"Oh my. You call yourself human even though you are an oni, and this is all you can do?" Ibuki Douji's excited face was stained with blood. Some of it was hers. Some of it belonged to the Servant before her.
Minamoto no Raikou used her broken tachi to support herself. One of her arms was gone, and once magical energy stopped suppressing the wound, blood began to seep from the severed place.
"Hah... hah... You are nothing but an insect, yet you still dare run your mouth. I will crush you!"
"Ox King Storm Call: The Inescapable Net of Heaven!"
A huge amount of magical energy burst from Minamoto no Raikou's body. Four figures appeared around her. With one arm severed and blood flowing across her body, Minamoto no Raikou looked like both a god and a demon. Her will to cut down Ibuki Douji had never wavered.
"Hahaha. That is more like it. I am coming."
"Divine Sword, Kusanagi no Tachi!"
Ibuki Douji cut down the attacks of the four figures beside Minamoto no Raikou one after another. In the end, her sword, carrying all of her gathered power, crashed against Minamoto no Raikou's broken blade wreathed in lightning.
Minamoto no Raikou had destroyed many Mysteries, including the Shuten Douji of Mount Oe, the great spider of the capital, and the ushi oni of Senso ji. She was praised as the strongest Mystery slayer of the Heian period.
If Ibuki Douji had possessed an ordinary Saint Graph, the outcome of this battle would have remained uncertain. But this time, Raikou faced an Ibuki Douji comparable to a Lostbelt King. In Saint Graph strength, Ibuki Douji overwhelmed her.
After a brief deadlock, Ibuki Douji's magical energy still surged like an endless sea. Minamoto no Raikou, already gravely wounded, had reached the end of her strength.
Then the magical energy inside Minamoto no Raikou gradually weakened. Ibuki Douji seized the chance and pressed harder.
The already broken blade shattered completely. Along with the shattered sword, Minamoto no Raikou's body was cut in half.
Ibuki Douji flicked blood from her blade and looked down at Minamoto no Raikou on the ground. "You were very good. If we had fought under the same specifications, victory might really have gone either way."
"Hmph. Being killed by an insect... how frustrating."
Minamoto no Raikou dissolved into spirit particles and scattered into the air. Ibuki Douji stretched on the spot. Even though she knew Minamoto no Raikou had truly died, she did not relax her guard. Instead, she looked in another direction.
"All right. Come out. I do not know why you chose not to fight me with her, but now that our fight is over, it is your turn."
At Ibuki Douji's words, a man wearing a hood and full white armor appeared there.
Ibuki Douji narrowed her eyes. Excitement filled her face, but so did seriousness and vigilance. That had not happened even when she faced Minamoto no Raikou, because she could clearly sense that this man could threaten her. He existed at the same scale as she did.
"By the request I received, I should indeed have joined her to defeat you. But I could see that she wished to face you alone. Ignoring a lady's wish is not something a knight should do."
As he spoke, the man removed his hood. A handsome face with blond hair and blue eyes entered Ibuki Douji's sight.
"Oh, a knight? I have never fought a knight before. Master did say that black one used to be a knight too, but in that state, he had nothing knightly left about him."
The knight listened to Ibuki Douji with a smile. Then he turned toward Wu Ling's location.
"No wonder I was sent here so suddenly. If left alone, this could become an unprecedented disaster. But that Master has already gone ahead. I would like to help him too, but if you are my opponent, then my task is to hold you here, or defeat you."
Ibuki Douji paused. Had she heard that correctly? This man said he would defeat her. Rather than growing angry, her face filled with delight.
"Ahahaha. Defeat me? You mean entertain me, do you not? You amusing man."
She raised her blade and struck. The knight drew a golden sword to block her attack, then countered in return. With that, the sound of battle rang across the land once more.
Wu Ling sat on his throne. During this time, he had also seen the man through Ibuki Douji.
"Arthur. Grand Saber? Why is he coming for me instead of hunting Beast 666? Let me guess. Alaya again, right? Fine. Even if he came here, he still has no chance."
Wu Ling turned his head. Four screens remained before him. Those screens represented the remaining Servants. As for Medea and Hassan of the Hundred Personas, they had already returned to the Throne of Heroes under Gilgamesh's nuclear strike.
"They are almost here. Gilgamesh in perfect condition really is not an opponent ordinary Servants can handle. Then First Hassan will go."
Wu Ling made the decision lightly.
Comparing the two sides, Fujimaru Ritsuka and his group had originally been crossing a narrow bridge over a cliff. Because of Alaya's intervention, that bridge had become wider and now had rails, but one careless step could still cost them their lives.
For Wu Ling, this was just a game. A game in which he had gone from being a game character to being a player.
On Vimana, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others could already see the obvious throne in the distance. Besides the throne, the sound of fighting reached their ears.
They followed the sound and saw one white figure and one black figure fighting below. Fujimaru Ritsuka recognized them at once.
"That is Karna and Arjuna. Are they fighting again?"
That was right. In response to Karna, Alaya had sent his destined enemy Arjuna. For some reason, it was not Arjuna Alter, but it still drew Karna's attention.
The two warriors noticed Vimana in the sky as well. After all, Vimana belonged to their homeland's legends.
"Chaldea. No, I must return!" Compared with fighting his destined enemy, his Master mattered more. But just as Karna tried to go back, Arjuna's attack forced him to retreat.
"You want to leave? Did you ask me first?" Arjuna fired a three shot barrage at Karna while speaking.
Originally, Arjuna had planned to use his bow to attack Wu Ling from extreme range. Instead, Karna discovered him and dragged him into battle. Now Karna wanted to return but was stopped by him. Fate had a sense of irony.