Chapter 131 Bloody Fight! The Final Evil!
The plateau, a mix of dust and flames, became a battlefield, and the air, thick with the stench of blood and burning, was sickening.
With the preemptive strike of the Miracle and a ruthless, no-holds-barred approach, Arthur had already seized the throat of the battlefield!
The earth groaned beneath their feet; every movement was accompanied by a grating, shattering sound.
Achilles, whose speed was unmatched on the battlefield, clutched his continuously bleeding chest, holding his spear with one hand, its cold gleam like a star!
But with his Spirit Core shattered, he was merely a spent force! That ghostly figure was his final swan song!
Arthur furiously repelled Karna, who was losing strength; the spear tip, like a meteor, grazed him dangerously, tearing a long, narrow cut across his cheek!
"Your Spirit Core is shattered, you bastard, so just die obediently!"
Arthur rotated his wrist, reversed his grip on the sword, and swept it out!
The air pressure, compressed to its extreme, was suddenly released, transforming into an invisible heavy hammer that crashed down!
This strike not only sent the dying Achilles, along with the scorched earth and rocks, flying, but also plowed a shocking gully across the ground!
Immediately after, he pushed off the ground with both feet and shot into the sky!
Arthur easily dodged Karna's increasingly sluggish demonic flame spear attack, transforming into a streak of lightning in mid-air, and then struck downwards!
The fangs of the thunder dragon tore through the air, fiercely gnawing at the Solar Armor, emitting a grating metallic shriek!
Arthur stabilized himself, his cold gaze sweeping over the two Servants who still had strength, silently calculating the time.
Two minutes had passed; the Limit Overclock state had only three minutes left!
If he exceeded the time limit, the backlash from his Origin would make it impossible for him to protect himself!
With this thought, Arthur exhaled a turbid breath and issued his final ultimatum to the two Sons of God, who were struggling to stand.
"It'll be too unsightly to drag this out, gentlemen; let's end this completely!"
Achilles, kneeling on the ground, swallowed hard, then spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments, a wild, sinister grin spreading across his face.
"Excellent! Provocation on the battlefield should be met with the tip of a spear!"
He tremblingly raised his hand and blew a death-defying whistle; the three chariots, appearing from the sky, were still majestic.
Achilles flipped onto the chariot, stiffly pulling the reins, a fearless smile, characteristic of a battlefield hero, on his face.
"Regardless of friend or foe! Open your eyes! What stands here now is an existence as brilliant as a meteor!"
"Troias Tragoidia!"
The three divine steeds reared their heads, letting out an ear-splitting neigh; the chariot transformed into a beam of light, displaying a terrifying divine speed capable of crushing all things in the world!
Facing this flying battlefield meat grinder, Arthur was expressionless, his chant even colder and more cruel.
"Manifest, the distant Utopia."
Fine, golden crystals burst in the air, instantly forming a honeycomb-shaped absolute barrier that completely enveloped him.
The next moment!
Metal, flesh, bones... a deafening sound of crushing reached Karna's ears.
The Hero of Charity watched with resolute eyes as his comrade burned away his last vestiges of life.
"If I am defeated, please do not implicate my Master."
Arthur, surrounded by golden light, nodded slightly: "Agreed."
After receiving the promise, Karna's lips curved into a faint smile.
His brilliant Solar Armor, along with his own flesh and blood, began to peel and disintegrate piece by piece; the intense pain caused the great hero's brow to furrow in agony.
Arthur gazed at the God-Slaying Lightning Spear in his opponent's hand, which gathered all light and heat, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Indra's gift, in exchange for the Golden Armor, brings a god-slaying strike..."
He raised his Holy Sword above the scorched earth, and the light of the stars gathered from all directions, filling his entire body with golden radiance!
Both his back and his palms felt slightly warm, the grace and starlight echoing each other.
"Hereby declared—"
"Exercise the power of the Miracle!"
Ding! × 7
After seven crisp, melodious clangs, the platinum scabbard binding the Holy Sword shattered with a crash!
The Star Holy Sword at this moment erupted with a devastating pillar of radiant light, shooting straight into the sky!
A golden torrent swirled around Arthur; its dazzling light instantly overshadowed the majesty of the God-Slaying Lightning Spear!
Excalibur Soteria!
O Sun, Obey Death (Vasavi Shakti)!
The boiling streams of light collided with a roar; a terrifying magical storm swept across the plateau, shattering everything, with continuous sonic booms!
The next instant, the victor was decided.
The wrath of the stars directly tore through the God-Slaying Lightning, completely engulfing the Son of the Sun, and its undiminished power surged into the clouds, reaching deep into the cosmos!
...
In the Hanging Gardens, Throne Room.
Kotomine Shirou and Semiramis also witnessed that streak of starlight disappearing into the sky.
The priest, who had always maintained a composed demeanor, had his facial muscles completely frozen, unable to even manage the simplest smile.
As a Ruler of the previous generation, incarnated into the world, how could he not recognize that salvific light!
But... what a joke!?
That was the wrath of the stars!
Without the premise of an external enemy descending, how could that Holy Sword, burdened with thirteen restraints, unleash such power!?
Kotomine Shirou, baffled, was speechless for a long time; at the same time, he clearly recognized a fact—
Between himself and Arthur, there was a despair-inducing chasm of power.
For his decades-long ambition, for the salvation of all humanity, he had to...
"Master! Look at the sky!"
Semiramis's exclamation brought Kotomine Shirou back to his senses; he suddenly looked up, towards the transparent dome above the throne.
A crimson meteor, trailing a long tail of fire, was plummeting rapidly along a straight trajectory towards the Hanging Gardens!
"After such an intense battle... what kind of monster is he? He still has the energy to unleash a Grand Magic of this caliber!?"
Kotomine Shirou's face was ashen; just as he was about to raise his hand to use a Command Seal for full defense—
"Ugh ah ah—!"
A bloodcurdling scream interrupted his action!
He looked back in horror, only to see Semiramis, high on the throne, convulsing and falling, twisting into a heap, black-red blood gushing from her seven orifices!
Before he could speak, Semiramis's eyes erupted with boundless venom and fear, as she shrieked:
"It's the Ruler!"
"Master! Use a Command Seal quickly!"
Kotomine Shirou, who had once been a Ruler, instantly understood everything, raised his arm, and roared urgently.
[In the name of two Command Seals, Semiramis, escape death!]
At the same time, similar words were spoken by Arthur, offering support to Mordred, who lay dying before the greater grail.
The magical energy crystals attached to the Command Seals canceled each other out, and the self-destruction restraint affecting all Servants suddenly vanished!
Mordred, sprawled on the ground, gasped for air, too disoriented to even say thanks, and scrambled away, narrowly dodging a fatal attack!
She re-gripped her Royal Sword, glaring fiercely at the figure who should not have been an enemy, and sent a message to Arthur, filled with shock and anger.
"Master! The Ruler has also been corrupted by those ghastly things!"
'As expected.'
"Huh!?"
Before Mordred could press further, successive roars came from above the fortress!
Arthur, his fiery aura retracted, landed with brutal force, enveloped in a fierce wind!
Boom!
The terrifying impact cracked the ground, and the expanding waves of air kicked up a sky full of dust!
Arthur stretched his gradually healing shoulder, looked at the Servants led by Ruler Jeanne, and explained to Mordred at his side.
"Unlike you all, the Ruler has no Master; her magical energy is supplied entirely by the greater grail."
"In other words, the moment the greater grail was contaminated, she was inevitably the first to suffer!"