"Leave the mana to —!"
"Everyone, give it your all!!"
Countless distorted auras, and blazing golden-purple suns capable of boiling seas and scorching mountains, burst forth in the sky like an impenetrable barrier. Fujimaru Ritsuka held his breath, gripped his right wrist tightly, and roared into the void. His red Command Spell flared brilliantly.
The atmosphere itself shifted with Fujimaru Ritsuka’s desperate shout.
Buzz—!
"God is Here With (Luminosité Eternelle)!!"
"Rally Upon the Holy Banner and Roar (Saint War Order)!"
"Now is a Castle of Distant Ideals (Lord Calot)!"
"The Miniature World Enclosed by the Azure Sky (Akhilleus Kosmos)!"
"O’ Sun, Beco Armor (Kavacha and Kundala)!"
...
"The Everdistant Utopia (Avalon)!"
"The Shining Great Temple Complex (Rasseum Tentyris)!!"
...
BOOM BOOM BOOMBOOMBOOM—!!!
On this day, in the western Pacific archipelago, sothing descended. Vast landmasses disappeared forever.
In low Earth orbit, astronauts aboard space stations were lucky enough to witness the entirety of this terrifying scene.
It was God’s answer to the end of the world.
Tearing through the clouds, brilliant streaks of light shimred like silver sand slipping through divine fingers, weaving glowing prisons across the sky. The sky were filled with dazzling lights, as if the Holy Spirit had unleashed its wrath, shrouding all.
No teorological alert was needed. With the naked eye, a dark red vortex appeared above the Pacific Ocean.
The descent of a god brings "salvation"—but also destruction. The radiant beams that fell upon the world were thunderous judgnts that pierced every inch of land, composing a requiem, erasing all life, and returning it to nothingness.
The rampaging tide of magical energy summoned hurricanes at the edge of human weather prediction limits, omnipresent lightning, and sky-darkening tsunamis born of undersea earthquakes...
Everything turned catastrophic, like a doomsday straight from ancient prophecy.
BEEP—BEEP—BEEP—!!
"Hey, hey, HEY!!"
The sheer force of the magical reaction imdiately disrupted Chaldea’s detection systems. On the central monitor, the images of Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others grew increasingly blurry from clear visibility.
Until—crack!bzzz—
"Ritsuka? Mash!? Can you still hear us?!"
Romani’s urgent voice rang out repeatedly as he stared at the now-static central screen.
"According to [Sheba]’s observation, the entire Pacific region is undergoing intense tectonic movent! The disaster zone is still expanding!"
"[Chaldeas] has simultaneously detected a severe space-ti rupture in the singularity world!"
With hands flying across the control panel, the Chaldea command room staff stared at the red warning text on the screen, speaking quickly:
"Due to the violent ti-space split at the singularity, our communications have temporarily been cut off!"
At the command seat, Da Vinci’s expression darkened. She barked, "Report on Ritsuka’s physiological monitoring status in real ti! Maintain magical supply to the Heroic Spirit Summoning System [Fate]!"
The monitoring system for Master Fujimaru Ritsuka’s body functions was still operational, aning he was not dead yet—but the rapidly deteriorating trics made Da Vinci’s heart sink.
"Re-establish communications imdiately!"
This kind of blind, pieceal command was far too passive. They needed clearer information—they had to restore contact with Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Romani said, "Report the Servants’ damage status."
"Compiling data... Archer Atalanta’s Spirit Origin signal has disappeared."
"Saber Gilles de Rais’s Spirit Origin signal has vanished... Lancer Musashibou Benkei, Assassin Hassan (of Serenity)..."
"Archer Tawara Touta, Ruler Hols, Caster Geronimo... Lancer Leonidas I, Archer Billy, Helena (Caster)... Archer Tesla, Saber Rama..."
"Aside from a small number of Servants protected within the Noble Phantasms of King Arthur, Ramses II, and King Gilgash—"
"Nearly all the Servants who had once fought alongside us in various Singularities and ca to our aid have been destroyed in an instant!"
"Furthermore, the Spirit Origin signal of the enemy Servant Foreigner Durandal also appears to have vanished!"
As one staff mber rubbed his eyes in disbelief, his voice trembled.
"Confird?"
"Confird. The Spirit Origin signals of all Foreigners that fought Gilgash have disappeared in Selene’s bombardnt."
Upon hearing this, Da Vinci’s usually graceful and mysteriously smiling face was now clouded with concern and contemplation. "An indiscriminate bombardnt with no regard for friend or foe."
"Did Durandal and the others vanish because Selene didn’t care about her subordinates stalling Gilgash and the other Heroic Spirits... or was it sothing else entirely?"
If it was the forr... Da Vinci felt it unworthy of Durandal.
Even if they served different masters, Da Vinci—as one of humanity’s great polymaths—could clearly see the flashes of humanity and noble idealism shining in Durandal, Kiana, and the others.
Truly, these were heroes that belonged to mankind. To see them loyal to a god... while sentintal, overgeneralizing, and overly ddleso, Da Vinci couldn’t help but feel it was such a waste.
"That creature is purging the battlefield. In her eyes, there are too many ants, and this attack is a test—those who cannot cross the threshold of life and death are ants. Only those who do are heroes, worthy of her attention."
"What a savage and arrogant goddess."
Bang!
Romani slamd his fist on the desk in front of him. His orange bangs swayed, covering his eyes. He raised his head, then quickly composed himself and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, sorry. I lost my temper."
"Da Vinci-chan, I’m leaving things here to you. I’ll be back shortly."
With that, Romani turned. His previously bright and warm smile faded quickly. He stepped past Da Vinci without looking back and left the control room.
"Romani..."
Watching his disappearing figure through the doorway, Da Vinci’s tone grew complex. "So it’s finally co to this..."
...
Bzzz—
At that mont, the sky was shrouded in gray. Hot volcanic ash rained down more intensely. Fuyuki City—or rather, what used to be a landmass—had drastically changed in geography.
The ash in the sky no longer dissipated, instead swirling like a massive vortex.
In the face of Selene’s power, mountains and rivers were like fragile paper—torn, devoured, and annihilated by destructive fireballs.
The earth was more devastated than ever. It was impossible to tell land from sea anymore, for all had been razed to a single elevation of scorched wasteland.
Ravines and craters stretched to the horizon. Streams of molten lava flowed through them, distorting the air with searing heat.
From countless craters, faint gleams of light shimred due to intense heat and pressure. Silver, red... multicolored crystalized terrain reflected on the pale face of Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Senpai..."
Supported by Mash, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked back. At first glance, many familiar comrades were gone. The scorching wind carried a searing sting that made his weakened body tremble, his face pale.
’Bianka, Kiana—go into hiding. Begin Phase Two.’
"This body is still a little lacking, but... it will suffice."
Selene, her eyes lowered, played with a condensed Imaginary Number Cube in her hand. Then she looked toward her masterpiece, her smile growing ever more radiant.
"Look, We truly are impressed."
"A magus capable of handling fate itself, one who possesses the decisiveness to act when destiny arrives, and the skill to contract with multiple Heroic Spirits and supply them mana—such a one was once deed incompetent by Chaldea. How laughable."
"These so-called ’A-Team’ mbers of Chaldea—what were they, really?"
Selene turned her head slightly, as if in mockery.
"A-Team? A bunch of ants with ambitions as high as the heavens but lives as fragile as paper. No need to concern Yourself with them, Your Majesty. Still, that he managed to support so many Servants simultaneously... even I am surprised."
’Solomon’ watched Fujimaru Ritsuka with a mix of rage and pity.
As the forr Grand Caster and King of Magecraft dwelling among demon pillars, he knew everything that Lev did—and more, thanks to his Clairvoyance.
Back then in Chaldea, this boy was an insignificant individual—barely worth attention, far beneath the talents of A-Team. As a substitute Master, he had even been kicked out of a conference by then-director Olga Marie for dozing off.
Ironically, that spared him from the control room explosion. By pure luck, he survived. Then ca the incineration of humanity, and he beca the only active Master left in Chaldea.
A pitiful human being, burdened with a responsibility never ant to be his, only valued once needed. If A-Team had survived, perhaps to Chaldea, Fujimaru Ritsuka would’ve remained a disposable figure.
Such is the hypocrisy of mankind...
"But isn’t it precisely because of humanity’s incurable ugliness that they deserve destruction? What do humans know of life? All their so-called ideals are utterly worthless!"
The more he understood, the more he saw, the more pity he felt. That was the state of ’Solomon.’ Laughing maniacally, he raised both hands high.
"Nega S—hm?"
He was abruptly interrupted as an Imaginary Claw appeared from nowhere and pushed his arms down. ’Solomon’ looked to Selene in confusion, silently asking for an explanation.
"Nega Summon—how boring. There’s no need to weaken them. Fujimaru Ritsuka and that shield girl beside him are yours."
"Our descent is not simply to enjoy your ’Human Order Incineration’ feast. A proper warm-up is essential."
"If you want to prove the righteousness of your actions, then defeat Chaldea—completely."
Leaving behind this challenge, Selene vanished in a flash—
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted, thundering across the sky. Ishtar’s figure went tumbling through the air, followed by cries of pain.
"Gugalanna!!"
CLANG—!
The surrounding atmosphere and even the land’s magical energy seed seized by a massive storm cloud. A section of this 800-kiloter-wide thundercloud began to shift, forming a scythe-like protrusion. Two tornados burst from its tips and shot into the sky.
ROOOOAAARR—!
"..."
As the violent winds dispersed around him, ’Solomon’ stood silent for a long while, then lowered his arms. His mouth twisted into a savage grin, exposing his fangs.
"What a war-hungry goddess."
Beyond summoning magic, Solomon possessed another inherent skill:
Nega Summon: EX
A skill that negates and nullifies attacks derived from Servants. It can invalidate, render immune to, absorb, or diminish even the Noble Phantasms that symbolize Heroic Spirits.
This was why Solomon could boldly claim that no Servant could be his match.
Even with a significant drop in rank due to certain exceptions, possessing a second and third Noble Phantasm made him nearly invincible!
"Very well. The last Master of humanity—since you’ve co this far, into this temple beneath the band of light—then, per Her Majesty’s suggestion, as a reward, I grant you a chance. A chance to challenge with all your might!"
As he spoke, ’Solomon’ stepped down from the temple stairs, his blood-red eyes brimming with malice, fixed on the thin and fragile youth before him.
At that mont, Fujimaru Ritsuka noticed Solomon approaching, each step heavy with contempt and condescension toward humanity.
"Foolish mortal, open your eyes and see—this is the hopeless, ugly end you deserve!"
"Mortal? Ah, I am no hero. I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, a re human who stands here thanks to the help of countless others... and the Master of Chaldea!"
Clenching his fists, he stood tall. The red glow of his Command Spells blazed on the back of his hand. His face flushed with unhealthy color, veins bulging, eyes bloodshot—he struck his chest with force, enduring the agony of his magical circuits running at their limit.
"Solomon, I will stop your ambitions!"
...
Fierce winds mixed with blazing flas, shockwaves stirred thunderclouds.
Whoosh!
Selene appeared behind Ishtar. Two rectangular pillars made of Imaginary Number energy shot out from space and slamd the goddess standing arrogantly atop the Bull of Heaven down to earth.
Clang clang clang!
A net of golden chains ford in midair, catching Ishtar. With anti-divine effectiveness, the chains completed their rescue perfectly.
Crack!
Every step forward t with resistance. Yet for each second Selene was stalled, Chaldea paid a heavy price.
Squelch!
Eagles sliced into pieces, heads of unknown Heroic Spirits crushed or cleaved—Selene showed no interest. Then, finally, she noticed a familiar face.
A certain poet prepared to deliver a tragic monologue. "Ah, Your Majesty, from the depths of my hear—aaaaah!"
Never mind. Just die.
Burned to ash.
"Astolfo’s mount... such a lucky one. And Shakespeare, acting cocky with his self-preservation skill."
Next mont—
BOOM!
A golden light beam fell from the Scorpius constellation, cutting through the sky. It lit up the heavens as though piercing through thick clouds—spectacular.
Unfortunately, it was all for show. Snap!
Selene crushed the captured light of Scorpius between her fingers. "If you were saving that for now... it’s far too late."
Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!
"Whoever you are, to defile the Mother—squelch!"
"Maybe you were decent... for a minute." Dodging a flurry of golden chains with multiple flashes, Selene casually gutted Kingu.
"Wrong target, fool. Tiamat was slain by Gilgash. If anything, I’m avenging her. Kingu."
Weighing the heavenly chains bound around her wrist, Selene noted how her divinity greatly boosted their binding and durability. Still, the gap in base stats was too wide.
You pull the chain—I pull harder. You open a space portal—I slam it shut. If you won’t lock it down, I’ll just send you to the afterlife.
"Against Anti-Purge Noble Phantasms, compared to Enkidu, Kingu—ford from divine clay as Tiamat’s child—is too weak..."
ROOOOAAARR—!
Piercing the clouds and blanketing the sky—a colossal horned beast. Even Selene, in her divine beast form spanning several kiloters, paled in comparison.
This was a true beast.
BOOOOM—!!!
Pure physical power smashed straight into Selene’s Imaginary Number barrier, shoving it back with sheer force.
The shock created visible ripples in the air around her, as if ti and space themselves were starting to quake.
"That power... now that’s sothing."
Even if this was only Selene’s full Heroic Spirit imprint from the Throne of Heroes, the experience of being overwheld was rare.
Through her thick thundercloud armor, Selene could clearly perceive the form wrapped in divine mystery.
Shrouded in twin tornados, it glead with a deep, dazzling azure—like a massive chunk of lapis lazuli forged from all the world’s minerals.
Twin hurricanes erupted from its nostrils like apocalyptic waterspouts.
"One of Gilgash’s greatest achievents... it’s you, isn’t it? Gugalanna."
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