Rider and Saber blurred around the Blackened Servant, both matching their attacks to overwhelm the opponent.
Saber Alter dug her feet into the crater, shards of black glass shattering under her feet.
After the last attack that had incinerated Berserker, the entire earth had not only gained a crater, but its top layer had been subjected to such temperatures that it melted, becoming glass.
However, before the overpowered monster could attack, Medusa's eyes let out a purple glow, petrifying her hands.
"Tch!" Saber Alter tsked in annoyance.
Right in that instant, Saber boomed into existence behind her evil counterpart, her blade letting out a holy, golden glow.
With a massive burst, Saber Alter tore through the petrification. Before Saber could fire the Noble Phantasm, the black-armored Servant appeared on top of her, surrounded by red and black Mana.
From somewhere's Shirou's concerned scream echoed, but, unlike her evil counterpart, Saber couldn't afford to be frivolous with Noble Phantasms.
Once she used Excalibur, Shirou wouldn't be able to supply her nearly enough Mana to continue fighting. That would be nothing but a death sentence for her and her Master.
So, even as she sensed Saber Alter powering up another Noble Phantasm right on top of her, Saber had to rein in her magical output, which also prevented her from moving out of the range.
On top of her, Saber Alter's eyes shone as she sensed the Heroic Spirit's struggle.
In an instant, she doubled the Mana output, a pillar of redness shooting off toward the sky.
However, just as Saber Alter attacked, Rider's figure tore through space, surrounded by purple bolts of lightning, and her foot landed on the evil Servant's waist.
Cr-rr-ackkkkkkkk!
Booooooooooooooooom!!
Saber Alter's armor broke where Rider attacked, and she was sent flying, her entire body swirling midair.
As she was amidst attacking Saber with a corrupt Excalibur, a beam of utter destruction also swirled along with her.
It was like someone had put an all-annihilating disc in the space and turned it on.
The attack burned through everything as Saber Alter was sent flying hundreds of meters away, leaving behind trails of mushroom clouds.
Coincidentally, this was the opportunity Assassin had been waiting for.
And, all hearts, existing and non-existing, suddenly stirred as the mysterious Servant revealed his presence.
…
Dozens of miles away, in the sky, Enkidu and Gilgamesh were involved in a reality-shattering battle, exchanging moves at blinding speeds.
The laughs had died.
The smiles still lingered now and then.
With each move, Enkidu was pushing ahead, gaining hundreds of meters toward The Shadow.
Gilgamesh hurled his cylindrical sword, splitting the space and sending Enkidu back by half the distance he had advanced.
Suddenly, just as Assassin revealed himself, both monsters paused, their eyes widening.
"What is this?!" Gilgamesh wondered, a frown settling on his face.
Enkidu's face shared that frown. "Another Counter Guardian… Then, why…"
…
On the battlefield, Medea and Ainz Ooal Gown's gazes landed on the ground as well, both gasping at the new presence.
Rider's head snapped in Assassin's direction as well — her purple glowing eyes narrowing in wonder and shock.
Saber knew about Assassin, but she was still flabbergasted by his sheer presence — a presence that she had failed to detect all this time.
Of course, revealing his presence was instantaneous.
And so was the Assassin's attack that surpassed all imagination.
Noble Phantasm —
Space shook as Assassin fired himself toward the mass of red-black strips.
He was so fast that, momentarily, he even surpassed an arrow fired by Archer.
A red bolt of lightning snaked around the dagger he carried in his hand, rumbles roaring around him with each step.
Then, like the truest Assassin, standing up to his name, he thrust the dagger into the Shadow.
"Phantasm Punishment — Mystery Bisection!"
A bleeding, red bolt of lightning cracked where the dagger met the Shadow.
In the very next moment, it went in… and mutilated the magic circuits Dark Sakura was supposed to possess before binding them in reverse.
A soul-shaking screech deafened the ears as the red-black strips rose high, millions of tiny, red bolts of lightning making them shake.
The same happened to Saber Alter, who couldn't even get up, her knees planted deep into the earth.
It was such a baffling phenomenon that the likes of Ainz Ooal Gown, Black, Enkidu, and even Gilgamesh found it incomprehensible.
Because to damage The Shadow — which was what Assassin's Noble Phantasm had done — meant nothing short of damaging the Holy Grail itself.
It also meant that Assassin's Noble Phantasm was capable enough to one-shot any Heroic Spirit. Even Gilgamesh and Enkidu wouldn't be able to come out unscathed from such an attack, they knew.
Of course, the greatest danger was not to the Heroic Spirits, but to Black…
As Dark Sakura screeched in madness, she lost her hold on Black's Telekinesis, letting him see what the Assassin had actually done.
To his shock, Black realized that if Assassin damaged his Magic Circuits, then, because of the System's condition, he wouldn't obtain them as Magic Crest at the end of the Mission.
All his plans would go to waste, then.
Of course, this wasn't the time to deal with the issue.
Nor did he get the time to contemplate more over it, anyway.
Assassin's attack was only one part of the plan. Now that he was done with it, naturally it was Archer's turn.
Far into the distance, with an utterly shocked expression, Archer couldn't look away from Assassin for a moment.
Still, he had a job to do.
And even though he was shocked, he couldn't let Assassin outdo himself.
So, bringing a grin on his face, Archer knocked the Caladbolg II arrow on his bow. It had a sword's handle with a spiral blade.
In other times, it was a Noble Phantasm.
In Archer's hands, it was something else, created just to be destroyed as it struck the enemy.
These weapons weren't meant to be destroyed, as Noble Phantasms represented much more than mere tools for Servants.
However, Archer was different.
He could project all the Noble Phantasms he had met in his life and use them as Broken Phantasms.
A boom rang out, and winds stirred around Archer as he poured his everything into the arrow, filling it with Mana to the brim.
Then, ever so gently, he let go.
It happened in an instant — a spiral trail flashed into existence in the skies — and, in another instant, it was on top of Saber Alter.
Sound abandoned the battlefield for a moment.
A massive mushroom cloud of utter whiteness burned everything like a nuclear blast —
— and, even dozens of miles away, Enkidu and Gilgamesh felt the tremor, a booming shockwave rocking their ears.
*****************
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