Chapter 7: The Sword of Destiny
"No... my attack earlier should have definitely been effective. Those wounds and the Black Dragon's shrieks were definitely not fake..."
Shirou frowned slightly, a realization suddenly dawning on him.
"Could it be that because the 'Black Dragon' Nidhogg has manifested as a 'Heretic God,' its image now differs vastly from its depiction in mythology?"
The more Shirou thought about it, the more he felt his guess was likely correct.
In the world of Campione!, gods in the primordial era had neither names nor forms. Humans simply perceived the presence of gods within the vast sky and earth with indifference, fearing the storms, floods, and various disasters brought by divine wrath, worshipping dangerous and powerful beasts as incarnations of the gods. Humans, fearing the gods and worrying that their divine Authorities were too powerful and would harm them, used the "rituals" of woven myths to restrict the gods' power.
A deity used lightning, so someone called them a Thunder God; it wasn't that the deity gained the power of lightning because a legend of a Thunder God existed. A god woven with a name and a myth would not perform deeds that exceeded those two things. As the primordial era ended, in this modern age, gods began to break free from the constraints of the myths created by humans and returned to their primordial states. Such gods are called "Heretic Gods."
They run counter to the myths woven by humans, breaking free from mythological constraints to wield their power wantonly. Even unintentionally, their immense power brings great disaster to humanity. If a Sun God descends, the entire world turns into a purgatory. If a Sea God descends, the entire world is swallowed by waves and sinks to the bottom of the sea. If a Thunder God descends, the entire world is filled with lightning.
Gods who create their own forms according to their whims and bring about calamity are "Heretic Gods"!
And at this moment, the "Heretic Black Dragon" Nidhogg, after being heavily wounded by Shirou's azure greatsword, finally revealed its truly powerful form.
"This state... is just like a game boss entering a more ferocious and berserk second phase after their health drops to a certain point."
While talking to himself with a sense of amusement, the azure greatsword in Shirou's hand vanished into faint blue points of light. Immediately following, a vast amount of blue light began to appear in the air behind Shirou, and one Noble Phantasm after another was constructed.
"Since you've given it your all, I can't just sit here and wait for death."
As the shapes of tens of thousands of Noble Phantasms were constructed, the "swords" blanketing the sky shimmered with blue magical fluorescence. From a distance, they looked like a massive blue wall.
It must be said that Unlimited Blade Works is truly similar to Gate of Babylon in some respects. However, one consists entirely of original Noble Phantasms, while the other consists of replicas degraded by one rank.
Of course, Unlimited Blade Works has advantages that Gate of Babylon cannot match; for example, every time Shirou holds a replicated "sword," he can extract the corresponding combat experience from that Noble Phantasm. Furthermore, the Noble Phantasms within Unlimited Blade Works are not unique; because they are replicas that can be easily projected, Shirou can use them without the slightest heartache.
Now, every "sword" within that blue wall reaching the sky displayed its unique edge. Shirou had tried this method before, and though it could deal immense damage to the Black Dragon Nidhogg, it couldn't kill it. Therefore, he was no longer projecting Noble Phantasms at random, caring only about rank while ignoring their specific properties.
The Noble Phantasms Shirou was projecting now were the famous dragon-slaying swords of legend—Gram!
This was the demonic sword symbolizing honor and destruction held by Sigurd, the greatest hero of Northern Europe, in the Volsunga Saga. Simultaneously, this sword was the prototype for the "Sword in the Stone" in the legends of King Arthur; just as the "Sword in the Stone" was a sword of destiny thrust into a stone, Gram was a sword of destiny thrust into the great tree of King Volsung.
In legend, the hero named Sigurd, the wielder of this demonic sword Gram, had a story filled with honor and destruction. Sigurd inherited the fragments of the sword from his father and reforged Gram, making it a legendary demonic sword capable of killing even dragons. This was the "Strongest Demonic Sword" capable of rivaling the "Strongest Holy Sword," and it possessed dragon-slaying properties.
For Shirou now, this Noble Phantasm was naturally the most suitable to project.
"Full Projection, Maximum Power—Launch!"
At Shirou's command, all the "swords" within the blue wall seemed to be summoned, rushing out one after another, tracing countless blue trails in the air like falling meteors.
Nidhogg's massive, lava-like, transparent red body was like a stationary target under the barrage of swords, which easily pierced into its flesh. This time was different from the previous "sword" strikes Shirou had projected. Although the size of these "swords" was no different from toothpicks to the Black Dragon Nidhogg, because these projected swords were Noble Phantasms possessing dragon-slaying properties, those properties began to take effect the moment they pierced the dragon's body.
Under the attack of a swarm of three to four thousand Noble Phantasms, even if these "swords" were as thin as toothpicks to Nidhogg, they could still pin it to death. At this moment, the Black Dragon Nidhogg was covered in "swords" from head to toe, no longer resembling a dragon at all.
"ROAR—!!!"
Because the dragon-slaying properties of those thousands of swords took effect simultaneously, to the Black Dragon Nidhogg, it was as if the "swords" stuck in its body were coated with a poison powerful enough to cause it agony, forcing out a roar of mingled pain and fury.
Now, Shirou's right hand was aimed at the Black Dragon covered in "swords," and he suddenly clenched his fist.
"Broken Phantasm!"
As the blades of the Noble Phantasms were destroyed, a massive amount of magical energy instantly erupted from within them. With thousands of Noble Phantasms releasing such violent magical energy simultaneously, thick white smoke billowed from the dragon's body the very moment it began. It was steam formed by the fusion of blood and fire.
Finally, as each sword shattered, they bloomed with an incredibly dazzling azure light. Nidhogg's lava-like, transparent red body—having entered its second phase—was subjected to a continuous baptism of explosions.
Countless pieces of flesh blasted in all directions. The shockwave from the deafening explosions even created a massive hole directly in the clouds above. The clear blue sky was suddenly devoid of cloud cover, becoming empty and vast!
This was the first time since obtaining the Another Cosmos Particle Body that Shirou had released Broken Phantasm with all his might. The resulting explosion caused the entire space to vibrate violently.
Heaven and earth seemed about to shatter. As the world broke apart, Shirou heard the voice of the dying Nidhogg:
"You are quite good... human, you are indeed worthy of my Authority!"
Before Shirou could think deeply about the meaning of those words, his consciousness was completely disconnected from reality. His spiritual body seemed to be traveling through a tunnel. When Shirou opened his eyes, he saw a world of pure white.
Suddenly, a voice, cute with a hint of playfulness, reached Shirou's ears. The voice felt like a gentle hand stroking the crown of his head, making his consciousness feel incredibly clear.
"Oh, you're awake~"
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