Morgan and the others had already withdrawn to a safe distance to spectate, watching the spar with an easy, unhurried air.
Nikitich's dive on the white dragon was no joke. In response, Shiomi layered multiple Rune defensive barriers.
The white figure dropped like a cannonball, trying to punch straight through Shiomi's defenses.
"Is my husband planning to end this without taking so much as half a step?" Morgan pressed her lips together.
"Incredible confidence," Scáthach said with a steady nod. "If it were me, I would have to keep moving to be sure of victory."
"The opponent is a dragon-slaying warrior." Artoria shook her head. "If this were a two-on-two, I'd probably be the one dragging us down."
With the dual traits of goddess and Dragonkind, she was stronger than she had been in her days as King Arthur. At the same time, those added qualities came with quirks that were hard to say were purely good or bad.
Or perhaps it was simply the nature of these crises. Heroes from every era kept appearing, and it made it feel as though godslayers were everywhere, and dragon slaying was nothing special at all.
"Care to gamble?" Morgan asked. "Will my husband move first, or will Nikitich lose first?"
"Taigong Wang still hasn't lifted a finger, so it's hard to say." Scáthach shook her head.
Artoria's eyes shifted to Taigong Wang atop Si Bu Xiang. Even now, he still had not made a move.
She ventured a guess of her own.
"Could this be a kind of relay match? Tenkei goes one-on-one with Nikitich, and if Tenkei can't beat her, there's no point continuing?"
"Who knows?" Morgan lifted her gaze, watching Nikitich climb and weave through the air to avoid Shiomi's attacks. "Dodging nonstop only puts you on the back foot. Even if you can command Dragonkind, once you push past a certain point, your options for effective evasion start to run out."
"It's enough if the opponent is convinced," Scáthach said, eyes still on Shiomi. "If it were me as I am now… could I make my dear disciple shift even half a step?"
"You, a godslayer, are an extremely dangerous opponent for my husband," Morgan said flatly, shooting her a look. "Whether or not you could actually kill him in a real fight aside, if he doesn't handle you carefully and you both go all out, he won't come away unscathed."
Artoria couldn't help smiling.
"A godslaying teacher who raised a disciple who became a god. Maybe that, too, was part of the plan the gods had in mind when they set all of this in motion."
"As a matter of fact, I devour countless divine spawn every day," Scáthach said, suddenly tossing out a very lewd joke.
Artoria, who had been watching seriously and analyzing the fight, immediately found her expression hard to manage.
"By that logic, I suppose all of us would qualify as godslayers by now," Morgan snorted.
"Exactly," Scáthach agreed without the slightest hesitation.
A stronger gust swept across the field, and all three raised their hands to hold their hair in place.
"Look," Artoria warned. "Nikitich's Mana reaction is getting stronger. Is she about to release her Noble Phantasm?"
"Looks like she'll lose if she doesn't go that far," Scáthach said. "And my disciple isn't objecting at all. He clearly thinks it's appropriate."
"Dobrynya Nikitich, the dragon-slaying hero of Kiev." Morgan's fairy eyes lit up. "Let us see your Noble Phantasm."
Just as they had observed, Nikitich's assaults were not getting through. Worse, Shiomi's messy, unpredictable counterattacks kept forcing her away, leaving her unable to close in.
So without needing to say a word, Nikitich made the decision.
She would release the True Name of her Noble Phantasm.
"No need to force yourself, Tenkei-dono," Nikitich called out. "If you insist on not moving even half a step and end up injured by my Noble Phantasm, that wouldn't be ideal."
"It's fine." Shiomi spread his hands. "If that's what it takes to convince you, then I'll be at ease."
"Very well! First Noble Phantasm, release!"
Nikitich answered without hesitation, raising her axe high.
The sky behind her suddenly ignited. From within the deep blue flames, a gray three-headed dragon slowly emerged.
Dobrynya Nikitich's first Noble Phantasm, the embodiment of her dragon-slaying legend.
The three-headed dragon Gorynych, whom she had once defeated twice, was briefly summoned forth. And then—
"My true covenant, my true vow... Awaken...O three-headed dragon! Zmei Gorynych: The Evil Dragon Comes and Vomits Sin!"
Triple dragon breath poured down from the heavens like a cascading flood, slanting across the land as it swept toward Shiomi.
Under the torrent of flames, he looked no more than a grain of sand in the sea, as if he might be swallowed whole at any moment.
But the deadly triple dragon breath was only a feint.
And even that sea of fire was stopped by Shiomi, unable to scorch so much as a thread of his clothing.
"It's not over yet. Now comes the true killing blow!"
While Gorynych continued spewing dragon breath to pin him down, Nikitich seized the opening and swung her great axe forged of Damascus steel, launching her real attack.
No matter the Servant, even if they endured the triple dragon breath, defending against it would inevitably create the slightest opening. And in that fleeting instant, Nikitich would unleash the true core of her Noble Phantasm.
Her own strike.
More ferocious and far more threatening than any previous charge, this was an assault that should have forced Shiomi to move at last.
That was Taigong Wang's judgment.
Which meant a true counterattack had to be waiting.
Would he release his own Noble Phantasm to intercept and break the charge, or—
As Taigong Wang pondered, watching the battlefield, his half-lidded eyes slowly widened.
"That is—"
Shiomi raised his hand.
The dragon breath raging across the land seemed to freeze in place for a split second. Even Nikitich's charge appeared to stall.
No. It was not stasis.
Taigong Wang had simply caught sight of Shiomi's counter, clearly perceiving his movement.
"My body is that of a god, yet my principles are not those of a god. Here, a fragment of that truth is revealed… Chaotic Will."
In that instant, phenomena collapsed. Space fractured, then immediately fused back together, as though it had all been a brief illusion.
The proof that it was no illusion lay before them.
The dragon breath had vanished.
Nikitich's decisive strike lost both its momentum and its aim, flying past Shiomi and crashing into the earth ahead.
Rider and dragon tumbled several times before finally coming to a stop.
The white dragon's eyes were filled with clear confusion.
Nikitich herself could not hide her shock.
"That was close. I nearly lost control of the scale. Are you both alright?"
Shiomi slowly turned back around, lowering his hand with a relieved sigh as he addressed Nikitich and her beloved steed.
"Looks like the match is decided."
After confirming that Nikitich was unharmed, he shifted his gaze to Taigong Wang.
Mounted on Si Bu Xiang, Taigong Wang was already approaching at an unhurried pace.
Without any visible hostility, Shiomi found it difficult to tell what Taigong Wang was thinking.