Boom!!!
On the wide plain, blinding explosions erupted one after another, shattering the earth and sending thick dust into the air.
Clang! Clang! ×N
Accompanying the flashes of red and violet figures was the deafening clash of steel.
If at the beginning one could still barely follow their movements, now nothing could be discerned except the sparks of impact and the streaks of light flashing past each other. Each time their silhouettes crossed, violent detonations followed.
Clang!
Their weapons collided again. For the nth time, their gazes met—her violet eyes glimmering coldly as the Shogun faced Karna.
Hum!!
Her entire body erupted with a surge of thunderous radiance, cracking the ground beneath her.
"!"
Karna immediately disengaged, retreating rapidly as his crimson cape flared wide. Mana surged into it, shielding him from the woman's lightning force.
"There is no escape."
In the next instant, the Shogun's form blurred into thunder itself, flashing behind Karna… a sweeping strike!
Crackle!
The slash left a deep scar carved into the earth, its edges corroded by the violet elemental power.
Clang!
Karna spun his spear up in time to block, his hands numbed, the ground beneath his feet fracturing. He answered with a powerful thrust!
The Shogun braced her naginata before her chest, the impact hurling her backward. Yet she turned the force to her advantage, rising into the air, her feet landing upon steps of violet mana formed in the void. But she gave him no respite—
In less than a second, she had already flashed before Karna once more.
"!"
For the briefest instant, even Karna faltered, his reaction a half-beat too late.
"Too slow."
The Shogun's cold voice carried her mockery as her blade fell.
"..."
Karna frowned slightly. Out of courtesy, he did not curse, but the crease of his brow betrayed his recognition of danger. The naginata's thunderous edge drew closer and closer, forcing him to twist aside at the last instant!
The blade passed mere centimeters from his skin.
Then the second strike! The third!
Each swing trailed arcs of dazzling violet light, leaving afterimages as the naginata cut through the air. Karna evaded them by the narrowest of margins. But the Shogun did not rush—she had expected this much. Her foe was no ordinary warrior.
With a final flourish, she spun her naginata and drew it back. Reading his next move, she pressed her foot into the earth.
Boom!!
A lightning-fast thrust launched forth, her strike like a thunder dragon carving across the battlefield. Its blazing trail seared the earth black.
Clang!
Karna raised his spear, gathering mana through his body, and their weapons collided once more.
Boom, boom!!
The explosion of mana blasted the land, sending shockwaves howling outward like a storm.
Their figures broke apart again, only to hurl themselves back into the fray, clashing in blinding bursts.
Clang, clang, clang! ×N
The tempo of their strikes rattled like machine gun fire—ten blows in a single second. With every impact, the ground splintered further, great fissures ripping across the plain.
Her naginata blazed with violet lightning; his spear roared with searing flame. In the dead of night, from afar, it was a battle of light and spectacle beyond imagining.
Clang!
Breaking from a rapid flurry, the Shogun leapt once more into the air, stepping onto her conjured platforms of lightning. Karna too leapt back, regaining his stance.
[To remain unshaken before thunder's might… his strength is not to be underestimated. Shogun, you must not take him lightly.]
Within the Plane of Euthymia, Ei opened her eyes, speaking a warning.
The Shogun gave a subtle nod. Gathering immeasurable thunder around her form, violet sparks filled the air. Raising her naginata, she spun it once before lowering its tip to the ground.
Mana surged into the weapon. The skies darkened further, clouds twisting into a vast black vortex. Lightning spilled endlessly from it, converging upon her blade. The very air around her distorted and trembled under the pressure.
"To be able to face the radiance of thunder directly… that alone is worthy of praise."
Her violet eyes blazed beneath the storm, filled with divine pressure. Her cold, resonant voice rang with ethereal echoes, resounding in the ears of all present. In that moment, the slender figure suspended in the heavens seemed like a god descended to earth.
"I see… a Noble Phantasm, then?"
Karna showed no fear before her gaze. Calm as ever, he looked up at the figure wreathed in lightning. With a simple murmur, he too rose into the sky. Reversing his golden spear for a throwing stance, he pointed his other hand toward the Shogun.
Whoosh, whoosh!!
Scarlet flames engulfed his spear, the scorching heat twisting the very air around him.
On the ground, Jeanne immediately sensed the danger and leapt backward several times, distancing herself from the area of impact. From the distant car, Fiore clenched her hand marked with Command Spells, unease filling her heart as her eyes locked on her Servant's form in the sky.
"Engulfing Lightning—Timeless Dream: Eternal Stove!"
Her voice rang out, melodious yet chilling. With that chant, the Shogun unleashed mana several times more potent than before. The air around her became saturated with thunder. Raising her naginata, Engulfing Lightning, she hurled it forward. The weapon streaked across the night sky like a violet meteor!
"Brahmastra Kundala!"
Karna likewise invoked his Noble Phantasm. Wreathed in flames so intense the atmosphere itself warped, the Indestructible Blade hurtled forth to meet hers. In the next instant, the violet meteor collided with the scarlet star!
A blinding light burst across the night sky. The earth for kilometers around shattered, fragments rising as if gravity itself were broken.
The next heartbeat brought forth a colossal explosion—an inferno mushroom cloud rising like a mountain, blazing like a second sun.
Its shockwave tore through the dust, hurling boulders and shaking the land.
Whoosh!!
"Ugh!"
Even Fiore, inside the car, was thrown against the side door by the impact, tumbling into the space beneath the backseat. Though bruised and in pain, she was unharmed. Thankfully, the blast had not overturned the vehicle. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to haul herself back onto the seat, legs offering her no aid.
"Shogun…"
Her concern was not for herself, but entirely for her Servant.
Nearby, Jeanne had also leapt to the car, shielding herself behind it.
This apocalyptic clash was transmitted through Caster's artificial familiar, projected onto a screen within the Fortress of Millennia. All present stared in stunned silence at the scene.
"To possess such destructive force… truly worthy of the Saber class."
The Grand Prince chuckled in satisfaction. This was the level of a "Noble Phantasm for slaying nations."
"But… why does she wield a polearm instead of a sword?"
Rider, Astolfo, scratched his head in puzzlement.
"Well… she must have her own reasons. Likely tied to her true name, her Noble Phantasm, or the tales of her life."
Chiron answered calmly.
"Even so… that destructive power is simply…"
Caules stared in disbelief at the mushroom cloud glowing on the screen.
"In any case, her strength is beyond question—more than worthy of the Saber class. Even to the point of exaggeration. She stands equal to that Lancer."
Darnic's eyes shone with approval as he gazed at the display of destruction.
Indeed, Fiore had drawn a treasure beyond compare.