Jayr POV - Nasuverse, Moon, Far Side, Sakura Labyrinth - 2030 AD
The deadly Sinful Shell fades away.
Where Lucas and BB stood, there is nothing left. No body. No trace. Just empty space where existence itself has been erased.
For a moment, the battlefield is silent, but then the Sakura Labyrinth speaks.
[Elimination confirmed. Master Age Sven— Error. Error. Recalibrating parameters...]
A distortion ripples through the air, like the system itself is correcting a mistake, and before long, the announcement resumes.
[Elimination confirmed. Master Lucas Burns has been eliminated.]
[Only two Masters are still active. Updating the arena for the final round of the Holy Grail War.]
Hearing that, I exhale slowly while thinking, 'So that's it. The Moon Cell has taken back control. Lucas is gone. BB is gone. Whatever interference they forced into the system… has been removed. But it seems that despite the interference, the Holy Grail War won't stop, but will adapt and evolve.'
Just as I'm thinking that, the arena begins to change.
The broken structures dissolve into streams of data. Floating debris shatters, reforms, then settles into place as if guided by an unseen hand. The space stretches outward, expanding far beyond what it was before.
I can clearly feel that the arena is becoming wider, cleaner, and stronger.
Then I sense a faint, but unmistakable presence layering into everything around us, the Authority of the Concepts, subtle, but absolute.
This isn't a corrupted battlefield under the control of Lucas anymore; this is a stage, a final one.
At this point, my gaze shifts and focuses on the most dangerous presence.
Kang Yaling stands where she was before, but something about her is different; it's not something I can see, but it is something I feel.
Her presence is deeper now, heavier, more complete.
I narrow my eyes as I realise what happened; she has fully integrated Lucas' Blessing, which means that her own Blessing has evolved on top of it.
I let out a quiet breath while thinking, 'Of course it did. She was already dangerous before. Now... She is on a whole other level.'
As I'm thinking that, Kang Yaling looks at me with no emotion, nor excitement, just certainty as she says, "Did you enjoy the show? I'm sure you did... But that was only the teaser. The real deal will be something else."
She doesn't wait for my response as she adds, "Now you are the only obstacle left in my path of ascension, and I will remove you with whatever means possible."
There's no arrogance or malice in her voice, just a statement of fact.
I reach for the silver Core Drill around my neck and say, "I guess you've already made up your mind... Then there's no point pretending that this will end in any other way... Crateris!"
My oldest partner responds instantly to my call.
The Core Drill shines brightly before Crateris appears in its Constellation Form beside me, and then it dissassemble itself into the various pieces of armor that quickly equip on my body by themselves on after the other following the classic sequence of legs, waist, arms, body, shoulders and head.
The Crateris Cloth settles over my body, silver armour gleaming faintly as the Spiral Cosmo ignites within me with even more fervour.
Then I take a step forward and say, meeting her gaze, "If this is going to be a final battle, then let's do it properly."
I let the words hang for a moment before I propose, "A Champion Challenge. No interference. Controlled conditions. We finish this cleanly. Neither of us needs to die..."
I already suspect what her answer will be, but I still have to ask so that I can fully focus on this battle without any hesitation.
For a split second, she just looks at me, but then she exhales, almost amused, "Live happily after failing just because someone graciously allowed it?"
A faint scoff forms on her face as she says, "I'd rather die by my own terms. After everything I experienced and everything I did to survive, there is no way I'll resign my own fate to someone else's will. Not again! Especially not some naive man like you!"
Then she moves with no warning, nor a shift in posture.
One moment she's standing still, the next she steps and vanishes from where she was. This is neither a blur nor a dash, but feels like pure displacement even though it is simply the result of perfect timing.
My senses track the movement on instinct, catching the reappearance just in time, but she is not in front of me; she is behind me.
My focus snaps over my shoulder and immediately locks onto her trajectory.
She is not targeting me, but Nero.
She's already mid-strike, blade angled downward in a clean, efficient arc meant to end the fight in a single motion. No need for feints or some kind of setup, just the fastest path to victory.
Kill the Servant. Win the war. Simple and direct.
My body reacts before the thought finishes.
I pivot on my lead foot and drive forward, inserting myself directly into her line. My arm comes up as I step in, shield aligning with the descending blade at the exact angle needed to take the hit without breaking my stance.
The next moment, the impact lands.
A sharp crack splits the air as steel meets the Crateris shield. The force travels through my arm, heavy but controlled. Enough to test me, but not enough to break me.
I hold on, and she feels it.
I feel her adjust.
The moment our weapons meet, neither of us pulls back.
She slides along the edge of my guard instead, redirecting the angle of her blade with a small twist of her wrist. The motion is tight, economical, turning a blocked strike into the setup for the next one.
I step with it.
My shoulder shifts forward, narrowing the space between us to deny her room to accelerate. At the same time, my free hand comes up in a short, direct counter toward her centre.
She tilts her head just enough to let it pass.
Close, too close to be accidental.
Her next strike comes low, a quick thrust toward my side.
I rotate my hips, letting the armour take it at an angle while my gauntlet snaps down to redirect the blade outward. The motion carries me into her space, forcing a brief clash of bodies rather than weapons.
For a fraction of a second, we're even, then she calls out, "Yoshitsune."
The pressure shifts as the now familiar figure settles behind her, quiet and absolute.
I catch the outline as it forms, a samurai figure standing just out of sync with the world, blade at his side, posture perfectly aligned.
Yoshitsune. No flare of power. No wasted presence. Just precision made manifest.
Kang Yaling moves again, and this time I feel the difference immediately.
Her first strike comes straight, a simple thrust.
I move to parry, and a second line of attack intersects it mid-motion with no delay at all. Simultaneous.
I adjust on instinct, angling my shield to catch both vectors at once. The impact lands clean, but the force is tighter now, more focused.
She doesn't press harder, but her movements become much cleaner.
A diagonal cut follows, aimed from shoulder to hip. I step inside the arc, letting it slide across my armour while my elbow drives toward her wrist.
She withdraws just enough to avoid the lock, turning the retreat into a spin that carries her into the next attack.
Yoshitsune mirrors the motion, or maybe he defines it. It's hard to tell how much a Persona affects its summoner.
Then the tempo rises as her blade traces a short arc toward my neck.
I deflect it, but a second strike snaps toward my knee.
I shift my stance, letting it glance off reinforced plating.
A third comes immediately after, angled to catch me mid-adjustment, and I meet it with my gauntlet, redirecting it upward.
Each exchange is clean. Measured. No wasted movement on either side.
We're not trying to overwhelm each other, not yet, at least. We're trying to read.
Then the rhythm breaks as Yoshitsune unleashes its signature move, Hassou Tobi.
Eight strikes compressed into a single breath.
This time, I can see and experience them up close.
Not as a blur, but as overlapping lines, each one placed to exploit a different opening.
High. Low. Inside. Outside. It is a complete pattern.
My body responds in kind.
Left arm up block, first impact. Right shoulder turns, second glances off. Step back, third misses by a hair. Shield rotates, fourth and fifth collide in quick succession, the force stacking but controlled. I drop my weight, letting the sixth pass over. The seventh caught at the edge of my gauntlet. Eighth stopped dead at centre mass.
The final impact settles between us, releasing a shockwave that cracks the floor under our feet, which quickly fixes itself and for a brief moment, everything stills. Then, we disengage half a step at the same time.
There are no words or wasted motion, just a mutual reset.
The Crateris Cloth hums softly as it repairs the minor stress fractures across its surface. Nothing serious. Just confirmation of the force behind her strikes.
Across from me, Kang Yaling's stance shifts by a fraction, becoming lower and tighter.
Yoshitsune remains behind her, unchanged, but now I can feel the structure of it more clearly. It doesn't give her just a stronger offensive power, but also control.
I move first this time.
A short step in, closing the gap before she can dictate the pace. My fist drives forward, Spiral Cosmo reinforcing the strike, aimed straight at her centerline.
She doesn't dodge and lets it come.
My fist lands straight into her face, but I feel no impact at all, as if my fist sank into an infinite abyss.
I follow immediately, adjusting the angle, chaining into a second and third strike. Faster. More precise. Stronger.
Still the same result, every hit that lands has no effect at all.
I pull back just enough to avoid overextending, resetting my stance as the realisation settles in.
This is not intangibility, nor some other kind of ability to avoid my attacks; it is denial.
I grit my teeth as I realise that pure physical attacks aren't working at all. This is the effect of her Persona, Yoshitsune, which completely blocks physical attacks, resists fire, and reflects electricity and light.
It is a full counter to Nero and a very annoying opponent for me.
Coming to that conclusion, I click my tongue while thinking, 'This is so frustrating... Luckily, I have the means to bypass this kind of obnoxious defences.'
I exhale slowly, keeping my eyes on her and across from me, she watches just as closely with no smile or taunt, just focus.
She's measuring me the same way.
I tighten my stance, Spiral Cosmo gathering again beneath the surface and mutter under my breath, "Yeah... This is more like it."
Then I gather my Spiral Cosmo in my fist, which takes the form of an orb of water and launch it toward my target with a punching motion while yelling, "Tidal Wave Punch!"
Kang Yaling reacts very quickly, making the orb of water land squarely against her Persona, Yoshitsune, who appeared in front of her, tanking the hit, pushing them both back a little, but without causing any damage, something that makes Kang Yaling look at me with a mocking grin on her face.
In response, I smirk back and lightly mutter, "... Boom."
The next instant, hundreds of delayed impacts explode from the orb one after the other, exponentially growing in power and intensity with each delayed impact, which sends them skidding backwards constantly, despite Yoshitsune stabbing the ground with his sword to stop.
Soon, the delayed impacts grow so powerful that cracks start to form on Yoshitsune's figure and Kang Yaling grunts in pain.
However, she suddenly dismisses her Persona and sidesteps, making the orb of Spiral Cosmo miss its target and continue advancing while releasing delayed impacts.
At the same time, Nero makes her move while taking advantage of the fact that Kang Yaling was too distracted by my Tidal Wave Punch.
Of course she does. She doesn't wait, nor does she hesitate, as she understands what needs to be done immediately. If I'm occupied, she takes on the other threat.
She charges straight toward Tiamat, who, until now, has not moved at all during Kang Yaling's battle against Lucas and BB.
For a brief moment, Tiamat doesn't react much; she just slightly tilts her head, but then the whole arena changes.
The ground beneath us melts as a black mud substance spills outward like a living ocean, swallowing the battlefield in seconds. It spreads endlessly, thick and suffocating, before anchoring itself to Tiamat's legs like restraints.
The surface churns while her body is stained in red and black in a manner that reminds me of Dark Sakura.
(Image Here - Tiamat Cerebral Corpus)
This is Tiamat's Sea of Life, her true Authority. It's the "Sea From Which Life Itself is Sprung".
Because the sea circulates the True Ether that existed from the Genesis of the Earth, magical energy is infinitely supplied to Tiamat while she's within the sea.
The movement by which the Sea of Life extends its domain is referred to as the Chaos Tide.
The "black mud" is a substance that pollutes Saint Graphs and that fundamentally remakes any organism that enters the Sea as a "Child of Tiamat" that bears an arbitrary selection of the following skills: Environmental Modification, Environmental Fusion, and Unit Mitosis.
Furthermore, the Children of Tiamat are imposed with Cellular Compulsion, a cellular-level Geis, a Nitrogenous Base Contract, that automatically renders them enemies of humanity, and Servants are no exception to the process.
Overall, it is a highly troublesome ability which gives Tiamat infinite magical energy, makes her virtually immortal, and alters the Saint Graph of all Servants it comes into contact with.
Luckily, thanks to the reinforced bond with Nero, I'm able to protect her and her Saint Graph from the Sea of Life's effects, so she doesn't slow down and pushes forward anyway.
Seeing that, Tiamat opens her mouth.
There's no buildup, no gathering of energy, or visible charge.
Just a slow, deliberate motion as her jaw parts and the world reacts before the sound even comes, making the Sea of Life under her tremble.
The surface of the black mud tightens, like something vast beneath it is drawing breath alongside her. The air itself compresses, pressure spiking in an instant, forcing everything within range to brace whether it wants to or not.
Then she screams as a shockwave detonates outward from her position, not as a simple blast, but as a layered force, sound, pressure, and raw magical output collapsing into a single expanding front.
The space between her and Nero tears open.
The black sea parts violently, dragged outward by the force before slamming back in chaotic waves. The ground beneath dissolves and reforms in the same instant, unable to decide whether to hold or give way.
Nero doesn't try to dodge, but she steps forward into it.
Her sword comes up, body angled, stance firm as she meets the oncoming force head-on and for a fraction of a second she holds.
The shockwave crashes against her like a wall, her form outlined against the surge of power as her own presence pushes back, resisting the collapse.
Then the second layer hits and the force spikes, becoming much denser.
It punches through her guard, and as a result, Nero is thrown back.
Not sent flying cleanly, but ripped from her position, her footing erased as the shockwave carries her across the battlefield. Her body skids through the black mud, carving a long trench as the Sea of Life churns violently around her.
I feel it through our bond, not the pain but the impact itself.
The force travels through our connection, a sharp jolt that echoes through my own body, like my bones remember what hers just endured.
My jaw tightens, but I don't move.
I also don't panic because I can still feel her, clearly.
Her steady and slow heartbeat. Unbroken by the unreasonable power unleashed by Tiamat.
Nero comes to a stop.
For a brief moment, she lies there, half-submerged as the black mud creeps up around her armour, clinging, pulling, trying to claim her.
The Sea of Life reacts to her presence like a living thing recognising prey.
It tightens. It presses. It tries to drag her down.
Then she moves. A small shift at first. Her hand tightens around her sword.
Her arm pushes against the surface, forcing the mud to give way just enough. It resists, stretching like something alive, but it can't hold her as she rises.
Slowly at first, then fully, pulling herself free as dark strands of the Sea of Life peel away from her armour and snap back into the mass below.
A low groan escapes her, more irritation than pain.
She doesn't look at me; she keeps her gaze locked on Tiamat.
A few moments later, she steps forward with no hesitation, and then she charges.
Straight back into it. As if the previous attack never happened. As if the outcome will be different simply because she wills it to be.
Across from her, Tiamat doesn't react.
No shift in posture. No tracking movement. No recognition.
She doesn't adapt. She doesn't learn. She simply exists.
And then she opens her mouth again.
The Sea of Life responds instantly, the surface around her collapsing inward as if feeding the next attack. The pressure spikes even faster this time, the surrounding space distorting under the strain.
No delay. No variation. Just plain repetition.
Another scream tears from her throat.
The second shockwave crashes outward, even more violent as it rides over the still-churning aftermath of the first. The two forces collide mid-expansion, amplifying the destruction as the battlefield fractures under the overlapping pressure.
Nero runs into it. Again.
This time, she lowers her centre of gravity, pushing forward step by step as the wave slams into her. The mud beneath her feet explodes outward with each step, unable to hold under the force she's forcing herself through.
For a moment, she gains ground.
A single step, then another. The distance closes by inches.
Then the pressure peaks. The wave thickens, compresses and breaks her advance.
She's thrown back again, her form swallowed by the expanding force as the Sea of Life surges violently in every direction.
I deflect yet another attack from Kang Yaling and narrow my eyes while thinking, 'Tiamat Cerebral Corpus. She's still sealed. Partially awakened. Acting mostly on instinct while retaining a bit of her consciousness. Which means this isn't even her full power... Holy hell... Nero isn't going to last like this... She has to stop playing around.'
Then I shift my focus back to Kang Yaling, and she's already moving.
A sharp crack splits the air as her gun fires. There is no warning or hesitation in her movements.
The shot is precise, aimed straight at my head.
I raise my arms instantly, both gauntlets snapping up into position. The bullet strikes the layered shields with a metallic burst, the impact sharp enough to push my guard back a fraction.
It isn't overwhelmingly strong, but perfectly timed.
By the time the shot lands, she's already inside my range.
I see the follow-up before it happens as a response to my stance tightening.
Her blade flashes upward, a clean, rising cut aimed at my throat, using the recoil of my guard as an opening.
I angle my body, letting the strike glance off the edge of my shoulder armour while my right hand comes down to intercept her wrist.
She twists out of it before I can lock it, and as expected, she's already moved on.
A Persona flickers behind her.
For a split second, I catch the shape, then it's gone.
Switched mid-motion with no delay and almost no transition.
Her next attack comes faster.
Not because she sped up, but because she removed the unnecessary movement between actions.
Her blade darts in again, shorter this time, aimed for a gap between my plates. I catch it with my gauntlet, redirecting it outward, and immediately step in to collapse the distance.
Close range favours me, or at least it should.
I drive a short punch toward her centre, Spiral Cosmo reinforcing the strike.
She doesn't block but shifts her body just enough to make the strike miss by centimetres.
And in that same instant, something cold floods the space between us as Black Frost appears.
The Persona manifests fully this time, looming behind her with a quiet, oppressive presence. The temperature drops sharply, frost forming along the edges of my armour as a wave of freezing energy spills outward.
I react on instinct using my own magic to answer as I chant, "Sagitta Magica, Series Glacialis!"
Ice gathers around me, forming projectiles of pure ice magic instantly as I launch a counter-spell at point-blank range, aiming to overwhelm her before the Persona stabilises.
But then, I almost have the urge to slap my own forehead as I forgot a crucial detail in the heat of the moment.
The two forces collide and vanish.
Absorbed completely.
Black Frost opens its mouth in a silent grin as the energy is drawn into it, the surrounding cold deepening instead of dispersing, and Kang Yaling moves through it completely unaffected.
I click my tongue and adjust immediately, abandoning the follow-up spell before it fully forms while thinking, 'I'm an idiot! How could I forget that Black Frost absorbs the Ice element to heal itself and its summoner!? It has "Frost" in its own name for God's sake... Anyway, ice is off the table. For now.'
She presses in again, using the moment of recalibration.
Her blade comes low, sweeping toward my legs.
I step over it, bringing my knee up as I shift my weight forward, using the motion to drive my elbow down toward her shoulder.
She pivots under it almost too smoothly.
Her body turns with the motion, converting the dodge into another angle of attack as her knife flashes toward my side.
I catch her wrist this time for real.
Our movements lock for a fraction of a second.
Grip against grip. Force against force. We are even.
Then she switches again.
The pressure changes subtly.
Her body relaxes for just an instant as Maria makes her appearance.
A faint glow flickers across her form, small cuts and strain disappearing almost as soon as they exist. My grip slips just enough for her to break free, not through strength, but through timing.
She doesn't retreat but steps back in.
She uses her gun, knife, and Personas.
All cycling. All layered.
A shot rings out at close range. I tilt my head, letting it graze past as my hand snaps forward, aiming to strike her shoulder.
She turns with it, the blow glancing off as her knife comes up in a tight arc toward my ribs.
I block. She follows. I counter. She's already gone.
Every exchange flows into the next. No wasted actions. No hesitation.
I launch another spell, not ice this time, "Spēlaion Mikron Bary Melan!"
I create a small black swirling sphere, basically a small black hole, that disperses the Black Frost's attack in an instant, then continues toward the Persona, forcing Kang Yaling to unsummon it and retreat.
She shifts just outside its core radius, taking none of the deadly consuming power, then immediately steps back in before the energy fully disperses.
I meet her there, and our movements collide again.
Strike. Block. Redirect. Counter.
She cuts high, I deflect and step inside.
She switches angle, I rotate with it.
She fires, I guard.
I advance, she yields just enough.
Not retreating. Never retreating. Just repositioning.
Always in control of spacing.
Black Frost flickers again, attempting to bait another elemental response, but I ignore it.
Maria appears briefly once more, smoothing over accumulated strain, and I take note of her healing capabilities.
At the same time, I adjust my approach as targeting her directly won't be enough, and attrition won't work either.
The same goes for her. We're both learning. Every exchange gives something away. Every adjustment is noted.
We clash again, faster now.
Not because we're rushing but because we've both cut away the unnecessary.
Only what works remains.
My martial arts tighten into shorter, more efficient movements. Less flourish, more intent.
Her attacks become even sharper, Persona switches aligning perfectly with each phase of her offence and defence.
Gunfire to disrupt. Knife to pressure. Yoshitsune to attack. Black Frost to deny. Maria is to recover. A complete system.
And I match it using spell variation, close-quarters control, defensive timing, and energy management. A system of my own. One made to mask some of my abilities, as I'm sure she is doing the same.
Neither of us breaks through. Neither of us slips. Every strike is answered. Every opening closes the moment it appears.
The battlefield around us fractures under the pressure of repeated clashes, but between us, there is only control.
Across the battlefield, the Sea of Life continues to spread as Nero clashes against Tiamat's overwhelming force.
Then, at the same time, we stop.
We separate by a single step, just enough distance to breathe, just enough space to think.
My chest rises slowly as I steady my stance, Spiral Cosmo still coiled beneath the surface.
Across from me, Kang Yaling stands just as composed, Personas fading in and out of readiness behind her.
Our eyes meet. The message is clear.
No words this time, we both understand that this isn't the real fight yet, as we are still testing each other. This is just the beginning.