In truth, the Noble Phantasm's release had taken less than two seconds.
The moment Emiya poured the mana within him into it, Dragon Severing Platform had already slipped free of its scabbard.
A clear sense of joy came from the blade, as though it had encountered some peerless beauty... no, a peerless companion.
Then Emiya froze for a moment, because after drawing it, he discovered that the greatsword had only half a blade. Though its concept as a sword remained complete and there was no problem activating it, the incomplete half-blade undoubtedly limited the rise of its power.
So that was it... this sword believed he had the ability to make the Noble Phantasm "whole" again?
As the chains of the bronze Ring-Pommel Greatsword automatically coiled around his arm, Emiya swiftly understood Dragon Severing Platform's intent.
"Fine, I accept! Now, let's deal with everything in front of us first!"
The half-blade unleashed a startling pressure—perhaps this was Dragon's Might. The Death Servants, every Death Servant present, were crushed by fear and staggered forward. Even their attempts to retreat and flee looked awkward and utterly ridiculous.
Then the blade grew scorching hot and bright, like a blazing sun dispersing a dark curtain of rain. Shirou Emiya raised his hand and swung Dragon Severing Platform. A sword gale dozens of meters long surged high into the air, knocking down the unfinished buildings like building blocks piled up by children, sending them crashing and tumbling apart.
The Death Servants' escape route had been completely cut off.
Rumble—!
The curtain of rain surged madly in reverse, forming soaring columns of water.
Within the vast domain, the upward-rushing water pillars spun and converged, granted spirit and transformed into clawing, snarling Water Dragons. One, two, three, four...!
More information from Dragon Severing Platform flooded into Emiya's mind. In a daze, he seemed to dream of the Age of Gods. A monstrous dragon named Nine Babies could spew water and fire, letting out shrill cries like an infant. With one cry, it froze Northern Di's vicious waters into ice; with another, it set the frozen river ablaze...
This was the mythic fiend Hou Yi had once personally slain. So the monstrous dragon Yu the Great had beheaded contained such tremendous power. Emiya realized that the unsealing of the Noble Phantasm's power had turned this scene into reality.
...Seven, eight, nine!
Emiya leaped high into the air. The mythic Water Dragons' Mad Flow danced fervently around him. All the Death Servants bowed before this magnificent sight, realizing that fate had arrived. Dozens of them crowded tightly around the battered heavy transport truck, laughably defending their final fortress.
The top of the cargo container had long since been viciously torn open, revealing the largest of the Death Servants—it was no longer serpentine. It possessed a pair of membranous wings, dense skeletal joints, sturdier scales, more ferocious claws and fangs, and a more swollen frame. Standing upright, it towered a full two times taller than the serpentine Death Servants... so these Death Servants had been counting on their "leader" to rise up, take flight, and defy fate!
Heh—
It was as though the whistling Nine Dragons conveyed a scornful sneer. Emiya raised his sword high above his head and brought it down heavily. The nine Mad Dragons, poised to strike, descended with the crushing pressure of the atmosphere and Dragon's Might, like a heavenly barrier falling from the sky!
The tallest and strongest Death Servant futilely beat its membranous wings in unwilling defiance. Only after holding on for a second did it collapse to its knees. Then the Mad Flow came crashing down with a thunderous roar. The surging water froze into a river of ice in an instant, yet began burning fiercely at the same time. Sharp, infant-like wails immediately rang out—perhaps the Death Servants' final cries of pleading before death...
The rain still fell in a fine drizzle. The burning ice river wound through the night like dragons and serpents, dancing wildly in the cold wind.
Cold. Trembling.
"Yo, you're awake?"
Hearing someone beside him speak through the haze, Zhou Yuxuan's nerves tensed as he flung back the covers and sat up in the hospital bed. What he saw was Old Tang blowing bubble gum and playing StarCraft, looking as unreliable as ever.
The room around him was in the familiar style of the Prosperous Tang. Clearly, he was back at his old home in Xiangyang, though the flashing effects on Old Tang's electronic screen and the dense sounds of battle were somewhat out of place.
"Ronald Tang, how was the Death Servant attack handled? Did you get in touch with the main family? Right, and Lord Emiya... hiss!"
Zhou Yuxuan got too agitated and pulled at his injuries. Amid waves of intense pain, he finally vaguely recalled the scene of Emiya drawing Dragon Severing Platform and unleashing the Great True Word Technique. After that, his exhaustion had overwhelmed him, and his vision went black as he lost consciousness.
"Brother Zhou, I think you should just lie down properly. Your main family has already sent a whole squad to handle the scene. As for the task of contacting that ruin, it seems someone else from your Zhou Family has taken over... And besides, we've been through life and death together. Just call me Old Tang."
Old Tang waved his hand casually, but Zhou Yuxuan only grew more tense.
The task Wa Lord had personally assigned him had been botched just like that. Not only had an important guest nearly died, but Dragon Severing Platform, the ancient sword passed down through his family, had also been activated without authorization... what awaited him probably would not be a pleasant outcome, would it?
Suddenly, a clear, melodious voice came from outside the door, laughing warmly—
"Zhou Yuxuan, we came to see you!"
Hearing that voice, Zhou Yuxuan's eyes widened. It was Wa Lord, who had come together with Shirou Emiya!
Her expression was gentle when she entered, not serious in the slightest. She did not look as though she had come to question him at all, as if she did not care about his grave failure during the mission... Wait, no—why was Wa Lord being carried on Emiya's back!?
"Why are you here, Wa Lord? I mean, at the very least, you should have someone carry your sedan chair when you travel. Otherwise, the family elders..."
The shock Zhou Yuxuan had received was too great, and for a moment, he could barely speak coherently.
"A sedan chair? Oh, you mean that ridiculously troublesome eight-man sedan chair! That's only for putting on a show for the old people in the family. They aren't here. Wouldn't it be a pain to use that chair everywhere I went? Sigh! What era is this? Couldn't they get me a sports car to take out for a spin or something..."
As the head of the Zhou Family, Wa Lord held a lofty position. Naturally, she could not simply go wherever she pleased; she had to maintain appearances. According to the thinking of those ancient feudal-dynasty relics in her family who had lived for over a century, of course the family head had to ride in a sedan chair. Sigh.
"This..."
"Enough, enough. Don't get so serious, kid. I covered up your 'mission failure,' so don't act like some ungrateful brat and go babbling to the old fogies about such a trivial matter."
Wa Lord rolled her eyes.
She looked nothing like the cold and imposing figure who had assigned the mission in the great hall before. Instead, she resembled an exquisitely featured little porcelain doll, free and playful in her laughter... as long as one did not look below her waist.
Wa Lord rested her chin on her folded hands against Emiya's shoulder. Her long serpent body below the waist coiled around Emiya's waist, its tail swaying mischievously and leaving the latter with black lines all over his face.
—That slick sensation reminded Emiya of his close-range encounter with the serpentine Death Servants not long ago, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.
Come to think of it, he and Wa Lord had only chatted online for a while before this. Yet for some reason, when they met, Wa Lord's fondness for him seemed a little too high. Was it because he had activated Dragon Severing Platform and saved Zhou Yuxuan? Or because he and Wa Lord had enjoyed discussing cultivation topics last time?
Before you continue