Boom!!—
The destruction brought by Tiamat's dragon form was beyond imagination.
In almost a single exchange, the surrounding environment was completely reduced to ruin. With every casual movement of her limbs, mountains collapsed.
Even the Servant squad was startled by Mother Tiamat.
"Impossible, impossible, impossible—!!!"
"This is!!!... This is!!!!"
"How could this be, how is this possible?!!! Aaaahhhh—"
Even after being slammed into the ground by Tiamat's palm, his increasingly frenzied voice echoed through the air.
"Ritsuka Fujimaru... Chaldea!!!"
"You truly... have surprised me!!!"
"Though I do not know where you found so many reinforcements, there are indeed some unbelievable beings among them... Since you wish to wage total war, I shall indulge you."
"I underestimated you... Now reveal yourselves!! My brethren!!!"
Boom!—
From the ground, countless Demon God Pillars swelled up once more, surrounding the entire Servant squad.
Bang—Boom!!
Chaldea shook violently.
"The base core is under external attack!!"
"The observatory dome is under excessive pressure. It will collapse in five minutes! We'll be reduced to foam and absorbed by the Temple of Time!!!"
Snap—
With a wave of his hand, Setsuna unfolded a pale blue shield, enveloping the entire Chaldea and isolating all the grotesque surrounding tentacles.
"Oh?—"
"Some kind of shield generator?"
Lev glanced toward Chaldea.
"Very well. I shall deal with you first."
"Come, then. Let us see whose legion proves superior."
Countless Demon God Pillars radiated dark crimson light, twisting into shape from the earth.
"The First Singularity—Melting Furnace, Naberius."
"The Second Singularity—Information Center, Flauros."
"The Third Singularity—Observatory, Forneus."
"... "
As Lev recited one name after another, towering Demon God Pillars that pierced heaven and earth filled the entire space.
They encircled everyone.
"This is the human history you cling to, last Master of humanity, Ritsuka Fujimaru."
"You and Chaldea alike shall follow the already incinerated humanity into oblivion."
Lev's body extended from within the Demon God Pillars. His skin turned bluish-black as he gazed at them in wild laughter, his expression growing even more deranged.
"We are this space itself. We are this temple itself."
"The Seventy-Two Demon Gods are not merely a title, but a description of our state. We eternally exist as seventy-two Demon Gods."
"Come, Fujimaru. Unless all seventy-two of my brethren are annihilated, you cannot kill me."
He revealed his full power to Chaldea without reservation.
"Oh."
"I know."
Gudako coughed lightly.
"So we just wipe all of you out in one go, right? Easy."
"Firepower saturation!!!"
In an instant.
Chaldea's Servants employed the traditional specialty of the Starsea Empire—Noble Phantasms, fully unleashed.
"Mm..."
"Big sis will do her best."
Kukulkan summoned a winged serpent and leapt into the sky.
Raising one hand toward the heavens, a massive golden magic circle manifested above.
"What once existed here exists now, and shall exist in the future."
"O raging wind, come forth. O thunder, descend! This is the hour the morning star shines, and the sun gleams beyond."
Hummm—
As she chanted.
The magic circle condensed into a crimson fireball, grasped in Kukulkan's hand.
Scorching solar winds swept through the Temple of Time as the Feathered Serpent guided down a portion of the sun's authority.
"Piedra del Sol!!!"
BOOM!!!—
Within the dim Temple of Time, a sun slowly rose.
She descended from the heavens clutching the blazing sphere. The ground erupted as if struck by a nuclear detonation, instantly transforming into a sea of flames.
The searing heat swept outward. Demon God Pillars were reduced to dust under the violent energy shockwave.
The Feathered Serpent's strike was only the beginning.
Lev suddenly noticed a circular rift torn open in the sky.
Within it was reflected a dazzling starry firmament.
"Are there even stars in the Temple of Time?"
Before he could think further, he looked up and saw Ishtar soaring overhead.
"It's not every day someone earns the right for us to fight together. Standing side by side with Mother... how novel."
She glanced at Tiamat and smiled faintly.
Hummm—
A golden planet emerged from the void.
Then, behind her, it compressed into a tiny sphere of light.
This was the authority of Ishtar, Goddess of Venus—gathering the concept of Venus into her grasp.
"Hmph—"
She aimed downward with one hand, transforming her celestial vessel into a grand bow.
The sphere of light became a violet arrow wrapped around it.
"This is my full power... Now, go."
"Shatter it—An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè!!!"
Boom!—
The second wave of bombardment followed, unleashing another devastating shockwave across the ground, forcibly shaving off an entire layer of earth.
"Rhongomyniad."
"It is the storm-anchor that rends the heavens and binds the earth, the light fired from the world's end... the spear that shines at the end of all."
Boom!!—
A golden holy spear manifested in the sky. Close behind it came the high-energy bombardment of the Strelizia.
With a series of mechanical clicks, its launch bays opened. Erosion missiles screamed downward, dark red force fields annihilating everything within the blast radius.
The smaller Tachyon Lances sliced through Demon God Pillars like hot knives through butter, severing them cleanly at the waist.
"Tch..."
The destructive power of the goddesses' Noble Phantasms was beyond question.
"Aaa..."
In dragon form, Tiamat opened her massive jaws. Vast quantities of magical energy gathered within, clearly charging a beam attack.
Jeanne Alter and Artoria stared somewhat blankly.
"Ah... Compared to them, my Noble Phantasm feels a bit lacking. I almost don't feel like using it."
"Tiamat's about to act anyway. Can I take a break?..."
Jeanne Alter felt that rather than contributing to the atmosphere, the more important thing was figuring out how not to get caught in Mother Tiamat's aftershock.
"How can that be allowed? This is the great undertaking of restoring Human Order and assisting our Master in defeating the enemy. Each of us must give our all."
Artoria raised her resplendent holy sword high. A torrent of golden magical energy surged forth, carving a radiant golden cross in the distance.
"Ex... calibur!!!"
"Fine... I'll go too."
"I'm so pissed off!!!... Roar! My fury!!!"
...
Boom—
Boom!!—
Five minutes later.
Heaven and earth returned to silence.
On the battlefield, a massive crater over a thousand meters deep had been blasted into the ground. The surrounding terrain showed signs of total collapse.
Under the successive bombardment of Noble Phantasms, not a single inch of land remained intact.
"Confirmed... the Demon God Pillars' presence has vanished."
"Their material forms have been completely annihilated."
Roman stared at the readings on the holographic interface, his face filled with shock.
"Done."
Gudako clapped her hands. Piloting her mech, she stood with one hand on her hip and the other resting a spear on her shoulder.
"Mere Demon God Pillars. How could they possibly compete with our doctrine of firepower superiority?"
With several goddesses and Mother Tiamat joining the fray, Chaldea's firepower projection had risen to yet another level.
Fire first, ask questions later—that was the combat philosophy they had learned from the Starsea Empire.
"Hm? Oh, right."
Gudako suddenly remembered something.
"I recall that according to the original plan, I was supposed to summon a bunch of extra help to deal with the Demon God Pillars, right? The Counter Force was supposed to assist too."
"Why didn't that happen? Did we just bring enough people already? We crushed them outright?"
Looking around, she was leading what could only be described as a luxurious Servant lineup. As long as those few top-tier powerhouses were present, the summoning Mystic Code Da Vinci gave her was practically optional.
"Forget it, forget it. Let's go beat up Goetia."
She waved her hand. Beside her, Jeanne held the Fleur-de-lis banner, looking hesitant.
"What's wrong?"
"Um..."
Jeanne paused.
"For this decisive battle, I actually prepared a very cool speech..."
"I thought it would be like Master said, with Heroic Spirits from every era descending one after another to help us, and I would unite them all... But instead, it was just overwhelming bombardment and it was over?!"
Pfft—
Setsuna and Gudako nearly burst out laughing.
"Maybe since we brought so many people, the procedure changed a little?"
"It's fine. We're still going to fight Goetia. You can give the speech now—treat it as pre-battle mobilization."
"Really?"
"Mm."
After receiving confirmation, Jeanne stood before the gates of the Temple of Time, gripping her banner tightly as she delivered her final pre-battle address.
"Hear me! Heroic Spirits of the Starsea Empire gathered within this realm!"
"We come from different eras and different nations. Some of us were once enemies who could never reconcile, others are figures from ages that never intersected..."
"Now, entrust your backs to one another! To stop the Incineration of Humanity, and to carve a path forward for our contractor."
"My true name is Jeanne d'Arc. In the name of the Lord and the Starsea Empire, I shall become your steadfast shield."
"My Lord is here!!!"
Her voice rang clear and resolute, her presence commanding.
The words stirred the blood of all who heard them.
"Oh... you've got some skill after all..."
Jeanne Alter clicked her tongue, forced to admit that compared to herself, the white Jeanne was far better at inspiring others. Even she found herself moved.
"Okay, then. Everyone, let's set out—"
Before the words fully left her mouth.
The Temple of Time seemed to tremble.
Whoosh—
A blue meteor descended from the distant heavens.
...
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