Battle Continuation

Battle Continuation, as the name suggests, is an ability that allows one to continue fighting in battle.

To be precise, it is the ability to continue fighting even after death.

This is a powerful ability possessed only by Servants who, during their lives, were known for their desperate resistance.

Simply put, it means to not die easily.

At Thermopylae, even with his body pierced by arrows, his body impaled by swords, and his body overwhelmed by soldiers, Leonidas continued to fight with madness. He used his spear as a javelin, swung his sword wildly to create openings, and even after losing all his weapons, he fought back against the Persian soldiers around him with his fists, feet, and even his teeth, fueled by his unwillingness to yield.

He was a man more suited for the Berserker class than the Lancer class.

Even Xerxes, who called himself the King of Gods, spoke of this frenzied combat power with lingering fear. The Persian army always treated the "corpses of brave and unyielding enemies" well. However, Leonidas's corpse was crucified by Xerxes, an act to vent his fear of losing over twenty thousand soldiers and his indignation at being intimidated by the Spartans' brutal fighting style.

Just as the Spartans evaluated themselves: "Only death can stop a Spartan from fighting." Until the moment of his complete death, Leonidas maintained his charging posture. This ferocious fighting spirit transformed into Leonidas's Noble Phantasm, Battle Continuation A+.

Reaching the A+ rank means that even after receiving a fatal blow, he can still stubbornly survive for over five minutes!

This might not seem like much.

But...

For Leonidas, this is a powerful force sufficient to turn the tide!

Noble Phantasm: Will of Sparta A. Having undergone the rigorous military training of Sparta, Leonidas's will is unshakable regardless of the predicament he faces. He always maintains high morale and never loses his will to fight. Reaching rank A, it can even nullify mental magic, ensuring his firm fighting will never collapses.

Reaching rank A, even mental attacks from magus cannot shake his fighting spirit.

Noble Phantasm: Unyielding Will A. This skill unleashes greater combat power the more dire the situation. When on the verge of death, it is precisely the most "dire" of situations.

However... he just won't die.

Battle Continuation's almost curse-like power allows Leonidas to maintain a powerful will to fight even with his heart pierced.

"Come on! Fight! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

With a heroic, wild laugh, perhaps sensing his life was about to end, Leonidas's blood-soaked body let out an incredibly heroic voice. His chest heaved violently, and beneath his rock-solid muscles, blue mana surged, crawling up his towering figure like an ominous vine, making him appear as majestic and imposing as a legendary giant!

With all three skills activated simultaneously, the mana swirling around Leonidas could only be described as terrifying. In the distance, Tohsaka Mina was so frightened she collapsed onto the ground...

It's not her fault...

A magus who had never seen the world before, encountering an enemy like Leonidas, a berserker who fought as if he had nothing to lose, would naturally panic.

Moreover...

Now, her eyes housed a special power granted by the Holy Grail – the ability to see Servants' abilities.

Lancer, apart from Magic and Luck, everything else is EX.

The already terrifyingly strong Servant had now transformed from powerful to invincible.

Truly invincible.

Unyielding Will... Hah, Leonidas right now is truly in a "death" battle! With his heart pierced, at the moment his life was about to fade, his colossal body erupted with a heroic power that could rival anything.

How many arrows, how many soldiers, how many fierce warriors did Xerxes expend back then to ensure the dying Leonidas finally breathed his last! And now...

Tohsaka Mina glanced at Lu Bu in the distance. Although too far to see clearly, Lu Bu didn't seem to be preparing to retreat!!

This is bad...

Noble Phantasm EX... Although she didn't know what Leonidas's Noble Phantasm was, it might be a strengthening Noble Phantasm that affects himself, or it could be a release-type Noble Phantasm for a single burst attack... Tohsaka Mina didn't dare to gamble.

Tohsaka Mina looked at the three red Command Spells on the back of her hand, already having a plan in mind: trump cards are meant to be used when the time is right! She learned this principle when playing poker with her grandfather as a child.

"By the Command Spells, I order you, Lu Bu! Take me away! And then... trace-on!"

Tohsaka Mina fully activated her magic circuits.

Projection magic was the magic her grandfather excelled at. Or rather, her grandfather only knew projection magic.

Whenever Tohsaka Mina curiously asked her grandfather why he didn't learn other magic, he would always smile indulgently and vaguely say: "Rather than learning many types of magic broadly, it's more practical to hone the magic you know to perfection?"

When she witnessed her grandfather being able to project and replicate legendary magic swords and holy swords, Tohsaka Mina was shocked! More than practicality, it was the splendor that moved this innocent girl. So, she pestered her grandfather, begging and pleading, until she was finally taught projection magic.

However, unlike her grandfather Tohsaka Shirou's "sword" attribute magic, Tohsaka Mina, with her dual attributes of earth and fire, did not possess the aptitude to contain a large number of sword-like weapons.

So, her grandfather taught her to focus on replicating one weapon, to concentrate all her efforts on projecting a single weapon to perfection.

Following the command of the Command Spells, the red cavalry instantly appeared before her.

Command Spells are like that; the more "simple and direct" the command, the more powerful the effect. A command like "Take me away" fits perfectly. Unable to see her Servant's expression, Mina only knew that he roughly grabbed her by the waist and, holding her like an object, fled on horseback.

And on the horse's back, golden particles gradually took shape, and flowing particles of light surged in Tohsaka Mina's hand.

It was a holy sword of pure gold.

Warm particles that gave the feeling of a savior, warm particles that merged with human hope, gently constructed the illusory blade.

Its name is—

"Caliburn!!"

Accompanying the girl's clear voice, the golden holy sword, released of its true name, swiftly transformed into a torrent of light and bombarded Abner's ice fortress!

This was not an attack, but purely a distraction. This would be enough time for Lu Bu to escape with her.

The Sword in the Stone was the strongest sword that her maternal grandfather, and Mina Tohsaka herself, could project. However, unlike her grandfather's talent, even though Mina Tohsaka understood the power and structure of the Sword in the Stone, she still couldn't grasp its essence precisely. Unlike her grandfather, who could replicate Noble Phantasms with power close to the original, the Sword in the Stone replicated by Mina Tohsaka only possessed power that barely reached D rank.

Still, that magnificent curtain of light was enough to block the enemy's vision and confuse them!

Taking advantage of this time, the crimson steed had whisked the two away, disappearing rapidly into the night sky.

Although the sudden burst of light caused a commotion, it quickly subsided. Those outside the riverbank simply thought they had seen things, or perhaps it was a test of some new fireworks, and paid it no mind.

On the ice shelf that served as cover, the recently thawed river water froze over again. Abner manipulated the water flow, re-stabilizing his base. He calmly watched the exaggerated golden beams strike the outer walls of his castle and then vanish.

During this time, he leaned against the cold castle wall, gently stroking the back of his hand.

"Release Command Spells, full mana, repair Leonidas's heart!"

Servants are spirits, or rather, high-level familiars. What sustains them is not their physical body, but [mana].

Strictly speaking, piercing the heart does not kill a Servant. It merely consumes a large amount of their mana, preventing them from maintaining their existence. To use a human analogy, it's like dying from excessive blood loss, rather than the heart stopping itself.

For example, imagine a water tank. Ordinary damage is like scooping water out, while a direct hit to the heart is like punching a large hole in the bottom of the tank. Therefore, a Servant whose heart has been pierced is not killed by the attack itself, but rather dies from expending all their mana to repair the heart wound, thus depleting their mana reserves.

Thus, as long as a large amount of mana is instantly used to fill the Servant's wound, they can be saved from instant death.

However, this is not something anyone can do.

Servants with the skills [Battle Continuation] or [Riding] will dissipate the moment their heart—the mana core—is destroyed, and no amount of mana can help. These two skills, however, grant them precious time for treatment.

Both sides of the battle consumed one Command Spell each. It was a truly spectacular battle.

For a moment, Archer, observing from outside, felt a sense of daze. A battle of mythological proportions was unfolding right before her eyes… it was truly… exhilarating.

Although Archer Loxia didn't intend to blame her Master, she couldn't help but wonder, "If my Master had abundant mana, could I also participate in battles of this caliber?"

Wait?

Suddenly, Loxia noticed a detail!

To openly observe, she had maintained her materialized form!

For mages, maintaining a materialized form consumes far more mana than remaining in Spirit Form…

Therefore, she should have consumed a considerable amount of her Master's mana!

Several hours should have passed since she began acting alone! Her Master!

Why hasn't he run out of mana and cut off her magical supply?!

Loxia suddenly felt a jolt, like an electric shock, run through her entire body…

"Karl Winsted…"

Her beautiful eyes were filled with worry, her silver teeth clenched tightly. She didn't know whether she should rush back immediately or continue monitoring the situation for the rest of the nig