Mukuro Hoshimiya floated in mid-air, looking at the clay giant that was over thirty meters tall in front of him.
Kether - The Light of Wisdom
What a nuisance.
The giant was striding toward her, each step leaving a footprint several meters deep in the ground. The obsidian greatsword dragged behind him, ploughing a deep furrow in the earth.
As long as its feet are still on the ground, it will continuously draw magic from the ground, and its size will continue to grow.
Shatter it with Spacequake?
That would be too much of a commotion and a waste of magic.
Mukuro Hoshimiya tilted her head and thought of an even simpler method.
Or we could just throw him into the sun.
Do it as soon as you think of it.
Mukuro Hoshimiya waved his hand down towards the Michael.
A portal opened directly beneath the clay giant.
It has a diameter of over 100 meters and covers the entire area occupied by the giant's two feet.
The giant was taking a step forward, his right foot stepping into the space gate's area.
The ground beneath their feet disappeared.
To be precise, the ground beneath our feet has turned into a crack leading to a place 140 million kilometers away.
The 30-meter-tall giant, along with the soil and rubble beneath its feet, fell into the portal.
Avicebron stood on the shoulders of the giant and made a judgment the instant the giant lost its balance.
He jumped off the clay figure's shoulder, tumbled twice in the air, and landed on the ground more than ten meters away.
They didn't fall in with them.
Avicebron got up from the ground and raised his head.
The portal was still open.
From his angle, he could clearly see the other side of the portal.
What is that?
A burning star.
The orange-red surface churned silently, and the flames made of plasma rose and fell like ocean waves.
Flares erupt from the surface of stars, extending for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
sun.
The other end of the portal is connected to the sun.
The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 140 million kilometers.
The girl opened a portal to the sun.
The clay giants lost all ability to resist the sun's gravitational pull.
It plummeted toward the burning star, growing faster and smaller until it became an almost invisible black dot and vanished into the orange-red flames.
Kether - The Light of Wisdom
Avicebron's lifelong dream.
And just like that, it was thrown into the sun.
Avicebron knelt on the ground, staring at the portal.
He should feel Wrath, he should feel desperate.
But at this moment, a different emotion occupied his heart.
etc.
Michael!
Noble Phantasm!
I see.
Everything makes sense now.
All the players on the Black Faction guessed wrong.
Vlad III believed she was an angel.
Darnic believed she had some kind of connection with the archangel.
The Red Faction members all guessed wrong.
This girl's true identity is not that of an angel at all.
Rather, it is [ Beauty ].
The Sixth Sephira of the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
Tiferet.
The harmonizer of Beauty, balance, Mercy, and strength; the central pillar of the Tree of Life; the pivot connecting above and below.
And Tiferet's guardian angel --
It was Michael.
No wonder her Noble Phantasm is named Michael.
It's not because she is the archangel Michael, but because her essence is the very Sephira that Michael protects.
The embodiment of Beauty.
Avicebron's hands began to tremble.
He spent most of his life studying the Kabbalah Magecraft disk.
He organized and structured the ideas of Jewish mysticism into a system that could be used by Magecraft, thus introducing Kabbalah to the Europe Magecraft world.
His Noble Phantasm, Kether of Wisdom, is named after Kether, the First Sephira of the Tree of Life, and Malchut, the tenth Sephira.
He understands the structure of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life better than anyone else in the world.
But he didn't even notice.
The girl before me is the embodiment of a single Sephira on the Tree of Life.
It's also my fault for focusing all my attention on completing my Noble Phantasm and not seriously considering her true identity.
blindness.
They're blind.
Avicebron slowly stood up.
He looked at Mukuro Hoshimiya, who was suspended in the air, her long golden hair fluttering gently in the wind, and the Michael in her hand emitting a soft white light.
"So you're [ Beauty ]."
Avicebron's voice became calm.
No wonder your Noble Phantasm is named Michael.
Mukuro Hoshimiya looked down at him.
"Were you recognized?"
There was neither surprise nor anger in her tone.
"But if it's you, it's not surprising."
After all, she is the founder of the Kabbalah Magecraft foundation, and one of the most likely people in the world to recognize her true nature.
Enough with the nonsense.
Mukuro Hoshimiya pointed the tip of the Michael staff at Avicebron's chest.
"Prepare for your end."
Avicebron did not resist.
He stood still, his gaze beneath the golden mask calmly fixed on the light that was about to pierce through his Spirit Core.
His Noble Phantasm has been thrown into the sun.
His Master, Roche, had become the core of the furnace, disappearing along with the Noble Phantasm.
His dream has been completely shattered.
There is no reason left to continue fighting.
The staff's end pierced Avicebron's chest.
The moment the Spirit Core was pierced, Avicebron's body began to turn into golden specks of light from the edges.
He took one last look at the slowly closing portal in the sky.
" Kether of Wisdom..."
Black Caster, Avicebron. Exits.
Inside the spatial portal not far away, the remnants of the Kether of Wisdom had been completely vaporized by the extreme heat of the sun's surface.
Not even a speck of dust remained.
Mukuro Hoshimiya put away the Michael and closed the spatial gate.
"Alright."
She clapped her hands, turned, and flew towards the fortress.
There's still a huge mess to clean up.
The central hall of the Millennia Fortress.
Post-war debriefing meeting.
The atmosphere was somber.
Darnic sat in the main seat, a battle damage report in front of him.
Gordes sat in the corner of the long table, his face ashen. His Servant Siegfried had already left the stage, and he had failed to recall Siegfried even with a Command Spell.
He now only has two Command Spell left on the back of his hand, and no Servant are with him.
Celenike's expression was equally grim. Although Astolfo was still alive, he had played almost no role in the battle.
Fiore sat in her wheelchair with her hands folded on her knees.
She no longer has Command Spell; Heracles is now nominally under Darnic's command.
Caules stood behind his sister, his gaze occasionally drifting to Mukuro Hoshimiya, who was sitting on the windowsill.
Let's assess the current situation.
Darnic's voice broke the silence.
On the surface, we suffered a loss in this battle.
He held up one finger.
"First, we lost Saber Siegfried on the main battlefield."
The second finger.
"Secondly, the main base was attacked suddenly by the Assassins, and the outer defensive barrier was damaged."
The third finger.
"Third, Caster Avicebron's betrayal nearly destroyed the fortress's protective barrier system."
Darnic withdrew his hand and looked around at everyone present.
"And the Red team suffered no casualties whatsoever."
No one spoke in the hall.
Gordes kept his head down, Celenike was expressionless, Fiore remained silent.
"But."
Darnic's tone shifted.
The actual situation is not as bad as it seems.
He stood up and walked to the battlefield map hanging on the wall.
"First, we have basically figured out the Red Faction's hand."
He began marking on the map.
" Karna, Lancer of the Red Faction. His Noble Phantasm include Brahmastra Kundala; Shemesh Armor; Shemesh, submit to death. Among them, Shemesh, submit to death is his strongest Noble Phantasm, but the price of using it is that he will lose his Shemesh Armor after using it."
" Achilles, Red Faction Rider. His right arm is still sealed. He possesses a one-on-one barrier-breaking Noble Phantasm and a chariot. He is extremely fast, but his direct combat power is greatly reduced due to the seal."
" Atalanta, Red Faction Archer. Ranged DPS, accurate archery, but lacks the means to penetrate the defenses of highly armored targets."
" Semiramis, Caster of the Red Faction. Her strength has greatly decreased after losing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and she is currently mainly responsible for ranged poison support."
Darnic put down his pen.
" Heracles, despite being killed multiple times in the direct confrontation with the four Red Faction Servant, ultimately managed to reset his resurrection count using the Golden Apple. He is currently still considered to be at full strength."
"Plus Archer."
Darnic looked at Mukuro Hoshimiya on the windowsill.
"No one on the Red Faction poses a real threat to her."
"We still hold an absolute advantage."
Darnic's voice was calm and confident.
"If the Red Faction dares to show themselves again, we can crush them completely with lightning speed."
Gordes raised his head, his lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing.
He has no say in anything now. Servant, only two Command Spell, and his status within the Black Faction has plummeted.
Celenike leaned back in her chair, gazing out the window.
Astolfo is still alive; that's her only bargaining chip. But she knows Astolfo's fighting capabilities better than anyone...
Fiore sighed softly.
For her, this Great Holy Grail War had become something of an observer.
Darnic scanned the expressions on everyone's faces and nodded in satisfaction.
Fear, helplessness, dependence.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
He alone possessed six Command Spell and command of Heracles, along with a nearly invincible Archer.
The core of power in the Black Faction is now firmly in his own hands.
Red Faction's temporary stronghold: an abandoned monastery.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada sat in a simple room, with an oil lamp on the table in front of him.
The Command Spell Seals on the back of his right hand have become much sparser.
Amakusa Shirou closed his eyes and took stock of the resources in his hands.
The thirteen Command Spell obtained from the old priest Risei Kotomine, in Fuyuki City.
The fifteen Command Spell stolen from other Red Faction Master during this Great Holy Grail War.
In addition to his original three paths.
Less than half of the total amount has been used so far.
With the remaining Command Spell, there shouldn't be any problem fighting two more team battles.
Amakusa Shirou opened his eyes and raised his right hand.
"In the name of the Command Spell,"
The first one.
"Rider Achilles, all injuries have been healed."
The Command Spell Seal glowed, and its magic flowed into Achilles.
In another room at the outpost, Achilles, who had been lying unconscious on the bed for half a day, suddenly moved.
His severe injury on the left side, which was still slowly healing, began to recover at an accelerated pace under the power of the Command Spell Seal.
In less than a minute, all of Achilles' injuries had disappeared.
The second Command Spell.
"Lancer Karna, reclaim your lost Noble Phantasm, the Shemesh Armor."
Using the Shemesh, the prerequisite for submitting to death is the permanent loss of the Shemesh Armor in exchange.
However, Command Spell can retrieve Servant's lost Noble Phantasm.
This is one of the ways to exploit Command Spell in the rules of the Holy Grail War.
On the other side of the stronghold, Karna was resting with his eyes closed.
A warm golden light emerged from beneath his skin.
Golden armor plates coalesced from his body, covering his shoulders, chest, arms, and legs piece by piece.
Shemesh Armor
The defensive Noble Phantasm that had been stripped away returned to Karna through the power of the Command Spell.
Karna opened his eyes and looked down at the golden armor that had reappeared on his body.
" Master."
His voice carried a faint trace of emotion.
Amakusa Shirou lowered his hand.
Achilles has recovered, Karna's armor has been retrieved.
The main fighting force of the Red Faction has recovered to the point where it can fight again.
But Amakusa Shirou felt no relief whatsoever.
Heracles used the Golden Apple, and it's unknown how many resurrection attempts he has left.
The Black Faction Archer possesses Noble Phantasm capable of opening spatial portals, giving him a significant advantage in battlefield mobility.
And then there's Ruler Jeanne d'Arc. Although she agreed to assist in defeating the Black Faction Archer, it remains to be seen how much of a role she can play in combat against Mukuro Hoshimiya.
Amakusa Shirou closed his eyes and began to calculate.
There's still room for Command Spell.
The Servant's condition has been restored.
But the next battle will be the real deciding factor.
If you lose, you lose everything.
Semiramis.
He called out to Semiramis, who was standing at the door.
"What's up?"
"There might be a large-scale decisive battle coming up. What preparations do you have?"
Semiramis leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
" With the Hanging Gardens of Babylon gone, there's very little I can do anymore."
She paused.
"However, we still have a stockpile of poison. It might still come in handy if Heracles hadn't eaten the Golden Apple."
Semiramis gave a wry smile.
"That guy's resistance to Hydra poison has increased; even if we attack him a few more times, we might not be able to kill him."
Amakusa Shirou nodded.
"Okay. You should go and rest now."
Semiramis turned and left, her footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.