Artoria hadn't spoken the name of her sword for an attack in quite some time. Still, when she did it in this way it was the most normal and natural thing she could do. To protect, to serve, to gain victory... Excalibur was a sword which did all things. When she'd designed her character she'd done it with this in mind. She'd gone out of her way, to preserve as much of the lore of this blade as possible, taking on just the right set of quests and doing all the right things to get a sword, forged by fairies with the abilities of legend. She'd known what it would do to the battlefield long before it happened and as such her eyes shifted finding Gilgamesh rather conspicuously fully armored. That in and of itself should be taken as a compliment, the same way she viewed her Knights making her use actual abilities. 'Sou ka,' she thought still teeming with amusement.
She wasn't the only one.
The laughter of Gilgamesh could be heard for quite some time after the dust settled. His arms crossed over his chest as if he was unbothered but this was the bravado of a King. Artoria herself often looked like she didn't care what was happening around her, one way or another. People relied on her strength, she couldn't falter before them. His laughter signaled the withdrawal of the staves he'd been favoring as well, strange. He then went on to explain why he was playing at a Caster. And for the first time an earnest look of surprise spread across Artoria's face. Of all the reasons she could have expected, tried to predict from the King Gilgamesh, the idea that he was poking fun at Merlin of all people was beyond her comprehension. That small smile which had been on her face, broke into a grin, showing teeth and... glee?! "Hehe...hahaha....HAHAHAHA!!!" laughter, joyful and melodious exploded from Artoria. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so earnestly and found it so enjoyable. A moment such as this could only come in a lone moment, shared by two monarchs in a space outside of their responsibilities. She managed to catch herself, covering her mouth... hiding her teeth but still that light and joy shone in those green blue eyes of hers. It took a moment or two, but finally she was able to control herself, with small tears in the corner of her eyes that were allowed to sparkle adding a new facet of depth to her face. "Sou ka, that's as good a reason as any I suppose. You're quite funny, Gilgamesh..."
There was a battle raging here, and though it had started in the same manner as her other training matches. This one had become fun, more fun even than Artoria had known she was missing out on. And yet, there was more to come, as she finally turned her eyes back it seemed that Gilgamesh had prepared for his next onslaught. Though nothing had been launched yet, the number of them was astronomical. She hadn't seen the Chains of Heaven in action in quite sometime. But she was righteous enough to test her mettle against them. She stared at them and steeled herself. Calm retook her person... and there was a slight shift in her feet and the position of her sword which she held directly at the fore of her person. Instinct told her to strike quickly, that the road to victory was decisive, so she decided. She launched herself forward once more, intending to take the man with no problem.