Before Lahmu's pitch-black, razor-sharp limbs, which could tear a person apart as easily as ripping up a sheet of paper, what erupted was not the blood of Fujimaru Ritsuka, Chaldea's Master.
It was the Noble Phantasm of a Servant named Liao Ye.
His towering body almost seemed to teleport between Fujimaru Ritsuka and Lahmu. His long ge traced a full moon through the air before striking with unerring precision—
The Key of Heaven still embedded in Lahmu's body.
"Eek—"
A torrent of blood burst from Lahmu's mouth, but its momentum and inertia made it utterly impossible for it to stop.
The sharp limb that should have pierced Fujimaru Ritsuka's body plunged into the Spirit Origin of the Servant standing before him.
The Spirit Core shattered on contact.
Even with the dual reinforcement of the Key of Heaven and Lawrence, Liao Ye's Spirit Origin was by no means strong—after all, he was merely a Heroic Spirit elevated from an ordinary human general.
Liao Ye's body shattered directly beneath Lahmu's claws.
But he had already completed his task.
While attacking Tiamat alongside the others, he had suddenly sensed a danger so intense that it made his scalp tingle. Without even stopping to think, he burst forth at his greatest speed and rushed toward Fujimaru Ritsuka.
This was one of his abilities: a rather unusual Instinct that only erupted when someone Liao Ye needed to protect was under threat.
According to historical records, he had used this intuition to protect his king from assassination. And now—
Fujimaru Ritsuka, collapsed on the ground, had not even processed what had happened.
He had merely instinctively sensed something approaching him. He saw only a black shadow flash toward him, and then—
Lahmu was already right before him, along with Liao Ye swinging his long ge.
Liao