Chapter 236 – Annihilation, This One Strike!
"Please, don't worry about me. I've just overexerted myself… a short rest will be enough…" With that, the leader shrine maiden in her fox form transformed into a streak of golden light and leapt onto Hikigaya's arm. As the light disappeared, a white flowing-cloud mark appeared on his arm.
"I'll need to temporarily rest while attached to you. Please forgive me. If anything troublesome happens, you can ask my three remaining sisters for help…" Her faint whisper echoed in Hikigaya's ear, then fell silent.
"Mr. Hikigaya, is that little girl alright?" Because Hikigaya had been secretly talking to the shrine maiden, Irisviel and the others hadn't heard anything. All they saw was the leader shrine maiden turning human again, then instantly vanishing as a streak of golden light. Such an occurrence was naturally worrisome.
"She's fine. She's just restoring her strength." Hikigaya turned and reassured them.
As they spoke, the ground trembled once again. Suddenly, a feeling of weightlessness swept over them. Centered on Fuyuki City, the ground across several kilometers split open into huge fissures and then collapsed straight downward!
"Everyone, be careful!" Artoria used the falling rocks to propel herself toward Irisviel, shouting warnings. Iskandar piloted the chariot to rescue Waver, while Kenneth wrapped himself and Diarmuid in his Volumen Hydrargyrum. Hikigaya didn't need help and performed free-fall maneuvers alongside Karna.
For Sakura, at the moment the ground collapsed, all the Inari foxes surrounded her in response to Little Five's call, forming a soft, cushioned ball. Three official shrine maidens also cleared the falling monsters from her path. Her protection was truly luxurious.
The fall lasted only about ten seconds. They landed safely at the bottom of the pit, greeted by the deafening sound of heavy debris hitting the ground.
"I didn't expect you to come down this way…" Caster's hollow, echoing voice resonated from the huge pit.
Then, the ground beneath them quaked again. A huge mass of soil lifted, revealing Caster, whose lower body was completely fused with the giant monster, staring at them.
"Attack!" Without hesitation, Iskandar charged straight at the target. Diarmuid emerged from the Volumen Hydrargyrum and followed suit. Artoria wanted to move, but Irisviel held her back.
"Sorry, Saber… I feel a bit unwell…" Irisviel swayed, her face pale.
"Irisviel! Are you alright?" Hikigaya quickly supported her to the ground. "What's wrong?" Seeing the situation, he signaled Karna to engage Caster and crouched next to the two women to check on Irisviel.
"I… I don't know. I just suddenly fainted…" Artoria's voice trembled with worry. Irisviel's sudden collapse genuinely shocked her.
"It's fine, Saber. Probably just anemia…" While speaking, Irisviel slowly opened her eyes, managing a weak smile to reassure them. With Artoria's help, she struggled to her feet.
"Sorry, Mr. Hikigaya. I'm afraid Saber and I will have to leave this battle for now…" Her voice was gentle but left no room for argument. She gestured for Artoria to escort her out.
"But…" Artoria looked at the ongoing battle, torn. This was the moment she was needed most, yet she had to leave… It went against the code of chivalry!
"Sorry, Saber. I'll explain later, but please take me with you now…" Irisviel's voice was urgent, almost pleading.
"…Understood…" Artoria paused, then wordlessly lifted Irisviel, nodded to Hikigaya, and launched herself upward. She jumped along the steep rock walls, leaving the pit behind.
"Oh? Saber left first?" Gilgamesh, watching from above, was momentarily surprised. He raised his finger to guide the Vimana and followed.
"King, what about down there?" Tokiomi Tohsaka watched the pit, concern etched on his face.
"Don't worry. Caster is finished." Gilgamesh was indifferent, even somewhat irritated, at Tokiomi's concern.
"In that case, I'll stay to see this through…" Though Gilgamesh claimed Caster was finished, Tokiomi wanted to witness the conclusion himself.
"Very well. Stay behind and watch this boring battle end for me." Gilgamesh didn't oppose, nodding slightly. After Tokiomi leapt from the Vimana, he followed Artoria.
"Karna, unleash your Noble Phantasm." With Artoria and Irisviel gone, Hikigaya joined the assault on Caster.
As feared, their single-target attacks weren't enough. Despite severing the monster's tentacles and tearing away flesh, its extraordinary regeneration made their efforts futile. Hikigaya had no choice but to let Karna use his Noble Phantasm.
"Are you serious?" Karna hesitated. He knew exactly how much mana was needed to release his weapon. Hikigaya's current mana was nowhere near enough to fully unlock it.
"Partial release is enough. As long as we can kill Caster, some side effects are acceptable." "I understand." Karna nodded, twirling his spear. A massive aura surged from him as he drew the remaining mana from Hikigaya, including the Inari divine power within him. Hikigaya's golden light dimmed, and he was forced out of his divine state.
Even so, Karna continued drawing energy.
"Hikigaya-sama!" The foxes protecting Sakura, having landed safely, dispersed to clean up minor monsters. Only Little Five and three others remained by her side.
Seeing Hikigaya's life force being drained, Little Five cried out, jumping to transfer her own energy to him. Karna then drew from her, and soon other foxes took turns.
"Karna, isn't that enough mana?" Hikigaya asked, puzzled by the foxes surrounding him.
"Apologies, Master. But I'm following your orders to gather sufficient energy to completely destroy Caster and the giant monster…" Karna answered calmly.
"Too much…" Hikigaya groaned. His own mana storage was already high, and Karna was drawing from a seventh of Inari's divine power plus ten foxes' energies. And it still wasn't enough?
"My intuition tells me it isn't. If I'm correct, what Caster summoned isn't an ordinary monster—it's a fragment of an ancient evil god's body. To destroy it, we need a Noble Phantasm capable against a god."
"An ancient evil god?!" Hikigaya's eyelid twitched. The name alone was terrifying.
"Yes, fortunately, Caster didn't awaken the fragment itself, choosing to control it manually. So it's not too bad…."
"No, it's already bad!" Hikigaya lowered his gaze at the exhausted foxes, summoning them to cling to his arms like the leader had, both to recover and make room for the new foxes. He then examined the monster fragment, called part of an ancient evil god by Karna.
Just a glance sent a wave of negative emotions and physical discomfort through him.
"How are they fine?" He couldn't bear to look further, curious why those fighting Caster were unaffected.
"With mana protection, short-term viewing is fine. But Master, your mana has all been drained…" Karna ceased speaking.
Now fully charged, he spun his spear, releasing massive energy around him. Leaping into the air, he gazed at Caster and the fragment beneath him:
"Annihilation, in this one strike."
As he spoke, all light vanished above. A massive eyeball appeared overhead, fixating on Caster laughing in the pit. Within the eye appeared a spear entirely of lightning—capable of killing a god in one strike.
"Return to the void, evil god…" With a stoic declaration, Karna hurled the spear. A flash, and the spear pierced Caster's heart, embedding into the ancient god fragment.
"Hoah…" Caster hadn't even reacted before a gaping hole appeared in his chest.
The summoned fragment below him began expanding. A violent, destructive power surged outward.
Iskandar and the others had already retreated to safety. They stared, awestruck, at the grotesquely swollen godly fragment.
"Bang!" Finally, the resilient body could contain no more. It exploded with a deafening roar.
The enormous mana erupted outward, and after over ten minutes, the power subsided. The pit was now a barren void, with only Hikigaya and six others remaining alive.
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