Amidst a sea of fire, Lancelot and Agravain stood nervously back-to-back. Their chests heaved heavily; the roaring flames and scorching temperatures made even drawing a breath feel like a struggle.
Even so, flaming birds the size of bathtubs and massive fireballs continuously materialized in mid-air, raining down madly upon their position.
Lancelot swung his sword.
Cyan arcs of magical energy shot out like an inescapable net, slashing upwards, downwards, and in all directions to completely shatter the incoming Runic flames.
After a brief exchange of blows, Lancelot realized that his technical Noble Phantasm strikes were completely ineffective against Takumi. He decisively changed his approach, adopting a fighting style much like Mordred's—recklessly spamming energy blasts. With the Lion King providing him with nearly limitless mana, he wasn't under much pressure.
But even with this blunt approach, Lancelot was far more skilled at utilizing his Noble Phantasm than a brute like Mordred. His strikes were precise and well-timed. Coupled with Agravain desperately covering his blind spots, even Takumi found himself temporarily stumped.
'To think these mortal enemies coordinate so perfectly... Or is it true that your enemy understands you best?' Takumi thought anxiously as he looked for an opening.
He had already dismantled all the automated turrets on the city walls. The only threats left in his immediate vicinity were these two Knights. Victory was right in front of him; if he just spent a little more time, he could definitely take them both down.
But the problem was—time was exactly what Takumi lacked right now.
Noticing the intense flashes of the Sun Sword in the distance and feeling the ambient mana growing increasingly strange, Takumi abandoned any further hesitation. Gripping his great flaming banner, he charged straight in.
The silhouettes of the three men blurred as they clashed, the sharp ringing of metal echoing relentlessly across the burning battlefield.
Although Takumi firmly suppressed the two Knights with his superior speed, their flawless teamwork prevented him from landing a decisive blow.
Slow, slow, slow! I'm still too slow!!
And this useless arm—!!
Glancing at his prosthetic arm, Takumi ground his teeth.
Just as Li Shuwen had always emphasized, wielding a two-handed weapon like a spear required the perfect coordination of both arms. With one of his arms being a sub-optimal prosthetic, Takumi was like a legendary dragonslayer who had the skills but lacked a reliable weapon.
He simply couldn't execute his spear techniques to their fullest potential. Instead, Lancelot frequently seized upon the microscopic flaws in Takumi's stance transitions to prolong the fight.
The ticking clock fueled Takumi's anxiety. The Heart of Fire within him burned even more fiercely, and his fiery eyes flared with blinding radiance.
Slowly, his movements began to accelerate...
Lancelot and Agravain were undeniably the first to feel it.
Under the extreme heat, their armor was practically melting to their skin. They were already struggling just to hold the line, their bodies covered in wounds. Realizing that Takumi was somehow moving even faster, a profound sense of dread gripped them.
Left with no other choice, the two Knights frantically pushed themselves to their absolute limits to parry his strikes, silently praying for their King to make her move.
Right at that moment.
RUMBLE—!!!
A deafening roar of shifting earth echoed out.
Feeling the violent tremors beneath their feet, everyone still fighting within the Holy City instinctively looked toward its center.
There, the towering spire housing the Lion King was detaching from the ground, slowly levitating into the sky.
The light of the Holy Lance pulsed at the tower's peak. A colossal pillar of light erupted from the earth, standing in the center of the Holy City like a divine pillar supporting the heavens.
With the release of the Holy Lance, the gravity within the Holy City began to warp and distort. The magical barrier enclosing the entire Singularity rapidly began to shrink—with the Holy Lance acting as the anchor, the entire Singularity was being pulled back toward the Ends of the World!
Naturally, the Hassans stationed far to the east witnessed this apocalyptic display.
Faced with a natural disaster capable of ending the world, all they could do was gather their people and frantically retreat toward the northwest, directly toward the Holy City. As they fled, they stared at the towering pillar of light, silently praying for Takumi and Bedivere to succeed.
"Hahahaha, it's over! The King's Tower at the Ends of the World has activated! Master of Chaldea, beneath this absolute light of judgment, all your efforts are nothing but fleeting illusions!" Agravain laughed hysterically, raising his badly burned arm.
But unlike a typical villain who drops his guard at the sight of victory, Agravain didn't stop moving for a second. Even while laughing, he charged straight at Takumi.
Will you just die already?!
His patience completely exhausted, Takumi saw Agravain deliberately leaving his stance wide open. His killing intent spiked. Gripping his banner spear with one hand, he thrust forward like a bolt of lightning, piercing straight through Agravain's abdomen.
Squelch!
The cloth-wrapped spearhead tore through armor and flesh, erupting from Agravain's back.
Feeling his internal organs rupture, Agravain coughed up a mouthful of blood. Yet, a chilling smile curled across his pale face.
Without a moment of hesitation, he clamped both hands down hard onto the shaft of the spear impaling him.
'Lancelot—!' Agravain roared internally, enduring the agonizing pain to forcefully lock the weapon in place.
From Takumi's blind spot, a hand suddenly shot forward, grasping directly onto the shaft of the banner spear.
[Knight of Owner (A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands)]!
It was Lancelot! They were actually trying to use Lancelot's Noble Phantasm to forcefully hijack Takumi's weapon!
Having instantly deduced their desperate gambit, Takumi sneered coldly.
Dodge!
In a flash, Takumi's body and his weapon became entirely ethereal.
Agravain suddenly felt the resistance vanish. The weapon impaling him simply ceased to exist physically. Unable to stop his forward momentum, he tumbled forward uncontrollably.
To his utter shock, he phased right through Takumi's body, as if they existed on two entirely separate planes of reality.
Lancelot, whose hand was still locked in a grasping motion, experienced the exact same phenomenon.
'To think even a flawless gambit like that would fail... Is this guy completely invincible...?'
Filled with a deep sense of powerlessness, the two Knights violently collided with each other.
Thud!
Takumi reappeared right behind them. Just as he turned around, preparing to deliver a fatal strike to the highly exposed duo—
The light arrived.
The heaven-piercing pillar violently contracted before aggressively expanding outward. Like a colossal tidal wave, the absolute judging light of the Holy Lance crashed down upon the entirety of the Holy City, sparing only the floating tower.
...
"The King... Does she really intend to wipe all of you out alongside us?!"
Staring up at the apocalyptic light of judgment descending from the levitating tower, Bedivere—who was barely holding on under Gawain's relentless assault—spoke with eyes full of agony.
Even he hadn't anticipated that the Lion King would be this ruthless, casually deploying the Holy Lance without caring about the Knights still fighting for her below.
"...We are merely Servants, echoes of the dead. To see our King's ultimate vision realized, even if I am incinerated by her light, I, Gawain, harbor absolutely no resentment!" Gawain fell silent for a moment before his eyes burned with renewed, absolute fanaticism.
Having said that, Gawain violently swung the Sun Sword, Galatine, toward Bedivere once again. A searing wave of solar heat erupted forward as a massive pillar of fire.
Bedivere desperately threw himself to the side, narrowly dodging the lethal strike. Rolling to a halt and struggling back to his feet, the thoroughly exhausted Bedivere desperately racked his brain for a way to break the stalemate.
However, right at that moment.
VWOOSH—!!!
The terrifying roar of a massive object tearing through the sky rapidly drew closer.
A colossal silhouette that blotted out the sky abruptly materialized, eclipsing both the moonlight and the blinding radiance of the Holy Lance. It was hurtling directly toward the epicenter of the descending judgment.
Faced with this sudden anomaly, everyone still fighting in the Holy City paused, staring up at the sky in pure shock.
But there were two people whose expressions weren't filled with shock, but rather—absolute joy!
Because this massive silhouette wasn't an unknown threat. It was a colossal pyramid radiating brilliant golden light!
"Hahahahaha! To think you would frantically activate the Tower at the Ends of the World before half the day has even passed! You are truly lacking in patience, Lion King!"
Sitting majestically upon his throne within the pyramid, Ozymandias laughed wildly. His eyes gleamed with unmistakable mockery.
However, unlike Ozymandias—who was entirely in his element—Nitocris, standing at the base of his throne, was sweating profusely.
Following Ozymandias's orders, she had assumed the final battle would commence soon, but she hadn't expected the Lion King to activate the tower so quickly! She hadn't even managed to finish all her administrative tasks before their abrupt departure!
Thank the gods Ozymandias had sensed the shift in ambient mana early on and immediately flew his tomb complex over through the night. Otherwise, they really would have missed the final battle.
"The Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad... the anchor of storms holding the planet's surface together..."
Gazing through the Great Temple's magical lenses, Ozymandias observed the apocalyptic pillar of light. A terrifyingly confident smirk curled his lips.
"Indeed. In terms of raw destructive output, there are likely very few Noble Phantasms in the entire world capable of rivaling it—"
"But! What I shall demonstrate to you now is the ultimate Noble Phantasm, the culmination of Divine Right and Imperial Authority—Bear witness to my infinite brilliance! The Sun shall descend upon this land!"
"[Ramesseum Tentyris (The Shining Great Temple Complex) - EX]!"
As Ozymandias unleashed his full power, the colossal Pyramid Temple physically intercepted the descending wave of judging light.
Destructive light erupted violently upon impact, sending a terrifying shockwave across the Holy City. Deep within the central chamber, Ozymandias and Nitocris could clearly feel the Great Temple trembling, groaning under the crushing pressure of the Holy Lance.
Ozymandias fell silent. After a tense second, he muttered with a hint of frustration:
"...Even with my full power, it can only hold out for a brief moment?"
"My Pharaoh! Allow me to deploy my [Anpu Neb Ta Djeser (Nether Mirror, Treasure of the Gods)]! Combining its power with the Great Temple should buy us a little more time!" Nitocris immediately volunteered, fully prepared to put her life on the line.
Hearing this, Ozymandias covered his face and remained silent: "..."
...
Back on the ground.
A cyan magical slash tore through the air. Because Takumi had hesitated—first to brace for the Holy Lance, and then out of surprise at Ozymandias's arrival—his reaction time faltered. Lancelot instantly seized the opening, executing a desperate counter-attack to break Takumi's suppression.
Pushed back by the heavy strike, the joy Takumi initially felt upon seeing Ozymandias vanished. His face darkened, his eyes shadowed by his overgrown bangs, making his expression unreadable.
Yes, Ozymandias's intervention was a pleasant surprise—but how long could he realistically hold out?!
Recalling the original timeline, where both Ozymandias and Nitocris sacrificed themselves and the entire Great Temple Complex was obliterated by the Holy Lance, Takumi slowly raised his head. His fiery eyes now burned with a brilliant, majestic golden hue.
What exactly do you think I've been working so desperately hard for?! I'm here to achieve the Golden Ending where everyone survives!!!
Clang!
Clang! Clang!...
The heavy sound of a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil began to echo across the battlefield, originating from the depths of Takumi's Heart of Fire.
"Your role in this play... ends now—"
Staring coldly at the two Knights, Takumi raised his banner spear high.
Instantly, the temperature of the surrounding inferno surged exponentially. The two Knights watched in horror as their heavy armor began to literally liquefy, the molten steel dripping onto their severely burned skin.
This monster... he actually got even stronger?!
Fueled by his raging determination, Takumi's mastery over his Flame Runes reached a new level.
[Nine Dragons of Wrathful Flame: Backdraft]!
The surrounding flames violently combusted and condensed. In mere seconds, nine massive, serpentine dragons forged entirely of hyper-compressed flame materialized in the air above the battlefield.
ROAR~!!
Driven by the sheer intensity of the superheated flames, the violently displaced air generated a sonic boom that sounded exactly like a dragon's roar.
Under the distorted gravity, massive chunks of rubble floated into the air, only to be instantly swallowed and vaporized by the searing bodies of the flame dragons.
Furthermore, these massive dragons began casually plowing through the remaining structures of the Holy City, melting buildings and turning the area into a literal sea of magma. Even Bedivere and Gawain—who were fighting on the opposite side of the city—could clearly witness the terrifying display!
This technique had undeniably reached the destructive tier of an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm!
Go!
Takumi thrust his banner forward. The nine flame dragons unleashed a synchronized roar, diving aggressively toward Lancelot and Agravain.
"HAAAH—!!!"
Lancelot roared, forcefully unleashing the maximum output of his Noble Phantasm. The cyan, lake-like light of his slashes carved through the ethereal bodies of the flame dragons.
While he couldn't completely destroy the massive constructs—which constantly regenerated by absorbing ambient mana—his desperate barrage was just enough to carve out a temporary safe zone.
Indeed, a purely magical assault of this caliber wasn't quite enough to completely overwhelm Lancelot, who wielded [Aroundight: The Unfading Light of the Lake], the sister sword to Excalibur...
Acquired Skill: [Earth Shrink (A)]
Then I'll just have to be faster!
To the rhythmic, phantom sounds of a battle drum echoing in his mind, Takumi transformed into a blinding streak of golden light. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he launched himself directly into the chaotic maelstrom to finish the two Knights of the Round Table!
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Holy City.
Realizing he couldn't afford to drag the fight out any longer, Gawain went all out and finally managed to strike down the heavily exhausted Bedivere.
It was only at this exact moment that Gawain finally realized the horrifying truth: Bedivere wasn't a summoned Heroic Spirit. He was a living human being. Gawain froze in shock.
"Why... You aren't a Servant...?"
Staring blankly at the completely battered, heavily damaged Bedivere, Gawain muttered in absolute disbelief.
Currently, because he had suffered multiple direct impacts from Gawain's Noble Phantasm, and because he had repeatedly activated his own, the true nature of Bedivere's physical condition was finally revealed.
His body resembled a crumbling, petrified statue. There was almost no trace of vital life left in him...