103 Ending Moriarty
At Chaldea, Da Vinci interjected, "I don't think it matters. Optimistic and narcissistic Shakespeare would probably take this as tsundere behavior and record it as material for his creations.
Ah… but if it were someone with the opposite personality, like Andersen, it might actually crush him, and he could end up cursing himself and the world to die."
"Why bother thinking about that! Just burn him!" Jeanne impatiently raised her flag, sending several streams of magical fire to incinerate the three giant palace guardians 'King Lear' ahead.
"Hohohoho!!" The bearded middle-aged man continuously fired bullets and cannon shells, blocking the giants' vision.
Shirou and Artoria took the opportunity to charge forward.
The palace guardian had an extremely hard body, wielded a massive copper pillar-like greatsword with enormous strength, and its sudden kicks could even kill a Servant in one strike.
To deal with such terrifying monsters, one only needed to find the right trick, and it wouldn't be too difficult.
Artoria raised Excalibur and used her "Humble King's Hammer," smashing the giant's foot and leaving a crack.
The giant swung its broken copper pillar sword at the girl.
Artoria leapt back to evade it, while the boy circled around to the giant's foot from the other side.
"Add, hammer!" Shirou shouted.
His Chaldea box instantly unfolded, transforming this time into a siege hammer. He twisted his body, tightened his waist muscles, and shot magical flames from behind the giant hammer as an attack boost, smashing it heavily into the giant's injured foot.
The foot suddenly shattered with a tremendous explosion, sending debris flying like gunpowder fragments. The giant, holding the greatsword high, lost balance and fell backward, face up.
Artoria raised Excalibur and struck the giant's weakest point at the neck with a heavy blow.
The palace guardian's head fell, and after struggling twice, its body stopped moving.
The three giants were each stronger than the last, each tougher than the previous. After a fierce battle, they were finally all defeated.
With these monsters cleared, they finally reached the top floor of the tower.
Inside was a diamond-shaped crystal resembling butterfly wings.
Below it stood a middle-aged man with a beard, extravagantly dressed, identical in appearance to the Moriarty next to Gudako.
However, his aura was much more violent; his expression was rigid and cold, eyes sharp and cunning. Just one look made it clear that this person was extremely dangerous.
"Evil Moriarty… sir?" Mash asked in confusion.
"You don't need to be so formal," Moriarty replied.
"Ah… yes, indeed, that's what you said," Mash said, suddenly understanding.
"Mash, stay quiet and stand aside. Don't ruin the rare tense atmosphere," Shirou and Gudako said to the pink-haired girl simultaneously.
"…." Mash sulked, standing there quietly and zipping her mouth shut.
"Hmph, I thought he would be some kind of monster. He's not much different after all," Artoria said.
"The difference doesn't exist. Good and evil in humans are merely products of a single thought. Rather, the fact that the tiny bit of goodness that split off from me has survived until now, and even comes here to oppose me, is the truly incredible thing," Moriarty said.
"Hahaha!! Indeed! Even I am surprised by this kindness!" the bearded man beside Gudako laughed heartily.
"Hahaha!" Gudako laughed, hands on her hips, then looked seriously at the evil Servant opposite her. "Uncle is a good person, you know!"
"Honestly, I am quite surprised too," Holmes said, watching the two nemeses, feeling slightly confused.
Even Gudako herself was rather strange.
Moriarty observed silently, then declared, "Hmm… it seems I am quite popular. But that doesn't matter anymore.
The only thing I care about is you, Chaldea's Master, Gudako!
You were captured and brought here, saved by Holmes, and now appear before me again…
…This is not fate at work but the result of extreme calculation finally reaching this point."
"You mean… it was inevitable that we came here?" Gudako frowned.
"Exactly. If my calculations are correct, there will be no deviation in the result," Moriarty said.
"Chaldea's Master Gudako! Right now, above the sky, a small asteroid is flying this way.
Using the power of my Phantasmal Devil Archer, if I choose it as a bullet, the meteor will be loaded into this gun with perfect precision! Though I do not wish to die, destroying this place is far more important than my life!" Moriarty spread his arms, declaring passionately.
"This guy is insane. Shirou, take him down quickly and end this!" Artoria gripped Excalibur and coldly stared at the enemy.
"This is the first time I've shared the same thought as the cold-blooded lady. Burn him," Jeanne also raised her flag.
"Let's begin! The only unknown outcome is this: either you will be slain by me, along with this world's destruction, or I will be defeated by you. That's all!" Moriarty lifted the white coffin behind him, pointing the barrel at the boy and girl.
"This guy… I can handle him alone."
Shirou opened his Mystic Eyes, charging straight at the barrel, swinging his scythe to sweep the bullets away, as if he had known exactly where the shots would go from the start.
"The next moment, he fires at this side," Shirou anticipated and quickly changed direction while running, continuing to sprint forward.
"Hm?" Moriarty thought it was an illusion and fired at the boy, retreating to keep distance.
With the scythe enhanced by magical power, Shirou continuously accelerated toward Moriarty.
In Moriarty's eyes, the boy's steps were shockingly fast, almost like the moment Assassin in Shinjuku released a Noble Phantasm.
"How can he be this fast?" Moriarty seriously aimed his gun. If he couldn't hit directly, he would target the next spot the boy would appear.
Shirou changed direction at the last second; in the spot he had just advanced, a machine gun barrage covered the area.
"What!" Moriarty frantically launched tracking magical missiles, trying to block Shirou's approach.
But Shirou anticipated the action, projecting two flying swords, which exploded less than half a meter away from the missiles.
Moriarty jumped back to avoid the explosion, but the dust cloud blinded him. As his feet landed, he felt the sky darken.
The boy had already appeared above him, raising the scythe's blade gleaming coldly, descending from the sky, slicing in an instant.
In the final moment, Moriarty realized that it wasn't the boy's speed that was remarkable; it was that he himself had been slow from the start. His movements were predicted even before they began.
He had been half a second too slow—half a second enough for the boy to take the victory effortlessly.
Blood splattered, and inside the tower came the sound of blade tearing through bone…