Fire and water do not mix—this was common sense to anyone with a functioning brain. And yet, no matter how he looked at it, Caster simply could not understand what he was seeing.
Ren Kuroda's previous technique had indeed looked overwhelming, its momentum and spectacle rivaling Saber's Excalibur—the Sword of Promised Victory. But standing before him was an entire ocean. An endless, living mass of seawater.
Those flaming wolves were merely manifestations released through a Noble Phantasm's ability. They weren't Noble Phantasms themselves. And yet they possessed power to this absurd degree—how was that even possible?
Still, as the roaring pack of flame-charged wolves charged toward him, Caster only panicked for a brief instant before forcibly steadying his mind.
There was no denying it—those gigantic wolves of fire had broken through layers of seawater, vaporizing vast quantities of it in the process, and still retained enough momentum to reach him. That much had exceeded Caster's expectations.
But just like Saber's Excalibur earlier, Caster quickly noticed that the seawater defense had indeed weakened Ren Kuroda's attack considerably.
After punching through multiple layers of ocean barriers, the once-massive flame wolves were visibly smaller—reduced by more than just a little.
With this level of output, the colossal Sea Demon fused with his body would inevitably be struck. But Caster wasn't worried in the slightest.
He was confident.
Just like Saber's attack before, Ren Kuroda's weakened Noble Phantasm would fail to kill him outright.
As long as the Sea Demon fused with him wasn't erased in a single decisive blow, he could regenerate endlessly. And once he gathered enough living sacrifices, he would finally be able to welcome his beloved Saint once more.
The pack of Greedy Wolves surged forward after breaking through the seawater barrier, pouncing onto the massive Sea Demon and tearing into it with fang and claw.
Watching the damage they inflicted, Caster curled his lips into a disdainful smile.
This level of sustained damage couldn't even keep up with the Sea Demon's regeneration speed.
Earlier, when Assassin's magical energy had flared so intensely, Caster had genuinely felt a flicker of concern. But now?
That's it?
Having confirmed the extent of the damage, Caster finally put his mind completely at ease and continued directing the Sea Demon toward the shore.
As for the flaming wolves clinging to the Sea Demon's body, he couldn't be bothered to deal with them anymore.
Then—
BOOOOOOM—!
Just as Caster chose to ignore the fire wolves and their numbers continued to pile onto the Sea Demon's massive frame, a savage, vicious wolf howl tore through the air.
One of the flame wolves detonated.
The fire wolf that self-destructed unleashed all the fire-element energy condensed within it in a single instant. Blazing heat and roaring flames exploded outward, swallowing everything nearby.
And this—
This was only the beginning.
There wasn't just one fire wolf.
There was an entire pack.
That first explosion was like a signal flare. The fire wolves clinging to the Sea Demon let out a chorus of howls, rising and falling in rapid succession—then, without hesitation, every single one of them began its own suicidal detonation.
Explosions were art.
In the past, Aggression Like Fire—Greedy Wolves merely gnawed away at the enemy, clinging to them like cursed embers to prevent regeneration and recovery.
But now—wielded by the half-awakened Nichirin Blade whose true name had been released—the same technique was on an entirely different level, both in effect and raw power.
The moment the first flame wolf detonated and its concentrated fire-element energy erupted, Caster realized something was terribly wrong.
Those wolves hadn't broken through the seawater barrier without reason.
From the fire-element dispersal during the explosion, Caster finally understood—the wolves weren't ordinary flames at all.
They were closer to elemental lifeforms.
They were constructed entirely from magical energy.
Unfortunately, he realized this far too late.
By the time countless Greedy Wolves clinging to the Sea Demon chose to self-destruct simultaneously, both the Sea Demon and Caster himself were completely engulfed by the roaring inferno.
Orange-red flames dyed half the night sky above Fuyuki City crimson.
The sea itself burned.
It was an utterly illogical sight—one that defied all common sense—yet it unfolded before everyone's eyes.
The violent chain of explosions blasted a massive crater into the coastline. When the seawater tried to rush back in, it was instantly vaporized by the surrounding inferno, sending thick clouds of steam rolling across the ocean's surface.
"Is that Assassin's Noble Phantasm…? Judging by the power alone, it doesn't seem inferior to Saber's at all," Waver murmured as he stared at the burning sky above the sea.
At the instant the massive explosion occurred, he had received confirmation—Caster had been eliminated. Completely erased in that single devastating attack.
What Waver couldn't understand was this:
When he accessed Ren Kuroda's information through his Red Faction Master authority, the system clearly listed Assassin's Noble Phantasm as only Rank A.
It wasn't that Rank A was weak—far from it. Most Heroic Spirits didn't even possess Noble Phantasms of that caliber.
What made no sense was that a Rank A Noble Phantasm had just displayed power on par with Saber's earlier A++ Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm.
That was absurd.
A++ meant, in theory, over three times the destructive output of a standard A-rank—especially when classified as an Anti-Army type.
"The attack just now did indeed involve Assassin releasing his Noble Phantasm's true name," Iskandar said, stroking his chin as he answered Waver's confusion. "And the Noble Phantasm played a crucial role."
"But the reason it reached such power lies not only in the Noble Phantasm itself. Assassin's own magical energy and sword technique amplified it greatly. What you saw wasn't the Noble Phantasm alone."
"What a splendid display of might," the King of Conquerors laughed heartily. "It makes me more and more curious about Assassin's true origins."
"A great yokai from some forgotten age? That would mean he wasn't human to begin with, but some kind of mythical monster."
"And yet," Iskandar continued, eyes gleaming, "in all the legends and myths I know, I've never heard the name Ren Kuroda. Curious… truly curious."
With Caster eliminated, Ren Kuroda returned to shore. Rin Tohsaka immediately stepped forward, intending to joke about collecting compensation—
—but froze.
Ren's expression was grim. And beneath his feet, a magic circle flared to life.
The magical energy Ren had previously supplied to "Avalon" had already been mostly consumed by Saber's Excalibur.
Rin absolutely did not want Saber to end up like Archer—reduced to a third-rate Servant due to lack of mana.
Especially after witnessing Ren Kuroda's true combat strength, Rin knew that in Saber's current condition, they wouldn't stand a chance against him if things turned hostile.
Her original plan had been to shamelessly ask Ren to supply Saber with mana again, citing their joint effort in defeating Caster.
But before she could even open her mouth—
Ren vanished.
"Unbelievable! That Assassin is way too sly!" Rin stomped her foot in frustration. "Did he figure out what I was about to say, so he didn't even say goodbye before running off?"
"He defeated Caster in the end, sure—but we helped a lot too! Leaving without even a thank-you is just rude!"
"Rin," Saber said gently, "I don't think Assassin is that kind of person. His expression looked… troubled. And the magic circle beneath him—he was likely summoned by a Command Spell."
"If I remember correctly," Saber continued, "Assassin's Master should still be at Ryuudou Temple, together with Caster."
"And Ryuudou Temple was heavily fortified. For his Master to be in danger—to the point of using a precious Command Spell—what on earth happened?"
After Caster's defeat, Iskandar chose to part ways with Saber and the others. He admired them, but different factions were different factions.
As for Rin and Saber, after some discussion, they decided to head for Ryuudou Temple as well.
Setting aside the other Blue Faction Masters, Rin felt they were still in a "honeymoon phase" with Assassin. Based on their interactions so far, Ren Kuroda seemed like someone they could cooperate with.
Strong, principled, and—most importantly—his special mana transfer technique was something Rin simply couldn't forget.
And now that trouble had erupted at Ryuudou Temple, it meant that Sakura—whom they had left behind—might be in danger.
Sakura and Rider Medusa had not participated in the Caster subjugation. Rin had deemed the mission far too dangerous for Sakura, who lacked a Master's resolve.
More importantly, Rin had simply been worried about her.
At Ryuudou Temple, the front courtyard was now a scene of utter devastation. The ground was torn apart, and dragon-tooth soldier remains littered the area.
Facing Medea and Souichirou Kuzuki stood a man dressed as a priest—Kirei Kotomine—and Lancer, Cú Chulainn.
Souichirou Kuzuki was an abnormal Master. Under Medea's reinforcement magecraft, he could even contend with an average Servant.
But his opponent was Cú Chulainn—whose combat skill was in a completely different league.
No matter how strong a human was, they could never truly match a Heroic Spirit.
As Kuzuki was pushed closer to defeat and Medea found herself completely tied down by Kirei Kotomine, she had no choice but to expose her true identity as a Master.
Under normal circumstances, a single Master–Servant pair like Kirei and Lancer could never breach Medea's meticulously prepared defenses at Ryuudou Temple.
But now—
Including Medea and Lancer, six Heroic Spirits were clashing here.
The dragon-tooth soldiers Medea had stockpiled for so long were nothing but fodder before so many Servants. If not for the two skeletal dragons—each rivaling a standard Servant in strength—Medea's side wouldn't have lasted this long at all.