Boom!
The mere act of running across the land created tremors like an unending earthquake, or a continuous roar of thunder, shaking people off their feet and nearly dislocating their internal organs.
The Primordial Giant, Adam, reborn with a second life, inherited both the will and the wrath of its creator. Though its target had changed, it still let out an earth-shattering roar as it swung its massive blade at the persistent insects chasing after it.
Yet, even in the face of such a walking calamity, heroes refused to give up.
"My plan is this," Chiron said while drawing his bow, communicating through a magical link. "Astolfo will cripple the giant's legs. I'll handle the spiritual core in its head, while Karna takes care of the core in its chest."
"I see! If we time it right, we can take down this big guy again!" Astolfo replied. "But Karna's still fighting Siegfried—will he really have time to help us?"
"It's fine. With effort, it can be done," Karna interjected calmly. "However, the timing of my strike will be up to me."
"Understood. We leave it to you, then."
Having lured Adam to the designated spot, Chiron drew his bow, transitioning from motion to stillness in an instant, becoming a statue of perfect strength and beauty. "Black Archer, Chiron, ready."
"Black Rider, Astolfo, also ready!"
Instead of using the communication spell, Astolfo shouted directly as he continued distracting the giant midair. A golden lance appeared in his hand—with a single command, he could dive down with unmatched agility and sever the giant's legs.
That just leaves me.
Flames of karma blazed fiercely as Karna flicked his wrist, his spear lunging toward Siegfried like a dragon. The Dragonslayer blocked with flawless technique, leaving no opening. As his jewel glowed, Siegfried exhaled sharply and swung his sword, unleashing a dusk-colored wave of energy that surged toward the son of the sun god.
The greatest respect one warrior could show another was to fight without holding back—this was the romance of battle. But Karna was more than just a warrior; he was a Servant, a hero who gave.
To do what one could within their power.
To offer what was asked of them to the best of their ability.
And to solemnly accept all consequences that followed.
This was the path Karna had chosen long ago. Even if it cost him his life, he would not waver.
"What?!" Siegfried's usually composed expression faltered. Amid the darkened slash of Balmung, droplets of vivid blood bloomed in the air, dissipating into pale flames. Though blood trickled from his lips and a gruesome wound split his chest, Karna paid it no mind. Slowly, he raised his unbreakable spear, its divine radiance igniting with brilliant light.
"Have you lost your mind, Red Lancer?" Siegfried's white hair whipped in the wind as the blue markings on his chest glowed brighter. The great hero of the Netherlands frowned and spoke gravely, "Without your invincibility, you won't survive my next strike. Why didn't you defend yourself?"
"No reason, my apologies, Black Saber." Karna shook his head, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his appearance heartbreakingly beautiful. "You have your mission, and I have a duty I must fulfill."
Raising his gaze, before Karna stood the primordial giant that reached the heavens, brandishing its weapon as it drew ever closer.
"It's time." Ignoring Siegfried's stunned expression, Karna murmured to himself, the muscles in his arm gradually tensing. "Curse my body—Burn—"
But the next moment, Karna's pupils contracted as Chiron's warning thundered through the air.
"Black Rider, danger!"
A thick mist suddenly surged forth, catching everyone off guard as it enveloped Astolfo, who was mounted atop his hippogriff!
Yes, at this critical moment, Astolfo had been trapped by an unknown Servant, which meant both the Black and Red factions had lost their chance to slay the primordial giant Adam—unless another Servant stepped up to take on the task or Astolfo managed to break free in time!
The question was, under the assault of the Blue faction's second Assassin, could Astolfo truly escape in time... or even survive?
"Huh? Wha—? Where is this?" After a brief moment of darkness, Astolfo found himself bewildered, standing in the midst of the mist. The sun had vanished from the sky, replaced by vast stretches of black. "Wait, this feeling... it's familiar..."
"Giggle..." A young girl's silvery laughter echoed faintly through the void. "We'll stab you from behind, so don't get mad, okay?"
"Huh? Oh, it's fine, I won't get mad..." The hippogriff turned its head to glare at its scatterbrained master, and only then did Astolfo widen his eyes in belated realization. "Wait... what did you say?!"
But it was already too late. Though little Jack found this sister's response amusing, Jack the Ripper's Noble Phantasm required no permission from its target to activate.
"Here begins the defense. We are the fire, the rain, the power—Maria the Ripper!"
Dimensions twisted, and the act of murder commenced. The victim was 'female'—a woman lost in the mist would be slain by the night's blade.
All three conditions had been fulfilled. The girl's strike, known as Maria the Ripper, was an absolute cursed Noble Phantasm capable of killing nearly every 'female' in existence.
If things proceeded as little Jack anticipated, Astolfo would perish instantly—his limbs dismembered, his organs plundered, his body drained of blood. These were fatal wounds even a Servant could not withstand, rendering evasion, resistance, or counterattack utterly meaningless.
Yet, if there was one miscalculation Jack the Ripper had made...
It was her misjudgment regarding a certain aspect of Astolfo, as well as her oversight of one particular Noble Phantasm he possessed.
"Ugh...!!"
His armor shattered, his exposed abdomen struck by a brutal impact, his entire body paralyzed. This was no mere energy attack—it was a curse-type Noble Phantasm activated by some esoteric law, a fragment of darkness revealed by the vengeful spirits of London's Whitechapel.
Astolfo let out a pained groan as he spat out a mouthful of blackened blood, his knees buckling. Yet he still had the strength to clutch his hippogriff's neck, allowing it to carry him safely out of the mist's reach.
"How can this be!?"
The Noble Phantasm concluded, the mist dissipated, and the silver-haired little assassin girl wore an expression of disbelief. Even as her petite body began to fall, she couldn't help but voice her confusion:
"How did you... Why aren't you dead?"
"Cough, cough... Don't let appearances fool you. I'm a bona fide male paladin under Charlemagne's command, you know?"
With a flick of her pink braid, the delicate and endearing face broke into a smile as Astolfo flashed a 'V' sign at the bewildered Jack.
Jack: "..."
"Waaah... Mommy, there's a lying pervert here!"
The little girl's distraught cries faded into the distance as Astolfo coughed a few more times, clutching her abdomen with a pained frown: "Oof, that really hurt. But I've got to thank this magic book."
Luna Break Manual.
A grimoire bestowed upon Astolfo by the witch Logistilla. It records methods to break all forms of magecraft. A constantly active-type Mystic Code that grants Astolfo Rank A Magic Resistance simply by holding it.
Even Jack's curse-type Noble Phantasm, being magic-based, could naturally be nullified by this book. Moreover, due to the natural assumption about parents, Jack had no idea Astolfo was actually male—resulting in this absurdly comical situation.
"Ah, and of course, thanks to you too, Hippogriff~~"
"Neigh—" The Hippogriff finally retracted its resentful glare, proudly raising its head before spreading its wings to carry its master toward their destination. Facing the concerned gazes of Karna and Chiron, Astolfo beamed brightly, patting her completely flat chest as the golden lance gleamed in the sunlight.
"Alright! Black Faction's Rider, Astolfo, ready for action once more!"
"Your assistance is appreciated. Let us begin."
Karna's tone was the most composed, yet the Noble Phantasm in his hand roared in his stead—brilliant flames erupted suddenly, countless streams of light surging forth as the intense radiance stung the eyes of onlookers.
"Brahmastra Kundala!"
Simultaneously, Chiron plucked the empty bowstring. A constellation flashed across the daytime sky, sending down a meteor-like strike from the master of stars.
An attack only possible for the constellation eternally drawing its bow upon the celestial scorpion—
"Antares Snipe!"
Two beams of light pierced through the giant's barrier, dealing irreversible damage to its spiritual core and furnace. The son of the sun god and the sage of the forest—both were heroes of unparalleled stature. Yet one must never forget that another hero still stood upon this battlefield.
"Take this! Trap of Argalia!"
Soaring through the skies astride a phantom steed, the golden lance-wielding cavalryman who topples foes with a touch—his name was Astolfo. Though the force behind the strike was no more than a mosquito's bite, the giant's massive body collapsed as if in jest, falling in an utterly unnatural manner.
Heroes are immensely powerful, and heroes are immensely dangerous—this was the lesson the giant learned upon its first death. Yet this time, despite calculating every move the heroes might make, it overlooked one seemingly weak and pitiable rider.
Indeed, Astolfo was weak, lacking the means to shatter the giant with a single strike. But when it came to unceremoniously sending someone tumbling head over heels, he was more than capable—for the power of a paladin was precisely this absurd yet deadly.
And this time, the giant would not get another chance to learn from its mistakes and return. The surrounding trees withered, the Primordial Adam was dead, the earth was no longer paradise, and Avicebron's painstakingly crafted "Primordial Man" had likewise turned to lifeless remains.
—Only memories remained in the minds of the heroes.
—Only records were preserved within the young mage's sorcery.
A shimmering blue light pulsed as Sakatsuki withdrew his gaze from the collapsed golem and extended a hand toward the ground. A man promptly grabbed his arm and pulled himself up without ceremony.
"Still moving, Achilles?"
"Just a fatal wound or two… or so I'd like to say, but this isn't my original body. Without a spiritual core, it'll crumble soon enough." Achilles squinted, his vision already gone, though he could faintly hear the cheers of his comrades. "So… the giant-slaying battle is over, huh?"
"Yeah. You all did well, managing to defeat a golem of that caliber." Sakatsuki's gaze fixed on the silent Karna, while Achilles leaned against him, golden motes of light gradually scattering from his body.
The time for farewells had come.
"Before I go, I've got a lot of questions for you."
"Ask away. Doesn't mean I'll answer, though."
"Hah, not even granting a dying man's wish? How cold."
"...Go on."
Achilles grinned triumphantly, shamelessly letting his full weight rest on Sakatsuki as his first question spilled out:
"Tell me, Sakatsuki—what is your wish?"