"—I'll knock you awake. Properly. Thoroughly!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka made her declaration to the Demon King—whose power could snuff her out with ease.
"Master…"
Lord El-Melloi II's brow was knotted tight.
He knew he'd been too rash. He didn't think he was wrong, but if they truly provoked her, then with their preparations still incomplete, facing the King of Heroes at full strength would be… difficult.
And yet—with the two who unsettled him most standing at his side like this…
No. Was he afraid?
Afraid that this chance would slip away if she chose to compromise.
Whatever the case, they needed to avoid provoking the King of Heroes now.
"Hahahahahaha!!"
A booming, heroic laugh burst out. With Ophis—the one called the King of Heroes—standing there without golden armor, there was no doubt who it belonged to.
"Interesting, little girl. Hey, you—look at this. Both of you are Masters, but isn't this orange-haired girl far tougher than you are?"
"Ugh…"
Named outright by Iskandar, Waver could only swallow the retort he didn't have.
To be honest, for Waver Velvet, even just facing the King of Heroes head-on would take everything he had. And yet this orange-haired girl—about his age—could stand firm and boast that she'd "knock her awake," a line that all but declared victory.
There really was a difference in sheer mettle.
"But that guy's not exactly—"
Even so, the boy couldn't help feeling indignant.
His eyes shifted to Lord El-Melloi II, still frowning deeply.
Without even trying to talk, that "mature" grown man had immediately branded the other as evil. In terms of generosity, he wasn't exactly any better, was he?
"I see."
Ophis smiled. The anger everyone feared she'd be provoked into never surfaced—instead, the sharpness she'd been showing softened, just a little.
"A soul that shines like this… that is what carried you this far. No—what will let you keep walking, from here on."
Ritsuka had, unexpectedly, terrifying physical ability for a human—but in the end, she was still only an ordinary person.
And yet this ordinary person had earned the help of so many Servants—enough that they would even place themselves under her command.
Utterly good or utterly evil. Normal or heretical. A radiance that could encompass it all.
"If that is the case, then I too…"
She closed her eyes, smiling, and shook her head.
"No. Not yet."
When she opened them again, her silver irises had become slit pupils. Ophis met Ritsuka's gaze directly.
That stare was like needles along the spine. No one noticed—rare as it was—that there was a trace of amusement in Ophis's eyes.
In truth, fighting Ritsuka was never necessary for her. She'd done it out of interest, but if Ritsuka had earnestly asked it of her, backing down wouldn't have been a painful loss.
When she said she wouldn't stop, she meant the original purpose she'd been summoned for this time—nothing to do with Ritsuka or Human Order at all.
But since Ritsuka, as a human, had chosen this path—
"Very well. Since you say so, Ritsuka, I will accept. As the King of Heroes—no. I will answer you with respect. I will accept your challenge as both the King of Heroes and the most ancient Dragon-Serpent God, omniscient and omnipotent—Fujimaru Ritsuka."
Then she would respond as the king of humankind, and as that primordial god.
The moment her words fell, everyone took their stances.
Abrupt as it was, the battle was about to begin.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Only Iskandar remained relaxed, still rubbing his chin as he studied Ophis—then he laughed again.
"You've got some presence with your words, but you don't look like you have any intention of actually starting, little girl."
Only then did everyone realize it: the aura of "she's getting serious" had vanished completely. Ophis had returned to that faintly languid air she'd had before.
"That is correct. If we begin here, it would be rather unfair."
With that, it seemed Ophis had already lost any desire to strike first.
"Oh? Is it the numbers, then? I suppose that makes sense. But war is like that by nature. In that case—are you planning to defeat us one by one?"
"No. That is not what I mean."
Ophis denied it softly, an unreadable smile on her lips.
Numbers meant nothing to her.
The Dragon-Serpent girl was not invincible.
But if you meant to defeat her with "quantity"…
That was simply impossible.
One, ten thousand, a hundred million—more and more—so long as it did not reach infinity, no matter how much you stacked and piled…
It could never surpass infinity.
"Lancer. Saber. You both just endured a fierce battle. Your stamina and prana are heavily spent. As 'Ophis,' I would not care—but since I stand here as a king, I will not take advantage of you."
"What?!"
Perhaps Ophis hadn't intended it that way, but it was unmistakably an assessment—one that saw straight through two warriors' states.
In a fight where they would be swarming her, and with Ophis herself not untested by battle, she still refused to count their fatigue against them. Worse—she called it "unfair" to do so.
It was, without question, absolute contempt.
What choked Saber and Lancer most was that they couldn't refute her.
Lancer had spent a long time fighting the tentacles alone. Saber had unleashed her Noble Phantasm at full power once. Neither was anywhere near peak condition. Even setting that aside, they did need more time to prepare.
"I will wait at Ryuudou Temple. As the defending side, the terrain will, without question, favor me. But if you cannot even overcome that much, then there is nothing to discuss."
Ophis chose the battlefield for the final clash as if it were already decided.
"This is your last chance to reconsider, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Decide whether you truly mean to turn your blades against me. Once you step into my territory, there will be no turning back."
She turned, her figure fading, thinning into the night.
"When that time comes, I will honor our agreement and grant you the harshest trial—"
Her voice lingered as she vanished.
"—in the name of Ouroboros."
---
bonus chaps
100 stones → 1 bonus chap
200 stones → 2 bonus chaps
300 stones → 3 bonus chaps
and so on :3
100+ new chaps every week across all my TLs on the P website :)
hehe every 100 followers on either instagram or twitter = 5 bonus chaps...?
(for all ongoing tls)
website: wisetl.com
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl
instagram: hanbaowise
twitter: WiseKingOfUruk_