The red mobile suit floated amid scattered stardust. Inside the cockpit, Steve looked down through the panoramic screen at the golden magus who still held his magical stance.
The scene of pushing a meteor with bare hands was indeed shocking, but Ritsuka understood perfectly that it was nothing more than a tactical victory. If Wodime's idea of engaging in a deathmatch right now wasn't completely dispelled, the upcoming battle would turn into a bloodless war of attrition.
"Wodime."
Steve's voice, amplified by the mobile suit's external speakers, echoed clearly across the sea, carrying a calm, confident tone.
"Your Anima, Animusphere is truly magnificent. It can be called magic befitting the realm of the gods."
"But… you didn't really think an attack of this scale would exhaust all my combat strength, did you?"
He gently tapped the control panel, as if stroking an obedient warhorse.
"Those 50,000 mechanical soldiers are nothing more than a single drop in the ocean to me."
"I can summon ten times, or even a hundred times that number whenever I wish."
"In this universe where physical laws still exist, quantity itself is a form of mass that cannot be ignored."
At that moment, Steve's tone suddenly sharpened.
"Kirschtaria Wodime, what about you?"
"Your skill in magecraft is exceptionally high—far beyond the standards of modern magi."
"However… right now, you don't have a single Servant protecting you."
The red mono-eye monitor flickered, as if trying to capture the tiny figure below.
"If I ordered those 50,000 units to ignore the meteor and launch an all-out annihilation attack on you instead, or if I charged in with this Sazabi for close-quarters combat… how many seconds do you think your flesh could endure?"
This was clearly a threat.
Although Steve's words were theoretically possible, Wodime—as Captain of Team A—felt he had plenty of means to protect himself. If actual combat broke out, Steve might not be able to kill him instantly, but he could force Wodime into desperate measures.
Wodime was a wise man. And wise men are usually good at carefully weighing the pros and cons.
He remained silent in the air for a while.
Slowly, he lowered the staff he had raised high. The golden divine radiance behind him gradually faded.
"…Indeed."
Wodime's voice was calm, yet carried a trace of seriousness. "Now that the camouflage provided by Caenis and Dioscuri is gone, challenging a Heroic Spirit with an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm in a war of attrition would be unwise."
He raised his face and stared fixedly at the red machine.
"Steve, you really are an incredible variable."
"You possess power rivaling the gods, as well as the wisdom to see through the essence of things."
"In that case, I shall accept your proposal."
Wodime's figure began to blur—a sign that spiritual particle transfer was imminent.
"The current stage is indeed too small for either you or the rest of Chaldea… If you can cross this sea and reach Mount Olympus… then, together with the King of that Lostbelt, I will be fully prepared to give you the final trial."
"I'll be waiting for you in the mountain range of the Interstellar City."
When the last golden light vanished, the arrogant Captain of Team A finally retreated.
...
New Argo Deck.
"Phew…"
After confirming Wodime's presence had completely disappeared, Steve immediately deactivated his Noble Phantasm. The majestic red machine floating in the sky, along with the massive mechanical legion, vanished instantly as if it had never existed.
Immediately afterward, Steve reappeared on the deck.
However, this time he couldn't land gracefully as usual.
"Ouch…"
The moment he landed, his legs gave out. He staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"Steve?!"
Ritsuka, who had been watching the battle intently, immediately cried out and rushed over to help him.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"Cough, cough… It's nothing. I'm just… a bit low on mana."
Steve weakly waved his hand and leaned against Ritsuka. He looked exactly like a middle-aged man who had just finished running a marathon.
"Everything I said just now… was actually to scare him."
He spoke with a bitter smile. Although his voice wasn't loud, it was clear enough for all the surrounding Servants to hear.
"Because I rammed the meteor earlier, my mana is almost completely depleted."
"If Wodime had really refused to leave, I would've had no choice but to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy."
"Huh?!"
The Servants, who had been filled with admiration and thought they had found an overwhelmingly powerful ally, instantly showed expressions of disbelief.
"Wait, what's going on?!" Jason was the first to stand up, pointing at Steve with a deeply disappointed look. "You had such a powerful weapon and didn't use it sooner?! If you had launched a surprise attack before that captain could react, we might have kept him here forever!"
Mandricardo couldn't help but voice his dissatisfaction. "From that momentum earlier, I thought victory was certain… but it was all just strategy?"
"Well, there's nothing I could do about it."
Steve innocently spread both hands. "That level of Noble Phantasm consumes half of my spiritual core's mana every time it activates."
"I never imagined Wodime would actually try to push the meteor with his hands… Just driving him away is enough. We can't be too greedy."
These words were half-truth and half-lie, but their effect was immediate.
The hopeful belief born from Steve's astonishing performance—that as long as he's here, we can win without doing anything—completely vanished in that instant.
Everyone realized once again that the road ahead was still full of danger and that they were still a weak team in a desperate situation.
"However…"
Just as the atmosphere grew somewhat tense, Steve suddenly changed the subject.
He shifted his posture slightly for more comfort, then leaned close to Ritsuka's ear and spoke in a faint, ambiguous voice only the two of them could hear.
"It's true that my mana is depleted right now… but there is a way to recover it quickly."
"Eh? What? What method?"
Ritsuka blinked and asked innocently.
"Well… that's the end of that."
Steve raised one eyebrow with a mischievous smile. "In a traditional Holy Grail War, wouldn't mana transfer be the solution in this situation?"
"Listen, you're the Master and I'm the Servant… If we perform a deep bodily fluid exchange ritual, my mana could…"
"Replenish, replenish, replenish mana!?"
Ritsuka's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple.
She clearly understood what "mana replenishment" meant. She was immediately at a loss.
"W-wait, here?! No, no! Everyone's watching…"
"Senpai! You can't do that!"
Before Ritsuka could finish, Mash blushed, raised her shield, and stepped between them. "Such shameless behavior… is absolutely not allowed!"
"Steve, please don't joke around on the battlefield!"
At the same time, a piercing alarm suddenly blared from the communicator on Steve's wrist.
["Warning! Warning! Steve has been detected engaging in verbal harassment!"]
From the communicator came Sion's irritated voice, accompanied by the sounds of Trismegistus rampaging in the background.
"Steve! You perverted lolicon! You were boasting just moments ago, and now you're harassing an underage Master?!"
"I've already saved this recording! When you get back, I'll loop it all day in Chaldea! You'll be socially dead!"
"And one more thing! If you really need more mana, there are spare mana batteries on the Shadow Border! There's no need for such primitive methods! Behave yourself!"
"Boring."
Seeing his plan exposed, Steve pouted and stood up from Ritsuka, looking disappointed.
"It was just a joke to lighten the mood… Everyone's so tense."
He brushed off imaginary dust from his clothes and winked at the still-dazed Ritsuka.
"Alright, since the greatest threat is gone, let's move forward."
"Our goal is Mount Olympus… but first, we need to purify this region."
Watching his retreating figure, Ritsuka touched her still-burning cheeks and could only sigh in the end.
This person is sometimes really not serious at all… But as long as he's by my side, I feel incredibly at ease.
…
…
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