Crack—!
"Phew... Merlin made it in time."
Seeing that massive dark-red beam tearing across the sky, ripping open the clouds and sweeping randomly across who knew how many unlucky regions, Ritsuka Fujimaru let out a sigh of relief—while quietly clenching his fist.
Just now, Quetzalcoatl's second Noble Phantasm release hadn't finished charging, while Selene had already completed hers. Truly, Ritsuka's heart had been in his throat.
Thankfully, it missed...
Just as Ritsuka relaxed and prepared to thank Merlin, who had appeared beside him—
"Cough, cough... pff—"
"Mr. Merlin?!"
"Merlin, you—"
The Flower Magus, who had just confidently declared he would buy time for Quetzalcoatl and the other goddesses to unleash their Noble Phantasms, barely had a moment to bask in it before he suddenly began coughing up blood. Mash and Ritsuka both cried out in alarm.
The only difference—
If the kindhearted kouhai's concern was genuine despite having been deceived once before, Ritsuka couldn't help but hesitate.
Back in the Seventh Singularity, Babylonia, Merlin's antics had left a deep impression on him.
Practically a master of fake deaths.
"Cough, cough... she's... much harder to deal with than Tiamat..." Merlin said with a bitter smile between coughs.
"Hey, old fox Merlin, is this a real death or a fake one this time?"
From the communicator, Armani's voice came through, filled with lingering resentment.
"Don't tell me you're going to exit the stage again and then come back at the last critical moment..."
"Ahem, Armani, what do you take me for? Anyway..."
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the harmless-looking Flower Magus grew serious. "Just by peeking at her source for a single instant, my avatar was instantly devoured by backlash and collapsed. If I hadn't withdrawn in time, even I might have died."
"Did you see anything?"
Inside Chaldea, Romani leaned forward over the table, asking urgently as everyone else widened their eyes in curiosity.
"In this state, how could I have seen anything..."
Merlin shook his head with a wry smile. "But I can clearly sense it—her true body has been watching this world all along..."
At that thought, Merlin almost wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to get curious? Setting up illusions was one thing, but for some reason, he just had to use his clairvoyance at close range to observe Selene's Saint Graph.
In the Type-Moon world, clairvoyance—true to its name—is a form of farsight. At ordinary levels, it enhances vision. But at A-rank or even EX rank, it allows one to see the future and the past.
There is even a saying that all Grand Servants possess EX-rank clairvoyance.
Solomon, Merlin, and Gilgamesh—among the most famous users of clairvoyance—are undoubtedly candidates for Grand Servant status.
Using his clairvoyance, Merlin easily identified the portion that did not belong to this world within the composite Saint Graph formed by the Avenger Demonic Beast Goddess Gorgon and Beast II, the Primordial Mother Goddess Tiamat.
And then—unable to resist—he continued observing, following that faint connection.
In a daze, Merlin found himself beyond the world's boundary, in the void of endless cosmic domains.
And then—there was no "then."
Before he could even react, that radiant silhouette—so brilliant it was utterly impossible to observe—released merely a trace of fluctuation, and Merlin's avatar exploded instantly.
Thankfully, it wasn't his real body.
Thinking of that, Merlin couldn't help but grimace, clutching his eyes as cold sweat poured down his face.
"She probably didn't notice me... no, she definitely did. That massive cosmic divine entity named Selene... did she just smile at me..."
I'm done for. I've been marked.
...
"Tch, Merlin, huh."
Illusion, nightmare, Avalon—such unmistakable traits. Selene naturally recognized the intruder's identity.
The court mage, mentor, and prophet from Arthurian legend—the Flower Magus, Merlin.
"Break—!"
As the composite Saint Graph forming her Servant body was compressed and overdriven by Selene at an unprecedented intensity, even the surrounding space of the already-damaged Avalon illusion collapsed inward toward a single point—before exploding outward in the next instant, annihilating everything within a radius of several thousand meters.
The layers of crystalline mirror surfaces around them shattered violently, turning into countless fragments that scattered in all directions—only to rapidly disintegrate within the expanding sea of chaos.
The boundary between reality and illusion seemed to blur at that moment.
Like a painting unfolding—ruined reality and dazzling dreamscapes alternated endlessly. One moment, it was a paradise of marshes, plains, forests, and hazy bliss. The next, a shattered, collapsing continent riddled with devastation.
Mesmerizing and beautiful. Cruel and real.
Crack crack crack—
Shimmering crystal dust drifted down like light rain onto Selene's terrifying beast-goddess form, bringing a cool and soothing sensation wherever it touched.
As if still following the spell structure of some nightmare—straining to calm the increasingly irritable goddess.
"Quetzalcoatl."
Breaking free from Avalon's restraints in an instant, Selene looked up toward the sky—where Quetzalcoatl had already fused with the Sun Stone, transforming into a "humanoid sun."
Take her down first!
With that thought, Selene—whose previous attack had gone off-target due to disrupted spatial awareness from the illusion—continued her magical output without pause.
Buzz—!
A faint smile, almost one of enjoyment, appeared on her face as the dark-red magic cannon fired once more from the magic circle in her Mystic Eyes—crossing ten thousand meters in an instant and shooting toward Quetzalcoatl.
"Selene—take my proudest wrestling technique!!!!"
Wrapped entirely in unimaginable high-temperature crimson flames, the attack had already reached the limit of her Servant Saint Graph. Her cheeks, arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, thighs...
Lines of blood appeared across Quetzalcoatl's smooth, porcelain-like, perfectly toned body.
Together, they resembled intricate divine patterns—making her seem even more resolute.
Sizzle—
Like damaged porcelain, cracks spread across her body. Golden-red divine blood seeped out, splashing into the flames that burned around her, dyeing them with vivid crimson and making the exploding fireball even more violent.
In the next instant—
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
A blinding light illuminated the entire sky. A thunderous roar followed, and then waves of ultra-high-temperature shockwaves spread outward layer by layer.
In that single moment, the expanding shockwave completely leveled the entire city of Fuyuki.
Along with it, a crimson mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Cities dozens—even hundreds—of kilometers away from Fuyuki, and even distant islands, all heard the deafening roar. In just a few breaths, the windows of multiple cities shattered from the shock.
Above the firmament, it was as if volcanoes along a seismic belt were erupting in a chain reaction—everything dyed crimson, as torrents of scorching flames collided and splashed in all directions.
Rumble—
"Lord Camelot!"
"Rho Aias!"
"Luminosité Eternelle!!"
...
Standing before Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Servants unleashed their defensive Noble Phantasms one after another.
At the very front stood Ruler Jeanne—unsurprisingly occupying the central position, as her ability to inspire and enhance allies affected everyone.
"Hah—!"
Her pure white fleur-de-lis battle flag fluttered. At the moment of impact, Jeanne revealed her banner. The faint golden ripples it emitted were like ants beneath this sky-covering explosion.
Clenching her teeth, the bones in her arms creaking, Jeanne still held firm against the shockwave sweeping outward at terrifying speed—like a reef facing a raging sea, unshakable.
Suddenly—crack!
A crisp sound rang out. Jeanne's expression changed instantly as cracks appeared along the shaft of the spear she held.
"This is bad..."
Even if her faith and her Magic Resistance could endure, her weapon could not.
While the banner could convert Jeanne's own highest-grade Magic Resistance—EX rank—into physical defense, capable of blocking attacks with a near-absolute defensive effect...
In terms of pure defensive strength, to a certain extent, this flag truly did not fall short of Mash's "Lord Camelot," or even King Arthur's "Avalon."
However, unlike the divine or star-forged weapons wielded by demigods and kings, Jeanne's banner was ultimately a mortal artifact—born from the sacred flag she carried in life to inspire soldiers on the battlefield.
While raised, the banner continuously accumulated the damage it blocked. No matter what, it did not possess the capacity to withstand endless Noble Phantasm clashes. As the damage piled up, it would eventually break.
Seeing this, Merlin sighed inwardly. A fully divine Quetzalcoatl... honestly, every one of them was absurdly powerful.
Karna and Achilles had their own roles—this was only the beginning. They couldn't afford to be wiped out by mere aftershocks.
Turning his head toward a certain red-haired boy gritting his teeth while projecting shields, Merlin suddenly smiled brightly.
"Hey, young Emiya. I'm Altria's court magus—may I request your help?"
"Huh? Saber's court magus? Of course—what do you need me to—"
At that moment, Shirou Emiya—now possessing the Saint Graph of Archer EMIYA—was holding both hands up, frantically projecting new shields each time one shattered. He answered instinctively while overwhelmed.
"No need to trouble yourself. I'll just take it."
Thrust—!
With a radiant smile, Merlin directly performed a "Black Tiger Steals the Heart"—or rather, from the back—leaving everyone nearby stunned.
"Merlin, have you been corrupted?!" Saber Artoria immediately drew her holy sword.
"Oh my, little Altria, are you planning to settle personal grudges? Take a look at this."
Pulling his hand out of Shirou's body without a single drop of blood, Merlin waved the elongated object in his hand.
"Avalon..."
Looking at the golden, resplendent scabbard, Saber Artoria murmured.
"That's right. Altria, remember this—compared to the sword, the sheath is just as important." Speaking earnestly, Merlin handed the scabbard to her.
...
"Let me guess—how many mice are waiting for their chance to strike?"
Above Selene, the atmosphere had been warped by continuous bombardment. A magnificent yet deadly spiraling fire cloud was being forced backward under the ever-increasing torrent of dark-red magical power.
No longer holding back, fully activating her Saint Graph and converting Honkai energy, Selene had now gained the upper hand.
Lev's contingency had been well-prepared. Quetzalcoatl's strength was in no way inferior to Selene's Rider-class incarnation from the Romanian Holy Grail War.
Both stood at the pinnacle of their respective mythologies, bearing legends of both creation and destruction.
In terms of Servant Saint Graph limits, Selene and Quetzalcoatl were essentially at the peak. Selene might be slightly stronger—but the difference was minimal.
After all, once reduced to Servant form, the upper limit of their Saint Graphs was fixed—unless they resorted to self-destructive overdrive.
But currently, the Saint Graph maintaining Selene's manifestation was Beast II—one of the Seven Evils of Humanity. Even incomplete, once she became serious, her output ceiling far surpassed Quetzalcoatl's!
"Farewell."
The kilometer-wide dark-red beam collided once more. The petrifying erosion magic swallowed the comet-like strike that could incinerate everything.
Crack crack—
The sky-tearing flames visibly receded. Watching the fire around her turn into grains of sand and scatter into the air, Quetzalcoatl instead revealed a strangely relaxed expression.
"I told you, Selene—this is war..."
Before she could finish, an overwhelming killing intent and gathered magical power locked onto Selene.
Rumble—!
At that moment, within several kilometers beneath Selene, the ground suddenly collapsed with thunderous noise, revealing a pitch-black underworld cavern below.
"Pierce! Impale! Gáe Bolg Alternative!!"
A sharp female shout echoed across the battlefield. In the next instant, a crimson spear hurled with terrifying force traced a god-slaying trajectory toward Selene's Mystic Eyes—splitting into two, then four...
Though Selene halted her attack on Quetzalcoatl to defend, for some reason, Quetzalcoatl felt an extremely ominous premonition.
"Hmph. I've been waiting for you!"
A ferocious grin flashed across Selene's scale-covered face.
Facing the thousand crimson spear trails piercing the sky, Selene laughed loudly—Scáthach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows, teacher of Cú Chulainn!
After witnessing the runes on the Axe of Marduk that shattered her defenses, how could she not stay wary?
Whoosh—!
Under Chaldea's shocked gaze—Selene's colossal Demonic Beast body, hundreds of meters tall and thousands of meters long—vanished?!
Above!!
"Quetzalcoatl! Watch out—!" Ritsuka roared.
Buzz—!
Crimson-purple cracks covered it—a massive beast claw, like a descending mountain, slammed down, enveloping the exhausted Quetzalcoatl.
Crack!
The sensation of flesh and substance—destructive magical particles gathered, compressing and crushing. When Selene opened her hand midair, Quetzalcoatl's Saint Graph reaction had already vanished.
Inside Chaldea, the staff stared at the screen in stunned silence.
So your wings weren't just for show.
Based on prior experience, Gorgon's wings had only allowed gliding, her tail always dragging along the ground.
But now—Selene, several times larger, was floating in the sky.
Not gliding—her entire thousands-of-meters-long serpent tail was coiling and rolling in the heavens!
The visual impact was overwhelming. The control room fell completely silent.
"When I say farewell, it is farewell. Hah..."
Blowing away the golden spiritual particles in her palm, Selene looked down upon the shattered land below.
Cold sweat streamed down Merlin's face as he stared at the crack-like bleeding patterns on Selene's body, like fractured porcelain.
"She directly used the power of spatial laws..."
"Which means—that just now was the power of Authority! True divine power!!"