Chapter 66. The Banquet of Gluttony and the Silent Funeral Procession!
Orario, Industrial District Ruins.
With Valletta vanishing into the depths of the rubble like a kicked tin can, the battle here drew to a temporary close. But for the rest of Orario, the nightmare known as the "Great Feud" was only just beginning.
"BOOM——!!!"
A dull roar, heavy enough to make one's heart stop, echoed from the western side of the city. Immediately after, the ground began to leap violently, as if all of Orario had been placed inside a washing machine on its spin cycle.
"This vibration... is it an earthquake?!" Lyra gripped her large shield tightly, nearly losing her footing.
"No." Shirou Emiya stood upon a high steel beam. His [Clairvoyance] (though obscured by smoke) and [Mind's Eye (True)] looked westward simultaneously.
The sky there had been dyed a murky, earthy yellow. Countless buildings were collapsing. And amidst that billowing dust, a massive silhouette was rampaging.
"That's... the sound of eating." Shirou's expression became exceptionally grim. He heard it. That man named Zard was chewing. He wasn't just chewing flesh and blood; he was grinding rock, steel, and even the mana of the earth itself.
[Gluttony (Zard)]. He was supplementing the energy consumed by burning his life through "eating." And the places he devoured became absolute voids.
"What a... terrible habit." Shirou gripped his dual blades. Even at this distance, the suffocating pressure made the hair on his neck stand on end.
"Shirou!" Alise rushed over with the others. "The civilians have been evacuated! What do we do now? Support the West Gate?"
"No, it's too late." Shirou shook his head. "Ottar has already headed toward Zard. That is a struggle between monsters; we can't interfere."
"...Besides, we have a more troublesome guest to entertain."
Shirou turned toward the northern part of the Industrial District. What was once a clamorous battlefield had suddenly become... quiet.
It wasn't the tranquility after a battle. It was a dead silence—as if all sound had been forcibly erased. The wind died. The crackling of fire vanished. Even the distant screams could no longer be heard.
"This feeling..." Ryuu's body stiffened abruptly, that soul-shuddering memory resurfacing. "It's Silence... Alfia!"
"Exactly." Shirou took a deep breath, the magic circuits across his body beginning to operate at full capacity.
"Everyone, focus! Level One Alert! 'The Scary Auntie'... is here!"
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Industrial District, North Avenue.
The streetlights on both sides had gone out; only burning houses provided a dim light source. In this flickering firelight, a figure in a long gray dress walked forward with slow steps.
She moved slowly, but with every step, the surrounding air seemed to solidify. Remnants of the Dark Faction who tried to ambush her (having lost their minds to bloodlust and failing to recognize their own) fell mysteriously before they could even get within ten meters. No wounds, no blood. It was as if... their lives had been directly "muted."
[Gospel]—Constant Passive Version. Through ultra-high frequency mana vibrations, it directly destroys the inner ear vestibule and nervous system of surrounding organisms. She was a walking "sonic weapon."
"What a noisy night."
Alfia paused, frowning slightly. She looked at the figures blocking her path, a flash of impatience in her heterochromatic eyes.
"I believe... I said it before, didn't I?" Her voice was light, yet clearly audible in the dead street. "If the next time we meet you cannot entertain me... I will kill you."
"Sorry about that, Auntie." Shirou Emiya stood at the front, holding a broken iron rod he hadn't had time to fix (damaged while hitting Valletta), wearing that honest smile that made people want to punch him.
"Current conditions are limited, so I couldn't make a big meal. However... as an apology, I've prepared a 'fireworks display' for you."
"Fireworks?" Alfia raised an eyebrow.
"This!" Shirou snapped his fingers.
"Trace—On!"
"[Unlimited Blade Works]—[Trap Mode]!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground beneath Alfia's feet suddenly exploded. This was no ordinary explosion. Countless pre-buried magic swords of various shapes (projections) burst from the earth like bamboo shoots after rain.
They didn't fire at Alfia. Instead, they interlaced and connected, instantly constructing a massive—Cage of Swords.
"Oh?" Alfia stood in the center of the cage, not even her hem disturbed. She reached out a finger and lightly touched the sword nearest to her.
Zzt— High-voltage electricity surged at her fingertip. It was a defensive barrier Shirou had constructed by mimicking "Lightning Attribute" magic swords.
"A barrier... made of swords?" A flash of surprise crossed Alfia's eyes. "Interesting. Is this your 'Infinity'?"
"We're not done yet!" Alise leaped from a side roof, her [Guren no Ken] bursting with dazzling flames. "Flames of Justice—Burn! [Fire Slash]!"
A massive wave of flaming sword qi slashed toward Alfia inside the cage.
Simultaneously, Kaguya drew her blade from the other side. "[Gokou—Flash]!" Five invisible wind blades sealed Alfia's dodge paths.
Lyra threw specialized flashbangs and smoke grenades. Ryuu, at a distance, drew her bow to the limit, firing arrows designed to disrupt mana flow.
This was the full-party combo of the Astraea Familia. Under Shirou's equipment enhancements and tactical guidance, this sequence of attacks was enough to instantly kill a Lv. 5 Floor Boss.
"If it were a normal person, they would have likely died ten times over."
Through the smoke came Alfia's voice, calm to the point of despair.
"However... in this world, there are some gaps that 'effort' and 'bonds' simply cannot fill."
"[Silence]——!!"
A terrifying sonic wave erupted with Alfia as the center. The flames were blown away. The wind blades were shattered. The smoke was cleared. Even the cage composed of dozens of magic swords turned to dust in an instant.
[Silence]—Mana Nullification.
"Wh-What?!" Alise was sent flying back by the recoil, her face full of disbelief. "Our attacks... all negated?"
"Not negated." Shirou caught Alise, his gaze heavy. "They were neutralized. She used the exact same frequency and attribute of mana to cancel every attack in an instant. Is this... the micro-management of the strongest Mage?"
She was a living, breathing "Imagine Breaker."
"Are you done playing?" Alfia brushed the dust off her dress, unharmed. She looked at Shirou, her gaze tinged with disappointment.
"If this is all you amount to... then die."
She raised her hand. This time, it was no probe. The mana in the air began to gather frantically, forming a massive, pale white orb. [Satanas Verion]. A Super-tier magic capable of erasing the entire Industrial District from the map.
"Get back!" Shirou roared, shoving Alise and Kaguya aside.
"Steel is my body!"
He didn't run. He knew he couldn't. And if he did, the shelter behind him—filled with civilians who hadn't escaped far enough—would be finished.
"Trace—Overload!"
He slammed both hands into the ground. The mana within him poured out like a flood through a broken dam.
"If one shield can't stop it... then I'll use a whole fortress!"
"[Rho Aias]—Fortress Deployment!"
Rumble!
Countless giant blades rose from the earth, merging and overlapping to construct a ten-meter-high steel wall before Shirou. This wasn't a normal projection. This was a defensive fortification Shirou had forcibly manifested by mimicking the concept of "The Walls of Camelot."
"BOOM——!!!"
The white orb collided with the steel wall. The world lost all sound. Only pure light and heat rampaged.
The first layer of swords... melted. The second layer... vaporized. The third... collapsed.
"Arghhhhh!" Shirou bled from all seven orifices, his entire skeleton screaming. He was using his life force (Od) to fill the gaps in the defense.
"Emiya!" Ryuu watched the figure turning charred in the radiance, her heart twisted with pain.
"Hold on... HOLD ON FOR ME!!!" Shirou let out a heart-wrenching roar.
Finally, after piercing the last layer of defense, the orb's energy was exhausted and dissipated into the air.
"Ha... ha..." Shirou knelt on the ground, his hands turned to charcoal, but the street behind him... was perfectly intact.
"..." Alfia lowered her hand. She looked at the kneeling youth, the shock in her heterochromatic eyes growing stronger.
"He... actually took it?" Though she only used thirty percent of her power, that was a strike that could instant-kill a Lv. 6. A mere Lv. 2 (even if his stats were a cheat) actually blocked it?
"You... just who are you?" Alfia walked toward Shirou.
"I am..." Shirou struggled to lift his head. Though his face was covered in blood, his smile remained stubborn. "I'm the chef responsible... for cleaning up after you 'Gods'!"
"Pfft." Alfia couldn't help but let out a laugh. It was the first time she had smiled sincerely since the war began.
"A chef, huh..." She walked to Shirou, looking down at him. "Then, Chef, what do you plan to do for the next course?"
She raised her hand again. This time, the mana fluctuations were even stronger than before.
Despair. True despair. This was a "Phase Two Boss."
'Damn... I'm really out of mana...' Shirou smiled bitterly.
'Do I have to use 'that' (Ea)? But in this physical state, if I force a projection of Ea, I'll likely explode before I can even swing it.'
"Even if this means I will die today, I will continue to fight so that my precious people will live!"
"To protect something precious, you will fight me until death?" Alfia whispered.
"What an interesting 'bond'." Alfia lowered her hand. She seemed to... remember something.
She remembered her sister in the Hera Familia. She remembered the sister who willingly chose death to give birth to a child, she choose death for her bonds.
"In that case..." She suddenly pulled a bottle from her robe and tossed it to Shirou. "Drink it."
"This is?" Shirou caught the bottle. It was... a top-grade [Elixir].
"This is my final mercy." Alfia turned her back to everyone. "I am tired today. I no longer wish to kill. Take that and get lost."
"However..." she turned her head, the coldness returning to her eyes. "The Great Feud is not over. Zard's side... is likely approaching a conclusion. If you want to live... then get stronger. Strong enough... to kill me."
With that, her figure turned into a gust of wind and vanished into the night.
"She's... gone?" Alise slumped on the ground, feeling like she was dreaming.
"Yeah... she's gone." Shirou pulled the stopper and downed the Elixir in one go.
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On the other side of the battlefield. West Gate Ruins.
"BOOM!!!"
Ottar was sent flying by a punch, collapsing half a city wall. He was covered in blood, and his [Black Sword] was broken. Opposite him, Zard still stood there, devouring the corpse of a giant monster.
"What's wrong, Ottar?" Zard wiped the blood from his mouth—his own blood, from his illness. "Is this all? Is this... the current strongest of Orario?"
"It's... not over yet." Ottar stood up shakily, the fighting spirit in his eyes not only unextinguished but burning even brighter. "I... can still fight."
"Hmph, you have spine." Zard raised his cleaver. "Then come. Use your life... to entertain this final 'Gluttony'!"
The first night of the Great Feud drew to a close amidst blood and fire. But the true despair had only just begun.
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