A sports car roared out of an alley onto the riverside highway, executing a sharp drift before screeching to a halt.
Saber leaped out before the door fully opened, sprinting up the riverbank.
The dense fog, enough to blind ordinary people, posed no obstacle to Servants or mages with enhanced vision.
Soon, Saber spotted the indescribable mountain of flesh in the center of the Miyama River. Gilles, within the mass, saw her too.
"Ohh... holy maiden! Your timing is perfect. Seeing you again is my greatest honor."
"???"
The voice from the flesh mound left Saber bewildered.
Irisviel, stepping out of the car, peered cautiously from behind Saber, who stood on high alert, at the grotesque mass.
"Saber, do you know him?"
"No, I have no recollection."
Hearing Saber and Irisviel's whispers, Gilles' voice from within the mound grew frantic. "Ohh, how could this be? Have you forgotten me? We just—"
His words cut off as he seemed to realize the girl before him was different.
Saber's expression turned icy at his incoherent ramblings. "There's no 'forgetting.' This is our first meeting. You've mistaken me for someone else!"
"Ohh... sob, sob... It's me! Your ever-loyal servant, Gilles de Rais! I've prayed for your resurrection, longed for this miracle, awaited the day we'd meet again. I came here for you, Jeanne!"
The voice from the flesh mound grew more erratic, Gilles' shouts those of a madman.
"How tragic, how lamentable! Not only have you lost your memory, but your sanity too? Damn it! Damn it! O God, why are you so cruel to my beautiful maiden?"
"Enough! You're pathetic."
Saber's sharp rebuke rang out. A feeling of disgust, distinct from fear, crawled over her, as if something repulsive had fixed its gaze on her, raising goosebumps.
"Aaahhh!"
Gilles' voice morphed into a piercing shriek, a cacophony blending the cries of frogs, whales, and countless aquatic creatures—an indescribable wail.
With his shriek, twisted, ominous mana erupted from the heart of the colossal demon—once Gilles' grimoire—spawning countless otherworldly monsters.
The shriek shifted through three phases.
First, swarms of small demons, resembling stacked sea anemones and coral, emerged with black magical mist.
Second, massive tentacles—part octopus, part squid—burst from the water, thrashing wildly.
Third, indescribable, grotesque creatures plummeted from the sky and rose from the sea, unlike any earthly life, as if dredged from the primordial deeps of a bygone age.
At that moment, demons danced in chaos!
"Woo-laaa!"
Iskandar's thunderous chariot soared in from afar, crashing onto the sea. Like a farmer reaping wheat, it mowed through the demons.
Foul blood turned to ash in the lightning's wake, the chariot grinding across the sea's surface.
Tentacles and blood sprayed outward, but new demons rose from the sea where the chariot passed.
Severed tentacles regrew from their stumps.
From the wreckage of destroyed demons, identical new ones spawned.
Worse, the spreading sea of corrupted blood birthed fresh reinforcements.
Buzz!
Roman mimed a pistol, aiming at the massive figure faintly visible in the fog and firing.
A mana cannon, like a locomotive's blast, tore through the colossal demon's body. Tentacles and blood rained down.
But in an instant, the severed flesh regenerated.
"Ugh, this is unbearable."
Roman, watching the demonic frenzy on the sea, felt both physical and psychological revulsion.
"Hey, King of Conquerors! Let's head to shore! We won't finish these demons without dealing with that thing first."
"Got it, King Solomon!"
Iskandar saw the issue and steered the chariot toward land.
The foul mass of flesh swelled into form. No—this was the true body of the otherworldly demon. All the familiars Gilles had summoned were mere fragments of this entity.
Dawn was shrouded by thick fog, transforming Fuyuki into a misty abyss. Against the dark haze, a grotesque shadow loomed, its terrifying, awe-inspiring form stealing the breath of all who saw it.
Even the mightiest whales or giant squids of the deep paled in comparison. This aquatic behemoth was a true "Sea Demon," a kin of the gods ruling alien oceans.
Woo!
An indescribable wail echoed through Fuyuki, its complex tones and shockwaves lulling countless mortals into slumber.
...
"Hey, what's that? It's too interesting!"
Reines' eyes blazed like fire, excruciating pain pulsing through her optic nerves, as if jolting her entire brain.
Pain and pleasure—two opposing expressions—mingled on her face.
The colossal demon was undoubtedly a child's nightmare, but for Reines, it was a fragment of her joyful memories.
"Gilles..."
Jeanne, holding Reines, leaped across rooftops, swiftly approaching the coast.
...
"Iri! They're all Servants."
Saber eyed the chariot speeding toward her, crowded with passengers. Kingu stood encircled by her chains, Iskandar's imposing frame dominated, and Roman was squeezed in with Waver.
"They're likely here to take down Caster Gilles together!"
Irisviel gazed at the massive figure looming in the fog. With her vision, she could even see the countless eyes dotting its tentacles.
A chill ran through her.
She flinched, her face contorting in disgust.
The sight repelled her on both a psychological and physical level.
Even Saber, battle-hardened and seasoned, couldn't hide her grimace.
This "art" was utterly incompatible with modern Earth's aesthetics.
***
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