At that exact moment, a violent tremor ran through the entire region.
The ground shook so violently that dust fell from the ceiling of the base, while a deep rumble seemed to echo from the very bowels of the earth.
"Arthur! There's a huge monster heading straight for our base!"
Ritsuka rushed into the area where Arthur and Jeanne Alter had been talking, urgency written all over his face.
"A giant monster?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly.
His mind immediately arrived at a single possible answer.
A smile appeared on his face as a distant memory crossed his mind.
"Alright. Let's go outside and take a look."
Without wasting any time, Arthur left the confinement area, followed by Ritsuka. Jeanne Alter remained still for only a brief moment before letting out a huff and following them as well. Even she had become curious about what kind of creature could cause such a commotion.
Meanwhile, outside, each impact the monster made against the ground produced a deep roar, making the earth tremble as though it were about to split apart.
But it didn't even have feet.
The enormous mass of flesh advanced by dragging itself with its countless tentacles and pseudopods, which continuously extended and contracted, crushing everything in their path. Its surface pulsed like a living organism, composed of countless layers of viscous flesh twisting endlessly.
It was as if thousands of creatures were trying to escape from within it all at once.
Tentacles appeared and disappeared without any pattern. Misshapen eyes opened for fractions of a second before being swallowed once more by the flesh itself, while mouths filled with irregular fangs formed only to release distorted screams before vanishing beneath new layers of living tissue.
There was no logic to its anatomy.
It was simply a colossal mass of living flesh, ever-changing and impossible to comprehend.
As that monstrosity advanced, Gilles de Rais no longer possessed a body of his own.
His body had been completely absorbed by Prelati's Spellbook and devoured by the countless demonic familiars summoned through it.
Now, he existed only as the core of that abomination.
His consciousness had merged with the Giant Horror, sharing its perception and observing the world through countless eyes scattered across that pulsating mass.
Before him, reflected in his distorted perception, stood CHALDEA's temporary base within that Singularity.
The very place he had obsessively watched through his crystal ball ever since Jeanne Alter had been captured.
He no longer distinguished salvation from destruction.
To Gilles, all of it was merely an insignificant price to pay in order to recover the woman he idolized.
He had never controlled that creature, nor had he ever intended to.
The Giant Horror was absolute evil, an existence older than human logic itself.
Gilles had merely opened a door for its arrival into this world.
From that moment onward, the creature acted solely according to its own instincts.
And its instinct was simple—to devour everything in its path.
It did not distinguish enemies from allies.
It did not distinguish the innocent from the guilty.
It did not even understand concepts such as war or revenge.
To it, everything was food.
As it sensed the concentration of lives gathered within CHALDEA's base, hundreds of tentacles began writhing simultaneously.
The gigantic mass of flesh slowly advanced.
Every meter it covered caused the ground to sink beneath its tremendous weight.
The supernatural mist surrounding it made its presence even more oppressive, while an absurd amount of Magical Energy overflowed from Prelati's Spellbook.
A few moments later, while all the other Servants accompanying Ritsuka retreated to a safe distance, Arthur and Artoria leaped onto the roof of the base.
The moment Arthur laid eyes upon that monstrous creature towering dozens of meters high, an almost nostalgic light crossed his gaze.
He observed the creature for several seconds before a faint smile appeared on his face.
He then materialized a long white spear in his hand.
"Doesn't this bring back some memories, Artie?" Arthur asked with a smile.
"Yes. I don't think I'll ever forget that day," Artoria replied with a sigh.
"Then let's do it again, just like last time..." Arthur said as the spear began shining with an intense golden light.
The spear became enveloped in such pure holy power that it could kill anyone connected to the dark arts.
"Removing the twin restraints of the Holy Spear. Beginning countdown."
"May a sacred miracle illuminate my path."
"SHINING SPEAR OF DESTINY — LONGINUS!!"
Arthur roared as he hurled the spear.
BOOM—
A golden light suddenly burst forth, eclipsing everything else.
The heavens, covered by dense clouds, were torn apart by the spear as though nothing had ever stood between it and the horizon. A golden beam cut through the sky, opening a path for the light beyond the clouds.
The torrent of holy energy struck the monster head-on.
The impact was so overwhelming that a golden explosion completely engulfed the Giant Horror's body. Light and heat spread throughout the region, consuming everything around it and swallowing the creature at the center.
"RUGHHHHH—!!"
A distorted scream echoed across the battlefield.
The enormous mass of flesh convulsed violently as Longinus remained embedded in its body. Holy energy spread relentlessly, burning and disintegrating its flesh layer after layer. Tentacles lashed wildly in every direction, striking its own body in an instinctive attempt to halt the destruction, but nothing could stop the spear's advance.
The creature's entire lower half simply disappeared.
The remaining mass crashed onto the ground, opening enormous fissures that spread across the earth beneath the weight of the impact.
Even so...
It had not died completely.
By sheer chance, Gilles, who remained at the Giant Horror's core, had escaped the most devastating part of the attack.
Because of that, the creature immediately began regenerating.
Its flesh regrew at a horrifying speed, reconstructing tentacles and limbs as enormous portions of its body restored themselves before everyone's eyes.
Had that monster been summoned against an ordinary Heroic Spirit, perhaps that regenerative ability alone would have decided the battle.
However, before Arthur, such regeneration merely granted it a few extra moments of existence.
Arthur's attack had already accomplished its purpose.
He had completely halted the creature's advance.
Of course, he could have killed it in a single strike, or even had Artie use her Sacred Judgment, just like they had done last time.
But there was someone who wanted Gilles dead even more than he did.
Now, all that remained was to deliver the finishing blow.
"I never thought I'd have to do this..."
Jeanne Alter gripped her banner tightly while keeping her eyes fixed on the Giant Horror.
"Arthur, I'll deal with Gilles myself," she said as she looked at him.
"Alright. Then I'll leave it to you." Arthur simply nodded.
Longinus, which had remained embedded in the monster, had already returned to his Gate of Babylon.
After that, Jeanne Alter advanced toward the monster.
Before her, the Giant Horror had already regenerated part of the body destroyed by Longinus, but that did nothing to change the outcome of the battle.
She slowly raised her banner.
"This is the howl of a soul filled with hatred..."
"La Grondement Du Haine."
Her voice remained strangely calm as she unleashed her Noble Phantasm.
The next instant, flames erupted around the Giant Horror while hundreds of stakes pierced the monster's flesh.
The fire spread rapidly across the entire mass of flesh, completely engulfing the creature. As the flames advanced, its enormous body slowly sank. Its regeneration continued to function, but it was utterly incapable of keeping up with the speed at which the flames consumed its flesh.
Little by little, the entire creature was reduced to ashes.
Gilles, who remained fused to the Giant Horror's core, naturally shared the same fate.
Even as his body was consumed by the flames, a fanatical smile remained on his face.
Prelati's Spellbook slipped from his hands and fell into the fire, yet he never even looked back at it. Even in his final moments, his fanatical gaze remained fixed solely upon the cold face of Jeanne d'Arc Alter.
(End of Chapter)