Suspended in midair, Lancer of Red—Karna—looked down upon the ground where Lancer of Black—Vlad III—stared back at him with eyes filled with icy killing intent. Raising his voice, Karna began to chant the True Name of his Noble Phantasm.
"Brahma—!"
Raising his Vasavi Shakti high with one hand, Karna's entire body erupted in blazing crimson flames.
With the temple's magical formation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon amplifying him through the power of Assassin of Red—Semiramis—Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's mana supply to the Red Faction Servants was virtually limitless.
Because of this, in the Romanian Holy Grail War, Karna—the Lancer of Red—was the only Servant whose mana consumption could rival even Selene's bottomless capacity.
Otherwise, even a first-rate magus sent from the Clock Tower—let alone an average magus—would struggle to maintain Karna's full output without external aid.
After all, even Mana Burst came in various forms.
The Mana Burst of Saber of Red—Mordred—focused more on infusing her weapon and body with mana, allowing for explosive releases that enhanced her combat abilities—essentially, a type of mana jet propulsion.
However, while Karna's Mana Burst (Flames) was also ranked A, his type was entirely different from Mordred's—and much closer to Selene's. His was not a mere jet release, but a true Burst of raw mana.
While it provided a degree of bodily reinforcement, every swing of Vasavi Shakti, every act of transforming roaring flames into mana-laced strikes, required tremendous mana expenditure.
With a sufficient mana supply, Karna could even use Mana Burst (Flames) to propel himself through the air in flight—reaching speeds near the sound barrier.
Boom!
An immense surge of mana imbued with the concept of incineration flooded into Vasavi Shakti. In an instant, divine flames blazed along the weapon's shaft, roaring skyward.
Explosions of fire erupted. Under the crimson conflagration, the very air warped from the heat.
The temperature had already far surpassed the melting point of the surrounding grass, soil, and even stone. Even from nearly a hundred meters away, Vlad could feel the wooden stakes he had conjured beginning to smolder and burn.
Yet even in the face of this godlike radiance, Vlad's eyes showed no fear. His gaze remained calm, his back straight as he raised his silver lance high, pointing it toward the airborne Karna.
"As expected of the son of the sun god Surya... To be honest, if not for this land's favor upon me, I would be unworthy to stand as your opponent."
"But! This is my homeland beneath my feet! As the ruler of this soil, I cannot—will not—retreat!"
"Kazikli Bey!"
With Vlad III's resolute declaration, the earth within hundreds of meters trembled violently as if answering the call of its king.
Schlk! Schlk! Schlk! Schlk!
Countless massive execution stakes erupted from the ground, glowing with dark-red mana as they surged upward toward Karna in the sky.
What a noble monarch...
Silently acknowledging this, Karna knew exactly what he had to do—to fight with all his might. Anything less would be an insult to a king like Vlad III.
Without hesitation, he hurled his Vasavi Shakti.
"—Brahmastra Kundala!!"
In the next moment, the golden spear shot forth like a blazing comet, tearing through the night sky. A trail of fire split the heavens, its brilliance illuminating the entire plain.
The world fell silent.
Then—CRACK!
An ear-splitting explosion erupted. The roaring flames and the violent shockwave merged into a storm of fire that swept across the land.
Soil, though hardened by heat, can only endure so much. When temperatures reached such extremes, even earth itself was reduced to ash.
The ground shattered instantly. Fire spread across the plains, melting rock into molten magma beneath the infernal blaze.
The searing flames devoured the land, and along the crimson streak carved across the horizon, everything began to melt into nothingness.
In an instant, the bloodstained thorns that Vlad III had hurled toward Karna were completely incinerated. Every defensive measure before him—layers upon layers of stakes and barriers—was reduced to dust under the expanding inferno.
No matter how much mana Vlad drew from the ley lines beneath his feet, or how many execution stakes he could summon from the earth, quantity could not compensate for such an overwhelming disparity in quality.
Even with infinite mana... I still lost, huh? So be it. My journey toward the Grail ends here. A pity... about my honor...
There was no hysteria in defeat—Vlad III accepted his loss with calm dignity. Perhaps, he only felt a faint regret. As his silver lance and arms were engulfed in divine flames, that was his final thought.
Crackle—!
Rumble—!!
...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions roared one after another, shaking the plains outside the Fortress of Millennia. The terrifying mana surge swept across half of Trifas, so powerful that magi dispatched from the Clock Tower immediately transmitted reports to headquarters: "Full-scale conflict confirmed."
The brilliant light that erupted and then vanished drew the attention of countless civilians.
For the residents of Trifas and Sighișoara, the past few days had been nothing short of a nightmare. Property destroyed, lives endangered, nerves stretched to the limit. One moment, a gas pipeline explosion; the next, an entire city block mysteriously leveled. Forest quakes, serial killers, "UFOs"—every unimaginable phenomenon had descended upon them in a matter of days.
Anyone would start to wonder if the very land itself had been cursed.
And now, at midnight, another thunderous explosion shattered the night, jolting the slumbering populace awake. One by one, the townspeople opened their windows and stepped out into the streets.
Some even thought the Ottoman Turks had returned—that war had come again.
At that moment, high above the skies between Trifas and Sighișoara—
Whoosh!
"A Noble Phantasm...? At least Anti-City level..."
Hovering in the air, Selene narrowed her eyes slightly as she gazed toward the distant explosion. "An Anti-City Noble Phantasm or higher... It must be Lancer of Red—Karna."
It seemed the battle had truly reached its boiling point—the combatants were now clashing with full force.
"Hmm...? Vlad the Impaler's aura is fading rapidly... He must have been fighting Karna. That blast earlier must've been his doing."
"And standing between them now... is Budo."
...
Molten lava gurgled as it flowed, dragging rock and debris along its burning path.
When the smoke and fire finally cleared, what emerged was a ravaged wasteland.
The earth looked as if a meteor had plowed through it—a vast semicircular chasm glowing with molten magma stretched across the battlefield. The plain had been cleaved in two, as if the God of Fire himself had struck it with a flaming blade.
Landing amidst the scorched ruins, Karna's mismatched eyes locked onto the distance where Vlad had stood. "Brahma... was blocked? No... not by the Black Lancer!"
As the final veil of dust lifted, Karna finally saw what stood before him.
The first thing to enter his sight was a towering figure with what appeared to be twin horns. Then came the sound—crackle, rumble—blue-white lightning arcing violently through the air.
The figure's iron-gray armor pulsed with electricity, bolts of thunder dancing wildly across its surface.
"A new Servant... or perhaps one of Rider of Black's warriors..." Karna mused, immediately shifting into a battle stance.
"Lord Vlad, please—rest for now."
A deep, commanding voice echoed across the devastated field. Despite the rolling thunder, its tone was clear and steady.
"Cough... General Budo, my gratitude for your aid," Vlad managed weakly.
Behind Budo's towering, four-meter frame stood the gravely wounded Lancer of Black—Vlad III.
Vlad's condition was pitiful. His once-elegant black formal attire was now nothing but charred rags. His pale skin was covered in cracks and exposed sinew, his golden hair burned nearly to the scalp. But most horrifying of all were his arms—completely incinerated from the joints down, exposing scorched flesh and bone, the smell of burnt meat heavy in the air.
"It's fine. Duty calls. Soldiers, take His Excellency back to the castle," Budo ordered coldly.
"Yes, sir!" Two warriors of the Second Astartes Legion stepped forward from behind him. Setting down a stretcher, they carefully lifted the injured Vlad III and swiftly retreated from the battlefield.
Boom!
Crackling thunder coiled around Budo's massive arms like serpents of light. From his elevated stance, he looked down upon Karna.
"Then, allow me to be your opponent," Budo said in his deep, resonant voice.
At the general's challenge, Karna's eyes focused sharply upon the gigantic man before him. His instincts told him clearly—this was no ordinary warrior, but a seasoned veteran of countless wars.
Studying him more closely, Karna could feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from Budo's lightning-charged aura. His expression grew solemn. "Very well... come!"
Budo did not waste words.
Boom!
Like the clash of two massive hydraulic pistons, his iron fists slammed together. The twin steel pylons of his upgraded Thunder God's Rage · Adramelech gauntlets released a deep, thunderous boom.
Bzzzzt—Crackle!
Wild lightning erupted, transforming into waves of tangible shock that rippled outward from Budo's fists. The ground split and quaked beneath their feet as sand and debris were hurled into the air.
The converging lightning condensed into a single orb more than four meters wide, which shot toward Karna like a meteor, leaving deep scars along its path.
Instead of retreating, Karna surged forward—his entire body blazing with crimson fire. He swung Vasavi Shakti down in a powerful arc.
CLANG!
The lightning sphere detonated, bursting apart. Karna ignored the arcs of electricity lashing around him—his golden armor easily deflecting their fury—as he thrust the spear straight ahead with godlike precision.
"..."
In combat stance, Budo met him in silence. With a single wave of his hand, he deflected the blow effortlessly. Karna's B-rank Strength was nothing before him—not even enough to make the giant's arm tremble.
Unable to withstand the counterforce, Karna was thrown backward by the impact.
Zzzzt!
A spark flashed across Budo's palm as arcs of blue-white electricity coiled around the Adramelech gauntlet. With lethal precision, the powered arm drove forward, lightning and metal roaring toward Karna's chest.
The thunderclad fist tore through the flames, scattering the inferno.
BOOM!
CLANG!
The golden spear clashed against the iron gauntlet, the air erupting in an endless chain of deafening explosions.
Furious flames and surging lightning collided again and again, leaving deep craters in the earth wherever their shockwaves struck.
BANG!
The very air between their blows burst apart, compressed and shattered by their power. After one final collision, the two combatants broke apart.
The only difference—Karna's arms had begun to tremble from the repeated impacts.
The next moment, both moved again—spear and fist striking almost simultaneously.
Budo raised his left arm, using the thick plating of Adramelech to block Karna's sweeping strike.
CLANG!
"You've slowed down."
Sparks flew as the immense collision bent the shaft of Vasavi Shakti slightly, yet Budo remained unmoved. Then, with a swift twist, he gripped the spear's shaft, yanked it backward, and drew his right fist.
His torso turned sharply, muscles coiling like steel cables, before he unleashed a devastating punch toward Karna.
Whoooom—!
The sheer force of the blow compressed the very air, producing a haunting wail.
RUMBLE—!
The instant it connected, Karna's entire body contorted violently from the impact. A thunderous explosion shook the battlefield, cracking the ground beneath them into a spiderweb of fissures as dirt and rock exploded outward like bullets.
"Gah—!"
Before Budo's massive, muscle-bound arms, Karna's 178-centimeter frame looked like that of a mere rag doll.
In the next instant, Karna was flung away with incredible speed, his body sent hurtling backward for several hundred meters before finally crashing to the ground. After rolling across the scorched earth several times, he stabbed the butt of his spear into the ground, sliding another dozen meters before coming to a stop.
"Cough—!"
Kneeling on one knee, clutching Vasavi Shakti, Karna spat a mouthful of blood.
His ribs were broken...
Glancing down at the enormous fist mark that now covered most of his upper body, even Karna was momentarily stunned. What kind of physical strength is this?!
If not for his golden armor absorbing nearly ninety percent of the force, his body—possessing only C-rank Endurance—would have been obliterated on the spot.
But what was even more shocking was that his divinely blessed body showed no signs of regeneration. For his flesh to suffer such damage meant only one thing: his opponent also possessed divinity—at least a blessing of the gods.
Hearing the distant rumble of thunder growing closer, Karna looked up just in time to see Budo's colossal figure charging toward him from several dozen meters away.
His eyelids twitched involuntarily. That speed... with such a massive body?!
Planting his foot into the earth, Karna launched himself backward, creating distance in an instant. He now understood what Mordred had once realized in similar battles—when facing these monstrous, titan-like giants, the best option was to unleash a Noble Phantasm. There was no shame in it.
After all, this was war—one never fought by handicapping themselves.
In the face of overwhelming physical might, close combat was nothing but suicide.
At once, fire ignited within Karna's clear eyes. The compressed beams of divine flame burned bright—light powerful enough to pierce the heavens. The radiant beam lanced through the night, aimed straight at the onrushing Budo.
"Brahma! Cover the earth—Brahmastra!"
"Eye beams?"
For a moment, even Budo was taken aback. A man who had seen countless battlefields—he thought he'd witnessed every form of attack imaginable, but firing beams from one's eyes was certainly a first.
Still, despite his surprise, Budo did not hesitate. Raising both fists, he slammed them together once more.
Buzz—BOOM!!
The air detonated. Blue-white lightning surged violently through the sky, crackling like a chorus of a thousand birds as it rushed forth with unstoppable force.
True, as a Servant, Budo's spiritual form restricted him from fully activating the Teigu: Thunder God's Rage · Adramelech and its various secret techniques. But simple mana discharge—unleashing thunder and lightning—was still well within his power.
It was wasteful, extravagant, and mana-intensive—but mana was the one resource the Yggdmillennia family had in abundance. Their fear was not running out of energy, but not having the strength to wield it.
Compressing his power to the absolute limit, Budo unleashed a massive lightning pillar that clashed head-on with Karna's blazing beam.
The two forces collided.
RUMBLE—!!!
In that instant, a cataclysmic shockwave erupted, rippling through the atmosphere. The very air screamed in agony.
The plains outside the Fortress of Millennia were suddenly consumed by a blinding white light—sky and earth both swallowed in a blizzard of radiance.
Lightning and fire, two primal forces of destruction, crashed against each other, compressing and annihilating everything in their path.
The continuous explosions were deafening, echoing for miles as waves of energy spread outward from the point of impact.
Crack!
Like glass shattering, the very air distorted and fractured. Within that deadly zone, even the wind itself became a weapon—scorching gales tearing through soil and stone like a typhoon of annihilation.
Any ordinary person caught in that storm would have been ripped apart in an instant.
That night, the plains were utterly ravaged—scorched and torn as though plowed by divine wrath.
RUMBLE!
And in the midst of their deadlock—Karna and Budo locked in a titanic mana struggle—a voice suddenly rang out through the magical link, sharp and urgent.
From the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Assassin of Red—Semiramis—spoke with commanding urgency.
"Lancer, retreat! Rider of Black has arrived!"