Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though she felt angrier in this one moment than any other preceding it, Lorelei adopted a calm and cold visage as she made her way to the area designated for her. Unlike her usual outfit, Lorelei had replaced her white petticoat with a sleeveless tactical combat vest. It might not look like much, but the thin plating would be able to dissipate the shockwave of a howitzer at point-blank range so it would provide her, at the very least, a basic level of protection against Artoria's physical might.

While her battle attire had surprised a number of people, the more perceptive members of the crowd eyed the series of batons strapped in a holster behind Lorelei's back. Though her usual weapon looked like a riding-whip, it was actually a very powerful catalyst that allowed her to cast various spells without compiling the formula. As for the batons at her back, they were all superior quality magical scepters that had simply been disguised to appear more practical.

Completely Lorelei's outfit, she had her usual metallic gauntlet but, as she had discarded her long-sleeved petticoat, her bare arms were visible for all to see. Though it wasn't noticeable due to usual baggy clothing, Lorelei had soft yet pronounced muscles while, on her right forearm, the same one she wore her gauntlet on, a complex series of runes were engraved into her skin. They formed what appeared to be a solid blue saber with a complex tribal pattern but, if inspected closer, they would have been able to see thousands of runes forming a faux-magic crest that allowed instantaneous use of most intermediate level spells.

While some Magi had made a name for themselves by studying various complex forms of Magecraft, it was the creed of the Bathomeloi family to strive for a 'perfect foundation'. As a result, Lorelei had no special traits, nor did she possess any unique forms of thaumaturgy. Instead, she became known as one of the greatest modern Magi by using orthodox Magecraft to a level nearing perfection. This allowed her to fire off several successive spells in sequence, each equating to a B-Rank spell, by the time most Magi had been able to complete a single one of their own.

After assuming her position, Lorelei held up her right hand, covered by a [Holy Mithril Gauntlet] that had the ability to interfere with the flow of magical power. Against another Magi, this gauntlet was their worst nightmare but, even against someone who relied on physical enhancement like Artoria, it would still be useful. This was due to the fact that, while it interrupted the control of her enemy's magical power, Lorelei's control allowed her to freely maneuver her own. Her mana carried the Wind Element by default so she could cut apart most enemies with a simple palm strike...

Even when the surrounding mana began to stir due to Lorelei's presence, Artoria remained entirely unfl.u.s.tered as she patiently waited for the battle to begin. There were no words required between them as the time for dialogue had long-since come to an end. Now, decisive action was required and, no matter what schemes her enemy had come up with, Artoria would cut them down, without exception...

Aoko was starting to get a little excited while watching Artoria and Lorelei stare down each other. Before she could begin the battle, however, the surrounding space suddenly began to expand at a rate visible to the eye. Though the dimensions of the arena hadn't changed in the slightest, the area that served as the battleground had compounded several times. Without the crystal projection, the vast majority of attendees wouldn't even be able to see the contenders at this point as, from their perspective, it suddenly seemed like Artoria and Lorelei were distant figures on the horizon.

Though Aoko felt uncomfortable to be in an area influenced by Zelretch, she did her best to bear with it since she knew it was necessary. However, once the space had stabilized, she wasted no time at all to raise the microphone and exclaim, "Alright! Give it your best! Go, go, go~!" before floating into the sky under the influence of her own magical power.

The moment Aoko signaled the start of the battle, Artoria had already kicked against the ground with enough force to cause a massive eruption in her wake. As for Lorelei, the faux-magic crest on her arm immediately activated, creating a helical magic circle around her arm that caused Aoko to frown. This was obviously copied from her own combat style but, as it wasn't uncommon for Magi to adapt the techniques of others, she kept mum and simply enjoyed refereeing the fight.

Artoria was slightly surprised when her [Mana Burst] dissipated when nearing Lorelei but, as she had kept her momentum, it didn't matter to her that much. She unhesitantly swung her sword in a wide sweep that was impossible for all but the most powerful individuals to follow. This was met by the silvery palm of Lorelei who, rather than contend against the power behind the blade, attempted to divert its path. At the same time, the helical magic circle around her forearm formed a total of seven small balls of magical energy which, after reaching critical mass, shot forward like white lasers as they attempted to skewer Artoria's body.

Though she could have evaded them, Artoria's [Instinct] didn't trigger and, as she felt the beams of light weren't dangerous, she just continued her forward charge by leaning into Lorelei's chest with her shoulder. The latter grit her teeth in annoyance when she saw her attack simply break against Artoria's body without doing any discernible damage. Then, much to the surprise of everyone in the stands, Lorelei did the most inexplicable thing as, rather than try to evade the charge, she jerked her head forward in a clear attempt to headbutt Artoria.

Having already committed to her attack, Artoria clenched her own teeth a Lorelei's head, reinforced to the extreme, slammed into her own. She felt a small concussive force but, with the regeneration, it didn't affect her combat capabilities in the least. Thus, undaunted, her shoulder slammed hard into Lorelei's chest at the same time that their heads made contact. It felt like she was trying to shoulder tackle a boulder but, despite this, Lorelei was sent flying backward with enough force to break the sound barrier.

Ignoring the dent that now existed on her b.r.e.a.s.tplate, Lorelei flipped through the air before using a combination of spells to stabilize herself while firing off a series of ten [Gandr] simultaneously. Two of these were far more powerful than the others, halting Artoria's charge as she deftly cut through them with [Excalibur]. After this, she was forced to weave from side-to-side rapidly as, after the first two were blocked, all of Lorelei's attacks were at the same level. She was like a rapid-fire machine gun that required Artoria, for a brief moment, to stand her ground in an effort to deflect several hundred reddish-black lasers.

As most opponents would either use a barrier or just evade her attacks, Lorelei was a little shaken to see Artoria cut down the vast majority of her spells. She couldn't even trace the trajectory of Artoria's sword, causing her to instinctually activate one of her trump cards. Her hazel-brown eyes suddenly became blood-red as her pupils became the size of pinholes. At that same moment, Artoria stopped mid-swing, leaving her defenseless against the barrage of [Gandr] still suppressing her.

The moment the first hits began to land, Lorelei flicked her riding-whip, resulting in a purple magic circle forming in mid-air. It quickly grew in size until it was nearly 3m in diameter before the circle began to spin rapidly as lightning danced across its surface. Then, while firing dozens of [Gandr] per second, causing a reddish-black cloud of chaotic magical energy to appear in the area where Artoria had been standing, Lorelei released a far more powerful attack.

Moving around a tenth the speed of light, a purple band of lightning danced through the air as it struck down upon Artoria's location in what appeared to be an instant. A loud thunderclap spread through the area as, moments later, the ground itself erupted as an area of several hundred meters began to dance with arcs of purple lightning. Lorelei had continued channeling her spell, causing the lightning to continually build up until, after finally reaching a critical level, it formed a massive pillar of lightning that arced up into the sky and slammed into the barrier above.

Lorelei breathed a tired sight but, rather than lower her guard, she continued to open up distance between herself and Artoria as she pulled out two of the batons from her sling. This was the correct choice as, immediately following the purple pillar of lightning, a pale-blue tempest broke it apart as Artoria, seemingly uninjured, swung her sword down as she shouted, "Exxxxcaaaaalibur~!"

By pure instinct, Lorelei crossed the batons in her hand to form a crossguard. Runes covered their entire length and, after she channeled her mana into them, a massive magical bulwark emerged to protect her. It looked like a squarish red wall formed of magical energy but, at the very center of the complex arrangement of runes, what could only be described as a demon's face was present. As the holy energy from Artoria's attack struck the bulwark, the demon opened its mouth wide, seemingly intent on devouring the attack in its entirety.

With advanced knowledge of Artoria's capabilities, Lorelei had obviously made preparations for dealing with her most famous attacks. The barrier she had formed was the result of an artifact known as [Asmodeus' Vengeance], and Anti-Divine artifact that could absorb holy energy and spew it back at the attacker. As a result, Artoria's attack was indeed devoured by the barrier but, before it could spit it back out, Lorelei noticed cracks spreading across the surface.

Never doubting her instincts, Lorelei immediately created a secondary barrier around her body while using a short-range [Space Transfer] spell. From her new vantage, she watched as one of her trump cards erupted in a cloud of vibrant blue energy, pure incredulity filling her mind. What Lorelei could never have expected was, after being 'refined' by Vahn for several hours each day, Artoria's energy was far more powerful than her calculations could have accounted for. Even the weakest activation of her [Excalibur] could reach A-Rank at this point, making it a terrifyingly powerful Noble Phantasm that she could freely spam with impunity.

As if this was her intent, Artoria had appeared near Lorelei's new location in an instant. This was an even bigger surprise for Lorelei as, from what they were able to gather, Artoria should only be able to use a simple form of wind magic to obscure her sword. She should not be capable of anything remotely resembling [Space Transfer] as, even among the most powerful members of the Mage's Association, there was only a handful who could pull it off. Artoria was a 'Knight' not a Magus, so it was rather ridiculous, at least in Lorelei's mind, that she was able to perform the advanced spell with such ease.

Despite her shock, Lorelei used her own [Space Transfer] to vanish from the area, just as Artoria's [Excalibur] tried to give her a haircut. Since Artoria wasn't that proficient with [Shundo] just yet, she had a bit of trouble following other people. Still, with her A-Rank [Instinct], she would able to intuit Lorelei's location. She twisted her body mid-air, causing the energy from her [Exclibur] to change direction and flow around her body like a tempest while she was the eye of the storm.

Lorelei felt that everything Artoria was doing had been developed specifically to surprise her. She wasn't looking down on the former King of Knights at all but, with how little time had passed since her summoning, it didn't make sense for her battle data to have changed so drastically. As she used her barrier to resist the wave of holy energy that washed over her, she correctly assumed that the Empire had a Bounded Field where time flowed at a different rate compared to reality. This was the only way Artoria could have changed in such a short period of time, even if she had been given a physical body.

With much of [Excalibur]'s force dissipated by the conversation into an area of effect ability, Lorelei was a little worse for wear, but ultimately undamaged by the attack. It propelled her back faster than a supersonic jet but, rather than resist, Lorelei just guided her path through the air while using the force to open up distance between herself and Artoria. While she was one of the most proficient users of [Enhancement] Magecraft, she wasn't going to try and fight against Artoria up close after seeing the speed in which she deflected her [Gandr] barrage.

Feeling that things were going south for her, Lorelei decided she would have to bear the brunt of her grandfather's ire by using one of the final cards he had prepared for her. She could not risk losing the battle so, even if she had to spend some time in that hellish dungeon, Lorelei convinced herself it would be worth it to see the shock and anguish on the Sage Emperor's face. Thus, before another wave of holy energy was sent her way, Lorelei struck her own chest with her [Holy Mithril Gauntlet]. Hard.

To the shock and confusion of everyone present, they watched as Lorelei coughed up a large volume of blood. Within the VIP viewing room, however, Lord Bathomeloi's brows twitched slightly as, even with his level of composure, he couldn't help but lament at his grandaughter's foolishness. Though it would certainly guarantee her victory, revealing that particular artifact was going to cause him a lot of headaches...

Without caring about what Lorelei was up to, Artoria had once again closed the distance between them at hypersonic speeds. She was intending to end the battle before Lorelei could finish whatever she was planning so, raising her sword high with both hands, she formed a massive pillar of holy energy as she exclaimed, "Eeeeexcalibur~!"

Due to her self-inflicted injury, Lorelei was unable to evade Artoria's attack but, rather than show any fear, her mouth formed a bloody smile. Then, from where she had been cradling it beneath her body, she pulled out a black staff that looked like a piece of twining wood. At the very end, several warped skulls were present, the eye sockets each burning with a malicious red light. Her own eyes turned a similar blood-red color, stopping Artoria mid-swing as she venomously spat, "Yama's Invitation. Staff of Death, Kaladanda~!"

The moment Lorelei finished uttering the name of her artifact, a pule of black energy radiated out at a speed that would be impossible to avoid without instantaneous teleportation. For those that knew the identity of the staff, they inhaled sharply while some cursed the Barthomeloi family for cheating.

While weapons and artifacts were not prohibited, using an item that could instantly kill an opponent was considered extremely ignoble. The Kaladanda was the staff possessed by the Ruler of Hell, God Yama, and had the ability to kill anything, regardless of their blessing and boons. It wasn't something a mortal should be able to use so it was obvious that Lorelei would have to pay a grievous price for bringing it out. This made her action seem even more despicable in the eyes of many as, while death was one of the expected outcomes in a duel, aiming for a pyrrhic and dishonorable victory from the start was the act of a coward.

Lorelei didn't care about the animosity directed toward her and, even though she had to use up the majority of her lifespan just to activate Kaladanda, she didn't regret it. The prestige of her family was more important than anything else and, given enough time, their honor could be recovered. Even if she was made a martyr, another would rise to lead her family in the future. She was just the latest in a long line and, if her grandfather was feeling magnanimous, she might even be given a new body to replace this now irreparably damaged one.

Unfortunately, just as she had fallen to her knees to catch her breath, Lorelei felt a cold sensation at her neck that caused her brain to simply shut down. Her mind simply refused to process what it was seeing, despite the edge of a blade clearly visible in the corner of her vision. To make matters worse, she was aware of the figure standing in front of her, a stark contrast to the corpse she had expected to fall to the ground. Previously, she had thought that Artoria had simply died on her feet or, an end truly befitting of a King, but the reality seemed to be something completely incomprehensible...

What Lorelei, and most people, were unaware of was that Kaladanda, while considered one of the most powerful weapons in the world, had certain requirements to function properly. In this situation, the most important prerequisite was that the target in question was someone that had a 'fate' that resulted in their death. In almost every other situation, Kaladanda would have been able to kill the target, irrespective of whether or not they were a God or a mortal. In Artoria's case, however, her fate did not account for her death as, with her existence itself serving as an anchor of the World, she was immune to all but the highest tiered concepts of Death.

Though Artoria had intended to cut down Lorelei, she recognized the woman's conviction, even if they were the result of malicious intent. While others may consider her cowardly, very few would use such extreme methods, sacrificing everything for victory. This earned Lorelei her respect so, before ending the battle, Artoria stated in a solemn tone, "You have lost, Barthomeloi Lorelei...yield or die..."

At this point, Lorelei's brain had barely started to process the reality presented before her. Thus, with dull eyes, she looked up to meet Artoria's gaze. A small glimmer returned to her dull eyes as, rather than hatred, Lorelei was in awe of the sight of Artoria looking down on her. She did not see reproach or judgment in the Empress' eyes, only respect and a bit of admiration. Since there seemed to be a holy aura surrounding Artoria's figure, Lorelei felt a little bitter. She wasn't bitter at Artoria, however, but upset at herself for having failed in the duty she had accepted. Thus, without any hesitation at all, she smiled slightly before closing her eyes and saying, "I will never yield..." as a tear escaped from her tired eyelids.

Artoria gave a solemn nod in response to Lorelei's conviction before retracting swiping her sword in a single, swift, motion. Thus, in front of the eyes of several thousand Magi, the Queen of Mages lost her life to the Empress of Knights. Even more surprising was the fact that, rather than leave Lorelei's body lying lifelessly on the ground, Artoria channeled a phenomenal amount of magical power. It formed into something resembling holy flames in her left hand before placing her palm against the former Queen's back, incinerating her in an instant. She would not allow Lorelei's body to be used as materials for some twisted experiments so, while Artoria didn't agree with her methods, she gave her fallen opponent the honor of a swift release and a well-deserved rest...

(A/N: I wrote these three chapters back-to-back over the course of nine hours. I hope you enjoy them xD. I know this seems like a cliff, especially with Lord Barthomeloi present, but I don't have the willpower to keep going without a bit of rest.)

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