Despite the fact that Sakura had already fallen into darkness—and, empowered by All the World's Evil, now possessed strength that completely eclipsed that of the old parasite—
The shadow that Matō Zōken had cast over her since childhood was simply too deep.
The moment his voice suddenly echoed within her, the Sakura who had only moments ago radiated an almost queenly composure began to tremble uncontrollably, her body betraying her before her mind could react.
She struggled. She clenched her teeth.But in the end, she still couldn't overcome the fear rooted in her very soul.
After glancing toward Ren Kuroda in the distance, Sakura abruptly turned and shouted at her Servant:
"Kiba—don't attack Tsurugi yet! Forget her! Use everything you've got and force Ren Kuroda out of the battle!"
Kiba, who had been holding off two opponents at once, froze for a split second when she heard the order.
But to her, Sakura was the most important existence in the world.
Even though she didn't understand why Sakura had suddenly changed her decision, Kiba had never once doubted her Master—and never would.
Without hesitation, she shifted her target and charged straight toward Ren Kuroda.
Watching Sakura issue the command—and watching Kiba actually abandon her original opponents and rush at him—Ren, who had been fully prepared to just stand back and watch the chaos unfold, was completely dumbfounded.
Okay, I get that girls can be fickle, he thought, but isn't this a little too fast?She'd literally just said she didn't want to be his enemy—and now he'd been promoted to public enemy number one?
"…Fine," Ren muttered, lips curling slightly."This works out perfectly. I was just wondering how strong this Reality Marble really is. A darkened, power-boosted Kiba is a pretty ideal test subject."
Kiba had already resummoned her Phantasmal Pegasus, and the moment it appeared, she launched into a reckless charge within Ren's Reality Marble.
At this moment, Ren stood like a supreme commander amid an army of tens of thousands.Countless oni soldiers swarmed around him, forming a dense, living wall that protected him at the very center.
To reach Ren, one would first have to carve a path through that endless sea of oni.
With a Phantasmal Pegasus beneath her—and riding skill honed to an A+ rank—Kiba was effectively unstoppable among the oni soldiers, whose average strength hovered around C+.
As she galloped across the battlefield, the Pegasus's speed was so extreme that its white form blurred into a streak of light—like a blazing white comet tearing across the ground.
Every oni soldier in its path was sent flying the instant that comet struck them, scattered like bowling pins by the sheer impact.
In her current state, even a normal charge from Kiba carried power comparable to her earlier Noble Phantasm activations.Ordinary oni soldiers standing no chance against her was only natural.
But mowing down fodder was one thing.
When she finally ran into real monsters, her unstoppable momentum came to an abrupt halt.
After advancing nearly a hundred meters toward Ren like a valkyrie incarnate, five pitch-black slashes—dense with demonic energy—suddenly erupted from different directions and converged on her position.
Though they came from separate angles, their identical aura caused them to fuse together just before impact, forming a single overwhelming strike.
One such slash would have been dangerous enough.Five combined forced Kiba to rein in her Pegasus and immediately deploy her Noble Phantasm to block.
"None may trespass upon the domain of our king," a voice thundered."Foolish intruder—if you seek a fight, then face us!"
As the dark slashes dissipated, five mounted oni generals appeared before her.
From their presence alone—the oppressive aura, the armored forms—Kiba instantly understood that these five were nothing like the earlier rabble.
Her expression hardened. She focused completely.
Ren did not intervene.
Instead, he watched carefully through Kiba's battle, using her as a lens to assess the true power and limits of his Reality Marble.
Each of these oni generals possessed strength comparable to A-rank yōkai.
Individually speaking, their combat ability would place them slightly below heroes like the legendary spear-wielder Ren had once fought in this world.
No—more than slightly below.
Servants wielded Noble Phantasms and possessed fully independent consciousness.Compared to them, these oni generals were clearly inferior.
In terms of raw demonic energy, they might not lag far behind.But in an actual fight?
A fully armed hero could probably take on two—maybe even three—of these oni generals at once.
And yet now, Kiba—empowered by Sakura's corruption—was fighting five of them alone, and the battle was dead even.
To be honest, Ren found their performance… underwhelming.
They had plenty of demonic power, but perhaps because they lacked true physical bodies, their movements were stiff, almost mechanical.
At range, where power clashes mattered more, they held up decently.
But in close combat?
They were practically lining up to be slaughtered.
As if to prove Ren's point, after dozens of exchanges, one of the oni generals finally exposed an opening—and Kiba took it.
Her blade flashed.
The general's head was sent flying clean off his shoulders.
Seeing this, Ren's relaxed, spectator-like mood vanished instantly.
He was already considering stepping in himself.
Sure, the foot soldiers were expendable—but these oni generals were A-rank assets.He didn't exactly have a massive budget.
One died already—and it hadn't even been that long.If he waited any longer, the remaining four might all get wiped out.
Just as Ren was about to order the survivors to retreat and take the field personally—
The situation suddenly changed.
The oni general who had just been beheaded… didn't die.
Even without a head, it continued moving.
And in the instant Kiba relaxed, assuming victory, the headless general lashed out—its blade grazing her back and tearing through her defenses.
Under normal circumstances, there was no way Kiba would have fallen for something so crude.
But how could she have imagined that something without a head could still be alive?
In all her legends, beheading a monster was a death sentence.Even she herself had died that way.
So what were these grotesque creatures?
How could their vitality be so absurd that they survived decapitation?
What happened next made even Kiba shudder.
The headless oni general grabbed a nearby oni soldier, crushed it in one hand, and absorbed the black sludge that spilled out as its body twisted and dissolved.
The dark mass flowed into the general's body—
And within seconds, a brand-new head regenerated.
The oni general cracked its neck with a series of loud pops, as if getting used to its new skull.
Kiba stared, stunned.
Ren wasn't doing much better.
He hadn't expected his oni army to be this weak in raw combat—but hyper-regeneration was not something he'd anticipated either.
"O intruder who dares trespass upon our king's realm," the oni general declared coldly."There is no need for such surprise. We are born from endless negative emotions."
"As long as human greed, fear, and rage continue to exist, they are an inexhaustible source of power for us."
"Look behind you—at the path you carved."
"We are the undying army of our king. How could we fall so easily?"
As the oni general raised its massive blade, the surrounding soldiers responded as though answering a call of honor—raising their weapons high and roaring in unison.
Kiba turned—and her pupils shrank.
The oni soldiers she had trampled and crushed earlier were crawling back to their feet.
Twisted bodies straightened.Flesh regenerated.One by one, they rose—and began closing in on her again.
If even ordinary oni possessed regenerative abilities, then the generals' resilience needed no explanation.
The reason the beheaded general had absorbed a soldier was simply to speed up its recovery.
Only then did Kiba realize—
She had charged far too deep.
She was completely surrounded.
And Ren's oni army clearly had no intention of honoring any so-called "fair duel."
They swarmed her all at once.
"Sakura! Use a Command Seal!" Zōken's voice urged urgently from within."If I remember correctly, Rider—no, Kiba—has always obeyed you without hesitation. You should still have most of your seals intact!"
"Use them now! Amplify her! Break her out of that encirclement and have her attack Ren Kuroda at full power!"
"His Reality Marble may be strong, but he burned most of his mana resisting All the World's Evil earlier!"
"This is the best chance to eliminate him!"
"Use one seal—no, use two! Boost Kiba to the limit!"
Watching Kiba swallowed by the sea of oni, Zōken's voice was frantic.
The Grail was practically within reach.
If they could just eliminate Ren Kuroda, the most troublesome obstacle of all, then the dream he had chased for generations would finally be realized.
Lost in fantasies of his glorious future, Zōken failed to notice—
A shadow silently appeared behind Sakura.
"So that's why the Matō girl suddenly turned her spear on me," a cold voice said."By all logic, I shouldn't even be the one she hates most."
"Turns out it was you, you disgusting old parasite, pulling the strings."
"Yes, my mana reserves are almost empty."
"But killing you?"
"That's still more than doable."
Ren Kuroda's sudden voice sent a jolt of terror through both Sakura and the Zōken lurking inside her.
Before Sakura's body could even react—
Agony exploded in her chest.
A clawed hand pierced forward, striking straight toward her heart.
..
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