Chương 291: The Battle of the ‘True’ Giants
"...and that's the situation Roche and I encountered."
Darnic's face was pale as he recounted his ordeal to his clan.
The Masters of the Yggdmillennia family all wore expressions of utter astonishment.
But with the "Primeval Giant," the Golem Royal Crown, drawing ever closer, the castle's furniture toppled from the relentless shaking, and the chandelier overhead swung wildly.
Amid the cacophony, they quickly came to their senses.
"Roche… has been eliminated?"
Caules muttered in disbelief. He had never expected Roche, a genius in golemancy, to fall before himself, the supposedly weakest Master of the Black faction.
Caules had always thought that if anyone from their side were to be eliminated first, it would be him, given his far lower proficiency in magecraft compared to his kin.
"Uncle, Archer has reported an opportunity to take out the traitorous Caster."
Trying to suppress her dismay, Fiore barely managed to speak.
"Kill him immediately! Order all Servants on standby in the castle that Caster Avicebron is now an enemy—show no mercy, eliminate him!" Darnic spat the words through gritted teeth.
...
Down below, sensing the turbulent and hostile presence radiating from Millennia Castle, Caster Avicebron knew well the disdain and hatred heroes held for traitors.
"It doesn't matter. No matter how irrational or stubborn people see me as, I will see this dream through… Hate me, scorn me, revile me; it's all the same."
For most heroes who had etched their names into history, unless their lives were marked by exceptional infamy or vile deeds—or unless a Servant's character, ideals, or worldview clashed irreconcilably with their Master's—few would willingly betray their Master during a Holy Grail War.
After all, to be immortalized in human history and seated upon the Throne of Heroes, one must possess pride and a code of conduct.
For most heroes, the idea of betrayal was revolting; even those with no direct connection to the traitor would instinctively loathe them. Some Servants with fiercer personalities might even desire to see them eradicated.
In coming here, Avicebron had already decided to sacrifice himself. He would offer up everything he had to elevate the Golem Royal Crown, to let it shine as it was meant to.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Looking back over the kilometers separating him from the Aerial Garden, which was wavering under Selene's bombardment, Avicebron knew that time was running short.
Red Assassin Semiramis, the Queen of Assyria, and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada would not last much longer.
Amakusa had used Roche's stolen Command Seals to bring him over, intending to use him to damage the Black faction's castle and sever the mana supply to their Servants.
But Avicebron, in turn, was also using the Red faction.
When Darnic had ordered his Noble Phantasm, the Golem Royal Crown, to remain sealed as a last resort, Avicebron had resigned himself to the fact that he would have no chance to activate it in this Holy Grail War. With Black Rider Selene in play, the Black faction held a commanding advantage.
Yet, just as Avicebron had given up hope, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's intrusion into the castle presented him with an opportunity. By riding the wave of the ensuing chaos, Avicebron had achieved his goal.
"My golem, my life's masterpiece… it is time..."
Whoosh—!
"Archer?!"
Avicebron looked up.
Before he could react, the Primeval Giant's defensive mechanisms activated, lifting its massive hand to shield him.
But the incoming attack was not just one strike. "Phantasmal Greatsword - Balmung!"
Black Saber Siegfried leaped from the dense foliage, his typically reserved demeanor shattered as he unleashed a furious roar.
It seemed the dragon-slaying hero held no tolerance for betrayal either.
Under the brilliant night sky, the sky-blue light of Balmung wove into intricate patterns, instantly dissolving the Primeval Giant's arm of stone, wood, and soil in a flash of destructive light.
"Saber… even you, normally so silent, are angry over my betrayal…"
Next, Archer Chiron's golden arrow, charged with an immense amount of mana, broke the sound barrier as it shot through the opening Siegfried had torn.
Crack!
"Gah…"
The thin defensive barrier of his magical prosthetic shattered, and the golden flash struck Avicebron directly, severing his torso with an explosive impact.
"Though it's painful, it's a punishment I deserve."
As his mangled body fell from the Primeval Giant's shoulder, the cracked golden mask revealed his wrinkled, tumor-ridden face, twisted in a grim smile.
"'Adam'… Ascend with my final wish! Fight, slaughter, eliminate, and build a paradise upon this world!"
With those words, Avicebron's body began to dissolve—not into the spirit particles collected by the Greater Grail upon a Servant's death, but into a green life-energy.
As his spirit dissolved, Avicebron cast one last glance over the kilometers separating him from the giant mech.
Your Majesty Rider… may my life's work prove worthy of your attention and give you some trouble…
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, I hope you can fulfill your wish as well… a grand, yet so hopelessly extravagant dream of 'salvation for all mankind.'
At last, Avicebron's being dissolved entirely, merging into the chest of his golem.
Buzz—!
His mana, spirit core, and memories, along with the reinforcement from two Command Seals, became the energy to elevate the Golem Royal Crown to new heights.
"Archer did it!" Fiore cried with joy as she saw Avicebron fall, but a moment later—
"What…? How can this be? It's impossible! The Servant has been eliminated, so why is his Noble Phantasm still active?" Fiore froze in disbelief.
There was a brief pause, then the Golem Royal Crown lifted its head to the sky and roared, "Roar—!!!"
With the absorption of its creator Avicebron, the Primeval Giant had taken on a new sentience. Its once lifeless eyes now shone with a clear and terrifying focus.
Mana surged out from the Primeval Giant's body in torrents, and with the two Command Seals reinforcing it, its size began to grow visibly.
The entire castle trembled violently, and in just a moment, the Primeval Giant's size had doubled.
Now, standing there, it towered as high as a mountain, a monolithic figure that the Black faction's members on the castle wall had to crane their necks to even see.
No longer in its "infant stage," the Golem Royal Crown, though not yet at full potential, now surpassed all previous expectations.
Its colossal form seemed to blot out the sky, and even a mere glance was enough to drain one's confidence in facing it.
"Uncle, what do we do?" Fiore's voice now shook with fear.
Now she understood how the Red faction must have felt when they faced Selene's Primus Imperator. The overwhelming pressure felt like it would crush her.
"No need to worry. Her Majesty has already arrived." Crossing his arms, Darnic spoke with confidence, more self-assured than even Celenike herself, as if Selene were his own Servant.
As soon as Darnic's words fell—
Shk shk shk—!!
Hundreds of crimson beams of laser-like light rained down from the sky, slicing through the Primeval Giant's now four-hundred-meter-tall body, riddling it with holes like a sieve.
For those with trypophobia, it would have been a nightmare, each hole as large as several floors of a building.
But for the Primeval Giant, a being bound to a living barrier, as long as it touched the earth, it could endlessly draw mana from the land, making these nothing more than superficial wounds.
Within a few breaths, it had fully regenerated.
By then, however, Selene had arrived. Her Primus Imperator's steel fist, larger even than the Primeval Giant's head, crashed down like a meteor.
Boom boom boom—!!!
In the midst of a deafening explosion, the Giant staggered back a thousand meters, its knees carving deep trenches into the ground.
"Oh?"
Selene voiced a note of surprise; the force of her strike should have sent it airborne, yet the Primeval Giant's legs seemed rooted to the earth.
"A perfect punching bag," she murmured, a hint of a smile curling at her lips.
With the Primeval Giant now maturing, its legs, the source connecting it to the earth and drawing mana from ley lines, were instinctively guarded.
"A fascinating Noble Phantasm," Selene remarked, recalling how this concept was used in another timeline. She chuckled softly.
Though its offensive power was limited, its self-repairing capabilities were quite remarkable, providing some unique benefits.
Standing in front of the castle, Selene turned her mech toward the Black faction's Masters on the balcony, giving them a nod before fixing her gaze back on the distant Giant.
Roar—!
The Primeval Giant raised its right hand and, like a glutton, began absorbing all the mana it could from the surrounding atmosphere and ley lines, condensing it into a massive black sword formed of pure obsidian.
With tremendous force, it swung the sword at the larger mech, unleashing a shockwave that rippled through the air, accompanied by a torrent of mana that surged in all directions.
Clang—!!!
The piercing clash resonated for miles. On the castle balcony, Darnic and the others, who had just managed to catch their breath, were hit by the deafening noise. Their faces turned pale, and many of them nearly lost their balance, disoriented by the sheer intensity.
"Everyone… get inside the main hall! There's a protective magic array in there!" Darnic shouted, clutching his head, his expression twisted in pain.
...
"That's more like it!"
Selene couldn't help but feel exhilarated as she opened the mech's purple-tinged arm guard, clenching her fists in anticipation.
Whirr—
The mech's broad cloak lifted and folded, retracting to form a cape locked over its massive shoulder plates.
Thoom!
The Primus Imperator's arms were fully released, syncing with Selene's consciousness. Its left hand opened flat while the right hand clenched into a fist, both smashing together with a thunderous impact.
Being a stationary cannon is so boring—this is the true way to fight like a Gundam!
Buzz—
The mech deactivated its levitation mode, crashing to the ground with a terrifying impact, and an explosive storm of force burst out around it.
Crack crack crack!
The ground split apart, trees toppled, and thick black fissures snaked outward, tearing through the forest like a giant plow.
"Bombardment mode, deactivate."
Of course, with Selene's enhancements using Honkai Energy, the Primus Imperator, as the First Emperor's Teigu, wasn't just a fragile mobile artillery platform.
The Primus Imperator was forged with resources mined from Orichalcum deposits across the empire, infused with materials from super-dangerous beasts and even divine creatures. Its defense capabilities were anything but weak.
Its past vulnerability was only due to the young emperor's lack of combat skill or the mech's insufficient power due to a lack of mana supply.
The power of a Teigu scales with its wielder's physical and mental abilities, and even a fragile young emperor could unleash a thousand-meter-wide crater with a single cannon blast using the Primus Imperator.
It's just that the Primus Imperator itself has incredibly high potential, with limits that scale up dramatically.
Roar roar—!
Synced with Selene's will, the Machine God stomped heavily toward the Primeval Giant.
Boom boom boom!
Unlike the Primeval Giant, whose steps revitalized the land around it, each movement of the mech caused tremendous damage to the earth. Every step left a crater behind, spreading clouds of debris skyward.
In contrast, while the Primeval Giant's movement also echoed loudly, it seemed as if the earth was welcoming it. Rather than harm the ground, it seemed to restore any damage beneath its feet.
It almost made Selene look like a destructive force or a symbol of ruin…
As the two giants collided, the obsidian sword in the Primeval Giant's hand was shattered by Selene's mech.
The Primus Imperator's iron fist, brimming with vast purple-red mana particles, crashed against the Primeval Giant's plain fist of stone, wood, and soil.
Boom!
The surrounding dust halted in mid-air for a split second as the powerful impact made the very air tremble.
Immediately afterward, the ground beneath both giants collapsed under the force, and large blocks of earth—even those densely covered in trees—were uprooted by the shockwave, flying into the air.
Crack crack crack—
For a brief moment, the two giants held their ground, locked in a fierce deadlock. Then, the Primeval Giant's left arm, clashing against Selene's, began to tremble violently, emitting a sickening, grinding sound like twisting rock.
In an instant, it hit its limit. With a loud crack!, the stone, wood, and soil of the Primeval Giant's arm shattered, sending shards flying in all directions in a chain reaction that broke apart large chunks of its body.
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