Ten years had passed since then.
Imaginary Manifestation.
The ability Naoki gained after becoming a spirit was, in his own words, still incredibly overpowered even now.
The Mad King's strength was undeniably formidable. He could easily take on three or four Servants at once, and if he unleashed his full power, he might even cause total destruction in an instant. Even if Gilgamesh came to face him, if he wasn't serious, he could be completely overwhelmed or even killed.
Especially with the Holy Grail providing Mana and merging with the Demon God Pillar.
But all of that, in front of Naoki, was nothing more than fragile paper. The Spatial Layer Domain simulated by Imaginary Manifestation was a blade that could cut through anything. No matter how tough the armor or body, once it touched it, the only outcome was destruction.
"Though it wouldn't be a problem to fight you to the death as you wish, sorry, I have a promise to keep, and I'm in a hurry."
His hand reached into the air where the Mad King had been obliterated. A vast number of light particles immediately gathered from various places, forming a golden chalice in Naoki's hand.
The Holy Grail was successfully retrieved.
"With this, the Fifth Singularity can be considered resolved."
The Holy Grail was the source of the Singularity's distortion. Now that it had been retrieved, Medb and the Mad King, the greatest threats to the Singularity, had been killed and eradicated. The remaining Celtic soldiers would surely vanish soon due to the era's self-correction.
The Singularity would collapse at that point—even now, it was already beginning to crumble.
"How about it? Need more time to recover?"
Placing the Holy Grail on a rock beside him, Naoki turned and looked behind him. In his line of sight, Scáthach, holding two red demonic spears and wearing a tight, alluring outfit, shook her head. "No, no need. So much time has passed since then; I've long since recovered, especially with a good Master."
"It took some effort to pull you back from the brink of death."
Aoko, standing beside Scáthach, said with a wry smile.
In this war, aside from the two main fronts in the north and south, there was actually another front—a beheading team consisting of Scáthach and other Servants to confront Medb and the Mad King.
The reason for forming this team was obvious, and the outcome was as the Mad King had said. Scáthach lost in her final battle against him, misjudging his current strength. Even after activating her second Noble Phantasm and banishing him to the Land of Shadows, he still managed to break free and deliver a fatal blow to Scáthach.
Logically, Scáthach, with her Spirit Core destroyed, should have immediately faded away, but just before that, she managed to enter the Land of Shadows in time, barely saving her life, and then formed a contract with Aoko, who had arrived.
"You didn't forget the promise from ten years ago, and of course, neither did I. This is a rare chance to appear. If I don't take advantage of this reunion with you, the next time I want to meet you, I'd have to wait for you to come to the Land of Shadows."
"Though time is limitless, I don't have the patience to wait another ten years, especially after seeing you looking so tantalizing."
Like the Mad King, Scáthach could also sense an aura from Naoki, as if standing on the edge of death. It might be embarrassing to admit, but after being defeated by her own disciple, Scáthach was now closer to the state of a challenger than her usual invincible self.
Her opponent was Naoki, who had effortlessly defeated the Mad King. In terms of strength, he was undoubtedly one or two levels above her.
As a warrior from Celtic mythology, there was no greater honor than challenging such a powerful opponent—though she wasn't particularly fixated on honor.
"Alright, let's begin, fairy child."
Scáthach raised her two red demonic spears.
"Since we don't have much time left, let's settle this quickly—you don't need to hold back, just unleash your full power."
Full power?
Naoki sighed slightly and gave a helpless smile. "Alright then, as you wish, Miss."
*DONGGGGGGG!!!*
His Mana Circuits fully opened, the normal Mana output limit was released, and Mana output was maximized—
Back in the Fuyuki Singularity, Naoki had only once shown his maximum power against Solomon. Now, out of respect for Scáthach, he was willing to unleash it again in this collapsing world.
Maximum Mana Output – Divine Spirit Level.
Holding the Holy Sword in his hand, his entire body enveloped in excessive Mana, Naoki, whose body seemed to burn with flames, stared at Scáthach.
And then—
*CRAAAAACK!!!*
The ground completely collapsed!
Naoki, transformed into a meteor, shot into the sky! Amidst the continuous sound of slicing through the air, he soared to a height where even Scáthach's eagle-like eyes could barely make out his form!
With overwhelmingly terrifying Mana, he executed several consecutive air jumps, each reaching hundreds of meters in height.
(Truly… truly inhuman.)
For the first time in her life, Scáthach had a target she had to look up to.
In the air near the stratosphere, looking down at Scáthach below, Naoki gathered all his Mana behind his body.
If he wanted to end the fight quickly, the most direct way was to use his ultimate move from the start. But Naoki's ultimate move, Moon Fall, wasn't quite suitable. Releasing the Holy Sword might not be able to unfold multiple layers. And Summoning Magecraft might not be powerful enough.
So, the only thing he could think of was to use his full strength for a single strike.
Gathering Mana from the stratosphere, then falling at maximum speed—its power would be comparable to Moon Fall, perhaps.
*SWOOSH!*
As the Mana gathered, the immense Mana behind Naoki gradually emitted a glow in a strange shape. From a distance, it looked like a pair of giant dragon wings slowly unfurling.
"Almost at the limit… Here we go!"
*BOOOMMMMMMMM!!!*
The Mana gathering stopped, released upward—at that moment, almost everyone saw it. In the sky, with a small shining sun as the starting point, two radiant golden meteors suddenly shot toward the heavens and the earth simultaneously!
(It's coming?!)
Seeing the falling star, Scáthach raised both spears in her hands—
"If a single spear strike reaches the ultimate level, even a god can be killed. Today, let me see if my spear can shatter a star!"
"Noble Phantasm released, Gae Bolg Alternative—!"
A vortex of red Mana gathered in her demonic spear. After condensing all her Mana into a single point, Scáthach threw the demonic spear with all her strength!
This wasn't her usual two-stage ultimate move but a single strike aimed directly at a certain-kill target!
A golden star fell from the sky.
A red star soared into the heavens.
The moment the two met in the air, and the spear's tip collided with the sword's edge, Scáthach saw the outcome clearly.
The star she had thrown shattered without the slightest resistance.
And then—
*PU-CHI!*
The Holy Sword, falling from the sky at several times the speed of sound, pierced straight through Scáthach's heart!
No further movements followed.
Scáthach looked at the young man before her with a hint of helplessness. "Until the end, you still had the strength to hold back… You're truly outrageous, Naoki."
"My goal was only to kill you, not to destroy everything around us." Naoki smiled. "The winner and loser are clear, right?"
"Hmm."
Scáthach nodded with a bitter smile.
"I lost."