"...That concludes the situation Roche and I encountered."
Pale-faced, Darnic recounted his ordeal to his clan members.
At his words, the gathered Masters of the Yggdmillennia family exchanged looks of stunned disbelief.
But as the Primordial Giant, the Crown · Light of Wisdom, drew nearer, the castle trembled violently. The chandeliers swayed overhead, and chairs toppled to the floor.
Amid the chaos and crashing sounds, reality quickly settled in.
"Roche... has fallen?"
Caules muttered, his tone thick with disbelief. He hadn't expected Roche—the genius of golemcraft—to retire from the war before him, the least gifted of the Black Faction's Masters.
He had always assumed that if any of them were to perish first, it would be him. Compared to his kin, his mastery of magecraft was woefully lacking.
"Uncle, Archer reports he has a shot. He can snipe the traitorous Caster," Fiore said softly, her voice trembling with both grief and determination.
"Do it immediately," Darnic growled through clenched teeth. "Order all Servants in the castle to engage. Caster Avicebron is now an enemy—show no mercy. Eliminate him!"
...
Outside the castle walls, Avicebron could already sense the killing intent radiating from the Fortress of Millennia. He knew full well the disgust and contempt that heroes felt for betrayal.
"It doesn't matter. No matter what others think of me—call me a fool, a heretic, an idealist—it changes nothing. I will realize my dream... hatred, mockery, scorn—I'll accept them all."
Among the Heroic Spirits inscribed in the Throne of Heroes, most were beings of pride and conviction. Save for those whose legends centered on treachery or whose natures were fundamentally vile, few Servants would ever willingly betray their Masters.
Heroes were remembered because of their ideals, their pride, and their code of conduct.
To betray one's Master was a disgrace. Even unrelated Servants, upon learning of such treachery, would feel instinctive revulsion—some, those of harsher disposition, might even seek to destroy the offender on sight.
But Avicebron had already accepted his fate. He had chosen self-sacrifice—to pour his entire existence into perfecting the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom, so that it might shine as it was meant to.
RUMBLE—!!
Turning his gaze toward the distant sky several kilometers away, Avicebron could see the Hanging Gardens, still trembling under Selene's bombardment. He knew time was running out.
The Assassin of Red—Queen Semiramis of Assyria—and her Master, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, would not last much longer.
Amakusa had stolen Roche's Command Spells to turn him into an asset, using him to assault the Black Faction's fortress—to sever their abundant mana supply.
But in truth, Avicebron was using them just as much.
After Darnic had sealed his Noble Phantasm—the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom—as a last-resort trump card, forbidding its activation, Avicebron had realized his dream would never be realized under Yggdmillennia's command. With Rider of Black, Selene, on their side, the Black Faction's advantage was too absolute.
Yet when Amakusa invaded the fortress, Avicebron had seen an opportunity—and seized it. Through subtle manipulation, he had achieved his true goal.
"Now then... my golem, my life's pursuit... it is time."
Whizz—!
"Archer?!" Avicebron's eyes widened.
Before he could react, the Primordial Giant's self-defense system activated instinctively, raising its massive stone hand to shield its creator.
But the incoming assault did not end there.
"Phantasmal Greatsword—Balmung!"
Saber of Black—Siegfried—burst forth from the dense forest, unleashing his fury. The normally silent dragon-slayer roared in wrath, his voice shaking the night.
Even for one as stoic as he, betrayal was intolerable.
A brilliant blue radiance wove through the starry sky, casting shimmering patterns across the battlefield. In an instant, the giant's raised arm—crafted from stone, wood, and earth—was consumed by the dragon-slayer's light of destruction, disintegrating into dust.
"Saber... even you, usually so silent—are you this enraged because of my betrayal?"
Then came the thunderclap of an arrow breaking the sound barrier—Archer Chiron's golden shot, imbued with immense mana, pierced through the opening Siegfried had torn.
Crack!
"Gah...!"
The thin defensive spell of Avicebron's magecraft attire shattered instantly. The glowing arrow tore through his torso, splitting him cleanly in half.
"Painful... but this is the punishment I deserve."
His broken body tumbled from the shoulder of the Primordial Giant. Beneath the shattered golden mask, his withered, tumor-ridden face twisted into a ghastly smile.
"Adam...! Carry my will and ascend! Fight, slaughter, destroy—and build the paradise that shall remake the world!"
With those words, Avicebron's body began to dissolve—not into the ordinary spiritual dispersal of a slain Servant, but into a radiant, emerald-green essence of life.
In that final instant before his spirit disintegrated completely, Avicebron cast one last glance toward the colossal machine god, far across the battlefield.
Your Divine Majesty, Rider... may my life's work trouble even you, if only for a moment.
And you, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada... may your wish for humanity's salvation somehow come true. Such a fleeting, beautiful delusion...
Moments later, everything that made up Caster Avicebron—his mana, his Saint Graph, his memories—merged with the two Command Spells he had been granted, becoming fuel to elevate the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom to new heights.
Vrrrmmm—!
The giant roared as power surged through its form.
"Archer's done it!" Fiore exclaimed with joy—only for her relief to freeze in her throat the next instant.
"W–Wait... what?! Impossible! The Servant's gone, so why hasn't the Noble Phantasm deactivated?!" she cried, her face draining of color.
For a moment, silence hung heavy.
Then, the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom threw its head back and bellowed.
"ROOOAAAAAARRRR—!!"
Having absorbed its creator, the Primordial Giant had attained a strange semblance of sentience. Its once-vacant eyes now glowed with a conscious light.
A torrent of tangible mana burst from its body. Empowered by the twin Command Spells, its frame swelled visibly—growing larger with every heartbeat.
The Fortress of Millennia shook violently. Within seconds, the giant's size had doubled. Now, it stood so tall that its head brushed the heavens themselves. The Masters of the Black Faction had to crane their necks to see even its chest.
No longer a fledgling form—through the Command Spell's dual amplification, the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom had surpassed all expectations. Its size alone was enough to blot out the sun. Simply looking at it was enough to smother courage.
"Uncle... what should we do?" Fiore's voice trembled as she spoke. Now she understood firsthand how the Red Faction must have felt facing Rider of Black—Selene's National Defense Machine God · Shikoutazer. The sheer, oppressive scale was suffocating.
"It's fine," Darnic replied, crossing his arms, exuding confidence that even Celenike couldn't match. "Her Divine Majesty has arrived."
As he spoke—
Pzzzt—Pzzzt—Pzzzt—!!
Hundreds of crimson beams rained down from the sky like a storm of blades, tearing into the Primordial Giant's towering form. The barrage turned its four-hundred-meter-tall body into a perforated mass.
For anyone watching, the sight was nightmarish—a latticework of gaping holes, each large enough to swallow a building.
But for a being sustained by its own Reality Marble—its feet rooted to the earth, drawing infinite mana from the land—such wounds were fleeting.
Within moments, the holes sealed, the body regenerating completely.
By then, Selene had arrived.
The National Defense Machine God · Shikoutazer swung its massive steel fists—larger even than the Primordial Giant's head—and struck downward like a meteor.
RUMBLE—RUMBLE—RUMBLE—!!
In the next instant, a deafening explosion thundered across the battlefield. The giant was hurled back over a thousand meters, its knees plowing deep trenches into the garden's soil.
"Hm?"
Selene tilted her head, mildly surprised. "That strike should've sent it flying. Its footing... it's rooted?"
Indeed—the Primordial Giant's feet were embedded into the earth, as if sprouting from it like living roots.
"A fine punching bag," she murmured, a smirk tugging at her lips.
It seemed that as the Royal Crown · Light of Wisdom matured, its connection to the earth had deepened. Drawing mana directly from the leylines, its body instinctively protected the roots that fed its strength.
"Touch it, and it falls... quite the interesting Noble Phantasm." Selene chuckled softly, recalling the function of a certain artifact in another timeline. "Limited destructive potential—but conceptually? Impressive."
Positioned before the fortress gates, Selene turned Shikoutazer's massive frame toward the Black Faction on the balcony, giving a curt nod. Then her attention shifted back to the giant looming in the distance.
"ROAR—!!"
The Primordial Giant raised its right hand, drawing in mana from the air and the earth alike, devouring it greedily. In its grasp, that mana condensed into a tangible, obsidian-black greatsword.
It swung.
The impact tore through the air—shockwaves booming outward, the surge of power rippling across the battlefield.
CLAAAANG—!!!
The sound of their collision echoed for kilometers. On the fortress balcony, Darnic and the others clutched their ears as the unbearable resonance swept over them. Faces went pale; several nearly collapsed under the sheer volume.
"Get... get inside the Great Hall! The wards will shield us!" Darnic shouted through gritted teeth, his expression twisted in pain.
...
"Now that's more like it."
Within the core, Selene grinned as the divine machine's armguards unfolded, radiating violet-red light.
Whoosh—
The enormous cape of Shikoutazer unfurled and retracted, locking into place behind its pauldrons like a battle mantle.
BOOM!
The National Defense Machine God · Shikoutazer's arms disengaged their restraints. In perfect synchronization with Selene's will, its left hand opened, its right hand clenched into a fist, the two colliding with a thunderous clang that reverberated through the heavens.
Stationary artillery was boring. Giant mecha combat—now that was fun.
Vrrm—!
Disengaging from its hover systems, the divine machine dropped like a meteor. The resulting shockwave blasted outward, splitting the earth beneath it.
Crack—crack—crack!
The ground shattered; trees toppled like matchsticks. Massive black fissures spread in all directions, the forest torn apart as though by a colossal plow.
"Bombardment mode—off."
Selene had no need for ranged fire anymore. Shikoutazer, enhanced with Honkai energy, was far from a fragile artillery platform. Forged by the First Emperor as the ultimate Teigu, it was constructed from orichalcum mined from half the Empire and materials drawn from slain Super-class Danger Beasts.
Weak defense? Impossible.
Its prior destruction had been due only to poor use—or lack of full power activation by the child Emperor.
A Teigu's performance rose alongside its user's physical and mental strength. That the frail young ruler had once managed to fire a blast that carved a crater a kilometer wide was a testament to Shikoutazer's inherent might.
Its potential was limitless.
"ROOAAARR—!!"
In sync with Selene's will, the National Defense Machine God advanced, each step shaking the ground with catastrophic force.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Unlike the Primordial Giant, whose every step nurtured the land, Shikoutazer's advance left a trail of ruin—its movement alone cracking the earth and blasting debris skyward in massive plumes of dust.
It was as if destruction itself marched forward.
Meanwhile, the Primordial Giant's movements—though thunderous—seemed to heal the ground with each stride. The contrast was stark: one a god of creation, the other of ruin.
"Great... now I'm the evil one," Selene muttered wryly.
Their fists met.
At the instant of impact, Shikoutazer's steel knuckles—wreathed in torrents of violet-red energy—clashed against the giant's raw, earthen punch.
BOOOOM—!!!
The air itself seemed to freeze for a heartbeat. The dust hanging in the sky halted mid-motion.
Then—the ground beneath both titans collapsed inward. The surrounding landscape quaked, entire swaths of forest uprooted and hurled into the air by the shockwave.
Crack—grind—grrrr—!
For a moment, they were locked in a stalemate—until the Primordial Giant's left arm began to tremble violently, fissures spreading along its surface. The sound was that of stone grinding against stone, nails on slate.
Then, with a single explosive bang!, the limb shattered, unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure.
And like a row of falling dominoes, the cracks spread across its body, fragments raining down as the titanic form began to crumble.
Zzzzt—!