Chapter 389

Chapter 389: Chapter 389

The moment Rider and Esdeath sensed the scorching, overwhelming power contained within the approaching torrent of light, both realized just how dangerous the attack was.

Their first instinct was to withdraw immediately.

Unfortunately, Archer had anticipated that possibility.

Countless projected Noble Phantasms rained down around them, forcing both women to defend themselves and delaying their retreat for a crucial fraction of a second.

And that brief delay was all Saber needed.

The devastating torrent unleashed by Excalibur was already upon them.

’This should finally give us a victory, shouldn’t it?’

Archer was breathing heavily, his magical reserves rapidly approaching their limit.

Nevertheless, a faint sense of relief appeared in his heart as he watched the golden light engulf the battlefield.

Then he noticed Esdeath’s expression.

Despite the approaching destruction, she was smiling with absolute composure.

’What’s going on? Isn’t she afraid?’

Archer’s relief immediately turned to suspicion.

’Why isn’t she trying to block it? Why isn’t she even moving?’

He received his answer a moment later.

A figure suddenly appeared directly in front of Esdeath and Rider.

Kiriya.

A golden skeletal structure enveloped his body as he positioned himself squarely between the two women and the oncoming torrent of light.

Archer’s eyes widened.

’Has that lunatic completely lost his mind?!’

’He’s just a Magus! Does he seriously intend to withstand a Servant’s Noble Phantasm with his own body? And not just any Noble Phantasm, but Excalibur, the legendary holy sword standing at the pinnacle of all sacred blades?!’

There was no time to consider the implications.

BOOOOOOM—!

The golden torrent swallowed Kiriya, Esdeath, and Rider.

An explosion of unimaginable violence erupted across the crimson wasteland.

The earth trembled beneath the impact, and an enormous mushroom cloud climbed into the sky, spreading above the battlefield.

"What an incredible destructive power!"

Archer couldn’t help expressing his admiration.

"As expected of Excalibur."

But almost immediately, admiration gave way to confusion.

"Wait... why is there a mushroom cloud?"

Saber was equally bewildered.

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly as she stared toward the center of the explosion.

Because something extraordinary had appeared before them.

A golden giant.

An enormous, imposing figure standing hundreds of meters tall, its majestic presence resembling that of a deity descended from the heavens.

"It’s... enormous!"

Archer’s clothes were already soaked with sweat.

Standing before such a colossal figure, he and Saber seemed no more significant than specks of dust.

And the giant’s size was not even the most terrifying thing about it.

The energy radiating from its body was simply incomprehensible.

Vast and boundless, it resembled the endless ocean or the immense expanse of the sky.

The sheer magnitude of that power inspired a profound sense of helplessness, as though the distance separating them from the golden giant could never be crossed.

No, even describing it as an insurmountable distance seemed inadequate.

They could not begin to approach such a level of power.

And Archer and Saber were hardly the only ones stunned.

Even those standing on Kiriya’s side—Illya, Rider, Caster, and the others—felt their understanding of what was possible collapse completely.

Just when they thought they had finally grasped the extent of Kiriya’s strength, he had revealed something that shattered their expectations all over again.

"What... what in the world is this?!"

How could a human body possibly contain such an enormous quantity of energy?

Caster and Rider desperately searched their knowledge for an explanation, but nothing they knew about ordinary Magi came close to accounting for what they were witnessing.

’Could he be descended from some deity of the Age of Gods?’

’Perhaps an ancient divine bloodline has awakened in him after countless generations?’

The more they considered the possibilities, the more that explanation seemed like the only remotely reasonable one.

Esdeath, however, was not concerned with the origin of the power.

Standing within the golden giant’s protection, she gazed at its magnificent form with an expression of undisguised fascination.

"What an intoxicating display of strength..."

Kiriya, meanwhile, looked down at the two opposing Servants with an unexpectedly solemn expression.

"Your determination has earned my respect."

His voice carried across the battlefield.

"And in recognition of that determination, I shall respond with my true strength!"

He had finally unleashed the ultimate form of his technique.

"Perfect Susanoo!"

At his command, the colossal golden warrior slowly lowered one hand toward the hilt of the sword resting at its waist.

"Susanoo...?"

Archer watched the giant’s movements, and an icy sensation crawled from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head.

He desperately wanted to project another powerful A-rank Noble Phantasm, if only to make one final attempt at resistance.

Unfortunately, his earlier attacks and the activation of Unlimited Blade Works had already consumed an enormous amount of magical energy.

At this point, even if he wanted to project another suitable weapon, his remaining reserves were insufficient.

"Saber!"

Archer could only place his hopes in the King of Knights, praying that she might somehow produce another miracle.

"I can’t."

Saber shook her head.

"My magical energy consumption is already too great."

With Shirou as her Master, her magical energy supply had been inadequate from the beginning.

Her previous use of Excalibur had been possible only because she had drawn heavily upon her own remaining reserves.

Now even those reserves were nearly exhausted.

There was simply no way she could unleash another attack of that magnitude.

"Then here I come!"

Kiriya’s expression became almost heroic as he commanded the golden giant to draw its sword.

The colossal warrior’s hand closed around the hilt.

Then, in one tremendous motion, it unsheathed the blade and unleashed a sweeping sword strike toward Archer and Saber.

BOOOOOOM—!

The wind pressure generated by the sword transformed into an immense, unstoppable slash.

It tore through the earth, carving a gigantic chasm across the crimson wasteland and extending all the way toward the distant horizon.

The sheer force of the attack split the entire Reality Marble in two.

It was as though the anger of a divine giant had overturned heaven and earth, tearing open the land and sending the world itself into upheaval.

"Gah—!"

Archer and Saber immediately threw themselves aside, using every last ounce of strength to escape the path of the attack.

But the destructive wind pressure covered an impossibly wide area.

Although both Servants accelerated to their absolute limits, neither managed to avoid it completely.

The edge of the slash struck them with devastating force.

Bones shattered throughout their bodies, and the impact violently damaged and displaced their internal organs.

Their already strained spiritual bodies suffered catastrophic injuries, leaving them hovering on the verge of breaking apart entirely.

Archer was no longer capable of maintaining Unlimited Blade Works.

In fact, the Reality Marble had already begun collapsing before the immense sword strike could reach the farthest limits of the wasteland.

The great Magecraft vanished.

The barren red plain, the countless swords embedded in the ground, and the enormous gears turning beneath the burning sky disappeared together.

Reality returned.

...

Outside the Reality Marble, the other confrontation had already ended.

Rin Tohsaka was undoubtedly a genius Magus, while Shirou Emiya possessed enormous potential for future growth.

Unfortunately, both were still young and inexperienced, nowhere near the point where their talents had fully matured.

Against accomplished fighters like Ryuu and Jeanne, they simply had no realistic chance of victory.

It had taken very little time for the two women to defeat and capture them.

"Sister, do you believe me now?"

Sakura had quietly watched the entire exchange.

Only after Rin had been subdued did she approach her older sister with a gentle smile.

"Hmph! Fine, fine, I get it!"

Rin turned her head away in frustration.

"Your precious Kiriya is amazing. His Servants are amazing. I can’t beat them! Happy now?"

She sounded thoroughly displeased.

Shirou could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.

"Man... I was so determined to win the Holy Grail War, but I’ve already suffered a complete defeat in my first proper battle."

"Don’t be discouraged, Senpai."

Sakura’s expression was perfectly sincere.

"Your opponent was Kiriya, after all. Losing to him is only natural."

Shirou stared at her, completely unsure how he was supposed to respond to that particular attempt at encouragement.

Just then, an extraordinary golden radiance appeared in the sky.

A tremendous slash swept across the landscape, obliterating everything in its path and leaving behind an enormous scar in the earth.

The destruction extended farther and farther into the distance, continuing all the way toward the limits of their vision.

Even a small hill several kilometers away was cleanly sliced apart.

"W-What is that?!"

Rin stared at the devastating attack, her entire body trembling.

"Is that... Saber’s Noble Phantasm?"

Shirou swallowed hard, struggling to comprehend the scale of what he had just witnessed.

Fortunately, their confusion did not last long.

As Unlimited Blade Works completely dissolved, Kiriya’s Perfect Susanoo appeared in the real world.

The colossal golden giant stood silently upon the devastated earth, towering hundreds of meters into the sky.

Its magnificent form and overwhelming presence made it seem as though a divine king from the Age of Gods had descended upon the modern world.

"It’s... him?"

A pained groan escaped Rin’s lips.

She felt as though her teeth were aching from sheer frustration.

"With that much magical energy, why the hell does he even need the Holy Grail?!"

"Looks like we really don’t have any chance of winning this Holy Grail War, Tohsaka."

Shirou gave another bitter smile.

Rin immediately glared at him.

"I know that! You don’t have to tell me!"

She grabbed handfuls of her hair, practically tearing at it in despair.

"Seriously! Where did this guy even come from?! Since when has the Magecraft world had someone this ridiculous running around?! And why haven’t I ever heard a single thing about him before?!"

Watching the young woman’s frustration and despair, Jeanne and Ryuu exchanged amused smiles.

To be fair, Rin really was rather unlucky.

After all, Kiriya and his companions had come from beyond this world. There was no reason for the young Magus to have heard of them.

A promising little genius had barely stepped outside the beginner’s village before running straight into a fully leveled Demon King.

Under those circumstances, calling it an unfair matchup would have been putting it mildly.