Must destroy the Holy Sword User.
Must annihilate the Holy Sword User.
This is an instinct etched into every fragment of power. Even if their own destruction is now certain, they must take the Holy Sword User with them on the journey.
This is what the two monsters, formed from the remnants of power fragments after the meteorite was destroyed, intend to do.
They don't need to completely kill Naoki—just keep his consciousness trapped here forever, ensuring it never awakens, forcing him to fight them endlessly in this realm of consciousness.
Sealing his Imaginary Manifestation, sealing his Summoning Magecraft—after sealing both, the remaining strength is enough to be suppressed by the full power of the two monsters.
The next step is to defeat him repeatedly. After all, he's just a human. Though his body may not be, his mental state remains human, not yet transitioned from human to non-human. And the human mind cannot withstand countless defeats, countless severe injuries, or even countless deaths.
Thus—
*BANG!*
Unleashing a massive fireball, slamming the Sacred Sword Armor into the ground again, the phoenix giant silently counts how many times Naoki has been defeated.
[Fifteen times]
[Persistent spirit]
[But no cause for concern]
[Only a matter of time]
The Fuyuki City formed from consciousness has almost entirely vanished. Now, only the Mion River and its surroundings remain, looking like a platform floating in darkness.
The two giants stand on either side of the platform, looking down at the Sacred Sword Armor lying in a crater.
Fifteen times—this is how many times the two have knocked the Sacred Sword Armor to the ground. Given the severity of his injuries, Naoki should have crossed the gates of hell seven or eight times by now. He shouldn't be able to stand again.
"Ugh... Ah..."
Slowly crawling up from the crater, staggering to stabilize himself, Naoki looks at the two giants: "Only fifteen times? To truly shatter my consciousness, you'll need to add at least a zero to that number..."
"Compared to everything Manaka has done, your attacks are just like scratches."
[Target confirmed alive]
[Continue attack command]
*BOOM!*
*BZZZZT!*
Red flames and lightning flashes roar and tremble again. Like a sandwich, the two giants crush Naoki between them. A scene of destruction surges from both sides!
Naoki spreads his arms, the absolute Avalon barrier holding back the flames and lightning in front of him—
[Pointless]
The phoenix giant's body instantly explodes into pieces, and the not-yet-fully-formed Avalon barrier vanishes without a trace!
[Fall again, Holy Sword User]
[Be crushed again, Holy Sword User]
This is the sixteenth time. No matter how many times, as long as Naoki can still stand, the two giants will keep knocking him to the ground until he can't rise again.
And after losing his strongest Avalon Barrier, Naoki has no chance of withstanding their attacks.
*SHUA!*
A storm of fire and lightning instantly engulfs the silhouette of the Sacred Sword Armor. Roars and explosions once again shatter the already barren ground!
Inside the Sacred Sword Armor—
(They're really strong... These two...)
Leaning on Artoria, a slightly disheveled Naoki clenches his fist: "Getting beaten like this, there's no dignity at all. Manaka's power fragments really gave birth to two incredible things. It seems like, over these ten years, she put a lot of thought into how to counter me. Thanks for getting beaten up with me, Lia."
"It's fine. After all, we were ambushed at the start, and to find a chance for victory, we have to hold back for now. I understand this kind of thing—sometimes it takes courage to take a beating." Artoria says, also looking a bit disheveled.
"The original saying was [sometimes it takes courage to retreat], right?" Naoki smiles. "But we've come this far. The timing's just right."
The phoenix giant's sealing ability has a time limit. Though it can seal an unlimited number of abilities, it can only seal one at a time, and to seal another, it must wait until its regeneration is complete. There's a slight time gap here.
For someone with a single ability, facing this would render them essentially powerless. Even Naoki, before understanding the specific effects of the sealing ability, found it challenging. Especially with the lightning giant constantly attacking alongside it.
But now—
*WHOOSH!*
The air around them trembles violently. Above the phoenix and lightning giants, a massive Red Moon suddenly appears!
[Imaginary Manifestation]
[Restored?]
[Still useless]
[Leave it to you]
The phoenix giant's restored body explodes into pieces once again. The massive Red Moon, not yet fully visible, vanishes instantly with the phoenix giant's self-destruction!
But just as the massive Red Moon disappears—no, a moment before, right after the phoenix giant explodes—
*BZZZZZT!*
Amid the sea of flames not yet fully dissipated, the Sacred Sword Armor's body suddenly emits endless flashes of lightning!
[Summoning Magecraft]
[Restored?]
"Now... let's see you counter this!"
Imaginary Manifestation and Summoning Magecraft—these two abilities can be used simultaneously. Naoki was waiting for this moment.
By using Imaginary Manifestation to trigger the phoenix giant's self-destruction while simultaneously activating Summoning Magecraft, the phoenix giant, which has already exploded and hasn't yet regenerated, can't target the Summoning Magecraft used next.
After all, regeneration takes time. About three seconds, maybe just under four—that's roughly the window. In that time, unleashing full power to annihilate both giants at once is, for Naoki, an easy task!
[Too late]
[Don't hope]
The lightning giant swings its fist to interrupt Naoki!
"Sorry, you're too late..."
As the Red Moon vanishes, the lightning has already grown larger than the lightning giant itself. And at that moment, there's still one second left before the phoenix giant's regeneration completes—
"Thunderstorm."
A flat, emotionless voice rings out.
A thunderstorm equivalent to the True Name Release of Thor's Hammer rages instantly in the realm of consciousness. The phoenix giant, just finished regenerating, doesn't even have time to self-destruct again before being shattered into pieces by the raging lightning!
The lightning giant, standing so close and not yet able to land its heavy blow, follows suit, completely submerged in the thunderstorm!
"Damn... Made me work a bit..."
"Now I should definitely be able to return..."