"Go Forth!"
"My Lance! My Conviction!"
Achilles shouted fiercely at Chiron, plunging the spear forcefully into the ground. A strange glow erupted from its tip, and in an instant, the world itself seemed to freeze in place.
Even leaves drifting down from the trees became suspended mid-air.
The surrounding world distorted strangely, colors warping as if reality itself had shifted.
Achilles and Chiron stood facing each other, eyes locked.
Logically speaking, as a Rider-class Servant, Achilles should have deployed [Troias Tragōidia], his chariot. But Achilles possessed more than one Noble Phantasm, and he quickly judged which would be most effective here.
Summoning his chariot now would be disastrous. At such close range, by the time he even stepped onto his mount, Chiron would have filled his body with arrows.
Meanwhile, [Achilles Kosmos] was purely defensive and unnecessary at this point. After careful consideration, only one option remained: the spear capable of creating a battlefield faster than any other—[Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē: Spear-tip of the Star Traversing the Skies].
This spear had originally been a wedding gift from Chiron himself to Achilles' parents, crafted from the same material as Chiron's own bow.
Its power formed an isolated domain designed explicitly for heroic duels—a magic rivaling even a Reality Marble.
If Achilles were to throw this spear at full power, a single blow could erase a Servant of Chiron's caliber from reality itself.
Yet, at this close proximity, throwing his weapon would simply turn Achilles into a living pincushion. Of course, Achilles would never be so foolish.
But having come this far, he certainly wouldn't hesitate to settle things definitively with his teacher today.
After all, this spear had another, simpler nickname—the Spear of Single Combat.
In terms of magical principles, it closely resembled Emperor Nero's [Aestus Domus Aurea]. The spear completely isolated them from time and surroundings, creating an arena that wouldn't vanish until one combatant fell.
"Fascinating. You've rewritten reality itself? Truly impressive, Achilles."
Chiron gazed around at the frozen landscape with genuine surprise and admiration as Achilles advanced toward him step by step, fists clenched tightly.
At the same time, there was no such opportunity for dialogue on Karna's battlefield.
"O Surya...bear witness!"
Karna floated serenely above the earth, his golden armor gradually dissolving into radiant motes of light. In its place emerged a spear formed of brilliant lightning—the divine spear of absolute annihilation.
He had traded his golden armor's overwhelming defense in exchange for this lethal Anti-Divine spear.
Rather than roaring with fierce exertion, Karna's calm, quiet declaration of his Noble Phantasm carried an even greater pressure.
At that very instant, every Servant and Master felt as if their hearts had stopped the moment Karna raised that weapon.
The spear's immense power erupted, instantly causing the hearts of countless homunculi and ordinary people stored within the abandoned warehouse to shrivel into lifeless husks. Endless worms within the warehouse flipped over, utterly drained of magical energy and perishing instantly.
This was Karna's full-powered strike, a punishment aimed at the Master who had forcibly stolen his contract.
Karna knew instinctively that this Master was not one he could willingly serve.
"By my [Command Spell], release your Noble Phantasm, Saber!"
"By my [Command Spell], release your Noble Phantasm, Saber!"
"By my [Command Spell], release your Noble Phantasm, Saber!"
Gordes, the overweight Master with golden hair, stared hopelessly at the apocalyptic spear above him. Filled with despair, he thrust out his hand and hurriedly issued all three [Command Spells] to Siegfried.
Though his Servant's battlefield lay far away, Gordes could sense his own life would vanish completely beneath that destructive strike.
An intense azure light exploded from Siegfried's sword, its sheer power distorting the surrounding space.
Yet even amplified by three [Command Spells], the tremendous energy emitted by Siegfried's sword still paled next to the divine spear floating above Karna.
Siegfried understood clearly that the moment their strikes collided, his own attack would shatter instantly, and he himself would vanish helplessly into ash.
They had clashed previously, but Siegfried had never imagined the gap between himself and Karna would be so immense.
His armor, bathed in dragon's blood, was like mere paper before Karna's might.
"Ahhhhhhhh—!!!"
Facing that overwhelmingly destructive spear, Berserker showed not the slightest hint of fear, instead roaring defiantly toward Karna in the heavens. Massive bolts of electricity surged from her body, urgently communicating her resolve to her Master.
"So this is your wish, Berserker?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Caules responded immediately. At Berserker's urging, all three [Command Spells] vanished swiftly from the back of his hand.
Vlad III turned his head slightly, looking toward Darnic in the distance, who sat mounted on horseback, staring grimly at the unfolding disaster.
In Darnic's eyes, Vlad saw not only profound shock at Karna's monstrous strength but also fury and despair at the impossibility of winning the Holy Grail War.
If these three Servants fell here, the Holy Grail War would effectively end.
None of the remaining Servants possessed even a fraction of the strength needed to stand against Karna. Had this been a normal Holy Grail War, Karna's overwhelming power would likely have ended it in a single night.
He truly is an extraordinary hero.
Vlad III felt immense admiration and sorrow toward Karna.
As a king who once ruled over Romania, Vlad III's renown within his homeland rivaled Heracles' fame in Greece or Arthur's in Britain.
Had Vlad not been summoned in his homeland, thus boosted by local renown, perhaps he wouldn't even have been able to exchange blows with Karna.
Glancing around at the devastated battlefield, Vlad III's eyes softened slightly. Although ruthless toward his enemies, he was unquestionably a leader of noble character.
Endless corpses and wreckage covered the earth—these homunculi, these golems, these brave Servants—had fought tirelessly, defending Yggdmillennia's position just as Vlad himself had once defended his own country.
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