"So this is Susanoo… the third great god after Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi?!"
As someone from the Far East, Fujimaru Ritsuka was naturally deeply shaken by the grand scene of Iori releasing his divinity.
Even though she had already seen many large-scale battles, she was still overwhelmed by the giant's terrifying presence.
Something beyond Demon God Pillars and ordinary gods. Without a doubt, a chief-god-level existence.
Atalanta couldn't help holding her breath at the sight. She understood the full story better than the people of Chaldea and couldn't help murmuring, "Completing the Spirit Origin while also connecting to the Greater Grail?"
"Impossible! That exceeds the limits of the Greater Grail!" Medea's expression turned grave, even a little fearful. She couldn't imagine how she could possibly face a true god.
Could the Greater Grail's mana supply really strengthen someone to this degree?
No, that alone wouldn't be enough. There must also be reinforcement from "ancient mystery".
Whether it was the "Golden Heart" used to summon Ladon or the remains used to construct the [Hanging Gardens], both were closely connected to Yamata no Orochi. They could even be considered Holy Relics.
No power from the material world could reach the Counter Force (the Throne of Heroes), but the causality wrapped around Holy Relics was an exception…
Could it be that some unseen existence had noticed the anomaly in this world and was intervening along those causal lines?
Medea didn't know the answer. Neither did the people of Chaldea nor the Red Servants. At this moment they could do nothing. Even Karna, the Son of the Sun, could only remain where he was.
"Let's try it first~"
Iori smiled faintly and raised the longsword in his hand. The thunder-wreathed phantom behind him also drew the katana at its waist...
Clang!!!
Everyone's ears went deaf in that instant. Their thoughts stalled for a moment. Even space itself seemed to freeze.
Then it was like a curtain being cut open, revealing once again a world filled with sound and color. Time resumed flowing, and a "mountain peak" split in half with a thunderous roar.
It was the [Hanging Gardens].
Iori's sword hadn't struck Ladon. It had flown toward the war fortress in the sky.
That enormous palace, large enough to cover the entire sky, was sliced across its lower half by Iori's sword pressure. A full third of it was shaved off, and the severed section fell like a small mountain...
Buzz!
What overflowed from Ladon's chest was the mythical end of the world, the concept known as the "starry sky."
It had no physical form, so there was no way to destroy it. And once caught inside, escape was impossible.
That deep "starry sky" kept expanding. Or rather, everything around it was being drawn closer, like a black hole abyss devouring all creation.
The fallen mountain was no exception. It was instantly shredded and completely absorbed into it…
Next, Ladon's own massive body was torn apart by gravity. The golden steel constructs and earth and stone made no difference. All of it vanished behind the curtain of darkness and starlight…
Then came the ground, the dome, and the [Hanging Gardens]!
Yes, even a fortress-class Noble Phantasm. After being struck by Iori, its core had been damaged, the power sustaining the fortress had weakened, and its immense size meant it was subjected to the strongest gravitational pull.
Thus it was captured by the "starry sky," slowly and irreversibly falling downward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Beams of magical power at least EX rank bombarded it, but all were annihilated, accomplishing nothing.
The earth and stone forming the Garden were torn apart piece by piece, crushed into powder by the immense force, and vanished just like Ladon.
The Empress pushed herself to the limit. Amakusa Shirou began burning Command Spell mana, frantically boosting the [Hanging Gardens]' power in a desperate last struggle.
"It looks like this place won't hold! Let's retreat, Senpai!"
Mash urgently tried to support Ritsuka and leave, but the orange-haired girl seemed frozen in place, not moving a single step.
"Senpai?"
"Don't panic. Wait a moment!"
Ritsuka's eyes were fixed on a distant point, her expression serious and resolute.
"There's still a turning point!"
A turning point? How could that be... Mash instinctively wanted to deny it. But she knew her Senpai was always especially sharp at critical moments.
The choices she made often seemed unexpected, yet always broke through desperate situations.
"Mash, don't forget, someone is even closer than we are!"
"…Mr. Berserker?"
The Demi-Servant girl belatedly looked toward the high platform where the Greater Grail was placed.
The golden vessel was enveloped by a pillar of light and complex magic circles, seemingly undergoing some kind of ritual. Berserker and the phantom of Susanoo stood guard in front.
Just as Ritsuka said, their position was extremely close to that "starry sky." In fact, the ground beneath their feet had already begun to twist along with space.
They were almost about to be swallowed in, their situation only slightly better than that of the [Hanging Gardens].
Yet unlike the frantically struggling floating fortress, the divine giant showed no sign of wavering, as if this were just a trivial matter. Iori's face showed the same calm indifference.
Only when the "starry sky" had expanded right before him did divine energy burst from the boy like waves of flame.
Threads of lightning connected him to the giant phantom. Invisible ripples spread across both their surfaces in widening circles, actually blocking that immense gravitational pull…
No, rather than "blocking," it was more like cutting it off.
As if an invisible line stood between them, preventing the "starry sky" from crossing even a single step no matter how it twisted.
"Looks like physical methods won't work… but nothing in this world is perfect. Everything has a flaw."
Divine golden light flickered in Iori's eyes. The Ame-no-Murakumo sword in his hand stirred a vortex of magical power.
The giant phantom expanded again. Its armor and katana transformed into even more magnificent forms. Its presence rose yet again.
"If I can't destroy it, then I'll just cut the entire space away and leave you to fend for yourself!"
Buzz!!!
Violent air currents shot toward the dome, tearing open the concealed sky. Layers upon layers of pure white magical power manifested into winding, coiling shapes, appearing behind Susanoo like guardian spirits.
"Roar!"
Like groundcherries, the sleeping serpent heads gradually awakened. In their crimson eyes was evil and greed that couldn't be hidden... Yamata no Orochi.
The eight serpent heads wrapped around the warrior's body. Jade-like scales turned into flowing armor covering him. Behind him extended eight flowing haori shaped like tails.
Buzz!
At this moment, Iori himself had entered a state close to "unity of heaven and man." That familiar, nearly omnipotent feeling returned to his body.
Surging divine power became flames and lightning. His connection to vast amounts of information expanded his mind toward infinity.
And so, he once again chanted that ancient prayer,
"[Eight clouds rise and layers of clouds surge, the mountain clouds clear and the land is ringed eightfold, to shelter my wife here I built the eightfold fence of Izumo... ]"
"I am the wandering war god, the child of destiny. The sun rises and sets over Izumo. My name of dragon slaying reaches Takamagahara!"
"True Name Release · Takemikazuchi no Susanoo no Mikoto!"
Hoo~
The giant drew a nearly hundred-meter-long katana, slanting it toward the ground. Pure white radiance flowed along the blade, reforging it into a heavy field sword.
"Look well! It is life, it is the dew that split heaven and earth, the thing that formed the stars!"
"By my name, I save all living beings. Those who stand in my way, all of you fall to the ground!"
In an instant, the distorted "starry sky" broke through the invisible barrier and lunged toward Iori and the Greater Grail. The giant responded with an upward reverse diagonal slash...
"[Izumo Descends · Heavenly Cloud Sword of Creation]!"
In that moment, the entire world froze. The fluctuations of time and space solidified. Not just the Servants... even the "starry sky" itself came to a halt.
Divine power surpassing all creation, standing above everything, seemed to gather all violence from past and future into a single line, threatening to tear the entire world apart with the might of that slash.
Buzz!
After the blade passed through the "starry sky," the deep darkness and starlight began to waver like reflections on water… like ink gathering together, clusters of twisted light were drawn together by pitch-black magical power, merging into a true black hole capable of devouring everything.
That black hole actually wrapped up the entire starry sky.
Next came the world-overturning fortress Noble Phantasm, the Authority of Nation Building. In a flash like the first light of dawn, the black hole detached from space, forming a primordial "world egg (Reality Marble)."
Buzz!
The egg of nation building was exiled from the entire world and shattered instantly on the far side beyond the distant outer world.
The evaporating light and flames even crossed the barrier of laws, causing the present world to shake violently.
BOOM!!!
"By Command Spell, I order!"
"[The Already Fragile City of Dreams]!"
The chalk-white fortress walls appeared. In the next instant, everything in the underground space was swallowed by endless light and heat…
Who knew how long passed. Pure moonlight shone down. A massive crater appeared on the vast land, like a freshly erupted ring volcano. The bottom and edges showed signs of melting.
The castle and labyrinth had long since vanished. Only a small fragment of the [Hanging Gardens] remained, discarded like garbage on the outer edge of the crater.
The only thing still intact inside the crater was a tall stone platform, and the Greater Grail atop it, shining with dazzling golden light.
Crack!
A large hemispherical stone wall, seemingly melted and then solidified again, broke apart. After a cloud of smoke drifted away, the battered figures of Chaldea's group and the Red Servants appeared.
Mash's Noble Phantasm could block all attacks. Even a fortress Noble Phantasm couldn't break through that shield… but she couldn't block the heat and sound waves that followed.
At the critical moment Jeanne had used a Command Spell, allowing herself and Achilles to use defensive Noble Phantasms again, which was how they survived that outrageous explosion.
Cough… Cough…
"Senpai… Senpai, are you okay?"
"Cough… I'm fine… don't worry about me."
Ritsuka coughed hard a few times and said apologetically, "I should have listened to you and retreated earlier… I didn't expect just the aftershock to be this strong!"
She took a few deep breaths, forced herself upright, and looked around. Then she saw the Greater Grail and the wreckage of the [Hanging Gardens].
As for Medea and Circe, the two witches were nowhere to be seen. No one knew whether they had escaped or been caught in the blast and returned directly to the Throne of Heroes… in that situation, magi really had no way to deal with it.
"…Is it over?"
Ritsuka murmured, "The Red and Black war… is it over?"
With the two witches gone, and Amakusa Shirou and the Empress likely not unharmed either… had this Holy Grail War finally come to an end?
"Senpai, next we just need to stop the Greater Grail and we can repair the Singularity!"
Mash also felt encouraged. Though this night had been full of danger, and she had even witnessed something like Susanoo slaying Ladon with her own eyes, at least they could finally see a glimmer of hope.
"…Will you stop me?"
Ritsuka looked cautiously at Achilles, Karna, and the others.
The Red Servants looked at each other. Achilles spread his hands and shook his head.
"The contract is still there, but the connection is faint. No orders are coming through at all… do whatever you want."
Hearing this reply, Ritsuka and Mash were overjoyed. For them, avoiding another fight was naturally the best outcome. After all, Chaldea only had Jeanne and Mash on their side. They absolutely weren't a match for the Red Servants.
"The Greater Grail has already been activated. Stopping it will probably be very difficult… I'll just destroy it!"
Jeanne seemed to make up her mind and strode forward, but after only two steps she stopped.
"Destroy the Greater Grail? That won't do."
A familiar figure appeared before everyone... Berserker.
Aizen Iori, or rather Susanoo, had been standing almost exactly at the explosion's center. He should have been the first to take the impact. Yet he had actually survived.
No, thinking about it carefully, since the Greater Grail itself was unharmed, that proved he was alive as well.
Otherwise, against that torrent of energy that tore everything apart, even the Greater Grail would have been shattered.
'Truly astonishing!'
That kind of Noble Phantasm normally required burning one's Spirit Origin or even self-destruction to release. Yet Iori now… didn't seem much different.
Only his presence had weakened somewhat. His mobility didn't seem affected. He was still an energetic young swordsman.
'What incredible tenacity!'
"Berserker… it's good you're okay. We were worried just now… no."
Ritsuka shook her head hard. When she looked at Iori again, her eyes had changed.
"The you right now… are you my enemy?"
"... !"
The moment those words came out, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Iori had destroyed the [Hanging Gardens] and stopped Ladon's self-destruction. Both actions aligned with Chaldea's interests. It could even be said that because of his actions, the Holy Grail War had ended so cleanly.
One person ending the Red versus Black war... even describing it that way wouldn't be wrong.
However, he had originally gone with his Master to shut down the Greater Grail. Yet not only had he failed to shut it down, it now clearly looked like he was carrying out some kind of ritual.