"Mountain-Shaking Star-Stoke"
An arrow of light, compressed from the concept of Venus, was fired from the divine ship, maanna, instantly striking the Meiji Jingu Shrine.
Then the ground split open, lava erupted, and everything seemed submerged under this endless light.
When the light dissipated, three Demon God Pillars were writhing and struggling on the ground, battered and broken, while the remaining pillars showed varying degrees of damage.
At the same time, this 80-year-old Japanese architectural complex was completely erased from the surface, leaving only a massive crater dozens of meters deep.
Then, Tokyo's fragile ley lines launched their final counterattack; a massive earthquake instantly struck the entire city, causing countless buildings to collapse.
The sudden earthquake also led to a brief ceasefire on the battlefield of the Millennium Castle.
Simultaneously, due to the collapse of the ley lines, the army of Servants behind the King of Conquerors began to dissipate into spiritual particles, deprived of the ley lines' magical energy support.
However, both sides understood that the current battle at the Millennium Castle was no longer the main front. Although it wasn't clear exactly what had happened at the Meiji Jingu Shrine, the key to victory or defeat had shifted there.
At this time, Altrouge took advantage of the fact that most of the personnel in the Millennium Castle were defending against outsiders and quietly arrived before the gates of the deepest hall of the castle.
Altrouge looked at the gate before her, which was covered in layers of seals, and turned to speak to the Black and White Knights behind her.
"Let's begin!"
"Lady Black Princess, are we really going to do this?"
"This is my wish!"
"Yes!" x2
The Black and White Knights simultaneously drew the swords at their waists and slashed toward the gate.
Suddenly, a magical barrier appeared directly in front of the gate, blocking the combined strike of the Black and White Knights.
At the same time, the figure of Caubac Alcatraz appeared before the gate, accompanied by a burst of dark green flames.
Caubac, the Grand Magus and Ancestor who was only one step away from being a Magus, looked at Altrouge and the Black and White Knights with an expression that said, 'Just as I expected.'
"Altrouge! You really do want to resurrect the True Moon!"
Altrouge held her skirt and gave a slight curtsy to Caubac.
"I only wish to prove that I am not a defect, and I want to resurrect my father. Lord Caubac, would you allow me to fulfill my wish?"
Caubac tapped the ground with the magic circle in his hand and shook his head at Altrouge.
"Though I don't want to get involved in your messy business, who told me to get scammed by that fellow Zelretch! Sorry, Altrouge, I won't let you in!"
"That is truly a pity! Riz-Waal! Fina! Help me hold back Caubac!"
Then Altrouge spoke toward a shadow nearby.
"Merem, for once today I have no appetite for you. Get lost!"
A rustling sound came from the shadows, and then all returned to silence.
Then Altrouge, ignoring Caubac who was now fighting with the Black and White Knights, walked to the sealed gate and slammed her slender hand heavily against it.
Soon, the gate, reinforced with at least a hundred magical seals, was shattered by Altrouge's brute strength as a True Ancestor, and she pushed it open.
Stepping into the hall, Altrouge's first sight was the magic circle embedded in a massive basin-shaped rock with a radius of fifty meters.
The magic circle, composed of overlapping circuits, was constantly emitting a massive amount of magical energy; this was the core of the Fuyuki City greater grail, created by the Winter Saintess sacrificing herself.
The Fuyuki City greater grail, which Zelretch had excavated along with the rock beneath the magic circle, simultaneously drew the Holy Grail from within Altrouge's body, causing it to float above the greater grail.
Altrouge watched with a smile as her Holy Grail began to merge with the greater grail, joyfully waiting for the combination to complete so it would become a true Holy Grail capable of granting her wish.
Suddenly, Altrouge seemed to sense a slight cold wind; she nimbly bent her waist, dodging a sudden attack.
Arcueid showed no surprise that Altrouge had dodged her strike; she stood in place with one hand on her hip and one finger pointing at Altrouge.
"You really were up to no good!"
"It seems I really do have to deal with you! Arcueid!"
Altrouge let out a roar at Arcueid, and her body began to grow; in the blink of an eye, she transformed from a 14-year-old girl into a mature woman who looked to be in her twenties.
This form was the original appearance of the Black Princess Altrouge.
Having restored her true self, Altrouge instantly accelerated into a black shadow and lunged directly at Arcueid.
Then, the two princesses of the Dead Apostles, Altrouge and Arcueid, began a primitive brawl in the empty hall.
Sisters who were both Ancestors and 'descendants' of the True Moon, they both had ferocious expressions as their bodies emitted red magical energy, colliding repeatedly at speeds beyond human comprehension.
To an outsider, the sisters' fight might have looked exceptionally dangerous, but in reality, as fellow Ancestors, though they appeared bloodied on the surface, their powerful immortality meant this level of combat wasn't even a warm-up.
However, compared to Arcueid, who was fully focused on fighting Altrouge...
Altrouge was thinking about much more. She wasn't surprised by Arcueid's appearance at all; in fact, it would have been strange if Arcueid hadn't shown up to stop her. Because Arcueid had appeared, Altrouge could confirm that there were indeed no more combat forces left in the Millennium Castle.
As for her sister, Altrouge wasn't worried that she could stop her from achieving her wish. Long ago, before gaia fell into a coma, even with gaia's support, Arcueid had her long hair stolen by Altrouge through some scheme; after all, Arcueid was still too naive.
"Ancient Crimson!"
Following Altrouge's declaration, the blood that had splattered on the ground during the sisters' clash instantly condensed into spears of blood, pinning Arcueid to the ground before she could react.
Then Altrouge touched a small, rapidly healing wound on her face, extended her left hand, and spread her five fingers toward Arcueid.
"Give up! You can't stop me! --- Burn!"
The spears of blood on Arcueid's body instantly ignited, emitting an exceptionally eerie flame.
Enveloped in the flames, burn marks began to appear on the surface of Arcueid's body, but inside her body, where the naked eye could not see, countless ice crystals had begun to form and expand.
"I will absolutely not let you succeed! Millennium Chain!"
Arcueid endured the physical discomfort, tore out a spear impaling her heart, and activated 'Marble Phantasm' against Altrouge.
Thousands of chains emerged from the void, surging toward Altrouge.
Altrouge looked contemptuously at Arcueid as she pulled the spears from her body. With a wave of her hand, the spear Arcueid had pulled out turned back into blood and swirled around Altrouge, blocking all the chains for her.
"Are you still using such unoriginal things? How boring!"
With that, Altrouge turned into a blood-red flash, swept past the greater grail, and took back the Holy Grail that had already merged with the greater grail's magic circle.
Then Altrouge shook the Holy Grail in her hand at Arcueid.
"I'll give you one last chance. Try to stop me!"
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