"Permission granted. Drown everything under the radiance of Promised Victory."
A Command Seal. One of three. Burned.
"Neighhhhh..."
The Pegasus beneath us shrieked, its speed surging further.
Medusa deflected Noble Phantasm after Noble Phantasm raining toward us.
I looked at her violet hair and asked.
"Rider... Can you use your Noble Phantasm?" My invisible scythe jerked down mid-sentence, deflecting a blade aimed at her Pegasus' leg.
Medusa did not reply. She only nodded—imperceptibly.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
I twisted my body atop the Pegasus' back, deflecting weapon after weapon.
...
Artoria stood in perfect calm as mana from a Command Seal flooded her whole being.
Slowly, the wind sheathing her sword dissipated.
A pure white tip emerged from the fading wind—immaculate, almost luminous in its purity.
Then a blade. Fairy inscriptions ran along its spine, glowing faintly with a light that predated modern history. A guard of gold and royal blue followed, elegant yet unmistakably a weapon of war. A royal blue grip wrapped in white was next, ending in a golden pommel that seemed to gather all light unto itself.
The Sword of Promised Victory.
Excalibur.
...
Winds howled as hundreds of different swords screeched toward us now.
Trajectories. Wind drag. Momentum. The numbers arrived before I asked for them—they always did.
Two hundred and thirty three possible routes collapsed into six viable ones within a single thought. Everything reduced itself to geometry, and geometry had never once failed to bore me.
Medusa hurled her stake-chain ahead, trying to parry a weapon and carve open a path for us.
My own stake-chain launched from my grip a moment later. It followed hers, colliding mid-path—altering both their courses. Mine deflected two weapons aside; hers averted three.
Her Pegasus charged through that gap, barely making it through.
We looked ahead. More weapons were roaring toward us from all sides.
...
Artoria held Excalibur with both hands and brought it over her head.
Her gaze turned toward Heracles, who was still assaulting the boundary field—even now, as cracks ran across it.
Embers of radiance began to coat Excalibur's blade.
...
Everything was swords in my field of vision. Wounds—some small, some grave—ran across all three of us.
An inescapable net had closed around us, even as Rider's Pegasus closed the distance toward Archer.
I had one option left. One I'd been saving because I wasn't sure the World would let me get away with it a second time.
The ouroboros on my back pulsed—I didn't activate it. It activated itself, as though it had been waiting.
The boundary field covering my skin stretched, covering Rider and her Pegasus in its effect.
I braced for resistance. For the crushing pushback of reality reasserting its rules.
Nothing came.
Time bent around us like glass under pressure. Four times. The swords hanging in air became still as paintings.
BOOM!
Concentric circles were left behind as the Pegasus neighed. Our surroundings dissolving into a smear of colors.
Archer's eyes widened. His hand jerked toward a sword half-buried at his feet—and stopped. From his perspective, we had simply vanished.
A golden bridle began to materialize beneath Rider, right over her Pegasus.
Miles away outside the bounded field, golden radiance climbed Excalibur with escalating intensity. Artoria's surroundings quaked, tremendous amounts of mana warping the atmosphere.
A pair of green eyes... carrying only composure, locked onto Heracles.
...
Blinding white light radiated from Rider's Pegasus as its speed surged further.
I slid down to her back, wrapping a single arm around her waist to steady myself.
Any weapon that came between our charge was repelled instantly.
I could feel Rider's mana reserves draining. Bellerophon was not a cheap Noble Phantasm. She had perhaps ten seconds of this left.
White radiance continued to intensify, turning us into a meteor of pure white.
Unlimited Blade Works seemed to groan and tremble at its seams.
White light bled outward from the sheer force of our charge.
...
Golden light climbed from Excalibur.
It tore the surrounding boundary field apart. Tore the sky apart.
A golden pillar of light connected above and below—ad infinitum.
Heracles stopped his assault. His muscles locked up. His gaze snapping toward the now visible pillar of light.
...
"EXCALIBUR!"
"Bellerophon!"
...
A white meteor raced toward Archer.
A golden line cleaved toward Berserker.
...
Archer felt his mana consumption skyrocket as Unlimited Blade Works fractured under Medusa's Noble Phantasm.
He slowly raised his hand toward us.
A single purple petal bloomed into existence. It divided further. Four. Six. Seven.
That flower of seven petals expanded to cover his front.
Blood dripped down his arm, yet his eyes never wavered.
"Rho... Aias."
...
Heracles looked at that pillar of light. Then glanced back—some distance away, his Master stood. Straight in the path of that pillar.
The red haze in his eyes fractured. His snarl smoothing into something terribly, quietly human.
His lips tugged slightly upward.
He turned and walked toward that light.
Not charged. Not roared. Walked. Each step unhurried. Deliberate. The axe-sword materialized within his grip as naturally as breathing.
The demigod son of Zeus walked forward to protect his Master.
...
A blinding white line bisected Unlimited Blade Works in two and collided with Rho Aias.
Simultaneously.
A pillar of golden light fell upon Heracles. He swung his axe-sword toward it all the same.
BOOOM! X2
...
..
.
Archer watched each petal of Rho Aias collapse with each passing moment.
He glanced back. Lancer had closed the distance from behind, his spear poised straight for Archer's heart.
Slowly, Archer's face broke into a grin.
He waited for Lancer to reach his back. When he did, Archer reached for his Master through their bond.
Master...
Rin, just outside of the reality marble, heard him and pointed her command seal skyward.
Meanwhile...
Lancer held onto his crimson spear, having reached Archer after passing through an unending barrage of swords.
He pulled his spear arm back, and stabbed straight at Archer's heart from behind.
Yet, Archer dissolved into particles just before his spear could touch.
Lancer snapped his gaze up. Archer had turned his head toward him at some point.
His pupils constricted as Archer mouthed two words toward him.
Have fun.
He did not have time to react as Archer vanished. His gaze snapped straight ahead.
A white comet was heading toward him, unimpeded.
Ah, Fuc—
BOOOOOOM!
...
Fuyuki was split in two. One part alight with gold. Another drowned under white.
...
..
.
Above Fuyuki, perched on a throne of gold that had no business existing on a rooftop, Gilgamesh took in the spectacle. His hand swirled a chalice full of wine.
He wordlessly pointed it forward.
Then he took a gulp, downing the whole cup in one go. Wine spilled out of his mouth and down his neck.
...
..
.
***
[200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[5 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
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[Bellerophon: Bridle of Chivalry]: It is a shining golden bridle and whip paired as a set that is capable of fully controlling a Divine Beast, and it is Medusa's most powerful attack. It is an oddity even among Noble Phantasms, having no effect without a mount. Its power is great, providing extraordinary offensive and defensive capabilities of the highest level. While Medusa alone is not able to match Saber in battle, she is confident in this ability to defeat any opponent without them stopping her charge. It is ranked as an A+ Rank Noble Phantasm.
...
[Authors Thoughts]
Honestly... I've been trying to settle this chapter for 5 hours straight. Do tell me how it came out? I've tried to cut scenes in between to build momentum.
Does it land or feels confusing instead?
I might rewrite the whole chapter if it doesn't hit.
...
So... some might be wondering why the world did not resist Izuru this time, right? Its because he is inside a Reality Marble right now, cut off mostly from the outer world.
...
And more than half of the Holy Grail War is wrapped up now. I would appriciate if any among you leave reviews on the novel about how it has been till now.
&
Do you guys want this to continue after this Grail War? I'm thinking about ending it after the war, with a bang.