The fortress known as Rebellion was crumbling to pieces.
Arrows rained down from the rear while Murasama and Rasputin battled multiple Servants simultaneously.
Elsewhere, Odysseus's mecha could be seen crashing to the ground, half-destroyed, forcing him into hand-to-hand combat with his surrounding foes.
Meanwhile, Dante had pinned Socrates—the last of the group left to eliminate—to the ground.
"Tell me, young man: what do you gain by disposing of us instead of fighting the strongest among them?" the Greek philosopher asked.
"I believe a human being's most dangerous traits are their intellect and their way of thinking; that's why I decided to strike at the rebellion's brain," he answered honestly.
"I can agree with you there, young man, but..." Socrates was about to continue his questioning when his head was severed by a burst of magic.
"You won't make me waver, you crazy old man," the blond remarked, glancing around to see that none of the key mathematicians or philosophers remained.
He quickly spun around to dodge a sphere of mana hurtling toward him; looking toward the source, he spotted Alice and Nightingale.
"Well, well—we meet again," Dante said, removing his mask and flashing them a smile.
Neither woman spoke, though the nurse took a step forward.
"This is your doing, isn't it?" Her words sounded more like a statement than a question.
The demon remained silent, simply keeping his smile fixed on her, before dodging several red-smoke serpents that tried to engulf him.
Seeing the ambush fail, Nightingale sprinted straight toward Dante to intercept him. While airborne, the demon spotted the source of the attack: a young woman in Japanese attire crouching on the ground as more snakes emerged from her body. Simultaneously, Alice conjured several fireballs and launched them in his direction.
"I see—you want to overwhelm me with numbers," Dante concluded, using *Geppo* to begin leaping through the air.
Seeing this, Mochizuki Chiyome merely clicked her tongue; she sent her snakes toward his position while shifting her own location.
While airborne, Dante nimbly dodged multiple projectiles with ease, never once taking his eyes off the nurse who was tailing him closely.
"You did me a favor by showing up here; you saved me the trouble of hunting you down," the blond man said to the pink-haired woman.
She didn't reply, though one couldn't help but wonder why this was happening now—especially considering her power level; logically, she should have been facing Heracles, Orion, or even Libra herself.
With a swift leap, he closed the distance to Nightingale and unleashed a rapid strike; she blocked it with both arms but was sent skidding several meters backward by the force of the blow.
"Are you okay?" Alice asked, rushing to her side. Nightingale stood up, though both her arms had been completely destroyed.
"I'll be fine," she reassured her. Meanwhile, hundreds of snakes on the ground surrounded Dante and attacked in unison.
The demon leaped to dodge the assault, but the coiled serpents pursued him into the air, twisting and leveraging one another to reach him.
Forced to act, Dante summoned his scythe to destroy the hundreds of snakes attacking him simultaneously in midair.
Once the attack subsided, the blond man landed, only to have to spin his body and use his weapon to parry a sword aimed at slicing him in two.
A knight clad in bronze armor and a white cape—sporting long brown hair and a distinctive sword—frowned as he watched his opponent effortlessly block his two-handed strike.
He immediately stepped back to launch another attack, only to be met with the exact same result. Instead of attacking immediately, Dante chose to play defensively; no matter how strong he was, he knew there were weapons and abilities—like Bemus's weapon—capable of forcing him to yield, and since he didn't immediately recognize the Servant, he decided to proceed with caution.
After a few exchanges—and while the female ninja and Alice were preparing their own attacks—he decided to make his move.
Spinning his scythe like a spear, he deflected the enemy's sword; using the gap between the shaft and the blade, he trapped his opponent within it, spun rapidly with great force, and then released the weapon, sending his foe flying through the air.
At that precise moment, a ball of magic appeared beneath him and shot upward at high speed.
The demon leaped backward to avoid the explosion, but for every dodge he made, another projectile appeared above him, forcing him to keep moving.
Dante wasn't fully focused on the fight; his mind was elsewhere on the island. Consequently, he failed to notice a woman wielding a cross descending upon him, intent on crushing him—though his lightning-fast reflexes and flexibility allowed him to intercept the blow just in time.
However, Nightingale—her arms now healed—appeared, poised to strike directly at his spine with the aim of shattering it.
Without a second thought—or perhaps acting purely on instinct—the blond man grabbed Saint Martha's cross and twisted it. The sudden movement made her scream and forced her body to collide with the nurse, halting the latter's attack.
The impact sent both women skidding across the ground for several meters.
Amidst the chaos, Dante turned his gaze toward Alice—who had been pestering him for some time. She grew nervous under his stare, torn between attacking and fleeing her position.
Fortunately for her, a barrage of bullets rained down on the demon's location; he neglected to summon his scythe and spin it to deflect them. Simultaneously, three missiles streaked toward the spot where he stood, detonating upon impact.
James Moriarty emerged from the swirling woods, swinging his coffin-shaped weapon at the enemy. Yet, the moment he struck, the weapon was stopped dead in its tracks, causing the elegant man's eyes to widen in panic.
As the smoke cleared, Dante stood unscathed, gripping his enemy's weapon and staring him down.
"I thought you were smarter," the blond man said, looking at him.
"This is what happens when you lack data," he tried to offer as an excuse. Yet, even with more data, there wasn't much more he could have done; his leader had sent him on a specific mission, never expecting him to actually defeat—or even significantly damage—the monster standing before him. Instantly, the demon spun around and hoisted Moriaty—who still refused to let go of his weapon—into the air, slamming him brutally against the ground. Fortunately, he managed to shift his body just enough to avoid a blow to the head, though the cost was a few broken ribs.
Releasing his weapon, he watched as he was surrounded by seven Servants, while another lay in wait within the forest; meanwhile, multiple explosions erupted in the distance—specifically, in the space between the walls and the vast ocean.
...
Gaheris pivoted to block Murasama's katana—which had come within centimeters of his neck—only to be saved by Toshizō, who attempted a flank attack with his own weapon; however, the enemy reacted in time, spinning and sidestepping simultaneously.
Without wasting a moment, he aimed his rifle and fired, but—unluckily for him—the redhead sliced the projectile in two with ease, despite the close range.
The knight repositioned himself to face his opponent, gripping his sword firmly with both hands. His body was badly battered, yet thanks to his Noble Phantasm, he could turn that disadvantage into an asset.
However, a genuine disadvantage lay in the scarcity of remaining Servants; they could be categorized into three groups: those still fighting, the fallen, and those who had fled.
In such a situation, there were Servants who—frankly—could do little to help; guided by Jason, Libra ordered them to retreat, anticipating that things could go terribly wrong—all because of one man: his father.
Gaheris was aware of Dante's power level to an extent, though he did not know the man's true limit—something he imagined Dante's daughter *would* know. Consequently, he did not fault the decision to retreat, recalling how Dante had nearly defeated one of the strongest Greek gods almost single-handedly.
As for the green-haired man, the moment Chiron began to speak, he rushed forward to intercept him, seeking a rematch—a move that caused the enemy fire to cease.
Simultaneously, Rasputin raised his Black Keys to intercept Atalanta's arrows while maneuvering to dodge Orion's devastating blows. "How troublesome," remarked the man dressed as a priest as a few explosions went off not far away—the clash between Odysseus, Libra, and Heracles, a fight that, given the white-haired man's condition, wouldn't last long. "This didn't quite live up to how that man sold it," he couldn't help but complain a little.
...
Dante swung his scythe, striking Martha on the head with the blunt side and knocking her to the ground; he then shifted his position to stand between Alice and Chiyome's snakes, forcing the latter to circle around the little girl and buying himself more time to act against her.
Amidst this, Nightingale—now nursing a broken leg—surveyed the Servants engaged in combat; all were wounded, yet still capable of fighting. This was possible because, as long as she remained present, she could heal them all and sustain the battle until reinforcements arrived—or so Moriarty had claimed.
She also knew she might not last long, given the exhaustion, her injuries, and the simple fact that—unlike their enemy—none of them possessed infinite mana.
Thus, she had no choice but to give it her all.
Standing tall, she raised her hand as a vast amount of mana swirled around her in a faint greenish glow that caught Dante's attention.
"In my presence, no injury shall remain! So long as I wield this power, I shall lead all to happiness! I, who cast aside all poison and harm... Nightingale Pledge!" the nurse chanted. A spiritual projection of herself appeared behind her, wielding a sword that she brought down in a swift stroke, flooding the area with a comforting sensation.
Contrary to what one might expect from a nurse's Noble Phantasm, it did not physically heal their wounds; instead, it restored their energy and resilience, reigniting their will and stamina to fight.
Everyone on the battlefield felt these positive effects—everyone, that is, except Dante; in his case, the meager magic he had been utilizing was suppressed and deactivated. He also noticed a small detail: the ability to activate the final form of his Noble Phantasm—made possible because Nightingale's ultimate move possesses the trait that "the True Names of Noble Phantasms are not revealed."
Taking advantage of the demon's momentary confusion, the nurse planted her foot to bear her full weight and launched herself into a massive leap, creating a crater in the ground as she propelled herself toward the enemy.
At that same instant, two hands—appearing almost mechanical—shot out from the forest, seizing Dante and pinning him in place.
The one who launched this surprise attack was none other than Katou Danzou; she had remained hidden throughout the battle, waiting for the perfect moment to kill the blond man. Seeing the opening, she chose to reveal her position in exchange for landing this strike and leaving the enemy vulnerable.
What she hadn't anticipated, however, was the vast disparity in strength between them; she was unable to stop Dante from moving and blocking Nightingale's attack with his scythe.
"Nice try," the demon remarked, his tone a mix of mockery and genuine appreciation.
"Move, Nurse," said Moriarty—who was closest to the pair—as he aimed his coffin-weapon at the blond man's head, trying to save the pink-haired woman from being killed.
But the man spun his body at lightning speed, parrying the elegant man's weapon and sending him reeling backward.
That was Nightingale's chance to escape, but the demon continued his spin, intent on cutting her down.
Technically, the nurse had moved out of the scythe's attack range, but to her horror, she saw the weapon's shaft magically extend, managing to strike her body.
"Nightingale!" cried Alice. She had been watching, hoping her friends would escape so she could attack the villain without causing harm, but she watched in horror as the nurse's body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Moriarty collapsed to the ground, clenching his fist as he stared, stunned and helpless.
"Now, without their ambulance, the rebellion has no way to heal themselves the way they did with Achilles," declared Dante, looking at the elegant man—who broke into a cold sweat. He finally understood why the man had stayed behind to fight.