Heaven and Earth Collide
Nega-Genesis is a skill of the same class as Beast VI's Nega Messiah. It can overturn concepts such as existing theories of evolution and prophecies concerning Earth's creation.
Beast II, who possesses this Bounded Field, has extremely powerful resistance against the Noble Phantasms of Servants born from Proper Human History.
Several Heroic Spirits unleashed their Noble Phantasms against Nega-Genesis in succession, but Xia Yu didn't even budge.
In the original plot, Ereshkigal had risked her life to activate Meslamtaea with her Underworld Authority, and even then, she had only managed to seal Nega-Genesis temporarily.
The Noble Phantasms of several Heroic Spirits had failed, but Quetzalcoatl was already committed to her attack and had no choice but to unleash it!
"Xiuhcoatl!"
Enveloped in flames that filled the sky, she descended from above and delivered a kick straight at Xia Yu!
According to the original plan, several Heroic Spirits would launch suicidal attacks to restrain Kiana and force her to reveal the slightest opening. Quetzalcoatl would then use her Noble Phantasm to deliver
a single fatal blow.
But with the situation as it was now...
"Retreat!" Ritsuka shouted at the Heroic Spirits. "Everyone, get over here!"
"But..." Ana looked unwillingly toward Kiana. She still hadn't completed her mission.
"Get over there." Xia Yu grabbed Ana by the back of her neck and tossed her over. Ushiwakamaru and the others also wisely withdrew from the area.
"A clash of Noble Phantasms?" Xia Yu looked up at Quetzalcoatl, whose fighting spirit burned fiercely in the sky, and sighed helplessly. The main problem was that Tiamat's Authority simply lacked such a straightforward and brutally powerful Noble
Phantasm.
But that didn't matter. The Goddess of Creation possessed more than enough Magical Energy!
She poured all her Magical Energy into the Authority of Self-Modification. Within mere seconds, a sixty-meter-long dragon body rose from the ground. She opened her enormous jaws as a deep-purple Light Pillar
condensed within her mouth before firing!
Boom!
The collision of two immense torrents of Magical Energy created shock waves throughout the sky. What remained of the city of Uruk was scraped clean from the ground by the impact as effortlessly as a hot knife cutting through butter.
The people below could only remain standing because Mash had activated her Noble Phantasm.
"That's right! This is exactly what I wanted!" Quetzalcoatl sensed
the surging fighting spirit below and grew even more excited. Magical Energy churned around her once again, raising enormous waves of flame as she broke through layer after layer of obstruction and approached Xia Yu's head.
Huh? You think you're the only one who can power up? Xia Yu likewise stirred her Magical Energy. The beam in her mouth condensed even further, pushing Quetzalcoatl several meters back into the sky.
The two felt each other's tenacity and simultaneously exerted even more strength. The sea of clouds overhead seemed to boil beneath Quetzalcoatl's flames, while the beam cannon Xia Yu fired from below split
into several beams that constantly shifted positions as the Magical Energy changed.
Mountains were cleaved apart, and the earth was torn asunder. The mere aftershocks of two Chief God-class powerhouses were enough to reshape the terrain!
"Don't lose, Quetzalcoatl!" Upon seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka used her final Command Spell without hesitation!
Bolstered by the influx of Magical Energy, Quetzalcoatl's morale soared. She began overpowering Xia Yu's beam cannon, steadily gaining the upper hand in their clash. Finally, with unstoppable momentum and flames filling the sky,
she forced the beam cannon backward and kicked Xia Yu directly in the forehead.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud resembling a Nuclear Bomb explosion rose once again. Having prepared themselves in advance, the others hid beneath Mash's Noble Phantasm and barely survived.
"Did... we win?" Beneath the mushroom cloud and amid the dust filling the sky, no one could see the terrifying Feranmut anymore.
"Kuku has already gone all out." Jaguar Man stared nervously into the dust. "If even that wasn't enough to win..."
"Unfortunately, it wasn't." Xia Yu's slightly teasing voice suddenly rang out. With a wave of her hand, she tossed the completely limp Quetzalcoatl toward them, and Jaguar
Man hurriedly caught her.
"Sorry, everyone." Quetzalcoatl lay in Jaguar Man's arms. "I failed to live up to your expectations."
Quetzalcoatl was a powerful opponent. Unfortunately, she hadn't descended in her true identity as the Feathered Serpent God.
Moreover, they were far from South America. There was no way she could defeat the local Creation God here.
"Your trump card is finished." Xia Yu smiled. "Now, would you like to see mine?"
A blazing white domain rose beneath Xia Yu's feet before rapidly expanding in every direction.
"That's impossible!" Merlin's expression collapsed upon seeing it. With his Clairvoyance, he immediately recognized what it was.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Far away in Chaldea, Doctor completely panicked. "This... This reaction is?!"
Da Vinci-chan's expression also tightened. "How could this be... Could it be a Reality Marble?"
"No." Merlin gritted his teeth. "This is... the world being reborn."
"Nega-Genesis truly is something utterly unreasonable."
"Merlin?" Fujimaru Ritsuka abruptly turned toward him. "What exactly is Nega-Genesis?"
"It's a Bounded Field capable of completely refreshing the entire world," Merlin explained gravely. "It's a space that unfolds with Beast at its center. Once swallowed by it, every Servant will
be erased."
"Such an absurd Authority..." Ana, who had withdrawn in time, said unwillingly. "We were so close!"
They had already staked their lives on this. Quetzalcoatl had pushed her Noble Phantasm to its limit in the sky, waiting for them to create the slightest opening for her and sacrifice everything to seize
that tiny possibility of victory.
But in the end, they had still fallen one move short. Quetzalcoatl hadn't managed to overpower Xia Yu.
Now that this Authority beyond all normal standards had appeared, everything they had done had become meaningless. The domain had already unfolded, rendering every Heroic Spirit useless.
"Mash!" Merlin looked at Mash solemnly. "To oppose this Bounded Field beyond all conventional standards, we need your power!"
"The chalk-white city that carries all her hopes and dreams—its manifestation may be able to restrain Nega-Genesis for a short while."
Ana frowned upon hearing this. "You mean Mash should directly ram Lord Camelot into it?"
Could that really stop it?
"No." The moment she heard that Mash would have to stand against it, Fujimaru Ritsuka instinctively rejected the plan. "Even if we can stop that space from expanding, we still won't have any way to deal with Kiana
inside."
Xia Yu's words had still influenced her.
"We should think of something else..."
"There is no other way." Merlin looked directly into her eyes. "This is our only option."
"This is something only Mash can do."
"As for the battle afterward, while Mash struggles to hold back the space, someone must confront her directly."
"But the only one who can do that..." He lowered his gaze toward Fujimaru Ritsuka. "Nega-Genesis is a space that rejects all previous life and attempts to give birth to new life. Therefore, only the living are
permitted to exist within it. Its rules are the complete opposite of the Underworld, and Servants are all people who have already died."
"What?!" Mash immediately understood and looked worriedly toward Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Among everyone present, only she and Mash could be considered living people, and Mash needed to use her Noble Phantasm to oppose Nega-Genesis.
"I'll go!" Fujimaru Ritsuka answered without the slightest hesitation.
"I'll deploy my Noble Phantasm alongside Mash." Merlin drew the sword hidden within his Staff and handed it to Ritsuka. "I'll leave everything else to you."
"Hero." Quetzalcoatl rose and walked over to Ritsuka. She lowered her head until their foreheads touched. "This is the Feathered Serpent God's blessing. Go and face her."
Although Servants couldn't enter Nega-Genesis, a god's blessing could still be carried inside.
"Senpai..." Mash looked at the constantly expanding Nega-Genesis, then thought of how powerful Miss Kiana was. She didn't believe she could hold her back.
"Mash." Ritsuka patted her shoulder. "You only need to face the future and give it everything you have."
"Leave the rest to me."
"Yes!" Mash's fighting spirit reignited. "I believe in you, Senpai!"
"Then allow me to open the path for you!" Merlin gripped his long Staff with both hands. "Far Side of the Moon, Watchtower!"
"True Name, release! I shall stand upon the seat of calamity!"
The two activated their Noble Phantasms simultaneously.
"From the corner of paradise, I proclaim to you: your stories are filled with blessings! Only those free of sin may enter!"
"That is our homeland, capable of healing every wound and every resentment. Manifest!"
"Garden of Avalon!"
"Lord Camelot!"
The two Noble Phantasms activated simultaneously, directly halting Nega-Genesis's advance.
Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had already prepared herself, raised the sword Merlin had given her and charged toward Xia Yu at the very center of the domain under their protection.
"Ritsuka, oh Ritsuka." Xia Yu smiled as she watched Fujimaru Ritsuka stubbornly face her with a sword raised. "What exactly are you planning to do by coming before me with a sword?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Fujimaru Ritsuka tightened her grip on the sword. "I'm going to defeat you, of course!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Xia Yu extended a hand and beckoned to her. "Come. Let me see what you're made of."
Without another word, Ritsuka raised her sword and slashed at her. One strike, two strikes, three strikes...
In the end, she couldn't even touch the edge of Xia Yu's clothes.
"Dear big sister," Fujimaru Ritsuka said through gritted teeth after another slash missed, "you're so strong, so why don't you stop dodging if you've got the guts?!"
"All right, then I won't dodge." Xia Yu smiled and pointed at her own neck. "Come on. Cut right here!"
Without hesitation, Ritsuka swung her sword down!
Clang!
The result was obvious. Xia Yu's body, enhanced through Self-Modification, could withstand Quetzalcoatl's Noble Phantasm head-on. How could a mere sword possibly break through her defenses?
Unless Fujimaru Ritsuka could truly release the sword's power.
But she couldn't do that yet.
"You're so weak." Xia Yu grinned as she caught the sharp sword between two fingers and moved it away from her neck. Then she pulled Fujimaru Ritsuka into an embrace. "Ritsuka, oh Ritsuka,
you didn't seriously think I activated Nega-Genesis just to force you inside and duel me, did you?"
"I knew you had something to tell me, Big Sis!" Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately took advantage of the situation and wrapped her arms around Xia Yu's arm. "Big Sister Kiana, can you help me hack the King of Mages to death?"
"Probably not." Xia Yu shook her head. "Don't worry. I'll give you the secret weapon I prepared, but you have to listen to me. Understand?"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded repeatedly. "I'll do anything you say!"
"Listen carefully. This is a request from the version of you who once lost everything." Xia Yu's expression suddenly turned serious. "After you return to Chaldea, punch Doctor in the face as hard as you can!"
"Mhm... Huh?" Fujimaru Ritsuka froze. "Why... Is it because he concealed his identity?"
"Oh, you're not stupid after all." Xia Yu gave her a faint, knowing smile.
"How could I not have noticed?" Ritsuka waved her hand. "Merlin and King Gilgamesh both treat Doctor very differently. And... whenever we face the King of Mages... I always feel that Doctor is somewhat..."
"It's not that I suspect Doctor. I just feel like he's hiding a lot of secrets from us."
"Secrets that could cost someone their life."
"They are indeed secrets that could cost a life." Xia Yu nodded. "His own life, that is."
"I'm going to tell you many things next. You must remember every word. Understand?"
"Including Doctor's identity?" Ritsuka's eyes lit up.
"And the King of Mages' identity too." Xia Yu spoke softly. "The so-called King of Mages' True Name is Goetia. As the collective entity of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, he manifested as the Beast of 'Pity'—Beast I—and orchestrated the Incineration of Humanity."
"His true form was originally the Human Order Correction Formula created by King Solomon. After Solomon's death, it used his remains as a vessel to act independently and called itself King Solomon, the King of Mages."
"By creating seven Singularities and burning Human History, he intends to travel back 4.6 billion years to the moment the celestial body was born, obtain its energy, and become a new celestial body."
"...So Doctor..." Fujimaru Ritsuka trailed off.
Her sharp mind quickly grasped the key point.
"That's right. Romani Archaman." Xia Yu sighed. "Ritsuka, do you remember? When we met in Fuyuki, I told you that it was a parallel universe."
"Mhm. I remember."
"The difference between the two is that, in that universe, only one Lord from the Clock Tower participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and he died in Fuyuki," Xia Yu slowly explained. "But in your world,
Marisbury Animusphere, the Lord of the Department of Astromancy, also participated in the Holy Grail War and summoned a trump card powerful enough to decide the outcome in one strike."
Ritsuka's expression became complicated. "King Solomon, right?"
"Mhm." Xia Yu nodded. "Naturally, they won the Holy Grail War. Marisbury Animusphere wished for an enormous sum of money, then used it to establish the Organization for the Preservation of Human Order—Chaldea."
"King Solomon's wish, meanwhile, was extremely simple. Throughout his former life, he hadn't lived as an ordinary person for even a single day. Expectations had been placed upon him from birth, and he had been forced to shoulder everything from birth... So he wished to become an ordinary person."
"Then he gave himself a new name."
Ritsuka spoke softly upon hearing this.
"Romani Archaman."
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