Chapter 233: The finals begin.
[June 6th, 1 PM.]
[You and Medusa have formed a deeper bond.]
[You and Medusa have signed a more formal contract, making her your Servant.]
[As time passed, the decisive battle of the League Tournament approached.]
In the arena of the Hero King Gilgamesh, cheers erupted like tidal waves.
Eikou and the others slowly walked out from the contestant entrance. The first thing that greeted them was the grand and majestic center of the arena—every seat filled with spectators from the Singularity, all eagerly awaiting the upcoming battle.
He looked around and saw Caren emerge from the opposite entrance.
Though she wore her usual expressionless look, she had changed into a refreshing white Spiritron Dress, holding a bazooka in both hands, clearly ready for the decisive match.
"..."
The two exchanged a simple glance, then both turned their eyes toward the giant serpent-bodied woman in the arena.
It was the deity Ibuki-Douji.
"Ufufu~."
The alluring serpent woman looked at their gazes and smiled brightly.
"Just from looking into your eyes, I can tell. Both of you have already made up your minds— onee-san is very pleased!"
Ibuki-Douji smiled, then turned toward Gilgamesh standing above. "Golden King, you may announce the start of the match. I truly can't hold myself back from gobbling up these two children already~"
"Gobble…?"
Eikou twitched at the wording.
"It means both ways~" Ibuki-Douji winked at him playfully.
"..."
Being stared at by those seductive bright-red vertical pupils of hers, Eikou couldn't help but shiver.
In every sense, he absolutely didn't want to lose. If he lost, he would either be eaten by Ibuki-Douji, or be sold off by Caren.
He must survive.
The three sides stood on the vast arena, each harboring their own intentions, causing the entire arena to instantly fall silent.
On the high throne of the arena, Gilgamesh – who proclaimed himself the Young Master – swung his arm decisively and used a voice that echoed like a bell:
"Then the final battle officially begins. Mochizuki Eikou, Caren Hortensia, and the god Ibuki-Douji, the title of League Champion will be decided among you three!"
[...]
[At the command of the Hero King, the three of you immediately charged into a chaotic battle without hesitation.]
[You summoned all of your Servants: Artoria Lancer, Medusa Rider, Medea Lily Caster, and Atalante Archer.]
[Caren also summoned her Servants, Lancer Cu Chulainn and Archer Kid Gil.]
"Huh?"
Seeing the two Servants she summoned, Eikou suddenly felt tense inside and quickly asked:
"Why didn't you summon your Illya and Erica?"
"Just think for a second and you'll understand,"
Caren glanced at him, "Both of them are female and also loli. Not only can they be charmed by you, they're even double weakness. If I summoned them, they would probably collapse in an instant. Do you think I would just stand there and watch you take advantage of the chaos to capture them all?"
"Damn it, you really saw right through me."
Eikou felt a bit annoyed, because he really was thinking of using that method to capture both of them.
"By the way, you'd better not use Disaster With Women on me either."
Caren said thoughtfully, "This probably isn't much of a secret anyway. I'm actually a Pseudo-Servant, and the god possessing me is the Love God of Rome. You know Cupid's arrow, right?"
"So that means… compared to the Spirit Origin of the Love God, the charm of Disaster With Women is completely insignificant?"
"Not exactly. I've shot myself with Cupid's Arrow several times, and my love fortune didn't increase at all—only my Evil Alignments skyrocketed."
"..."
Alright, so it really seems Disaster With Women doesn't work on her.
Maybe it's not even because of the Spirit Origin of the Love God, but simply because of her personality.
Eikou thought.
"I see… then there's no other choice…"
Eikou did not hesitate to raise his wrist, revealing the two remaining Command Spells on the back of his hand.
"Use one Command Spell to strengthen Artoria Lancer, release the Holy Lance!"
[You didn't hesitate to use a Command Spell right at the beginning to strengthen the Knight King.]
[You used every support skill you had on Artoria.]
[This is the final battle, and the opponent is a god, so there's no need to save resources. You unleashed your strongest move right from the start!]
[You want Artoria to use Holy Lance Rhongomyniad again at Anti-Fortress level. Its wide range and destructive power can deal with both Ibuki-Douji and Caren at the same time.]
[Caren isn't very important. Your main goal is to force Ibuki-Douji into using a mana-consuming Noble Phantasm to counter it, thereby depleting her mana reserves and slowly dragging the battle out.]
[But just in case, you still keep one Command Spell to respond to emergencies.]
"Oh~"
The god Ibuki-Douji lifted her head with interest, watching Artoria riding her horse upward.
The Holy Lance in the Knight King's hand emitted a brilliant spiraling radiance, then instantly transformed into a massive column of terrifying holy light, like an apocalypse-bringing comet crashing straight toward her.
If it were any other Servant facing such a Noble Phantasm, they would have been panicking in terror. But Ibuki-Douji remained calm.
Facing the Holy Lance descending from above, it almost felt as though Ibuki-Douji was the one looking down from a higher position.
"Using your full power right at the start without holding anything back? Onee-san really likes your reckless style."
She smiled and said.
"Then I suppose it's time to show a bit of my real power as well."
Immediately after that.
On the vast arena, an unprecedented surge of magical energy erupted, with a pressure so overwhelming it made others feel suffocated, like a tsunami crashing down. No one dared to breathe, and Eikou, standing in the very center of the arena, clenched his teeth as if facing a mortal enemy.
This violent, waterfall-like torrent of magical energy showed that Ibuki-Douji was also preparing to unleash her Noble Phantasm here!
Only the sight of the powerful magical energy gathering in her hand was needed, and the True Name of the Noble Phantasm was released.
Its name was: Sword of Gods - Kusanagi-no-Tachi.
"Spirit Origin ascension, magical energy rising,"
She still spoke with a tone as light as wind drifting through clouds.
The magical energy gathered behind Ibuki-Douji turned into a blazing golden stream, then transformed into a terrifying godlike form: a ferocious great serpent with eight gigantic heads roaring toward the descending Holy Lance. That was the father she spoke of—Yamata-no-Orochi, formed from the magical energy of the Noble Phantasm, surging with heat and light without a trace of fear, howling as it charged at the Knight King holding the Holy Lance!
"Father, please forgive your daughter's discourtesy for three seconds, okay?"
Saying that, she slowly raised her wrist, the Divine Sword already in her hand, ready to be unleashed.
...