The full weight of the moon's gravity poured down.
Its final destination was Zoran.
He possessed this authority, the power to siphon the gravitational force of the moon itself. In the night sky, the full moon resembled an overturned chalice, its gravitational essence leaking and cascading like wine.
Feeling the surge of power, a look of satisfaction crossed Zoran's face. In terms of raw potential and growth, Zoran was the undisputed leader among the Eight Demon Sorcerers. None of his brothers or sisters could hold a candle to him in this regard.
Kiritsugu Emiya watched in shock as Zoran absorbed the moon's complete gravitational pull. Silence returned to the night sky, and while it seemed as though nothing had changed, everything was different. At the very least, the Zoran standing before him felt infinitely more formidable.
High above, the moon emitted a faint, purplish-black halo.
Zoran remained suspended in mid-air, calm and composed. Siphoning gravity did not mean draining the moon dry or upsetting the natural order to the point of collapse; it was a transition of authority, a conceptual shift in the higher laws of the universe.
"It is over. In truth, you never had a choice from the start," Zoran said tonelessly.
He reached out toward the half-ruined castle, and Demon Chi immediately swarmed inward. Moments later, a magnificent golden chalice drifted slowly toward him.
The Lesser Grail.
It was the key to unlocking the Greater Grail. As it hung silently in the air, its presence signified both the physical dissolution of Irisviel von Einzbern and the conclusion of this game.
Zoran spoke softly to the figure beside him. "Shendu."
"I am here, brother," Shendu replied. He extended his dragon claws and plunged them violently into his own chest.
Suddenly, he began to laugh, a wild, wicked, and uninhibited sound. As if performing some eerie sacrificial rite, his hand churned within his chest, yet he seemed entirely devoid of pain. Instead, he displayed a perverse sense of exhilaration.
He was systematically destroying every fiber of this Servant vessel.
"Your soul will return to that place," Zoran noted.
"I understand. This is for the best. After all, you are my hope, are you not?" Shendu murmured softly.
Zoran's gaze then shifted toward Saber, his eyes as sharp as blades. Even as one of the "Three Knight Classes," the pinnacle of Servants, she possessed no means of resistance before him.
He flicked a finger, and a torrent of oppressive Demon Chi lunged at Saber, who was already bound and unable to move. Her beautiful face was a mask of unspeakable emotions.
At that moment, Kiritsugu Emiya raised his arm. His Command Seals vanished one after another as he spoke in a heavy voice: "Saber... I order you... kill yourself..."
Only then did the demonic energy Zoran used to bind her finally dissipate. She dropped to one knee, her hands gripping her own fair neck.
As the King of Knights, Saber possessed Magic Resistance at Rank A. Although it had dropped to Rank B due to the nature of her summoning contract, she still held a formidable resistance to Command Seals. Furthermore, her willpower was unyielding.
However, Kiritsugu Emiya had expended three Command Seals at once.
Saber knelt on the ground, her face contorted in a painful struggle. Her exceptional Magic Resistance and iron will only served to make the process agonizingly slow.
In the air above, Zoran let out a small sigh.
He extended his palm, and gravity answered his decree, closing inward. In an instant, Artoria Pendragon vanished from between his hands.
"At least this way, there is less pain," Zoran said flatly. He had no interest in spectating meaningless torture.
Granted, possessing memories of his past life, he knew Artoria Pendragon was a resilient and noble figure. But he was the Moon Demon. He was Tso Lan.
His heart and his will were indestructible. Nothing would obstruct his path.
He gazed coldly at the moonlit sky. Having integrated the memories of his original self, the vast lifespan of a Demon made one thing clear: these were merely copies of long-dead Heroic Spirits, dry bones from a tomb buried in the graveyard of history.
Even he, or his seven brothers and sisters, could one day walk that same path. Once a Servant dies, their memories and experiences simply return to the Throne of Heroes.
If one were to speak of true pain and torment... that hellish Netherworld, where there was nothing but an endless expanse of blood-red, was the only true cage of suffering.
Kiritsugu Emiya watched the scene in silence.
Zoran raised his hand slightly toward the Lesser Grail. At this stage, it was not incorrect to address the object as Irisviel herself.
"With this as the key, I summon... the Third Magic, the Heaven's Feel," he whispered.
In the sky, clouds of deep crimson bordering on black instantly coalesced, looming over the entirety of Fuyuki City with a terrifying presence.
"This is..." Kiritsugu's eyes trembled. "A miracle..."
"Not a miracle. Destruction," Zoran corrected.
The sky tore open, and foul black mud came pouring out. As Zoran had said, this was destruction incarnate, carrying "All the World's Evil." What he had summoned was not the true Third Magic, but the corrupted Black Grail.
"We cannot let that thing descend!" Kiritsugu cried, his body shaking.
"Naturally," Zoran smiled.
He turned his palm upward and lifted it slightly; the cascading black mud froze instantly in mid-air. Immediately following, a brilliant green light surged from the earth toward the heavens.
A magnificent beam of Chi Magic struck deep into the heart of the clouds. Under the influence of the Chi Magic, the curse known as "All the World's Evil" was gradually driven back and dissipated.
Kiritsugu did not look away, staring fixedly at the sky above. His gaze slowly became resolute. Zoran had not lied to him; that foul mud truly could have obliterated Fuyuki City.
And Zoran was dispersing it. He possessed such power. Magic, or perhaps, a miracle.
"Shendu," Zoran called out.
Shendu nodded silently. His vessel had finally completed its self-destruction. He closed his eyes as his life force withered away.
With all seven Servants gathered, the purified Grail was the true power Zoran required!
Magic surged, catching the hem of his Taoist robes. Zoran's silhouette vanished into the shadows, replaced instantly by a black full moon. From within that moon, his true Demon form manifested.
Kiritsugu watched Zoran without a word. The power emanating from this demonic body was far more potent than the black mud above.
Colossal energy gathered in the air, and a saturation of mana converged in Zoran's palm, chaotic and indiscernible. Zoran withdrew his hand, and in a flash, heaven and earth returned to silence.
"Go back, Shendu, my brother," he murmured.
…
Shendu's soul was returning.
After a moment of darkness, his consciousness cleared. Before him was the pitch-black underground palace. He was once again a statue, immobile and profoundly weak.
"Truly... marvelous, Tso Lan!" he sighed, filled with emotion.
After such a grand and mystical experience, the contrast with the deathly silence of his current reality was stark. This place felt like eternal darkness.
Silent. Breathless.
The aura of Zoran, and that other world, had vanished. He was alone once more.
It was as if nothing had changed.
But was that really true?
After a long silence, an elegant whisper echoed within Shendu's soul. It was Zoran's deep, resonant voice.
"Wait for me," he said.
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