"Jeanne!!!!!"
As Gilles de Rais cried out from the depths of his soul, countless octopus-like tentacles suddenly burst forth from the violet-black mire beneath his feet, wrapping around him as though attempting to assimilate him—just as he had previously fused with Ryunosuke Uryū.
Yet there was not the slightest trace of fear on Gilles' face.
Only bliss.
Only exultation.
Raising all four of his arms toward the heavens, his humanoid form was gradually swallowed by the ever-growing sea of writhing tentacles as he proclaimed his final declaration:
"Once more, we raise the banner of salvation!"
"Caster... was absorbed?"
Maiya Hisau looked visibly sick, though there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up.
"Was that commotion just now caused by Leon and the King of Heroes? Things have gotten even worse..."
Kiritsugu Emiya's thoughts ran much deeper.
He couldn't ignore the divine realm floating overhead, nor the terrifyingly convenient transportation ability Leon had displayed through the Bifrost.
A startling possibility—one frighteningly close to the truth—suddenly flashed through his mind.
But reality left him no time to dwell on it.
After a brief silence within the sea of tentacles, Gilles' transformed body rapidly expanded into a colossal Sea Demon, its grotesque appearance resembling an eldritch horror straight out of a nightmare.
Within moments, it had already surpassed one hundred meters in height.
The tidal wave generated by its sheer size alone was enough to engulf both Kiritsugu and Maiya, who were observing from the shoreline.
Looking at the viscous violet-black sludge radiating the stench of decay and corruption, Kiritsugu didn't need to think twice to know that allowing it to touch a human body would be disastrous.
"Maiya! Get into the nearest shipping container immediately! Contact Leon with the radio while I try calling him on my phone! Hurry!"
"Got it!"
Receiving her response, Kiritsugu instantly activated Time Alter: Double Accel.
He cast one final glance at the tentacled monstrosity, which had already swelled beyond three hundred meters in height, then looked toward the nearby residential buildings.
"...I'm sorry."
Retracting his gaze, he grabbed his sniper rifle, shot the lock off the nearest shipping container with his handgun, and climbed inside just before the violet-black tsunami crashed ashore.
The next instant—
The towering wave descended like the collapse of the heavens.
The terrifying force of nature, infused with supernatural corruption, smashed through the apartment buildings along the coastline as effortlessly as a boulder crushing eggshells.
Most of the residents never even had the chance to cry for help.
They were swallowed whole by the swamp-like flood, becoming part of it and causing the colossal Sea Demon to grow even larger.
The shipping containers carrying Kiritsugu and Maiya were tossed about like drifting leaves, swept inland by the overwhelming current.
Fortunately, both were magi.
Even if the containers began falling apart, they could reinforce them using basic Projection Magecraft.
Normally, this branch of magecraft was notoriously inefficient.
Projected objects were difficult to sustain and quickly vanished.
Yet in the future, someone would appear who transformed the most despised form of magecraft into something miraculous, shattering the long-held belief that projected creations could never endure.
That, however, was a story for another time.
For now, neither Kiritsugu nor Maiya needed to project new objects.
They merely borrowed the concept of Projection itself to reinforce their containers, hoping to survive until the flood subsided.
Meanwhile—
The person they were desperately trying to contact, Leon, was still locked in a clash of Noble Phantasms against Gilgamesh, each side attempting to outlast the other's mana reserves.
"Let all who have been abandoned gather here!"
"I shall lead you!"
"I shall command you!"
"Our cries of resentment shall surely reach the ears of God!"
"O Lord in Heaven, I shall praise Your holy name with words of condemnation!"
"Proud God... Cruel God..."
"We shall drag You down from Your throne!"
The blasphemous voices of Gilles and Ryunosuke echoed throughout the entirety of Fuyuki City.
Naturally...
Both Gilgamesh and Leon heard them as well.
At this very moment—
The secrecy of the Holy Grail War had completely ceased to exist.
But no one cared anymore.
Everyone's life was in immediate danger.
Survival took precedence over keeping secrets.
"That's..."
Watching the colossal tidal wave advance inland—
Watching the gigantic Sea Demon, now over five hundred meters tall, that had unleashed this catastrophe—
Gilgamesh frowned in displeasure.
The relentless barrage from the Gate of Babylon finally came to a halt.
Even Ea, the Sword of Rupture, which he had already drawn and partially activated, stopped spinning before its power could be unleashed.
Below—
Sensing that Gilgamesh had ceased his assault, Leon no longer continued pouring mana into Lord Asgard.
The eternal divine realm, constructed entirely from magical energy, slowly faded from the night sky.
Separated by more than ten kilometers, Leon and the King of Heroes locked eyes.
Gilgamesh said nothing.
He merely gave a disdainful snort before steering the Vimana toward the colossal Sea Demon.
"Heh... One of these days, I'm definitely dragging you down from that pedestal."
Leon chuckled to himself.
Seeing that the exchange of Noble Phantasms had finally ended, Irisviel, Artoria, and Aoi Tohsaka—who was still holding Rin—hurried over to his side, instinctively seeking reassurance.
"Leon, are you alright?"
Artoria and the now somewhat recovered Irisviel rushed over, one on each side, thoroughly checking him for injuries.
Leon found the attention both amusing and endearing.
My defenses weren't even breached. Can't you two tell I'm perfectly fine...?
Although that was what he was thinking, he knew they were simply worried.
Smiling, he lightly tickled both women at the waist to ease the tension.
"I'm fine. I've just used up a lot of mana."
"Can you still fight? Otherwise, I'll—"
Before Artoria could volunteer herself, Leon interrupted with a smile.
"I'll be fine. I still have enough mana left for another battle."
"If necessary, I'll ask you and Irisviel for help afterward."
"...Alright."
Artoria softly licked the lips Leon had just brushed with his own fingers before lowering her head and replying in a quiet voice.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
Against her will, images surfaced in her mind of herself and Irisviel replenishing Leon's mana together later.
Leon then turned toward Aoi Tohsaka.
Her lips had gone pale from fear.
Her tear-filled eyes looked heartbreakingly fragile as she gazed at him.
"Saber..."
"What are Rin and I supposed to do now?"
That single sentence was enough.
Aoi broke down into uncontrollable sobs.
With Tohsaka Tokiomi gone, the pillar supporting her life had vanished.
Having spent years as a devoted housewife, always relying on her husband to make every important decision, she was utterly terrified of the uncertain future awaiting her.
"I won't let anything happen to Rin."
"And I won't let anything happen to you, either."
After all...
Sakura still needed both her mother and her older sister.
Besides—
Everything that had happened was Tokiomi's responsibility.
Aoi and her daughters were innocent.
That, too, was part of Leon's promise.
Leon gently embraced Aoi to comfort her.
Watching from the side, both Artoria and Irisviel felt a twinge of jealousy, as though someone else had intruded upon something that belonged exclusively to them.
Yet when they considered that Aoi had effectively lost her family overnight...
Only sympathy remained.
After all...
The body of her husband still lay nearby.
His lifeless eyes remained wide open.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789