The National Defense Machine God · Shikoutazer's transparent, crystalline eyes suddenly flared crimson. Upon its mountain-sized metallic hand, countless intricate and interwoven circuit-like lines pulsed with a faint violet-red glow.
Vrrrmmm—!!
With a thunderous groan, the massive armor plating unfolded. At the center of the colossal palm, a radiant red light began to gather and flicker.
Just as Selene aimed the cannon toward the great fortress courtyard floating high in the sky—ready to fire—Darnic's urgent voice echoed in her mind through the Complete Book of the World's telepathic transmission.
"An emergency?"
Was someone invading their base?
With a slightly bemused look, Selene asked while simultaneously commanding Shikoutazer to unleash the charged beam from its palm.
BOOM!
But Assassin of Red—Semiramis—would never simply sit and wait for destruction. At a moment where life and death hung in balance, hiding her strength would mean immediate defeat.
VWOOM—!!
The floating Hanging Gardens emitted a deep, resonating hum as immense amounts of mana gathered. Around its perimeter, eleven colossal black monoliths responded, releasing violent surges of magical energy.
Five of the monoliths repositioned around the Hanging Gardens, their runes glowing as a vast azure barrier—composed of countless tiny hexagonal plates—manifested like translucent fish scales, completely encasing the fortress.
The remaining six monoliths rotated in unison, aiming directly at the towering machine god. The ancient divine runes forming their magic circles blazed with dazzling brilliance.
The night sky ignited.
Six massive mana cannons fired simultaneously from the centers of the monoliths, each beam radiating annihilating power.
Under Semiramis' command, the beams converged, forming a single overwhelming blast that clashed head-on with the scarlet pillar of destruction descending from Shikoutazer's arm.
RUMBLE—!!
In an instant, heaven and earth dimmed. The colliding lights burned brighter than day, and the surrounding atmosphere vaporized entirely.
Even though the explosion's epicenter was nearly a thousand meters above the ground—mitigating some of the impact—the sheer force of the shockwave still ravaged everything within reach.
"Not inferior to an Anti-City..." Selene murmured softly, ending the mana flow to the cannon.
The cost, however, was clear. Once Semiramis left the Hanging Gardens, her strength would plummet drastically. Surrounding the fortress were eleven offensive arrays named Tiamtum Ūmu · Eleven Black Coffins.
Each one could fire specialized mana projectiles of catastrophic scale—each blast rivaling a meteor's impact, its destructive power reaching Anti-Army levels.
Suspended around the aerial fortress, the Eleven Black Coffins could fire in continuous volleys, each beam capable of devastation equal to that of Anti-Army Noble Phantasms.
When six beams converged, their combined power was comparable to an Anti-City Noble Phantasm.
The explosion birthed a storm of chaos, tearing across the battlefield and consuming everything in its wake. Even deep-rooted forest trees were ripped from the ground, flung skyward amid clouds of debris and earth.
Within the blinding radiance, the very landscape twisted—vegetation and soil alike hurled upward in a chaotic cyclone. Anything caught near the point of collision was instantly reduced to dust.
It was destruction on a divine scale.
Admiring the spectacle of annihilation, Selene's voice flowed coldly through the communication link. "Darnic, explain."
"Your Divine Majesty... cough... it's the Red Faction intruders..." Darnic's voice came through ragged and weak.
"Roche's Command Spells were stolen—Caster Avicebron has betrayed us!"
His words broke into a bloody cough. Selene frowned slightly. "You're injured?"
Meanwhile, beneath the Fortress of Millennia, the once-orderly golem workshop had become a scene of carnage and ruin. The air reeked of blood and molten iron.
The mangled limbs of homunculi and shattered golem parts littered the floor, flesh and stone fused into a grotesque mosaic.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. Fortunately, Lord Darnlenst arrived in time—otherwise, I would have fallen..."
Darnic pressed a trembling hand to the bleeding wound in his abdomen, his voice urgent. "Your Majesty, that priest—Amakusa Shirou Tokisada—he's a Servant!"
"I won't mistake him. He's the Ruler adjudicator illicitly summoned by the Einzbern family during the Third Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, sixty years ago."
When Darnic had been monitoring the Red Faction through the Complete Book of the World, he hadn't paid much attention to that priest. After all, the Third Holy Grail War had ended more than six decades earlier.
Moreover, during that war, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's performance had been unimpressive—far less impactful than the decrepit worm, Zouken Matou. Darnic only remembered that the Einzberns had broken the rules by summoning an additional third-rate Servant.
It wasn't until he faced Amakusa Shirou Tokisada directly and saw the man draw his Noble Phantasm—the katana Miike Tenta Mitsuyo—that Darnic's memories from sixty years ago resurfaced in full. Only then did he recognize the once-Ruler-class adjudicator who now bore a new face.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada—a rebel hero of late Sengoku-era Japan, once hailed as a prodigy since childhood. Born as Tokisada, he was later adopted by Amakusa Jinbei, taking the name Amakusa Tokisada.
A devout follower of Christianity, he lived during the Tokugawa shogunate's religious persecution. In 1630, the regime issued an edict forbidding Christianity; anyone who refused to renounce their faith within two months was executed.
In 1638, unable to endure any longer, Amakusa led an uprising of thirty thousand Christians. The Tokugawa government dispatched an army of one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers to suppress them—but even so, that overwhelming force suffered over four thousand casualties, while Amakusa's side lost fewer than a hundred.
He went on to achieve several small victories, provoking the shogunate's rage and fear. The Tokugawa eventually resorted to bribes, threats, and full-scale assaults.
At last, besieged and starving, the fortress fell. All thirty thousand within were slaughtered without mercy, Amakusa among them, slain at the age of seventeen.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, is it? Hmm... I see. Darlenst is at your side—he won't be able to kill you. The other Royal Guards will hear the commotion and rush to reinforce you."
Within Shikoutazer's core chamber, locked once again in a barrage duel with the Hanging Gardens, Selene continued evenly, "As for Avicebron's betrayal... I'll handle it myself. The Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom—what a troublesome piece."
It seemed that when she had diverted most of the mana toward her own manifestation, resulting in the dismissal of the Astartes legions and the downsizing of the Royal Guard, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had seized the opportunity to strike.
Wait—that reminded her of something even more crucial!
Realizing why she could afford to burn mana so freely, Selene immediately asked, "Is the homunculus mana-supply workshop beneath the castle still intact?"
That, above all, was what truly concerned her. Darnic's life, on the other hand—well, if he died, so be it. A minor issue.
She had indeed promised to help the Yggdmillennia clan achieve final victory, and that promise stood. But whether Darnic personally lived or not was irrelevant. The Greater Grail's boon would go to another of his bloodline all the same.
In short—Darnic's fortune simply ran thin.
The mana-supply workshop, however, was no trivial matter. Selene was the largest mana consumer in the Holy Grail War—her massive-scale destructive skills and Noble Phantasms all demanded enormous and continuous energy.
"Cough... Your Divine Majesty, rest assured. After you dismissed the Astartes Legions, the two most heavily guarded areas in the fortress are the mana-supply workshop and the central hall. The majority of the Royal Guard remain stationed there."
Pressing a glowing green hand against the wound in his abdomen, Darnic released a soft pulse of healing light, then braced against the wall and slowly rose to his feet.
"I understand," Selene replied. "Tonight, I shall end this Holy Grail War—and fulfill my promise."
BOOM—BOOM!
Explosions rumbled from afar. The golem workshop had partially collapsed; within it, the Royal Guard Captain Darlenst was engaged in a fierce clash with the traitorous Caster of Black—Avicebron.
No—pursuit was the more accurate term. But since the battlefield happened to be the golem workshop itself, with piles of unfinished materials scattered everywhere, Avicebron could continuously summon new constructs to stall his pursuer.
"Darnic... it's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Before him stood Amakusa Shirou Tokisada—his left arm torn off, his black priest's robe and the crimson shroud of sanctity hanging in tatters, revealing a lean, battle-hardened body. Supporting himself with one hand on his katana, blood dripping from the corner of his eye, he panted heavily as he spoke.
"Cough... to think the Ruler survived as well. Did you reach the Greater Grail before me and achieve incarnation?"
Clutching his short staff tightly, Darnic tensed his entire body as he stared at the former Ruler—battered, bloodied, yet still wearing that same gentle, almost innocent smile.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was not known to be a powerful Heroic Spirit. In fact, by Servant standards, he was third-rate at best. But against a modern magus like Darnic, his strength was more than sufficient.
Moments earlier, when Darnic arrived at the golem workshop, he had found Roche unconscious on the floor, while Amakusa crouched beside him, speaking quietly to Caster—Avicebron—over the hand that bore three Command Spells.
The instant Darnic appeared, Avicebron attacked without hesitation. Thanks only to the combat-specialized homunculi he had brought along to serve as shields did Darnic manage to avoid a fatal blow.
Then, just as he prepared to summon nearby reinforcements from the Royal Guard, Amakusa—having completed the transfer of Command Spells from Roche to himself—drove his katana straight through Darnic's torso.
He would have been carved apart had Darlenst not arrived in time at Fiore's request.
Darlenst had gripped Amakusa's sword arm like a steel vice, tearing it clean off and saving Darnic's life.
"Ah, yes. My wish has yet to be fulfilled. I cannot depart until it is," Amakusa said, planting his katana in the ground. Extending his remaining arm toward Darnic, he spoke solemnly. "Darnic—will you not help me? For the salvation of all humankind?"
Though he knew the answer, he asked anyway—for the sake of his conviction.
"Hmph. Are you jesting? A meaningless dream. I refuse."
Darnic's reply was instantaneous. As a true magus, his goal was singular—to reach the Root.
"I see. That's a pity..." Amakusa lowered his hand, though the serene smile on his face did not fade. He had expected as much. If anything, this only solidified his belief—mankind needed salvation.
During the Shimabara Rebellion of his lifetime, when he rose against the Tokugawa shogunate, he had witnessed the depth of human cruelty—the slaughter of men, women, and children alike without discrimination.
After death, summoned as a Heroic Spirit and appointed Ruler during the Third Holy Grail War on the eve of World War II, Amakusa once again saw the horrors of humanity—colonial conquest, racial genocide, and fanatical worship of war.
Then, through contact with the Greater Grail during that war and by achieving incarnation in the modern world, he had witnessed the Second World War itself—the greatest, most merciless, and most depraved conflict in human history.
It had only reinforced his belief: to save mankind, there was no other path but the miracle of the Greater Grail—the Third Magic.
And then—thud, thud, thud!—
A rhythmic march of heavy, metallic footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the golem workshop.
"We need to leave," said Avicebron, moving beside Amakusa. His mask was half-shattered, his entire body scorched and blackened, exposing the mechanical organs beneath his charred flesh.
"Rider has activated an Anti-Nation Noble Phantasm. The Royal Guards have lost most of their mana supply and can no longer use Mana Bursts. That's the only reason I can hold them off. Otherwise, at close range, we'd be annihilated instantly."
With a snap of his fingers, Avicebron activated the workshop's defense. Instantly, every golem within came to life and surged toward Darnic like a tide.
"Master, retreat. Once they form into ranks, I won't be able to handle the divine army alone."
"Understood, Caster. I'll use a Command Spell to transfer you shortly." Bending down, Amakusa picked up his severed arm, its bones pulverized, as a violet magic circle flared beneath his feet.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The incoming golems exploded mid-charge, their bodies torn apart by gunfire. With a thunderous crash, Darlenst descended, landing before Darnic and shielding him.
Wearing his golden-eagle helmet, the crimson visor gleaming, he fixed his gaze coldly on Avicebron. His metallic voice rang out like a war drum.
"Traitor! I'll tear you to pieces! If not for the current situation, I'd have already ripped you apart!"
Under the rigorous discipline of officers like Sebas, Kinshasa, and Budo, both the Astartes Legions and the Royal Guards were fiercely proud warriors. Since their founding, not a single traitor had emerged among their ranks—and betrayal was the one sin they loathed above all else.
After briefly thanking Darlenst, Darnic asked in confusion, "Caster, you're capable of resisting—why betray us so decisively? Wasn't your wish to complete the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom?"
"Then tell me, Darnic—why do you assume my goal was only to complete the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom?"
Turning around, Caster—Avicebron—spoke with unnerving calm. The golden mask upon his face had fractured, revealing part of his decayed, fleshless visage.
"You..." Darnic faltered. Indeed, before the Greater Grail, who could resist temptation?
"No, Darnic—you misunderstand. I have not entrusted any wish to the Greater Grail."
As one of the first two Servants summoned by the Yggdmillennia clan, Caster of Black knew Darnic's nature well. He immediately denied the assumption.
"Darnic, you must understand—I despise humanity. I detest this world. Even meeting another's eyes feels unbearably tedious—that is why I wear this golden mask. The human world is forever drenched in the ugliness of desire."
Pressing his hand to the exposed corruption on his face, Avicebron's tone did not waver.
"Tell me, Darnic—if I wished to turn this entire world into 'Adam's Paradise,' would you agree? That is why I betrayed you. I do not deny my wickedness—but this is my truth."
Darnic's pupils contracted sharply. "You—!"
"Then, Darnic... farewell."
Suddenly—BOOM!
The workshop wall exploded inward. Seven or eight towering Royal Guard soldiers stormed in, unleashing synchronized volleys from their Honkai Particle autocannons toward the spot where Avicebron and Amakusa stood.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG—!!
The deafening roar made Darnic's eardrums ring painfully.
Seeing the reinforcements arrive, Darlenst immediately abandoned his guard stance over Darnic, swinging his massive single-bladed Honkai Energy Power Axe straight toward Avicebron's position.
CRASH!
"Damn—it's a Command Spell transfer!"
...
Elsewhere, beneath Selene's merciless bombardment, Semiramis was barely managing to keep up.
"King of Water!"
Rumble—!!
Crack—crack—!!
"Assassin, what's the situation—" Amakusa's vision was engulfed in blinding white light as the Hanging Gardens' royal hall trembled violently.
"Master! At this rate, the entire fortress will collapse!" cried the beautiful noblewoman in her resplendent black gown, her tone filled with panic.
"And judging from your face, I assume you've failed." In such a critical moment, Semiramis had no time for tenderness—she had to focus all her concentration on defending against the machine god's devastating barrage.
"Ah, a pity indeed. The Greater Grail's core now bears the spatial transference sigil you gifted me. My initial plan was to seize control of Rider of Black..."
"But Rider of Black's Master, Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia, has remained under the constant protection of those golden giants. There was never an opening."
As he spoke, Amakusa regenerated his severed arm with healing magic, glancing toward Avicebron—recently transferred into the royal hall by Command Spell.
"Caster, here—you can still use your Noble Phantasm, can't you?"
"Yes. No problem."
Nodding, Avicebron strode to the center of the grand hall. Staring at the projection of the lake displayed on the glowing monitor, he clasped his hands together.
"Born of the great mother, swallow intelligence and be filled with life."
"Wield thy weapon, and evil shall be destroyed."
"Purify blood with righteousness. Thy name, embracing Ru'ach, is... Adam!"
Vrrrmmm—!!!