Like a pillar of salt crumbling back into dust, the corpse revived through the Reanimation Jutsu shattered and vanished the moment the summoning was dispelled.
Medb, who had been watching the scene with a dazed expression, suddenly let out a sharp scream and began rolling on the ground in a fit of rage.
“...A pity. We missed her, Master!”
“Keep aiming for her.”
“You... you damn bastards! How dare you look down on the Queen of Connaught!”
“Look down? Why wouldn't I? You’re just a prostitute who died from a block of cheese because you spread your legs too wide trying to get Cu Chulainn’s attention.”
The moment I spat those words, a powerful presence began to move toward me.
The spearhead, which until just a moment ago was safely outside of striking range, was suddenly right beside me. I lowered my head and barely avoided the blade by rolling; in that same breath, a massive foot plummeted down as if to crush my skull.
Avoiding the second strike in an instant, a colossal tail and a barbed spear lunged for my heart and brainstem. Dozens of thorns sprouted from the spearhead, flying with the momentum to pierce every vital point on my body.
“Shinra Tensei!”
“I see. Now that your prana is sufficient, you’re using that technique as you please.”
—Crunch!
With a violent sound, the thorns hit an invisible repulsive force and were sheared off. Since they were nothing more than magical constructs—not part of the Noble Phantasm itself—they broke easily. However, the true Noble Phantasm, the Spear of Slaying—Gae Bolg, remained intact, humming with a vibration that hungered for my life.
The vibrating spear curved its trajectory multiple times, thrusting toward my heart, throat, and lungs without a shred of mercy. I dodged what I could and endured with Shinra Tensei only when necessary, but in an instant, a fresh wound was carved into my forearm.
“Asura Path!”
“...So you already know. About the curse.”
“No matter how mad you are, I can’t exactly sit back and let a curse crawl into my heart.”
“Have you already replaced your limbs with prosthetics?”
“They’re harder to define as mere prosthetics since I made them myself. For what it’s worth, I modeled them after the research of a certain Grand Puppetmaster.”
The Asura Path was the crystallization of technology built by those whose very essence was conflict.
In other words, it was the ability to transform the human body into any kind of ‘weapon.’ From a certain perspective, the bodies created by the Grand Puppetmaster could also be seen as weapons. After all, the prosthetic arm Shiki Ryougi once wore was a monstrous thing that wouldn't even flinch if stepped on by an elephant.
“But you are weak. That repulsive force is an ability even I cannot overcome, but if you truly had it, you would have been able to block my attacks just by shrouding yourself in it constantly!”
—BOOM!
A roar erupted from the spear—a sound no spear should ever make. A powerful impact rocked my ribs, and simultaneously, an inexplicable sensation of weightlessness washed over me. Barely regaining my focus, I quickly activated Shinra Tensei to stabilize my body, and at that moment...
—Slice!
“Since the fight has begun, I don’t want it to end disappointingly. Fix your stance... King of Chaldea!”
Before I knew it... my left arm had been severed.
“...Whew. I didn't think this would be even shittier than the Third Singularity.”
The Heroic Spirits are being held back by them. Or rather, should I say the Heroic Spirits are holding them back for me?
Unlike with the King of Demon Gods in the Third Singularity, I didn’t have a method to deal with this using the trump cards I had prepared.
“Summoning Jutsu!”
“Is that your full strength?”
“You could say that!”
Six puppets. And me, possessing six abilities.
Now that I had sealed the Holy Grail using Altera, this was the ultimate measure I could deploy.
“Shall we go, then...?”
The spear lunges.
The Animal Path's summons, standing at the forefront, were instantly reduced to meat scraps. The Deva Path's Shinra Tensei was shattered, sending the puppet flying backward. While the Naraka Path's summoning gate barely absorbed the shockwave, the Preta Path and Human Path closed in from the rear, tightening the net as the Asura Path and I poured out attacks from the furthest distance.
“Tricks.”
And... as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he didn’t even budge.
Even if I had diverted the Grail's resources to Altera, this Mad King—a Divine Spirit-class Servant—had been perfected by pooling the American leylines and the existing Grail resources. Though his Rank was merely that of a Heroic Spirit, the scale of his Spirit Graph had reached the abnormal domain of a Divine Spirit.
To be blunt, a guy like this wasn't designed to be defeatable.
—Cr-cr-crack!
With a third sound of breaking, the Deva Path puppet at the front was crushed once more, and the beasts summoned by the Animal Path were torn to shreds in the interval.
Each was a Phantasm from the Age of Gods; though they lacked intelligence, they were constructs with an output modeled after Lugh Beowulf. Yet, the Spear of Slaying brutally ripped through them as if the fact that their souls were materialized mattered little.
The scars left on the puppets were of the sort that only the Naraka Path could ever hope to repair.
‘The answer is obvious. Either that spear or his spearmanship is close to the Root—or perhaps superior to it. Magicians from the Age of Gods lived with the Root before their very eyes, so I suppose Medb with the Holy Grail is similar...?’
I looked back.
The puppets had been miserably crushed and then regenerated, and my own body was littered with traces of the struggle, alongside the remains of the shattered summons... and there was the Mad King, looking slightly bored, having not even revealed his true power yet.
And then, it happened.
[...atic, can you?]
“...Huh?”
[...u? Can you hear me? Karma! Are you listening?! Karma! This is Chaldea, respond! Oh, for heaven's sake, why won't the signal reach that zone!]
“...Romani?”
[...! Contact with Karma established! Communication link confirmed! What's the situation there... Woah?!]
“Hey, seriously... you can't give me a break while I'm talking?”
“There is no reason to show consideration to an opponent during battle. Is that not so?”
“Damn, you’ve got me there!”
I spoke those words, but I couldn't suppress the laughter bubbling up inside me.
Under normal circumstances, communication with Chaldea should not have functioned within Washington. The reason it was now possible was simple...
‘I thought we only seized the Grail’s resources, but Medb put a considerable amount of effort into Altera. She’s almost completely lost her control over the texture of this area.’
Parrying a deluge of spear thrusts aimed at crushing my lower half, I threw a napalm grenade at the Mad King and spoke into the comms.
“Fionn! Arjuna! Medb! Those three are the Celtic Servants! The boss of this Singularity is Mad King Cu Chulainn, whom I’m fighting right now! Give me a briefing whenever the movements of these four or the enemy soldier divisions change!”
[W-wait, this is too reckless! You know how powerful the enemy forces backed by the Holy Grail are! Even if you are a Magus, fighting the Singularity's boss alone is madness!]
“I know.”
Still, when something must be done, it must be done.
[...I’ll send the Connected One instead! With the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, she could dispose of that monster instantly!]
“No. It’s impossible for Tohno Shiki’s firepower to win against that thing. As for Ryougi Shiki, she was observed by the King of Demon Gods when she intervened in his Singularity before. If she interferes now, there’s a possibility the two of them could mature into an Evil of Humanity... Watch out!”
Along with the agonizing pain of my arm being torn, a massive laceration followed, crossing my entire face up to my right ear as if I were being mangled. Seeing me dodge the curse by sacrificing parts of my body and regenerating them rapidly, the Mad King seemed to have shifted his tactics to strike directly at areas harder to regenerate, such as my head, heart, and internal organs.
“...But Roman, thanks to that, I’ve got a good idea.”
[What?]
“I originally intended to use Scathach’s demonic spear to finish that guy off while he was trapped in Chibaku Tensei, but I’ve found a better way.”
Even if help came from Chaldea, winning would be difficult.
But it didn’t necessarily... have to come from Chaldea.
“Roman, send Ritsuka and Mash here!”
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