Kapitel 289: You Can Die, But the Mana Supply Must Not Break!
The translucent eyes of the National Guardian Machine God, Primus Imperator, turned a sudden blood-red. On its massive metal palms, countless thick and intricate patterns glowed with a faint purple-red hue.
Buzzing—!!
The heavy armor opened, and at the mouth of a colossal cannon, a brilliant red light began to condense and flicker.
Just as Selene aimed the cannon at the enormous fortress courtyard hovering in the sky, ready to fire, Darnic's urgent voice suddenly rang in her mind, transmitted via the World Chronicle's telepathic communication ability.
"An emergency?"
Could it be... a home invasion?
With a slightly perplexed expression, Selene asked while simultaneously firing the beam cannon from the palm of the Primus Imperator.
Boom!
But Red Assassin Semiramis was not about to sit idly by. At this moment of life and death, hiding her strength would mean an immediate exit!
Vroom—!!
The fortress garden floating in the air began to hum as it gathered mana, and the eleven pitch-black monolithic pillars around it started emitting intense mana pulses.
Five of the pillars gathered around the airborne garden, forming a shield of countless small, standard hexagonal blocks. A sky-blue barrier appeared, enveloping the entire garden like transparent fish scales.
The remaining six pillars quickly shifted their orientation, aiming at the massive mech floating nearby. The ancient magical symbols on them lit up brilliantly.
The night sky lit up, and from the center of each stone pillar, six enormous mana beams were unleashed, carrying a destructive energy that was impossible to ignore.
Then, under Semiramis's control, these six mana cannons converged, clashing with the crimson beam as it streaked skyward.
Boom—!!
In an instant, the world dimmed as blinding beams collided, evaporating the surrounding atmosphere entirely.
Even though the explosion's epicenter was nearly a thousand meters in the sky, minimizing damage to the ground, the unprecedented shockwave continued to devastate everything in its radius.
"A city-level Noble Phantasm…" murmured Selene as she halted the mana supply to the cannon.
The cost was that Semiramis would be almost powerless once she left the garden. The eleven countermeasures around the garden, known as Tiamtum Umu, could fire oversized energy blasts, each as destructive as a falling meteor and on par with anti-army weaponry.
Suspended around the airborne garden, these countermeasures could unleash one barrage after another of enormous light blasts, each with the power of a meteor and the destructive capability of an anti-army Noble Phantasm.
The force of six beams combined, however, was on par with an anti-city Noble Phantasm.
The explosive winds whipped everything into the air, relentlessly tearing it all apart. Grass, deeply rooted trees, and chunks of earth were ripped from the ground, hurled into the sky, joining the maelstrom.
In the infinite light, vegetation twisted and scattered in every direction. Any plant caught in the blast was instantly reduced to dust.
The scene was truly grandiose.
Admiring the aesthetics of such destructive power, Selene transmitted her voice, saying, "Darnic, explain yourself."
"Your Majesty... ugh, it's a Red faction intruder…" Darnic's tone was strained and weak as he tried to explain to Selene.
"Roche's Command Seal was seized, and Caster Avicebron betrayed us!"
Darnic's voice trembled, even sounding as if he was coughing up blood. Selene frowned slightly. "Are you injured?"
Meanwhile, down in the basement of Millennia Castle, the once orderly and neatly divided golem workshop had become a scene of chaos and bloodshed.
The remnants of homunculi limbs and shattered golems lay scattered across the floor, blood and stone mingling.
"I apologize deeply, Your Majesty. Fortunately, Lord Dalrenster came to my aid just in time, or I would've been eliminated."
Darnic, clutching his bloodied abdomen, leaned against a corner of the workshop and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, that priest Amakusa Shirou Tokisada is a Servant!"
"I could not be mistaken—he was the rogue Ruler summoned by the Einzberns during the Third Holy Grail War sixty years ago."
When spying on the Red faction using the World Chronicle, Darnic hadn't paid much attention to this priest. After all, sixty years had passed since the Third Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City.
Besides, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had performed so poorly during that war. He left far less of an impression on Darnic than the vile old worm Zouken Matou did. All he remembered was that the Einzberns had broken the rules and summoned a subpar Servant.
Only when he faced Amakusa Shirou Tokisada up close and saw him draw his Noble Phantasm—the sword Miike Tenta Mitsuyo—did Darnic's sixty-year-old memory kick in, recognizing this reformed former Ruler.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, a hero of resistance from the late Sengoku period of Japan, was known as a child prodigy in his youth. His real name was Tokisada Masuda, later adopted by Shimba Amakusa and renamed Amakusa Tokisada.
A devout Catholic, he led an uprising of thirty thousand Christians in 1638 against the Tokugawa shogunate, which had imposed a ban on Christianity, decreeing that anyone who refused to renounce their faith within two months would be executed.
Despite facing 120,000 regular troops from the Tokugawa shogunate, Amakusa's thirty thousand rebels initially suffered only minimal losses while inflicting thousands of casualties on the shogunate's forces.
However, due to a lack of supplies and continuous onslaught by the shogunate's 120,000-strong suppression army, the castle eventually fell.
All thirty thousand people within were slaughtered, leaving no survivors, and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada perished in that battle at the young age of seventeen.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada? Hmm, I understand. With Dalrenster by your side, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada won't be able to kill you. The rest of the Imperial Guard will be there shortly as well."
Inside the Primus Imperator, now engaged in another beam-cannon duel with the airborne garden, Selene continued, "As for Avicebron's betrayal, leave that to me. The Crown of Wise Light is a slight nuisance."
It appeared that Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had seized the opportunity when the bulk of mana was channeled away, weakening castle defenses and reducing the Imperial Guard forces, thus exploiting a momentary vulnerability in the fortress defenses.
Oh, and there was one more critical question!
Suddenly recalling the reason for her unrestrained mana expenditure, Selene immediately asked, "Is the homunculus mana supply workshop in the castle basement intact?"
This was what she was most concerned about. Darnic could die; that was a minor issue.
She had, indeed, promised to help the Yggdmillennia family achieve final victory, and that wouldn't change. But if he died halfway, it had nothing to do with her; the Greater Grail could just go to another family member.
Yes, one could only say that Darnic's luck was thin.
However, the mana supply workshop was a major concern. In this Holy Grail War, Selene was the biggest "gas guzzler." Her large-scale destruction skills and Noble Phantasms relied entirely on this abundant mana supply.
"Cough, cough—please rest assured, Your Majesty. After you withdrew the Astartes Corps, the castle's tightest security is currently focused on the mana supply workshop and central hall. The majority of the Imperial Guard is stationed in those two places."
As he spoke, Darnic placed his hand over the wound on his abdomen. A gentle green light shimmered as he cast a healing spell and propped himself up against the wall, slowly rising to his feet.
"I understand. Tonight, I shall end this Holy Grail War and fulfill my promise."
Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed in the distance as a large portion of the golem workshop collapsed. This was a skirmish between Imperial Guard division commander Dalrenster and the treacherous Black Caster, Avicebron.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to call it a pursuit, except that the golem workshop was the battlefield, littered with discarded golem materials that Avicebron could use to summon new golems continually, prolonging the standoff with Dalrenster.
"Darnic, it's been a long time…"
Across from Darnic, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada leaned on his sword, his left arm torn off, his black priestly robes and crimson shroud hanging in tatters, exposing a muscular frame. Blood ran down his face as he panted, staring at Darnic.
"Cough… Ruler, I never expected you to still be alive. Did you encounter the Greater Grail and complete your incarnation before I did?"
Clutching a short wand tightly, Darnic stood on edge, eyeing the former Ruler before him. Although Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was not a powerful Servant, his skills were more than sufficient to overwhelm a modern magus like Darnic.
Not long ago, when Darnic had arrived at the golem workshop, he found Roche unconscious on the ground, with Amakusa Shirou Tokisada crouched over him, conversing with Caster Avicebron. The moment Darnic appeared, Avicebron had launched an attack without hesitation. Thanks to the combat-ready homunculi he brought as shields, Darnic managed to evade it.
But just as Darnic was preparing to call for backup from the nearby Imperial Guard, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, now the master of Caster Avicebron, drove a blade straight through Darnic's body.
As he was on the brink of being dismembered, he was saved by Dalrenster, whom Fiore had summoned for help.
Gripping Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's arm with the strength of an iron vise, Dalrenster tore it off, rescuing Darnic.
"Yes, that's right. I couldn't simply leave before realizing my dream." Stabbing his sword into the ground, Amakusa Shirou extended his remaining arm and asked earnestly, "Darnic, for the salvation of all humanity, would you help me?"
Though he already knew the answer, he asked anyway, driven by his noble cause.
"Hmph, are you joking? Such a pointless wish. I refuse," Darnic replied without hesitation. As a pure magus, he sought only one thing—to reach the Root.
"I see… how unfortunate," Amakusa said, dropping his hand without a hint of surprise. His smile remained unchanged as he strengthened his resolve: humanity needed salvation.
From his own resistance in the Shimabara Rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate, he had already witnessed the darkest depths of human depravity, including indiscriminate massacres of townspeople, sparing neither woman nor child.
As a Ruler summoned during the Third Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City on the eve of World War II, Amakusa had again seen humanity's terrifying capacity for horror—the exploitation of colonies, genocides, and the frenzied worship of war.
After the Third Holy Grail War, Amakusa, now incarnate, survived into modern times, witnessing the unbridled cruelty and immense scale of the Second World War, which cemented his belief that humanity could only be saved through the miracle of the Greater Grail and the Third Magic.
Just then, tap tap tap! A series of synchronized, heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the golem workshop.
"It's time for us to go."
Standing beside Amakusa Shirou, Caster Avicebron appeared, his mask half-shattered and his body charred, exposing a mix of metal and flesh.
"Rider's use of an anti-nation-level Noble Phantasm depleted much of the mana supply for these Imperial Guard soldiers. They can't channel magic, which is the only reason I've held out against them. Otherwise, we would be dead the moment we approached."
With a snap of his fingers, Avicebron activated all the remaining golems in the workshop, sending them rushing toward Darnic.
"Master, we should retreat. Against these divine soldiers, I won't be able to hold out for long if they come in full force."
"Understood, Caster. I'll use my Command Seal to transfer you soon." Picking up his fractured arm, Amakusa activated a purple magic circle beneath his feet.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As explosive arrows shattered the golems pouncing on Darnic, Dalrenster dropped down, placing himself protectively before him.
Wearing the golden eagle Imperial Guard helmet, his blood-red visor glared at Avicebron as he bellowed in a metallic voice, "Traitor! I'll tear you to shreds! If not for the current crisis, I'd have done so already!"
Due to the rigorous discipline instilled by Sebas, Golden Hassan, and Budo, the Astartes and Imperial Guard abhorred betrayal to an extreme degree, though they had never encountered a traitor before.
Darnic, grateful for Dalrenster's help, asked Avicebron, "Caster, surely you could have resisted? Why betray us so readily? Isn't your goal the Crown of Wise Light?"
Avicebron turned, his golden mask cracked, revealing a face scarred and decayed. "And why, Darnic, do you assume that my goal is only to complete the Crown of Wise Light?"
Darnic fell silent, startled by the Servant's reply. The Greater Grail was within reach; who could resist it?
"No, Darnic. You misunderstand; I have no wish to rely on the Greater Grail," Avicebron replied coolly.
Summoned early on as one of the two Black Servants by Yggdmillennia, Avicebron understood Darnic's desires well and immediately dismissed his assumption.
"Darnic, I despise humanity and am weary of this world. Even making eye contact with people feels like an inconvenience, which is why I wear this golden mask. The human world is filled with vile desires."
Clutching his distorted, exposed face, Avicebron's voice was emotionless as he continued, "Tell me, Darnic, if I wish to transform the world into the paradise of 'Adam,' would you agree? That's why I betrayed you. I don't deny my own wretchedness, but that is my truth."
Darnic's pupils shrank in shock. "You—!"
"Farewell, Darnic…"
Suddenly—Boom!
The wall of the golem workshop burst open as seven or eight towering Imperial Guards charged in, advancing toward Avicebron and Amakusa Shirou, fingers on their explosive pistols.
Bang, bang, bang, bang—!!
The deafening blasts made Darnic feel as though his eardrums had ruptured. As the soldiers arrived, Dalrenster abandoned his defensive stance to unleash his massive, single-bladed destruction ax, aiming directly at Avicebron.
Boom!
"Damn, it's a Command Seal teleportation!"
Meanwhile, Semiramis found herself hard-pressed, dodging Selene's bombardment.
Rumble—!!
Crack, crack—!
"Assassin, what's the situation—" Amakusa's screen went white with a blinding light as the throne room of the airborne garden trembled violently.
"Master! At this rate, the garden will fall!" The beautiful woman in a black dress looked at him in distress.
"And by the look on your face, I assume you failed." In this crisis, Semiramis had no time for pleasantries; she was utterly focused on defending against the colossal mech's energy blasts.
"Yes, unfortunately, though I managed to engrave the spatial transfer magic on the Greater Grail as you instructed. My initial goal was to take control of the Black Rider…"
"But Black Rider's Master, Seleneike Yggdmillennia, remained heavily guarded by those golden giants, so there was no opportunity."
As he healed his arm, Amakusa glanced toward the throne room's center, where Caster Avicebron had been transported by Command Seal.
"Caster, you should be able to use your Noble Phantasm here, correct?"
"Yes, no problem." Avicebron approached the center, clasping his hands as he gazed at the lake displayed on the screen.
"Born of the great mother, swallow intelligence and be filled with life."
"Wield thy weapon, and evil shall be destroyed."
"Purify blood with righteousness."
"Thy name, embracing Ru'ach, is...Adam!"
Buzz—!!!
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