Facing the crowd's horrified expressions, Xia Yu actually felt it was quite normal.
After all, this was Sam, elevated by Firefly's will, having forged an illustrious reputation in the universe. If it could be defeated by two Noble Phantasms... then the Stellaron Hunters' bounties, which easily reached into the billions, would be far too inflated.
Specifically, the bounty for the Stellaron Hunter Sam was 9.723 billion Credits, second only to Kafka's 10.899 billion Credits.
Given the massive jobs the Stellaron Hunters usually pulled off, if Sam—their main attacker—couldn't even tank a Noble Phantasm head-on... it would be hard to imagine how they ran rampant across the universe.
"What, are you surprised?" Looking at them standing frozen in place, Xia Yu tilted her head. "Actually, as a super soldier of the Interstellar Era, being able to tank a Noble Phantasm is completely normal, right?"
"Normal my ass!" Hearing this, Tohsaka Rin completely lost it. She turned to look at the worried Matou Sakura beside her and gritted her teeth. "Get up! Keep going!"
"Sakura, don't worry, I will definitely save you!"
After saying that, she raised the Jeweled Sword Zelretch and fired a beam of light.
But that dazzling beam was directly shattered by a single sword strike from Xia Yu. True Assassin charged forward fearlessly to block her path, but ended up being completely sent flying before even three exchanges could take place.
Tohsaka Rin seized the opening to fire another beam, but it was once again cleaved apart by Xia Yu.
Rider took the opportunity to use her speed, throwing out her chains to bind Xia Yu's hands. Then, with a forceful tug, she used the momentum to shoot towards Xia Yu like an arrow released from a bow, bringing her feet together for a flying kick.
However, Xia Yu simply raised her arms and swung the chains, pulling Rider over at an even faster speed. Facing the flying kick, Xia Yu delivered a spinning kick of her own. The two collided with a boom, and the result naturally went without saying: Rider was kicked flying away at a speed faster than when she had arrived.
Xia Yu turned around again and walked towards Matou Sakura.
Cu Chulainn charged forward, brandishing his Lance. Unfortunately, after only a few rounds, he was utterly defeated under Xia Yu's fierce dual sword offensive.
Artoria finally caught up, but she managed to hold out for even less time than Cu Chulainn.
"That Emiya kid's Magical Energy is bottoming out," Xia Yu said, watching Artoria steadily retreat under her sword strikes. "You can't even maintain the Strike Air on your sword right now."
Among the Heroic Spirits, Artoria was undoubtedly having the hardest time. This was what happened when a stat monster was crushed by even higher stats.
In just a few rounds, she was also completely knocked back. Even if she wanted to lean on her sword and force herself to stand up, she had no strength left.
After successive battles and firing her Noble Phantasm at maximum output, she was already exhausted, and the Mana Supply from her Master was intermittent... Artoria bit her lip unwillingly, but in the end, she couldn't launch another charge.
It wasn't Emiya Shirou's fault either. After all, his Magical Energy was scarce to begin with. He had been continuously maintaining Artoria's actions, and just now, to cover Rider unleashing her Noble Phantasm, he had forcefully replicated Archer's Rho Aias. Now, his entire body was almost completely drained.
Seeing this, Medea sighed. Gathering the remaining Dragon Tooth Warriors, she launched a charge at Xia Yu.
But what use could such mob enemies serve? In less than three seconds, they were completely wiped out.
"By the name of my Command Spell," seeing this, Tohsaka Rin also realized that this was their final struggle.
"Archer, stand up!"
As the last two strokes of the Command Spell disappeared, Archer stood up once again. "This is my final Noble Phantasm!"
"[Unlimited Blade Works]!"
Once again, his Reality Marble swallowed Xia Yu.
"The time Archer can buy is limited," Tohsaka Rin bit her lip tightly. "Use all your Command Spells! Everyone prepare your Noble Phantasms, I refuse to believe she's truly that powerful!"
"Assassin, I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Yes, Master," True Assassin reached out his massive right hand once again.
"Saber," Emiya Shirou forced himself to raise his hand, "help me one more time."
Artoria stood up and silently began charging her Noble Phantasm again.
"Lancer," Fujimaru Ritsuka also didn't hesitate to use all her Command Spells. "Prepare for one last stand."
"Rider..." Right then, Matou Sakura finally revealed the Command Spells on the back of her hand. "Help them."
"Yes, Sakura." Hearing this, Rider took off her blindfold, choosing to go all out.
"Good grief, since it's come to this, I can't fall behind." Seeing this, Medea raised her Staff, and countless black magic orbs began condensing behind her.
"What, aren't you going to do something?" Tohsaka Rin looked at Illya, narrowing her eyes.
"There's no need," meeting her inquiring gaze, Illya smiled sweetly. She reached out her hand, showing the two strokes of the Command Spell on the back of her hand. "Berserker, kill yourself!"
In an instant, the two Command Spells completely vanished. Illya shrugged. "You see? Do my Command Spells have even a shred of binding power over her?"
"Aren't you afraid..." Seeing this, Tohsaka Rin was utterly stunned, entirely unable to follow Illya's train of thought.
"It's fine," Illya's smile grew increasingly unrestrained. "Berserker is the strongest!"
Having seen Xia Yu's dreams, she knew that there was no way they could lose this round!
Therefore, her mood was extremely leisurely, without the slightest bit of anxiety.
"You've used up all your Command Spells, aren't you afraid..." A dangerous glint flashed in Tohsaka Rin's eyes.
"I'm not afraid," Illya giggled, taking out a small, grayish-white bell. "Big sis, do you want to give it a try?"
"Miss Tohsaka, don't be rash," seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka hurriedly stopped her. "The top priority is to fight her Servant. Judging by how even her Command Spells can't restrain Firefly, even if you kill her, it won't help matters."
"Indeed." Right then, Chaldea's communication came through again, the Doctor saying urgently, "Her Saint Graph... is entirely a disguise! She isn't a Heroic Spirit at all!"
"God knows what she actually is. Regardless, killing the Master will absolutely not solve..."
"Doctor, oh Doctor, you really break my heart." Right then, Xia Yu suddenly appeared in the center of the crowd's encirclement, smiling as she said, "What do you mean 'what kind of thing'?"
Archer once again collapsed at her feet.
"I don't recall our relationship being so hostile. Are you actually using such words to address me? Rom..."
"Sorry, it's my fault!" As a single syllable of the name slipped from her mouth, the Doctor at Chaldea instantly dropped to his knees in apology. "Lord Firefly! I was wrong! Please show mercy!"
"Hmph, I'll settle the score with you later." Hearing this, Xia Yu raised an eyebrow, then looked around. "What, planning a final stand?"
"Then shouldn't I prepare a sufficiently grand response? Oh right, I'll use this move."
At this, the dual swords in her hands suddenly vanished. Then, her body lowered, propping herself up with one hand against the ground as the flames behind her erupted and surged!
"Protocol Passed — Executing Scorched Earth Operations!"
Boom!
She soared into the sky, carrying blazing flames!
"Noble Phantasms!" Seeing this, Tohsaka Rin shouted loudly. At the same time, she leaned back, her entire body tensing like a bowstring, before she forcefully hurled the Jeweled Sword Zelretch in her hand at Firefly in the air.
The infinite Magical Energy brought by the Jeweled Sword Zelretch was certainly important, but she had come to understand that her output was limited. Even with infinite Magical Energy, this level of output couldn't harm the opponent. Thus, she could only take extreme measures: directly overloading the Jeweled Sword Zelretch, sacrificing it in exchange for an attack that surpassed its limits!
Boom!
Medea's magic cannon was the first to strike, firing countless beams of black light towards the sky.
"[Bellerophon]!"
"[Zabaniya: Delusional Heartbeat]!"
"[Excalibur]!"
"[Gáe Bolg]!"
Emiya Shirou clenched his fists tightly, his eyes full of hope as he watched the countless beams of variously colored light shoot towards the sky.
"I will—" Looking at the various Noble Phantasms assaulting her from below, Xia Yu clenched her fist. "—set the seas ablaze!"
And then she plummeted down, wreathed in boundless flames!
The first thing she collided with was Medea's magic cannon, but those pitch-black Light Pillars crumbled upon contact with Xia Yu's flames.
Next was Cu Chulainn's Magic Spear. The spear tip clashed against the iron fist, producing countless sparks, but it still couldn't break through the defense of that layer of iron armor. The bright red Magical Energy enveloping the spear shaft was completely shattered, and the entire Lance fell powerlessly.
Causality lost to pure stats.
Next was Artoria's beam of light. Under the despairing gazes of the crowd below, the golden beam met the sky full of cyan-blue flames, only delaying the opponent for a few seconds before being completely overwhelmed!
Then came True Assassin's Evil God arm, striking venomously towards her back at an incredibly tricky angle.
"Ah... Ah!" To break through those blazing cyan-blue flames, True Assassin endured unspeakable agony with every inch his arm advanced. The flames were nearly burning his arm completely to ashes.
He knew that given the strength of these powerful Servants around him, none of them could stop the fall of that shooting star. His own Noble Phantasm going up against it would likely be a drop in the bucket.
So he chose a risky maneuver, opting not to break through from the front, but to sneak attack from behind. While this meant he didn't have to face its boundless might head-on, the boundless flames trailing behind that shooting star... weren't something to sneeze at either.
True Assassin's eyes felt like they were going to split open. He gritted his teeth, bearing the boundless pain, with that figure's back right before his eyes!
But he was just a little bit away... Just a little bit, and he could catch up to that cyan-blue shooting star!
However, he couldn't hold on for much longer.
Now was the time! The opportunity Rider had been waiting so long for!
Riding the Pegasus and gripping the reins, she crashed head-on into that iron fist at a rapid speed indistinguishable to the naked eye!
"I will definitely save you! Sakura!" She was practically burning her Saint Graph, forcefully stalling Xia Yu for a single second!
And in that one second, True Assassin's arm from behind finally managed to catch up to the falling shooting star, the middle finger of the Evil God's arm finally pressing against her back!
It succeeded! Feeling the feedback transmitted from his Noble Phantasm, his face filled with wild ecstasy!
Upon seeing this, Rider finally closed her eyes in relief. The Pegasus beneath her dispersed, and she plummeted downwards.
In the end, the only thing left blocking Xia Yu was the Jeweled Sword Zelretch thrown by Tohsaka Rin.
The dazzling blade gradually disintegrated, shooting out countless lethal rays of light, followed by an explosion of magnificent scale.
"Please let it succeed..." Seeing this, Tohsaka Rin was still praying in her heart. But in the next moment, she saw the cyan-blue shooting star completely pierce through the blinding light caused by the explosion, descending towards the earth.
"[Pseudo-Deployment of Virtual Noble Phantasm/Foundation of the Human Order (Lord Chaldeas)]!"
Mash rushed over in time, deploying her Noble Phantasm in front of everyone.
Boom!
But she couldn't protect everyone.
The boundless sea of fire smashed heavily onto the ground. The ground beneath everyone's feet instantly shattered into countless fragments of all sizes, and the entire mountain quaked.
Medea's face suddenly turned pale, her entire body going limp. Fortunately, Fujimaru Ritsuka beside her was quick-witted enough to support her.
Finally, after a bout of turbulence, Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou steadied themselves.
"Saber..." Emiya Shirou looked with a trembling voice at Artoria in the distance, who was leaning on her sword and struggling continuously to stand up.
Tohsaka Rin surveyed the surroundings.
Cu Chulainn was collapsed on the ground, his fate unknown. Medusa had been blown over to Sakura's side and was currently being held in Sakura's arms. Saber was completely exhausted. Behind them, Medea had slumped weakly into Fujimaru Ritsuka's arms, and Archer had long since burned out...
She finally looked toward the very center of the collapse.
Firefly, covered in flames, was slowly walking out.
Then, True Assassin stepped between her and Tohsaka Rin.
"Checkmate," he took a deep breath, raising that oversized Evil God's hand. In the center of its palm, a beating heart slowly took shape.
"Hero, do not blame me for being despicable. I too have a wish I must fulfill." True Assassin knew that the opponent had been holding back the entire time. Otherwise, given her overwhelming power, how could it be that after fighting for several rounds, not a single person on their side had died?
But just as he said, he too had his own reasons to fight.
"Apologies..."
As he spoke, he squeezed down heavily on that heart.
Seeing this, Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou's faces filled with pleasant surprise!
But suddenly, a touch of cyan-blue flame surfaced from within that continuously squeezed heart, which looked like it was about to burst.
"This... What is this?!" True Assassin stared at the heart in his hand, his face full of disbelief.
As the flames multiplied and gradually enveloped the entire heart, his tightly clenched right hand was steadily and firmly forced open. He even felt this Evil God's arm trembling in fear.
"What is this?!"
"This is power!" Xia Yu said, using Sam's cold electronic voice. "Incomparable power! The power condensed from the will of the Iron Cavalry named Firefly, a will sufficient to pierce through the stars."
"You didn't honestly think that relying solely on an Evil God's arm could completely obliterate this power, did you?"
What a joke. Let alone one arm, even if a complete Evil God descended, it would still get slaughtered by Firefly. If his arm was truly that useful, why would the Human Order bother establishing the Grand Class? Wouldn't it be better to just issue everyone an arm to insta-kill heaven, earth, and the air itself?