Outside the house, in the residential area.
On top of a rooftop.
Looking at the house completely destroyed by his attack, Archer placed the black bow in his hand down. "That should be enough. They made me chase them for quite a while—running so far."
[Eliminate all outsiders appearing in this city.]
That was the instruction given to him by Saber, currently located in Mount Enzou. Although his initial attack failed due to the shield Servant's defense, fortunately, afterward these outsiders caused quite a commotion as they moved.
Flying debris, scattered skeleton soldiers everywhere—by tracking these remaining traces, Archer finally located the house where Naoki and the others were, and immediately launched a carpet bombing.
Archer destroyed the Noble Phantasm he projected, instantly amplifying his power by detonating it. This was a secret technique called Broken Phantasm, usable only by Archer-class Servants. It was impossible for ordinary humans to survive the impact of such intensity.
"That takes care of the rest—except Caster. He'll come eventually if left alone."
Once Caster was also defeated and eliminated, victory in this Holy Grail War would surely belong to Saber. Though this Grail War was already far from its original form, at least let him obtain the Holy Grail this one time.
That was Archer's thought.
However, just as he put away his black bow and prepared to vanish in spirit form—
*DUUUARRR!*
The entire ground shook violently. An earthquake-like tremor forced Archer to immediately crouch down to stabilize himself. But before he could figure out the cause of such intense shaking, in the direction of the house he had just attacked...
*KREK!*
As if split by an enormous sword, a massive crack suddenly spread rapidly toward him. On both sides of the fissure, due to the immense impact, countless stone spikes jutted out!
And as the crack widened, Archer's instincts—ones that had saved him countless times—alerted him to the approaching danger: a shockwave strong enough to obliterate his entire body was rushing toward him!
Without hesitation, Archer instantly thrust both hands forward. Projection Magecraft worked at full power, and a transparent, five-petaled flower-shaped light shield instantly unfolded!
And then, in the next instant—
*BANG!*
A deafening roar echoed through the sky.
"It should've been blocked."
At the end of the crack—or rather, where the crack began.
Naoki stood amidst a pile of rubble, speaking as he looked into the distance.
Beside him, witnessing the astonishing scene before them, except for Rei—who already knew Naoki's true level—and the still-unconscious Marie, Hinako, Ritsuka, and Mash were all dumbfounded.
"D-D-D-D-D-D-Department Head, y-y-y-y-y-you…"
After stammering for several seconds, Ritsuka took two deep breaths, then suddenly shouted: "Department Head, you're terrifying!"
"I thought you'd say I was impressive."
"Impressive? Yes, impressive! But this is scarier than impressive! Department Head, you created this scene with just one stomp! Are you even human?! Even Akuta-Senpai isn't this strong!"
"Tch, I feel insulted… but I have to admit it." Hinako glanced at Naoki. "We're both monsters, but you're the monster among monsters."
Naoki gave a faint smile. "I'm not as strong as you make me out to be. I couldn't possibly do this with just my own body. This is basically the result of Magecraft. Visually, it's impressive, but practically, it's not that useful."
Summoning Magecraft – Spirit of the Earth.
The entity responsible for the earth-splitting spectacle earlier. With Naoki's physical strength alone, at best he could create a hole dozens of meters deep with a similar diameter—nowhere near producing a massive crack stretching hundreds of meters.
But even that was astonishing enough.
At least for Ritsuka, an ordinary person, and Mash, who had just gained Servant powers, the strength Naoki displayed was on a completely different dimensional level.
"Enough gawking. Let's finish the job over there quickly."
Naoki pointed toward nearby Mount Enzou. "I suspect that as long as you go there, defeat Saber, and take the Holy Grail, this Singularity will disappear. Rei and I will stay here to deal with Archer. Fujimaru, Mash, you two go defeat Saber. Senior Hinako, please assist them."
"Don't boss me around!"
Stomping her foot, Hinako turned to Ritsuka and Mash. "Don't just stand there! Follow me quickly! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can return!"
"Y-yes! Then we're off, Brother. Please… please be careful."
After hesitating, Mash finally voiced her concern to Naoki—though given the situation, her brother clearly didn't need her worry.
"Let's go, Senpai."
"Y-yes—Akuta-Senpai, wait for us!"
Watching the three of them leave, Rei approached Naoki. "Master, do you think they can defeat Saber? As you said, Saber should be an inversion of Artoria. I'm not sure Mash, who just gained Galahad's power, can defeat him. Even with Hinako…"
"Mash has done many simulations. This is just her first real battle. Give her a little confidence. If you're really worried, why don't you go with them?"
"No, I'll stay by your side. Besides, there's someone here who needs my help."
Rei looked toward Marie lying on the ground. "Marie's in a state of death, right? She doesn't qualify for particle transfer. Her presence here means she's merely a soul."
Naoki nodded. "When Lev self-destructed, Olga was the closest person to him besides me. She was severely injured and nearly died. Her soul left her body and was dragged into the particle transfer. Fortunately, I've already implanted Avalon into her body afterward, so there won't be any issues. As long as her soul is preserved, she just needs to return to her body when we go back to Chaldea."
Hearing this, Rei understood why Naoki asked her to come to the Singularity. "Making another girl enter my body—your wife's body. I don't mind, but Manaka might get jealous, you know."
[I'm not!]
"It's not that serious… Well, if this makes Manaka unhappy, then I'm sorry. Sorry, Manaka, bear with it a little."
[Uhm… I didn't say I mind. If it's the Prince's request, I don't mind holding it in a bit…]
"—Master, Manaka said that."
Rei said with a smile, then crouched down and embraced Marie. She lowered her head and kissed her lips, beginning to suck as if drawing something out. Accompanied by a slightly suggestive sound, Marie's body slowly transformed into specks of light and entered Rei's body through her mouth.
After fully absorbing Marie's soul into her body, Rei licked her lips. "Uhm… I just kissed someone other than you, Master. Am I impure now? But Master, this was your request, so—"
"Rei, enough. What have you been thinking about all day? Did you learn something bad from Merry?"
Naoki's expression darkened. Sometimes he really felt he needed to control Merry's words and actions. Look what she was teaching others.
Rei smiled mischievously. "Just a little joke. Then, Master, the issue over there…"
"Leave it to me."
"Just a Servant-class opponent. I think one minute should be enough."