The thick pillar of red-black Mana came out of nowhere, rattling the space.
It burned through everything, the ground melting again in its shadow.
From Ainz to Rider, from Shirou and a stunned Black to Kirei Kotomine, and from the rest of Heroic Spirits to the Blackened Lancer and Primal Elementals. All just remained rooted to their places, as if disbelieving the sheer amount of destruction this one attack held within it.
None could even see Berserker before his remains were buried hundreds of meters into the stony walls of this vast chamber.
With loud, metallic thuds, Saber Alter walked among the all, a blurry image of a gray sky crumbling behind her.
The moment Archer, Saber, Rider, and Medea laid their eyes upon her, they instantly realized that they had miscalculated. They had never even imagined that with Sakura becoming complete, the evil Heroic Spirit would become even stronger.
And why would they do so?
Saber Alter had already been the strongest among all of them.
"ARCHER!" Medea screamed, a staff appearing in her hands.
Metallic chains sprouted from the earth in Saber Alter's surroundings and coiled themselves around her wrists and ankles.
In the next moment, Archer, wielding the dual swords, materialized on her back, his red pupils narrowing, becoming needles.
Saber Alter… blinked.
A sonic boom sent Archer flying, the Mana chains disintegrating.
Saber Alter appeared on top of Black, her sword burning, the Mana around it taking the shape of a red-black star.
There was no difference between this attack and the one that had pulverized Berserker.
This was the true terror of Saber Alter — powered by the Greater Grail itself.
As Excalibur Morgan traced a vile path, it annihilated everything, burning all visions with reddish blackness.
And Black disappeared under the Noble Phantasm as well.
"BLACK!" Shirou shouted.
"MASTER!!" Medea shot forward.
But the shockwave was not only physical but magical, swatting them away like flies.
As if time had stopped, all eyes landed on Medea, waiting for her to disappear… but she didn't.
Saber Alter's eyes narrowed. "Weren't you the one who declared that you have no interest in the Holy Grail War?"
As the dust settled on the stream of molten lava, they finally saw who the Blackened Servant was talking to.
Jeanne d'Arc was standing tall, wielding her flagstaff, the white flag flapping mightily as it radiated a brilliant holy aura. She looked at her bloodied shoulder, and then her gaze returned to Saber Alter, Black lying on the ground in her shadow.
"I do not," the Holy Maiden admitted. "But…"
Golden motes of light began dancing around her as she pointed the blade at the tip of her flagstaff toward Saber Alter. "… but this is not the Holy Grail War. Not anymore. Master… Are you ready?"
Betty Shaw, looking like a white ant as he stood hundreds of meters up at the edge of this massive crater, zoomed in through the Video Camera and smiled. "Ready when you are, Jeanne."
Saber Alter scoffed, and the War resumed with a monstrous bang.
Fire that could burn the Heroic Spirits to ashes swept the ground as the Primal Fire Elemental clawed at Saber. Wind that could shred the Heroic Spirits to pieces hissed across the space as the Primal Wind Elemental roared at Medea.
Blackened Lancer blinked on top of Archer, thrusting Gáe Bolg.
Ainz Ooal Gown swept his hand, firing Reality Slash at Rider.
"Dear Audience," Betty began directing. "The odds are against us. The advantage of numbers has all but disappeared when Saber Alter revealed her true strength. If nothing is done to counter these odds, then the Evil will win.
"At such a crucial time, we can do nothing but pin our hopes on the Herald of Justice itself. So… let me present you… Jeanne d'Arc, the Holy Maiden. Look. You must look closely. Look how Jeanne defies fate to counter Saber Alter's corrupt Noble Phantasm, despite lacking in strength compared to her.
"How's it possible? It is! It is possible! You wanna know why?! I will tell you, then. Because… you are watching her… You are making her strong with your hopes, dear audience."
All Glitches bordered on being called Blasphemies against Fate itself.
They defied logic, reality, and imagination. They were what shouldn't even exist. They were the epitome of the word — Impossibility!
Excalibur Morgan exploded right on top of the Holy Maiden as a mad Saber Alter hacked her sword.
The faux Ruler-Class Servant… disappeared.
As the Noble Phantasm tore a hole into the ground, Jeanne appeared to Saber Alter's right and slammed her flagstaff on her head.
The evil Heroic Spirit's baffling instincts saw the attack coming from miles away, making her lift her left hand to guard herself.
"… The Hope the Holy Maiden carries on her shoulder," Betty commented, "made her weapon heavier…"
Suddenly, uncontrolled by Jeanne, the massive flagstaff drooped, as if its weight had increased by tons instantly.
Instead of landing on her head, it landed on Saber Alter's waist… that was only guarded by her armor.
A BOOM rang out as Saber Alter was sent flying.
Like a golden angle, Jeanne blinked near Blackened Saber before she could even land.
"The Hope the Holy Maiden carries in her mind," Betty commented, "made her think fast…"
Jeanne's eyes suddenly glowed, her Instincts rising to a level closer to that of Saber Alter's. Even as the Blackened Saber hacked at Jeanne using Excalibur, leaving a red-black trail, the latter not only dodged, bending her waist, but slammed the flagstaff on her waist… again.
Booms and Bangs rocked the world as Jeanne and Saber Alter exchanged moves.
The corrupt Excalibur began melting the surroundings, bursts of red-black Mana exploding like supernova now and then. Yet, her attacks failed to land even once on Jeanne, her every attack making contact.
Betty Shaw smiled behind the camera, panning on the Holy Maiden.
"And that's why even if we don't like violence, dear audience," he commented, adding a glowing effect on Jeanne, "we can't help but cheer for those who are being weighed by our Hopes. Because…
"… they are the true Heroes of the Holy Wars!"
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