Tokiomi Tohsaka swirled his red wine glass, elegantly evaluating the situation. "Although that Avenger has some strength, his Master is too weak."
"In front of an orthodox magus like Lord Kayneth, he is ultimately just a barbarian."
"It's a pity. I originally thought he could bring more variables to this war."
High above, at an altitude of ten thousand meters.
Sitting on the edge of the airship and dangling her legs, Francesca also let out a disappointed sigh.
"My, my, is it over already? That boy is too fragile, isn't he? How boring..."
Everyone thought this was the end.
"It can't be helped. I didn't really want to use this power, but it seems I have no choice now."
Asuka turned his head, casting a glance at Sumire Kamado. "Kid, bear with it."
"Understood!" Sumire understood his intent and immediately focused all her attention on controlling the flow of magical energy within her body.
This was the trump card the two of them had established, meant to be used only in moments of absolute crisis.
Through the information instilled in him by Heaven's Feel, Asuka could view his Class panel.
And on that panel, the base ability of the Avenger class was recorded...
He looked inward at his Saint Graph.
At this moment, aside from Sumire's magical energy, a dark, viscous, mud-like energy was flowing within his body.
It was the pain and resentment left inside him from Diarmuid's attacks and Kayneth's magical bombardment.
It was the malice of others, as well as his own anger.
This was the Class Skill of an Avenger—[Avenger].
It converted the damage he sustained into his own energy of pain, absorbing and storing the malice and curses of others...
When this resentment accumulated to its peak... it would bring disaster to his enemies!
Time seemed to slow down at this moment.
Asuka looked at Kayneth, his smile laced with a chilling coldness.
*Boom—!!*
"Die!!" Kayneth did not understand why he was smiling, but feeling uneasy, he decisively swung his arm down.
The massive silver axe chopped down toward Asuka's head with a howling gale.
However, right at the instant the giant axe was about to touch Asuka's hair...
A surge of malice rose from the ground.
A pitch-black hand, seemingly entwined with evil thoughts from hell, appeared out of thin air and firmly caught the giant axe that possessed enough force to cleave the earth.
"What?!"
Kayneth was horrified.
At this moment, Asuka's eyes were completely pitch black.
The originally faint magical energy on his body was now burning wildly like a lit pyre!
Those unhealable wounds previously left on his body by Gae Buidhe had all turned into black patterns, emitting a suffocating, terrifying fluctuation.
"You... had a lot of fun hitting me just now, didn't you?"
Asuka's voice became hoarse and low, sounding as if two voices were overlapping.
"Magus..."
*Crack!*
Asuka clenched his hand violently.
The indestructible giant axe formed by Volumen Hydrargyrum actually shattered inch by inch in his grasp, turning into a puddle of waste liquid!
"This is impossible!!" Kayneth shrieked. "That's Volumen Hydrargyrum! How could it be crushed like this!!"
"Diarmuid! Kill him quickly!!"
By now, Diarmuid had also noticed that something was wrong.
The aura of the Avenger before him had completely changed.
If he was a fierce beast before, then now, he was a demon god who had broken free from his chains!
The overwhelming malice and resentment rushing at his face were so thick that he could barely breathe.
"Don't even think about harming my Lord!"
Diarmuid held nothing back. He thrust Gae Buidhe and Gae Dearg simultaneously, transforming them into two streaks of light aimed straight at Asuka.
But in Asuka's eyes at this moment, the movements were as slow as a snail.
"Get lost."
Asuka roared and slashed out with his sword.
*Boom—!!*
A black slash howled forward.
Before Diarmuid could even get close, he was blown away by this shockwave composed entirely of pure resentment!
'Is this... the Avenger's ability...'
Asuka looked at Sumire Kamado struggling behind him, feeling the violent power continuously surging from within his body.
This power did not consume Sumire's magical energy; it burned the enemy's malice, as well as his own pain.
Similarly, it would bring deep agony to both him and his Master.
It hurt a lot, but it was incredibly strong!
He looked at Kayneth floating in mid-air.
The imperious magus finally revealed a look of shock on his face.
"You... what kind of monster are you..." Kayneth commanded the Volumen Hydrargyrum to construct defensive barriers one after another in front of him, his mind racing to figure out how to deal with this troublesome Servant.
Asuka remained silent, slowly raising Nugata in his hand.
The originally black and red flowing light on the blade had now completely turned into a profound pitch black.
It was the accumulation of all the damage, all the anger, and all the resentment from tonight, condensed into—
A fatal strike!
"Devour everything—"
"Avici・Black Rope Hell!!"
Gripping the blade with both hands, Asuka swung it viciously at Kayneth in the air.
Between the two of them, a pitch-black [Line] appeared, one that even erased space itself.
That line ignored distance and defense, directly piercing through the several-meter-thick barrier of Volumen Hydrargyrum in front of Kayneth.
*Slash!*
The Volumen Hydrargyrum, known as an absolute defense, was as fragile as a piece of paper before this slash containing endless resentment.
"Ah..."
Kayneth's expression froze.
He looked down, staring blankly at his chest.
There, a thin blood line had appeared.
Immediately after, a massive amount of blood erupted from the wound like a fountain!
A mournful scream echoed through the night sky.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
Kayneth fell from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the ground, his blood dyeing the earth red.
That slash not only cut through his defenses but also directly inflicted heavy damage on his Magic Circuits and internal organs, slicing half of his body open.
If the Volumen Hydrargyrum hadn't desperately twisted the trajectory of the black line at the very last second, this strike would have killed him on the spot!
"Lord!!"
Diarmuid, who had climbed up in the distance, let out a heart-wrenching roar upon seeing this scene.
He rushed over recklessly, picking up the heavily injured and unconscious Kayneth. He cast one last glance at Asuka, who stood tall like a demon god, his eyes full of unwillingness.
But he knew the tide had turned.
If they continued to fight, they would all die here.
He stopped engaging, hoisted Sola-Ui onto his shoulder, and holding Kayneth, turned into a streak of light, quickly disappearing into the night.
Asuka did not pursue.
It wasn't that he wanted to let Kayneth off the hook; he simply lacked the strength to do so.
After swinging that strike, the violent black aura on his body receded like the tide.
"Cough..."
He looked at the congested blood he coughed up into his palm and shook his numb arm.
'Although I heavily injured a strong enemy using the Avenger's skill, this unpleasant feeling... it's better to use it sparingly.'
"But... at least I drove them away..."