In a remote, deserted stretch of Fuyuki City—one that was about to be "officially designated" as the site of a gas explosion—Chaldea's people and their supporters gathered in force.
"Lord El-Melloi II!"
The moment she saw him arrive, the tight knot in Ritsuka's chest finally loosened—if only a little.
"You're unharmed? Good. But this isn't the time to relax."
Seeing Ritsuka still without a scratch, Lord El-Melloi II let out a breath—then immediately tensed again.
This King Arthur was clearly very different from the one he knew. She'd agreed to a sneak attack without hesitation, sure, but he still couldn't be certain that strike had truly connected.
"Dr. Romani?"
"The Servant reaction hasn't vanished. She's still alive!"
The answer was expected. Lord El-Melloi II hadn't been hoping for much—he simply steadied himself for what came next.
The dust kicked up by Artoria's Noble Phantasm thinned quickly, revealing the scene within.
"What…?!"
Even for battle-hardened Heroic Spirits, what they saw made them falter, if only for a heartbeat.
The Servants recovered quickly—faces sharpening, caution deepening—but Ritsuka and Mash cried out in disbelief.
"This is just—!"
Even Lord El-Melloi II, who'd been prepared for it not to be that simple, couldn't help staring.
Within the massive crater gouged out by the holy sword, countless violet motes floated in the air. And at the center of it all was a sight no one could readily make sense of.
Ophis—her entire left half gone—stood there without so much as a sway, as if she hadn't been injured at all. The missing half was being stuffed full and rebuilt at terrifying speed by those violet particles.
"An enemy that can't die?"
Over the communicator, even Dr. Romani—usually casual—grew noticeably more serious.
Nothing in this world was truly immortal. Even a Beast, that worst kind of nightmare to deal with, had targeted countermeasures. But that didn't mean an enemy that "doesn't die" was easy.
If you wanted to kill such a thing, you had to find the root of why it wouldn't die.
Though he still fell short of Zhuge Liang in pure wisdom, Lord El-Melloi II was someone that strategist had acknowledged. He forced himself to stay calm.
In only a few seconds, Ophis's body was completely restored—right down to her modern girl's outfit, reconstructed as if nothing had happened.
"Strategist. Was that attack arranged by you?"
Ophis didn't care about being struck. If anything, she seemed intrigued, studying the "strategist" she hadn't paid much attention to before.
A lucky hit? Or had he truly reasoned it out…?
Ophis lightly nudged a chunk of stone at her feet—one whose material clearly differed from the surrounding ground—and her interest in that strategist rose another notch.
And then there was his insistence on targeting her…
"Is it a Noble Phantasm called Unreturning Formation? It really is quite excellent."
Lord El-Melloi II's brow stayed tightly drawn. He didn't answer her question rashly. Ophis didn't seem bothered; she just continued, almost as if speaking to herself.
"Then why aren't you attacking?"
She tilted her head and smiled at the Servants before her, each of them coiled tight with tension.
But no one would charge just because she said so.
An attack might not land. Even if it did, the damage would simply be restored. Under those conditions, attacking was meaningless.
Just now, more than half her body had been blown away—and she'd recovered. That made the chance of her "regeneration" having a meaningful limit very low. And even if there was a limit, it would be hard to reach it with damage—because no one present could honestly claim they could take Artoria's beam head-on, much less replicate an attack of the same class.
Of course, there were other possibilities.
"Heracles' Twelve Labors… is it a Noble Phantasm like that?"
Eyes fixed on Ophis, Lord El-Melloi II's thoughts raced on.
"Why do you hesitate?"
Seeing no one dare to lead the charge, Ophis shook her head in boredom.
It seemed she'd started enjoying herself a little too much.
"Archer—what are you, exactly?!"
Diarmuid's Gáe Dearg had been blasted away once by the Tablet of Creation's eruption, then hammered again by the rain of Noble Phantasms, and finally caught in the blast of Artoria's holy sword. Even if it wasn't destroyed, no one had any idea where it had ended up. All he had left was Gáe Buidhe, held in a tense stance.
At that sight, a spark flashed through Lord El-Melloi II's mind.
His thinking had fallen into a trap—immortality or not, they didn't need to kill her. They only needed to injure her until she couldn't move.
But right now…
"Everyone—prepare to withdraw."
Decision made, Lord El-Melloi II gave the order.
The enemy's strength exceeded expectations. Trying to bring her down now carried too much risk. If either Saber or Lancer suffered an accident, their margin for error would shrink—possibly shattering the plan entirely.
He wanted to kill the "King of Heroes" as soon as possible, but he kept his head.
They had to ensure absolute certainty.
No one objected to his judgment. Without a way to crack an opponent like this, fighting would be meaningless—suicide.
The problem was: how to withdraw safely.
"Leaving?"
Ophis watched them intently, yet didn't attack—only tilted her head and asked.
Faced with Ophis's predatory focus, no one was reckless enough to turn their back and walk away, even if she looked utterly harmless in that moment.
But Lord El-Melloi II wasn't worried.
"That's exactly why I kept a card in reserve from the beginning!"
From high above in the distance, a crimson arrow tore across the sky, screaming down toward them!
Almost simultaneously—
"Then let us confirm whether my judgment is correct—!"
"[UNRETURNING FORMATION]!"
STONE SENTINEL MAZE
Eight massive stone pillars surged up around Ophis from every direction, enclosing the space. The Stone Soldiers, Eight Formations sealed her within once more.
"Now—move! Retreat!"
Lord El-Melloi II urged them back. Half a beat later, the crimson arrow plunged toward the spot where Ophis stood.
Even as he fled, Lord El-Melloi II forced himself to look back.
If his guess was right, then to avoid the arrow, Ophis would have to stay within the stone formation—buying them time to withdraw.
And even if she chose to take it head-on, the time it took her body to recover would still be enough for their escape.
But if he was wrong, none of it mattered…
What happened next, however, wasn't any outcome Lord El-Melloi II had considered.
"This energy reaction—everyone, watch out!"
At the doctor's warning, a scarlet storm erupted into the sky. The arrow—arriving with fierce momentum—was ground to dust instantly, without even the chance to resist. The proud stone formation shattered one after another under the wind pressure that tore everything apart.
At that sight, everyone's retreat halted on instinct—and Lord El-Melloi II clenched his teeth in bitter regret.
Damn it… I overlooked that sword. Again. That sword, again!
Ophis raised the world-sundering sword in her hand, its rotation accelerating, and turned her gaze toward Ritsuka.
"[ENUMA—]"
With the True Name being chanted, crushing pressure descended on them all.
"…I've got this!"
At that instant, a dazzling golden light flared from Ritsuka's side.
"Saber-san?!"
At Ritsuka's shout—half relief, half exhilaration—Artoria stepped forward, the Sword of Promised Victory in hand.
"[EXCALIBUR]!"
"[ELISH]!"
A golden tide and a scarlet storm collided, weaving together. The flood of power erased everything around it, and the shockwave that spilled outward swallowed everyone whole in the blink of an eye.
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