Silver snowflakes drifted down like countless dancing butterflies.
The sun hung high in the sky, casting a cold, clear light that painted the pristine snowfield with strokes of gilded radiance. In the distance, the indistinct outlines of castles loomed. Beyond that, the boundaries between heaven and earth, north and south, blurred into obscurity.
Stepping onto this snowfield was like stumbling into a mystical fairylandâa silent kingdom of fairy tales. The scenery was so crystalline, so untouched by any impurity, that it seemed to embody the very form of a pure soul.
Yet, the arrival of uninvited guests shattered this tranquility.
The wind and frost cut like blades, and the dazzling aurora stung the eyes of the Heroic Spirits. When their vision finally cleared, what greeted them was an endless expanse of swords littering the ground, reflecting the same icy glow as the snow.
Reality Marble · Unlimited Blade Works.
A miraculous magecraft that condensed a mental landscape into a single incantation, primarily relying on projection magecraft with alteration magecraft as supportâafter concluding the Thunderous Heavenly Palace, this was the second âcourseâ Sakatsuki had prepared to entertain his guests!
"So this is Sakatsukiâs plan. Weâve fallen into his trap." Semiramis, ever the demigoddess of the Age of Gods, quickly grasped the situation as she surveyed the perilous surroundings and Sakatsuki in the distance. "He was waiting for Ruler to unleash her Noble Phantasm, waiting for us to gather in one place so he could wipe us all out in one stroke."
"But why didnât he use this magecraft from the start? Wouldnât it have been even more powerful combined with that lightning-spewing spell?" Mordred asked. The Empress responded to such a naive question with a cold scoff.
"Are you an idiot? This is Sakatsukiâs mental landscape. Do you really think heâd want to stuff something that dangerous inside himself?"
"Who would do that?!" Before Mordred could erupt, Jeanne dâArc stepped forward, raising her holy banner once more, her tone grave.
"Be on guardâa new assault is coming!"
No sooner had she spoken than the snowfield began to hum. One after another, noble blades rose from the ground, adjusting their trajectories midair until they were all aimed squarely at the heroes. Under the suffocating pressure that threatened to steal their voices, the black-clad youth raised his hand with eerie calm.
"Commence the attack."
The wind instantly filled with the shrill cries of sharpened steel. Thousands upon thousands of blades, heeding their masterâs command, shot forth without hesitation, each vying to outpace the others in a relentless, suicidal charge toward Jeanne and the others.
The light seared her eyes. In her dazed state, Jeanne felt as though she had been thrust back onto the battlefield of her past, where enemies lying in wait roared with earth-shaking fury, intent on mercilessly snatching away their lives and delivering them to their doom.
To protect her comradesâthat was the duty of the Ruler, the duty of the holy maiden.
Butâ
Her banner was on the verge of shattering. If this continued, Ruler · Jeanne dâArc would lose her strongest shield, leaving only that forbidden Noble Phantasm...
The battle would not pause for Jeanneâs hesitation. Countless blades were already upon them, and the first to ignite was a comforting blaze of flames.
The undying blade swung, and under Karnaâs exquisite control, a fiery line dozens of meters long unfurled majestically. The scorching heat melted ordinary weapons into molten iron, and even replicated Noble Phantasms were drained of their mystery, wobbling before crashing to the ground.
"Then, leave the other side to me!"
Mordred roughly wiped away the bloodstain on her cheekâa wound left from battling shadow Servantsâand gripped her sword tightly, roaring as she swung upward!
Crimson lightning split the snow and wind like a giantâs thick arm, effortlessly smashing aside all obstacles in its path. Accompanied by the girlâs bold laughter, the crimson lightning twisted into a clenched fist and punched forward, destroying countless armaments. With her strength alone, she cleared the battlefield as far as the eye could see.
On one side, the son of the sun god ignited flames, preventing any weapon from advancing half a step. On the other, the rebellious knight summoned crimson lightning, effortlessly crushing the storm of blades. Though the two Servants performed admirably, Jeanne dâArcâs expression remained grim, for the light refracting across this snowy plain was not merely from snowflakes:
"Empress, do you have any way to break this Reality Marble?"
"Of course not," Semiramis immediately delivered the disheartening verdict. "To dismantle a Reality Marble, aside from exhausting the ownerâs mana, the only other option is to use a Noble Phantasm specifically designed for itâan Anti-World Noble Phantasm."
"Anti-World Noble Phantasm? Empress, I recall your âHanging Gardens of Babylonâ..."
"That is indeed an Anti-World Noble Phantasm. As long as I stand upon the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, I am the absolute rulerâ" The empress dragged out her words irritably. "But Sakatsuki has already trapped me within his world, meaning my authority is nullified."
"Hey, so youâre saying thereâs no way at all?!" Mordred growled impatiently. "Damn it, my mana isnât infinite! Whereâs some golden bastard or arms-dealing fox when you need them?!"
"Incidentally, after entering the Reality Marble, my connection to the leyline was severed. Iâm currently resisting using pre-stored mana," Karna interjected calmly, ignoring Mordredâs rambling. "At this rate of expenditure, I estimate Iâll vanish from mana depletion in about two minutes."
"Is that something you can say so nonchalantly?!" Jeanne paled. The current situation couldnât afford to lose another Servant. "If it comes to that, I could use a Command Spell... Ah."
The saintâs words cut off abruptly. Semiramis and Mordred glanced over curiously, only to find Jeanne covering her mouth, wearing a guilty expression as if sheâd misspoken.
"Whatâs wrong?"
"Nothing, letâs return to the matter at hand," Karna replied instead of Jeanne. "To address the immediate crisis, my suggestion is to kill Sakatsuki by force before everyoneâs mana is exhausted."
"Agreed."
"...Understood."
"Same."
From the start of this decisive battle, Sakatsuki had already demonstrated his absurdly vast mana reserves, so the group automatically dismissed Semiramisâs first proposal and unanimously approved Karnaâs plan.
Now, the only way to escape was to defeat the master of this Reality Marble.
"Then, letâs begin."
At Karnaâs command, Sakatsuki, who had been maintaining his distance, once again caught sight of the sacred golden light. Like the headlights of a speeding chariot, it drew closer and closerâ
"Oh? Going for a desperate strike?"
Seeing this, Sakatsuki didnât hesitate either. Countless blades within the snow-covered domain moved at his will, no longer scattering in all directions but converging into a single torrent, following the same trajectory to clash head-on against Jeanne dâArc and her charge.
Clang, clang, boom!
A platinum steel dragon lungedâits scales the edges of blades, its head a sharpened sword tip, its roar a symphony of countless weapons colliding!
"Ughâgrrrr!" Jeanne gritted her teeth, her hands trembling uncontrollably as the violent force transmitted through her holy banner nearly snapped her wrists.
The bannerâs endurance had reached its limit, no longer able to fully withstand the damage. The tide of blades summoned by Sakatsuki was not something mere willpower could resist. Fortunately, as radiant heroes, they possessed Noble Phantasms that matched their indomitable spirits.
"Tag in, Mordred!" Jeanneâs banner dimmed before her as the wings of a seraph unfurled behind her. "By the final Command Spellâunleash your Noble Phantasm, Saber of Red!"
"Got it!" The rebellious knight surged forward, her sword crackling with thunderous light.
"I am no king, but one who walks the kingâs path! For the kingâs peace, I shall drive all enemies away!"
"The chant changed...?" Sakatsuki frowned in the distance, but before he could ponder further, Mordred swung down her mighty blade.
"Clarent Blood Arthur!"
Without a doubt, this was a full-powered Noble Phantasm release. The sword, wreathed in colossal flames, cleaved forward, unleashing a torrent of light that surged straight aheadâunyielding, unbreakable, and unstoppableâutterly obliterating the steel dragon.
A single slash shattered ten thousand blades.
Countless sharp fragments scattered, slicing through the heroesâ armor and cutting their skin. Yet none paid heed to such trivial wounds. Heads held high, they watched with bated breath as the combined might of the Command Spell and Mordredâs full magical energy cleaved through all obstacles in its path. Amidst the endless cacophony of destruction, the attack surged straight toward the young manâs face.
Defeat him! Strike him down!
Their heartbeats roared in their ears. Whether it was Jeanne, the Empress, or Mordred, they all knewâthis was their final chance. Their last hope to defeat the Blue Faction, claim the Holy Grail, or save the world.
If even this attack couldnât overcome their foe, they would be torn apart in endless fury, reduced to withered bones frozen within this mental landscape.
No matter their reasons, no matter their idealsâat this moment, Jeanne and the others shared a single, unified wish: to defeat Sakatsuki and shatter this deadly Reality Marble!
His calm facade crumbled under the radiance of magical energy. Facing Mordredâs anti-fortress Noble Phantasm head-on, Sakatsukiâs instincts screamed at the highest alert. Yet even so, he didnât take a single step back. As his icy mask shattered, the expression that surfaced on his faceâwas a smile.
"My king, someone claims they will banish me for your peace."
"Hmph, ridiculous."
An aura colder than ice and snow descended, embedding itself into the black armor like dried blood and an inextricable curse entwined together. The golden-haired, golden-eyed king appeared beside the young man, casting a disdainful glance at the horrified Jeanne dâArc and her companions below, as well as the surging torrent of magical energy rushing toward them.
A crushing force erupted from the holy spear in her handâterrifying and majestic, carrying a thousandfold reverence, ten thousandfold sanctity, and a millionfold ferocity!
Like an unceasing storm at the edge of the world, and an unerasable calamity.
"Unleashed from the ends of the earth, the stormâs fury that rends the heavens and connects the landâRhongomyniad!"
The world trembled. A torrent of black light surged from the tip of the spear, shattering the crimson lightning born of hope with the might of the apocalypse. Undiminished in its destruction, it reversed course like an ironclad judgment and verdict, surging toward Jeanne and her allies like a tidal wave.
The end had come!
"O my banner, protect my comrades!" A golden-haired figure stepped forward, raising the holy banner once more to shield her allies.
BOOM!
The light of the holy spear struck the golden barrier cleanly. This time, Jeanneâs pupils constrictedâshe clearly heard the crisp crack.
It was the sound of the wooden flagpole breaking. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though the souls of countless comrades appeared before her, smiling as they patted the girlâs shoulders one by one, telling herâThis is as far as we can go.
When the fury of the storm spear subsided and the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, Jeanne reached out helplessly, but her hands grasped nothing. The white banner embroidered with fleur-de-lis fluttered midair before scattering into golden motes of light.
"Jeanne..." Semiramis, watching the saint who had always shown kindness and composure, widened her eyes slightly.
Unnoticed until now, the holy maiden was already weeping.
âThe final day of the Holy Grail War, within Sakatsukiâs Reality Marble.
Jeanne dâArcâs Noble PhantasmâLuminositĂ© Eternelleâshattered.