Chapter Summaries

Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash, and Bedivere met Xuanzang Sanzang and Tawara Touta in the desert and invited them to join the search for the hidden otherworld. After hearing what Shiki had done, Sanzang remained confident that everyone would reach a happy ending and led the group toward a place she sensed was the right direction.

• The Chaldea group heard Xuanzang Sanzang and Tawara Touta arguing while they fought desert monsters, then went to meet them.
• Sanzang introduced herself and Touta to Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash, and Bedivere, and Ritsuka recognized Touta as the legendary Fujiwara no Hidesato.
• The Chaldea group invited Sanzang and Touta to join their search for the otherworld in the desert.
• Mash told Sanzang that Shiki had taken King Arthur's Excalibur, destroyed a village, and injured several Hassans.
• Sanzang said she believed Shiki was not a bad person and predicted that everyone would reach a happy ending.
• Sanzang sensed the destination lay in a particular direction and led the group across the desert.

Chaldea encountered Nitocris in the desert and told her they were searching for the hidden Atlas Institute to learn about the Burning of Human Order and the Lion King. Nitocris offered to reveal its location if they told her about their recent experiences.

• Ritsuka stopped the group from attacking a Sphinx, and Nitocris appeared through a magical projection.
• Mash greeted Nitocris while Sanzang mistook the projection for a speaking monster before Tawara Touta explained it.
• Nitocris asked why Chaldea had come to the desert, and Ritsuka explained their search for the Atlas Institute.
• Nitocris asked whether Chaldea had allied with the Mountain People and what had happened on the way to the Holy City.
• Nitocris offered to reveal the Atlas Institute's location if Chaldea told her about their experiences.

Ritsuka Fujimaru recounted Chaldea’s recent journey to Nitocris, who revealed the Atlas Institute’s hidden location and warned that it would vanish with the desert in four hours. She also explained that Hōraisan Shiki and Aoko were heading to battle Osymandias after he announced he wanted Aoko as a consort, leaving Chaldea alarmed and Master Sanzang furious.

• Ritsuka Fujimaru told Nitocris about Chaldea’s encounters with Tristan, Gawain, and Lancelot, their journey with Shiki’s group, and Shiki’s seizure of Excalibur.
• Nitocris directed Chaldea to the Atlas Institute three kilometers south by west, deep beneath the desert, and warned them to leave within four hours or risk being stranded in another timeline.
• Nitocris revealed that the desert would disappear and explained that Shiki and Aoko had gone to the Great Temple to confront Osymandias.
• Nitocris recounted how Osymandias had praised Aoko and declared his intention to make her a consort, prompting Shiki to develop killing intent and leave rather than attack immediately.
• Master Sanzang condemned Osymandias’s behavior and urged Shiki to defeat him, while Bedivere explained the Pharaoh’s authority and Ritsuka Fujimaru teased Bedivere about his nickname.

Nitocris warned Ritsuka Fujimaru and his companions that the Sun King would lose to the two young challengers, then bid them farewell as they headed for the Atlas Institute. At the Great Pyramid, the Sun King prepared to face them alone, ordering Nitocris to discard the Holy Grail and stand aside.

• Nitocris told Ritsuka Fujimaru that she believed the Sun King would lose to the two young people despite his immense power, then wished Chaldea farewell.
• Ritsuka reassured Mash and led the group onward, determined not to waste Nitocris's goodwill.
• At the Great Pyramid, Nitocris reported that nearby residents were evacuating and that Chaldea was heading toward the Atlas Institute with King Arthur's Excalibur.
• The Sun King summoned the Holy Grail and ordered Nitocris to throw it away, declaring that he would fight without relying on it.
• The Sun King refused Nitocris's offer to join the battle and eagerly awaited the approaching challengers.

After their vehicle broke down in the desert, Aoko learned that Ramesses II had evacuated the oasis city and resolved to confront him despite the danger to her life. Shiki agreed not to stop her and asked her to cherish herself, and she promised he would do the same.

• Da Vinci's terrain vehicle broke down beneath the weight of the Ultimate Bomb, so she and Lancelot stopped to inspect it while Shiki and Aoko scouted.
• Aoko spotted the people from the Desert City leaving the oasis and realized Ramesses II knew they were approaching.
• Aoko declared that she would risk her illusory life to make Ramesses II pay for calling her his consort, and Shiki understood he could not dissuade her.
• Shiki told Aoko to cherish herself whether she was a Heroic Spirit or her real self, and Aoko promised while asking him to cherish himself too.

Shiki traveled with Da Vinci, Lancelot, and Aoko toward the Great Pyramid, troubled by the danger the Eight Gates might pose to Aoko’s Heroic Spirit body. As the group prepared for the battle against the Sun King, Shiki resolved to protect Aoko and his other companions, while Lancelot decided to watch over her.

• Da Vinci and Lancelot finished repairing the vehicle, and the group continued toward the oasis while Shiki worried that the Eight Gates could destroy Aoko’s Aether body.
• The group entered the evacuated Desert City, where Da Vinci reassured Shiki about the coming battle and spoke of Chaldea’s determination to save the world.
• Shiki affirmed his faith in Da Vinci and Chaldea, and Da Vinci asked him to help them on their mission.
• The group stopped near the Great Pyramid, and Shiki worried that Aoko’s stubbornness might put her in danger during the battle.
• Lancelot realized that Aoko’s plans were troubling Shiki and resolved to keep a close watch on her.

Shiki and the others reached the Great Pyramid after taking photographs at the oasis, and Aoko began preparing a powerful Magic Bullet with Shiki’s help. As Aoko readied herself to confront Ramesses II, Shiki feared the battle might bring about the outcome he dreaded and hoped Avalon would protect her.

• Shiki, Aoko, Da Vinci, and their companion took photographs at the oasis before driving toward the Great Pyramid.
• Da Vinci left the group near the pyramid to set up a protective barrier while Shiki and Aoko went on to fight.
• Aoko began charging her Magic Bullet by deploying mana formulas across the desert.
• Shiki used Unity of Man and Nature to gather Great Source mana and speed up Aoko’s preparations.
• Aoko expanded her formulas to nine layers as Shiki silently hoped Avalon would keep her safe.

The Sun King prepared the Great Pyramid’s cannon to meet the challengers, while Aoko began building an immense Magic Bullet for a bombardment contest. Shiki gathered Great Source magical energy to support her, leaving the desert beneath storm clouds and Aoko’s arm shining like a blue sun.

• The Sun King sent Nitocris away from the coming battle and activated the Great Temple’s Primordial Divine Might to charge the pyramid’s main cannon.
• Shiki spotted Ramesses II’s preparations, and Aoko eagerly began forming a Focused Projection Magic Bullet aimed at the pyramid.
• Aoko pushed her Magic Bullet’s power beyond her body’s limits, determined to overcome Ramesses II through sheer sustained firepower.
• Shiki expanded his Unity of Man and Nature, drawing Great Source magical energy from a fifty-kilometer radius to support Aoko.
• The gathered energy darkened the desert beneath storm clouds as Aoko’s Magic Bullet glowed like a blue sun.

Aoko completed a powerful Magic Bullet as Ramesses II charged the Great Pyramid’s main cannon. Shiki secretly placed Avalon and an Asura Path orb inside Aoko, then helped her prepare to fire as the Sun King ordered the cannon to attack.

• The Sun King watched Aoko’s blue Magic Bullet take shape and welcomed the chance to test it against the Great Pyramid’s Ancient Divine Might.
• Aoko endured the growing pressure and pain as she completed her grand magecraft, while Shiki warned her that Ramesses II’s bombardment was coming.
• Shiki steadied Aoko and secretly inserted Avalon and an Asura Path orb into her body, then used his Heaven Path Force Field to help aim her shot and brace for recoil.
• Ramesses II saw that Aoko’s Magic Bullet was ready and commanded the Great Pyramid’s main cannon to fire.
• The main cannon erupted with a blue-white beam and thundered toward Aoko, Shiki, and Lancelot.

Aoko fired her strongest Magic Bullet at the Sun King's Great Pyramid cannon, and the beams clashed over the desert. The pyramid gradually gained the upper hand, leaving Aoko determined to keep resisting.

• With Shiki's support and the Celestial Circuit Domain's mana reserves, Aoko prepared her Magic Bullet and fired it toward the Great Pyramid.
• Aoko's blue-white beam collided head-on with the Sun King's cannon, scattering dangerous mana, heat, and lightning across the battlefield.
• After two seconds, the pyramid's beam began pushing Aoko's beam back, and the Sun King replenished its mana to sustain the attack.
• Aoko recognized the gap between their formulas but refused to accept defeat in her proudest field.

Aoko pushed her Magic Bullet Cannon beyond its limits and overwhelmed Ramesses II’s Great Pyramid main cannon. The cannon’s internal mechanisms melted and the weapon exploded atop the pyramid.

• Aoko realized her Magic Bullet Cannon’s power was limited by her own processing capacity and output, not by mana supply.
• Aoko cast off her restraints and drove her simulated Magic Circuits and spell formulas beyond their limits, forcing the clash point toward Ramesses II’s side.
• Aoko expanded her Magic Bullet Cannon and poured nearly all her strength into a final burst that overpowered the Great Pyramid’s main cannon.
• Aoko’s beam struck the main cannon, melting its devices and sending its remaining mana energy into chaos.
• The Great Pyramid’s main cannon exploded violently, lighting the darkened world like a rising sun.

The Sun King, Osymandias, invited Shiki, Aoko, and Lancelot to face three trials inside his Great Pyramid, but the challengers rejected his rules. They planned to destroy the pyramid with Da Vinci’s Ultimate Bomb and force him to fight outside his Reality Marble.

• Osymandias silenced the explosions damaging the pyramid and declared that his greeting was over and the true battle would begin.
• Osymandias praised Aoko as the “beautiful sun” and offered her a place among his secondary consorts, provoking Aoko’s disgust and Shiki and Lancelot’s killing intent.
• Osymandias announced that the three challengers must pass the gods’ trials before they could face him.
• Shiki and Aoko rejected Osymandias’s rules, and Lancelot agreed to proceed with their original plan.
• Shiki explained that the Great Pyramid was likely a Reality Marble that gave Osymandias a major advantage, so the group would destroy it with Da Vinci’s Ultimate Bomb.

Shiki, Aoko, and Lancelot prepared to use the Ultimate Bomb Da Vinci had made to weaken Ramesses II and the Great Pyramid. Shiki teleported the activated bomb into the pyramid, leaving its detonation and the ensuing battle unresolved.

• Shiki and Aoko discussed the bomb's likely effect and agreed Ramesses II would probably survive it, leaving Aoko a chance to fight him herself.
• Shiki worried that Aoko would disappear after confronting Ramesses II, but resolved not to interfere with her determination.
• Shiki connected the bomb to the Spacetime Marker he had hidden in the Great Pyramid's temple and wrapped it in a protective barrier.
• Shiki warned Aoko and Lancelot to prepare for the shockwave, then activated the bomb and teleported it into the Great Pyramid.

Shiki, Aoko, and Lancelot’s Ultimate Bomb destroyed the upper half of the Great Pyramid, forcing Ramesses II to retreat to the Eye of God while surviving the blast. After the explosion, Da Vinci watched the battle and was startled when Nitocris appeared behind her.

• The Sun King tried to remove the red sphere with divine authority, but it stayed fixed at the Great Temple’s entrance, so he fled to the Eye of God and raised defenses.
• The Ultimate Bomb detonated inside the pyramid, releasing magical energy amplified by Shiki’s compression formula and casing.
• Shiki protected Aoko and Lancelot from the shockwave and falling debris as the explosion shattered the pyramid’s upper half.
• Da Vinci celebrated the bomb’s power, then reflected that Ramesses II had likely survived because he had time to react.
• Da Vinci turned at movement behind her and asked Nitocris why she was there.

After the Ultimate Bomb destroyed the Great Pyramid, the enraged Sun King summoned his Sphinx army and vowed to keep fighting. Shiki, Lancelot, and Aoko prepared to face the guardians while Shiki watched Ramesses II for further Noble Phantasms.

• The Ultimate Bomb detonated atop the Great Pyramid, destroying most of it and leaving the Sun King furious at the ruin of his sacred refuge.
• The Sun King summoned nearly a hundred Desert Guardian Sphinxes and thirty larger Sand Sphinxes from the temple's remaining magical energy.
• The Sun King awakened the colossal Starry Sky Sphinx as his final army, then declared himself the sun and King of Kings.
• Lancelot offered to fight the Sphinxes with Aoko while Shiki observed Ramesses II from the air, and Shiki warned Lancelot about their powerful magical energy.
• Aoko told Shiki to recover and watch for Ramesses II's other Noble Phantasms, while Shiki agreed despite his lingering sense that she might disappear.

Lancelot fought the Sun King's Divine Beast Legion and survived an empowered firestorm using his mysterious barrier. He ended the attack by unleashing Aroundight Overload, cutting down the surrounding beasts and tearing through the desert.

• Lancelot charged the Desert Guardians and repelled their magical beams with his enhanced Magic Resistance.
• The Sun King ordered the Sand Sphinxes to launch a saturation attack and empowered them with Divine Protection of the Sun God.
• The Sand Sphinxes engulfed Lancelot in a massive wind-and-fire storm while Aoko watched their attack methods.
• Lancelot protected himself with a transparent barrier formed using mysterious energy from his Servant heart.
• Lancelot unleashed Aroundight Overload, cleaving nearby Desert Guardians and Sand Sphinxes in half and blasting away a vast stretch of desert.

Ramesses II grew enraged when the Holy City Knight survived his attacks and summoned Mesektet, a flying Noble Phantasm that unleashed a burning Rain of Light. Aoko and Lancelot regrouped below, trusting Shiki’s defenses as they prepared to carry out their plan against the Sun King’s beasts.

• Ramesses II realized the Holy City Knight’s Magic Resistance made the Sphinxes unlikely to defeat him and erupted in anger at his opponents’ defiance.
• Ramesses II summoned Mesektet, boarded the radiant vessel, and sent a scorching Rain of Light across the desert, concentrating it on Shiki.
• Aoko worried that Shiki was vulnerable after exhausting his energy, but Lancelot reassured her that Avalon could protect him.
• Aoko and Lancelot agreed to kill Ramesses II’s beasts before joining Shiki to defeat the king.
• Ramesses II intensified Mesektet’s radiance, proclaimed himself the incarnation of Ra, and drove away the clouds to bring sunlight pouring over the battlefield.

Shiki fled Ramesses II’s pursuing Sun Chariot to escape its devastating Rain of Light, while Aoko grew uneasy about his sudden retreat. Aoko and Lancelot followed the chase, leaving the battle with the Sphinxes behind.

• Shiki watched Lancelot destroy Desert Guardians and Sphinxes, then reviewed how their preparations had accounted for Ramesses II’s abilities except for his unexpected Sun Chariot.
• Shiki judged the Sun Chariot’s Rain of Light too dangerous for Aoko and Lancelot, especially without Avalon, and flew away to escape its range.
• Ramesses II increased the Sun Chariot’s speed and chased Shiki through the sky.
• Aoko questioned why Shiki had retreated, and Lancelot suspected he wanted to protect them from the Rain of Light.
• Aoko and Lancelot agreed to follow Shiki and Ramesses II while fighting their way past the Sphinxes.

Shiki confronted Ramesses II aboard the Sun Chariot after the Pharaoh threatened Aoko, then overwhelmed him in close combat. Ramesses II narrowly escaped Shiki’s lethal attack and released the Sun Chariot’s Noble Phantasm, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Ramesses II threatened to make Aoko witness Shiki’s remains, provoking Shiki to stop fleeing and charge the Sun Chariot.
• Shiki evaded Ramesses II’s scimitar attacks with his martial skill and Mystic Eyes, then opened the Third Life Gate and struck the Pharaoh’s vital points.
• Shiki sent Ramesses II crashing across the deck, and the Pharaoh admitted that Shiki’s martial arts surpassed his own.
• Ramesses II began activating the Sun Chariot’s Noble Phantasm, but Shiki abruptly pulled him off balance and nearly killed him with a close-range attack.
• Ramesses II dodged Shiki’s lethal strike and released “Mesektet, Sun Chariot of the Night,” filling the area with searing heat and scattered rays of light.

Shiki tried to kill Ramesses II but failed, then used Susanoo to withstand the Sun King's Rain of Light. Aoko arrived and swept the attack aside, but Shiki feared she had used the Eight Gates and was in danger.

• Shiki stopped controlling the Eight Gates and attacked Ramesses II with a concentrated force field, but Ramesses II dodged and Shiki only damaged the Sun Chariot.
• Ramesses II unleashed Mesektet's Rain of Light, and Shiki escaped the vessel but could not leave the attack's range.
• Shiki formed a magical Susanoo around himself, which protected him as Ramesses II intensified the Rain of Light.
• Aoko reached Shiki and scolded him for putting the scabbard on her, causing his Susanoo to disperse when he realized she had come to the sky.
• Aoko swept away the Rain of Light with a white beam and knocked the Sun Chariot off course, while Shiki feared she had used the Eight Gates.