"Things are getting more and more exaggerated. I'm even starting to think there's nothing to be proud of about the Age of Gods."
Still staying on the cliff with Fujino, Medea, who hadn't joined the battle, was already numb from the barrage of ridiculous scenes unfolding before her. As one of the foremost magus in human history, she was more aware than anyone of the incredible feats on display.
Touko's immortality, Rin's Jeweled Sword, and Shinji's Memory Make: Phantasm Manifestation—each of these was beyond extraordinary, the kind of accomplishment even gods could not achieve.
"So, does that mean Shinji is bound to win?"
Fujino asked, smiling genuinely. With Achilles and Spartacus now involved, there was no longer any room for her to intervene, allowing her to watch calmly from the sidelines.
"Winning is certain. However... whether he can completely kill off these troublesome monsters is another matter," Medea first nodded, then shook her head.
"After all, it's not perfect magic. Relying solely on memory has its limitations."
As a legitimate Servant, Medea easily saw the gap between Memory Make and an actual Servant.
A True Servant has a real anchor, combining their actual lifetime experiences with enhancements from their legends and myths. However, Memory Make is based purely on Shinji's memory—or more accurately, his perception. What he understood, he could perfectly recreate; what he didn't understand, the recreation would have flaws.
Given Shinji's current level of martial skill and magic, the only Servants with high completion rates would be those like Astolfo or Vlad III, who aren't renowned for their martial prowess. Heroes like Karna or Siegfried, with superhuman abilities, could only exhibit less than 30% of their original power.
Additionally, an even more crucial factor was the Noble Phantasms. These are far harder to comprehend than the Servants themselves. Except for the ones Shinji has seen or used before, the rest are nearly impossible to manifest. The ones that can be manifested often carry the concept of being faithful to humanity, making them vulnerable to being negated by Dead Apostles.
That's why Medea made such a statement. If Shinji could fully recreate everything, no matter how strong Roa, FAbro Chaos, or Araya were, they wouldn't have been able to survive the combined attacks of fourteen Servants until now.
Moreover, after the initial shock phase had passed and Roa's group gradually adapted to the current attack rhythm, Shinji's advantage would further diminish.
More importantly—
"The enemy's Servant hasn't made a move yet."
Just as Medea finished speaking, Araya Souren, who was being held in check by Aoko, Astolfo, and Avicebron's golem, suddenly spoke: "Do it, Assassin!"
In the next instant, a pair of ghostly eyes appeared behind Shinji, followed by a flash of cold light. The young Shinji's head was instantly severed.
The series of events happened too quickly. Rin and Jack, standing nearby, didn't have time to react. They could only watch as the cold light continued its downward arc, aiming for the neck of the younger Shinji, who remained calm with closed eyes, seemingly unaware of the impending disaster.
At the critical moment, a strange arm reached out from the side. From the palm to the elbow, it looked like a normal human arm, but beyond the elbow, instead of an upper arm, there was a pitch-black metal chain.
The hand precisely deflected the cold light meant for decapitation. Immediately after, a figure in a dark cloak leaped out from the shadows, reattaching the arm while speaking in an emotionless voice:
"Lord Shinji, please leave him to me."
"I'm counting on you, Katou," came the reply from the decapitated head of the young Shinji. Even without a body, it could still speak.
This was all part of the plan. From the start, Shinji hadn't forgotten about Araya Souren's Servant, Assassin, who had evaded even his mental scans and Rin's extraordinary intuition.
The most dangerous assassin is the one who remains hidden. If they don't reveal themselves, the certainty of victory is still in question. To eliminate this uncertainty, Shinji had to lure out the most threatening enemy.
Thus, Shinji used himself as bait, with an older version of himself defending openly, while Katou lay in wait to counter Assassin.
Katou Danzou, a legendary ninja, has no biological life signs, and when combined with the invisibility effects of the Cloak of Hades, her stealth ability rivaled the highest level of Presence Concealment. She was the perfect match to neutralize the enemy Assassin.
And Katou didn't disappoint Shinji and Touko, proving that the legendary Flying Katou was not just a name based on empty fame.
Having missed the strike, the ghost-eyed Assassin immediately retreated into the shadows, showing no desire to continue the fight.
Katou followed, leaving only the words: "Understood."
After that, an unseen battle quietly unfolded in a place beyond the visible field.
The head that had flown into the air landed back on the body. The young Shinji adjusted it with his hand and pulled a grim, unsettling grin.
"I forgot to mention, as long as I'm alive, all the Memory Servants are immortal."
So I have to ask: do you still have enough life force to keep going?
There are only two ways to deal with vampires: either overwhelm their regeneration with sheer force and speed or outlast them with even stronger regeneration. Memory Make belongs to the latter, but what I'll use next belongs to the former.
Now that the enemy Assassin was being handled by Katou, young Shinji had no more concerns. He moved forward from his original position, ready to join the front lines. His Noble Phantasms were the bane of the Dead Apostles.
A divine Noble Phantasm, Indra's Thunder, and a scythe gifted by the god Hermes, specifically designed to slay the Gorgon—the Harpe was borrowed from Medusa to deal with Roa.
Surprisingly, seeing Shinji charging forward, Roa didn't panic. Instead, he laughed.
"Hahaha! To lure me out, you didn't hesitate to use yourself as bait. Even though you're human, you're more ruthless than I am—a monster!"
"Say whatever you want, it won't change your fate of death," Shinji replied, expressionless.
"That's not for sure. You don't think you've already won, do you?"
Even while being smashed into the ground by Spartacus and impaled by Vlad III's spear, Roa continued to laugh.
"Oh? What other tricks do you have? Feel free to show them all," Shinji said coldly.
"A simple one. The classic trope of monsters targeting heroes—haven't you noticed that Fabro has been deploying fewer beasts lately?"
Shinji's expression shifted slightly; there were indeed fewer. The usual number was around five hundred, but now it seemed like there were fewer than four hundred, even accounting for the corpses on the ground.
"Do you want to know where they are?"
Roa asked.
"Spit it out already," Shinji snapped.
"Let's reveal the answer then. They're over there. They were originally stationed to prevent your escape, but now, they've found a new purpose. If we die here, they'll rush into the city without stopping."
At the end, Roa burst into laughter, pointing in the direction of Fuyuki City.