An endless expanse of desolate land stretched as far as the eye could see, covered entirely in pale white skeletal remains. These ghastly bones seemed to emerge endlessly, constantly crawling up from beneath the frozen lake.
At the heart of this army of the dead stood a towering, ice-bound throne, and not far from it burned a raging inferno—the hell of Asura itself.
Archer's choice to imbue his Noble Phantasm with fire had proven to be a wise one. Though the influence of frost remained, his weapon was no longer at risk of being frozen mid-use.
A massive bone dragon spread its wings and circled the throne, seemingly waiting for the right moment to strike at Archer.
"This is getting old. Is this all you've got? Just more pathetic trash? How utterly boring."
It was unclear how long the rain of Noble Phantasms had lasted, but it had gone on long enough that even Archer began to feel weary. These skeletal soldiers were far too fragile. Aside from the initial bone dragon, this Reality Marble posed no threat to Archer whatsoever.
"I'm tired of this, Kirei. Use a Command Seal and restore my mana!"
Unwilling to waste any more time dealing with these pitiful skeletons, Archer, proud of his kingly status, saw this battle as beneath him. He demanded that Kirei replenish his mana using a Command Seal, intending to unleash Enuma Elish once again and obliterate these nuisances along with the Reality Marble itself.
Meanwhile, Kirei Kotomine, listening in on the battle between Servants happening just outside the community center, continued his infiltration mission.
He had complete confidence in the King of Heroes facing multiple Servants alone. In the presence of that monarch, the number of enemies was irrelevant.
All that mattered was whether he unleashed that Noble Phantasm…
As Kirei thought this, he soon received Archer's request to replenish his mana. It came as a slight surprise—it meant that the King of Heroes had already used EA, yet hadn't eliminated all foes. And now, something still remained that warranted its use again.
"Saber and Berserker… are they really that strong?"
Muttering to himself, Kirei didn't hesitate to use the Command Seal. The sheer number of Seals he had inherited from his father allowed him to spend them freely.
This was the underground level beneath the community center—directly below the main stage was the large prop storage room.
Having lost his Servant and all backup, Kiritsugu Emiya moved forward cautiously. Above his head, Servants were locked in a battle to the death—a conflict far beyond what any human could hope to comprehend or interfere with.
All he could do now was take advantage of the chaos to sneak closer to the Holy Grail.
Under the dim lighting, Kiritsugu came to a stop. Standing before him in priest's robes was a tall figure.
Kotomine Kirei—the man he considered the destined enemy in this Holy Grail War.
Kirei also noticed Kiritsugu's presence and halted in turn.
The holy light of the Black Keys in his hand shimmered against the glow of the magical spear.
Both had sensed the bloodlust. The moment of fiery resolve had long since passed.
There was no need for words.
They stared directly into each other's eyes, and in that moment, both men understood one thing.
To Kiritsugu, this war existed for—
To Kirei, this entire battlefield of Fuyuki existed for—
Everything… all of it… existed for the sole purpose of defeating the enemy before them.
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The Command Seals were a divine miracle—bestowed upon Masters by the Great Grail, they were the ultimate weapon in a Master's arsenal. Thanks to their existence, Masters could rein in unruly Servants or enhance their Servant's power at a moment's notice.
While the Seals weren't truly omnipotent—for example, Waver's wish to make Rider win the Grail wasn't granted—they were still overwhelmingly powerful in certain aspects.
Replenishing a Servant's mana or healing their wounds was something a Command Seal could accomplish instantly.
The moment Kirei used a Seal to restore the King of Heroes' mana, Archer felt a surge of magical energy flood his body. He let out a satisfied stretch, invigorated.
"Excellent. The game ends now. You should feel honored—twice you've beheld this supreme radiance."
The Gate of Babylon ceased its barrage, and the temporary gap left in the formation was immediately filled by more skeletal soldiers. Archer gazed at them with contempt, then summoned EA from his vault.
Even the light radiating from EA could not be resisted. Under its divine brilliance, the feeble skeletons disintegrated into dust.
The bone dragon circling the ice throne writhed nervously, lowering its head and growling in caution. Even it dared not approach Archer or that shining light.
"Perish, you wretches—Enuma Elish!"
Once again, he proudly roared the name of his Noble Phantasm. A torrent of radiant energy filled the world, obliterating everything in its path.
His crimson eyes glared coldly into the pure white world before him—everything swallowed by the blinding light. No trace of death remained in the air. Archer was confident that every single undead creature had been annihilated by that strike.
"Trash is trash. No matter how many of them there are, they hold no real weight."
So said Archer with brutal certainty, his crimson eyes glaring ahead. Though using EA twice in one day had placed considerable strain on his body, it mattered little now that the enemy had been vanquished.
This was the final battle of the Holy Grail War, after all. Ending it in such a glorious fashion was, in his view, only fitting.
However, something soon felt off to Archer.
Though the presence of the undead had vanished completely… the chilling aura still hadn't faded in the slightest.
"What's going on…? This Reality Marble hasn't broken yet?! I'm still trapped in here?!"
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