Nothing could survive within this primordial light that could split heaven and earth—no one could.
This was the law that defined the world itself, an inviolable king's decree!
Archer, his crimson eyes blazing, gazed in satisfaction at the scene before him. Under this single strike, nothing should remain. Be it those two foolish Servants, that overconfident Master, or even the entire Fuyuki City Civic Center—everything should've been annihilated.
"Consider yourselves honored, mongrels. To be sent off by Ea—even in death, you'll have something to brag about."
Archer spoke in high spirits, but his expression quickly shifted. Something was wrong. The smoke from Ea's attack had not dispersed.
Or rather—it wasn't smoke. It was a fog formed from intensely condensed cold mist—ice.
"Damn it… What the hell is this?!"
Confused and unsettled, Archer roared. To his shock, he realized he was no longer standing before the Fuyuki Civic Center. Instead, he had been transported to an entirely unfamiliar place.
A land of eternal frost stretched before him. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but pale-blue glaciers and endless ice.
"This... is a Reality Marble?!"
Having seen Rider's Reality Marble before, Archer quickly grasped what was happening—he had been pulled into someone else's Reality Marble.
"How amusing… Is it Saber? Or perhaps that little girl Berserker?"
He muttered to himself, watching as the mist in front of him slowly cleared. But the figure that emerged was someone he hadn't expected at all.
"No way... this is your Reality Marble?!"
Archer stared in disbelief at the lone figure standing before him—Yoru. There was no sign of Saber or Flandre. It seemed the two had withdrawn after that devastating attack. Only Yoru remained.
But clearly, Yoru had no intention of answering his question. The impure frost had already begun to engulf him completely, transforming him into a throne. A towering ice throne spiraling upward with jagged icicles—majestic and menacing.
"Hahaha... Interesting... How interesting. You turned into a throne? What's this? Kneeling in submission to this king?!"
Archer burst into laughter at the transformation, waving his hand to summon the golden ripples of his treasury behind him.
"Unfortunately, such an ugly throne isn't worthy of me. So be a good boy and die!"
Though full of bluster, Archer didn't dare be careless. Just staying in this bizarre Reality Marble for another second filled him with a deep, chilling dread.
The sensation disgusted him. All he wanted now was to destroy the Reality Marble's owner and escape as soon as possible.
Damn it… how did this bastard survive a direct hit from Ea?! Even those two Servants couldn't withstand it, so why was he unharmed?!
Did those two sacrifice themselves to protect him?!
His thoughts raced, but in the next moment, a downpour of Noble Phantasms surged forth with overwhelming intent to annihilate the foe before him.
And then… the world changed.
With a roar powerful enough to rend heaven and earth, a mountain of ice behind Archer crumbled. Something buried within that icy wreckage was awakening.
Even the frozen lake beneath his feet, solid like millennia-old ice, began to crack, making Archer stumble and nearly fall in.
"Damn it… what the hell is this?!"
The countless Noble Phantasms he had hurled failed to hit their mark. Each one became coated in a thin layer of frost and was frozen midair—suspended in the cold.
Archer's eyes widened in disbelief. These weren't ordinary weapons—they were Noble Phantasms, and many were fire-based. Even those were now frozen solid in the air.
"What kind of joke is this?! Who the hell are you?!"
Archer screamed in frustration.
And then, a massive shadow loomed over him.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, a colossal skeletal claw smashed down, slamming Archer into the frozen lake.
The source of the piercing roar finally revealed itself—a gargantuan skeletal dragon emerging from the icy ruins. Sinister soul-fire of an eerie blue hue burned fiercely in its hollow eye sockets.
After slamming Archer into the lake, the dragon unfurled its skeletal wings like dead branches, casting twisted cross-shaped shadows on the pale ground.
Clatter… Clack… The sound of bones grinding echoed out. With the dragon's awakening, countless pale skeletons began to crawl from beneath the shattered ice.
Clad in worn armor, wielding broken weapons, they looked like battle-hardened warriors returning once more to their battlefield.
As the skeletal dragon soared above the frozen lake, those soldiers raised their heads to the sky. Their soul-fires surged violently, unleashing a silent roar—a roar that welcomed the return of their king.
In this moment, silence spoke louder than words.
But that silence was soon broken by Archer.
He burst forth from the icy depths, his once-handsome face now twisted with rage. Staring at the endless army of the dead, he shouted furiously:
"You filthy, wretched mongrels—dead men should stay dead!"
Golden ripples shimmered behind him once again, and the terrifying arsenal of the Gate of Babylon reemerged.
Though the chill still lingered, this time, all of Archer's Noble Phantasms were ignited in flames. If Yoru still had any shred of awareness, he would surely recognize this fire.
The Flame Demon Sword—Valentin.
Within the Gate of Babylon lay the original prototypes of all treasures in the world—Flandre's Valentin included. Though Archer couldn't wield it properly, imbuing his weapons with its flames to resist the cold was a simple task.
"You mongrels, now taste the wrath and judgment of a king!"
With murderous intent flooding the air, another downpour of flaming swords rained down!
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