Clang… clang… clang…
Metal rang across the sky.
The sound did not seem to come from any one direction. It echoed from somewhere distant and unreachable, like steel being forged in another world.
Above Alubarna, points of light appeared one after another.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
They burned in the air like stars.
Kairos stood beneath them, high above the royal capital. Pale lines of light crawled across his arms, pulsing beneath his skin like living circuits.
Heroic Spirit EMIYA.
A nameless hero from another world.
A man who had reached the end of a path built from steel, fire, and regret.
And now, that power flowed through Kairos.
Clang… clang… clang…
The lights overhead trembled.
Their shapes lengthened.
Edges formed.
Hilts appeared.
What had been light slowly became blades.
All across Alubarna, people stopped in the streets.
A man carrying a barrel of wine froze mid-step.
The worker behind him almost cursed, then looked up and forgot what he had been about to say.
"Look… the sky…"
"Are those weapons?"
"Is this a miracle?"
Some people shouted.
Some prayed.
Others simply stared, unable to move.
Even under the desert sun, the countless blades above the city shone with a brilliance that could not be hidden.
Crocodile looked up.
For the first time, his expression changed.
He felt it clearly.
Kairos' aura was no longer simple.
Before, it had been sharp. Direct. Dangerous.
Now it felt layered.
Complicated.
As if countless weapons, countless histories, and countless possibilities were gathering behind him.
Crocodile hated uncertainty.
His right arm turned to sand.
In an instant, the sand condensed into a massive blade over a hundred meters long.
Armament Haki spread across it, dyeing it black.
Then Crocodile swung down.
Boom!!
The black sand blade descended like a falling mountain.
The air screamed.
The ground split.
The remaining section of the city wall shattered under the pressure before the attack even landed.
Soldiers were thrown from their feet.
A trench tore through the desert below, hundreds of meters long.
For one breath, the place where Kairos stood disappeared beneath a storm of sand and destruction.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes.
Too easy.
A man like Kairos couldn't have died from that.
And sure enough—
the lights above Alubarna did not vanish.
They grew brighter.
Sharper.
More complete.
Among them, one blade caught Crocodile's eye.
A black sword.
A cross-shaped hilt.
A blade known across the sea.
Yoru.
Crocodile's pupils tightened.
That was Hawkeye Mihawk's sword.
Why was it here?
Had Kairos already fought Mihawk?
Before Crocodile could think further—
a violet-red light bloomed inside the sandstorm.
Layer by layer, seven petals unfolded.
The storm broke against them.
Sand scattered.
Wind collapsed.
The violent strike that had torn through the city could not pass even one step beyond those petals.
Rho Aias.
The Seven Rings That Cover the Fiery Heavens.
Behind the blooming shield, Kairos stood unharmed.
His coat fluttered softly.
Not a single grain of sand touched him.
Cobra watched through his telescope, cold sweat sliding down his forehead.
Crocodile was one of the Seven Warlords.
That strike had looked powerful enough to split the royal capital open.
Yet Kairos had blocked it.
Cleanly.
Completely.
"So this is his real strength…"
Nearby, Pell, still being treated by the army doctors, looked toward the violet light and the countless weapons filling the sky.
A bitter smile touched his face.
There was no comparison.
Not even close.
Vivi, however, stared at the sky with shining eyes.
"Brother Kairos…"
At that moment, Kairos' voice drifted across Alubarna.
It was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
But somehow, everyone heard it.
"I am the bone of my sword."
"Steel is my body."
"And fire is my blood."
The countless blades above the royal capital trembled as one.
Crocodile's expression darkened.
The desert wind stilled.
And Kairos continued the chant.
The chant of Heroic Spirit EMIYA's greatest power.
Unlimited Blade Works.
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