**This Is Bonus Chapter For Completing Milestone Of 200 Powerstones**
Ashiya Doman's lifelong reputation ended here.
Rider's question — you're thinking about eggs, aren't you — had been rhetorical, but it had also been devastatingly accurate. Ashiya Doman had marshaled every resource of dignity he possessed and was preparing to deliver a response that restored some measure of composure to the situation.
Then he looked up at the player.
The mass-produced Columbus figures, following their Caster's last-ditch command, had wrapped around the player mid-arc and were still consolidating. The fusion was approximately forty percent complete. What was forming in the air above the courtyard was, objectively, a giant hard-boiled egg. It had a golden halo above it. It had the Columbus smile on its face.
Ashiya Doman's facade that everything was within his expectations collapsed entirely.
[Chat]: SERVANTS CAN BACKSTAB PLAYERS
[Explaining]: it's related to the Servant type. some Heroic Spirits have inherent betrayal tendencies regardless of favorability — you can hit 80% affection and certain Servants will still turn on you given the right conditions. Ashiya Doman is absolutely one of those.
[Recalling]: he was at 50% favorability from the moment of summoning. it never moved. the player didn't check.
[Devastated]: "I, Ashiya Doman, will never betray you." spoken with 50% favorability. directly to his Master's face.
[Also_Devastated]: the eggs curse was a justified response
[Game_Analysis]: I thought the AI had a lot of freedom but a Caster accidentally turning his own Master into a giant Columbus egg while trying to create a superweapon is beyond anything I imagined
[Aesthetic_Critique]: why is the result always Columbus. why does this Caster specifically default to Columbus. what is the relationship.
[Navigator_Fan]: my mental image of Columbus as a historical figure has not survived this stream
[Recommendation]: clown, go back to Gotham. Batman says he won't even bother anymore.
[Practical_Note]: fusion isn't complete yet. they might still be able to stop it.
Rider had the same thought. The Caster was right there — stop the Caster, stop the fusion. He launched, spear angled, clearing the distance in a single bound.
The spear drove through Ashiya Doman's chest.
Ashiya Doman became a paper cutout with a spear through it.
The cutout fluttered to the ground.
Ashiya Doman was no longer in the courtyard.
He'd shed his skin and ran.
[Chat]: HE LEFT
[Chat]: he just left his Master up there and RAN
[Processing]: okay but strategically — a Heroic Spirit can survive on ambient mana without a Master for a limited time. he sacrificed his Master as a distraction and escaped.
[Morally]: I'm not saying it wasn't clever. I'm saying it was monstrous.
[Also_Morally]: the egg curse was correct and justified
The plan would have worked. Rider was positioned to turn around and engage the Columbus egg formation. Ashiya Doman had a window.
But Rider wasn't the only one present.
"Rider!" Artoria's voice cut across the courtyard. "Leave Caster to me. If he escapes, this city faces worse. You go."
Rider looked at her. Read the expression.
"...Understood. I'll leave it to you, Saber."
He whistled. The chariot came. He mounted and went — after Ashiya Doman, into whatever cover the fleeing Caster had found.
Artoria turned to face the thing forming above the courtyard.
The Columbus egg was approximately the size of a small building at this point. Still consolidating. Still smiling.
She reached Maverick through their connection — not words exactly, more like intent and request in the same moment.
Master. I took the liberty of agreeing to this on your behalf. I apologize.
"That's not the issue right now. Can you actually deal with it?"
"Yes. But it requires one Command Seal — your mana is exhausted. The Seal will recharge me enough to release the Noble Phantasm. Whatever comes after this, I can eliminate it."
"Understood." Maverick looked at the crimson marks on his hand. He didn't hesitate. "I command Artoria to release your Noble Phantasm."
"...Thank you. You are absolutely the best Master in the world."
One of the marks faded.
Artoria raised the invisible blade.
The air around the courtyard changed — not dramatically, not with fanfare, but with the specific quality of something that had been waiting and was now allowed. A breath, drawn from the surrounding world. Starlight and life current and the long memory of the planet moving toward the point of the sword, converging, the invisible wind dispersing as the light built.
Her hair moved in a wind that had no physical source.
She stepped forward.
"Gathered here is the breath of the stars. Shining here is the current of life. This radiance is the hope of the stars — the proof of life illuminating the earth."
The sword came up.
"Witness it—"
"EXCALIBUR!!!"
The pillar of light went through the courtyard, through the Columbus egg, through Ryudou Temple, through the mountain behind it.
The mountain behind it was no longer shaped like a mountain.
The Columbus egg was dust.
The courtyard was an absence.
[Chat]: ...
[Chat]: ...
[Silence]: I need a moment
[Haters_Called_Out]: haters. speak. right now. speak.
[Hater_Converting]: I repent. I was wrong about everything. the Command Seal cost is real but the output — she flattened the mountain. she FLATTENED IT.
[Someone_Kneeling]: my mom came in and asked why I was watching a stream on my knees. I had no answer.
[Practical_Question]: how much budget did Forest Studio spend on this scene. is this real-time rendering. is ALL of this real-time.
[Industry_Person]: I work in game development. this is real-time rendering. I don't know how.
[Goose_Corp_Reference]: major studios. look at this. look at what one person built. explain your quarterly earnings.
[Suddenly_Remembering]: wait. the player in the egg. what happened to them.
[Answer]: ...dust.
[Reconsidering]: the egg curse was correct, justified, AND prophetic
[Name_Question]: who was the player anyway
[Answer]: username "Lonely Smoke"
[Quiet_Moment]: rest.
[Maverick_Update]: also poor Maverick worked hard all match and used his last Command Seal and is now completely drained
[Observing]: I was wondering why Maverick seemed so low energy. Master mana depletion is a real mechanic.
[Counter]: is it possible Maverick was already low energy before the mana depletion
[Harsh]: yes
The system notification appeared in Maverick's field of view, quiet after the light show:
[Your Servant has eliminated player "Lonely_Smoke." Reward: Holy Grail Fragment ×1.]
Maverick looked at the trench where the mountain used to be.
He looked at his hand, where two Command Seal marks remained.
He looked at Artoria, standing in the new geography of the courtyard with her sword lowered, hair settling.
"That," he said, "was a Noble Phantasm."
"Yes," Artoria said simply.
"Okay."
He filed this under things he should have anticipated and didn't.
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