The situation was spiraling toward the worst possible conclusion.
Angra Mainyu remained effectively sealed, drawn in by the gravitational pull of Chibaku Tensei, but the entity continued to pulse with a frenzied power. At intervals, it threw out Noble Phantasms forged from its own mud, detonating them as Broken Phantasms.
As the saying goes, 'The essence of a Heroic Spirit is their Noble Phantasm.' In the combat efficiency of any Spirit, that single crystallization of mystery played the most vital role.
Artoria, summoned in the Saber class, and Tristan, manifested as an Archer, found their combat capabilities plummeting to a level where battle was virtually impossible without their armaments. This was a dilemma shared by Gilgamesh, who fundamentally fought with his treasury, and Rider, who relied on his chariot.
Assassin was at least able to maintain his Noble Phantasm while manifested, but even then, his base combat stats were so abysmal that he couldn't properly intervene in this level of conflict.
The strongest firepower currently available belonged to Aoko-nee's Magic Bullets. However, the problem remained: neither her Magic Bullets nor her True Magic were proving truly effective against Angra Mainyu, who was currently awakening as an Evil of Humanity.
"It's coming! Get back!"
At that moment, the sphere of Chibaku Tensei rippled once more, ejecting three swords that were clearly Noble Phantasms.
I threw my body to the left in a swift roll, but the Noble Phantasms curved mid-air as if tracking my movement. Tristan moved like a blur, stepping between us to kick the weapons away.
"Thank you!"
"I cannot do that twice! Those Noble Phantasms are made of mud itself; contact is extremely dangerous."
"Are you kidding me…?"
Their Noble Phantasms were sealed, so I couldn't release Chibaku Tensei. To eliminate the entity trapped inside, we needed an Anti-Army or Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm powerful enough to blow away the entire mass of Chibaku Tensei… but that kind of firepower wasn't present here.
"More are coming!"
Ripples of mud formed around the surface of Chibaku Tensei, and dozens of swords and spears began to rain down.
Judging by the lack of any unique features, they seemed to be around Rank C Noble Phantasms from Gilgamesh's collection. Apparently, seeing his own treasures handled by such filth was the final straw for the King of Heroes, who began to fume with rage.
"How dare a disgusting beast, unworthy of even being called a mongrel, lay its hands upon My treasury!"
[What does it matter? Is your treasury not a hoard stained with blood, tears, and agony! To obtain a single cup, two nations fought until they were ruined; to seize a single jewel, the blood of a hundred men was spilled! How many kingdoms fell in your pursuit of the herb of immortality? How many died for the sake of your elixir of youth! Your treasury... is the very proof of my existence!]
Dozens of Noble Phantasms lanced toward Gilgamesh. Ordinarily, the arrogant King would have deflected them with his body or ignored them, but even he realized the danger and threw himself aside to dodge the bombardment.
The falling Noble Phantasms embedded themselves into the surroundings, triggering small explosions that sprayed mud in every direction. However, the scattered mud was soon drawn back toward the center by the gravitational pull of Chibaku Tensei, being sucked back into the sealing circle.
"This is problematic."
"What is?"
Kayneth, who had been protecting Waver with his Volumen Hydrargyrum, spoke up.
"That seal is indeed strong, but if it keeps scattering mud externally like that, that creature might eventually overwrite the sealing formation entirely."
Looking closely after his warning, I noticed that the exterior of the seal was already becoming heavily coated in mud.
"Pull in more debris and strengthen the seal!"
"I can't… right now, the seal is being maintained using Angra Mainyu's own prana. If I interfere to strengthen it further, I'll end up with more than just a few necrotic limbs!"
[Yes, give up. None of you deserve forgiveness. Enjoy the privilege of the weak: resignation. Realize the emotion of utter helplessness!]
As the erosion of the seal progressed, Angra Mainyu began to exert full pressure upon us.
The number of Noble Phantasms emerging from the obsidian ripples increased exponentially. Soon, not from a ripple, but from the very shell of the seal, a certain sword thrust itself out.
While the Heroic Spirits wondered what that blade was, I knew it only too well.
"DODGE IT!!!"
Fortunately, the Spirits followed my instruction instantly, narrowly avoiding the horrific event that followed.
[Sword of Promised Victory — Excalibur Morgan]
* * * * *
It was a truly titanic display of firepower.
A strike capable of swallowing plains and ramparts alike, the overwhelming light was accompanied by surging embers and rising mud, manifesting a terrifying majesty.
Where the black light had passed, a hollowed cylindrical crater and traces of mud remained. Even after the initial blast, the residual destructive force continued to detonate in chain reactions, ravaging the surroundings.
Quite literally, absolute destruction lay before our eyes.
"To... to use the Holy Sword Excalibur as a projectile...!"
As Tristan stood in shock, the sound of grinding metal echoed from another side.
When the Archer usually plucked his bowstrings, it produced the pleasant sound of a harp. This, however, was no pleasant melody; it was a grating, mechanical noise.
"Master, it's dangerous!"
"Tristan... damn it!"
In that moment, a rough hand pulled me backward. Immediately after, incredibly thin and fine 'mud' revealed itself before my eyes.
The mud-covered harp, which had surfaced on the seal's exterior, was plucking itself, scattering invisible threads of mud.
[You cannot escape.]
A flurry of Noble Phantasms followed.
Lancer's red short spear—which prevents wounds from healing—pierced through Rider's shoulder. Noble Phantasms spat from the stolen Gate of Babylon tore into Gilgamesh's thighs. Tristan, while pushing the Masters back, took a deep cut across his wrist from the muddy threads.
But without a doubt, no Servant was as heavily wounded as Saber.
Her armor was half-shattered, and her right arm was beginning to be eroded. Her hair was losing its color, turning pale. Realizing she was at her limit, she retreated under Tristan's protection.
Suddenly, Lancer's yellow spear flew toward me. I quickly summoned the Naraka Path to block the weapon.
"This is hopeless."
"What did you say?"
"I said this is a problem beyond our solution," Kayneth remarked. "While solving this would bring many benefits, fighting that thing without our own Noble Phantasms is a suicide mission!"
"If we don't finish this suicide mission now, we won't be able to stop it even if the entire world rallies against it."
Frankly, even if Kischur Zelretch himself stepped in, he might fail due to a bad conceptual matchup. Who else could I ask to kill this? Cath Palug? If that beast fully wakes up, it'll truly become an Evil of Humanity, hold hands with Altrouge, and end the world.
Right then, Waver spoke up.
"Wait a minute. Something is wrong."
"What is it now, kid?" Aoko-nee asked as she deflected incoming weapons with her Magic Bullets.
"That thing is summoning Noble Phantasms at will. That means it can mimic their abilities. If so, why hasn't it broken the sealing formation, which is essentially powered by prana?"
"The Origin of that seal is the beast itself. It cannot easily 'kill' its own source."
"Exactly! But it's already using Lancer's Noble Phantasm. Why hasn't it used the Red Rose of Exorcism to sever the connection between itself and the seal!"
The moment Waver's shout rang out, I began to scan my memories.
Angra Mainyu's sealing and re-erosion, Chibaku Tensei, the Servants' summoning, Lancer's exit…
"Open, Naraka Path!"
My decision was instantaneous.
Aoko-nee, having watched the situation unfold, stepped in front of me to block the barrage of Noble Phantasms, while I pulled a certain object from the void.
[How...!]
"...If a Noble Phantasm is bequeathed at the level of the soul, its ownership can indeed be transferred. That bastard Gilles de Rais turned out to be helpful for once!"
I definitely remembered seeing this in the lore. Originally, Gilles de Rais's *Prelati's Spellbook* was a Noble Phantasm given by Francesca Prelati, but if it is returned at the soul level, it changes back to a proxy Noble Phantasm used by Prelati.
What if Lancer had bequeathed this spear to me at the level of the soul?
My body moved before my thoughts could finish.
I pulled the crimson spear from the Naraka Path and leveled it at the Chibaku Tensei.
"Releasing the True Name is a secondary concern… The True Name isn't what matters with this spear, is it?"
[How dare you, YOU!!!]
Black prana began to charge once more. Excalibur Morgan, which had broken through the seal's surface, aimed directly at me.
At that moment, someone leaped atop the Chibaku Tensei sphere.
With her hair completely white and her blue armor turned obsidian, she wore a dark visor. She lunged forward, violently wrenching the black holy sword from the exterior of the seal.
[Wh-How can you...! You should have lost your mind once fully eroded by the mud! How can a Heroic Spirit remain sane!!!]
In that moment, a single possibility flickered in my mind.
But I focused on the present and leveled my spear.
"Here I go!!!"
As if guessing what was about to happen, the beast shifted the focus of its barrage away from Gilgamesh and the King of Conquerors, turning every Noble Phantasm toward me.
"Stand back, boy!"
Then, a massive figure appeared before me.
Catching a mud-covered Noble Phantasm out of the air, the King began to swing the mud-sword to parry the incoming treasure-blades.
"You…"
"I thought you were merely some person who gained power and acted as a proxy, but you have quite the tenacity! I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors! I shall conquer the path to that malignant core! Follow behind me!"
He had no chariot, no horse, and no Reality Marble.
But the King began to run on his own two legs.
The entity, which had nearly hijacked the Chibaku Tensei, tried to pull back, but I still held control over the seal itself. I sprinted right behind the King, spear in hand.
In a timeline that no longer existed, this King had once reached the very doorstep of the King of Heroes. Now, he marched forward, striking down every Noble Phantasm flying toward me.
One more step.
[Gae Dearg — Red Rose of Exorcism]
* * * * *
The center of Chibaku Tensei.
Angra Mainyu's main body was right there, and I drove the spear straight into the core.
[◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎!!!]
My aim was true. The sealing circle began to twist in a way entirely different from before, swelling unnaturally until it began to violently rupture.
The King of Conquerors' massive hand grabbed my shoulder and hurled me backward, just as the flying mud and debris were intercepted by golden beams of magical energy from above.
The King of Heroes, having finally recovered his Noble Phantasms, had opened his Gate of Babylon to provide cover.
[◼︎◼︎ is...]
"Is that thing still not dead?"
"I must put an end to this. Move aside."
The knightly king, stained in black, began to concentrate prana into her holy sword.
Suddenly, from a small remaining puddle of mud, something beyond description erupted.
[I HATE YOU!!!!]
It was pure malignancy.
The curse that was supposed to go to Kiritsugu Emiya upon the beast's death was now fired entirely toward me.
["I... curse... you...! I... the Evil of Humanity, Angra Mainyu... shall curse... you...! Suffer... until you die... regretting everything... I will never... forgive...!"]
However, the curse never reached me.
The meaningless, malicious curse was intercepted by Gilgamesh, who stood in its way. Simultaneously, the blackened holy sword was thrust deep into the mud.
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