Invincible Me Only Wants to Slack Off

Just standing here, facing that godlike pressure, his legs couldn't help but tremble slightly. It wasn't fear—it was his body's instinctive reaction to being crushed by absolute power.

Before him, like a steadfast rock, stood a slender yet unshakably firm figure.

Her blue armored skirt rustled loudly in the wind stirred by the chaotic magical energy, her golden hair swept back.

Saber—Artoria Pendragon, King Arthur.

Both hands gripped the hilt of that invisible sword (Wind King Barrier, Invisible Air), holding it upright before her in the most resolute defensive stance!

Her emerald eyes, sharp as an eagle's, locked onto those golden deathly lights tearing through space as they descended!

"Shirou! Fall back!" Artoria's clear, firm voice rang out, carrying a command that brooked no refusal.

Almost the moment she spoke, those golden beams arrived!

"Clang—!!! Clash—!!!"

The piercing, skull-splitting sound of metal striking metal echoed across the battlefield!

The invisible sword in Artoria's hands became a blur of light too fast for the eye to follow, precisely slashing, cleaving, and parrying! Each collision erupted in blinding sparks, like deathly fireworks blooming in the night sky!

The immense impact transmitted through Artoria's body; her blue figure swayed slightly amid the dust and golden light, the ground beneath her feet instantly cracking and sinking! But she stood rooted like a tree, not a single step back!

"Hmph! A third-rate Servant dares to block This King's treasures?" Gilgamesh's laughter carried a hint of displeasure at being interrupted, his crimson serpentine eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Then let me show you what true despair means!"

The golden rings behind him instantly expanded, multiplying in number!

More ripples surged violently, like a boiling sea of gold!

A torrent of magical energy far surpassing before gathered within them!

This time, it wasn't just a few streaks of light—but dozens, even hundreds of Noble Phantasm prototypes in all shapes and forms, each radiating an aura of annihilation: swords, spears, halberds, axes, hammers... Like a golden rain of destruction, they descended with the force to obliterate everything, crashing down upon Artoria and the struggling Emiya Shirou behind her!

The air was torn apart, shrieking like wailing ghosts and howling wolves!

"Ex—calibur!!!"

Faced with this rain of Noble Phantasms that could shred any Servant in an instant, Artoria's eyes blazed with radiant light!

She waited no longer, both hands gripping the sword hilt as a torrent of magical energy gathered around her like a storm!

The invisible constraint dissolved instantly, and the golden holy sword, as if condensed from the light of stars, revealed its sacred and majestic true form for the first time on this battlefield!

Unparalleled light began to gather and compress at her sword's tip!

It was the precursor to the full release of the Sword of Promised Victory (Excalibur)—a torrent of light capable of splitting mountains and severing seas, about to erupt!

"Hahaha! Interesting! Most interesting! Then let This King see how much this rustic sword of yours can block!" Gilgamesh laughed wildly, not stopping her but instead treating it like a new toy, raising his hand sharply!

This time, from the largest golden ring at the center behind him, instead of a common prototype, a bizarre sword hilt slowly emerged—three twisted cylindrical threads coiled together like a strange spiral.

The moment it appeared, the surrounding space began to groan under unbearable strain!

Chaotic magical energy was forcibly pulled in and shredded! A violent energy fluctuation, far surpassing all previous Noble Phantasms combined, as if capable of tearing apart the very laws of the world, spread out from that strange hilt like an awakened ancient beast!

"Void Separation, Star of Creation (Enuma Elish)!" Gilgamesh's grin twisted with the pleasure of annihilation. "Mongrel! Vanish into nothing before the true power that 'cuts the world'!"

Dark red, viscous energy like clotted blood began to coil around the blade of Ea, spinning at terrifying speed!

Space warped, emitting a sickening crackling sound! The entire battlefield seemed to be drawn into an invisible vortex, becoming the eye of a storm of violent energy!

The moment that three-section twisted hilt (Ea) appeared in Gilgamesh's hand, Artoria's emerald pupils contracted sharply. That space-tearing, violent energy fluctuation far surpassed the total of all previous Noble Phantasms! The crushing pressure turned her knuckles white from gripping the sword too tightly.

"Saber! Let's retreat for now! His power is too great!" Emiya Shirou shouted from behind her, his voice trembling under the magical pressure.

"Would a Knight retreat because an enemy is strong?!" Artoria shot back without turning, her voice resolute. The storm of magical energy around her surged even fiercer, the golden light of the Sword of Promised Victory (Excalibur) blazing to its peak, as if she held a sun about to explode!

"The brat's right! Don't retreat? Then die!!" Gilgamesh sneered, the dark red energy vortex around Ea screeching as it spun at full speed! Space shattered inch by inch!

"Enuma Elish—!!"

The dark red torrent of annihilation, like the primordial light of creation or the apocalyptic calamity tearing reality apart, erupted toward Artoria!

Where it passed, space twisted and shattered, and the earth was gouged into bottomless, scorching trenches!

"Excalibur—!!!"

Artoria swung the holy sword at the same moment! The golden beam of light, like a river of stars flowing backward, met the dark red vortex of destruction head-on!

The two godlike forces, capable of reshaping the land, collided!

Boom—!!!!

A heaven-and-earth-shattering roar! Blinding light swallowed the entire battlefield in an instant! The shockwave spread like a tsunami in all directions, flattening every structure and terrain feature in its path!

But it held for only a moment!

A heartbreaking crack rang out! The golden torrent of Holy Light shattered like fragile glass under the mad grinding of the dark red vortex!

"Ugh—!" Artoria let out a stifled cry of pain.

The golden light was instantly swallowed by the dark red! The residual destructive energy slammed into her!

A piercing sound of metal breaking! Her silver holy armor cracked on contact, then shattered into pieces! Crimson blood sprayed like a fountain from her mouth and the gaps in her broken armor!

The immense force sent her flying like a broken kite!

Her body traced a tragic arc of blood through the air, crashing heavily into the ground not far in front of Emiya Shirou, carving a long, deep trench!

Artoria lay at the center of a cracked crater, her holy sword fallen from her grasp and lying nearby.

Her once-splendid blue armor was shattered, leaving her exposed skin covered in wounds so deep the bone could be seen.

Blood quickly stained the ground beneath her. She struggled to lift her head, but her body refused to obey, only letting out pained, suppressed gasps. For the first time, her eyes were dimmed with an undeniable weariness and weakness.

"Saber—!!!" Emiya Shirou's eyes split with fury as he roared, his throat tearing as he charged forward.

"Hmph! A third-rate Servant who doesn't know her place. See this? This is the price of defying This King!" Gilgamesh hovered in a golden glow, his crimson eyes filled with contempt as he looked down at the gravely wounded Artoria in the crater.

A cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "Still... that stubbornness is somewhat interesting. This King has changed his mind. Capturing her and breaking her in—she'd make a fine addition to my collection!"

Behind him, the Gate of Babylon rippled, and a prototype Noble Phantasm coiled in golden chains slowly emerged, shooting precisely toward Artoria in the pit!

At that critical moment—

A sharp whistle tore through the battlefield! An arrow, wreathed in thick, ominous black light, flew like a scythe from hell, speeding toward Gilgamesh's head with terrifying velocity!

Where the arrow passed, the air hissed with a corrosive sound, its threat far surpassing the earlier attacks.

"Huh?!" Gilgamesh's crimson pupils contracted, and then fury erupted!

"Damned insect! How dare you obstruct This King's path!"

He was forced to abandon the chains. The golden ripples behind him shifted instantly, and a magnificent golden eagle shield materialized, precisely intercepting the arrow's trajectory.

Clang—!!!

The black-light arrow slammed into the golden shield, unleashing a piercing metallic clash and a pulse of energy that made the heart shudder.

The shield trembled violently as golden and black lights clashed fiercely, even causing a fine crack to appear on its surface! Though the arrow ultimately shattered and dissipated, the sheer force of that shot shook Gilgamesh's form slightly.

That trivial obstruction, however, fully ignited the King of Heroes' wrath. He whipped his head around, his crimson serpentine eyes sweeping like searchlights toward the arrow's origin!

Atop a distant, ruined high-rise, a white figure stood firm in the night wind.

He wore a tight, bizarre outfit woven in red and black, his arms clad in armor resembling mechanical gauntlets, and in his hands he held a longbow of strange design—neither metal nor wood.

White hair stirred faintly in the surging magical currents, and his dark red eyes, like cold jewels, were locked unwaveringly on the golden figure in the sky.

"Mongrel! You seek death!" Gilgamesh roared, and the golden ripples of the Gate of Babylon boiled over as dozens of golden beams prepared to fire at the White-Haired Archer!

But the next second—

"What?!" Gilgamesh's movements halted abruptly! He sensed something wrong and whipped his head back toward Artoria's location!

In the crater, the King Arthur was nowhere to be seen!

Instead, that boy Emiya Shirou—an insect in his eyes—was gritting his teeth, carrying the unconscious, gravely wounded Artoria on his back, stumbling and staggering toward the edge of the battlefield!

Artoria's golden hair hung limply, blood dripping steadily down Shirou's collar, forming a thin red line.

"Bastard!!" The feeling of being toyed with made Gilgamesh's reason evaporate in an instant! His golden eyes burned with pure rage!

The light of the Gate of Babylon blazed to its peak, ready to redirect its aim and blast those two insects who dared flee under his nose—along with the ruins around them—into dust!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just as Gilgamesh's focus wavered and his magical lock shifted, several gems—already covertly planted around the ground where Artoria and Shirou had stood—flared with dense magical energy and exploded like miniature bombs!

Blazing white, crimson, deep blue... magical flames of different attributes erupted, interwove, and collided at vicious angles and sequences!

They formed a sudden, chaotic, and deadly storm wall of magical energy! A violent shockwave, mixed with turbulent magical currents of various attributes, swept like a rampaging beast across the path Gilgamesh would have to take to pursue!

The explosion's light and smoke instantly shrouded that area, and the chaotic magical currents briefly disrupted spatial stability and Gilgamesh's sensory lock!

"Cunning rats!!!" Gilgamesh's figure was forcibly halted midair by the abrupt gem magic explosion!

He stared at the area shrouded in chaotic magical storms and smoke, listening to the fading, stumbling footsteps of Emiya Shirou carrying Artoria away, and his proud face twisted with extreme fury!

"The Tohsaka Family? Reckless scum." Gilgamesh fixed his gaze on the explosion point where the magical currents had yet to fully settle, his voice icy and sharp, carrying a rage that was nearly tangible.

The air grew thicker with his emotion.

As the smoke slowly settled, Kotomine Kirei stepped silently from the shadows nearby like a ghost, his black cassock motionless against the backdrop of rubble.

His face was as still as water, his voice calm: "Archer, focus on the target." His gaze swept over Gilgamesh, as if reminding a discourteous tool.

"I know, I know," Gilgamesh waved his hand impatiently, his crimson eyes locked on the direction where Emiya Shirou had vanished, his lips curling. "It's just that my game was interrupted—truly irritating."

A sly, pleased smile crept across Kotomine Kirei's face: "Relax. The final victor will be us."

At the edge of the battlefield, heavy breathing drowned out everything else.

Emiya Shirou carried Artoria on his back, each step landing on rubble and cracks, stumbling forward.

He could clearly feel the warm, bloody scent from the body on his back, which kept him from daring to slacken even for a moment. His lungs burned like fire, his magic circuits were numb, and only the instinct to survive drove his legs.

Though Gilgamesh's golden figure had been cut off by the explosion, the invisible pressure clung to him like a curse, making his scalp tingle.

"Huff... huff... Saber, hang on..." he gasped, his voice hoarse.

Behind him, Artoria gave no response, only her faint breathing proving she was still alive.

Suddenly, ahead in the shadow of a broken wall, a white figure stood silently.

The tight red-and-black outfit outlined a lean, sharp silhouette, his mechanical gauntlet-clad arms hanging naturally at his sides, and the strange bow already stowed away.

The white hair stirred in the night wind, and those dark red eyes, like cold searchlights, fixed on Emiya Shirou and the Saber on his back.

Emiya Shirou's pupils contracted sharply. Almost instinctively, he halted, his body lurching violently from the abrupt stop.

He carefully lowered the unconscious Artoria onto a relatively flat stone, ignoring his own drained and aching body. Gritting his teeth, he immediately forced himself into a defensive stance, fists clenched, eyes locked onto the White-Haired Youth radiating an overwhelming presence and pressure!

It was him! The one who fired that Black Arrow earlier! Friend or foe?

Just as Emiya Shirou's nerves were stretched to the breaking point, a familiar, slightly hurried female voice came from behind the White-Haired Youth:

"Shirou, it's me."

Tohsaka Rin's figure stepped quickly out from the shadows behind Archer.

Her iconic red coat was still striking in the dim surroundings. Her icy blue eyes swept over the battered Shirou and the severely wounded Saber on the ground. Her brow was furrowed, but her gaze remained sharp.

"Rin?! You saved us?!" Emiya Shirou recognized her, and his tense body suddenly relaxed. The immense fatigue and the shock of surviving nearly made him collapse. His voice was filled with surprise and gratitude.

"Mm." Rin didn't waste words. She directly ordered the white-haired bowman beside her, "Archer, carry Saber."

Archer, clad in his red-and-black attire, didn't hesitate. His movements were swift and silent.

He walked to the stone, and with a steady posture, carefully lifted the unconscious Artoria onto his back. The entire process was fluid and noiseless, showing exceptional composure.

Rin's gaze quickly swept over the chaotic surroundings and the space twisted by the mana storm, her expression grave.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's leave first." Her voice was decisive, without a hint of hesitation. "Archer, cover the rear. Shirou, follow me!"

Rin quickly led Shirou and Archer, who carried Saber, through a winding path into an inconspicuous abandoned shack.

Inside, the air was thick with dust and the stale smell of decay, but the structure was still intact. Rin swiftly cleared a small area and signaled Archer to gently lay the unconscious Artoria down.

Without a word, Rin immediately began treatment. She carefully undid the damaged skirt armor, revealing the bloody, mangled wound beneath.

Several precious gems turned to powder between her fingertips, and pure mana light flowed like water into Saber's deep, bone-exposing injuries, forcibly staunching the bleeding and dispelling the violent residual mana clinging to the wound.

The process dragged on for a long time. Fine beads of sweat formed on Rin's temples, and her face grew somewhat pale.

Finally, she let out a long breath. She used the cleanest cloth she could find to make a simple bandage, then pulled a tattered blanket over Artoria, tucking it in gently.