At the former site of the Meiji Jingu Shrine, the battle situation escalated again following Rin's release of a Noble Phantasm.
Demon God Pillars, Dead Apostles, Ancestors, and Magi were all tangled together, starting to fight indiscriminately on this chaotic battlefield.
Rin gloomily dodged a dimensional cannon blast from Zelretch. Then, completely unable to find the time to trouble that old geezer Zelretch, she began dodging stray light beams and black feathers again.
Everyone on this battlefield had gone mad with fighting. They no longer cared about holding back and began to continuously release their abilities, skills, and spells on their surroundings, using any means possible to strike the enemy.
This was because the bright moon in the sky had actually begun to slowly fall toward this place.
By now, the moon had expanded from its normal fist-like size to the size of a stadium, and it was still continuously growing.
At the same time, the surface of Tokyo Bay was churning due to the moon's approach, causing seawater to gather into giant waves that poured back into Tokyo.
In the Chaldea Command Room, Romani, who was monitoring the Singularity's situation with Da Vinci, instantly found the answer to this scene in his memories. He shouted to Rin through the communication.
"Rin! This is True Moon's Moonfall! You must stop this conceptual moon from hitting the ground, or else True Moon will descend upon Earth again!"
"Eh! Didn't True Moon sign an agreement with us? How could he..."
"I don't know either! But regardless, the moon's fall must be stopped!"
"Fine! I'll try my best."
With that, Rin cut off the communication and punched a Dead Apostle who had been harassing her into a pancake.
Having vented her frustration, Rin looked at the chaotic battlefield and the moon getting closer and closer overhead, scratching her head helplessly.
"Zelretch! Let's see how you stop it this time... Hahahaha!"
The Black-Winged Duke, looking wretched and clutching his severed left arm, laughed mockingly at the gasping Zelretch.
Zelretch glanced at the bright moon in the sky out of the corner of his eye and sighed in his heart.
'Is there really no way to stop this?'
Having long since declined and no longer in his prime, and having even become a Dead Apostle, Zelretch was now powerless to stop the Moonfall again.
On the battlefield, some were joyful while others were worried. The Dead Apostle faction was naturally happy facing the slowly approaching moon, while Rin and the others were plunged into anxiety. After all, having joined the battlefield not long ago, they were actually confused about many things.
Unlike Rin's group, the Demon God Pillars naturally knew that this Moonfall was caused by the Six Authorities. Regarding the Moonfall created by the Six Authorities, the Demon God Pillars not only didn't stop it but also helped the Dead Apostle side, constantly covering for the Six Authorities to prevent them from being discovered by Rin and the others.
Tohno Shiki cut the line of death of a Dead Apostle knocked down by Aoko.
"Sister Aoko, is the moon in the sky getting bigger and bigger?"
Aoko nodded to Tohno Shiki with a somber expression.
"Shiki! You should run!"
Tohno Shiki scratched his head and said to Aoko.
"Sister Aoko, where can an ordinary person like me run in the event of a collision between the Earth and the Moon? I'd rather stay and fight with you!"
Aoko neatly snapped a Dead Apostle's neck and held the body in front of Tohno Shiki.
"Shiki, this isn't the real moon. It's just the falling concept of the moon extracted by 'Magic'. As long as you leave this area, you'll be fine!"
Of course, this was just Aoko's verbal comfort. In Aoko's eyes, Shiki wouldn't survive long even if he escaped. After all, if this Moonfall really brought about True Moon's descent, then this world would inevitably become a world of Dead Apostles. At that time, it would only be a matter of time before the escaped Shiki was killed by the Dead Apostles. But if he fled now, Shiki could at least live a few more days with those little companions of his.
"Um! Sister Aoko, doesn't this kind of magic need someone to maintain the ritual? Just like in general games, this kind of large-scale magic requires channeling the spell on the spot, right?"
Perhaps it was a case of the spectator seeing more clearly than the player; not a single person among Rin's group had realized that if the Moonfall wasn't performed by True Moon himself—even if it were the White Princess, half a UO of Earth, using the full version—it would still require staying in place to channel the spell. In their subjective minds, they seemed to have completely forgotten this prerequisite.
"Channeling the spell! Yes, channeling!..."
Awakened by Shiki's words, Aoko happily hugged Shiki and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Then, after entrusting Shiki to Satsuki Yumizuka's protection, Aoko immediately charged toward Rin and Zelretch's direction in the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Rin, who had met up with Zelretch in the battlefield, looked at the dejected Zelretch and spoke a piece of news sufficient to reinvigorate him.
"Rin! You're saying you can stop the Moonfall?"
"Yes! But the price is that my Ishtar saint graph will likely shatter because of it."
Zelretch grabbed Rin's shoulders with an excited look.
"Rin! It doesn't matter. Once everything is over, I can take you across world lines. Whether it's to ancient Babylon or Sumerian times, to find Ishtar or Inanna, whichever period you want, just take your pick!"
Having obtained Zelretch's guarantee, Rin secretly made a peace sign behind her back to celebrate her victory. In fact, no matter what, Rin, who needed to save the human order, would have to use her saint graph to stop the Moonfall even if Zelretch didn't care.
Similarly, Rin's own Ishtar saint graph had already developed problems when the Incineration of Human Order began. Now, she was only relying on the power of the Spiritron World to maintain this damaged saint graph and prevent it from shattering further.
'I finally got one over on this cheapskate master!'
While Rin was secretly rejoicing, Aoko happened to arrive beside Zelretch and Rin.
"Wait! Zelretch, Rin, channeling the spell!"
Obtaining the words 'channeling the spell' from Aoko's mouth, Zelretch and Rin instantly woke up. One had signed an agreement with True Moon, and the other had watched from the side; knowing that True Moon couldn't be the caster, they finally remembered.
After thinking for a moment, Zelretch turned to Aoko and said.
"Aoko, you stay here and help Rin stop the Moonfall. I'll go find the caster and interrupt him. If I fail, I'm counting on you, Rin!"
With that, Zelretch shook his cloak and, ignoring the large group of Dead Apostles staring tensely at him, flew straight toward the center of the battlefield.
Hearing that Rin could stop the Moonfall, Aoko had completely relaxed by now. Regaining her composure, Aoko cracked her knuckles and looked at the surrounding Dead Apostles, saying to Rin.
"Rin, you rest here for a bit! Maybe we'll still need to rely on you if that guy Zelretch fails later! While I still have time, I'll go stretch my legs around here!"
After saying that, Aoko jumped down from the roof of this ruined side hall, landing among the group of Dead Apostles. Then, the wails and curses of the Dead Apostles began to ring out continuously.
Rin glanced with a twitching eye at Aoko, who was bullying the Dead Apostles, and also began to prepare her own magic Formulas.
The center of the battlefield.
The White Wing Duke stood beside the Six Authorities, looking solemnly at the five Demon God Pillars surrounding them. He turned to the Six Authorities, who was in the middle of casting a spell, and spoke.
"Six Authorities! Do you really intend to do this?"
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