At the other end of the world—
In the void, Satsuki sat cross-legged upon a black mandala. Shadows flickered around her, rippling outward as black lightning danced through her hair and between her brows. Behind her, the Wheel of Vipralopa radiated across the vast cosmos, and within her reincarnated eyes, she observed all phenomena of the mortal world.
Her presence embodied both the sanctity of a buddha and the allure of a demon, but far more terrifying than either was the immense power that enveloped her being. The oppressive force she exuded could easily subdue the world.
"Relying on Camelot's rebound, combined with the world's special authority effect… to think you could force me into this form." 3
Satsuki's lips curved in pure delight, but the words she spoke chilled all who heard them.
"You truly are worth killing. Unfortunately…"
Even as those words left her mouth—
"Rider, what's wrong!?"
Sharing the same steed as the King of Conquerors, Waver suddenly felt something wet drip down from behind him. When he turned around—
Shock froze him.
The King of Conquerors vomited a mouthful of blood skyward. The magical energy emanating from his body fluctuated wildly, teetering on the brink of collapse.
"What… what's happening? How can this be?"
Such magical backlash typically occurred only with either the most unstable of magi—or the most overwhelmingly powerful. Waver was neither. His mana was far too limited to have caused Rider's magical circuits to go berserk.
"Ah, don't worry," came the King of Conquerors' bold reply, his tone still steady. "It's merely that controlling a Noble Phantasm of this magnitude for the first time makes my heart race beyond restraint."
"Idiot! That's not something you can just brush off—you're already—"
Tap.
A thick finger, rough as an old tree's root, pressed lightly against Waver's forehead. The King of Conquerors smiled as he looked forward.
"This expedition—this grand conquest—even as the King of Conquerors, I never expected certain victory. But whether we triumph or fall, this… this is the best ending I could ask for."
As he spoke, another spray of blood escaped his lips. Cracks began spreading across the mental world—the Reality Marble shaped by his heart and the will of his soldiers.
Having directly opposed Satsuki's Vipralopa Desire Realm, the King of Conquerors had also withstood the aftermath of The Star of Creation that Separates Heaven and Earth and Vipralopa: Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
Even with Mash's barrier, even with his three thousand Heroic Spirits defending him, it was still far too much for a mortal spirit to endure an aftershock capable of splitting heaven itself.
Satsuki, with her Demon Buddha Golden Body and Dead Line Boundary, could absorb such devastation head-on. But Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, could not.
By all rights, he should have perished instantly. Yet at the final moment, the King of Knights had intervened—transferring the protection of Avalon from Mash to the King of Conquerors, barely preserving his life.
Though he would soon recover, the price was steep.
Mash suffered severe backlash, and the entire Holy City of Camelot—constructed upon her Noble Phantasm—began to collapse. More than half of the Creation of Heaven and Earth · The God-Slaying Army vanished amidst the shifting of the world itself.
The Gate of Babylon possessed the power to cleave worlds—but such power did not discriminate. It severed all realms indiscriminately.
Satsuki, however, was a being who wielded the authority of Status Infusion and Energy control.
By delicately applying Status Infusion, she synchronized the collapse of her own world's condition with that of her opponent's. So long as the other side's divine authority did not surpass her own, she could impose effects beyond mortal comprehension.
The King of Conquerors's divinity was but at rank C. Against Satsuki's godhood, he was as frail as an infant.
Even without invoking a Noble Phantasm's True Name, she could easily dismantle his world.
Yet the King of Heroes' earlier strike had genuinely impressed her—just as the Creation of Heaven and Earth · The God-Slaying Army had.
Though that army had seemed merely defensive, it was precisely the existence of that world—capable of matching her Vipralopa Desire Realm—that prevented Satsuki's Judgment of the Ten Kings · Veil of Light and Shadow from manifesting.
That technique, one of the Four Great Forces, was an ultimate art—an end that could suppress all existence.
But within the King of Conquerors's Reality Marble, its laws were his own and those of his summoned host. Veil of Light and Shadow could not cross the boundaries of two worlds to take effect.
To witness such a defense—this was the first time Satsuki had ever seen anything like it.
The King of Heroes' strike had been nothing short of divine judgment upon an entire world, containing authority and godly might nearly equal to her own.
Yet, unfortunately, that blow was not wielded by the true god Enki itself, but merely by Gilgamesh. Though its authority rivaled the Demon Buddha Māra in potency, it lacked endurance.
After releasing such a strike, even with the Gate of Babylon's support, the King of Heroes could not sustain another full-powered attack for some time.
"It seems you finally understand your situation," Satsuki's cold voice echoed from above. As she raised her right hand, nine orbs of truth merged together, forming a golden longsword that materialized within the void.
When that sword stretched across the heavens, even those who had transcended humanity—embodiments of legend and history—felt the immeasurable distance separating them from the sky above.
This was an absolute strike of annihilation—a force so devastating that even the Counter Force itself would tremble in fear. The black lightning that danced from the blade carried the essence of oblivion, capable of erasing even entropy itself.
Before such power, the King of Conquerors was struck speechless. The King of Heroes growled in defiance.
And finally—the third king stepped forward.
"Leave the rest to me, King of Conquerors, King of Heroes."
The King of Knights, crowned with the diadem of stars, strode forward across the yellow sands, standing before the crumbling Holy City of Camelot.
"I have witnessed your paths of kingship. I must admit—they are truly admirable and worthy of reverence."
"But for me, my bond with my people, and with my homeland—that is the source of my kingship."
Raising the radiant golden sword before her, she stood—a figure who had once illuminated the darkness deeper than night, a hero who had defied despair.
Ten years of endurance without faltering, twelve battles fought without defeat—her achievements unmatched, her glory unparalleled. It transcended time and would remain eternal.
That brilliant sword was the crystallization of every warrior's lifelong prayer, the embodiment of a dream pursued across the ages—a prayer named Glory.
"My goal has always been to save Britain. That will never change. But now, I shall also save my people."
With her declaration, a pillar of golden light erupted skyward from her body. Around her, twelve additional pillars of golden brilliance flared into existence.
Within each beam stood a spectral figure—a Heroic Spirit of renown, their legends known to all, their myths eternal.
They were none other than the twelve illustrious Knights of the Round Table.
Among the twelve golden pillars of light, one shone upon Mash as well. The spirit of Galahad, long dormant within her, was awakened at that very moment.
In the past, when Satsuki had sensed the divine craftsmanship of the sword in her opponent's hand, she had wondered why—compared to the scabbard Avalon—the sword itself seemed so much weaker.
Now, as she gazed upon the golden sword raised high before her, she finally understood its secret.
The Sword of Promised Victory, the Sword of the Stars, could not be wielded by a single hero's will alone.
For this was a sword capable of cleaving an entire planet in two.
Its origin lay in its purpose—it was a sword forged solely to save the world. To restrain its overwhelming power, the ancient kingdom's King of Knights and her twelve knights set forth sacred laws to bind it.
Those bindings were known as the Thirteen Restraints, the second scabbard that concealed the sword's true form. Only in moments where multiple acts of honor and destiny converged could the sword be truly released.
And now, the ceremony to release that second scabbard had begun.
"Thirteen Restraints, release. Convene the Round Table."
"This is battle for survival—Kay."
"This is battle against one stronger than oneself—Bedivere."
"This is battle not against the fae—Lancelot."
"This is battle not for selfish desire—Galahad."
…
And last of all came the resolute declaration from Artoria herself:
"This is battle to save the world—Artoria."
As the Round Table's resolutions were proclaimed, seven or more golden lights shimmered across the sword's surface.
The bindings upon the golden sword were undone, revealing its complete, unrestrained form.
It was a sword that rivaled Satsuki's Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion—a sword of the stars.
The fully liberated King of Knights lifted her shining blade, her emerald eyes locking upon Satsuki, who stood beyond the world itself. Yet within her mind, she recalled the moment of their first meeting.
For but a heartbeat, hesitation flickered.
Then, as a true king, she severed all doubt—and swung forth her final strike.
—"Sword of Promised Victory!" [Ex—calibur!]
Annihilation and salvation. Two resplendent blades beyond this world's limits finally met in a direct clash.
...
What does the destruction of a world look like?
No one truly knows. Few, if any, ever live to see it.
But when that immense golden sword met the radiant light of destruction unleashed by the King of Knights, the heroes of legend—their names immortalized across myth and history—witnessed the requiem of a dying world.
At the point where the two golden blades crossed was pure void—the outer edge of reality itself.
The unimaginable force of their impact birthed a miniature black hole at the center of their collision.
Space warped. The world tore apart.
Within that region, from which even light could not escape, space itself collapsed.
"Though I didn't use the Vipralopa Orbs, this game has finally become interesting."
Satsuki released her Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. The golden sword dissolved into light, breaking once more into nine orbs that floated serenely behind her. Her figure flickered—and she vanished from the void.
Meanwhile—
"Oi, King of Knights, is that move of yours saving the world or destroying it?"
The King of Conquerors rubbed his temples as he watched the swirling black hole beyond.
"Tch, silence."
The King of Knights could not afford to stop her torrent of light. Though Satsuki's power had faded, the black hole still possessed immense destructive potential. She had to keep pouring energy into it—feeding its insatiable hunger.
After another half-minute of immense energy discharge, the black hole finally ceased its pull and vanished into the void, satiated.
"Haah… haah…"
Exhausted, the King of Knights nearly collapsed, her legs buckling beneath her. Fortunately, Mash reacted swiftly, rushing forward to support her.
Thanks to Avalon's healing light, her strength gradually returned.
The army forged by the combined might of the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors—an army unmatched across heaven and earth—had faced an enemy unlike any before.
And though the battle's outcome was uncertain, one truth remained: they had not lost.
Against the Demon Buddha, that alone was a miracle.
At last, the King of Conquerors's Reality Marble, sustained by his soldiers and the mana of the Gate of Babylon, dissolved. Everything shattered like foam, and the scene returned to its origin—the courtyard of Einzbern Castle.
The white, serene moonlight bathed the courtyard in silence, not a single mote of dust stirring in the still air.
"King of Knights, I must admit," said the King of Conquerors as he approached, "just moments ago, I had underestimated your path of kingship. I once thought your way was nothing more than the idealism of a young girl—but after witnessing that final strike, I finally understand why you walk that path."
"Hm?"
The King of Knights blinked, momentarily puzzled by his words.
"To wield such power and command such a Noble Phantasm… only a truly pure and righteous king could bear that burden," said the King of Heroes solemnly, his golden eyes fixed upon her sword and the invisible sheath at her side. "In this world, there may be no one more suited to them than you."
"So… our alliance?"
The King of Conquerors stroked his beard and chuckled. "Isn't the answer obvious? Though I hesitated to recognize you as a true king before, the conviction you displayed in that strike shone bright enough to earn even my respect."
At that moment, another proud voice echoed in agreement.
"At first, I thought that such a kingship would be far too heavy a burden for your frail frame."
"—King of Heroes?"
"But I have seen it now—you possess the strength to shoulder that weight. I have nothing further to say."
Even the proudest of kings, the oldest of monarchs, had offered his acknowledgment.
Saber's gaze remained as clear and calm as ever, her eyes gleaming with confidence. "Then, our cooperation stands."
"Indeed."
"That's right."
...
"Well, you're certainly bold—taking on the three strongest Servants of the Holy Grail War all by yourself."
Standing before her with an expression of exasperated fury, Angra Mainyu glared at Satsuki. The latter, having returned to her usual calm demeanor, merely waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
"Know what you're—?!"
Angra Mainyu stormed up to her, shouting, "Idiot! Do you realize that battle completely exposed you to this world's Counter Force? Even as Saver, facing the will of the world itself, you—mmmph!"
She didn't finish the sentence—because Satsuki had casually stuffed a piece of fruit into her mouth.
"Relax," Satsuki said with a faint smile. "I know what I'm doing."