"However, you all still require trials; life is defined by enduring hardships, only then will it bloom."
Accompanied by Nyarlathotep's exaggerated, opera-singer-like gestures, four black energy beams extended from the four giant tentacles holding open the Hole of Roots, converging at the apex of the giant tower—Nyarlathotep's position.
XX immediately attempted to attack, but to no avail.
"What is this? It's so hard," XX complained.
"It looks like he wants us to sever these four giant tentacles," Ai-chan analyzed the situation calmly. "One for each of us, and whoever has the energy can take the last one, is that okay?"
While tasks were being assigned, Jean noticed Ai-chan watching her, so she nodded at her. If it were other constructs, Jean might have struggled, but these fleshy tentacles were practically running into their nemesis.
Thus, the three of them split up, flying toward three different tentacles.
---
Arriving in front of this giant tentacle, Jean realized it was much larger than she had imagined. She tried slashing it once, only to find the surface harder than steel.
With that slash, other than her wrist feeling a bit jarred, there wasn't a single scratch on the tentacle's surface.
Holding her breath and focusing to carefully perceive its composition, Jean discovered that this tentacle relied on energy—specifically, twisted life force—to maintain its strength.
After all, it was something grown from black mud and shadows, lacking a material foundation, so it couldn't actually construct an indestructible surface.
Since that was the case, Jean lightly touched the blade of White Wind to the tentacle's surface, then pressed down with slight force, simultaneously beginning to absorb the life force from it.
As time passed and the pressure increased, the blade soon sank in. Next came the usual routine of gnawing on tentacles.
An incomparably massive amount of life force was drawn into Jean's body, while simultaneously being released into the surroundings without any concern for waste.
Even so, when Jean completely drained a small portion of the entire tentacle, she still felt an unbearable, bloated pain. The sheer volume of life force was somewhat beyond her control, darting everywhere, giving her a sensation akin to having a stitch in her side.
Just then, Jean suddenly remembered that her White Wind could change its volume. If she grew it larger while filling it with life force, wouldn't she be able to obtain a 40-meter-long greatsword?
She was a woman of action, so she immediately plunged White Wind back into the tentacle, simultaneously absorbing energy while changing the length of White Wind. Once the length exceeded the radius of the tentacle, Jean began to fly around it.
She quickly circled it once, and with a "pfft" sound, the giant tentacle snapped in response.
Having resolved the first one, she looked around and discovered that Ai-chan and XX were both struggling with their giant tentacles. It was only then that Jean realized these giant tentacles were actually capable of super-speed regeneration.
It was only because they had been drained of life force by Jean and then slashed by the Undying Slash property of White Wind that they hadn't recovered.
Since she had such an advantage, Jean didn't hold back. Wielding her newly minted 40-meter greatsword, she set off toward the remaining tentacle.
Because her life force capacity was full, this time Jean didn't absorb anything first. Instead, relying directly on the Undying Slash property, she circled around with one slash, and this tentacle also collapsed.
Next was helping Ai-chan and XX. Within a few minutes, thanks to Jean's activity, all the tentacles were destroyed, and the hole in the sky began to gradually close.
---
After the three of them rendezvoused, they looked toward Nyarlathotep atop the giant tower.
They saw that Nyarlathotep was currently holding the result of the converged energy beams: a mass of black, writhing energy.
"This is the end, heroes. The power has coalesced, the cycle has ceased, and good and evil have lost their meaning. This is the origin of the world, Chaos itself."
Nyarlathotep then fired this mass of energy toward the three of them.
Matters having reached this point, no one held back anymore. Whether it was Ai-chan or XX, both unleashed their Noble Phantasm, and Jean also used her newly evolved breath attack.
[Cross-Calibur]
[Mumeiseiunken]
[ShootingSonic]
The three streams of energy merged together, opposing the black energy fired by Nyarlathotep, and a tug-of-war ensued.
However, this tug-of-war did not last for long. XX's Rhongomyniad had an anti-Evil God special attack property, so the balance was quickly broken. The three ultimate moves converged at the top of the tower, resulting in a massive explosion.
Then, as the light and smoke cleared, the giant tower had developed numerous cracks. At its apex, Nyarlathotep, appearing as BB, was in a sorry state, but he still possessed quite a bit of theatrical spirit, delivering the final lines of a villain's curtain call.
"You have succeeded, heroes, but remember that this is only the beginning. A greater threat will inevitably descend upon this world. Promise me you will protect this world well."
Then, his body began to disintegrate and scatter, but judging by his final expression, he had quite enjoyed himself.
And XX looked as if she were looking toward the future: "Rest assured! I will be the one to protect the peace!"
---
As the giant tower gradually collapsed, the hole in the sky also completely vanished. At the same time, Jean's keen senses picked up the sound of someone heaving a sigh of relief; she didn't know who had been maintaining the Barrier in front of the hole earlier.
Jean also let out a sigh of relief. This night had been far too long. She had originally thought that resolving Gilgamesh would be enough, and that the Holy Grail War would still have more to fight.
As it turned out, in just this one night, the Holy Grail had been tucked into her pocket.
The view from the top of the mountain was excellent; she could see the full panorama of Fuyuki City at the brink of dawn, with the horizon already tinged with a faint white.
Fortunately, everyone, including Nyarlathotep, had been very restrained and hadn't used any wide-area attacks; otherwise, Fuyuki City would have long since vanished.
Of course, the others didn't know that Nyarlathotep had specifically refrained from going all-out against the city so that someone could collect these tentacles.
Although there was some serendipitous coincidence involved, the legendary city of Fuyuki City was still standing.
However, for the city itself, it probably wouldn't settle down even if the Holy Grail War stopped.
After all, chaos and explosions were the daily routine of Fuyuki.
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