"This war is insane... Rider, you idiot!"
Being chased by the Angel of Extinction, Waver felt like crying.
Iskandar, that idiot, had provoked an Angel. Not only did it fail to change the course of the battle, it completely turned it against them.
Now, with three Servants in pursuit, it was a miracle they hadn't already been shot out of the sky...
"Hahaha, I admit I misjudged things! But this is the thrill of conquest!"
"This isn't thrilling at all!"
If not for the difference in height and strength, Waver would have strangled his Servant on the spot.
"What are we going to do now, Rider?! We can't escape!"
With the Angel following them, whether by air or land, there was no way for Iskandar to break through. In fact, if not for his chariot, Chiron's arrows would have already brought him down.
"You don't need to worry, brat. If that Angel lady really wanted us dead, we wouldn't still be in the sky."
"Huh?"
Rider was prepared to unleash his Noble Phantasm and counterattack with his army. He didn't know if he could bring down the Angel of Extinction, but with the aerial advantage and that Crown hanging over his neck like a blade, he was confident he could defeat Siegfried and Chiron without trouble.
However, he didn't act.
Unlike Siegfried and Chiron, who attacked relentlessly, Origami followed him in silence. Every so often, she would strike, always leaving him just enough room to evade. It was nothing like when she assaulted the Yggdmillennia castle.
Had she run out of Magical Energy?
No. Her power source seemed endless, so Iskandar dismissed that idea.
Then why wasn't she attacking with full force?
Was she wary of his Noble Phantasm?
The Angel didn't seem cowardly. There was something else...
It was as if she were buying time for something.
Time?
BROOOMMMMMMM
Iskandar's thoughts were cut off by a massive sound.
The Yggdmillennia castle collapsed, and in its place, a crystal tower slowly began to rise...
"Is that—?"
"It's finished. Big Brother is here..."
Before Iskandar could finish speaking, Origami's sweet voice echoed.
Gone was her previous coldness. Now she was flushed, her gaze full of longing as she stared at the Crystal Tower.
[By the Command Spell, Lancer, release your Noble Phantasms and kill Rider!]
"Damn you, Darnic! How dare you?!"
Vlad III, forced to use his second Noble Phantasm, was filled with indignation and rage. This Noble Phantasm was the stain upon his life, the blood-soaked name he was compelled to bear.
'Dracula'....
Vlad III would rather die than use this Noble Phantasm, but under the Command Spell, he had no choice.
"Lancer!"
Jeanne noticed the anomaly in Vlad III, turned around, shouted, and activated her Command Spells. Unfortunately, the moment she did, a spear struck her from behind, sending her falling from the Hippogriff at a great height.
[By the Command Spell, Rider, attack Ruler!]
"I'm sorry, Ruler!"
"AAARGH!!"
"GUUUU!!!"
Thanks to his Magic Resistance, Astolfo managed to break free from the Command Spell after striking Jeanne once. His Hippogriff beat its wings, but things were different for Vlad III.
His Noble Phantasm fully activated, and he transformed into a true vampire.
Now able to fly, he swung his claws and attacked Astolfo.
At such close range, Astolfo couldn't defend himself. Vlad III's claws pierced his chest with ease.
"Lancer... you—"
"Argh! Damn you, Darnic! I'll kill you, bastard!"
After crushing Astolfo's core, blinded by rage, Vlad III turned into mist and flew back toward the castle.
Freed from his restraints, Vlad III would not forgive the insolent Master who had forced him to use this sin of blood.
"Rider! Lancer!"
After enduring the fall from such a height, Jeanne struggled to her feet. She saw black mist retreating into the distance, and watched as the Hippogriff and Astolfo fell from the sky, turning into particles of light.
She knew what that meant. Astolfo had returned to the Throne of Heroes.
BROMMMMMMMMM
At that moment, a tremor shook the ground, and a terrible premonition clenched her heart.
"So, we have been summoned...."
As the Crystal Tower rose, a far stronger Servant was summoned by the World Grail. Unlike the previous ones, who were called from Parallel Worlds along with their Masters, this Servant was summoned directly into this world as a countermeasure by the World Grail—a defensive system meant to prevent more Servants from dying before the war even began.
The World Grail might not have limits, but Yuki had been killing Servants since his appearance, either directly or by his orders. Attila, Achilles, Frankenstein, and Astolfo.
Four Servants lost to a single Heroic Spirit. The war hadn't even started, and the Magical Energy required to summon Masters from Parallel Worlds was immense. The World Grail had no choice but to summon its own Arbiter.
"It has been a long time... do our citizens still remember us?"
Murmuring with nostalgia, Qin Shi Huang let out a sigh.
So much time had passed since he unified China. It was possible history had already forgotten him.
But as the Arbiter of this dangerous war, there was no time to dwell on the past.
Unlike Jeanne, who served as the Arbiter of the Great Holy Grail War, he was the Arbiter of the World War. He didn't merely act as an Arbiter, but also as a defensive system for the World Grail itself.
The moment Yuki placed his hands on the Greater Grail and Eggy pierced the world, the World Grail sensed an unprecedented danger and chose Qin Shi Huang to stop the monster.
"But it doesn't matter. Even if my citizens have already forgotten this emperor, my duty remains the same... Protect my kingdom!"
With a snap of his fingers, Qin Shi Huang vanished. High in the planet's atmosphere, where the translucent Crown rotated, a massive Wall began to take shape...
"It's ready, my Lady Queen."
"Well done..."
Once the constructs were completed, the rest was simple, using her abilities as a World Spirit.
A massive drill was formed using the Greater Grail as its core. Spinning at high speed, it pierced the planet, reaching the very origin of mystery.
"Let the tower rise!"
Once the Apocalypse Virus was guided to the origin of mystery, the two resonated, and a Crystal Tower began forming at an incredible speed...
Fummmmm
Eggy's royal barrier flashed and accelerated the process.
"Come! Come! Future husband of this queen, I free you from the chains of the Throne of annihilation and open the Gates to this world!"
Doro, doro doro....
The Song of the Apocalypse echoed as the tower rose to its greatest height.
Eggy couldn't help but smile wider. Her delicate, soft feet stepped onto the Crystal Tower, and small stairways began forming toward its peak.
The woman beside her knelt on one knee as Eggy walked gracefully up the tower.
It was ready. Only one final step remained—opening the door forming at the top of the tower. Then Yuki would regain his freedom, or almost.
After all, he was using the world's mystery as an anchor to temporarily leave the Throne and manifest independently, just as he had done before, but without the pressure of Requiem.
A bold but effective move, since he was using Requiem as a compass to guide him to his Lost Heart.
"This is bad. If that tower opens..."
Jeanne wasn't the only one who sensed the danger. The newly summoned Master felt it as well.
Her long silver hair danced in the wind, and her beautiful crimson eyes narrowed.
Her lovely face and appearance resembled an adult Illya.
That was only natural, since she too was a homunculus created by the Einzbern family.
Her name was Fillia, but as a homunculus, she possessed another identity.
The Goddess of Heaven, Ishtar....
Because beings from the Age of Gods could not manifest in the modern world, she possessed the Einzbern homunculus Fillia, using her as a "sacrificial shrine maiden" and overwriting her existence.
This allowed the World Grail to summon her directly into this World War as a Master.
As a bonus, she was granted the authority she had lost in the Age of Gods, and thanks to the hole in the sky, True Ether continuously amplified her power.
It could almost be said that despite possessing a mortal body, Ishtar was now at her peak, just as she had been in the Age of Gods.
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