Noble Phantasms are armaments praised in legend, and once activated, they can unleash legendary effects.
That definition doesn't seem particularly useful.
Let's put it another way: at their core, the strength and effectiveness of Noble Phantasms are based on the legends that already exist about them.
For example, the Noble Phantasm of "Impaler Prince" Vlad III — Kazikli Bey (Lord of Execution) — allows him to conjure twenty thousand stakes within a territory for offense, defense, movement, and control. This Noble Phantasm was sublimated through tales of Vlad's ruthless impalement of enemies during his lifetime.
His other Noble Phantasm, Legend of Dracula, originates from the posthumous fictionalization of his image into the character of Count Dracula in the eponymous novels. Through widespread dissemination, this image too sublimated into a Noble Phantasm, allowing Vlad to transform into a vampire upon activation.
From this, the structure of a Noble Phantasm becomes clear:
Whether drawn from historical facts or fictional stories, a Noble Phantasm requires faith as its raw material and fantasy as its framework, elevated through this shared mental foundation.
Shirou finally understood why, despite how powerful Duan Long Tai (Dragon-Slaying Terrace) was as a Noble Phantasm, he couldn't comprehend the essence of Projection Armament Loading, nor could he empower himself with the original strength of Dayu, the Noble Phantasm's true wielder…
The missing piece was the spiritual sublimation that completes a Noble Phantasm's structure!
Sublimation was a crucial step in reforging the shattered Duan Long Tai into a complete blade — and a necessary requirement for mastering Projection Armament Loading.
If it hadn't been for the sudden vision of Dayu during battle, Shirou might've completely overlooked the biggest flaw in his projection technique. That difference defines what separates a fake Noble Phantasm projection from one capable of true Armament Loading:
Past projections only reproduced the physical form and mechanical traits — but this step brings back the spiritual essence!
In traditional terms, the former has form without soul; the latter possesses both form and spirit!
Having seized this nearly fleeting insight, Shirou looked toward the stunned Leviathan who was still reeling from that last strike.
Without hesitation, he poured magical energy back into Duan Long Tai. With his deep familiarity with projection, he focused intently on the image of Dayu's back and condensed that fantasy into the blade's rebirth.
The ancient sword responded with a joyous dragon's roar. The spirits sealed within its blade surged with excitement…
These souls — ancient and modern, sealed inside the sword — offered their boundless faith. They chanted the name of the god Dayu, singing epic hymns of the ancient myths in which he slew dragons and tamed floods!
Vast spiritual energy gathered like endless tributaries forming a mighty river.
"Haaah—!!"
Shirou charged at Leviathan. His magic circuits overloaded, producing fresh magical energy. Sparks of light flickered across his skin, and as he swung the blade, surging energy flooded into it.
This time, the fractured Duan Long Tai didn't instantly form a complete blade — it began to grow slowly!
What grew forth was the true, reborn edge of the sword!
Now, and only now, Duan Long Tai truly became a recast divine blade — Zhan Nie Zhu E – Duan Long Tai (Sin-Cleansing Dragon-Slaying Terrace)!
BOOM—
With one strike, the vast deep sea trembled violently under the shockwave. Sword aura surged and tore through the ocean like a spatial fracture, carving a narrow vacuum through the dense waters!
The ancient city's alchemical array below wasn't spared either. A long, black abyss split straight across its streets along the slash's path.
"What kind of power is this?!"
Leviathan was stunned. This wasn't his first time fighting Shirou. Back when Shirou had only been a human puppet, his power had limits. They had fought to a draw — nothing too extraordinary.
From the perspective of a human youth, Shirou had decent power… but still manageable.
Leviathan had full confidence that, in his complete dragon form, he could beat Shirou bloody with just one claw.
Yet now this damn human had pulled some new power out of nowhere — power even Leviathan, a Dragon King, couldn't comprehend!
Who the hell are you?! Are you the vessel of the White King from the Far East? Or one of those three exalted beings?
His mind raced, but he couldn't make sense of Shirou's abilities.
Because…
———
"…Because this is alchemy. And deep-level alchemy is not Leviathan's specialty. Ah, Leviathan… just figuring out Odin's leftover tools is already a miracle for him."
Lu Mingze casually strolled across the seafloor in a suit, watching the battle without concern — the Observer had long foreseen the outcome.
He stood atop the ancient city's central plaza, surrounded by pillars — unseen by any other presence.
He walked to the long-forgotten control array and casually plucked up a crooked replica of Gungnir, tucking it away like any collectible.
"Spiritual Recasting — one of the Seven Great Alchemical Kingdoms. Shirou, you've glimpsed yet another facet of a transcendent domain."
"Even Dayu and Yaoji, the original creators of Duan Long Tai, only barely brushed against the edges of Spiritual Recasting. Their sword blueprint was ingenious, yes — but in the end, all they managed was a half-finished result like Kotodama: Jiuying."
"But Shirou has stepped directly into this field…"
When Lu Mingze looked up again, the sword in Shirou's hand blazed like divine sunlight, unmatched in its brilliance — like a true recreation of mythic power.
Leviathan, drawing on the endless sea, conjured massive glaciers, ice spears, arrows, and blades — an avalanche of ice-white fury beneath the sea.
But so far, other than slowing Shirou's destruction of the dragon city, none of it worked.
"First, you forge the intangible into form using Conceptual Armament. Then, you elevate that form with Spiritual Recasting, refining faith and legend into crystalline fantasy. And finally, you manifest it into reality."
"…This is a Noble Phantasm."
Lu Mingze, with his insight, could break down Shirou's entire sequence of actions with ease.
"Using legend and faith… That's something even Dragon Kings like Odin or Norton never considered. Even that Black Emperor never gave it thought. Truly a groundbreaking creation."
"After all, dragons aren't like humans. They don't need to believe in heroes or myths."
"Faith in miracles, yearning for heroes, the singing of legends — those are the powers of the weak, of fragile humanity."
"Until now, dragons mastered alchemy but didn't need faith or fantasy. Humans lived by fantasy and faith but never stepped deep into alchemy."
"But now… with Shirou, a natural-born alchemical vessel, the birth of Noble Phantasms — no, the origin of myth — is only natural…"
At this thought, Lu Mingze's footsteps paused. Maybe he should warn Norton.
Norton probably still had no idea about Noble Phantasm construction…
———
Sword wind howled. Tides of ice clashed violently. A mythic battle erupted grandly beneath the sea!
Formless waters, like jelly or gelatin, were torn by transparent blades of sword aura.
After Lu Mingze had removed the fake Gungnir, the spatial rifts of Niflheim began to stabilize. Water no longer warped or segmented.
Yet the massive torrent-splitting strikes still made the scene no different than before!
Countless ice blossoms burst. Spikes rained like a chaotic hailstorm, darting in all directions. Leviathan's "small tricks" — no longer proud, he now relied entirely on exploiting the terrain.
But Shirou, with sharp instincts, sensed danger and stayed vigilant.
He raised his now fully regrown — or rather, fully recast — Duan Long Tai. The blade radiated searing azure flame. Countless fire dragons leapt forth without even a slash, eager to emerge.
The blue-white flames evaporated seawater instantly, birthing massive clouds of steam and blinding white vapor. These clouds blocked the dense barrage of icy spikes with ease.
Meanwhile, the clouds spread across the empty sea and into the ruined city like fog.
Leviathan cautiously shifted his massive dragon body, agile even at dozens of meters long — faster than many human youths. As Water King, his underwater speed surpassed all peers.
He could always sense Shirou's position — until now. The human had vanished, hidden inside a superheated air bubble filled with fire-element magic.
No matter, Leviathan thought. That human won't hide forever. He'll have to come out.
Suddenly, Leviathan looked down sharply. That's it — that spot!
A torrent of flame-wrapped sword wind surged upward, blazing azure jaws stretching wide, aiming to devour the Dragon King in one bite!
"Don't underestimate my sensory web!"
Leviathan reacted instantly, his wings whipping water to dodge.
But the next second — BOOM! The flame torrent exploded, not striking directly but scattering in a dazzling blast!
Trivial trick!
Still calm, Leviathan raised walls of white ice to absorb the shock. The flames burned, but he thought he had blocked it—
No.
He had miscalculated.
From another angle, unnoticed, Melusine had arrived.
At that moment, she hurled a decisive strike.
(End of Chapter)
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