop her.

His attention was completely focused on Artoria.

That focus bordered on greed, as if admiring a work of art on the verge of breaking.

"Let her go."

He said lazily.

"My goal has never been to create artificial containers."

Watching Irisviel's departing figure, Artoria's gaze hardened once more.

Another round of Noble Phantasms was unleashed, and Artoria swung her sword, cleaving a spear in two.

But his wrist was entangled by the chain hammer that followed closely behind.

She decisively abandoned the flexibility of that arm, rotated her body around her shoulder, and used the momentum to swing the chain hammer against the wall, while simultaneously using the force to rush forward—the Wind King's Barrier was dispelled at that moment.

The swirling wind caused the other Noble Phantasms that were following behind to lose their stable trajectory, grazing Artoria's body and landing behind her.

A dazzling golden light illuminated the entire church, and the true form of the Sword of Excalibur appeared in the air.

That is the pinnacle of human imagination, divine weaponry forged by the stars.

Its brilliance even overshadowed the sea of ​​Noble Phantasms behind Gilgamesh.

"ex——"

"Too slow."

Gilgamesh's voice was very close.

Artoria's pupils contracted sharply; she hadn't even seen how the other person moved.

Gilgamesh surprisingly abandoned long-range firepower suppression and chose to launch a close-range assault.

He held a magnificent longsword in his hand, which exuded an aura that made Artoria tremble.

That was the roar of the dragon essence within her when faced with a threat.

In just a moment of stiffness, Gilgamesh's longsword left a shallow scar on Artoria's face.

Having landed a successful blow, Gilgamesh retreated without hesitation.

Crimson drops of blood slid down Artoria's cheek, splashing tiny ripples on the church floor.

The wound was shallow, so shallow that it began to heal almost instantly, but the insult it contained was unfathomable.

"The response is good."

Gilgamesh retreated to the edge of the altar, his longsword pointing diagonally at the ground, the bloodstains on the tip gleaming eerily in the candlelight.

"I thought that sword strike would slice off half your face."

Taking a deep breath, Artoria radiated a golden light.

This is the outward manifestation of her reconnection with the "ideal land far removed from the world".

I hope you can maintain this level of confidence from now on!

Chapter 74: Saber in her complete form

Gilgamesh didn't know why Artoria was suddenly so confident.

But that doesn't stop him from casually throwing out even more Noble Phantasms.

Moreover, this time he specifically targeted certain targets, and most of the Noble Phantasms he launched had dragon-slaying attributes.

There are many stories about King Arthur's relationship with the red dragon, and he even possessed a skill called Dragon's Heart.

This gave Artoria an incredibly high magic power stat, and her magic resistance was also terrifyingly high.

However, this also makes it easier for Noble Phantasms with anti-dragon attributes to damage her.

This is one of the reasons why Servants in the Holy Grail War are unwilling to reveal their true names.

But instead of dodging this highly targeted attack, Artoria did not dodge.

Instead, they ignored them completely and charged straight at Gilgamesh.

The sharp Noble Phantasm struck Artoria, producing a crisp metallic clang and sending up dazzling sparks.

Those were fragments of a Noble Phantasm that were ejected under the influence of exaggerated kinetic energy.

That's right, the attacks that Artoria could previously dodge and weave through are now unable to even break through her defenses.

Those magical artifacts imbued with dragon-slaying properties were repelled the moment they touched her body, as if they had crashed into an invisible barrier.

The power of the scabbard was flowing through her body in a way she had never experienced before, not simply for healing or defense.

Instead, it strips the concept of "harm" itself from her existence.

Artoria's change caused Gilgamesh's expression to change.

He didn't stop his attack; instead, he intensified it.

More Noble Phantasms emerged from the void, this time no longer limited to throwing weapons.

Armed forces of all shapes and sizes attacked from all directions like living creatures.

The church space was fragmented by golden ripples, and the walls and pews were reduced to dust in the aftershocks.

Artoria continued to move forward.

Her steps were steady and heavy, each step leaving cracked footprints on the non-stone ground of Dali.

The Wind King's Barrier was once again wrapped around the Sword of Excalibur.

To conceal its true form, it further compressed and condensed the magic power overflowing from the scabbard.

Golden light formed a visible vortex around her, rivaling Gilgamesh's sea of ​​Noble Phantasms.

A warhammer crackling with lightning came crashing down on her, but she neither dodged nor avoided it, letting it strike her shoulder.

A thunderous explosion echoed through the church, and when the smoke cleared, Artoria's armor didn't even have a dent.

She used the momentum to spin around, and with a sweep of her holy sword, she simultaneously cut down three short swords that came from a blind spot.

"Is this all you're relying on?"

Gilgamesh's voice carried a hint of disappointment; he had already recognized where Artoria's change had come from.

After all, the legend of King Arthur is too widespread.

So much so that by simply applying Artoria's performance to the legends, one can guess the gist of it pretty accurately.

"Crawling forward while cowering in its shell—that counts as a knight's charge?"