Scáthach's second Noble Phantasm was activated, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
At the same time, Artoria, having just received the order to withdraw to the ship and prepare for a breakthrough, was ready to follow the Knights of the Round Table's advice and disengage from the battlefield.
The Divine Spirit Heracles was anything but ordinary. Even after Artoria and the Knights of the Round Table had slain him five times through their combined assault, the man still stood back up before their eyes.
Was it that he had transcribed the Noble Phantasm "Twelve Labors" from the Heracles of Proper Human History? Or had the Heracles of the Lostbelt undergone similar trials, refined into a Noble Phantasm of his own?
Or perhaps it was something Zeus had bestowed upon him through divine authority.
Whatever the answer, each death only made Heracles stronger, granting him resistance to the same method of killing. He grew fiercer with every battle, his iron-like face showing not a trace of fear or hesitation.
As if even the loss of all his lives meant nothing to him.
"My King! Please link up with the Storm Border immediately!"
Urged by Lancelot, Artoria mounted her warhorse, planning to use an Olympus warship as a foothold to return to Storm Border.
"Don't even think about leaving. You will remain here."
Heracles declared in a low voice, then leapt up with a heavy thud, swinging his god-granted axe down in an attempt to intercept Artoria's retreat.
"My King!"
One after another, the Knights of the Round Table moved in, coordinating seamlessly to block Heracles and force him back onto the ship.
Landing on a nearby warship, Artoria turned to look back at her Knights.
"Everyone, take cover. I will release the True Name of the Holy Lance from Storm Border!"
"That won't be necessary!"
Shiomi's voice rang out again.
It reached Artoria's ears, and she turned around, only then realizing how close the battlefield she and the Round Table were fighting on had drawn to the Olympus flagship where Shiomi stood.
"Tenkei?" Artoria asked, momentarily confused.
Shiomi lowered his spear. Behind him, the sea and enemy forces were sealed in ice. The twin Servants were trapped beneath the frozen surface, unable to escape, struggling to break the ice from within while being unable to ensure their bodies wouldn't shatter along with it.
"This isn't the time to conserve Mana," Shiomi said, raising both arms. "With this strike, we'll open the path forward."
In the next instant, the raging wind and rain seemed to be frozen in place, locked in everyone's awareness for less than a second, so brief it felt like a trick of the mind.
Then Artoria understood it wasn't an illusion.
It was the overwhelming pressure radiating from Shiomi.
She suddenly felt glad that he was an ally. There was no sense of oppression at all, only an endless feeling of safety.
It was like something from a distant, ancient past. Like the comfort of being held in a mother's arms as an infant.
A primal sense of reassurance.
And yet, Artoria couldn't even remember who her mother was.
She was the King of Britannia, born through the scheming of her father, Uther, and her teacher, Merlin, brought into existence through the bloodline of the Red Dragon.
Memories that should never have existed were abruptly stirred by the pressure and presence emanating from Shiomi in that moment.
Even so, this was still within bounds.
The battlefield fell silent in an instant. Everyone froze, as if they no longer knew what to do, their hearts bound by an unknown fear, bodies locked in place.
Snapping out of that gentle daze, Artoria urged her warhorse into the air and landed atop Storm Border.
The first to react were the Lostbelt Servants.
An overwhelming sense of crisis drove them to act on instincts close to raw survival. From all directions, they leapt into motion, each preparing to release their Noble Phantasm and focus their attacks on Tenkei Shiomi aboard the flagship.
Smashing through the Knights of the Round Table's defensive line, Heracles roared as he charged across one warship after another like a living cannonball.
All the Servants closed in on Shiomi at once.
But even then, it was already too late.
The special Noble Phantasm that had been unleashed once before, the manifestation of authority itself, had finished its necessary preparations.
"The barrier between heaven and earth no longer exists. In the name of the Great Mother, the goddess Tiamat, I shall rebuild the order that belongs to mankind—
『The Earth Mother's Feast』 (Nammu Duranki)!"
Light surged forth without warning from beneath the sea, covering the entire expanse in an instant. The raging storm and thunder that had run rampant moments before vanished without a trace as the dark clouds were swept away all at once.
No one could have imagined what this power would truly look like.
This was not celestial magecraft meant to oppose Kirschtaria, but the solitary release of an inner True Name.
To cultivate the land.
To pacify the seas.
In that very moment, Storm Border surged forward at full speed, without hesitation or restraint.
Shiomi's Noble Phantasm engulfed the entire sea, swallowing even the region where Nemesis Island lay. There was nowhere to flee, nowhere to hide.
Artoria dropped to one knee on the deck, trying to take in her surroundings, yet there was nothing she could discern.
Endless light filled the space between sky and sea, but it wasn't blinding. There was only boundless white and an indescribable stillness.
More than that, Storm Border's radar failed once again, unable to pick up any readings at all.
There was no vibration.
No howling wind.
Slowly rising to her feet, Artoria gave up on futile observation and instead calmly focused on Storm Border's advance.
There were no obstacles.
No impacts.
It felt like sailing across a primordial sea of nothingness, with no end in sight.
But even a Noble Phantasm has its limit.
When the light finally receded, Storm Border had already passed Nemesis Island. Ahead of them, the most prosperous Fantasy Tree among all the Lostbelts came fully into view, its trunk so vast that its diameter defied estimation.
The Void Cavern was now only a single step away.
Artoria couldn't see what was happening behind them, yet she felt no worry for their companions.
Because—
"A Noble Phantasm with such an immense range, yet able to selectively spare life… If it can do that much, then there's no need for me to waste effort activating my second Noble Phantasm."
Cradled in Shiomi's arms, Scáthach landed with him on the deck of Storm Border.
"There's no way to test the limits of something like this beforehand," Shiomi said as he slowly set her down. "You can only use the battlefield itself to find out. Even so, it only expanded to this extent in the end…"
"In truth, its real range should be the entire Lostbelt… no, the entire world," Scáthach said softly. "It's an Anti-World Noble Phantasm."
There was no dissatisfaction in her voice, only deep, unspoken satisfaction.
At that moment, Artoria spoke up. "Storm Border's radar has just recovered. The companions who stayed behind to cover our retreat are all safe. However, because of the Noble Phantasm's interference, they couldn't keep up with Storm Border at full speed. Should we slow down and wait for them?"
"I'm afraid we don't have that kind of time," Shiomi said, pointing ahead. "The Void Cavern is right there. Poseidon has already sensed our approach and is accelerating the gate's closure at full power. I'll go on ahead. Don't fall behind."
With that, he stepped forward and leapt down from the deck.