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So heavy!
But... I can block it!
Feeling the immense pressure crushing down on her wrist, the ground beneath Lily's feet cracked under the strain. Her knight's boots dug deep into the earth, carving trenches as she was pushed back inch by inch.
But there was no trace of retreat in her eyes.
Shuten-douji's raw strength was undeniable. The berserk oni was hitting like a freight train with every swing.
However, in terms of pure skill, she was far inferior to Lily—who had been personally trained by Mr. Arash himself.
Technique beats power.
At the moment their blades clashed, Lily surged forward instead of back.
Before Shuten-douji could press her advantage, Lily closed the distance between them to nothing.
Blade scraped against blade with a shriek of tortured metal.
With a single sidestep, Lily was behind the oni.
Immediately, she raised her golden sword and brought it down in a vicious diagonal slash—
But Shuten-douji was no amateur.
Even robbed of her rational mind, even fighting on pure instinct, her speed advantage remained intact. She ducked under Lily's horizontal strike before it could connect.
Then, with a spinning dash, she raised her demonic claw and lunged straight for Lily's pale throat.
Seeing this, Lily's eyes hardened.
Fine. If that's how it has to be.
With a reverse grip, she thrust her golden sword directly at Shuten-douji—who was already almost upon her.
The intention was clear: mutual destruction. A life for a life.
But Maverick wasn't about to let that happen.
"By Command Seal, I command you! Artoria—COME TO MY SIDE!"
Crimson light flashed across the battlefield.
Before Lily could even process what was happening, the forced teleportation yanked her through space.
She materialized beside Maverick, stumbling from the disorientation.
And with Lily's sudden disappearance, Shuten-douji's killing blow struck nothing but empty air.
But there was no time for the oni to recover—
Because in the very next instant, a massive knight's lance appeared where Lily had been standing, aimed directly at Shuten-douji's head.
"EAT THIS! TRAP OF ARGALIA!"
Pink hair streamed through the air like a battle flag as Astolfo descended from above.
But Shuten-douji's monstrous stats saved her once again. She narrowly twisted away from the lance thrust, the tip grazing her cheek instead of piercing her skull.
As the oni retreated rapidly, a barrage of arcane missiles followed close behind—Medea providing covering fire from the air.
The stunned Lily finally snapped back to attention at the sound of Astolfo's cheerful greeting.
"Master! When did you arrive?!"
"Just in time to see you thinking about doing something reckless and blowing yourself up." Maverick's voice was sharp, but not unkind. "It's not yet time for mutual destruction, Artoria. You worked hard. But don't scare me like that again."
Medea's sudden teleportation earlier had truly put Maverick in a difficult spot. One moment he'd been watching from his vantage point, the next his Servant had vanished without warning.
Fortunately, half of Fuyuki City was already destroyed, making it easy to determine directions from up high. Nothing but craters and rubble for landmarks.
So after a frantic sprint across the ruins, Maverick had arrived on the battlefield just in the nick of time.
As for Astolfo, who had launched that surprise attack—
It could only be said that Chen Ge's middle school science knowledge had saved the Rider's life.
The most important factor in fire combustion? Oxygen.
When they'd been falling as a fireball, Chen Ge had made a split-second decision. He'd wrapped Astolfo completely in Moon Spirit Elixir—a protective cocoon that blocked the flames from consuming the Servant.
Of course, the rising temperature had still basically turned Astolfo into steamed meat for a while there.
But the resilience of a Heroic Spirit wasn't just for show.
However... as a price for that protection, Chen Ge himself was finished.
There was no other choice. Moon Spirit Elixir was just that troublesome to use. If he'd fully enveloped himself, he wouldn't have been able to protect Astolfo—because he would have had no vision to aim properly.
So between saving himself and saving his Servant, Chen Ge had chosen to save Astolfo.
Whether he'd died from the fall or from the burns was still up for debate. Either way, he was gone.
Another casualty of this brutal Holy Grail War. Another friend lost.
But his sacrifice hadn't been in vain. Astolfo was still here, still fighting, still ready to do what needed to be done.
So in summary: Astolfo had survived, though in rough shape, and had linked up with Maverick.
The two of them had put their heads together and sprinted all the way to Lily's battlefield like their lives depended on it.
Solo action is usually a privilege of the Archer class, Maverick had noted.
But just like how some Assassins possessed Territory Creation against all logic—
As a beneficiary of "evaporated rationality," Astolfo possessed B-rank Independent Action.
It would only last about two days without a Master... but that was more than enough for the current situation.
[Mourning_Mike]: Oh god, Chen Ge! CHEN GE!
[Surprised_Sarah]: Who would've thought Maverick would actually cry for someone else~
[Thirsty_Tina]: I feel like Astolfo is even MORE alluring with his hair down like that!
[Warning_Wayne]: Stop it, ahead is hell!
[Cursed_Carl]: A joystick? Interesting~
[Shocked_Shelly]: Who would've thought little Lily would get so serious she'd go straight for mutual destruction?!
[History_Henry]: So now it's gonna be Three Heroes vs Lü Bu again?
[Swooning_Sally]: Wow, the part where Maverick lectured Lily was so MANLY
[Down_Bad_Dan]: Yeah! I want to—
Perhaps the audience's tastes were rather... unique.
Compared to sleeping with Astolfo, everyone unanimously wanted to sleep with Maverick.
Fortunately, Maverick couldn't care less about chat thirst at this moment. After giving Lily a "fierce" noogie on the head—and watching her crouch down looking wronged while clutching her skull—he turned his attention to Medea.
"Why did the battle start?"
"What's with that look? It's not like I started it." Medea's voice was defensive. "It was the opponent's Master. He used Command Seals to forcibly control Shuten-douji."
"Is that so?" Maverick's expression hardened. "Then we'll just have to go for it."
To be honest, at this point in the Holy Grail War, Maverick was already a bit confused about all the developments. Too many twists, too many betrayals, too many dramatic moments.
But fortunately, the strategy was simple: as long as he firmly stood by Max, everything would work out.
So after briefly getting up to speed from Medea, Maverick turned his gaze toward Shuten-douji—who stood motionless in the wasteland, hundreds of meters away from everyone.
Seeing this, Lily shed her cute, wronged demeanor.
Her eyes became resolute once more.
And Astolfo, for once, didn't charge forward recklessly. Instead, the Rider fell back into formation with the others.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the battlefield grew tense.
The wind had died. The dust had settled. Even the distant sounds of destruction had faded.
Four against one. Surely the odds were in their favor now—
But then something changed.
Shuten-douji's frantic, berserk eyes... regained clarity.
She wasn't awakened by Astolfo's attack, or by any of their efforts.
It was because of her Master's death.
Lester was gone—turned into charred meat by Beowulf's final rampage. And with his death, the Command Seals binding Shuten-douji's mind had weakened dramatically.
Her naturally rebellious spirit had done the rest, breaking free of the compulsion ahead of schedule.
A look of regret crossed the oni's beautiful face.
Not being able to personally dig out that man's heart...
That truly displeased her.
As for Beowulf's death—the collateral damage from her berserk state...
Ah, that could only be blamed on bad luck.
Shuten-douji felt a little apologetic. But not much.
However, just as she was processing these thoughts, her nose twitched.
The scent in the air made her pupils constrict.
"Oh my~ Oh my~" Her voice was a melodic purr. "How strange. Why do I sense the Berserker's aura... but don't see the Berserker's figure anywhere? Can my lord answer this question for me?"
"Shuten-douji."
The voice came from behind the group.
Everyone turned.
Max was walking toward them through the ruins, his steps firm and unhurried. Dust swirled around his feet. The yellow sand of the wasteland seemed to part before him.
"Beowulf... is right before your eyes."
He raised a single finger and pointed to his own heart.
Where Beowulf's heart now beat alongside his own.
The Heart of Killing. The legacy of a true hero.
Shuten-douji's eyes widened.
Then, slowly, an unprecedentedly excited smile spread across her face.
"Are you here to fulfill our promise?"
Max's response was absolute.
"Yes. You have lost the ability to love and be loved."
His eyes met hers without flinching.
"So let me send you on your way."
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