*BOOMMMMMM!*
An indigo beam from a cannon suddenly swept across the street!
After blasting away a horde of demon spirits in front of her, Aoko panted. "What are these things? Why do they feel almost like Naoki in that mode?"
"They should be similar to spirits, and probably created by Caster."
Having seen the so-called Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, Touko could sense that the countless demon spirits surrounding them were akin to demon gods and spirits, like a fusion of both.
If so, the only plausible explanation was Solomon. As the greatest Summoner Magus of all time, it was reasonable that he could summon such unique spiritual entities, perhaps even through similar summoning magic.
(This is a bit troublesome. The Lord of the Department of Astromancy isn't here either. Just as the kid said, he set a trap for us… No, not exactly. If it were a trap, it would've been placed indoors, not taking effect only after we missed our mark.)
*SCREECH!*
As a red lightning bolt swept away all the demon spirits on another side, Mordred stomped her foot in frustration. "Damn it, no matter how many we drive off, they keep coming back, and their bodies are so tough that normal attacks can't kill them—Hey, Cat Girl, let's clear this area with our Noble Phantasms!"
"Alright—protect me and Mordred, Aoko, Touko."
As soon as Atalanta finished speaking, several magic circles appeared in Aoko's hands, and another magical cannon blast shot out, blowing away the demon spirits charging back in.
"—With my bow, I beseech the protection of Apollo and Artemis, offering this calamity—"
"—I am not a king, but one who follows in the king's footsteps. For the king's peace, I will drive out all enemies—"
Powerful Mana surged simultaneously within both of them.
"—[Phoibos Catastrophe]!—"
"—[Clarent Blood Arthur]!—"
A shower of radiant meteors fell from the sky. A flood of red lightning erupted at the same time.
Though the combined strength of many demon spirits could rival a Servant, even one like Artoria would be dragged into a prolonged fight in close combat. But that only applied to melee. When hit directly with Noble Phantasms, the demon spirits clogging the street, making it nearly impassable, were nothing more than a cluster of living targets.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The rain of light arrows and the torrent of red lightning intertwined, instantly dragging the scene before them into glorious destruction. Amid the light of devastation, the number of demon spirits visibly dwindled at a rapid pace!
Like wiping piled-up dust off a window with a cloth, a slightly messy but clear path quickly appeared before them!
"That was overkill, you two's Noble Phantasms."
Touko sweated a bit as she looked ahead. Not only the street but even the buildings on both sides were partially destroyed by the impact of their Noble Phantasms. The entire street's activity area had doubled in width.
This was only possible because they were in Merry's illusion. In the real world, the cleanup would likely send the blood pressure of Magi and church members soaring, with hospitalization not out of the question.
Hoisting her sword onto her shoulder, Mordred, who had removed her helmet, sighed in relief. "Now that's more like it. That crowded mess earlier made me nauseous. So, what's next? If Marisbury isn't here, where do we look?"
"Most likely over there."
Atalanta, now perched on a rooftop, gazed toward Fuyuki Bridge.
"For him, the safest place is by Caster's side."
"We should've gone with Naoki from the start… Ugh, miscalculation." Touko sighed in resignation. "Then let's head to Fuyuki Bridge—ladies and gentlemen, I'll need your protection."
"Touko, at least move your hands too." Aoko said.
Hearing her sister, Touko casually raised both hands. "I don't have your kind of strength—just an ordinary Magus. Without any Mystic Codes, I'm useless in a situation like this."
"Then Touko and Aoko stay in the middle, Mordred and I will take the front and rear."
Atalanta spoke while drawing her bow and shooting down a few demon spirits appearing nearby.
"Let's meet up with Naoki first."
Shiki was now extremely irritated.
Her reason was similar to Scáthach's.
"No matter how many I kill, they keep coming. More importantly, killing them feels like nothing… What even are these things?"
Unlike Mordred and the others with wide-area attacks, Shiki could only slash one by one. Thanks to her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, being surrounded wasn't too troublesome.
The problem was, cutting down these demon spirits felt like slicing air, leaving Shiki deeply unsatisfied. She'd thought this would be a chance to kill to her heart's content—opportunities to kill freely without consequences were rare.
But what's the point of killing air?
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Her short knife flashed through the air, forming countless slashing lines, each one precisely hitting the death lines on the demon spirits' bodies. Like mowing grass, with every step Shiki took, a group of demon spirits vanished around her.
She was practically invincible. Among those separated, Shiki was likely the most at ease.
However—
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
As if sensing something unusual around Shiki, a large number of circling demon spirits suddenly collided, like stacking blocks or fusing together.
*BOOM!*
With a giant foot slamming into the ground, a massive demon spirit, as tall as six or seven people, appeared before Shiki. Lightning continuously sparked from its joints, seemingly acting as connectors.
"GGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAA!"
A beastly roar made Shiki frown.
"So noisy."
"And so many lines."
The rushed fusion left too many weaknesses. Shiki didn't even need to look—she estimated a random slash could hit three or four death lines.
There was no motivation to kill at all.
But it had to be killed regardless. Anyone blocking her from killing the King of Magecraft would either move or be slashed twice and sent away.
Just as Shiki was about to act—
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
A beam formed of countless lights suddenly erupted from behind the giant demon spirit. Its mountain-like body was instantly torn apart, like being thrown into a shredder, breaking into tiny fragments scattered in the air.
In Shiki's view, among the many fragments, a white-haired female swordsman with dark skin held an odachi longer than her body, staring at her coldly.
"You're Miss Ryougi Shiki? I'm Okita Souji Alter. On my Master Arcueid's orders, I'm here to assist you."
"No need."
"Huh?"