Rita crashed out again?
Selene lifted her gaze.
Good grief—judging from the scene, that side wasn't any better either. Surging waves of magical power rolled and collided, taking turns to appear on stage, painting the shattered earth in brilliant, dazzling colors—beautiful beyond words.
At one moment, near-infinite magic cannons seemed to be drawn together, molded into a golden curtain of rain that blotted out the sky as it poured down.
At another, crimson demonic lances pierced everything in their path, breaking through the heavens like scarlet comets dragging long blazing tails across the sky.
Then came thunderous explosions, as if thousands of troops were assembling, charging forward. Amid howling winds and sand, battle cries, hoofbeats, neighs, the clash of armor, and shouted commands... countless sounds merged into a heroic symphony of war, sweeping across the battlefield.
...
A vast, terrifying tide of magical power surged outward. From Selene's perspective, an ancient golden sword that reached from heaven to earth was shattered by Noble Phantasms striking from all directions. The spreading frost tide was neutralized, and the pure white phantom spirit had already grown somewhat indistinct.
Crack—!
The radiant shockwaves of Noble Phantasms even streaked across more than half of Fuyuki City, scattering until they reached Selene's side, brushing against her magnificent purple-white gradient serpent hair. The gale made her eyelashes tremble slightly, and the tremors of Noble Phantasm release reflected within her jewel-like crimson eyes.
In that instant, Selene clearly sensed that Kiana and the others' auras had noticeably weakened. A few moments later—boom!!
Rita, Li Sushang, and Pardo were eliminated.
Fu Hua and Senti were now under even greater pressure from the onslaught.
It was foreseeable—without external intervention, facing several times their number of Servants, including a few whose strength was not inferior to their own Servant incarnations, if they did not retreat, defeat would come in mere moments.
In the heroic epics commissioned by Selene—adapted from Kiana and the others' experiences—the focus had been placed on Durandal and Kiana.
Thus, within the imprints formed in the Throne of Heroes based on fame and dissemination, the strongest among their Servant incarnations were also Durandal and Kiana.
Due to limited length and the extremely tight deadline Selene had set, the scholars of the Augustine Pavilion responsible for compilation, after being granted partial access to Schicksal's database, could only compile while consulting the data and meeting the assigned targets.
Under such urgency, prioritizing importance was inevitable.
As for going to rescue them?
Selene had no such intention.
The reason she brought Kiana and the others here was precisely to let them gain experience fighting heroes whose names resounded through human history. The act of battle itself—killing, being wounded, slaying enemies, the unwillingness of defeat, the joy of victory, even death—was all part of the experience.
If they died, then they died. It was just like experiencing death in a fully immersive game—not truly the end.
If they wanted revenge, it was even simpler. There were two options. First, once the objective was achieved, Selene could tear open the world's barrier, allowing Kiana and the others' real bodies to descend and settle the score themselves.
Second—if they couldn't wait—Selene could directly create a Honkai zombie vessel for them to revive in and continue the fight.
Though it wouldn't match the freedom of a Servant spiritual body under the Foreigner class Saint Graph, it was still a quick way to reclaim lost ground.
Under the Foreigner class, they existed by relying on their Saint Graph. Even if Selene withdrew, they could still remain in the world. Once they found a stable source of magical energy, they could manifest as long as they wished. If they wanted to get creative, they could even switch Masters and betray Chaldea.
"Don't even think about getting past here! Rider!"
The voice interrupted Selene's thoughts. Bzzz—!
Countless magic cannons locked onto targets and rained down. Moving swiftly through the bombardment, ignoring the scattered shockwaves and even Selene's Mystic Eyes, a silver-haired youth clad in dazzling armor raised his greatsword of fantasy and charged toward her.
"Siegfried."
So urgent—his earlier glance must have caused a misunderstanding. Selene lowered her gaze. Several kilometers away, standing at the edge of the massive crater, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash—alert, shield raised—came into view.
So that was it. He thought Selene intended to attack Chaldea's last Master.
"To withstand the Mystic Eyes of Petrification with a treasure—Siegfried, as expected of you."
The Noble Phantasm possessed by Saber Siegfried—Armor of Fafnir.
Rank: B+
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
A Noble Phantasm embodying the legend of bathing in the blood of the evil dragon Fafnir.
It nullifies physical attacks and magecraft equivalent to Rank B. For attacks of Rank A and above, it subtracts a defensive value equivalent to Rank B before calculating damage.
However, just like in the legend, the part of his back covered by a linden leaf that did not receive the dragon's blood gains no defensive bonus and cannot be concealed.
When used by a proper hero, it grants a defensive value equivalent to Rank B+. And at this moment, Siegfried was a hero who had resisted the evils of humanity—his buffs were fully stacked.
The effect of the Mystic Eyes of Petrification was directly reduced by B+. This blood armor truly lived up to being a treasure not inferior to Karna's golden armor—perhaps even slightly surpassing it in certain aspects.
Karna's golden armor reduces all attacks by ninety percent, regardless of whether they are Rank E or Rank A. In contrast, Siegfried's blood armor completely nullifies all physical attacks and magecraft at Rank B+ or below.
Ignoring the fatal weak point on his back, he could be considered a top-tier gatekeeper—absolutely dominant against weaker opponents.
"Even someone as composed as you places such importance on a mere human?"
Selene asked knowingly. Then her raised wings lit up, like a spreading path of violet-red luminescence.
So, he had obtained memories of fighting alongside Chaldea.
A faint pulsing hum echoed through the air.
"Rider, my mission is to protect him—and to stop you."
As Selene's Mystic Eyes shifted their focus onto him, Saber Siegfried's radiant silver armor emitted a series of crackling sounds, fragments of stone falling away. His tone remained calm, his resolute face still devoid of visible emotion.
The jeweled core of his greatsword had already begun to shine.
"The evil dragon shall fall—"
Those familiar with Siegfried knew—he meant it.
Though he was usually silent, humble, and disciplined, and often obedient, once a certain line was crossed, Siegfried's adherence to his own beliefs became more stubborn than anyone else's.
"—And the world will reach its sunset."
"I will bring you down—Balmung!"
Facing the dusk-colored torrent of demonic light rushing toward her, Selene bared her teeth in a grin. Her free right hand came down at once, crushing the twilight-like flood of Noble Phantasm energy. The atmosphere wailed, and space itself trembled violently.
Boom—!
In that instant, the entire world seemed to shake. Air currents within a radius of more than a dozen kilometers were compressed by Selene's extreme superhuman strength, howling outward like a hurricane.
It was an overwhelmingly oppressive collision that could make one nauseous.
"Wah—!"
Crackle crackle! The sound of Siegfried's bones rang out in rapid succession like beans bursting in a hot pan, one after another. In a single moment, the immense force slammed down, driving the ground beneath his feet several meters deep.
Rumble—crack crack crack—
The earth split apart into countless spiderweb-like fractures, and chunks of compacted bedrock blasted outward like cannon shells.
"Seems your dragon-slaying strength still needs a bit more tempering." Feeling the piercing pressure between the scales of her clawed hand, Selene increased her strength once more!
Siegfried's inherent skill—Dragon Slayer: A++.
One of the special abilities possessed by those who have slain dragons. It greatly increases offensive and defensive power against dragonkind.
Because of her pet, the Cross-Tail Dragon—the draconic aura surrounding Selene stacked yet another layer onto Siegfried's buffs. Even so, Selene simply crushed everything through brute force alone.
"Ghh—!"
Clenching his teeth, Siegfried's eyes were instantly bloodshot. Excruciating pain assaulted his entire body. Even with his iron will, he could not suppress a brief cry of agony.
Thud!
Dropping to one knee, every inch of his body—every muscle, every cell—let out a silent wail. His radiant silver armor emitted a harsh metallic groan as it warped, as if all the bones in his body were about to shatter.
Yet even as his body went limp like mud, Siegfried forced himself to cling to a final breath, blood foam spilling from his lips as he chanted, "Awaken from the golden dream, be freed from the cradle."
"Evil dragon... perish..."
In the distance, Ritsuka Fujimaru clenched his right hand tightly, shouting, "By this Command Spell, I order you—Siegfried, bring victory!!"
"Phantasmal Greatsword: Balmung!!! Aaaah—!"
Bzzz—!
"Weak!"
"Saber!"
Lancer Karna spun his divine spear with one hand. With Mana Burst erupting into flames that incinerated the serpent hair within several hundred meters around him, he did not hesitate to hurl it toward Selene's left arm, which was still channeling magic power to tear apart the sky.
"Brahmastra Kundala!!"
"Get lost!!!"
Her wings, charged for so long, burst open with a roar. In an instant, tens of thousands of violet-red orbs of light formed within the gaps between her feathers.
In her cold, emotionless voice, all the violet-red spheres moved at once. Light exploded outward, radiating with blinding brilliance, illuminating the entire sky as bright as day.
Hummm—!
With a casual sweep of her wings, in the next instant, every orb—above and below—branched outward like iron trees blooming, extending into countless directions.
A hurricane howled. Magic cannons roared. Hundreds upon thousands of slender violet-red beams tore through the air with piercing shrieks, interweaving into a seamless net of certain death.
Ignoring Karna's attack entirely, Selene focused on eliminating Siegfried first.
"Goodbye, Siegfried."
Sizzle—sizzle—
Upon the mountain-like crushing palm, the attached violet-red corrosive energy flickered and writhed. In a breath, the twilight-colored "pillar of heaven" shattered explosively under the erosion of those violet-red specks.
In the next moment, the giant palm fell—and the world lost its color.
RUMBLE—!!
Blinding light surged upward from beneath the horizon, followed by a thunderclap that seemed to explode right beside one's ears.
"This is way too exaggerated..."
The hippogriff let out a terrified whinny. Facing the shockwave sweeping through the sky like a passing typhoon, Rider Astolfo clung tightly to his mount, his mind completely blank.
The next moment, Astolfo's attention shifted somewhere utterly irrelevant. "Wait, that Demonic Beast Goddess aura... it feels familiar. Let me think."
"Oh! I remember!"
Suddenly enlightened, Astolfo forgot he was still high in the air. He made a motion to stand up—almost falling off the hippogriff. After a brief panic, he tightened his grip on the reins, patting his chest with lingering fear.
"She killed me before!"
"Oh? That unexpectedly first-rate troublemaker."
After forcing Karna back once more and dealing with the remaining fodder, Selene also noticed a certain cross-dressing eccentric performing comedic antics above her head.
Even though she had replaced his position during the Romanian Holy Grail War through sheer force, the catalyst used for the summoning had indeed been his, and Astolfo had responded to the summon. His presence here did not surprise Selene.
However...
"Die."
Selene had no intention of making use of him. Keeping him around was pointless—might as well use him to provoke Chaldea's Master.
Besides, she had no desire to be hit by his "fall-type Noble Phantasm." The damage might be negligible, but the humiliation was unbearable.
Absolutely could not let him get close.
Whoosh!
A thick beam instantly swallowed Rider Astolfo.
"Hm?"
Selene froze. Even her cold eyes—capable of petrifying all things—widened in surprise.
It didn't hit?
In the next instant, she clicked her tongue. "Dimensional jump... the effect of Astolfo's Noble Phantasm: Luna Break Manual..."
If only I could still use Spatial Lockdown—I'd like to see you jump then.
Forget it. I'll leave him for Goetia to deal with.
Just as Selene was considering how to proceed now that she had cleared out most of the "monsters," and whether to switch to the philosophical mockery she had learned from her senior to ridicule and debate Chaldea—
WHOOOM—!!!
It tore through the atmosphere, as if even the magical particles of space were forcibly pushed aside. Within the perspective of her Mystic Eyes, it looked like a spiraling void cutting toward her.
What is that?
Her eyes widened as she stared at the massive spinning axe flying toward her. In that instant, the part of her Saint Graph belonging to the Primordial Mother Goddess Tiamat seemed to cry out in pain.
The Axe of Marduk?
Good timing!
Instinctively, instead of retreating, she advanced. Her crimson pupils—already layered into a kaleidoscope of X-shaped, diamond-shaped, golden cross patterns—contracted sharply as she reached out, aiming for the handle of the axe.
But at that critical moment, the space before her suddenly flashed with golden light.
Another dimensional jump.
Anyone who dared appear at such close range under the gaze of Selene's Mystic Eyes of Petrification must possess complete immortality.
"My, I thought that would surprise you. Gorgon? Tiamat? What should I call you?"
Accompanied by a light, relaxed voice, a goddess appeared—dressed like a priestess in sacred yet revealing ancient South American attire, exuding the warmth of an older sister.
What shocked Selene was that the goddess was wrapped in blazing flames so intense even she could feel the heat—and the boldly raised high kick she was about to unleash—