"Tokiomi, was this your plan? It seems your plan has failed."
As the King of Conquerors declared his intent to "clean up the rats," Tokiomi's expression froze. In the private telepathic channel between Master and Servant, the King of Heroes sneered.
Though he had come at the King of Conquerors' invitation, he had also been goaded here by Tokiomi. The King of Heroes knew that until Tokiomi's preparations were complete, he was merely a target meant to draw attention.
"Tokiomi," the King of Heroes' voice echoed in Tokiomi's mind, "I have tolerated your schemes time and again because of your decisiveness during the Berserker attack. I even allowed you to take the lead in this matter. But do not forget what I said: the time has come to send these mongrels to their graves."
"Ah... Yes, my King."
Tokiomi's heart pounded with shock. As the King of Heroes spoke, he witnessed a Grand Magecraft that should have been impossible for a Rider-class Servant to wield.
A Reality Marble: a Grand Magecraft that materializes one's Inner World. When cast, it replaces the real world with the caster's mental landscape.
A desert replaced the castle, a scorching sun hanging high in the sky. Witnessing such a scene with their own eyes, Tohsaka was far from the only one left stunned.
However, Tohsaka's shock lasted only a moment. If this was the extent of the King of Conquerors' trump card, he would be no match for the King of Heroes. He could be finished in a single blow.
As Tohsaka regained his composure, an endless army began to rapidly materialize at the desert's edge. They formed ranks, marched forward, and halted behind their King.
If the battlefield were a four-sided chessboard:
The King of Conquerors, his young Master, and his army occupied the eastern side.
The King of Heroes, Tohsaka, and Rin occupied the southern side.
Guinevere, the King of Knights, Irisviel von Einzbern, the two maids, Kiritsugu Emiya, and Maiya Hisau—who was barely discernible as a human figure—occupied the northern side.
The seventy-odd Assassins, clad in pitch-black attire and wearing stark white masks, occupied the western side, having been dragged into the Reality Marble by the King of Conquerors.
Not long ago, when Tohsaka ordered Kirei to seize the opportunity and assassinate Kiritsugu, she had agreed outwardly but secretly refused.
Kiritsugu Emiya was her prey. She would never allow anyone else to lay a hand on him—not even the Servant she had summoned.
So, she herself made no move. Instead, she merely dispatched all her Assassins to their deaths, both to fulfill her obligation to Tohsaka and because she didn't believe the Assassins—whose only merits were their numbers and Concealment—could truly kill Kiritsugu Emiya.
This subconscious selfishness saved her. It kept her from entering the castle, preventing her from being trapped on the opposing side of the Ionioi Hetairoi alongside the numerous Assassins.
"The King of Conquerors... he's far too righteous..."
Guinevere wasn't surprised by the Ionioi Hetairoi. She knew he could freely control the positions of those he pulled into his Reality Marble.
What she hadn't expected was that he would send Rin back to Tohsaka's side.
"No matter. Rin has already served most of her purpose. But Saber, Caster... can you two actually win this?"
The army, numbering over ten thousand and stretching endlessly to the horizon, forced Kiritsugu to take out a cigarette, light it, and reluctantly put away his sniper rifle.
In response to Kiritsugu's question, the King of Knights' expression darkened. If Guinevere's Mana could sustain continuous Noble Phantasm releases, she might win, but that was utterly impossible.
"...No, Kiritsugu Emiya. I cannot win. As for Guinevere... she probably can't either..."
"Ahem. Irisviel has seen my Noble Phantasm, and Kiritsugu Emiya knows why I need the Holy Sword back. Lia, you're the only one who doesn't realize I'm guaranteed to win."
Having formed a contract with Irisviel von Einzbern, Guinevere had not concealed her Noble Phantasms. She needed the Lesser Grail to supply as much Mana as possible and find a way to support the release of her Second Noble Phantasm.
Later, upon learning that the Replica Holy Sword—originally hers—was in Kiritsugu's possession and had stored Mana for a full fifteen hundred years, Guinevere had spoken with him and personally touched her long-lost old companion.
By reclaiming it and combining it with her First Noble Phantasm, the Sword of Destined Judgment, the Noble Phantasm's rank would rise from A++ to A+++. This would give her a chance to overpower the King of Knights' Sword of Promised Victory in a direct clash of releases.
But if not combined, and simply treated as a mana battery, the mana it has accumulated over 1,500 years would be enough for Guinevere to perform an incomplete release of her Second Noble Phantasm.
Over the past few days, Guinevere has gained a deeper understanding of this Second Noble Phantasm.
Depending on the mana used, it can perform a Falsification of Reality within an extremely small area even without being released. However, if enough mana is channeled to unleash its full potential, its coverage could encompass the entire planet.
Even so, Guinevere couldn't achieve such a feat even by expending all 1,500 years of mana stored in the Replica Holy Sword at once.
Currently, at her absolute limit, she can cover at most half of Fuyuki City.
As for the duration of the coverage?
Unlike a Reality Marble, Guinevere's Second Noble Phantasm is an Anti-World Noble Phantasm that overwrites reality on a fundamental level. If the overwrite is successful, its duration is permanent. Furthermore, once certain conditions are met, even attacks using anti-magic methods...
...will be unable to restore the overwritten reality to its original state.
Moreover, news has arrived from the Clock Tower. According to the Old Man of the Jewels' research on Sakura Pendragon, once enough people accept her current self as her true self, the reality that was overwritten will never return.
The Clock Tower and the Old Man of the Jewels were already considering recognizing this Noble Phantasm as a new True Magic.
If science couldn't achieve it, and other Magecraft couldn't either, then it was True Magic.
Back in the present, the King of Conquerors' rampage had begun. The war cry "AAAALaLaLaLaLaie!" thundered across the battlefield, sending the Assassins scattering like startled birds toward the barrier's edge.
Soon, all the Assassins were dead, yet the Ionioi Hetairoi did not cheer as Guinevere had expected.
At the center of the formation, the King of Conquerors fixed his gaze on the King of Heroes. He had seen the golden king step forward, his face alight with eager anticipation.
The King of Conquerors had proactively used his Ionioi Hetairoi against the worthless Assassins to show off his power and force his opponents into submission without a fight.
But in reality, the King of Heroes and the King of Knights were merely stunned. The King of Heroes was even beckoning him to attack.
"My King, attack!"
The King did not cheer, nor did his army. A general spurred his horse to the King's chariot and made his request.
Meanwhile, as the King of Heroes slowly ascended into the sky, drawing a spiraling, red-patterned 'sword' from a golden ripple, the King of Conquerors took a deep breath and pointed the short sword in his hand straight ahead.
If the King of Heroes wanted a fight, then a fight he would get, even if he could already smell the possibility of defeat.
"King of Conquerors, though you lead an army of mongrels, such a vast force of them is indeed worthy of my Ea."
A mana storm churned the heavens—an apocalyptic scene of the sky being torn asunder.
Enuma Elish. Also known as the Sword of Rupture. It was the King of Heroes' strongest Noble Phantasm.
EX Rank, Anti-World Noble Phantasm—the same rank and classification as Guinevere's Second Noble Phantasm.
Originating from the Sumerian creation myth, it possessed the special effect of 'slicing the world apart,' making it arguably the most suitable Anti-World Noble Phantasm for countering Reality Marbles.
Moreover, even without its anti-world properties, Ea was a legendary sword that surpassed the Sword of Promised Victory in rank.
In a direct clash of released Noble Phantasms, the Sword of Promised Victory would be no match unless it was in its 'Holy Sword of the Planet' mode.
"Guinevere, is your Second Noble Phantasm countered by the King of Heroes' Ea?"
"Hmm... Want to find out?"
At that moment, Guinevere didn't care if the King of Conquerors was eliminated. However, the King of Heroes' Ea release clearly had a blast radius that included them.
The King of Heroes intended to wipe out Guinevere and the others along with him.