[Mon Coeur]!
A gentle golden light rose from the earth, fiercely clashing against the devastating "Holy Judgment" descending from the sky and steadily expanding outward. In mere seconds, it forcefully swelled from a small localized area to a radius of nearly a full kilometer.
It completely encompassed all the civilians and Servants within the mountain valley, bringing them under its absolute protection.
This sudden, miraculous turn of events instantly drew the eyes of all the despairing people. One by one, they instinctively turned toward the source of the protective light.
"Someone actually came..."
Bedivere stared blankly at the golden "star" shining atop the nearby hill, murmuring to himself.
Feeling the gentle, protective nature of this light, Bedivere didn't even need to think to know the newcomer was here to help them!
Surrounded by a group of civilians, the heavily injured Cursed Arm Hassan also widened his eyes. Looking at the unfamiliar light and the silhouette standing atop the hill, a sliver of hope inevitably sparked within his heart.
You have to block it...
Cursed Arm Hassan prayed silently.
Almost everyone felt the will to live reignite within them because of this sudden "star." Eyes filled with desperate anticipation locked onto the figure holding the flag.
Only Mordred looked utterly displeased upon seeing this. Baring her teeth, she glared up at the hill.
Gripping her greatsword, she immediately began sprinting toward Takumi's position.
Seeing this, Bedivere's heart lurched. He frantically gave chase, desperately pushing himself to intercept her.
***
It's not enough! Just this alone won't be enough to block a blast from the Holy Lance!
Takumi could feel it. His Noble Phantasm hadn't reached its absolute limit yet. Since that was the case, what was there to think about?
—Just throw absolutely everything I have at it and push it the hell back!
Takumi roared silently, a look of sheer madness flickering in his eyes.
Driven by his absolute will—I must block this—the "power of the mind" generated by the [Heart of Fire] merged with his magical energy. Under Takumi's conscious, frantic command, it surged wildly into the Holy Flag in his hands.
Instantly, the light cascading from the Holy Flag changed. It grew far more blinding and infinitely denser.
At the same time, the kilometer-wide golden dome of light began to shift. With a ripple of distortion and surging energy, a phantom projection of a flag over a hundred meters tall—with a flagpole nearly ten meters thick—erupted from the ground, standing tall directly beneath the "Holy Judgment."
The very instant this transformation completed, the Lance of Light and the Holy Flag finally collided—
The moment the two forces clashed, time seemed to freeze. What followed was an ear-shattering roar, a sound so deafening it felt as if it would tear one's eardrums apart.
Light erupted, instantly illuminating the entire sky. Under this blinding radiance, even the high-noon sun was eclipsed. A shockwave swept outward with the force of a tidal wave, the violent air currents battering the earth and producing a series of explosive cracks.
"Ngh..."
The moment he officially caught the "Holy Judgment," Takumi instantly felt a terrifying, crushing weight crash down upon his body. Caught slightly off guard, his knees buckled involuntarily.
But before his knees could even fully bend, Takumi reacted. Gritting his teeth, he forced his buckling legs straight again, channeling every ounce of strength in his body to hoist the flag high.
The Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad. Its true form was said to be the tower that pins the texture of the World in place. Within the entire Moon Cell, it was undeniably a Tier-0 Noble Phantasm. Even restricted by the Thirteen Restraints, when wielded by the Lion King, its raw output still far exceeded the Noble Phantasms of normal Servants.
In other words, even a standard Servant-class Artoria wielding Excalibur could not surpass the sheer output of this single blast from the Holy Lance.
Without a doubt, this was the most powerful Noble Phantasm strike Takumi had faced so far!
Unlike the relative ease with which he had blocked Cú Chulainn Alter's Noble Phantasm earlier, even putting his absolute all into this Noble Phantasm defense, Takumi could feel it teetering on the edge of collapse—
Not enough! I still have a way to make this defense even stronger!
—Runes! Come out!
In a flash, countless fiery Runes swarmed upward into the sky like butterflies caught in a hurricane.
Magical energy drained at a reckless pace. Within seconds, the fiery Runes completely enveloped the phantom of the Holy Flag, dyeing it a blazing orange-red.
The Runes swirling in the sky wreathed the colossal flag, looking like massive, flowing ribbons of orange-red fire orbiting it.
Takumi moved. With immense effort, as if grinding a massive millstone, he forcefully swung the flag in his hands.
The burning phantom of the Holy Flag mirrored the arc of his swing, swaying through the sky. The orange-red ribbons of fire followed suit, as if churning an entire ocean of Runes. A vortex of fire manifested in the sky, relentlessly grinding down the light erupting from the "Holy Judgment."
Offense is the best defense!
Just standing there like a rock and passively defending was never going to be enough to absorb the attack entirely. Only by launching an offense while defending could he generate enough force to rival the ultimate power of the Holy Lance!
As the Holy Flag and the countless ribbons of Runes churned the sky, the light from the "Holy Judgment" gradually dimmed, until it was finally swallowed entirely by the light of the Holy Flag, fading completely from the sky...
"Hah... hah... hah..."
Feeling the crushing weight lift from his body and the violent fluctuations of his fully unleashed Noble Phantasm subside, Takumi collapsed to his knees. He leaned heavily on his flag, gasping desperately for air.
His magical energy had been almost entirely drained by the frantic cross-country sprint and this ultimate defense. His entire body ached, and his head spun dizzily from the severe overexertion of his "mental power."
With his mana supply cut off, the Rune generation halted. The illusory giant flag in the sky—now tattered and torn by the might of the Holy Lance—popped like a fragile bubble and vanished.
The world returned to the dim light of dusk. The earth fell silent, as if that apocalyptic collision had never even happened.
I did it!
Looking down at the completely unharmed village below, Takumi—though still panting heavily—couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curving upward into a smile.
Right at that moment.
"Die—!"
A furious roar echoed across the hilltop.
A figure clad in heavy silver-and-red armor crested the hill Takumi was on. Swinging a greatsword wreathed in crimson lightning, she charged at the exhausted, mana-drained Takumi from behind like a fired artillery shell.
The wind howled. The hard, dry earth was torn asunder beneath the feet of Mordred, who was sprinting with [Mana Burst] fully active. Her full-power, straight-line charge took less than a second. With a mere flash of crimson lightning, Mordred closed the distance on Takumi.
Although Takumi noticed Mordred's movement, he currently lacked the strength to do anything about it. He simply stayed where he was, planning to activate [Tiger, Burning Bright] the exact moment she struck to "phase out" and dodge for a bit while he recovered.
"[Take Up Your Sword, Silver Arm (Switch On Agateram)]!"
A tense, furious roar—one that didn't lose out to Mordred's in the slightest—echoed out.
A silver shooting star arrived just in time, flashing directly between Takumi and Mordred.