BOOOOOM—!
The explosion from Mount Enzou nearly flattened the surrounding hills. The sky filled with massive boulders hurled skyward, blazing like lava meteors as they streaked across the heavens and rained down on all sides.
In an instant, the sky was blanketed by crimson firestorms, oppressive and scorching—a hurricane of flames that seemed intent on ripping the world apart.
This city, once renowned among the mystical for its rituals on the Far East's edge, now quivered like dry leaves caught in an inferno.
On the battered horizon, the Sangheili legion's assault intensified, as though seeking favor from their supreme god and imperial emperor with a final show of force.
The Servants who were defending the mansion district from both aerial and ground attacks could all feel it: the alien army, once stalled by heavy resistance, had suddenly grown frenzied.
Lancer Cú Chulainn and Saber Artoria, who had been engaging the enemy firsthand, noticed this change the most.
For example, the short alien creatures—resembling hermit crabs—would previously panic and scatter, squealing comically, when their four-mouthed Sangheili leaders were killed.
Cú Chulainn had been targeting those commanders for that very reason.
But now, after the terrifying tremor that shook all of Fuyuki, that tactic no longer worked.
"That woman—I swear I'll kill her myself!"
Interrupted by the explosion from Mount Enzou, Gilgamesh growled, fuming as Senti grinned triumphantly and retreated.
Had he known she'd pull such a stunt, he wouldn't have wasted time trying to duel her. A full-on group attack would've been far more effective.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. But he had to endure. Protecting Fujimaru Ritsuka and the complex summoning array within the ruins of Tohsaka's house was more important. That woman could be trying to bait him out.
"Hmph."
Gilgamesh brushed past the now-Servant Emiya Shirou. Behind him, golden ripples flared open, releasing an extravagant barrage of high-level Noble Phantasms in every direction, channeling his anger ignited by Senti's provocation.
Swords, spears, and halberds turned into golden comets, clashing with the falling meteorites in the sky. Several Sangheili aerial units were shot down, turning the battlefield into a breathtaking fireworks display.
Debris and wreckage churned up clouds of dust, scarring every inch of visible land.
WHOOM!
With an explosive roar, waves of searing flame burst outward. In mere moments, beetle-shaped Sangheili flyers were dismantled by the golden divine spear.
"Ruler Jeanne, and even Black Saber Siegfried and Black Lancer Vlad III... allies now? Fate really is unpredictable."
They had once fought to the death over the Greater Grail, and now, summoned again, they stood shoulder to shoulder.
Lancer Karna couldn't help but sigh, though his hands never paused. Wrapped in golden fire, he swung his spear with precision and fury. Mana Burst: Flame!
In an instant, he obliterated the encircling Sangheili units and their concentrated fire.
From the disintegrating alien crafts, grotesque little Grunts wailed as they burned alive. Before they even hit the ground, their bodies turned into glowing red-purple mana particles and began flowing toward a single direction.
"These alien species..."
Floating mid-air, Lancer Karna gazed in the direction where magical energy was gathering, eyes fixed on the colossal divine figure rising from the ruins of Mount Enzou across the Mifuyu River. Within his sky-blue pupils, a faint crimson glow began to flicker.
"A god-king class... So that's our enemy this time..."
As the son of the sun god Surya—and, in death, merged with him—Karna possessed the highest divine compatibility. Yet, from this chaotic divine being that could only be called a "Beast," he sensed a solar affinity even greater than his own. Greater even than his father's.
"A human figure with a serpent's tail... Wait, this presence feels familiar..."
Across the Mifuyu River and half of Fuyuki City, Karna stared at the god's face and its two rising crimson moons for eyes, and for a moment, his mind froze. A wave of déjà vu swept over him.
"Crimson diamond pupils, golden cross-shaped irises..."
Suddenly, an image flashed in his mind—a figure clad in silver-white armor. Karna's eyes widened in realization.
"It's her... Rider?!"
Having once fought against Rider Selene, Karna had lingering traces of her spiritual signature. That connection, coupled with the world's subtle encouragement through the Counter Force and Root, drew him into this battle.
Aside from Jack the Ripper—who had been purified and could never again be summoned—the participants of the Romania Holy Grail War were summoned first in response to Ritsuka's call.
Just as Karna cried out in astonishment—
BOOOOM!
The earth shook once more.
If the earlier tremors from Mount Enzou were a mid-level 4 or 5 magnitude quake, this one easily felt like a level 8 or higher.
The entire city swayed violently, like grains in a winnowing basket. High-rises toppled like dominoes. Stones and debris trembled helplessly across the shaking earth.
Though Ruler Jeanne promptly raised her banner to shield them, Waver and Ritsuka, still mere mortals, clutched their chests and desperately sought something to hold onto.
BOOM!
A massive serpent tail smashed outward. As it twisted, it leveled part of the city, dammed rivers, and churned the land in a boiling tide of magical energy.
Then—
HUMMMMM—!
She spread her wings wide enough to eclipse the heavens. Crystalline red-violet fragments rained from her feathers like a deadly mist, dazzling and lethal.
Her head brushed the sky, her enormous human-serpent form filling every eye's view with sheer, crushing presence.
"Oi, big sis... Our opponent this time is that god... again, huh."
Wearing black innerwear beneath light Greek-style armor adorned with olive leaf engravings, his build lean and muscular, exuding fierce determination, the red-scarfed youth turned to the woman beside him.
With a black-shafted, silver-bladed cross-shaped spear resting over his shoulder, the handsome young man ran a hand through his greenish hair, his golden eyes filled with complaint.
"Sigh... What a pain. We're really unlucky. Makes me wanna head back home."
At first glance, he had already recognized it—that aura, that overwhelming dominance. Instantly, the memory of his last beating for running his mouth came flooding back.
"Achilles, enough with the whining. Complaining, retreating, and dodging aren't your style."
"Haha, you really get me, big sis. But don't be so serious—this is just me loosening up before the big fight. Helps me focus better. After all, we're up against that temperamental god again. I don't wanna get flattened like last time."
"To face Her Majesty as an opponent this time... and in such a world-ending divine form no less. Truly, I am honored beyond measure."
Atop layered pitch-black stakes, the bloodstained Vlad III of Romania sighed. Though iron-willed and never one to yield, having once witnessed Selene's power firsthand, he sincerely wished he didn't have to face her as an enemy.
"Do our best and leave the rest to fate."
"Shame the timing of the summon was off. Master, my power needs time to manifest."
Supporting a shaken and nauseous Fujimaru Ritsuka, the Assyrian Queen—draped in a luxurious, gothic black dress radiating languid elegance—gazed toward the looming figure that no longer resembled the one in her memories. In her vertical-slit silver eyes flickered a deep hatred that vanished in a blink.
"Master, to face Selene in this form, I need your help. Only by completing the magical core and fully growing the Crown: Light of Wisdom (Golem Kether Malchut) will we stand a chance against that divine power."
Behind his golden mask, the golem master Avicebron spoke in a mechanical tone. With a snap of his fingers, the earth churned as colossal stone golems rose one after another from the shattered ground.
...
At this moment, as Selene continued assimilating the body of the Gorgon Beast, she retained the form of a humanoid with a serpentine tail. Yet her cascading purple hair, floating in the air like a waterfall, had begun turning silver.
"Ah, all familiar faces."
"Karna, Lord Vlad... and the rest. We meet again."
From across the river, now unobstructed due to the collapse of the surrounding skyscrapers, Selene smiled slightly. Her slow, deliberate words gave the impression she was savoring the reunion.
"Though the most important guest has yet to arrive, since so many old friends have come to see me, how could I not be a gracious host? Let me add some color to this stage!"
HUM—!
Selene's hair tips suddenly lit up without warning. The gaps between her scales glowed intensely as purple-red currents surged through them. The overwhelming magical energy was so intense that the rubble beneath her feet instantly melted and vaporized.
With a snap of her claws and a red glint in her eyes, an unbearable radiance of energy condensed at her chest, then erupted like a pillar of light straight into the sky.
In an instant, the heavens were pierced.
Zzzzzra—!
The sky, still cloaked in a dark purple-red veil, echoed with the shattering of glass as magic condensed to its limit.
Gradually, as Selene continued pouring mana into it, the veil turned from red to pitch black, like mud smearing the ocean.
Then—CRACK!
As if answering Selene's call, a pitch-black, wave-like circular rift rapidly expanded in the sky above Fuyuki.
The veil above it grew increasingly bright and twisted, spiraling until a mirage of a divine temple faintly appeared within the vortex.
...
Meanwhile, in Chaldea.
"Is this another transformation?"
"Not sure, but we definitely can't let her succeed. Da Vinci, check this out."
As Romani Archaman spoke, he tapped a control on the console. At once, the massive geosphere model known as [Chaldeas] began to change.
Hummmm~
Outside the square observation window, as the iron rings surrounding Chaldeas spun, the once-blue simulated Earth transformed. Strange, eerie purple-red blotches rapidly spread across it.
If this model Earth were a living being, then these blotches were like a horrifying virus invading its bloodstream—spreading fast and deep through the very leylines of the planet.
Using Earth's mountains and leyline network as its foundation, the corruption rapidly spread across the planet's surface.
At the command seat, Romani's expression was stern and focused. His hands flew over the console, fingers tapping rapidly with crisp clicks.
He projected a high-resolution image of the Earth simulation model onto the main screen in the central control room, pointing toward the glowing traces.
"This invasive magical energy is spreading outward from Fuyuki City along the underground leyline network, reshaping the planet. There's no doubt about it—she's materializing a domain of divine authority from a foreign world!"
"She's altering the terrain... turning the entire planet into her magical workshop for an Age of Gods restoration. How should I put it... She really is a ruler of a foreign dimension—what extravagance."
Standing beside Romani, Da Vinci bit her lip, her tone filled with frustration.
The surface of the globe-shaped model radiated ominous glows, as if on the verge of eruption, sending chills through everyone in the room.
Every time that terrifying god-like magic pulsed toward the sky's 'black hole,' the simulated Earth's corruption level visibly increased—especially the illusionary temple at its heart.
Gritting his teeth, Romani shouted, "Da Vinci, step up efforts to contact every possible source of reinforcements! This will be the final Singularity!"
"Ritsuka! Now isn't the time to hesitate! No matter the cost, stop her!!"
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