An unexpected outcome.
Before this battle with Naoki began, Amakusa never imagined such a result.
Indeed, Naoki had the power to kill Heroic Spirit Swordsmen in an instant, but there were also differences in strength among them. Kālasūtra Hell—Minamoto no Raikō—was one of the strongest Heroic Spirit Swordsmen. Her power was truly worthy of the legend as the greatest mystery-slaying warrior of the Heian period.
Yet, a Raikō like that was obliterated by Naoki in a single strike.
She was blasted away without even the chance to put up the slightest resistance.
Naoki's strength far exceeded his expectations. Even after Dōman summoned a colossal Evil Spirit with Onmyōdō, Amakusa felt no reassurance.
And the result was as he feared. The Evil Spirit, powerful enough to curse an entire city, couldn't withstand a single slash from Naoki!
It was a power truly beyond the limits of resistance.
"Ugh…"
Struggling to rise from the massive crater created by Naoki's single slash, Amakusa, bloodied all over, clutched his arm, trying to locate Dōman nearby.
But as he looked up, a sword was already pointed at his eyes.
"Still alive, huh."
Naoki stood before Amakusa, looking down at him.
"Though I didn't attack with full power, it's not too surprising you survived."
"Are you planning to kill me?"
"Why not?" Naoki raised an eyebrow. "If I kill you here, the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen should disappear, right? By the way, using your Noble Phantasm on me would be pointless. Dual Arm—Zero-Order Convergence? That's its name, isn't it? If you unleash it, I'll destroy it too."
This was no joke.
Amakusa knew Naoki truly had that capability—no, he believed Naoki had that power.
"What a pity."
Gazing at the Blood Moon in the sky, Amakusa sighed.
"I never imagined I'd meet an existence as powerful as you here… If only I could have met you sooner."
"Well, I think so too. If it was during the start of the Shimabara Rebellion, I'd probably have helped you," Naoki said.
The Shimabara Rebellion was an uprising—a massive revolt of peasants and Catholics in the Shimabara Peninsula and Amakusa Islands in Kyushu, opposing the Shogunate's feudal oppression and religious persecution. The hoarding of vast wealth by local rulers, exploitation of peasants, and various tortures… The rebellion erupted under such conditions.
Honestly, Naoki didn't think the rebelling peasants were wrong. The fault lay with the local rulers. If he had been in that era, he might have joined Amakusa to fight the Shogunate.
Because that would have been the right thing to do.
But things were different now. Amakusa, once a leader of victims, had become a perpetrator. So, no matter how tragic his past or how pitiful his history, Naoki would truly oppose him.
"Such arrogance, foreigner."
Amakusa stared at Naoki.
"Give me the final blow."
"Of course—"
Naoki raised his Holy Sword but didn't swing it downward. Instead, he swung it backward.
*CLANG!*
The Holy Sword clashed with another blade in the air. Light and lightning exploded and intertwined.
Raikō previously blasted away by Naoki, had returned, completely unscathed!
Seeing Naoki held back by Raikō, Amakusa immediately rolled away, escaping from Naoki's side into the distance. Then he quickly stood and fled toward Tsuchiura Castle!
"Kālasūtra Hell! Hold him with all your strength!"
"Understood, my lord!"
*BOOMMM!*
Mana erupted from Raikō. Blazing lightning echoed in the sky.
Swinging her sword forcefully to push Naoki back and using the recoil to move a short distance away, Raikō raised her Dōjigiri Yasutsuna high.
"Appear! The Four Heavenly Kings—No, the divine messengers of the Bull Heavenly King!"
*⚡⚡⚡⚡!*
Four lightning bolts struck from the Blood Moon sky beside Raikō. As the lightning faded, four figures identical to Raikō appeared.
A sword ablaze with fire, a giant axe crackling with lightning, a bow and arrow shrouded in storms, a spear radiating cold aura—each of the four Raikōs summoned from the lightning held a weapon, standing alongside the original Raikō.
This was Raikō's Noble Phantasm.
Raikō was the child of the Bull Heavenly King (Goze-Tennō). The Bull Heavenly King was the renowned god Susanoo in Japanese mythology. This meant Raikō was likely an incarnation of the Bull Heavenly King.
Moreover, the Bull Heavenly King was also an incarnation of the Indian god Indra.
Thus, Raikō inherited divine blood and harbored the power of the Bull Heavenly King within her. Because of this, she was even considered an Oni's child, possessing both divine and demonic traits.
The lightning she controlled stemmed from this lineage.
But beyond lightning, Raikō could briefly summon four divine messengers of the Bull Heavenly King, who took on demonic traits and strange forms as their source, to sweep the battlefield alongside her—the four Raikō clones now surrounding her.
And the weapons they held were the embodiment of the souls of her Four Heavenly Kings.
Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata no Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake, Usui Sadamitsu. These Four Heavenly Kings were renowned warriors who followed Raikō to slay various monsters and demons, protecting Heian-kyō together.
Manifesting their souls as weapons and granting them to the four divine messengers she summoned.
This was Raikō's Noble Phantasm—Ox-King Storm Call – The Inescapable Net of Heaven.
An Anti-Army Noble Phantasm capable of facing, even annihilating, an entire army single-handedly.
"Let's begin, vermin."
Raikō, holding the lightning sword, stared at Naoki.
"Unnecessary vermin, vermin that would harm children—all must be eradicated by a mother. Isn't that how it should be?"
"My loyal retainers, my hands and feet, my armor! My proud Four Heavenly Kings! With me, annihilate this insect, reduce everything to dust!"
Lightning, fire, storm, ice.
The terrifying Mana unleashed by Raikō and her four divine messengers amplified the power of their weapons to a level that couldn't be ignored!
And the next second, with Raikō charging forward as the signal, the four divine messengers simultaneously turned into flashes of light and attacked Naoki!
Raikō's strength as a Servant was top-tier. After becoming a Heroic Spirit Swordsman, shedding all emotions and reason, her power surged even further. Ordinary Servants were no match for her. Even thousands of troops—Raikō in her current state could crush them outright.
But she was facing Naoki.
No matter how powerfully an enemy unleashed their strength, Naoki, as a fairy, was always above it!
True Name Release.
Excalibur.
*SWOOSH!*
The Holy Sword slashed! A light even more terrifying and magnificent than before erupted! The blindingly bright slash instantly engulfed and obliterated the four divine messengers! Raikō, charging at the forefront, was also swallowed by this light!
Then—
*CRACK!*
The blade sliced through Raikō's body, cutting her Spirit Core and the karma of Purifying All within her!
Gazing at Raikō in the light, Naoki whispered.
"Sorry, I don't have time to dance with you here. If there's a chance, let's meet again in another Holy Grail War in the future."
"I've got to go chase that Magus now."