Chapter 253: Saving You, While Also Saving the World (Patreon)

"D-Daddy?"

Hearing Tsubaki Kuruoka's innocent, childish blurt, Honami Ichinose froze for a moment and murmured something under her breath before snapping back to reality.

She rested a hand lightly on Tsubaki's shoulder and asked softly:

"Why did you say that, Tsubaki?"

Standing nearby, Suzune Horikita turned at the word, and a rare flicker of confusion and awkwardness crossed her face.

Granted, when she was alone, in certain special "practice" scenarios… she had occasionally called Chris that once or twice.

But hearing it from a little girl around ten years old was a different matter. It felt a bit off, to say the least.

Could it be… because of Tsubaki's parents?!

Suzune Horikita bit her lower lip.

It had to be those born-evil magi!

Damn them. Even their everyday family terms came with some kind of obedience-testing experiment?

The damage this did to a child's mind and body was incalculable!

Seeing the two pretty big sisters turn serious in an instant, Tsubaki tilted her head in confusion and said innocently:

"Because… because when Tsubaki used to ask Daddy to play with me, you two just looked exactly like that, you know~"

Hearing this, Honami Ichinose and Suzune Horikita exchanged a glance and fell silent for a moment.

Only now did they remember.

This girl, who looked so sweet and innocent, had been raised by her magus father as nothing more than a tool.

For as long as she could remember, she had lain in a sickbed, enduring one cruel magical experiment after another. She had never even received the most basic schooling…

You couldn't demand much common sense from a child who'd had everything taken from her.

Ichinose drew a deep breath and pushed down the sting in her eyes.

She gently pinched Tsubaki's slightly pale cheek, a little helpless and full of pity, and explained softly:

"I understand how you feel, Tsubaki. In a way… that feeling of leaning on someone really does have something in common."

"But if you look at it practically, there are a lot of differences, you know."

"If you still don't get it…" Honami Ichinose paused, then smiled brightly. "Well, just think of it like this, Tsubaki: we found a really, really good friend, and he'll be coming to find us soon."

Tsubaki's big eyes sparkled, and she asked, curious:

"A really, really good friend? How good?"

"Even better than you and Tsubaki are?"

Faced with that uniquely childlike competitiveness, Ichinose smiled, a little helpless.

Suzune Horikita, on the other hand, said bluntly:

"Tsubaki, you and we just get along well when we play."

"But Chris… he's our companion, our guide. He's the person who leads us forward in this cruel world."

"Eh?"

Tsubaki tilted her cheek, clearly not following.

Still, swayed by the warmth of these two kind big sisters, she felt a spark of longing and asked instinctively:

"Then… can Tsubaki be your companion too, Big Sis Horikita?"

Seeing the opening, Ichinose crouched down.

She leaned in close, looked straight into the little girl's clear eyes, and said earnestly:

"If you want to, of course you can."

"But we're about to go save the world together with Chris-kun."

"It's a dangerous road. Are you sure you can do it, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki nodded hard, her eyes shining:

"Tsubaki can! Tsubaki wants to be a great hero too!"

"Then shouldn't you tell your mom and dad first?"

Horikita cut in without warning.

Honami Ichinose's heart clenched, and she shot Tsubaki a worried look.

She was afraid Horikita's blunt words would stir up painful memories of reality and set off some kind of reaction in the girl.

Fortunately, inside the dream barrier built by the Pale Rider, everything was determined by Tsubaki's own emotions and wishes.

As long as no one deliberately tore through the disguise called "daily life," the parents in this dream were the model parents she longed for most deep down.

Horikita had thought of exactly that, and she brought it up now to lay the groundwork for what came next.

Sure enough, Tsubaki looked at her in confusion and asked:

"Are we going to be away for a long time? Won't I be able to come home for dinner tonight?"

Horikita kept her small face cold, but her voice was very, very gentle:

"Saving the world is hard work if you want to be a hero. Naturally, you can't always make it home for every meal."

"What's more, it's normal not to see your family for a long time, and you'll face danger!"

Tsubaki pressed her lips together as if locked in a fierce inner struggle, her little hands twisting together:

"I see… but Tsubaki doesn't know if she can…"

"Tsubaki is still little, and I don't know how I could help you, Big Sis Horikita."

Honami Ichinose shook her head with a smile and tucked a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "Then you're selling yourself short, Tsubaki."

"The power hidden inside you is actually incredibly strong."

"If you're willing, you won't just be a huge help to us. You might even save countless innocent people, so they can be with their mommies and daddies again…"

"It's just that, for you, it's a painful road full of thorns."

Tsubaki thought about it seriously, then pursed her lips and said:

"Then I'll go tell Mommy and Daddy first, and then I'll go with you, Big Sis Ichinose."

"Tsubaki really doesn't want to leave Mommy and Daddy, but if it means more people can play with their mommies and daddies because of me… Tsubaki is willing to be apart from them for a while."

Ichinose pressed her lips tight. Looking at Tsubaki, so sensible it hurt, she felt as if a boulder were lodged in her chest, her heart unbearably heavy.

Yet in the end, she couldn't bring herself to say the words that would expose the cruel truth.

She could only watch in silence as Tsubaki turned and ran off to say goodbye to her fake parents.

Right at that moment.

Ripples spread through the air, and the shimmering, impossibly beautiful phantom of a goddess appeared out of nowhere before Ichinose and Horikita.

It was the remnant of the Sea Goddess, attached to the First Emperor's God-Slaying Crossbow.

The phantom regarded them and spoke softly:

"You wish to return Tsubaki to reality… but with your weak human bodies, can you protect her?"

Honami Ichinose nodded without giving an inch to the Sea Goddess's question:

"We weren't lying to Tsubaki just now."

"If possible, once her illness is cured, I even want to take her away from this cruel world for good…"

There was a trace of anger in Ichinose's voice:

"The magi on your side are completely, utterly inhuman!"

"If I left her here alone until the Holy Grail War ends, I could never rest easy."

The Sea Goddess's remnant listened quietly, then gave Honami Ichinose a long, deep look.

"I sense no deceit in you."

"I do not quite understand this idea of 'taking her out of this world,' but…"

The phantom's gaze softened. "I entrust Tsubaki to you."

"If you intend to deal with that goddess of the heavens, you may take this God-Slaying Crossbow."

"I hope you will not break your word."

With that, the Sea Goddess's remnant placed a crossbow bolt radiating ancient majesty into Ichinose's hand and vanished into the air just before Tsubaki came back.

Having just finished her goodbyes, Tsubaki stared at the God-Slaying bolt in Honami Ichinose's hand, baffled:

"Big Sis Ichinose, what's that in your hand?"

Honami Ichinose opened her mouth, completely at a loss for how to explain.

Horikita stepped in and answered for her:

"This is your Big Sis Ichinose's exclusive gear."

"We're going to be saviors, after all. How could we face a terrifying Demon Lord empty-handed?"

To make it more convincing, Horikita bent down and picked up a broken piece of stone.

"Dora!"

As Tsubaki's face froze in shock, Suzune Horikita summoned her Stand, [Crazy Diamond].

The muscular pink-and-blue Stand appeared and gently touched the stone fragment.

With a flash of Miracle light, the scattered dust and shards around them flew back into her palm as if time were rewinding, fitting together seamlessly into a whole stone!

Horikita looked at Tsubaki and said meaningfully:

"The pink-and-white doll behind me is one of my abilities… Its power is restoration."

"If you ever get hurt out there, Tsubaki, I can heal you right away."

Demonstration over, Horikita didn't dwell on it and turned to Ichinose:

"Speaking of which, your Big Sis Ichinose is actually a real magical girl, you know."

"Tsubaki, want to see it with your own eyes?"

"Eh? A magical girl?!"

Tsubaki clapped her hands together, and her eyes were full of disbelieving hope as she looked at Ichinose:

"Big Sis Ichinose, really?!"

Honami Ichinose's pretty face flushed, but seeing the light in the little girl's eyes, she took a deep breath anyway:

"Then I'll transform into a magical girl and fly you up into the sky, and we'll go meet up with Chris-kun and the others. How does that sound?"

"Wow! Really? We can?!"

Tsubaki's mouth fell open and her eyes went wide, sparkling in the light.

Honami Ichinose nodded firmly. Embarrassed though she was, she played along, raised her wand, and struck a classic transformation pose:

"Then watch closely—"

"Ruby, transform!"

…

On the other side of the dream barrier.

At the same moment that Ichinose and Horikita finished negotiating with Tsubaki and prepared to come find Chris.

The Humbabas that had grown wary after Chris used the Stand [Weather Forecast (Stand)] to alter the local climate, and had even sent extra units to patrol the area, all drew back in unison.

As if they had received some kind of order, they were deliberately leaving this space to them.

Seeing this, Hiyori Shiina lowered her head and laid her slender white fingers lightly on the pages of the angel [Rasiel].

Fed by its omniscient perspective, she looked up and reported to Chris beside her:

"Ichinose and the others have finished talking to Tsubaki Kuruoka, the Pale Rider's Master. They're on their way here now."

As if worried she hadn't made herself clear, Hiyori simply circulated her spiritual power and had [Rasiel] project an image into the air.

The scene showed the final stage: Ichinose in her magical girl form, talking with a wide-eyed, admiring Tsubaki.

Watching the dazzling effects on the screen, Chris thought for a moment and said:

"A kid, huh… A magical girl probably does feel friendlier to her, and it'll be easier for her to lower her guard."

"Hey, how about I put on the [Demon Possession] armor too, and you switch into your Spirit's Astral Dress, Hiyori? That way, when she gets here, the fairy-tale vibe will be stronger, and it'll be easier to talk."

Hiyori wasn't particularly surprised.

Still, the original design of [Kamui Astral Dress: Second] was more or less on the revealing side.

Especially after she'd worn it with Chris during their training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber… it had become a little too suggestive.

Her ears turning faintly red, the girl ultimately manifested the conservative version she had modified herself.

It was a nun-style Astral Dress with an inviolable air of the priesthood.

Before long, Ichinose, now a magical girl, and Horikita, now wearing the purple armored dress of [Kamui Astral Dress: Tenth], descended from the sky with Tsubaki in tow.

A breeze swept past as Tsubaki hopped lightly out of Ichinose's arms.

She rushed first to Horikita, who wore Tohka's Astral Dress, and carefully reached out to touch the angel [Sandalphon] in her hand.

Only then did she turn to look at the silver-white heavy armor of Chris's [Demon Possession] and Hiyori Shiina in her holy nun's habit.

"Wow… so cool!" Tsubaki couldn't help exclaiming. "Big Sis Horikita's greatsword, and Big Brother Chris's armor too, it's like they walked right out of a fairy-tale picture book!"

Chris chuckled and lifted his visor.

"In a way, you're not wrong, Tsubaki."

"We came here as knights to save you… and, while we're at it, to save the world."

"Save me… and save the world while you're at it?"

Tsubaki tilted her head, her tiny head filled with enormous question marks.

Wasn't the order of importance backward?

Seeing this, Hiyori cleared her throat and smoothly covered for Chris.

"Tsubaki, you've read fairy tales, so you must know, right?"

"In the stories, there are many clever, brave princesses trapped in secret palaces, waiting to be rescued by knights and princes, and then the princess's power turns out to be the key to defeating the Demon Lord…"

"And right now, Tsubaki, you're that 'princess,' you know~"

Tsubaki nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to spot a hole in the story:

"Eh… wait! But I don't remember you at all, big brothers and sisters!"

"How did you know Tsubaki's name?"

"Could it be that Big Sis Ichinose can use magic and talk to you with her mind from far away?!"

Ichinose smiled and ruffled her soft hair.

"Tsubaki, did you forget? As a grown-up, I have modern technology on my side. I have a phone!"

"Huh? So it was that simple…"

Tsubaki looked thoroughly let down, as if this had ruined the magical girl mystique.

Honami Ichinose quickly added, "But this time I didn't actually use my phone. It's because of the magic book in Big Sis Hiyori's hands. It can see the past and present of everything in the world. There's nothing in this world she doesn't know!"

"I see! W-wow, that's amazing!"

Tsubaki's mouth hung open again as she looked at Hiyori with pure admiration, believing every word without the slightest thought of checking.

But when the girl glanced at the stern Horikita, then at the commanding presence of Chris and Hiyori, her little face clouded with doubt.

A knight, a magical girl, an all-knowing nun… everyone was so strong.

What could a little kid like her do to help? What could she possibly use to save the world?

Honestly, Tsubaki didn't know.

As if he'd read her thoughts, Chris stepped forward and knelt on one knee in front of her, looking straight into her eyes.

"Tsubaki, everything I'm about to tell you is the truth."

"It might be cruel, but please believe…"

Chris paused, then corrected himself. "No, you don't have to believe me. If you're scared, just believe in your Big Sis Ichinose and Big Sis Horikita, okay?"

"Senior…" Ichinose began, hoping to ease the mood.

But Tsubaki had already clenched her small fists to show her resolve. "I believe Big Sis Ichinose!"

So Chris spoke in a low voice. "The truth is, without you knowing, you got dragged into a ritual where ancient heroes are summoned to fight each other."

"The 'daily life' you think you're living is protected inside a dream barrier by your Servant. Out in the real world, an evil goddess is about to destroy Snowfield, and then the whole world. We need your help, Tsubaki, and that's why we came to find you."

"Heroes… help?" Tsubaki was at a loss and turned to Honami Ichinose for confirmation.

Ichinose took a deep breath and gripped Tsubaki's shoulders, her gaze unwavering. "Tsubaki, please believe your big sister."

"No matter what bad memories come up, no matter how frightening the reality you see, please don't forget—I'm right here beside you, and I'll never let go."

Horikita thought for a moment and stepped forward. "Ichinose, if you can, stay here and keep Tsubaki's consciousness company for now."

"Let's heal Tsubaki's actual body in the outside world first, and sort out the rest after that."

Ichinose nodded firmly and pulled Tsubaki tightly into her arms.

Then, as the girl's confused eyes slowly calmed, Chris summoned the [Enma Blade].

A flash of deep blue light.

It cut the dream barrier built by the [Pale Rider] clean open, leaving a rift that led to reality!

…

Soon the rift closed behind them and vanished.

Chris, Suzune Horikita, and Hiyori Shiina returned safely to the hospital in the real Snowfield.

On the sickbed, Tsubaki's real body lay quietly among tubes and life-support lines, like a lifeless husk.

Chris turned to Horikita and said gravely:

"Crazy Diamond's power is restoration, but Tsubaki's parents used her as a culture bank. They implanted massive amounts of engineered bacteria in her, and even her nerves have been rebuilt into something like a source of plague-like pain…"

"To cure her completely, we'd probably have to smash her contaminated magic circuits, even her bones and blood, to pieces and then repair everything from scratch."

Hiyori pressed her lips together. "That's the only way: tear it down to build it back up."

"I just hope Tsubaki's consciousness doesn't wake from the dream from the pain during the process."

After all, the underworld barrier created by the Pale Rider's Noble Phantasm was built entirely on Tsubaki's dream.

In certain mythologies, the border between dreams and death is blurred, which makes it equivalent to hell, the realm of demons and plague.

That was one reason Tsubaki could serve as an anchor to summon and sustain the Pale Rider's barrier.

Conversely, if Tsubaki woke from the pain, the Pale Rider would lose the medium for his power.

That was exactly why Hiyori Shiina was so worried.

Horikita, however, didn't flinch.

"Let's try healing Tsubaki first! Once her body is cured, even if we want her to fall asleep again, we have plenty of ways!"

With that, Horikita summoned [Crazy Diamond] to Tsubaki's bedside.

After confirming that the Pale Rider hadn't triggered any protective reflex and treated them as enemies.

Crazy Diamond raised both fists and, without hesitation, unleashed a storm of blows on Tsubaki's broken body!

"Dora dora dora dora dora—!"

The violent "treatment" stopped abruptly, having taken hardly any time at all.

But in those brief second or two, Tsubaki's body was literally pulverized, then, through Crazy Diamond's miraculous restoration, remade into a flawless, healthy one!

The transformation was so total that the agony of being shattered never reached her central nervous system. Even so, the sudden vitality of her healthy body made Tsubaki's lashes tremble on the sickbed, a sign she was about to wake.

Fortunately, just as Tsubaki was about to wake and leave the dream, Ichinose, still in the dream world, sensed something wrong.

She held Tsubaki tighter and soothed the girl's spirit with her own, successfully calming the tremors in her soul and keeping her in the sweet dream for now.

Seeing the girl's breathing even out, Chris turned to the God-Slaying Crossbow hanging in Horikita's hand and mused:

"She's cured."

"So next… we take this thing to the main battlefield and find Ishtar, right?"

Hiyori shook her head, flipping through [Rasiel]:

"Not yet. This crossbow does carry the concept of slaying gods, but against a goddess of the heavens at near full strength, it still isn't enough…"

"It needs to be imbued with the concepts of 'shooting down the heavens' and 'strengthened god-slaying' before it can pose a lethal threat to Ishtar. And that requires help from Caster Dumas and El-Melloi II."

Hiyori closed the angel. "I'll go back to the Mirror World first and ask Amikura and Karuizawa and the others to pass the intel to Dumas and his group."

"Good. Move fast," Chris agreed, then looked at Horikita. "Then Horikita and I will take Tsubaki and extend the Pale Rider's barrier into the inside of Ishtar's temple barrier to weaken the goddess's divine suppression."

"With the [Mountains-and-Rivers Map] and Morishita covering us from the shadows, Tsubaki's safety shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay."

Hiyori didn't linger. She stepped back and melted into the mirrored surface of the wall.

Left behind, Horikita frowned suspiciously at Chris's words.

'Morishita… Ai Morishita?'

Wasn't she already dead?!

…

Meanwhile, at the main battlefield on the outskirts of Snowfield.

Although the Humbabas, as divine beasts, had been wiped out cleanly in the earlier focused barrage, the situation hadn't turned in humanity's favor.

Everyone knew that only with the appearance of the [Bull of Heaven], the embodiment of natural disaster, were the powers of the presiding god Inanna truly complete, the full form she'd had since descending to the mortal world.

As for the Humbabas that got wiped out?

They were just mounts Ishtar had been lucky enough to pick up in Snowfield.

Their deaths barely dented Ishtar's own combat power.

Now, with the Bull of Heaven transformed into a sky-blotting thunderstorm hurricane.

Ishtar didn't even need to step into the fight herself. She simply sat enthroned on a divine seat among the clouds, looking down on them like ants, and now and then casually swung the A+++ Noble Phantasm [Eight Wastes Kneel Before the Sky Hammer].

That was enough to sweep away most of the enemies resisting below, along with the very ground beneath them!

Under such overwhelming divine firepower.

Even powerful, combat-oriented Servants like Charlemagne and Hippolyta had to avoid its edge, scrambling through the ruins in search of a chance to counterattack.

Amasawa Ichika, Katsuragi Kohei, and the others, watching the battlefield through gaps in the Mirror World, saw even space tremble under the storm and naturally had no reason to charge in and throw their lives away.

Still, the fight wasn't a one-sided massacre.

Goldie hadn't been poisoned by the Hydra venom as in the original story, and his beloved friend Enkidu had managed to stabilize his collapsing Spirit Origin.

Enkidu promptly pulled away and, as a streak of light, rushed to the main battlefield to face the Bull of Heaven.

With Enkidu's overwhelming [Chains of Heaven] restraining it, and the blackened Avenger Alcides going all out, loosing arrow after arrow in a terrifying stacked barrage of [Nine Lives], the two peak-tier Servants fought the Bull's endless lightning storm to a standstill.

But that left Goldie, who stayed by his Master Tine, drained of mana and with no defenses, in a weakened state where one assassin's ambush could take him out for good.

Honestly, looking at the defenseless King of Heroes.

Not only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lurking in the shadows, but also Ryuuen and Arisu Sakayanagi, who'd been circling the periphery, couldn't help feeling tempted at the sight of the isolated Goldie.

One sniper shot, or one time-stopped throat slit… and those 189 S Points would be theirs!

But… profit and risk always go hand in hand.

Enkidu was still fighting for his life on the front line, bearing the greatest share of the pressure on their behalf.

If they betrayed him for points and were killed by his best friend Goldie like common soldiers…

They'd get the points, no doubt, but it would be tantamount to turning on each other mid-battle.

And if Enkidu went berserk and switched sides.

Ishtar, the most urgent enemy, wouldn't be affected in the slightest. She would only profit from the infighting and wipe them all out in one sweep.

Under the shadow of death, with so much at stake, they all reasoned their way past greed.

Besides, Ishtar had already locked the King of Heroes' [Gate of Babylon] with her divine authority. Even if Goldie regained his mobility, he'd have only a tenth of his strength, so there was no need to worry about him becoming a threat later.

That was also why Faldeus, the magus who loved stirring up trouble most in the original story, hadn't sent his Assassin Hugo after Goldie.

There was a far more troublesome god to deal with right now!

While Enkidu and Alcides held back the storm of the Bull of Heaven.

The rest of the testers and Servants aimed every weapon at Ishtar, perched on her throne among the clouds!

As for Ishtar herself.

With the Bull of Heaven manifested, the goddess's authority and the concept of [Manifestation of Beauty] had been raised almost to their peak in life.

She rode her celestial boat Maanna, soaring freely ten thousand meters up, utterly at ease, like she was watching monkeys perform.

Besides, Ishtar was a goddess of the sky. As long as she didn't descend to the ground, simply floating in the air and casually swinging the [Eight Wastes Kneel Before the Sky Hammer]…

was an untouchable threat to everyone below.

After all, this Noble Phantasm's power surpassed even King Arthur's holy sword, a terrifying weapon that could physically flatten the surface of Snowfield in a single blow.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood in the shadow of a rock outcrop, coldly gazing up at the sky.

He wasn't about to let this goddess of the heavens have a calm moment to fire off her Noble Phantasm.

"Zero, get ready."

Ayanokōji gave the order in his mind.

"Understood." Parasyte and Venom instantly covered his right arm.

Without a trace of hesitation, Ayanokōji once again unleashed The World, that unreasonable, rule-bending ability.

"Za Warudo!"

As the phantom of the hulking golden Stand flashed and vanished, the world instantly lost all color. The raging lightning froze in the night sky, and flying rubble hung motionless before his eyes.

In that absolute stillness, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka leapt to a spot not far behind Ishtar, who was frozen in midair.

Because gods had strong resistance, Ayanokōji didn't dare get too close, afraid his time stop would be nullified by her divinity.

He simply aimed and locked onto Ishtar inside the celestial boat Maanna.

"Koro Sensei Beam!"

The instant time resumed!

A blinding beam beyond all reason slammed into Maanna and forcibly knocked Ishtar, boat and all, out of the sky from thousands of meters up!

He wanted to see whether Ishtar, stripped of air superiority and her home advantage, would suffer a conceptual weakening of her divine authority!

"BOOM—!!!"

When Ishtar suddenly fell from Maanna and plummeted toward the ground in disgrace, her once-careless expression finally changed.

"A mere human, an insignificant worm, dares to knock this goddess out of the heavens!"

Ishtar steadied herself mid-fall, and her furious crimson eyes locked onto Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had just lowered his right hand high above.

Combined with her earlier humiliation at being sent flying by this same strange light for no reason she could fathom.

Ishtar had a rough understanding of the strange power he wielded.

Proud as she was, she still couldn't comprehend how a mere mortal insect, with no divinity and not even magic circuits, could forcibly pause her time inside her absolute domain, which was almost a presiding god's own realm!

But…

Since this most annoying bug had recklessly jumped out to meet his doom, she, Ishtar, had no reason to swallow her anger instead of crushing him!

"You reckless bastard… you dare make a goddess dirty herself with mortal dust?!"

"Unforgivable! Be reduced to ashes!"

She laughed in sheer fury and gathered the vast mana of her divine domain, ready to blast the eyesore brat into dust first.

But Ayanokōji was always cautious. He had no intention of drawing her hatred and taking a divine punishment head-on.

The moment he fired the beam, he'd already calculated the lead, deliberately adjusting the angle of impact so Ishtar's fall would be steered precisely toward the position where Charlemagne and Hippolyta had long since set their ambush on the ground!

And so…

As the arrogant goddess finally fell into their range.

"Take this martial salute, which belongs to the Queen of the Amazons!"

"Wrath That Overturns Arrogance (Joyeuse Ordre)!"

"Royal authority is here!"

"Sword of Eternal, Distant Victory (Joyeuse Ordre)!"

Two Noble Phantasm True Names rang out at once, tearing through the sky.

The raging Ki of the Amazon war goddess and the dazzling radiance of the holy sword shone together as they bore down on Ishtar!

Faced with two top-tier Noble Phantasms that nearly sealed off every escape route, even a god couldn't ignore them.

"Don't get so cocky! You lowly Servants!"

"Who do you think I am?!"

Ishtar bit through her fingertip and invoked her EX-rank authority, [Manifestation of Beauty].

In that instant, the rules of space seemed to bend around the goddess's "beauty."

The two beams of destruction, which had been heading straight for her, refracted ten meters from her body and roared past, grazing her Kamui!

But many ants can kill an elephant.

Although she had forcibly bent both Noble Phantasms off course, taking the impact of the explosions and the distortion in quick succession still disrupted the flow of her mana, and cracks appeared in her protective mana shield.

Ishtar was carried by the aftershocks of the deflected Noble Phantasms, drifting along their trajectory, until she came within a short distance of Ryuuen, who had been hiding in the distant ruins and quietly charging up for a while.

On the half-collapsed rock ruins nearby.

Arisu Sakayanagi spotted the fraction of a second when Ishtar's mana left a gap.

"Now's my chance!"

The girl cried out clearly. Mana surged, and gunfire from [Romantic Cannon] shattered the shield Ishtar hadn't had time to maintain.

Then countless violet-gold magic ribbons wove together into a net, combined with the Imperial Arms [Demon's Extract] she'd borrowed from Chris!

"In my name… freeze."

Dozens of ribbons of mana, glowing deep blue, erupted from the ground and wrapped around Ishtar's pale wrists and ankles.

Immediately after, ice puppets of bitter cold appeared, ready to form an icy cage and lock down Ishtar, who was already rising higher—

"How dare you—!"

Ishtar bellowed. Divine power shook, and the ice began to crack wildly.

But the few seconds Arisu Sakayanagi had won were already enough.

Facing the god forced into place as a sitting target, Ryuuen drew on all the energy in his body.

His chest armor fully unfolded, and the cyber reactor in his chest overloaded past its limits.

His whole body creaked under the strain, and scorching energy converged to a single point!

"A god standing high above everyone, huh?"

"Today I'm taking down a damn god!"

Ryuuen roared, pouring out all of his firepower:

"Burn to ashes, you bastard!"

"Super Spiral Incineration Cannon—!!!"