Strange as it may seem.
Watching Asuka approach alongside the nauseating swarm of bugs, the anger on Francesca's face suddenly vanished.
She abruptly broke into an inexplicable, eerie giggle. The rapid shift in her demeanor left Asuka somewhat bewildered.
"Hehehe... hehehehe..."
She gave up struggling, allowing the Crest Worms to crawl all over her body, gnawing at her dress and skin.
"My, my, it seems I can't scare you. I really can't keep up the act anymore."
"Ah, I failed, I failed. I wanted to play a little longer."
Her body deflated like a punctured balloon.
The zipper on her abdomen unzipped itself. Instead of internal organs, a massive amount of black mud poured out.
"I am Francesca Prelati... I am an immortal phantom, an eternal prank."
"This body is nothing more than a broken doll."
Her eyes locked onto Asuka, brimming with a vicious curse. "Avenger... and that immortal old bug..."
"Remember this feeling."
"We will meet again, at the next corner, in the next nightmare..."
"Cut the crap. There won't be a next time."
Before Francesca could finish her sentence, Asuka ruthlessly thrust his blade straight through her zipper.
"...Ah? Ah? Ah!!!"
The Flying Princess, who had intended to leave some parting threats, suddenly felt an irresistible devouring sensation emanating from the depths of her soul.
"What is this? What are you doing?!"
Francesca's body rapidly disintegrated, turning into foul-smelling black mud. This was originally her method of resurrecting after converting into magical energy.
But now, this black mud and magical energy surged into the Avenger's blade. Not a single drop showed any sign of flowing back into the Spiritual Leylines.
"No, a nuisance like you must be pulled up by the roots," Asuka rejected her coldly.
Gazing at Francesca's soul core, which was growing increasingly terrified yet unable to make a sound, Asuka felt a heavy, muffled echo resonate from the Zanpakuto in his hand.
In the Mirror Plain deep within his inner world, Francesca's soul plummeted continuously until it crashed heavily onto the ground.
Thud!!
She struggled to her feet, staring in disbelief at the sight before her.
"How is this possible?! I... Where am I..."
A purely white figure with no facial features appeared behind her, staring coldly at Francesca.
Scattered haphazardly at his feet were countless miscellaneous items.
There were bone-masked monsters tainted with black mud and bound by red threads, grotesque Crest Worms, and the Sea Monster summoned by François's Noble Phantasm.
Francesca looked at the white shadow in shock. Just as she was about to speak, the figure seized her by the throat.
"Ah—!!!"
Crunch, crunch.
After a scalp-numbing series of chewing sounds, the self-proclaimed immortal witch instantly fell dead silent.
Only the terrifying sound of swallowing echoed across the Mirror Plain.
Caster, François, was eliminated.
The Sea Monster's mangled remains sank into the deep river like a collapsing mountain, kicking up massive splashes before rapidly dissolving into streams of magical energy that vanished into the horizon.
Asuka stood in the middle of the bridge, his blade still dripping with the remnants of Francesca's black mud.
Tonight's battle had taken a massive toll. He took continuous deep breaths, regulating the magical energy within his body.
He couldn't lower his guard just yet. His gaze locked onto Zouken.
Zouken shook out his robes, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Avenger, your swordsmanship is truly fierce. Those clowns' illusions were annoying, but they were ultimately just cheap parlor tricks."
He looked up toward the sky. "Another Heroic Spirit has exited the stage. The Holy Grail's vessel is slowly being filled."
Asuka shot him a cold glance, ignoring the insincere praise, and turned his attention toward the riverbank.
There, Artoria stood holding her glowing holy sword. Her golden hair was slightly disheveled, and she was panting heavily.
That previous strike had drained a tremendous amount of magical energy from her.
Not far from her, Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, also looked somewhat sluggish.
Continuously maintaining a powerful Reality Marble like Ionioi Hetairoi while slaughtering hordes of monsters was a heavy burden for him, especially since his Master was just a brat with a meager supply of magical energy.
"Look, Soul Reaper," Zouken shuffled over to Asuka's side, extending a skeletal finger to point at the two weakened figures on the riverbank.
"Those two kings... Their magical energy is depleted, and their stamina is overdrawn. This is the most perfect opportunity to harvest them since the war began."
Asuka's grip on his sword tightened.
"What? Did you develop some cross-temporal camaraderie during your brief time fighting side by side?" Zouken let out a sinister, dry chuckle.
"Do not forget, this is the Holy Grail War. You and they are competitors; you were never teammates."
"As long as they are alive, we cannot claim ultimate victory. Remember?"
"...You just reminded me." Asuka turned to look at Zouken. "We should be competitors too, right?"
"How could we be? You still don't quite understand the rules of the Holy Grail War."
Zouken pointed toward the sky. "The Holy Grail requires the sacrifice of at least six Heroic Spirits in this war to fill it with enough energy to grant a wish."
"When the time comes to grant the wish, I will have Kariya transfer his Command Spells to me. I will then order Berserker to kill himself, and I will make my wish to reach the Root..."
"What?!" Asuka was shocked. "You're actually going to make that Soul Reaper die?"
Before Asuka could recover from his shock, Zouken continued, "Of course. After all, if one wishes to reach the Root, six Heroic Spirits are not enough. Seven Heroic Spirits is a much safer bet."
"And you are an irregular eighth Class, a Pseudo-Servant who shouldn't even exist in this world. Therefore, sacrificing you would be useless."
"As you can see, Berserker has already lost his sanity. What use does he have for a wish?"
"I shall leave the Heroic Spirit's wish to you... After all, as I said, our interests align. This will also concentrate the wishing power of Heaven's Feel."
He seemed to already be yearning for life in the Soul Society, his pitch-black eyes gleaming. "When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you to take me to that fellow Urahara, so we can find a way to convert me into a pure spiritual entity..."
Zouken's desire was so naked, yet so genuine—so genuine that Asuka could actually understand it completely.
A flash of hesitation crossed his eyes, as if he were weighing his options.
"Look, the mad Soul Reaper that Kariya summoned is currently stalling that troublesome King of Heroes for us."
"Act quickly. Only by rapidly thinning the ranks of the Heroic Spirits now can their energy be fed back into Heaven's Feel."
"Otherwise, once that guy frees up his hands, things will become much more troublesome."
Zouken Matou didn't even want to wait for Asuka to make a decision. He began heading down the bridge, intending to eliminate the two Servants as quickly as possible.
Asuka closed his eyes. What filled his mind was not this war.
But rather, a figure wearing a butterfly hair ornament.
He truly wanted to go back. He wished he could rush back right this instant.
"..."
Asuka opened his eyes again, his previous hesitation having morphed into absolute resolve.
He abruptly leaped down from the bridge.
Landing right in front of the two kings.