It is well known that gods cannot become Heroic Spirits.
Because they have not perished—they simply departed.
Since the end of the Age of Gods, the connection between heaven, earth, and the human world has been severed. The same applies to beings like fairies, spirits, phantasmal beasts, and dragons—creatures born of nature's power. They either migrated to higher dimensions or retreated into the Inner Sea of the Planet (Reverse Side of the World).
In short, the era of the gods is long gone. This is the Age of Man. Without a channel to connect them, the gods can no longer interfere directly with the human world.
But of course, there are always exceptions. If not directly—then indirectly?
Indeed, while gods cannot become Heroic Spirits, not all Servants are Heroic Spirits.
If a god wishes to intervene in the human world, the simplest way is to respond to a human summoning and descend by lowering themselves to the level of a Servant.
A more complicated method would be mimetic manifestation—or to possess a highly compatible host body.
Of course, this is exceedingly rare.
Most gods have no interest in the affairs of the Age of Man—whether joy or sorrow. Cruelly speaking, they even enjoy watching the chaos unfold, using it as a pastime to relieve eternal boredom.
Gilgamesh detests the gods, and by extension, anything possessing divinity, magical essence, or immortality. While his views may be extreme, the gods' own history of misdeeds is undeniable.
Don't be fooled by the sweet and somewhat tsundere Ishtar possessing Rin Tohsaka. She may seem like a friendly, charming goddess now...
But that's due to Rin's personality tempering her.
In myth, the real Ishtar was a notoriously terrible goddess. "Brash and tyrannical" would be a generous description.
"...."
Gazing at the strange cracks forming on Selene's body, Merlin could only think one thing: Chaldea was in for a rough time.
To instantly teleport such a massive body with no pause, no visible magical formation—it could only be the divine manifestation of a world-altering Authority. Merlin could think of no other explanation.
He immediately recognized what he was seeing: the result of pushing output beyond the Spirit Origin's limits—structural damage to the Spirit Origin itself.
Through the crimson sky, Selene's titanic body—comparable to a mountain—was visibly covered in frost-like cracks, some wide, some fine. From these gaps, purple-red vaporized magical energy hissed outward.
At this moment, Selene resembled a shattered, oversized porcelain doll.
But bizarrely, there was no sense of fragility—only an awe-inspiring, almost sublime beauty. The kind found in the moment before a nuclear detonation.
"What a fierce and volatile goddess... Fujimaru, Romani, listen! She's about to go all out!"
Wiping sweat from his brow, Merlin felt his throat dry up. Without a sound, he slipped behind Artoria, who had activated the Avalon barrier with the scabbard of the Everdistant Utopia.
"Fujimaru, hear me! No matter what happens—don't act rashly. So long as you live, that's a victory!"
As he split off a new illusion, Merlin's real body began to sink into the ground. He turned to his beloved pupil, Artoria.
"Artoria, remember—at a time like this, the sheath is more useful than the sword. Use it wisely. Protect Fujimaru. He is the key to our victory."
"Understood." Casting him a sidelong glance, Saber Artoria nodded.
"Oi, you old bastard, what's that supposed to mean? You're ordering Father around, but you're the one running away?!"
"No, no, this isn't running—it's a strategic retreat. Mordred, while I'm gone, make sure to protect your father, alright?"
Seeing Mordred not nearly as hotheaded as she had been in life, Merlin winked at her, reversing the roles with a smug, "it's for your own good" expression.
"Of course!! As if I need you to tell me that, you old bastard...."
Shouldering her king's sword, Mordred snorted and blew steam from her nose—like a child just appeased.
Before the words finished—"Artoria, I'll retrieve Rhongomyniad for you...." With that, Merlin's nightmare avatar vanished into the earth, and his magical presence disappeared.
...
BOOM!!
Selene's monstrous strength overwhelmed even Scáthach. With a thunderous crash, the elegant warrior was sent flying.
"Space magic? No, this is the manipulation of spatial law at will—an Authority."
Stabilizing herself midair, Scáthach crashed down several hundred meters away, stopping at the edge of a tectonic fissure. Her crimson spear struck the ground as her stance lowered, feet gouging long furrows in the soil—just shy of falling into the sea flooding up through the rift.
Wind swept through her long, deep-purple hair.
"Scáthach! Selene has forced divine power through her Spirit Origin, beyond what any Servant can endure. Don't face her head-on. If we can stall and survive her final assault, we win!"
Through the Command Seal magic channel, Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice entered Scáthach's mind.
"Understood. I'll be cautious...."
"Heh... stall me? Fujimaru Ritsuka, how do you know how long my Spirit Origin can last? With this level of output, I'll wipe you all out long before my body breaks."
Between their exchange, that cold, arrogant voice filled with destructive intent forcibly cut into Chaldea's internal comms.
In the command center, Romani was stunned—how had she done this?
"Combining modern communication technology with magical transmission... Not bad. Intercepting and decoding your signals wasn't easy, Chaldea. You'll see me soon enough."
"As for stalling tactics? Tch. A clever move—but do you really think I'll let you drag this out?!"
Selene's voice turned Chaldea's control room to silent dread.
...
CRACK!
Suddenly, like shattering glass, the atmosphere within dozens of meters around Scáthach ruptured.
It was pure annihilation. A void of darkness devoured everything within its reach, leaving behind a perfectly smooth-edged crater.
"Tch... a second too slow."
Glancing at the deeper cracks in her right arm, Selene's gaze flickered.
"This awkwardness...."
She turned her eyes to a composed, mature woman stepping from a gate of black rock carved with primordial runes several kilometers away.
Selene sneered, "Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, slayer of gods. Isn't death your only wish?"
"Then why run, if you wish to die?"
A paradox. No judgment—just Selene's honest take on Scáthach.
Scáthach's wish... was to die.
After a life of endless killing—even slaying gods—she had been cursed by them. Bathed in divine blood, Scáthach, though not born a god, had become half-divine. She could no longer die as a mortal.
It was a god's curse. She couldn't even kill herself.
Beautiful death, ugly death—it didn't matter. She simply persisted, eternally, until the world and the space beyond came to an end.
'If the Holy Grail is truly omnipotent, then please—send me someone who can kill me.'
Her true self dwelled in the Land of Shadows, like Avalon, within the Inner Sea of the Planet. Dying of old age? Impossible.
Helping Chaldea save humanity would send her back to the Land of Shadows... contradicting her own wish. And yet, she chose to help them anyway....
"Gáe Bolg Alternative!"
Her crimson spear flew almost in sync with Selene's final word.
That was her answer.
"Subspace Ribbon."
A black, whip-like object appeared beside Selene—part spear, part lash.
"Go."
Zzzzzz—!
It instantly extended, streaking in a dark arc. Space itself distorted, and even light bent unnaturally. The atmosphere was cleaved open by a deep, dark gash.
Wherever the black arc passed, everything was sliced apart.
Splurt—!
Time seemed to freeze.
In the next moment, under countless stunned gazes, Scáthach's god-slaying crimson spear unraveled in midair—dissolving entirely under the oncoming arc of darkness.
In a direct clash, Scáthach's Gáe Bolg Alternative was crushed by Selene's Subspace Ribbon!
"Scáthach—!"
"Kh..."
Sensing the massive burst of compressed magical energy from kilometers away, Selene clutched her chest and coughed up gold-red blood.
Her frustration wasn't with Scáthach—it was with herself.
"Such a fragile shell... and it can't even support this level of output."
She had only manifested a degraded Subspace Lance, and already her Spirit Origin was rebelling.
Crack, crack....
The coarse, mechanical creaking of her arm bones was maddening. With a glare, Selene suddenly twisted and snapped her own arm.
Better to regenerate anew than waste time on repairs.
Before their very eyes, the arm regrew rapidly—but this time, no serpent scales formed. Instead of a monstrous claw, it ended in a flawlessly beautiful, humanlike hand.
Scáthach's defeat was certain. As a Servant, she was merely a projection. Had Selene not overclocked her divine authority, Scáthach might've held on longer.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, it's your turn... Chaldea's final Master."
Wiping the blood from her lips, Selene narrowed her eyes playfully. The scales on her cheeks had begun to peel, and her lips curled into a dangerously enchanting smile.
"This is my greeting gift."
Had it not been in such a grim setting, with no imperial subjects to witness it, this rare smile would've been beautiful enough to etch itself into memory.
"Senpai, she's targeting you!"
"Selene's Spirit Origin is damaged. The best option is to avoid direct battle—to stall for time."
Suddenly, another black whip-like object formed beside Selene and lashed out toward Fujimaru Ritsuka, who stood at the center of layered defenses.
Swish—!
The instant Selene's crimson eyes locked onto him, Fujimaru felt a chill rush from his tailbone to the crown of his skull—his mind frozen in place.
"Danger, Master!"
Splurt—!
...
High above, Selene withdrew her gaze and raised her head. Clenching her newly regrown arm, she spoke softly:
"My time is short. Solomon—are you done spectating?"
Buzz, buzz—!
From the underground rift beneath the ruins of Mount Enzou, cracks stretched to the ends of the world. The sea surged and glowed, thickening—darkening into crimson.
ROAR—!
With that, the first massive pink-and-white mosquito-like creature emerged from the Imaginary Sea, shattering the water's surface. Countless bestial roars followed as an army of pale monstrosities climbed from the fissures.
Boom, boom, boom!
In response, the King of Magecraft made his move. At the same moment, colossal black tendrils erupted skyward from the fissures—covered in countless blood-red eyes that twitched and blinked.
Meanwhile:
Beep-beep—beep-beep—!
In Chaldea's central control room, multiple Near-Future Observation Lenses (SHEBA) began flashing emergency alerts.
"Sudden surge in Age of Gods ether particles in the atmosphere. Spacetime is warping again! The spatial rift above the Pacific is expanding further!"
Onscreen, Honkai Beasts poured out in endless waves. In seconds, their number surpassed 100,000—blanketing the land.
"Wait! Zoom in there!"
"Zoom in on the largest fissure underground," Da Vinci instructed the operators, stepping forward.
"Her spatial manipulation... the Authority she forced into use has clearly surpassed her Spirit Origin's limit. She's already damaged it. However, she's also used divine power to temporarily connect the Pacific's underground ley line to some unknown space."
"We can't even identify what's on the other side of that rift. From just a shallow scan through the spatial fracture... Are those magical beasts? Their numbers already exceed nine digits. Some of them are titanic—on par with Titans themselves."
As she stared at the magnified screen, at the layer of violet-red light within the submarine leyline fissure, Da Vinci spoke with urgency.
"We must stop her. Otherwise... even if Selene eventually withdraws due to Spirit Origin collapse, the environment of this world has already been reverted to the Age of Gods. With the return of Mystery, those magical beasts pouring through the spatial rift might not disappear with her."
"And most critically—King Solomon...."
Her words struck Romani speechless. He stared downward, a look of stunned realization crossing his face.
"So... she's giving us no chance at all. In other words, our evasion strategy has failed. We have no choice but to fight her head-on."
"Ritsuka...."
Until just now, he had planned to have Scáthach withdraw, knowing Selene's exit was imminent. He'd even ordered Ishtar to hold back her trump card.
But the current situation proved they had been too naive.
Selene was forcing Chaldea into a direct confrontation.
If Chaldea dared to run, she would continue to flood this world with Honkai Beasts—endlessly, without limit!
And worst of all—the sky had already opened....
Solomon's descent was imminent!
They had no other choice.
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