D'Eon's Noble Phantasm was not the type that granted special abilities.
His Noble Phantasms were quite simple: one dealt damage, while the other applied a weakening effect to the target.
Even without considering that Richard had Arthur as his Master, the difference between the two was still easy to understand.
One only had to look at the sword Richard was wielding.
It was a weapon far beyond anything D'Eon could face head-on.
Arthur had placed in his hands the most powerful demonic sword, a weapon that rivaled the strongest holy sword.
Gram.
Richard had taken control of the battle quite some time ago. His attacks kept D'Eon constantly on the defensive, forcing him to block, parry, and retreat without finding any real opportunities to counterattack. When he noticed a slight opening in the French knight's guard, Richard advanced without hesitation, using the force and speed of his strikes to break his opponent's rhythm and push him backward.
That single moment was enough to corner D'Eon.
He now had only two choices.
The first was to withstand Richard's pressure and risk being struck directly by Gram.
The second was to retreat in order to avoid the blade and face the Noble Phantasm that would follow.
He chose the second option.
Quickly moving away from the path of the demonic sword, D'Eon gained distance as Richard raised Gram before him and began activating his Noble Phantasm.
"This sword represents my determination!"
"The miracle I sought in pursuit of glory!"
"The crystallization of my faith and reverence!"
"No matter the pain I must endure, no one shall prevent me from reaching my noble dream!"
"I forge it once more! This sword... its name is..."
The magical energy gathering around the blade grew increasingly intense.
Gram's appearance began to change, taking on the form of the sword Richard admired above all others.
Then he unleashed the final strike.
"EXCALIBUR!!"
The demonic sword, transformed into a replica of the holy sword, released an enormous golden beam of light that surged across the battlefield in a straight line.
D'Eon attempted to react, but the difference in speed was simply too great.
The light reached him almost instantly.
His body was swallowed by the attack and disappeared within the explosion of energy produced by the Noble Phantasm.
When the radiance finally faded, D'Eon had been completely erased by the beam fired from Gram/Excalibur.
Despite the obvious discomfort caused by the enormous magical energy expenditure, Arthur quickly assessed the outcome of the battle and nodded toward Richard, who returned to the group while still impressed by the power released by his final attack.
Today, every enemy Servant present here, with the exception of the Dark Jeanne, would leave the stage.
After all, they had received the enhancement of madness.
That was a trait that should not belong to them, so Arthur intended to return them to the Throne of Heroes.
Once Richard's battle ended, Arthur turned his attention toward the other three battlefields.
However, the most intense fight remained the one between the two Jeanne d'Arcs.
Black flames and golden light repeatedly collided above the battlefield.
Each exchange released enough energy to alter the surrounding landscape. Dark clouds gathered over one portion of the sky while flames burned within them. On the opposite side, golden light illuminated the remaining clouds, painting the heavens in a radiant glow.
At that moment, Arthur smacked his forehead as he realized he had left a third person without an opponent.
More specifically, a Berserker.
And a Berserker who clearly had no intention of waiting for someone to assign her an enemy.
In the distance, Martha had already crossed part of the battlefield and entered directly into the area where Artoria and Vlad III were exchanging blows.
The situation had not yet completely spiraled out of control.
But it was rapidly heading in that direction.
At that moment, Artoria blocked one of Vlad's attacks and immediately had to twist her body aside to avoid a punch launched by Martha.
Vlad seized that brief moment of distraction to attack once again.
Artoria responded with a thrust from Rhongomyniad.
The attacks collided almost simultaneously.
Arthur watched the scene for several seconds before turning toward the Servant calmly floating beside him.
"Ishtar."
He called out.
The goddess raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Could you deal with that Berserker?"
Arthur said while pointing toward the chaos ahead.
Ishtar followed his finger with her gaze, remained silent for several seconds, and then sighed.
"You completely forgot to assign an opponent to her, didn't you?"
"Yes," Arthur replied.
"You know you're incredible, right?"
Ishtar rubbed her forehead in annoyance.
Arthur didn't even bother trying to defend himself because she was absolutely right.
The goddess sighed again before shaking her head.
"You do know I'm a goddess, right? Not an employee. So you'd better give me a proper reward afterward."
"Anything you want."
Arthur looked at her and smiled rather openly.
Ishtar's crimson eyes immediately narrowed.
"You'd better not forget you said that."
"I won't."
"Good."
Without waiting any longer, Ishtar moved away from the group.
Her body rose several meters above the ground as Maanna appeared beneath her feet.
At the same time, an enormous amount of magical energy began flowing out of Arthur through the Master-Servant connection.
Although Arthur's expression remained calm, several beads of sweat began forming on his face.
I don't remember telling you to use your Noble Phantasm...
Arthur grumbled mentally.
The amount of mana being consumed was absurd, and Ishtar hadn't even begun the main portion of her Noble Phantasm yet.
In the distance, the goddess raised her divine bow and smiled confidently.
"Fly, Maanna!"
The vessel shot toward the heavens, creating what appeared to be a tear in the atmosphere itself, granting everyone a glimpse of outer space.
"Gate Open!"
Moments later, an enormous golden celestial body appeared in the sky through that tear, surrounded by intense radiance as luminous rings crossed the void around it.
"Hehe, you should feel honored!"
Above her floated Venus.
Naturally, this was not the Venus observed by modern humanity, but the Venus of the Age of Gods.
Ishtar extended her hand and grasped the concept of Venus, compressing it into a golden sphere before loading it onto her bow like ammunition.
Arthur felt an immense quantity of mana ripped away through their connection.
The consumption was ridiculous even by his standards.
In the sky, Ishtar's smile widened further as she aimed at her target.
"Behold my full power!"
Artoria, Vlad, and Martha all looked up almost simultaneously when they sensed it.
Even the other Servants present felt it.
It was difficult to ignore such an enormous concentration of magical energy gathered in a single place.
"ANNIHILATE THEM!"
The goddess completed the activation of her Noble Phantasm with a triumphant smile.
"An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè!"
The projectile was fired toward the surface of the earth, creating a colossal pillar of purple energy.
The blast descended directly toward the battlefield, striking Martha before she could even react.
The resulting explosion completely engulfed her position, utterly annihilating the corrupted saint.
When the magical energy consumption finally began to diminish, Arthur slowly exhaled.
His mana reserves had been reduced to an absurd degree.
He probably had only around thirty percent of his magical energy remaining.
His already pitiful mana reserves had become even more pitiful.
Behind him, Mash stared at the newly formed crater with wide eyes while Ritsuka remained silent for several moments.
Then she pointed toward the destruction in the distance.
"Did she really need to use that against a single Berserker?"
Arthur watched Ishtar leisurely descend from the heavens with all her usual pomp and arrogance. A delighted smile decorated the goddess's face.
"Of course she didn't," Arthur mocked.
"Then why did she use it?" Ritsuka immediately asked.
Arthur thought for a moment.
"Because she's Ishtar."
Ritsuka couldn't come up with a single argument against that explanation.
---
The phenomena created by that battle were visible even from great distances.
Within the ruins of a certain fortress, a white-haired Servant observed the horizon while partially leaning against a shattered wall. One hand remained resting upon his sword to support his body.
It had been some time since any Heroic Spirit had appeared to challenge him, allowing him to recover part of his strength.
When he sensed a familiar presence mixed within the light shining in the distance, he raised his head and slowly began walking in that direction.
---
Seeing that his greatest annoyance had just been annihilated by Ishtar's attack, Artoria accelerated toward Vlad once again.
Rhongomyniad tore through the air in her hands as she advanced.
Vlad III immediately responded, brandishing his own spear to intercept the attack.
The two weapons collided repeatedly.
Vlad managed to block and redirect part of the attacks, but each clash forced him to retreat several more steps.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength between the two made every defense more difficult than the last.
Artoria gave him no opportunity to regain his footing.
Following his retreat, she continued advancing and pressuring him without interruption, alternating swift thrusts and heavy strikes that prevented any attempt at a counterattack.
The mere fact that Vlad III could still continue fighting was already impressive.
However, it became clear that Artoria had no intention of prolonging the battle any longer.
Another metallic clash echoed across the battlefield, but this time the difference in power became obvious.
Vlad III's spear could not withstand the impact.
The weapon shattered into countless fragments while Vlad himself was hurled backward by the force of the blow.
Without giving him a chance to recover, Artoria raised Rhongomyniad.
"Beyond the heavens, at the farthest edge of the Earth."
"This is the pillar of light that stands at the ends of the world!"
"Rhongomyniad!"
The holy spear unleashed a blue beam of energy that crossed the distance between them in an instant.
The attack pierced Vlad III's heart and continued forward without resistance.
His body was split in half and torn apart by the energy released from the holy spear, ending the battle immediately.
Despite not performing a full release, the amount of magical energy consumed by Rhongomyniad was still considerable.
(End of Chapter)
A/N: Chapters every day again from now on