"Please go on ahead, Artoria-san—Lord El-Melloi II!"
"Master…"
Waver opened his mouth to argue again, only for Artoria beside him to stop him with a hand.
"Even you, Saber…?"
Waver was genuinely startled. In his memory, Artoria might sometimes choose dangerous tactics—but only for herself. For someone far weaker than her, like a Master, Artoria the knight would never allow them to take such risks.
Artoria looked to Lily and gave a small nod. Lily answered with a reassuring smile.
"It'll be fine… That's what my Instinct is telling me. Strategist—let's go."
Artoria flashed a gallant smile and turned to Waver, waiting for his final decision.
Seeing that even Artoria wasn't opposed, Waver could only sigh in resignation.
In truth, there was a way to break this situation—if they deployed the Heroic Spirits Chaldea had on standby, every problem here could be resolved at once.
But…
Every additional Servant they mobilized would consume resources originally meant for the encirclement and elimination of the King of Heroes—and that, for Waver, was absolutely unacceptable.
That's right. As a strategist, the rational part of him could reshuffle his priorities depending on urgency, but in the end, killing the King of Heroes was a mission that had to be carried out. There could not be even the slightest mistake.
"…I'm counting on you, Master. Be careful. Then, Saber—move."
In the end, Waver could only accept this risky proposal.
"Now—go!"
"Hah!"
At Ritsuka's command, Artoria let out a sharp cry, grabbed Waver, and sprinted past Ophis with everything she had.
Ophis frowned. She raised one hand and flicked it down.
Several Noble Phantasms shot out mercilessly toward the two of them.
She'd already agreed to Ishta's request. Against Ritsuka and the others, Ophis might still hold back a little—but against the adult Lily, who'd promised to fight in earnest, and Waver, who wasn't even part of the equation, her assault this time would be absolutely lethal if it hit.
Yet Artoria didn't react at all to the oncoming strike. She simply kept running at full speed.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—
A chain of deafening explosions erupted as the weapons struck—yet Ophis lifted a brow.
Just before her attacks could connect, a flash of metallic sheen cut across the air.
Mash's great shield intercepted every last one.
"So it's not all empty talk… Then how about this."
Ophis smiled lightly. Golden ripples multiplied severalfold behind her. Half of them aimed at Ritsuka, while the other half pivoted, turning on the Artoria who was circling wide.
Artoria was among the top tier of Heroic Spirits—Saber, with the highest overall parameters even among the Three Knight Classes. Her Agility was naturally exceptional, and with Mana Burst, she could contend even with a Lancer at the very highest Agility values. But to break past Ophis, she had to take a significant detour; at the moment, she and Ritsuka formed roughly a sixty-degree spread around Ophis.
With the angle still under ninety degrees, the Gate of Babylon could keep both groups within its field of fire.
At this volume, Lily alone could no longer block the Gate of Babylon while standing in front of Ritsuka. In that case—would Mash, who instinctively worried over her Master, choose to commit to cover… or fall back to defend? Or would a moment's hesitation cost her the timing?
With that thought, the Gate of Babylon roared again behind Ophis.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—
An even louder, more relentless chain of blasts detonated. Smoke and dust swallowed both Ritsuka's position and Artoria's.
The next instant, Lily leapt out of the haze with Ritsuka in her arms.
On the other side, Artoria burst out as well—running alongside Mash, both unharmed.
"…"
Ophis's lips curled.
She didn't care about Waver's side of things. And she wasn't going to kill Ritsuka, no matter what. Even if the volume of treasure exceeded what Lily could handle, Ophis had still left a narrow path open.
With Instinct aiding her, Lily would find that route without fail. The only thing that could stop Mash was her own heart.
"I trust my Master. And I trust Lily."
Holding her cross-shaped great shield—still without a single scratch—Mash faced Ophis squarely, unwavering.
"They're fighting with everything they've got. So I can't back down either!"
By now, Artoria had successfully passed beyond Ophis. From Ritsuka's perspective, with the Gate of Babylon firing from only one side, it could no longer keep both groups under simultaneous attack.
The question was whether Ophis had other methods… or, more precisely, whether she would use them.
Honestly, even if Ophis gave up here, it wouldn't matter. It wasn't as though she hadn't fulfilled Ishta's request—she'd blocked them, and they'd simply broken through. She wasn't omnipotent, after all.
The old Ophis—who approached most things with passive indifference—really would have stopped there.
But…
Ophis felt a flicker of interest in them.
How far could they go?
Countless ripples of the Gate of Babylon unfolded high above Ophis, the number doubling again compared to before. They swiveled, covering both groups once more.
The next second, the bombardment began.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—
This wasn't like the earlier skirmishing at all. The Gate of Babylon didn't vanish after a single volley—it kept pouring out Noble Phantasms, one after another, a crazed, unending rain of blades and spears hammering down around Ritsuka and Artoria.
The density of attacks multiplied countless times. Ophis didn't expect to stop them with this alone—but just as she was about to take her next step, something happened that exceeded her expectations.
"Hah!"
Brows lifting, Ophis shifted her body and narrowly avoided Lily's downward cleave as it fell from above.
A rare trace of surprise rose in Ophis. With a quick sweep of her peripheral vision, she saw Ritsuka's hand blazing with crimson light—Command Spell—and her body covered in countless magecraft crests. She was dodging the falling blades and spears again and again with agility not inferior to a Servant's.
And then Ophis was even more surprised.
"Ophis's phasing ability isn't one-sided defense—it's mutual isolation, right? Not just blocking us one-way. Which means when we can't attack you, you also can't attack us. And the other way around…"
Even while running, Ritsuka was calmly explaining.
"When you use the Gate of Babylon to attack, you can't just let those attacks pass through your own body, can you?"
In truth, this countermeasure—one of Waver's ideas—had a fatal uncertainty.
They couldn't predict whether Ophis would simply ignore their attacks, relying on that monstrous self-healing.
It might have created an opening for Lancer with Gáe Buidhe, but right now, when they needed solid hits to disrupt her, it would've been a nightmare if she chose to tank everything.
But now, it seemed—
Ritsuka had won her gamble.
Bound by her promise to Enkidu to protect herself, Ophis didn't allow attacks to land on her so easily. She kept slipping away from Lily's repeated chops, the smile at her lips growing clearer by the second.
"Interesting. Far, far more interesting than you were before, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Let me appraise you properly—just how brightly can you shine now?"
In the sky, the Gate of Babylon erupted with a thunderous roar greater than ever before!
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