"[GÁE BOLG ALTERNATIVE]!"
SOARING SPEAR OF PIERCING DEATH
The crimson spear shot up the staircase like a meteor defying gravity, pulverizing every stone-soldier puppet in its path in the blink of an eye.
"Charge!"
With the path torn open—and the temple's interior already thrown into chaos by the vanguard King of Conquerors—Lord El-Melloi II gave the order without hesitation.
If you didn't count the sky, there was only one way up to Ryuudou Temple: this staircase. Fighting uphill from the bottom was a serious disadvantage. If at all possible, they needed a lightning breakthrough.
Because once they were inside the temple, the battle would only get harder. They couldn't afford to waste too much stamina and prana on the steps alone.
...
"An attack at this hour?"
Seated on the temple roof, Ophis swung her legs lightly as she watched Iskandar carve through the stone-soldier guards within the grounds.
In this era, magecraft materials weren't easy to come by. Most of the puppets could only be these brittle stone men, thrown in to pad the numbers.
There were higher-grade puppets within the Gate of Babylon, but their opponents were all high-end combatants. If she was using them as expendables, then stone soldiers were enough.
That said… coming this early, aren't you worried the homeowner won't be in?
Holding that unimportant thought with complete indifference, Ophis activated the territory's spell.
"What—?!"
The stairs beneath them suddenly turned smooth and treacherous, impossible to get a good footing on. They heaved and dipped like rolling hills, while at the same time hundreds of stone lances leapt up from within the temple and rained down on them.
"[LORD CHALDEAS]!"
A silver-white fortress wall snapped into existence, blocking the volley.
"Please, keep moving!"
Holding off the ensuing barrage of Magic Cannons as well, the shield-bearing knight girl called out to everyone behind her.
"…"
Trap after trap was dismantled at breakneck speed, yet Ophis's expression didn't change.
This bounded field had been built to hold back a handful of Servants at most. Under a full-scale assault by this many, it was only natural it would be crushed like dry rot.
"Alalalalalalalala!!"
Thunder roared. The divine wheel-chariot burst through the final formation of stone soldiers and reached Ophis.
"Well, little girl? The territory you were so proud of has been completely broken through!"
Iskandar grinned wide, teeth bared, sword in hand.
"It is of no consequence. A thing made on a whim."
Chaldea's Servants surged up behind him. With the entire field now reduced to only herself, Ophis smiled and hopped lightly down from the roof to the ground.
"So. Is this all of your Servants? You've brought a few more than before."
A purple-haired girl wielding twin spears. A handsome knight in silver armor. The red Archer she'd already crossed weapons with. Another Archer with a stern, unyielding face. And… a tall swordsman reeking of dragon-blood.
A lineup chosen to counter her, to some degree.
"We're here, Ophis."
The Master girl's declaration was like a bell tolling the start of a head-on fight.
Ophis looked at her unwavering expression and nodded.
"Then come."
"[UNRETURNING FORMATION]!"
STONE SENTINEL MAZE
Eight enormous stone pillars manifested out of thin air, enclosing everyone within.
But before anything could happen, Ophis stamped her foot hard against the ground.
"Ugh—!"
Special runes spread across the earth, climbing up the pillars. In the next instant, the eight stone columns crumbled into dust and dispersed—and Lord El-Melloi spat blood.
"I told you. This time, I am serious."
The sky flooded with gold as countless Noble Phantasms unfurled, their edges and points gleaming with menace.
"Yo. I'm not letting you have the opening."
An arrow like a falling star tore through the air and struck where Ophis stood.
The ground shattered.
Ryuudou Temple's floor exploded into fragments under the violent impact, and the shockwave swallowed everything around it.
But it meant nothing.
In the next moment, a surge of prana blew outward, overriding the arrow's detonation and blasting the dust and debris away.
With nothing but the most basic Mana Burst, Ophis completely blocked the full-power shot of Arash, the Great Hero of the East.
"Now—receive the first trial!"
With no restraint at all—far more than before—hundreds of "gates" roared open, spraying forth the weapons within the Gate of Babylon with merciless force.
"I see. Up close, your strength truly is beyond imagining. Against an enemy like this, there's no reason to hesitate about fighting together… but if it's a contest of numbers, I won't fall behind either."
Even more crimson spears materialized in midair, meeting the treasury's storm of blades head-on.
There was a gap in quality, yes—but if you made up for it with sheer volume, you could still punch through the barrage. And besides—
"So I have to face this again, do I…"
The red Archer let out a quiet sigh. Countless "swords" of every shape and type appeared like the spears before, surging up to surround and smother Ophis.
"Arrrrrrrr!!"
The knight in black armor plunged straight into the dense rain of Noble Phantasms, snatching up stronger and stronger weapons with practiced ease as he swung them—closing the distance with Ophis again and again.
"…"
With her own treasury being overwhelmed, Ophis's smile only deepened.
"Excellent warriors, all of you. If hundreds of gates are not enough…"
"Then I shall attack with a thousand!"
The sky turned wholly golden.
But at that moment, a brilliance unlike the treasury's glare made Ophis narrow her eyes.
It was sunlight.
"Overwhelming the few with the many is not the way of knights. But if both King and Master command it—and you are not someone to be taken lightly…"
Standing beneath the blazing sun, the Knight of the Sun was wreathed in a torrent of searing prana.
"I, Gawain, shall test my blade against yours!"
Shining sword in hand, Gawain charged Ophis head-on through the storm of Noble Phantasms.
With the sacred numeral's blessing—triple strength under the sun—Gawain's power in this moment even edged past Berserker Lancelot's frenzy.
And so, two knights forced their way through the thousand-gate barrage and broke all the way to Ophis.
At the same time, accompanied by the clatter of armor over roof tiles, two knight princesses circled in from the rooftops and moved to flank Ophis.
In the next instant, golden ripples opened directly overhead—Noble Phantasms raining down on the four knights like a hammer.
And then, the scene changed.
Ryuudou Temple—already nearly a ruin after only a few minutes of fighting—vanished completely. In its place: rolling seas of yellow sand.
"What is—?"
Artoria stared in shock at the world behind her, snapped back to the starting position just as she'd finally reached Ophis.
Tens of thousands of soldiers stood fully armed, arrayed behind Iskandar as he rode his chariot.
"Hahahaha! The cramped terrain was a little too favorable for Archer, so I had to adjust the battlefield a bit."
"A Reality Marble?!"
Waver—who hadn't even known his own Servant's Noble Phantasm—gaped at the sight.
"That's right! A world sustained by me, and by the warriors who still swear loyalty to me even as Heroic Spirits—the battlefield we once galloped across together! The bond I share with them is my greatest treasure, my kingly path, my strongest Noble Phantasm!"
"[IONIOI HETAIROI]!"
The king who sang of conquest and ruled by sheer might unleashed his greatest Noble Phantasm.
"Well then, King of Heroes—what will you do in the face of such a kingly road?"
Iskandar threw down his challenge to the Dragon-Serpent.
---
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