"Suppressing 'magical energy'?" Kayneth frowned slightly. If it wasn't pure destructive power, would it really work against Caster?
"After King of Conquerors' Inherent Domain is released, my ally will find Caster's Master and kill him. In that instant... the monster controlled by Caster will definitely stop moving. Then I'll release my Noble Phantasm and weaken it even further."
In Mikaela's mind, the battle would likely go like this: after fighting King of Conquerors' soldiers, the Sea Demon would already be extremely weakened. Even though Caster's Noble Phantasm—the Book of the Sea God—possessed magical energy comparable to a mana furnace, maintaining such a massive Sea Demon required an uninterrupted supply of energy.
Although he did not know how much magical energy the Divine Grace Barrier would consume, Mikaela could only take the risk for now in order to avoid exposing his true trump card.
"When the time comes, if I fail to kill that monster, I hope you'll help me." Mikaela turned his gaze toward Diarmuid and said firmly, "Once I deploy the barrier, the monster summoned by Caster will definitely be severely injured. If I kill it outright, you won't need to come over."
"But if it still has even a trace of life left, I hope you can come as quickly as possible and deliver the final blow."
Hearing Mikaela's words, Diarmuid nodded slightly, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips. He said resolutely, "Rest assured. If even that cannot destroy the monster, I will certainly go and claim the results created jointly by Saber and Rider. I hope you and Rider will not blame me then."
"Hmph."
Mikaela snorted coldly and said evenly, "I simply don't want the Holy Grail War to end here. Don't misunderstand me. From beginning to end, we have only been enemies."
After saying that, Mikaela slung Oath of Judas onto his back, took a deep breath, and walked toward the surface of the water.
"You can walk on water?!" Waver stared at Mikaela in astonishment. The other party was not even planning to wait for the Sea Demon to emerge and was instead walking directly onto the water.
"No, I can't. But I can step on Judas' chains as though they were solid ground and walk over slowly." Several chains extended from the Oath of Judas on Mikaela's back and dropped into the water, supporting Mikaela on the surface like a floating bridge.
"In a sense, that really is a convenient thing."
Kayneth looked at Oath of Judas, a thoughtful gleam flashing through his eyes. He seemed to be wondering whether his Moon Cell Essence could accomplish the same thing.
"How much longer until King of Conquerors releases that Sea Demon?" Mikaela looked at Waver. Before leaving, he still wanted to ask Waver exactly how long King of Conquerors had left.
"About a minute."
After calculating for a moment, Waver looked seriously at Mikaela. "I asked the soldiers inside the Inherent Domain earlier. They said they could not hold out much longer—only three or four minutes remained. Two minutes have already passed, so there should only be about one minute left."
"I understand." Hearing that, Mikaela said nothing more and ran toward the center. He had to reach the best position and deploy the Divine Grace Barrier the instant the Sea Demon was released—strike while it was down and finish it off!
"Now, all we can do is wait quietly."
Watching Mikaela leave, Waver seemed to let out a breath of relief. Even Rider believed Saber's strength was unfathomable, nothing like the harmless appearance he presented on the surface.
Now that Mikaela had taken the initiative to attack, Waver inexplicably felt a little more at ease, as though the matter had already been resolved.
Bang—!
Suddenly, Kayneth struck, smacking Waver on the back of the head and scolding him, "Still staring?! Let's continue setting up that Magic Barrier. Until we know whether Saber can deal with that monster, we cannot let our guard down at any time. With your temperament, you still want to study the great men who overturned the Clock Tower's theory of bloodlines?"
"Uwah."
The slap jolted Waver awake. This was not the time to relax.
The master and apprentice resumed constructing the large-scale Magic Barrier meant to drive away ordinary people. Even Saber had not said he would definitely kill the Sea Demon. If they truly could not stop it, Kayneth would first deploy the Magic Barrier, then personally contact the Holy Church and the Mage's Association to send combat-oriented magi to eliminate the creature.
Second by second, time passed. Standing on the water with Oath of Judas on his back, Mikaela stared gravely ahead.
He could feel that something was about to emerge.
Boom—!!!
A deafening sound erupted around them.
This was not the Sea Demon breaking free from the Inherent Domain, but a sign that the Inherent Domain was about to collapse.
"...It's here." Mikaela took several small steps back and looked skyward. The enormous Sea Demon had been released by King of Conquerors.
"Now it's up to you, Saber." Driving his ox cart, King of Conquerors gave Mikaela a harmless smile while focusing all his attention on the cross behind him.
No matter what kind of attack came next, he was mentally prepared. From the cross alone, it was impossible to identify Mikaela's true identity.
But if the Noble Phantasm were fully unleashed, his identity could probably be inferred.
"I know."
Mikaela raised his head and looked at the mountain of flesh descending from above. He hurled Oath of Judas forcefully into the sky.
Lend me your power, Judas.
Mikaela called out sincerely in his heart. A golden glimmer flashed through his eyes as he said calmly, "Oath of Judas! Zero Rated Power: Divine Grace Barrier."
In the next instant, Oath of Judas changed completely. Layer after layer of gears extended from within it, overlapping in the void.
A spiral stairway reaching into the heavens, constructed from golden gears, formed overhead. The massive golden barrier enveloped the Sea Demon, while countless golden gears slowly rotated around it.
"￥＃%*＆*＃!!!"
The Sea Demon summoned by Gilles de Rais seemed to roar. As if sensing a fatal threat, it wildly lashed its tentacles around. Yet whenever it tried to attack, sacred golden chains bound its flailing tentacles, preventing it from taking any further action.
At the same time, the Sea Demon's mountain-like body began to disperse like snowflakes.
"Ugh!!"
Mikaela suddenly clutched his heart. His own body was also slowly turning transparent.
An indiscriminate barrier?!
Seeing this, that thought flashed through everyone's mind.
Victory Decided
Indiscriminate.
Mikaela had anticipated this the moment he deployed the Divine Grace Barrier. In the original story, Otto had not entrusted Oath of Judas' Zero Rated Power to Theresa precisely because he feared she would die from using it.
The barrier carried great risk, but if one could endure that risk, it would bring immense power.
That was why Oath of Judas held such a powerful position among the Divine Keys.
"..." Mikaela pressed his lips together and calmly watched the Sea Demon's body turn into "snowflakes." His condition was slightly better than its; his body was composed of "magical energy."
Under the Divine Grace Barrier, his magical energy supply had been cut off, much like the Sea Demon's.
However, he still had plenty of magical energy within him. The abundant magical energy Irisviel had supplied earlier ensured that Mikaela's "spiritual body" would not dissipate anytime soon.
The Sea Demon was different. Simply maintaining such an enormous form required massive amounts of magical energy. Once its supply was cut off, it would not be long before it returned to wherever it had come from.
"%＆*＃￥!!"
Perhaps realizing that it would be sent back if this continued, the Sea Demon emitted an incomprehensible sound. Its python-like tentacles thrashed madly, but within the Divine Grace Barrier, none of its attacks had any effect.
Countless chains moved as though they possessed wills of their own, tightly binding the tentacles preparing to attack Mikaela. Within the golden barrier, a sacred and solemn golden radiance shone upon the Sea Demon, causing its body to scatter like snowflakes.
If there were any devout churchgoers here, they would likely have already cried out about miracles, that the Lord had not abandoned them, and so on.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Mikaela coughed violently. His body had become nearly translucent, yet more than half of the Sea Demon's body had yet to melt away. The Divine Grace Barrier could only last one minute, perhaps two at most.
Mikaela's body could not endure it any longer. Just over thirty seconds had reduced him to this state. In another minute, he would probably "die" outright.
"What a powerful Noble Phantasm."
Having returned to his Little Master's side, King of Conquerors watched Mikaela from afar and stroked his chin, his expression grave. "If that Noble Phantasm is used well, it may be able to end this Holy Grail War."
"Huh!? You're joking, right?" Waver, who was constructing the Magic Barrier, stared at King of Conquerors in disbelief. He could not understand why Rider would say such a thing.
That Noble Phantasm was certainly powerful, but it was not powerful enough to end the Holy Grail War overnight, was it?
"We are not living humans, but Servants summoned into the modern era. Saber's Noble Phantasm seems to be something that ends all 'Mystery.' If we entered that barrier, our fate would likely not be much better than Caster's." Diarmuid explained calmly from the side. "If Saber had used that Noble Phantasm on the first day, I would undoubtedly have died."
As battle-hardened hero and king, King of Conquerors and Diarmuid had both instantly seen the terror of the "Noble Phantasm" in Mikaela's hands.
The Sea Demon summoned by Caster was powerful enough that neither King of Conquerors nor Diarmuid could do anything against it. Yet now, within the Divine Grace Barrier, it was being held up like a chick, unable even to resist.
If it had not possessed such an enormous body and had instead been the size of an "ordinary person," Mikaela would likely have picked up his weapon and struck it in the head and heart by now.
"Still, he has exposed his trump card. Should I say it is only fitting for the one who betrayed the 'Son of God'? If not for this sudden situation, we might have been swallowed one by one by that terrifying barrier of hers." A cold sweat appeared on Kayneth's forehead. By now, he was almost certain that Saber's identity was the legendary Judas.
The power displayed by the cross was simply too terrifying. Kayneth no longer had any intention of comparing Moon Cell Essence with Oath of Judas.
The moment the Divine Grace Barrier was deployed, Kayneth knew the two were not even on the same level.
"A cross stained with the blood of God, possessing the power to destroy all Mystery?" King of Conquerors looked at the golden barrier and muttered, "Or does this cross have the power to seal gods, which is why it was chosen as the tool to nail the Son of God to death?"
"Then that means this power is not a Noble Phantasm's ascension, but power possessed by the cross itself?!! If that is true, then it is far too terrifying."
At this moment, Waver finally seemed to realize just what kind of horrifying power the cross held by that beautiful "girl" in a maid outfit possessed.
"After all, it is something that killed the Son of God. It is only natural for it to be terrifying."
At this point, aside from Irisviel, everyone present believed Mikaela was Judas, one of the legendary Twelve Apostles—the man who had betrayed Jesus.
There was no other reason. The power displayed by the cross perfectly reminded the four people present of history.
"Ah..." Irisviel seemed about to say something, but she chose silence. Let them misunderstand. A misunderstanding was better. Perhaps this was the "false information" Aila-chan had mentioned.
Suddenly, while they were talking, the Sea Demon stopped moving.
Its previously flailing tentacles fell still, and its enormous body ceased struggling as well.
If the gears within the golden barrier had not continued turning slowly, everyone might have thought time itself had stopped inside the barrier.
"Will that do it?"
Not far away, Emiya Kiritsugu lowered his sniper rifle. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and calmly watched Mikaela and the Sea Demon within the golden barrier.
Just moments ago, he had shot Ryunosuke, who had been shouting furiously in the distance and preparing to use a Command Seal to aid Caster. Just as Mikaela had expected, the Master's death had caused Caster to halt for a moment. Though it had only lasted an instant, it was enough. Without his Master using a Command Seal to provide enormous magical energy, his Noble Phantasm could no longer supply the monster with magical energy.
The Sea Demon's disappearance was only a matter of time.
"Victory has been decided." Emiya Kiritsugu smoked his cigarette without aiming his sniper rifle at Kayneth or Waver. He merely watched as the Sea Demon's body slowly dissipated within the barrier.
An Even More Terrifying Existence
"Ah!!!"
Within the Sea Demon's body, Gilles de Rais, who was serving as its "core," screamed in agony. He could clearly feel the being he had summoned slowly dissipating.
"No!! No!! I am the one who will awaken the evil god!"
In truth, even he was beginning to show signs of "disappearing." Yet he could sense that his Master had not died. Their connection had merely been cut off within this area.
"No! I can't!! I have overcome every kind of hardship. This is the best chance to revive Jeanne. I cannot surrender, I cannot surrender!!!"
Gilles de Rais roared like a madman. He tried to control the Sea Demon he had summoned and forcefully break free of the damned barrier, but no matter how hard he tried, no matter how desperately he wanted to escape those restraints, he failed.
Whenever he tried to move, those damned chains always came to stop him. If his connection with his Master had not been severed, and if the Book of the Sea God in his hand could still provide him with magical energy, he would never have fallen into such a state.
"Right! Right!! Ohohohoh!! It seems there is only one way."
Suddenly, Gilles de Rais seemed to remember something. Joy and despondency appeared on his face as he looked at the dim Book of the Sea God in his hand and muttered, "Perhaps this is my fate. But if this can offer the grandest sacrifice to 'that immature child of the evil god,' then I will have no regrets even in death."
When he had summoned this Sea Demon, Gilles de Rais had controlled it "consciously." Though it was somewhat difficult to operate, most of the authority had remained in his hands.
But now that he had no options left, he could only hand all authority over to "that being," allowing its consciousness and body to descend upon this world together.
If he truly did that, Gilles de Rais would essentially become an emotionless magical-energy dispenser. The Holy Grail War would have nothing to do with him anymore, and even his consciousness might be devoured by the Sea Demon he had summoned.
"Ah, there is no other way." Gilles de Rais gently stroked the Book of the Sea God as though he were caressing a woman. He had already foreseen what would happen to him next, but as his body became increasingly unreal, he had to act quickly.
"!!!!!"
At that moment, Gilles de Rais' pupils suddenly contracted. The hand holding the book trembled slightly. Just now... he had felt it. His Master, his soulmate, his first "friend" after entering this world—Ryunosuke had died...
"How heartbreaking, Ryunosuke. You actually left me behind first." Gilles de Rais gripped the Book of the Sea God tightly, tears filling his fish-like eyes. He raised the book high and shouted, "But I will not let your death be in vain."
"Today is not only the day an evil god is born. It is also the day I, Gilles de Rais, offer the most, most, most!!! Cool! farewell gift for my friend's death."
As though responding to Gilles de Rais' emotional call, the Book of the Sea God emitted an eerie violet glow. The magical energy had returned! The troublesome barrier outside seemed to have vanished.
However, this Sea Demon's body was already beyond saving. Under the barrier's coverage, more than half of its body had turned into magical energy and scattered into the air. Although Gilles de Rais' location had not yet been exposed, it was close.
As long as they searched patiently, they would be able to dig him out of the Sea Demon's remains.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Outside, Mikaela could no longer hold on after fifty seconds. He shut down Oath of Judas' Zero Rated Power: Divine Grace Barrier. His body had become extremely transparent, as though he would dissipate at any moment.
After the barrier was released, the magical energy supply that had been interrupted surged into Mikaela's body from Irisviel.
A huge amount of magical energy suddenly flooded into his body, which had been lacking magical energy. Mikaela felt something strange, and a faint blush appeared on his pale face.
His illusory body, which had been weakened by the lack of magical energy, quickly recovered. Mikaela immediately suppressed that strange feeling, then deployed Oath of Judas. Thirteen spears of light launched an attack toward the Sea Demon's shattered body.
Boom—!!
Before you continue