" Kotori?"
Tomoe Gozen saw the changes in Kotori from the pterosaur's back.
Black ribbon.
The last time Kotori was in this state was when she cleaved Gorgon in two with a single shot.
Kotori jumped off the Quetzalcoatlus.
But she didn't fall; instead, she hovered in mid-air.
Camael -Slaying Cannon.
Kotori pointed the cannon at the sky.
It was aimed at the sky where gold and indigo were colliding wildly.
"Camael Megiddo" ( The Camael )
An incredibly thick beam of crimson light was fired from the cannon's muzzle.
It shot towards the center point where the gold and indigo clashed.
The crimson beam of light collided with the energy cluster generated by the clash of the two Noble Phantasm.
The energy explosion, powerful enough to destroy a continent, was forcefully pushed forward by Kotori's artillery barrage.
It was pushed higher and higher, breaking out of the atmosphere, and eventually being pushed outside the Earth.
Then it explodes in space.
Looking up at the sky from the ground, you can still see that magnificent sight from that moment.
Against the dark backdrop of the universe, a spark of gold, blue, and red silently bloomed, like a supernova exploding in near-Earth orbit.
Then the light faded, and the sky returned to calm.
There's nothing left.
"..."
On the back of the Quetzalcoatlus.
Everyone was staring at the sky, which had returned to calm.
His mouth was open, but he couldn't speak.
"That thing just now..."
Ritsuka Fujimaru's voice trembled.
What's the deal with Kotori Itsuka shouting out the true name of her Noble Phantasm?
" Camael Megiddo."
Merlin murmured the name over and over.
Judging from his name and the clothes he was wearing...
" Kotori Itsuka should be someone from the Far East, or perhaps a deity from the Far East."
No one answered him.
Everyone was watching the red figure hovering in mid-air.
Everyone present witnessed the power of that shot.
And below, in front of the temple.
Typhon's expression changed as well.
She looked up at the lingering afterglow of the explosion in the sky.
A hint of surprise flashed in his pale golden eyes.
"..."
interesting.
She withdrew her finger from the sky and began to re-examine the red-haired girl floating in the air.
Kotori didn't give them time to think.
She fixed her gaze firmly on the figure below.
I don't remember.
Could it be some satellite role that I'm unaware of?
Never mind all that for now, let's try to eliminate her first.
Kotori turned the cannon around and aimed it at Gorgon.
Gorgon's enormous serpentine body coiled on the ground, its purple eyes fixed intently on Kotori in the air.
She is waiting.
Waiting for Kotori's attack.
Waiting for an opportunity for revenge.
But Kotori didn't give her a chance.
" Camael."
It's that name again.
It was that same shot again.
A crimson beam of light shot out from the cannon muzzle, hurtling straight toward Gorgon.
A shot was fired.
All the magical beasts prostrated themselves on the ground.
The Golden Lion of Nemea, the mythical beast that even swords and spears could not harm, was now lying flat on the ground with its ears drooping down.
Cerberus's three heads shrank to their lowest point, and a whimpering sound came from its throat.
The nine heads of the Nine-Headed Serpent Hydra bowed down, not daring to raise their heads.
The Caucasian Eagle folded its wings and lay motionless on the rock.
All the monsters lay prostrate on the ground.
They dared not confront this attack head-on.
Instinct told them that the red light would kill them, no matter what mythical monsters they were.
Gorgon felt the sensation of death once again.
Exactly the same as last time.
The moment the red light shot towards her, her body reacted instinctively.
escape.
But there's no escaping it.
Her snake body was too large to move in such a short time.
"Mother!!"
Kingu's voice came from Gorgon's shoulder.
He wanted to resist.
They wanted to use the Chains of Heaven to block that light.
But it was too late.
The crimson beam of light traversed the distance between the two in less than a second.
At this critical moment...
Typhon has made its move.
She leaped off Gorgon's shoulder and landed in front of Gorgon.
Then she raised one hand.
Let's do it one more time.
She said softly.
She pushed it out, palm facing forward.
A bolt of blue lightning burst forth from her palm.
But unlike the previous widespread lightning strikes, this lightning did not spread into large-scale destruction.
It's not about compression, but about extreme compression.
The solid lightning bolt collided head-on with the crimson beam fired by Kotori.
boom----!!!
Crimson and blue energies collided in mid-air.
The crimson beam of light tried to advance.
The blue lightning is resisting.
The two sides remained deadlocked for a moment.
Then, a violent explosion suddenly occurred at the center of the clash of Noble Phantasm.
A terrifying explosion rippled outwards from the point of impact in all directions.
That was an energy release powerful enough to flatten an entire mountain range.
" Kotori!!"
Tomoe Gozen stood up from the pterosaur's back and stretched out her hand in the direction of the explosion.
But there was nothing she could do.
Kotori's figure moved.
She stood alone in front of the crowd.
It blocked the spread of the blast shockwave.
The Camael changed form once again in her hands.
The cannon barrel retracted, and the axe blade unfolded.
Kotori gripped the axe handle with both hands, facing the direction of the explosion.
An axe.
Two axes.
Three axe blows.
With each swing of the axe, crimson flames erupted from the blade, forcefully cleaving, deflecting, and absorbing the terrifying shockwave.
They shielded everyone from the terrifying and deadly explosion.
On the back of the Quetzalcoatlus.
The aftershocks of the shockwave lapped at everyone, but they had been weakened to a tolerable level.
Everyone saw that scene.
That small red figure.
Hovering in mid-air, she wielded a giant axe that was longer than her own height.
Time and again, they forcefully blocked the explosive energy that was enough to destroy mountains.
"..."
Ritsuka Fujimaru's face was filled with shock.
Mash stood next to her, her mouth agape for a long time before she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"Senpai... Kotori Itsuka... is really strong..."
Fou lay at Ritsuka Fujimaru's feet, her purple eyes watching the red figure wielding the giant axe.
" Fou..."
It let out a soft whimper.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield...
Typhon's expression changed slightly.
She hadn't expected her opponent to be so strong.
In that previous clash of Noble Phantasm, she used Zeus's lightning, compressed to its extreme.
Normally, it should be enough to completely eliminate it.
But the red-haired girl not only blocked it, but also used a giant axe to block the entire shockwave, protecting everyone behind her.
"This current posture is starting to hold us back."
Typhon looked down at his own body.
"Since that's the case."
"Then let's switch to an even stronger stance."
Her hair color began to change, from bluish-gray to burgundy.
The change began at the ends of her hair, spreading upwards along the strands like flames, her long, wine-red hair fluttering in the wind.
Then, the legs, specifically the area below the knees, begin to show signs of dragonification.
Scales covered his calves and the backs of his feet, and his toes had turned into sharp claws. The black and white dragon scales gleamed coldly in the purple miasma.
Next is her back, where a pair of enormous dragon wings burst forth from her shoulder blades, with a wingspan exceeding ten meters when spread.
The dragon's wing skeleton was covered with black and white scales, and purple magical flames burned in the gaps between the scales.
Her long, wine-red hair danced in the gale-force winds whipped by the dragon's wings, and purple magical flames dripped from them, leaving trails of purple light in the air.
She hovered in mid-air and glanced down at the Gorgon on the ground.
Then she stretched out her hand, and purple power surged from her palm, forming a huge barrier in front of Gorgon.
A translucent purple barrier completely enveloped Gorgon's massive body, isolating it from the aftershocks of the explosion generated by the clash of Noble Phantasm.
Gorgon looked up from within the barrier at Typhon, who was hovering in the air.
Thank you.
"Gorgon said in a low voice."
"No need."
Typhon's voice was calm.
"After all, you are my wife's younger sister."
Her gaze shifted from Gorgon and returned to the red figure hovering in the air in the distance.
Kotori was looking at her too.
Their eyes met in mid-air.
Typhon's lips curled into a slight smile.
"The real battle is about to begin."