"Wow, you're really good. I get why you gave Arty some trouble."
"It's an honour to hear that, but you shouldn't bring yourself down. Despite being outranged by my weapon, you're not backing down. On the opposite, you're on the offensive, and your speed allows you to do that flawlessly."
"What a flatterer, but don't think I'll go soft on you now, hehe. In fact, there's a little trick I've been waiting to use until now..."
"What a coincidence, same for me!"
"Oh really? Then how about we reveal them in our next exchange?"
"Fine by me."
"Here I come, Sasakin!"
Nero charged forward, hoping to unleash her new technique: the slash that surpasses time. If the hit connected, it would mean an instant win, literally. However, the master swordsman she was up against also had a technique up his sleeve. Something so powerful it could rival a Noble Phantasm. Something that could tap into the realm of Second Magic. The ultimate sword technique.
"TSUBAME GAESHI"
Nero instantly saw death lingering in front of her. Three slashes coming at her at the same time. No way to avoid all of them. Each of them could end the fight right then and there. Since she didn't want to leave the result up to luck, she refused to try and dodge them entirely. Instead, she backed down as much as she could, resulting in her receiving only shallow cuts.
"You've got sharp instincts. Not even Artoria came out of my attack completely unscathed."
"I can see why. This is way too strong, Sasakin. But now I know something about you."
"?"
"You're a good person. If you weren't, you would have revealed your technique a second after, when I couldn't escape your range, but a part of you found it unfair and so you didn't."
"You think you can full me that easily, you little Empress? I can tell that you were about to attack me. If I hadn't used Tsubame Gaeshi when I did, who knows what you would have done?"
"Saw right through me, didn't you?"
"I'm afraid you remind me too much of my old rival. But you know, I think you are a good person too, since you could have used this trick before without announcing it, likely winning quite easily."
"I guess we are alike, in more ways than one."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You spent your entire life honing this skill just to learn the perfect way to cut a swallow. You dedicated your existence to something useless."
"That's a bit hurtful..."
"But so did I! I dedicated my whole life, or rather I would have loved to dedicate my life to art. Wanna know why? Because I'm an artist!"
"Are you suggesting that this technique makes me an artist?"
"Exactly! And a great one at that. Now, I believe that genius minds tend to think alike, so I also know something else: you don't like fighting, because I don't like fighting."
"Aha, got you there, other Saber. As an existence whose sole purpose is representing the rival to a great swordsman, I'm afraid that fighting is not only my passion, but my purpose."
"Well, I guess genius minds come in all types of flavours. But it seems like you don't enjoy prolonging an opponent's suffering when possible. You tend to finish fights quickly."
"That, I can guarantee."
"See? So we really are alike! Our reasons may be different, but the end result is the same. I prefer to finish fights quickly because I don't like fighting. But fighting itself is useless, and therefore, can be considered art. To me, art must be explosive, decisive, and impactful. So when you combine all of this, I want to end fights as quickly and as artistically as possible. I'm an artist and a pacifist, after all."
"That's all good to know, but why are you telling me this?"
"I'm trying to empathise with you, if I can do that, I can understand you better, and as a result, I can understand your technique better."
"Are you trying to find a way to counter it?"
"Oh, I already know how to do it. Now, would you be so kind as to use it again, Sasakin?"
"Hmph... fine, I'll bite."
Both Sasaki and Nero moved forward, this time with more decisiveness and with a momentum that made avoiding a clash impossible. And there they came. The three unavoidable slashes.
"TSUBAME GAESHI"
This time, the one who was surprised wasn't Nero, but Sasaki Koujirou. For the first time in his life, he saw his famous technique... used by his opponent.
"TSUBAME GAESHI!"
Following the clash, a wound appeared on Nero's shoulder, causing her to wince in pain.
"Ow... it seems like that little delay was the decisive factor..."
"That was unexpected... so you can copy Noble Phantasms?"
"Copy Noble Phantasms? No, no, that would be ridiculous, I'm not like Goldie, you know. It's my skill: Imperial Privilege. If I say, or even think I can do some kind of skill, then I can basically... do that. Of course, I need to understand its basis. I have no idea how to prepare omurice; however, knowing how your technique works, I can easily, let's say... copy it. But you're an exception, precisely because your Tsubame Gaeshi is a technique, not a proper Noble Phantasm."
"That sounds an awful lot like cheating, young lady."
"I know, but there are some drawbacks, like-"
Before Nero could speak, she fell to the ground, her hands to her head.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah... It's ok... I've... I've had worse... but this is what I was about to say... I have constant migraines... and using this skill heightens the chance of me having an episode... and when that happens... I tend to forget the skills I acquired."
"That's unfortunate."
"But... strangely enough... when I used it to develop my slash that surpasses time, even after having a migraine before going to sleep, I can still use it... so this makes me think that this is a sign... a sign that this is the direction I must take. If my sword can surpass time, then it can also surpass space. And if it can surpass spacetime... then soon enough... nothing will be able to dodge my sword, and I'll be able to end every fight quickly. Isn't that great?"
"It sounds great, but are you sure you haven't already forgotten how to perform a flawless Tsubame Gaeshi?"
"Who knows? I know I once had Mana Burst, but I no longer do. That means that was the wrong direction for my sword... for me. Now let's see if this is the right road..."
Nero started swinging her sword around, and after doing it three times, she charged forward, trying to catch Sasaki by surprise. However, the Japanese man was ready and blocked the attempt. He now knew that using his technique carelessly could prove fatal, and so he waited for the right moment to strike.
Getting sent back by a flurry of attacks from which she could barely defend herself, Nero sought an opportunity and seemed to be ready to use her special attack. In order to prevent this, Sasaki moved in for the finisher, betting on Nero's need to charge up her attack and to remember how to perform it, especially after just suffering from a massive headache.
As a matter of fact, Sasaki's prediction was correct. There was just one problem: that wasn't Nero's plan. As the three slashes closed in on her, Nero planted her sword to the ground.
"AESTUS DOMUS AUREA - Invitation to the Golden Debauchery Theater"
A golden structure enveloped them, shining through their eyes as petals flew freely and seemed to cover the sky. In the middle of this mesmerising beauty, even a swordsman like Sasaki couldn't help but lose himself.
"TSUBAME GAESHI"
He suddenly heard. Even this time, he had the time advantage. However, perhaps because his technique had been thrown off by this distraction, or maybe because whatever that place was made Nero stronger and faster, or maybe it was due to both of these reasons, the result was not the same.
Nero came out on top, as she closed her eyes, hearing the sound of music mixed with that of applause. She bowed gently, catching Koujirou as he was falling defeated in the process and smiled.
"This is my bottomless artistic genius. This is who I am. This is my theatre. Heed my song, everyone. Heed the song of the great Emperor Nero, the only artist to rival Apollo. Oh, what a great artist lives in me! Ladies and gentlemen, this is it, for now. Thank you for coming to my performance. And thank you for being part of it, Sasakin... my fellow artist."