"I truly fancy you!"
Just as she had once said to Mordred in the original tale, Semiramis stepped past Astolfo and stopped in front of the gravely weakened Emiya Shirou, gazing directly into his eyes.
"You're not even a magus of the Yggdmillennia family, so why fight so desperately for the Black Faction? There's no need to push yourself to death's door like this, especially when Yggdmillennia has shown you no real loyalty."
"Join us—the Red Faction—and fulfill your own wish."
Semiramis's words were gentle, as if genuinely concerned for Shirou's well-being.
After all, the Holy Grail was now fully within the Red Faction's grasp. If Shirou truly joined them, she knew that with Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's personality, he would not deny a subordinate's wish.
Just as Amakusa Shirou Tokisada would never impede Semiramis's pursuit of the Third Magic, as a leader, he was typically lenient towards his allies.
And he was more than willing to share the fruits of his victory.
At this moment, Semiramis made the same choice as Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had previously—she extended the olive branch to Emiya Shirou.
Hearing Semiramis trying to persuade Shirou, Astolfo immediately began struggling against his chains, twisting desperately as he cried out toward Shirou.
"Shi—!"
"I refuse!"
But before Astolfo could even fully shout Shirou's name, Shirou rejected Semiramis without the slightest hesitation.
He didn't even pause to consider it—as if Semiramis's proposal meant absolutely nothing to him.
"What—?"
Semiramis's hand, which had been about to gently stroke Shirou's cheek, abruptly halted mid-air, disbelief overtaking her expression.
She seemed unable to comprehend Shirou's choice at all, her beautiful features twisting with astonishment.
Did Emiya Shirou truly not grasp his current predicament?
Did he not feel the overwhelming difference in their strength?
Had Shirou not been there, the Black Faction wouldn't even have had the slightest chance of reaching the entrance to the Holy Church.
Even though Shirou had struggled through countless hardships to break through, he was now barely holding onto his life, lacking any meaningful combat strength.
Meanwhile, Black's sole remaining Servant—Astolfo—had been effortlessly captured without resistance.
No matter how one looked at it, Black had absolutely no hope of winning this Holy Grail War.
Darnic had predicted this scenario from the moment he learned Astolfo was the only Servant they had left. He understood clearly—the odds of Black overcoming Red were effectively zero.
The gap between the two factions was insurmountable—like heaven and earth.
The Red Faction had only spent a single day fortifying their defenses, yet already rendered the Black Faction unable to penetrate their stronghold.
This was the reality Red had achieved.
Black's reality, meanwhile, was charging headlong into the Holy Church, getting instantly captured by chains, and losing all ability to resist. The only outcome left was total defeat.
Anyone would naturally make the correct choice here.
"But—I refuse."
As if concerned Semiramis hadn't heard clearly enough, Shirou repeated himself, eyes fiercely resolute.
Once more, the hand gripping his knightly sword rose, leveling its blade directly toward Semiramis standing before him.
"Why…?"
Semiramis murmured irritably, returning to her original position as countless magical arrays spread out behind her.
In mere moments, these arrays filled every inch of the Holy Church.
"If you must know why—it's because humanity doesn't need saving!"
Facing an unavoidable attack, Shirou didn't hesitate in the slightest, gripping his sword as he stepped forward.
...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!
Terrifying magical blasts rained down from above, pouring mercilessly onto Emiya Shirou and Astolfo.
This assault was even stronger than the earlier bombardment in the town.
Though not comparable to the EX-level blasts from the [Hanging Gardens of Babylon], each shot inside the Holy Church still reached the power of an A-ranked attack.
Such an overwhelming barrage was impossible for Emiya Shirou and Astolfo to withstand.
Astolfo's Noble Phantasm might have been able to evade or ignore this attack under normal circumstances.
But now, bound completely by chains and unable even to command his mount, Astolfo had no chance of dodging, let alone activating his Noble Phantasm.
All he could do was watch helplessly as Shirou threw himself forward, boldly charging straight into that countless rain of destructive magical attacks.
[Territory Creation:]
Rank: EX
The skill to create advantageous territory for oneself as a magus. By gathering the necessary materials, it becomes possible to create the Hanging Gardens—a territory surpassing even the level of a "Temple."
Even without the Hanging Gardens themselves, Semiramis possessed EX-ranked [Territory Creation], not to mention being an extremely powerful magus herself.
Under Semiramis's hands, the entire Holy Church had transformed into an impregnable magical workshop, becoming the final line of defense safeguarding the Greater Grail.
BOOM—!
Amidst an ear-shattering rumble, the massive wall behind Semiramis collapsed abruptly like a torrent.
Behind that crumbled wall, an immense altar hovered quietly.
Floating gently, it resembled a small celestial body—a spherical altar emanating a gentle radiance.
But contrasting sharply against the altar's soft glow was a horrifying, surging tide of purple-black poison gas.
The moment the wall collapsed, that lethal purple-black toxin—so potent that merely seeing it felt like watching your own life drain away—burst forth and rushed fiercely toward Emiya Shirou and Astolfo.
Simultaneously, an enormous serpent emerged beside Semiramis from the rubble.
The massive snake bore vividly colored horns and a pair of claw-like forelimbs, its fangs dripping with venom so potent that wherever the saliva touched, the ground dissolved into corrosive smoke, rising and spreading through the air as deadly mist.
Where the serpent's saliva landed, toxic fumes continuously billowed upward from the ground.
The monstrous snake coiled its body, lowering its massive head.
Its vicious gaze, filled with violent intent, locked directly onto Emiya Shirou.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!"
An ear-splitting hiss exploded from the serpent's throat, so venomously intense it seemed capable of infecting even the surrounding air, causing everything it touched to tremble violently.
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T/N: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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