Chapter 54

The earth was covered in the once unstoppable black mud spirits, which were supposed to engulf the world in despair. However, they were met with powerful resistance, torn apart like mere rags by relentless attacks. The spirits' cries of despair were drowned by the joyful laughter of those who fought against them.

Kazuma Satou activated his blue-gold aura, encompassing himself. He was quite satisfied with his domain, a perfect combination of wind and metal attributes, which fit his combat style flawlessly. Platinum arrows constantly formed within his domain, guided by his will, and were accelerated by wind energy.

Having learned the wind acceleration circles from Hiroshi, Kazuma integrated it into his field seamlessly. Paired with his Sniping skill at level 7, he fired arrows powerful enough to pierce mountains as if they were endless. Standing confidently in his domain, Kazuma laughed, "Is this all you spirit bastards have got?! Hahaha, come on, push harder! Let me, the great Kazuma, test your limits!"

"Roar!!!"

From behind the spirits, a dark energy beam tore through space, appearing right in front of Kazuma's domain. Without any concern, Kazuma simply shifted to the side, the beam barely grazing past him, as if he'd always meant to stand just out of its path.

Meanwhile, lightning crackled around Keqing's body. With her sword in hand, she faced the monstrous beings cloaked in dark energy.

"Where my sword strikes, chaos shall vanish!" she declared.

In the blink of an eye, her figure split into multiple afterimages, each accompanied by a flurry of sword strikes infused with lightning. The black mud spirits were cut down, and as they faded away, Keqing once again transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging at the incoming wave.

"By the darkness darker than black, the crimson glow within me shall burst forth!"

Megumin's powerful, cheerful voice echoed across the battlefield. Raising her staff, scarlet magic swirled around her, forming an enormous magic circle. Beside her, Klee held her Favonius Codex, which also glowed with magical resonance, forming a similar spell circle around her. The two exchanged smiles and gave each other thumbs up. The magic power around them swelled even further.

"Dance, dance, dance! Let the destruction of this wish's origin come forth, let everything burn to cinders—the ultimate attack magic, Explosion!"

"Excalibur!"

Three beams of devastating energy shot forth—one from Megumin, one from Klee, and one from Shirou Emiya, who wielded the Sword of Promised Victory. Together, the beams carved through everything in their path, leaving deep craters on the battlefield, reducing everything to ashes.

Kuroneko, or Ruri Goko, watched the others celebrate. Her form shimmered as her white dress turned into a black gothic-lolita outfit. The once-cute demeanor vanished, replaced with a darker one. She covered her left eye with her hand, her right eye gleaming with red energy as she faced the black mud spirits emerging from the crater. Smiling wickedly, she raised her right hand.

"The Dark Realm descends!"

Even deeper darkness enveloped the mud spirits in front of her. She clasped her hands together and softly whispered, "Sleep in darkness until the end of the world."

The realm paused before expanding rapidly, swallowing every spirit within. None who entered ever emerged again.

Beside her, Luo Xiaohei waved his hands casually, dark streaks trailing from his fingers, slicing through anything in their path and vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of clashing swords rang out continuously. Not far from Hiroshi's sparring area, Lumine was engaged in fierce combat against a towering black mud spirit wielding a spear. She moved nimbly, her figure surrounded by gentle breezes.

"Ha!"

With a shout, Lumine lunged, her one-handed sword accelerating through the wind. Her strikes were blocked time and again by the enemy's spear, both figures moving with blinding speed. The sounds of steel clashing were like raindrops hitting a rooftop—an endless, frantic rhythm. Sparks flew with each clash.

Despite being a newcomer to the group without any significant enhancements, Lumine fought fiercely, evenly matched with her opponent.

On the stone platform, Julian looked down at the battle that had become a mythical war. His face, already grim, turned even darker as the earth beneath the stone pillars shook violently. Everywhere but the stone pillars had turned into a pit of destruction. The constant bombardment of the three beams had left massive craters, and the endless stream of black mud was falling into what looked like an abyss.

These people, appearing from who-knows-where, were absurdly powerful. Except for the blonde girl in a white dress, the others were tearing through the mud spirits like they were nothing. Attacks equivalent to anti-army Noble Phantasms were used repeatedly without any sign of fatigue. The battlefield was periodically swept by three beams of destructive magic, deepening the already immense pits on the ground.

"Beatrice, use your Noble Phantasm without restriction," Julian ordered, looking at Beatrice standing beside him, her flushed face filled with fervor as she stared at him. Unwillingly, he looked down at Miyu Edelfelt, who was hiding behind the group of monsters. He bit his lip until it bled.

Ignoring the pain, Julian then turned his gaze to Shirou Emiya amidst the chaos. There was no doubt in his mind that these people had come because of Shirou, and now, Shirou had joined their ranks. He shifted his eyes toward the black mud waterfall and spoke, "Erica, we're retreating! With those monsters around, we can't take the Grail."

"Brother Julian," a voice, filled with tears, sounded from the black mud—a small figure emerged from it, seemingly made entirely of despair.

"Is there really no other way? Erica can still endure!"

"No," Julian said firmly. He glanced at the gradually calming battlefield below. "It seems those monsters are almost out of mana. I don't know why they haven't attacked us directly, but now's not the time to dwell on that. If those monsters are drained, the three in the back will act. We need to leave now."

Erica, sensing Julian's panic and frustration, nodded slowly, feeling lost. "I'll listen to Brother Julian."

"Good."

Julian manipulated the mana within him and reached toward the black cube in the sky—the source of the black mud.

The massive cube shimmered as if it were merely an illusion. The large black structure, composed of many smaller cubes, began to retract, ultimately transforming into a palm-sized block, faintly glowing blue.

With the source gone, the black mud ceased flowing. Where the waterfall once was, the young figure of Erica transformed into a more mature version of herself, her once-lively eyes now hollow and dark.

Below, Hiroshi was busy sparring with a group of black mud spirits, practicing his combat skills with different weapons in both hands. Occasionally, he took a hit, but the swift progress he was making in gaining battle experience more than made up for it.

Suddenly, the black mud spirits exploded into dark sludge that began to vanish. Hiroshi clicked his tongue, reluctantly dismissing the projected weapons in his hands. This was such a great way to gain experience, and it was ending too soon. Turning around, he saw the others had already gathered.

"Did everyone get enough experience to rank up to Legendary?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yep!" Klee nodded happily, hugging her Favonius Codex. She had a blast today, quite literally. Beside her, Megumin also nodded with satisfaction.

Ruri Goko transformed back into her white dress, a gentle smile replacing her earlier dark persona. She took Hiroshi's hand, saying softly, "This time, I caught up."

Hiroshi smiled back, squeezing her hand gently.

Looking at everyone—except Lumine—appearing satisfied, Hiroshi turned to Lumine and asked, "Lumine, are you alright?"

Smiling, Lumine waved her hand, showing she was fine. She knew her rank wasn't as high as the others, and she was well aware of her own shortcomings.

"Alright," Hiroshi nodded. "As long as you're okay."

If Lumine didn't want to talk about it, Hiroshi wouldn't pry. He didn't understand why someone evaluated as at least Epic-level would only exhibit Master-level combat skills.

"Time for the boss fight, then?" Kazuma grinned, pointing at Julian and his group above.

"Huh?"

Standing next to Infinity, Luo Xiaohei pointed upward. "Looks like they're trying to escape."

On the stone platform, Julian stood beside Erica, who had inexplicably transformed into her adolescent form. Looking down at Hiroshi's group, who were chatting and laughing, Julian tightly clutched the black cube in his hand, turned around, and took Erica by the hand. Without a word, he stepped into a silver portal. Behind him, Beatrice turned her back on the pair, facing the group below.

BOOM!!!

Several streaks of lightning struck, Beatrice looking down with excitement at those below. "I love you, Julian-sama!"

The sky, which was supposed to be bright noon, dimmed to a twilight hue. Clouds turned from white to a deep orange, casting a warm glow across the earth.

"Let my father's thunderous wrath echo through twilight!!!"

"Seal it—time and space!!"