Chapter 80: Crush Divine Authority with Absolute Victory! The Day of Defeating a God!
Shirou used the contract he had prepared in advance to completely block all of Apollo's escape routes.
Even though Apollo saw through the way Shirou had used cheating methods to seal his divine authority, there was no way for him to use that as an excuse to stop the bet, much less influence Shirou's serve in return.
Moreover, with the gods Loki and Freya witnessing the event with their own eyes, Apollo didn't even have the chance to flip the table in regret.
If he did, it would be equivalent to admitting defeat and immediately declaring Shirou the victor.
Faced with Shirou's layered schemes, not only was Apollo himself suffering unspeakably, even Loki and Freya, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but feel a tinge of wariness toward Shirou.
After all, although they were currently allies on the same side as Shirou, and there was no animosity between them, what if—someday in the future—their positions changed, and they had to face Shirou as enemies? Would they suffer the same tragic fate as Apollo?
Even as leaders of the most powerful Familia in Orario, both gods couldn't help but feel the kind of sympathy and unease one might feel watching a rabbit die after hunting dogs were no longer needed, seeing Apollo in his current state.
At the same time, Shirou ignored Apollo and once again returned to the pool table.
He only needed to make one final shot. As long as he sank that last black ball that would decide victory, he would be able to completely declare his win.
Naturally, Apollo wasn't about to just stand there and watch Shirou win the match.
If that happened, everything he owned would be completely ruined.
However, under the watchful eyes of Loki and Freya, Apollo couldn't pull any tricks, nor could he do anything to disrupt Shirou finishing the game.
Due to the contract Shirou had made in advance, Apollo's retreat paths had been completely sealed.
Right now, there was only one thing Apollo could do: find the reason his divine authority had been sealed and re-lock Shirou's path to victory by using that authority.
"Divine authority... divine authority... wait a second!"
Apollo's mind spun rapidly, going over everything that had happened up until now in his head.
As a god, his mind was indeed sharper than the average person.
He immediately realized that the loss of his divine power was directly related to one particular event.
It was this clothing he was wearing.
Though he didn't understand the principle behind it, Apollo had indeed lost his [Extreme Fortune] power after putting on that glittering golden outfit.
The moment he thought of that, Apollo began to undress.
At this point, he completely disregarded any sense of shame. He'd rather make a fool of himself in front of everyone than lose the match.
So, with the fastest speed possible, Apollo tore off the clothes the "maid" had given him earlier. He even stripped off the shirt and pants he was originally wearing, leaving himself clad in nothing but a pair of underwear.
Then, casting aside all dignity, he immediately called over the maid standing nearby.
"Come, play a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors with me!"
"Eh? Rock-paper-scissors?"
The maid was stunned that the casino owner Apollo would give such an order—especially since he was only wearing underwear and completely lacking the appearance befitting a god. She didn't even know where to look.
Still, the maid nodded and did her best to ignore his disgraceful appearance. Taking a deep breath, she began playing rock-paper-scissors with Apollo.
The result: no matter how many rounds they played, Apollo always won.
Naturally, there was no cheating or manipulation involved in the process.
Facing this reality, a smile tugged at the corner of Apollo's lips. He realized he had cracked Shirou's method and reclaimed his divine authority!
"Haha, hahaha!"
Clad in nothing but his underwear, Apollo let out a loud laugh on the spot.
"Though what you did gave me quite the scare, it's all over now! My divine authority has returned! There's no way you can win, Emiya Shirou!"
Seeing Apollo looking so pathetic—completely lacking the arrogance of a god—Loki and Freya couldn't help but show subtle expressions.
At this point, they could no longer see even a shred of divine dignity in Apollo. His ugliness surpassed even that of mortals.
Of course, that didn't mean they could look down on Apollo now.
Having regained his [Extreme Fortune] divine authority, he once again became the undefeated overlord of the gambling table, wielding the luck to absolutely win.
The two gods instinctively looked at Shirou, curious to see how he would react to Apollo regaining his divine authority and how he planned to deal with it.
To their surprise, Shirou showed not the slightest hint of concern about Apollo.
He seemed completely unfazed by Apollo's situation, his eyes never leaving the pool table or that final ball.
"Kid, don't think you can do whatever you want like before!" Apollo fixed his eyes on Shirou. "As long as it's a gambling table, this is my domain! My Fortune divine authority can interfere with every random event, ensuring victory will be mine no matter what!"
Shirou didn't respond directly to Apollo's words.
He simply stared intently at the pool table, as if running countless simulations in his mind. Finally, he spoke softly:
"Is that so? You think you've already won, Apollo?"
"What... what do you mean?"
Apollo's face showed inexplicable fear in response to Shirou's calm demeanor.
He couldn't help it.
Even with all the confidence in his divine authority, from the start of the match, Shirou had continuously forced him into desperate straits.
By now, Apollo was filled with fear toward him.
Even if he believed Shirou was bluffing, he couldn't fully trust that belief—his heart was shaken.
In contrast, Shirou remained unwavering.
Whether he was faking it or truly unshaken, all eyes in the casino focused on his actions—specifically, the hand gripping his cue.
"Hey, Emiya, are you really alright?"
From the distance, Loki now felt nervous.
Before, when there seemed no hope of crushing Apollo's Familia, she hadn't cared much. She even acted as though she didn't mind at all.
But now—at the moment they were just one step away from eliminating Orario's tumor—even the crafty god Loki felt a surge of nervousness.
It was clear she genuinely hoped Shirou would win this match and bring about Apollo's downfall.
Compared to Loki, Freya's attitude was much calmer.
But from the way she stared fixedly at Shirou, it was clear she shared Loki's desire to see Shirou win.
"...Believe in me. I will win."
Shirou didn't say much.
He simply gave a quiet response to the two gods who had supported him this far, then focused all his attention on the pool table.
Compared to before, the situation on the table had changed dramatically.
Only three balls remained: a white cue ball, a black ball, and a blue ball.
This meant Shirou only needed to sink the deciding black ball to achieve final victory.
However, unlike before, Apollo had regained his divine authority.
The power of [Extreme Fortune] was once again influencing the match, affecting every random element involved.
With Apollo's Authority active, anything could happen to Shirou's final shot. It might even take bizarre turns, allowing Apollo to snatch victory.
Everyone present knew this—but no one knew how far Fortune's influence extended.
One thing was certain: if Shirou failed to end the match with this shot, Apollo's subsequent victory would be unshakable.
With Fortune, Apollo could definitely sink the next two balls and seal the match.
"—Let's begin."
Shirou murmured softly, as though giving himself an internal signal.
He aimed the cue stick at the white ball on the table, lining it up precisely with the distant black ball.
From appearances alone, if Shirou didn't make a mistake, this shot was a guaranteed score.
Even if Fortune gave Apollo advantages in all random events, if the chance of success was 100%, even Fortune couldn't overturn such certainty.
But... was there really such a thing as a 100% probability in this world?
Or rather, could human power truly create something that even divine authority couldn't affect?
As everyone pondered subconsciously, Shirou's shot had already begun.
His eyes showed no hesitation. The cue moved with absolute precision, striking in the perfect direction.
If this shot succeeded, victory would be his.
However, just as Shirou was one step away from winning, everyone saw something unbelievable happen.
His cue stick broke mid-swing!
"Haha! Hahahahaha!"
Apollo couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Didn't expect that, did you?! My Fortune doesn't just influence randomness! As long as the distance is close enough and the effect focused enough, even non-random events can be affected!"
Everyone was stunned by Apollo's words.
No one had imagined Fortune could be that broken—it could interfere not only with the ball's movement but even Shirou's cue.
Of course, maybe Apollo had cheated from the start and given Shirou a faulty cue.
But the fact that it broke at such a crucial moment was clearly due to Apollo's divine power.
The wooden cue bent and twisted in a way it shouldn't have. In billiards, even a one-millimeter deviation could completely ruin a shot.
Everyone looked toward Shirou and the cue with worried expressions, some unable to watch the disastrous shot.
But in that moment—within a split second—Shirou's eyes shone with brilliant light.
"Reinforcement: Activate!"
"Material Strengthening!"
Azure light flared from Shirou's hands. Magical patterns rapidly spread across the entire cue, restoring its broken form.
But even with reinforcement magic, the cue couldn't be restored to its original state—it would inevitably deviate slightly.
And that tiny deviation could spell certain defeat.
Crack—!
With his now warped cue, Shirou struck the white ball at an odd angle.
Due to the deviation, the white ball missed the black ball, glancing past it and hitting the table's cushion.
But it didn't end there.
The white ball bounced around the table at impossible angles, colliding several times—and then, at a completely unpredictable angle, rebounded to strike the black ball.
And that black ball was sent spinning into a different pocket than intended—yet still sank.
Plop.
The sound of the black ball falling into the pocket echoed clearly.
The entire casino fell silent.
Apollo, Loki, Freya, and all the casino staff stared at this impossible victory, eyes filled with disbelief.
Only Shirou, never doubting his win, looked calmly at Apollo.
"In billiards, there's not just one way to sink a ball. Because shot angles aren't fixed, this sport inherently contains infinite possibilities. And because there are countless ways to strike the cue, there are also countless paths to scoring.
In such a case, people tend to think the odds of failure are limitless. But look at it the other way: the chances of success are just as infinite.
Apollo, your divine authority can indeed manipulate all random events in your favor.
But if the randomness is so great that the odds of success massively outweigh failure—then my victory becomes an unshakable fact!"
Upon hearing Shirou's words, even Loki and Freya widened their eyes.
Loki, who first understood Shirou's meaning, cried out in shock:
"You mean... you memorized nearly countless ways to sink the ball, so Fortune's power had no effect?"
"Exactly."
With Shirou's simple reply, his absolute victory in this match was sealed.