Crack—!
"Phew... Merlin made it in time."
Watching the massive dark red pillar of light tear through the heavens, ripping apart clouds and randomly scorching some unfortunate region below, Fujimaru Ritsuka exhaled in relief and clenched his fist tightly.
Just a moment ago, Quetzalcoatl's second Noble Phantasm release hadn't finished charging, while Selene had already completed hers. Fujimaru's heart had been in his throat.
Fortunately, it missed....
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to thank Merlin—
"Cough... pfft...."
"Merlin-san?!"
"Merlin, you—"
The Magus of Flowers, who had so confidently promised to buy time for Quetzalcoatl and the other goddesses, had barely started to gloat when he suddenly began violently coughing up blood. Mash and Fujimaru gasped in alarm.
With one key difference:
Mash, kind-hearted as ever, was genuinely concerned, even if she'd been deceived before. Fujimaru, however, hesitated.
Back in the Seventh Singularity, Babylon, Merlin's antics had left a lasting impression.
The man could fake a resurrection with perfect form.
"Cough... it's... more troublesome than Tiamat...." Merlin coughed, forcing a wry smile.
"Oi, Merlin you old cheat, is this one of your real deaths or a fake one again?"
On the comms, Amari's voice came through, tinged with deep disappointment.
"Don't tell me you're going to vanish now, only to reappear dramatically at the last second again...."
"Cough, Amari, what do you take me for? Anyway, that's not the point...."
Wiping the blood from his lips, the usually harmless Magus of Flowers looked grave. "Just one glance—one moment of peeking at her true nature—and my projection was immediately destroyed by the backlash. If I hadn't pulled back in time, even I might have died."
"What did you see?"
Inside Chaldea, Romani leaned forward against the table, eyes wide with urgency. Others also leaned in curiously.
"In this state? How could I have seen anything..."
Merlin shook his head with a bitter smile. "But her true body—I could feel it. It's always watching this world...."
At that, Merlin couldn't help wanting to slap himself. Why had he done something so reckless? Setting up an illusion would've been enough. But no—he just had to use Clairvoyance to observe Selene's Spirit Origin at close range.
In the Nasuverse, Clairvoyance—true to its name—is the ability to perceive over distance. At higher levels, particularly A-rank and EX-rank, it allows one to glimpse into the past or future.
There's a saying: all Grand Servants possess EX-level Clairvoyance.
King Solomon, Merlin, and Gilgamesh—perhaps the most renowned Clairvoyants among Servants—are undeniably candidates for Grand status.
Using his Clairvoyance, Merlin easily identified the foreign element within the fused Spirit Origin of Avenger Gorgon and Beast II Tiamat.
And then, Merlin couldn't help but look deeper—through that hazy thread of connection....
For a moment, he reached beyond the World's Wall into the void of infinite cosmic space. And then—there was no "then." With no time to react, a radiant figure beyond comprehension stirred ever so slightly, and Merlin's projection was instantly obliterated by just a ripple of its presence.
Thank goodness he didn't use his real body.
Just remembering it, Merlin grimaced and clutched his eyes, hunching forward, cold sweat beading on his brow.
"She probably didn't notice me... no, she definitely did. That massive cosmic deity named Selene—did she... smile at me...?"
...It's over. She's marked me.
...
"Tch, Merlin, is it."
An illusion, a nightmare, Avalon—such clear signatures made Selene immediately aware of who was responsible.
The court magician, mentor, and prophet from Arthurian legend. The Magus of Flowers—Merlin.
"Break—!"
As Selene pushed her composite Spirit Origin to its limit, the pressure cracked the Avalon illusion's surrounding space, which collapsed inward toward a single point before exploding outward. The blast annihilated everything within several kilometers.
The surrounding crystalline mirrors also shattered, turning into countless shards that scattered like falling snow—only to dissolve rapidly in the spreading sea of chaos.
The line between reality and illusion blurred.
A surreal tapestry unfolded—scenes of a wounded real world overlapped with a gorgeous dreamscape. One moment a blissful paradise of swamps, meadows, and forests; the next, a shattered, crumbling continental plate.
Dreamlike beauty and cruel reality, interchanging.
Crack crack crack crack~
The glittering crystal dust turned into a gentle light rain, falling upon Selene's terrifying divine-beast form. A cool, soothing sensation spread wherever the light landed—still attempting to calm the increasingly agitated god per some preset in the nightmare illusion.
"Quetzal..."
Selene broke free from Avalon's bindings in an instant. Gazing skyward, she spotted Quetzalcoatl—now fused with the Piedra Del Sol (Solar Calendar Stone), her entire body transformed into a humanoid sun.
Take her down first!
With that thought, Selene—momentarily disoriented by the illusion—resumed her magical assault without pause.
Buzz—!
With a smile of satisfaction, a dark red magic cannon burst again from Selene's magic circle-shaped eye, blasting into the upper atmosphere in a flash toward the Feathered Serpent God.
"Selene! Face my strongest wrestling technique!! Its name is—Ultimo Tope Patada!!!"
Wreathed in searing crimson flames, Quetzal's entire form radiated unbearable heat. This was her Servant Spirit Origin pushed to its absolute limit. Blood trails—on her cheeks, arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, and thighs—cracked across her flawless, porcelain-like body, forming complex divine runes.
Shhhh~
Like fractured ceramic, those cracks widened. Gold-red divine blood seeped out, falling into her blazing aura. The blood turned the flames a deeper red, fueling their explosion.
Next moment—
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
A brilliant light lit up the entire sky. The thunderous explosion that followed was deafening. The resulting shockwave—blisteringly hot—expanded in layers, flattening the entire city of Fuyuki in an instant.
A red mushroom cloud rose into the air. Cities dozens—even hundreds—of kilometers away, including offshore islands, heard the massive blast. Within mere seconds, windows shattered across multiple towns.
Above the sky, it looked like a volcanic chain reaction on a fault line. Crimson fire erupted everywhere as sky met flame.
RUMBLE—!
"Now is a Castle of Distant Ideals (Lord Camelot)!"
"The Seven Rings that Cover the Fiery Heavens (Rho Aias)!"
"God is Here With Me (Luminosite Eternelle)!!"
...
Servants stood in defense before Fujimaru Ritsuka, each activating their defensive Noble Phantasms.
At the front stood Ruler Jeanne d'Arc. With her power to inspire and amplify the entire party, she unquestionably took center stage.
"Haaah—!!"
The pure white Fleur-de-Lis banner fluttered. At the moment of impact, Ruler Jeanne d'Arc unfurled her flag. In the midst of this sky-darkening explosion, the tiny golden ripples it released seemed utterly insignificant.
Gritting her teeth, her arm bones groaning under pressure, Jeanne still stood firm, holding back the surging shockwave that swept in all directions—like a stone resisting a raging tide.
Suddenly—crack!
A crisp sound rang out. Jeanne's expression changed drastically as cracks formed on the shaft of her flag.
"No..."
Her resolve and Anti-Magic skill could still hold—but her weapon could not.
While her flag converted her EX-rank Anti-Magic into physical defense capable of blocking nearly any attack, it was ultimately not a divine weapon.
In terms of pure defensive strength, it was comparable to Mash's "Lord Camelot" or even King Arthur's "Avalon." However, unlike those god-forged or star-born weapons, Jeanne's flag was a relic of mortal origin—once used in war to inspire troops, now exalted as a Noble Phantasm.
During activation, the flag continuously accumulates enemy damage. It's not unlimited. The more damage it absorbs, the closer it draws to destruction.
Seeing this, Merlin sighed inwardly. A fully divine Quetzalcoatl... they're all absurdly powerful.
With Lancer Karna and Rider Achilles assigned to other tasks, this was only the beginning. They couldn't afford for collateral damage to wipe out the whole party.
He turned toward a certain red-haired youth struggling with projection, smiled brightly, and called out, "Hey, Shirou Emiya—I'm Arotira's court magician. May I ask for your help?"
"Huh? Saber's court magician? Of course. What do you—"
Currently in possession of Archer EMIYA's Spirit Origin, Shirou was projecting replacement 'chrysanthemum shields' on the fly. Frazzled, he instinctively responded.
"No need to trouble you—I'll take it myself."
Pfft!
Still smiling, Merlin jabbed a hand cleanly into Shirou's back—so swiftly that nearby onlookers froze.
"Merlin! Have you been corrupted!?" Saber Artoria immediately drew her holy sword.
"Now, now, Artoria, don't be so dramatic. Look what I've got."
Merlin's hand emerged bloodless, holding a long golden object.
"Avalon... The Everdistant Utopia."
Gazing at the radiant golden scabbard, Saber whispered in awe.
"Exactly. Arotira, remember—sometimes the sheath is just as important as the sword," Merlin said solemnly, handing it to her.
...
"Let me guess... how many rats are lying in wait, hoping for a chance to pounce?"
Above Selene, the atmosphere had been warped by relentless bombardment. A vast, spiraling firecloud swirled upward—yet it was being forced back by the swelling tide of dark red magical energy.
Now fully committed, Selene had activated her Spirit Origin and converted her energy into pure Honkai output, regaining the upper hand.
Lev's contingency plan had paid off. Quetzalcoatl's strength was indeed equal to Selene's Rider-class incarnation from the Romania Holy Grail War.
Both were peak goddesses within their respective fields, embodying both creation and destruction.
In short, Selene and Quetzal were the very pinnacle Servants could achieve under standard conditions. Selene may have had a slight edge—but only just.
Of course, that excluded do-or-die bursts that shattered Spirit Origins entirely.
Currently maintaining Selene's manifestation is the Spirit Origin of Beast II, one of humanity's Seven Evils. Even if not fully complete, once she gets serious, her output ceiling absolutely surpasses that of Quetzalcoatl!
"Farewell."
A dark red pillar of light, a kilometer in diameter, surged forth again. The petrifying, corruptive magical energy engulfed Quetzal's comet-like strike.
Crack, crack, crack~
The burning fire that once tore through the sky visibly dispersed. As the flames around her faded into scattering sparks, Quetzalcoatl—strangely—wore a relaxed expression.
"I told you, Selene... this is war."
Before her words had even fully landed, a terrifying killing intent and a massive surge of magic honed in on Selene.
RUMBLE—!
The ground beneath Selene—within several kilometers—suddenly collapsed with a thunderous boom, revealing a dark, gaping void that led to the underworld below.
"Pierce! Break through! Pierce to death—Gáe Bolg Alternative!"
A sharp, feminine shout echoed through the battlefield. A crimson magical spear, hurled with terrifying force, traced a god-slaying trajectory as it shot toward Selene's magical eye. It split into two, then four....
Though Selene halted her assault on Quetzalcoatl to defend herself, Quetzal suddenly felt a terrible sense of foreboding—an ominous, overwhelming dread.
"Hmph... this is what I've been waiting for!"
Selene bared her fangs in a feral smile. Her scaled, monstrous face twisted with brutal glee.
As the thousand crimson spear marks pierced the sky, Selene laughed. This was Scáthach—Cú Chulainn's teacher, Queen of the Land of Shadows!
The rune that broke through her magical defenses atop the Marduk Axe? Of course she prepared for this.
Whoosh!
To the stunned eyes of the Chaldea forces—Selene's colossal beast body, hundreds of meters tall and thousands of meters long—vanished.
Above!!
"Quetzal! Watch out—!!" Fujimaru Ritsuka screamed.
Buzz—!
A massive, mountain-like beast claw, covered in violet-red cracks, slammed downward. Quetzal, weakened and spent, was enveloped in its shadow.
CRUNCH!
The feeling of real flesh, crushed by the destructive compression of magical particles. As Selene opened her hand in midair, Quetzalcoatl's Spirit Origin response had already vanished.
Inside Chaldea's command room, the staff stared wide-eyed at the screen, stunned.
So... those wings weren't for decoration after all.
Experience from the Seventh Singularity told them that the Gorgon Beast Goddess had wings, but mainly for gliding—her snake tail always dragged behind.
Now, before them, Selene—many times larger than Gorgon—was floating in midair!
Not gliding—floating. Her massive snake tail curled through the sky itself!
The visual impact was staggering. Silence fell over Chaldea's control room.
"When I say farewell... I mean it." With a breath, Selene blew away golden Spiritron dust from her palm, gazing down upon the devastated earth.
Cold sweat poured from Merlin's brow. Seeing the blood-tinged cracks across Selene's porcelain-like skin, he felt a chill run down his spine.
"She just used spatial law directly."
"In other words... she used her Authority. That was true divine power!!"
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