Aozaki Aoko Case File [147]

Credits: Mustapha Ceesay

The ground beneath Waver Velvet and his teacher, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, trembled. The next moment, without warning, they were launched into the sky.

Normally, if two people were shot upward at such speed, they would inevitably be injured or even thrown off balance due to the immense inertia. However, under Waver's control, Unreturning Formation completely nullified the effects of inertia, allowing them to ride the chunk of earth directly toward their destination at high speed.

"This isn't exactly flight," Waver adjusted his suit and tie as he explained, "Zhuge Liang's Unreturning Formation is essentially a manipulation of the earth's ley lines. In principle, it's closer to shrinking the earth to cover great distances."

"So this is the Noble Phantasm... no," Kayneth mused, "Since you're using Zhuge Liang's Saint Graph, I suspect this magecraft originates from the Thought Plate Authority of the Age of Gods."

Waver nodded in agreement but soon had his attention drawn to the scene ahead. He had to focus on maintaining the Unreturning Formation to prevent them from being discovered by the enemy.

"That must be Assassin's Noble Phantasm," Waver observed. "A Noble Phantasm of this scale must have some extremely strict activation conditions."

What lay before them was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, suspended high above the western forest of Fuyuki City. The garden appeared to be moving toward Mount Enzou in the north. Its sheer size and magnificence made Kayneth and Waver tense as they approached.

"Kiritsugu Emiya, that rat, has been hiding his Servant since the start of the Holy Grail War," Kayneth growled through gritted teeth. "It's likely because this Servant is practically useless in combat until this Noble Phantasm is fully deployed."

"In that case, attacking it from the outside doesn't seem like a viable option," Waver stroked his chin, analyzing. "To defeat Assassin and Kiritsugu Emiya, we'll have to infiltrate the interior of the fortress."

"Lancer!" Kayneth called out. The golden-armored Karna, whose injuries had fully healed thanks to mana furnaces and healing magecraft, materialized with a flash. "Launch an attack on the fortress from the outside. Don't worry about mana supply—look for an opportunity to enter the fortress with us!"

"Understood, Master!" Karna nodded solemnly, and with a burst of speed, he flew off, heading straight toward the Hanging Gardens.

At this point, the Hanging Gardens had abandoned all concealment. Its massive form was now fully exposed to anyone who could see it. However, since its movement path avoided densely populated areas, few ordinary humans were aware of its existence. This was perhaps the only reason why the Church and the Mage's Association could breathe a small sigh of relief.

Karna reached the front of the Hanging Gardens, gazing down at the opulent aerial palace with an impassive expression. He raised his spear—the spear of the god-slayer—and aimed it at the heart of the Hanging Gardens.

"Brahmastra Kundala!"

Without hesitation, Karna unleashed his most powerful attack at the moment. However, having already fought Gilgamesh with all his might earlier, the power of this Noble Phantasm wasn't as overwhelming as it had been before.

Still, if left unchecked, Karna's Noble Phantasm could severely damage the Hanging Gardens. Semiramis, the ruler of the Gardens, was well aware of this.

With a flash of light from the central spire of the Hanging Gardens, a terrifyingly powerful mana cannon shot forth, directly intercepting Karna's attack. The two forces collided, locking in a stalemate.

Karna showed no signs of strain, as Kayneth's three massive mana furnaces were providing him with an endless supply of mana. Maintaining the output of his Noble Phantasm was effortless.

However, the fact that Semiramis could match the Son of the Sun God's greatest weapon while still maintaining the Hanging Gardens was due to a unique advantage.

If Semiramis were forced to use a mana cannon of this caliber under normal circumstances, she would have drained Kiritsugu Emiya dry in an instant. However, the Hanging Gardens were created from materials that existed in the modern era. The Einzberns had spent an exorbitant amount of money transporting these materials from the Middle East to Fuyuki. The result? Once the Gardens were fully activated, they became self-sustaining, with an internal mana supply.

In essence, the fortress itself was a massive mana furnace capable of producing an infinite amount of mana, much like Gilles de Rais' Prelati's Spellbook. As long as the Gardens weren't destroyed, Semiramis theoretically had unlimited mana to fight with.

Karna, however, wasn't a fool. Noticing that Waver and Kayneth had maneuvered closer to the fortress, he deliberately shifted his attack's trajectory, breaking the stalemate.

From Semiramis' perspective, it seemed as though Karna had exhausted his energy and been overwhelmed by her mana cannon.

But in reality, Karna used his spear's momentum to boost his flight speed, closing the distance in an instant. He struck the fortress's gate, shattering it with a single blow.

Seeing the opening Karna had created, Waver immediately used the Unreturning Formation to propel himself and Kayneth toward the damaged gate.

Semiramis, realizing she had been outmaneuvered, coldly scoffed as the broken gate began to repair itself. It was clear that the gate would soon return to its original state.

At the same time, Semiramis summoned her Eleven Black Coffins as floating weapons, directing them to attack Karna and the two magus.

Karna quickly returned to Kayneth's side, shielding his Master from the brunt of the attack. Waver, meanwhile, used his skill to block the remaining blasts.

"The gate's almost fully restored, Waver!" Kayneth shouted anxiously. The increasing frequency of enemy attacks made it clear they couldn't hold out much longer.

Hearing Kayneth's warning, Waver poured more mana into his spell, accelerating the speed of the floating chunk of earth.

With a final burst of speed, the trio slipped through the gate just before it fully repaired itself, entering the Hanging Gardens controlled by Semiramis.

"Get inside the buildings, quickly!" Waver shouted as he fended off the Eleven Black Coffins. "We're too exposed out here!"

Karna, wasting no time, grabbed Kayneth and dashed toward a massive building within the Gardens. Waver followed, retreating while continuing to fight off enemy attacks.

Meanwhile, far above the battlefield, Aoko Aozaki and Artoria Pendragon observed the chaos below.

"It's time," Aoko said calmly. "Let's put an end to this."