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*****
It has been said before: a Servant's combat power depends mainly on two factors.
One is the Servant's inherent strength—this sets the upper limit.
For example, take Guan Yu beheading Hua Xiong after warming his wine. If two magi of equal skill were to summon Guan Yu and Hua Xiong respectively, then Hua Xiong would certainly not be Guan Yu's match.
The other factor is the Master's capability as a magus—this sets the lower limit.
If a top-tier magus summoned Hua Xiong, then thanks to the abundant mana supplied by that elite Master, Hua Xiong could display roughly seventy percent of his original might.
But if an apprentice magus summoned Guan Yu, then because the apprentice's mana supply was paltry, Guan Yu might only be able to wield one percent of his true power.
In that case, even though Guan Yu vastly surpasses Hua Xiong on his own merits, he would still lose when the two fought under those conditions.
The last time the female swordswoman was summoned, her Master was Emiya Kiritsugu.
She could display most of her strength back then, but in the very first battle she was struck by Lancer's Noble Phantasm—Gáe Buidhe, the Cursed Yellow Rose—which sealed her ultimate technique, "Excalibur."
The curse also afflicted her body, leaving her in a continual negative state.
Thus, throughout the war she fought at a disadvantage under normal circumstances.
This time, however, her Master was Emiya Shirou, whose mana reserves were next to nothing; the power she could draw out was even less than when she had been cursed before.
But the instant the Command Seals were transferred to George, she felt an overwhelming tide of mana surge through her body, as though nearly the entirety of her spirit from the Throne of Heroes had been called forth.
Her strength climbed to its absolute peak.
And she could clearly sense it: on George's side, the mana was like an ocean without shores. Even if her power were multiplied a hundredfold, his supply could still meet it with ease.
He was, quite simply, the most formidable Master in history.
"Looks like you're in excellent form," George said, sensing the swordswoman's power spike several tiers at once. He couldn't help but study her more closely.
"I still don't know your name. What are your Noble Phantasms?"
Rin Tohsaka had wanted the Saber-class Servant so badly, which implied that, in theory, the Saber class was among the most formidable of the seven classes.
So George wanted to see which legendary hero this swordswoman truly was, and whether her Noble Phantasms carried abilities worthy of his research.
If she possessed something like Lancer's causality-twisting Noble Phantasm, that would be particularly interesting.
"Should we really discuss this here?" the swordswoman asked, glancing at Rin and the Archer.
Although those two bore no hostility at the moment, they were ultimately competitors for the Grail.
Revealing her True Name and Noble Phantasms would be tantamount to handing over her trump cards—never a wise move for the battles to come.
Of course George understood her concern, but he only smiled and waved it off.
"It's fine. Hiding won't be necessary for us."
"Hmph, don't get cocky. It's far from decided who'll be the final victor," Rin shot back, pridefully cold.
Indeed, George's display of time magic had startled her earlier.
But in a real fight, they would hardly sit in a living room and give him a chance to cast time spells at leisure.
Her Servant was an Archer, and Archers excelled at long-range elimination—killing the enemy before the enemy even noticed their presence.
"True enough. We needn't be excessively cautious anymore," the swordswoman thought, secretly nodding to herself.
Never mind that George, as a Master, was already unfathomable—he had bested Lancer alone. She herself had also recovered her full, peak strength.
She wasn't an arrogant person, but she had every confidence in her ability.
"I am Artoria Pendragon, King of Britain—also called the King of Knights.
I possess the Noble Phantasms Invisible Air, Excalibur, and Avalon. I can nullify magecraft below A-rank and am adept at handling any mount."
"Whoa—so strong! As expected of Saber!" Rin's face was full of envy and regret as she listened to one formidable ability after another.
If she hadn't messed up the timing, Saber should have been hers.
She turned to look at the white-haired Archer leaning against the wall and sighed inwardly.
At present she still didn't know her Servant's True Name or Noble Phantasm. Whenever she asked, Archer only replied that he didn't remember.
"Excalibur and Avalon—now those are worth studying," George said, genuine interest lighting his features.
High-tier magic resistance, mastery of all mounts, and the wind-concealed blade Invisible Air—those were child's play in his eyes.
But Excalibur and Avalon were different.
Excalibur was hailed as the mightiest conceptual Noble Phantasm, a holy sword forged with an entire planet as its base and fueled by humanity's faith.
First kept by the Lady of the Lake, it was later delivered to King Arthur by Merlin.
Once the sword was unleashed, almost no Noble Phantasm could withstand it. Its power was terrifying, its destructive force immense.
Avalon—the scabbard within Emiya Shirou's body—granted absolute, law-level defense. No matter how great the magic or how fierce the physical blow, none could breach it.
Both Noble Phantasms embodied law-like potency. Like Lancer's, they were more than worthy of study.
"So King Arthur is actually a girl?" Emiya Shirou, on the other hand, fixated on a very different point from everyone else.
Artoria gave a brief explanation:
"To be a better king and protect my country, I concealed my gender and lived as a man.
And when I drew the Sword in the Stone at fifteen, my body ceased to age.
So in truth, I am far older than you."
"All right, time's about up. Let's go find Lancer's Master and see what scheme he's hiding," George said.
He had no particular interest in why King Arthur was a woman.
What captured his attention were the effects of the Noble Phantasms he'd seen.
He had already instructed his true body and other clones to take time to improve the Command Seal transfer spell he had just used.
Before the Holy Grail War ended, he intended to see whether he could transfer all the other Masters' Command Seals to himself.
Once he had thoroughly researched every Servant and every Noble Phantasm, he would complete the ritual—and try to slip through the tiny gap the Holy Grail War opened, to reach the Root.
"Let's move!" Rin, eager to confront Kotomine Kirei, rose at once and led the way out.
The Church's chapel was not in the city center but out on the outskirts.
Fortunately, Emiya Shirou's home was already close to the suburbs. A brisk half-hour walk would bring them to their destination.
However, they hadn't gone far before they were stopped beside a cemetery.
Blocking their path was a little girl with long silver hair and red eyes, wearing a purple dress. She looked to be no more than ten years old.
(End of Chapter)