Setsuna looked a bit amused at the purple-haired mature woman standing before him.
Whether it was her figure or her appearance, both were flawless, and her outfit carried a faint air of sensuality.
Scáthach—the warrior and queen from Celtic legend.
She was both the queen and gatekeeper of the mystical realm known as the "Land of Shadows," as well as a genius in both spear technique and rune magic.
She had sealed the gates of the Land of Shadows, filled with countless undead souls, wielding overwhelming power that could dominate all.
Over the countless ages, she had slain gods and enemies beyond number, her own being half-divine—no longer able to die like a mortal.
If Scáthach could obtain the Holy Grail, her wish would likely be for the Grail to grant her death—to send someone capable of killing her.
Preferably, she would die as a warrior should, in battle.
"Hmm... she's pretty strong. Getting her to form a contract and follow me here wasn't easy."
"I tried every argument I could, and in the end, I told her that here, she could easily find someone capable of killing her—and that satisfied her enough to come."
Gudako leaned close to Setsuna's ear, whispering quietly.
"Commander, help me out here."
The other Heroic Spirits were fine—Nightingale lived for healing others, Nero was an old acquaintance, Helena was a scholar, and so on.
But Scáthach—her strength and mindset were completely different from the others, making her difficult to handle.
"So you just promised her random stuff, huh?"
Setsuna sighed in amusement, pinching Gudako's cheek.
Then, turning serious, he studied Scáthach and took a sip of tea.
"Well... she's not wrong, though. Master, if it came to a duel, there are probably hundreds of people in the Starsea Empire who could defeat you."
"Why not find a new purpose in life instead?"
Given how many monstrous beings existed beyond the Type-Moon world, even Scáthach couldn't claim invincibility—especially not across the vast multiverse.
"?"
Scáthach frowned slightly, realizing that Setsuna was likely teasing her.
"You mean those mechanical angels? I've seen a few—they are impressive, but..."
"Angeloids are only used for combat within native atmospheres. Don't misunderstand."
Essex snorted softly.
"Have you ever been hit by a weapon that can shatter the sun, Miss Demigod?"
"?"
Scáthach looked puzzled.
"Sigh... natives really do have limited perspective..."
Gudako mumbled under her breath.
"Anyway, Ritsuka Fujimaru went through all the trouble of bringing you back. It wouldn't be right if you just kept chasing death."
Setsuna cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the room.
"Here's how it'll go. Pick anyone here for a duel. If you win, as a reward—I'll personally grant your wish and send you to your death, along with your Land of Shadows."
"And if you lose..."
"That will mean my strength still falls short. You may command me as you wish."
Scáthach replied calmly.
She had lived for countless ages, long past the point of worldly desires. All she wanted now was someone who could defeat—and kill—her.
Though she doubted whether Setsuna truly had the means to fulfill that wish.
"Alright, your choice."
Setsuna leaned back in his chair.
He decided to let the Queen of Shadows witness firsthand what it meant to have realms beyond realms.
Even within her own universe, Scáthach wasn't the strongest—so who was she to enforce her will across worlds?
Still, as his master, she had her own charm. It wouldn't hurt to enjoy the show.
After all, watching the girls under his command spar was always entertaining.
"Who's the strongest here?"
Scáthach's gaze swept the room. Besides several shipgirls near Setsuna, there were Tohru and Mio, as well as a few girls huddled together gaming.
"The strongest? You sure?"
Setsuna thought for a moment, then pointed toward the girl gripping a game controller, completely absorbed in her match—Nyaruko.
"There. Probably her—Nyarlathotep. Just arrived. Outer God."
"?"
"A god? Her?"
Scáthach couldn't sense even a trace of divine presence from the cute girl with the ridiculously long ahoge. It was impossible to associate her with a being capable of killing gods.
She looked nothing like a warrior—nor someone who even knew how to fight.
"You're sure about this?"
"You'll understand once you fight her. Oh, Nyaruko—try not to go too hard."
...
Ten minutes later.
Outside the capital city, near the arena, shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, Spirits, and curious onlookers had gathered in a massive crowd, filling the place to the brim.
They all knew Nyaruko was an Outer God from another universe—an existence of unfathomable background and power—but had never seen her fight.
These ancient gods usually weren't interested in training; most of them just stayed home all day playing games, watching anime, and acting like hardcore otakus.
Now that one of them was actually stepping into a match, everyone was eager to see how an Outer God fought.
As for Scáthach—
From the scattered information available, people knew she was half-divine, and that she had even slain gods.
Most believed it would be a brilliant, evenly matched duel.
Many little shipgirls and lolis brought small stools and bags of sunflower seeds, gathering around to watch.
"I bet a pack of spicy sticks on Scáthach!"
"I bet a torpedo on Nyaruko! It's the Commander's autographed limited-edition model!!"
"My spicy sticks are Kobayashi Rindou's special recipe!!"
Under Akashi's instigation, a few small shipgirls even started taking bets, staking snacks and torpedoes like gambling chips.
"Land of Shadows—Scáthach."
The master gripped her crimson spear, standing on the arena stage, her gaze sharp as she looked at the girl opposite her.
"Ever lurking at your side, the writhing chaos—Nyarlathotep, ehehe!"
"Hmm... against you, I probably won't even need to transform, right?"
Nyaruko pulled out a crowbar over a meter long from beneath her skirt, making the spectators twitch.
They had heard of people drawing blades from their chest, but never someone pulling a crowbar from under their skirt. With Cthulhu things, it was best not to think too much.
"Well then, here I go!"
"Cosmic C C Type-One!"
Nyaruko struck a mysterious pose, then charged at Scáthach, swinging the crowbar.
"???"
The audience was collectively confused.
They thought an Outer God would at least use some high-tier magic or divine skills—but what was this melee weapon nonsense?
Bang—Clang—
The battle began in an instant, and it looked anything but serious.
Scáthach quickly realized Nyaruko didn't fight by any normal standard.
Her strength was immense, but her moves were bizarre—completely modern combat style—and she even went for low blows now and then.
Her spear thrust and swept in arcs, leaving streaks of red light across the arena.
The sound of weapons clashing rang through the air.
Jeanne Alter, Nero, and the others watched in silent alarm—they all knew they couldn't take on Scáthach.
Yet Nyaruko fought as though she were completely at ease.
Boom—
Even if her crowbar was shattered, she'd instantly pull out another from beneath her skirt—or even from her chest.
Sometimes she even used the crowbar as a throwing weapon.
"What kind of Noble Phantasm is that?"
Scáthach asked while blocking an attack, frowning deeply.
To her, seeing a god wielding a crowbar in battle was utterly indecent.
"This? Why, it's the Indescribable Rod-shaped Object, of course!"
"???"
Scáthach wasn't sure whether this girl was being obscene or just insane.
Boom—
Nyaruko pulled out two grenades from under her skirt and tossed them.
For a moment, Setsuna suddenly recalled a ridiculous scene from a bad drama series.
"Profane Grenades!!!"
BOOM—
A violent explosion rocked the arena, sending up a cloud of dust.
Fortunately, with the Spirit of Origin and the Magic Academy's protective wards, the blast wouldn't harm the surroundings.
Cough, cough—
After several rounds of close combat, Scáthach leapt backward, feeling she'd gauged enough of her opponent's strength.
She stopped toying around—it was time to finish this quickly.
"Noble Phantasm—Piercing Deathflight Spear!"
Whoosh—
She raised her magic spear, its shaft glowing with blinding red light. Red lightning and energy crackled around her.
This weapon was even older than Cú Chulainn's Gáe Bolg and carried a similar instant-death effect.
It locked directly onto Nyaruko, who stood not far away.
"What's that?"
"Looks amazing?"
Nyaruko had never seen a Heroic Spirit's Noble Phantasm before. She was intrigued but didn't dodge or defend, simply staring at Scáthach with curiosity.
BOOM—
The first strike pinned her in place, freezing her body in space and restricting her movement.
The second strike came—a single throw of her spear, moving faster than anyone could react, carrying thunderous power as it arced through the air in a streak of red and struck her opponent.
Boom—
The arena erupted once more in a violent explosion.
When the smoke cleared, everyone stared in shock—Nyaruko's chest had been pierced clean through by the magic spear.
The girl looked dumbfounded at Scáthach, as though she hadn't yet processed what had happened.
It was the expected outcome. Without defense or evasion, for her to still be standing after such a blow was already miraculous.
"..."
Kanae, Akame, and the others were terrified, thinking someone had actually died.
Tohru, Mio, and Elma, however, frowned—they noticed something odd.
As for Kuuko, she just yawned and, bored, pulled out her handheld console to play.
"How could you be this weak?"
Scáthach frowned. She slightly regretted going all out. Setsuna had said Nyaruko was an immensely powerful god, which was why she had chosen to fight with her full strength.
At its peak, the spear could slay even gods.
A direct hit from that weapon without any defense should have meant instant death.
But this victory... felt strange.
"What?"
Nyaruko spoke, startling Scáthach.
"Ah... this thing's pretty nice. Maybe I'll use it for fighting from now on?"
"Hmm, no, too long—it's inconvenient to swing around."
She slowly pulled the spear out of her body piece by piece, holding it up to inspect it curiously.
"So your ultimate move is just throwing a spear at people? You should switch to firearms! Longer range, higher power—way more practical for space battles."
"?"
It was only then that Scáthach realized—there wasn't even a single drop of blood.
"???"
Impossible.
She couldn't comprehend it. How could anyone—god or otherwise—get skewered through the chest and remain perfectly fine?
"You were aiming for my heart? Ah, sorry, but I've got as many of those as I want, so it's kinda useless."
Nyaruko scratched her head.
"Oh, and my head and other parts of my body are the same. You can destroy them, but I can just grow new ones."
"???"
Scáthach was utterly stunned.
She stared at Nyaruko with disbelief, unsure what kind of nonsense she was hearing.
Even the surrounding Heroic Spirits, just imagining sparring with Nyaruko, felt their sanity slipping.
"Well then, in turn-based game logic—after your big move, it's my turn, right?"
Nyaruko glanced at Setsuna.
"Hmm... I can't transform inside the capital, so let's try this one!"
"Secret Technique—Great Chaos Annihilation!!!"
She clapped her hands together sharply.
In that instant, the world was drowned in darkness. The noisy capital fell silent as everything vanished.
The arena, the city, the landscape—all disappeared from sight.
Everyone suddenly found themselves in a vast, endless black void, unable to tell up from down, sky from earth.
Only Nyaruko remained unchanged.
"Spatial magic?! A Reality Marble?!"
Both Neros turned their heads, only to realize this power was far beyond any Reality Marble—it was on the level of creating an entirely new universe.
Yet despite the endless darkness, countless figures filled the space.
Scáthach and the others looked up—and froze.
Across the boundless night sky, countless distorted forms loomed before them.
Setsuna instantly understood what they were.
They were all Nyarlathotep.
The countless forms of the Crawling Chaos—the God of a Thousand Faces.
Cone-headed Nyarlathotep, oozing yellow-slime Nyarlathotep.
Swordmaster Nyarlathotep with a two-shaku-four-sun blade, mad scientist Nyarlathotep specializing in human experiments.
Nyarlathotep, destroyer of all things along the endless journey.
Past Nyarlathotep, present Nyarlathotep, future Nyarlathotep yet to be born.
Nyarlathotep drifting between cracks of time, Nyarlathotep from other universes...
The Cthulhu Trinity's Crawling Chaos—Nyarlathotep—existed eternally through all dimensions and realities.
If needed, she could manifest every one of those forms at once.
"Come then."
"This is—"
Nyaruko clapped again.
"Thousand-Confusion-Wars—Great Chaos Annihilation. I am, we are—Nyarlathotep."
Countless figures stepped forward as one, their voices resonating across the cosmos.
The sound echoed through the universe, shaking the hearts of all who heard it.
Twisted, chaotic, a convergence of countless differing forms—just looking upon them was enough to drive one mad.
"Ah..."
Scáthach stood frozen, staring upward, overwhelmed by the godlike power of the Outer God.
This was a force beyond the universe itself—she and Nyaruko weren't even in the same category. She couldn't muster even the faintest fighting spirit.
The Land of Shadows?
It would be devoured in an instant by this incomprehensible divinity.
She stood still, motionless, staring at the unfathomable chaos before her.
Crack—
"Stop!!—"
Just as the countless Nyarlathoteps were about to strike, Setsuna's shout broke through.
"Stop! You win—Master's sanity has completely collapsed!"
Setsuna waved a hand in front of Scáthach's vacant eyes—she didn't react at all, looking completely broken.
"And turn off your ultimate move already! The audience is about to cry!!!"
"Save that for fighting Aeons, Magic Gods, or some other cosmic weirdos, OK?!"
—
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