The Gate of Babylon thundered across the sky. Noble Phantasms of a quality countless times higher than moments ago were loosed as if they were worthless, sealing off Mash and Artoria's retreat.
"Still not giving up?"
Lily furrowed her brow and swung again.
Ophis's assault against Ritsuka's side hadn't intensified much—instead, she'd concentrated her attacks on Artoria. Lily had great faith in Mash, but she still couldn't allow her Master to remain in danger indefinitely.
But before Lily's sword could fall on Ophis, a golden beam dropped between them, the impact forcing Lily to halt.
Ophis reached down, picked up the oddly shaped black longsword that had landed ahead, and turned to look at Ritsuka—still weaving through the flying blades with ease. A faint, intrigued light flickered in Ophis's eyes.
"To reach this level with nothing but a Command Spelland magecraft that can only be called ordinary…"
She was still far from the very top-tier Servants in close combat and physical prowess, but she'd reached a point where she could contend with an average Servant.
"In only half a day, you've changed this much, and as a Master you've drawn out strength to this extent… Ritsuka really is interesting, after all."
"Sorry, but… I'm not exactly thrilled to be praised from that far up!"
Ritsuka flashed a toothy grin. Even as she dodged, she fired a prana bolt—something that wouldn't even count as a threat to most Servants—more as a protest than an attack.
A black arc of sword light sliced the air, cleaving the bolt apart and cutting off Lily's attempt to press through the opening.
"To throw the one you're meant to protect behind you—hardly the mark of a qualified knight, Lily."
"To me, Master isn't just someone to protect—she's a partner I fight beside. And you? You're a king above all kings, an Age of Gods monarch older even than 'King Arthur,' yet you don't have a single person you can stand shoulder to shoulder with. Is that it?"
At Lily's sharp retort, Ophis narrowed her eyes—for once, as if she'd actually reacted. Then she surged mana through her body and knocked Lily back with a swing.
"Indeed. If that's the case, it is a bit troublesome for me."
She met Lily's gaze with lazy indifference—then flicked a glance behind her. Artoria had already looped around to the rear; if she ran a little farther, she'd be outside Ophis's field of fire.
Lily's interference had, in fact, become an obstacle.
Of course, that was only because Ophis still hadn't gotten serious.
The faint interest she'd felt a moment ago was doused outright by Lily's words. Looking bored, Ophis lowered Enki, Swords of the End. Even the barrage from the Gate of Babylon seemed to slacken for a moment.
Should she keep blocking them? That was the question.
As someone accustomed to holding back, Ophis was inclined to simply vanish here—but leaving like that would feel anticlimactic.
Ophis feared trouble, yes, but she also cared—quite stubbornly—about seeing things through.
In that case…
"Honestly, being held up by you to this extent has exceeded my expectations."
With a small sigh, Ophis tightened her grip on Enki, Swords of the End. Dense mana spilled outward around her.
Catching that slight shift, Lily tensed, bracing herself.
Then, in the next instant, Ophis vanished from right before Lily's eyes.
Lily froze in confusion for half a beat—then snapped back, following Instinct and whipping her gaze toward Artoria's direction.
"Watch out!"
Artoria and Waver both had most of their attention on Ophis. They noticed the anomaly at once.
A hazy black shadow flickered in and out, appearing for mere instants as it surged forward at terrifying speed—yet it produced no sound, no disturbance at all. Seeing this entirely different application of "phase out," everyone's expressions tightened.
Was this another new ability?
There was no time to think.
After the next disappearance, Artoria's eyes sharpened. She raised her sword and struck at empty space without the slightest hesitation.
Clang—
Steel met steel. Sparks burst out in the same instant, and Ophis's form appeared—caught midair against the holy sword.
Waver and Ritsuka both jolted.
They'd been so focused on Ophis's bizarre abilities that they'd overlooked something else entirely—
Her absurd physical specs that treated the stat sheet like scrap paper.
That speed, plus an untrackable ability like that… Holding her was impossible.
Ritsuka clenched her fist. A thin edge of despair crept up in her chest.
Facing Ophis head-on, Artoria had no room to think about any of that. Empowered by her dragon core, she forced Ophis back and immediately pressed the attack, her invisible sword carving a storm of afterimages through the air.
To Artoria's surprise, Ophis moved as if she already knew exactly how Artoria would attack. Every slash had its path sealed off in advance.
Ophis didn't continue to tangle with her. Her figure vanished again.
CLANG!!!
Another violent collision—this time, the black blade slammed down hard onto Mash's shield. Behind Mash, Waver stared, shaken to his core.
"Even after all that… we still can't?"
Watching Mash's steadfast, earnest expression as their weapons crossed, Ophis smiled.
"In that case, I won't pursue this further. Let the curtain fall here."
The next moment, golden light swallowed all four of them—including Ophis.
"Wh—?!"
The Gate of Babylon formed a hemispherical dome, enclosing the four combatants. Then another layer. Then a third—completely sealing every avenue of escape without a single blind spot.
Surrounded by a formation like that, Mash couldn't protect all three lives.
"Damn it!"
Lily stopped outside the perimeter. She drove her golden sword forward, and a golden beam speared through Ophis in an instant, tearing open a massive wound.
Then, half a second later, the wound vanished completely.
"So it's useless…!"
Lily clenched her teeth, helpless before the situation.
"Wait—if you do this, Ophis, you'll be—!"
From within the kill zone, hearing Ritsuka's shout, Ophis still wore that faint smile.
Setting aside whether this level of treasure could inflict damage she couldn't regenerate from—even if she couldn't phase out at the instant of impact, that didn't mean she couldn't phase out after the volley was fired.
Still… even after pushing things this far, she was worried about Ophis?
That really was… worthy of the name Master.
The next second, firelight erupted skyward like a nuclear detonation.
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