After the dream realm collapsed, the Heroic Spirits within it regained consciousness.
They saw Angra Mainyu standing at the center of the massive crater left by the nuclear explosion, and immediately readied their Noble Phantasms.
They prepared for a final, life-or-death battle— The ultimate clash of this Holy Grail War.
Using the opening created by the souls of the Servants, they would expel Angra Mainyu.
Meanwhile, Angra Mainyu, startled and enraged upon waking from her peaceful dream, went into a frenzy.
Her form, once a colossal dragon, reverted back to writhing black mud.
The black sludge wildly consumed inorganic material from the ground, continuously spawning countless terrifying monsters.
These monsters attacked the surrounding Servants.
Outside Fuyuki City, the spread rate of the Blacklight Virus surged once more—spreading from Fuyuki to Misaki, then to Tokyo, Kyoto, Chiba…
The Blacklight Virus propagated at an unimaginable speed. In an instant, the entire Japanese archipelago—except for a few specially resistant entities—was infected.
Animals, humans, plants—every living thing was infected.
All of them moved with desperate strength toward Fuyuki City.
In the sky, flocks of strange birds dove in unison, attacking Heroic Spirits who tried to advance—even those attempting to unleash their Noble Phantasms.
"We can't keep this up. If we continue like this, we'll exhaust ourselves before managing to expel her."
Clearly, these Heroic Spirits had not yet reached the point where they could ignore overwhelming numbers.
Relentless waves of zombie and zombie-monster attacks would inevitably take a heavy toll.
"Ionioi Hetairoi!"
"Advance! Toward that distant goal!"
Iskandar drew his sword and charged toward Angra Mainyu.
The sacred bull treading lightning burst through all obstacles, dragging Angra Mainyu—and the entire battlefield—into his Reality Marble.
"Now, let soldier face soldier, general face general!"
Fifty thousand soldiers, fifty thousand warriors, surged forward alongside Iskandar, annihilating endless waves of undead.
"Archers, spear-throwers—launch!"
Iskandar's commanding voice echoed across the battlefield, throughout the entire Reality Marble. Inspired by the Conqueror King, his troops unleashed volleys of spears and arrows, instantly halting the wave of zombie-bird monsters in the sky.
"Ahhhh…!"
Angra Mainyu screamed as she watched her monsters destroyed one by one.
But what followed was even more—a flood of new monsters born without end.
At this moment, Angra Mainyu no longer resembled an Evil God—she was more akin to Shub-Niggurath.
Consuming matter and endlessly birthing monsters.
Each new monster born was stronger than the last.
The virus's infectious and polluting properties also intensified as the virus evolved.
Perhaps the status, authority, and principles of this Beast of Progress were inspired by the Outer God Shub-Niggurath?
No wonder the atmosphere grew increasingly Lovecraftian.
With rising viral infectivity and pollution, even Iskandar's own soldiers began showing signs of infection.
Meanwhile, only the Grand Servants could resist thanks to their Grand Spirit Origin.
"This is bad."
Iskandar's expression turned grim. He looked at his soldiers with deep concern.
"With Command Spell, I command—eliminate the virus!"
As Iskandar pondered solutions, Waver raised his hand and used a Command Spell to purge the viral infection.
If the Greater and Lesser Grails could gather Mana and manifest wishes, then Command Spells—as Mana crystals—also possessed wish-granting qualities, though their scope was limited to commands directed at Heroic Spirits.
Yet this didn't negate their versatility. They could provide Mana, restore status, or grant temporary enhancements—not just issue orders to Servants.
What Waver used now was to cleanse the viral infection.
The situation had hit a deadlock—but the other Heroic Spirits wouldn't let this chance slip away.
Unnoticed, the figure of the Old Man of the Mountain, King Hassan, had already appeared behind Angra Mainyu.
"Listen."
"The evening bell has tolled thy name."
"The feathers foreshadow your death, and behead!"
A bell's chime rang from nowhere, as if announcing death's arrival for Angra Mainyu.
Yet simultaneously, it seemed to announce its own demise.
A flash of a blade—origin unknown, timing uncertain—slashed Angra Mainyu, but failed to wound her.
What, then, did the Old Man of the Mountain's sword actually cut?
One thing was certain—he severed his own existence, his own Grand status!
"The title of Grand means nothing to me. The strongest proof lies only in this slash!"
Thus emerged the first Heroic Spirit to depart from this Holy Grail War—where every participant was a Grand.
The strongest assassin, Grand Assassin—the Old Man of the Mountain, First Hassan.
"Ahhhh...!"
An indescribable scream echoed. At that moment, Angra Mainyu realized what had been lost.
King Hassan's sacrifice had severed her immortality, her incomplete Beast authority, and her ability to consume inorganic matter.
Though only temporarily—and she could recover instantly—three Grand Heroic Spirits now stood ready to fight her.
No, precisely four. Perhaps even five.
Artoria, filled with human compassion, gripped the Holy Lance. Scáthach held two crimson magical spears. Even behind Gilgamesh, countless Noble Phantasms gathered, ready to launch.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the ancient nuclear warhead.
Merlin even assisted by weaving illusions.
"Draco, when the critical moment comes, remember to—"
"I know. It's to help my sister."
Before Aslan could finish, Draco interrupted.
Did he really think Draco didn't know where this "sister" came from?
Fact was, they were both born from the same source—from All the World's Evils beneath this ruined Ryuudou Temple.
It wasn't wrong to call them sisters.
Though slightly annoyed, Draco would still obey her father's orders.
"No, I meant—at the end, help the Heroic Spirits expel Angra Mainyu."
"After all, we don't actually want to destroy the world, right?"
"Besides—we're not world-destroying Demon Kings."
When Aslan said this, Draco couldn't help but roll her eyes. Not world-destroying Demon Kings?
Look at Earth and Japan right now. What have they become?
In a few more days, how many humans will remain alive on Earth?
He'd never met anyone more extreme and terrifying than Aslan.