Solomon's use of Summoning Magecraft caught Naoki off guard.
Yet, at the same time, it wasn't Naoki who employed Summoning Magecraft, but Rei—something Solomon hadn't anticipated either.
After briefly glancing at Rei, Solomon's eyes flickered slightly. "An autonomous puppet housing the Holy Grail, formed from a special Philosopher's Stone. A truly remarkable Mystic Code—one could say she's another Servant of yours besides Saber."
"However—"
Raising his right hand, a fleeting surge of Mana coursed through Solomon's body, and several magic circles instantly appeared beneath and above Rei's head.
*BOOMMMMMM!*
A deafening roar and a powerful impact erupted simultaneously, a blinding burst of flames engulfing Rei's figure in an instant!
Solomon looked at Naoki. "What I want is a one-on-one fight with you, to see your strength alone. Those uninvolved should stay out—"
*WHOOSH!*
Before he could finish, Solomon's vision suddenly blurred. Naoki, who had been standing not far away, appeared before him without warning. The gleaming light of the Holy Star Sword flashed, a dazzling slash aimed straight at his chest!
Solomon's lips moved rapidly. Just as the blade neared his chest, several magic circles formed at lightning speed in front of him, blocking the attack in an instant!
"Hooooo—!"
But as the defense formed, Solomon's vision was filled with towering flames. A giant fist, entirely made of fire, emerged from behind Naoki, slamming into him with force!
*BOOMMMMMM!*
A pillar of water shot into the sky! Thick steam instantly obscured everyone's view!
However, if it was merely a matter of blocked vision, it had no effect on either of them.
Countless magic circles formed and stacked above Naoki's head. A beam of light shot down from the topmost circle. Each time it passed through a layer of magic circles, the beam doubled in size. In just one or two blinks, the beam, initially as thin as a strand of hair, had grown to the size of two or three utility poles combined!
*DONGG!*
The massive light pillar struck Naoki's head. The crushing weight, like a mountain pressing down, forced Naoki's knees to buckle slightly out of his control!
But that was all.
*CRACK…*
After a faint cracking sound, the surface of the light pillar rapidly filled with fractures. At the base of the pillar, Naoki gripped it with one hand, his five fingers digging deep into the light, then clenched his fist tightly—
*KRAKK!*
The light pillar shattered into countless fragments!
(Crushing Magecraft directly with his hand?)
Solomon's expression showed shock—was this also an effect of Imaginary Manifestation? Affecting his own body… No, Imaginary Manifestation couldn't affect living beings. Was it directly manipulating space itself?
*BOOMMMMMM!*
As Solomon pondered, Naoki stomped the ground, shattering it, and reappeared before him, both hands gripping the Holy Sword and slashing straight down!
*CLANG!*
Unlike before, this time it wasn't magic circles that blocked the Holy Sword, but Solomon's own hands. Unbelievable as it was, the blade was now caught between Solomon's palms.
This was what they called Empty-Handed Blade Catch.
"The precision of Clairvoyance can be used like this in close combat." Naoki said with a smile. "Truly worthy of being called the Fist King of Israel."
"While I do know a bit of boxing, it's not at a level deserving the title of Fist King—you're overpraising me. More importantly, your performance is calmer than I expected."
From how Naoki and Rei interacted, Solomon could tell their relationship went beyond Master and Servant. He'd assumed Naoki would be furious over Rei's destruction.
Yet, while there was anger, it wasn't burning rage.
The corner of Naoki's lips curled slightly. "Disappointed I'm not so angry I've lost my senses? Don't think an attack like that could destroy my Rei. She's the greatest puppet in the world, my most satisfying and cherished creation!"
As his voice fell, Naoki suddenly ducked. Then, from the bridge's ruins not far away—
*Ta-Ta-Ta!* *Ta-Ta-Ta!* *Ta-Ta-Ta!*
Like a Gatling gun firing at full blast, countless projectiles tore through the rubble. Bullets carried by the wind turned into a storm, hitting Solomon's body at a speed he couldn't react to!
Thick smoke instantly engulfed Solomon's figure.
(Sorry, Master, even though I held on, it took time for self-repair and weapon damage.)
"It's fine, you made it in time."
"Truly surprising—you're unharmed?"
Emerging from the smoke and appearing in the air nearby, Solomon looked at Rei. "I should've used Magecraft strong enough to destroy you—those floating circles around you, are they actually spiritual protection that greatly weakens Magecraft interference?"
"As expected of the King of Magecraft, you saw through the technique I'm using in an instant." Rei smiled. "But, as Master and I expected, even a direct attack on you can't cause any damage."
The protection from the Ten Rings continuously shielded Solomon, nullifying any Magecraft effects. Even if that attack came hundreds or thousands more times, it couldn't harm him.
However, Solomon didn't believe Naoki and Rei would launch this sudden attack knowing it couldn't hurt him.
"—!"
A bone-chilling killing intent surged. Solomon quickly deployed a magical formation around himself, but before he could complete it, Rei aimed her cannon barrel at him again.
*SWISH!*
A blue beam shot out from the barrel, striking the magical formation directly!
(A mistake? No, this is intentional… No, the Magecraft deployment is slightly—not enough time!)
Water Spirit Arts: Interference Shot.
The nature of water is [flow]. When reversed to [stagnation] and fired, it naturally causes the target to stagnate or slow. While it couldn't affect Solomon himself, it could affect the Magecraft he used.
Beyond rushing torrents, swamps that hinder movement and frozen ice are also part of water.
(I'm different from Master—I've got plenty of little details.)
(Yeah, yeah, I know you're meticulous.)
Among the affected magical formations, as if their colors had faded, Naoki's figure silently appeared. Swiftly passing through all the formations, he arrived behind Solomon—
*SWOOSH!*
The Holy Sword slashed!