The war continued.
The lone Black Knight charged through the enemy ranks.
Relying on his berserk strength, extraordinary endurance, and the aid of his powerful Noble Phantasm, he did everything he could to reduce the enemy's numbers.
But Rider did not remain idle either. He pursued the Black Knight closely, roaring orders as he directed his army to surround and eliminate him.
It was a fierce clash between one man and an army, vividly displaying the brutal nature of "war" in the Holy Grail War.
After nearly half an hour of intense battle, the Black Knight was sent flying once more by Rider's Noble Phantasm, skidding dozens of meters across the ground.
By now, he had eliminated over two thousand enemies. That was already the utmost he could manage. His magical energy was beginning to run short, and he could no longer unleash his Noble Phantasm.
The Black Knight inevitably began to pant.
Heroic Spirits might be powerful, but they still had limits to their stamina. They were not tireless machines.
Though the Black Knight possessed great endurance, it was not limitless. Controlling magical energy to unleash Noble Phantasms also consumed a tremendous amount of effort.
Repeatedly using his Noble Phantasm had left the Black Knight weakened.
"Master, this is all I can do for you. I'm sorry."
The Black Knight was filled with unwillingness as he conveyed his helplessness to his Master.
"It's all right, Sir Lancelot. You've worked hard enough. You can rest now."
"I'm sorry, Master."
He slowly rose to his feet and looked at Rider from afar. Facing the charging Rider, he gave a slight bow, showing his respect to the King of Conquerors.
"King of Conquerors, I have lost this battle."
The Black Knight's voice echoed through the vast desert and reached Rider clearly. Rider yanked sharply on the reins, bringing his chariot to a stop, his face filled with surprise and suspicion.
"Lancelot, what do you mean by that? Are you surrendering?"
Surrendering before a battle had ended was not uncommon in the real world. Rider had campaigned for many years and was no stranger to it.
But this was the Holy Grail War, a battle between Heroic Spirits. Surrender meant giving up the chance to fulfill one's wish. That was no small matter.
The Black Knight put away his Demon Sword and shouted at Rider, "King of Conquerors, I, Lancelot, have lost this battle, but the war is not over."
It sounded rather convoluted. He had lost the battle, yet said the war was not over. Waver looked utterly confused.
But Rider's expression changed drastically as he looked up at a certain boy in the sky.
"Could it be, Lancelot, your Master..." Rider seemed to have guessed something.
The Black Knight slowly vanished before them, but his voice still reached Rider clearly. "King of Conquerors, do not underestimate my Master. In this battle, my Master was always your true opponent."
"Rider!" Waver cried anxiously.
"Hold on tight, Waver!" the King of Conquerors shouted. "All comrades, disperse!"
If his opponent was capable of contending with him, he would surely launch a large-scale attack—and its range would not be small.
To prevent the army from suffering severe losses, they had to spread out. Though he could not be sure whether the enemy would attack that way, he did not dare take the risk.
The tens of thousands of soldiers moved swiftly. Their quality far surpassed that of ordinary people, and their mobility was exceptional. Before long, they split into groups of varying sizes, reducing potential losses as much as possible.
Shiki watched all of this.
"Not a bad response. Too bad it's useless."
Shiki muttered softly.
The spiritualized Black Knight appeared beside him and urged, "Master, please do not overuse the power of your Mystic Eyes."
"I know, Sir Lancelot."
Though Shiki said so, he casually removed his eyepatch, revealing his activated Mystic Eyes. His pupils flickered with multicolored light, the mark of top-tier Rainbow Magic Eyes.
A longbow formed from countless blades appeared in his hand. It was the Noble Phantasm he had seized from Archer, originally prepared to deal with Rider's Reality Marble.
After maintaining the Reality Marble for so long, Shiki had already guessed that Waver must have used up all his Command Spells to strengthen Rider.
Even a powerful Magus would be considered among the very best if they could maintain a Reality Marble for five or six minutes.
He covered the longbow with the power of his Mystic Eyes, activated the ability of the Asura Path, controlled the Noble Phantasm, and enhanced its concept.
His magical energy burned fiercely, quickly reaching the level of one Command Spell's worth of magical energy.
Blood seeped from his Mystic Eyes and, under the Black Knight's helpless gaze, was blown away by the wind and fell into the desert.
"Still not enough!"
The desert manifested by Rider was simply too vast. Shiki felt that the magical energy of one Command Spell was insufficient to destroy the entire desert, so he continued burning two more Command Spells.
The immense magical energy poured into the Noble Phantasm, causing the golden bow to emit an intense radiance.
A tremendous pressure spread through the entire world with the waves of magical energy.
Rider's gaze turned grave. He gripped the reins tightly, not daring to lower his guard in the slightest.
This magical energy was too terrifying. He knew that the opposing Master had also used Command Spells, but not to strengthen a Heroic Spirit. They had been used as magical energy to fill a Noble Phantasm.
Who exactly was that boy, to be able to control such an enormous amount of magical energy from Command Spells?
Waver's face had gone pale. Sensing the terrifying magical energy above, he felt as if his mind were about to be overwhelmed. He was so shocked that he could barely speak.
"Rider, aren't we going to attack?"
The King of Conquerors shook his head, holding Waver tightly as he said, "No. The chariot isn't fast enough, and we don't know what kind of attack he has. If we rush in carelessly, we could become live targets, or even..."
"Or even what?" Waver pressed.
Rider did not answer.
He knew full well that it was even more likely that Waver would meet with disaster. An attack containing such immense magical energy was something Waver could not withstand with his strength.
In the sky, Shiki's Mystic Eyes trembled.
The massive flow of magical energy had already damaged his eyeballs.
When he felt the magical energy reach its limit and the golden bow could no longer absorb any more, he knew that the Noble Phantasm had reached its limit—four Command Spells' worth of magical energy.
Holding the golden bow, Shiki slowly drew it back.
This bow was not drawn through physical strength. The user's magical energy was the key.
A massive golden thaumaturgical formula unfolded before the bow, as large as several people and radiating an overwhelming presence, like a second sun within the Reality Marble.
Once the formula fully unfolded, a key-shaped arrow appeared atop the longbow.
The arrow was crystal-clear and beautiful as a gemstone. This was the Noble Phantasm's true form.
Shiki looked at the key, took a deep breath, and recited the chant of release.
"Let the calamity fire fall from the heavens."
Light flowed across the crystal key as Shiki fired it upward at incredible speed, like a newborn sun.
Shiki closed his Mystic Eyes. The Noble Phantasm had already been activated. Nothing could stop it now.
He stood in midair with his arms spread wide, as though welcoming the end of the world.
The second sun shot rapidly into the sky. Once it reached a certain height, it exploded completely.
Yet it did not vanish. Instead, it transformed into a red formula that spread outward at an unimaginable speed.
Wherever the red patterns reached, the sky seemed to be severed.
No, it was not merely an illusion. The sky had truly been torn apart.
As everyone in the desert stared in stunned disbelief, the sky split open, then vanished.
"The Wrath of Nabû descends."
As the final chant was spoken, Shiki called out the Noble Phantasm's true name: "Sword of the End—Enki!!"
Boundless water surged down from the torn sky.
A great flood that symbolized the destruction of the world poured down from the heavens.
The sight was like Mount Tai crashing down upon them. No, it was even more terrifying than that, as though the sea itself had come crashing down from above, plunging the entire world into darkness in an instant.
Only the second sun in the sky perhaps still symbolized a sliver of hope.
But that hope clearly did not belong to this desert.
BOOM~~~!!!!!
The sea crashed down upon the desert, spreading rapidly with unstoppable force and towering waves.
Before you continue