The fading light of the shattered moon slowly vanished from sight.
The completely collapsed Millennium Castle disappeared into the glow. The surroundings reverted back to the rooftop of the shrine as it had been before.
Arcueid's eyes shifted from gold back to their usual crimson. She exhaled in relief, looking up at Tatari hovering in the air: "Did you feel it deeply? That—was the true Moon Fall."
"Deeply enough that I will never forget it."
Tatari answered with a trembling voice.
When the Moon Fall struck him, he—something that should have been incapable of death—had felt a fleeting shadow of mortality he hadn't experienced in ages. It was like being shoved to the edge of a cliff and forced to stare into an endless abyss.
Yet, he did not die.
"The Night of Wallachia will not end here. Though it is regrettable that the Princess's Executor has been lost, I will not perish. You have no means to stop me. The ritual will continue throughout the night, until this entire city is consumed by me."
"And all of you... unfortunately, I must invite you to be devoured alongside this city. You have defiled my stage, polluted my backstage. Your sins cannot be forgiven. So please, descend into hell and witness my eternal ceremony."
As he spoke, Tatari's body once again emitted thick black mist. An immense gravitational force formed a storm atop the roof, pulling everything around it mercilessly into the abyss within his form.
Just as he declared, he would consume Misaki City by any means necessary—until the city vanished completely, or until sunrise the next day.
However—
"No. Your ceremony ends tonight."
Naoki, who had been shielding Ciel, stood up, embracing her. He turned to Arcueid: "You just used the Moon Fall once. Are you going to push yourself to use it again now? If not, we can switch roles."
"Who are you underestimating?" Arcueid smiled faintly. "I only used the Moon Fall once. I'm still full of energy! As long as Naoki is by my side, my strength feels inexhaustible!"
As she said this, Arcueid gently snapped her fingers.
It was a simple, ordinary gesture. Nothing in the surroundings seemed to change.
"What are you—"
Tatari was just about to mock Arcueid for such a meaningless, powerless act. But before he could finish, an anomaly struck without warning!
Tatari's main body floating in the air—the strange, orb-like mass of light—began rapidly shrinking! Compressing violently inward toward its core!
Blinding light suddenly erupted. And when the radiance faded, a human figure stood alone on the empty ground.
An elegant cloak, soft golden hair, a handsome face—his appearance was undeniably identical to Zepia Eltnam Atlasia.
"T-this... my body has taken physical form?!"
Tatari immediately grasped his situation. But overwhelming confusion quickly flooded his heart and mind.
"Impossible. Walachia returned to his original form?! How could such an absurd thing happen? Could it have been that direct strike earlier...? No, impossible. Even a True Ancestor noble couldn't possibly revert me, a phenomenon, back to my original form!"
In truth, it wasn't the Moon Fall that reverted Tatari to his original form—it was merely Arcueid's finger snap.
What secret lay within that simple gesture?!
"Five hundred years ago, you made a contract with that Eclipse Princess of Black Blood to achieve the Sixth Magic, right?"
Naoki suddenly spoke. His words touched upon a distant past for Tatari.
"Altrouge Brunestud, the ruler of blood and contracts. You made a pact with her to attain the Sixth Magic and absorbed the power of the Red Moon. But that power isn't eternal—it only lasts until the Red Moon descends again. That's how it works, isn't it?"
"I'm truly curious how you know this. That should have happened five hundred years ago in a parallel world unrelated to you." Tatari paused, then replied. "Yes, it's true. That's exactly why I'm confused. The Red Moon should still exist in the future. The Night of Wallachia ritual I created should end a thousand years from now. Until then, I should remain in the form of Tatari!"
"What did the Princess do?!"
Tatari was bewildered—deeply, utterly confused. What was happening now should not occur for another thousand years. Why was it happening now?
Crossing her arms, Arcueid sneered: "It's simple. When the magic ritual ends, you return to your original form, don't you?"
"If a thousand-year-long ritual fails to allow you to complete your challenge for the Sixth Magic, then Night of Wallachia reverts to the Dead Apostle Zepia—wasn't that the contract you made with Altrouge?"
"Lift your head and look to the sky, foolish kin. This is the end of your tiresome journey. In truth, this scene should have taken a thousand years to witness."
Following Arcueid's cue, Zepia looked up at the sky.
There, hanging in the heavens—the Red Moon.
"T-this... the Red Moon... a thousand years into the future?!" Zepia's voice trembled with terror. "Impossible! Even time travel lies within the domain of True Magic. How could a moon from a thousand years ahead be brought here—Imaginary Manifestation?!"
"Yes, exactly. This is the Red Moon from a thousand years in the future, manifested by Arcueid."
Naoki gripped the Holy Sword and stepped forward toward Zepia.
"Now, you can no longer transform into a phenomenon and escape as if nothing happened. This is your end, Tatari—time to finish it."
Manifesting the moon from a thousand years in the future.
This was the strategy Naoki had explained to Arcueid beforehand. In truth, it was an idea Arcueid herself had conceived; he had merely informed her earlier. Had Arcueid said she couldn't do it, Naoki would have attempted it himself—though he couldn't have guaranteed success.
Stepping back several paces to lean against a pillar, Arcueid waved her hand: "From here on, I leave it to you, Naoki. I need to focus entirely on maintaining this state, so I can't move. Ciel, assist Naoki as needed."
"Assist... Sigh~ I understand."
Ciel, who had been struggling to keep up with the rapidly shifting situation, finally found some calm—
"No. Ciel, just protect Arcueid. I'm more than enough on my own. Arcueid can't move. Guard her there, so none of my stray attacks hit her."
"Well... even though I said that—"
Lifting his arm, Naoki swung the Holy Sword horizontally, channeling mana into the blade, forming a colossal beam of light shaped like a sword.
Naoki smiled faintly: "There probably won't be any stray attacks anyway—because this will end in a single strike. Probably."
Raising the sword, he brought it down in a sweeping arc.
A slash of light, dozens of times stronger than an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, suddenly descended from the sky!
*BOOM!*
The aura of a star tore through the dark night sky.
And within the stream of light, Tatari's form appeared pitifully weak and helpless—like a small boat caught in a storm. Easily overturned by the waves, he sank into the vast ocean.
Indeed, it ended in just one strike.