Look at This Moon, Isn’t It Huge?

Yggdmillennia Castle sits atop a hill on the outskirts of Trifas, separated from the town by a vast expanse of plains and forest. Normally, on a night like this, the area would be eerily silent, as if time itself had stopped.

But now, the air echoed with booming laughter.

"Hahaha! Oppressors! Oppressors! Where are the oppressors?!"

The laughter was reminiscent of a child's carefree and honest joy, but in truth, it came not from a child but from a muscular, towering man over two meters tall!

Red Berserker—Spartacus.

An ancient Roman gladiator, a hero who sparked a massive slave rebellion, a symbol of defiance.

Now, spurred by Red Caster, Shakespeare, he had set out alone toward the Black Faction's stronghold. But here, close to his destination, he found himself surrounded.

Yggdmillennia's homunculi, created as combat soldiers and Mana batteries, along with bronze golems crafted by Black Caster, Avicebron—so massive that even Spartacus had to look up—formed an "army" of over a hundred, blocking his path.

Without a doubt, this was the first line of defense set up by Yggdmillennia.

"Ughh oh oh oh! Oppressors! Oppressors! The oppressors have come!"

As if meeting the love of his dreams, Spartacus, trapped in the encirclement, laughed heartily with glee, charging forward like a war chariot in a suicidal assault.

Without any defense or attempt to dodge, Spartacus faced countless attacks head-on, forcefully plowing into the army before him!

Then—

*BOOM!*

A tremor like an earthquake erupted in the forest!

Standing on a tree not far behind Spartacus, Red Archer Atalanta steadied herself, observing the scene below with slight dissatisfaction. Homunculi were struck and sent flying one by one, while bronze golems shattered into pieces like clumps of dirt under brute force.

A one-sided massacre.

"Facing a Berserker with mass-produced things like these, the Black Faction must be underestimating us, right?"

"Who knows? But they're definitely plotting something bad."

Behind Atalanta, Red Rider Achilles leaned against a tree trunk, glancing at his fellow villager ahead.

"But having evil plans is the best— the more, the better. Otherwise, it's meaningless."

This wasn't Achilles' arrogance but confidence. Beyond his strength, which was indeed enough to handle various crises, as a hero, he eagerly anticipated the battles he could experience in this Holy Grail War—the fiercer, the better!

Heroes, by nature, were like this.

Atalanta ignored his words entirely, instead asking, "By the way, why did you come along?"

"Obviously because I'm worried about you. Isn't that clear?"

"Really?"

Atalanta's response was cold. Having lived among wild beasts since childhood, sweet words were useless to her. Expecting her to blush like a princess or queen was impossible.

Realizing his little jest was ignored, Achilles could only smile and say, "In short, our task is rear support—helping Berserker as needed while gathering as much information as possible."

"We'll face the enemy soon. If things go smoothly, that guy might reach the fortress by midnight. But before that, there should be some resistance."

As they spoke, Spartacus had annihilated all the enemies in his path. The once-beautiful, fairy-tale-like forest was now a revolting sea of blood and corpses.

'I really want to see who the Black Faction's Servants are.' Achilles thought.

At that moment, as if sensing something, both looked up at the sky.

*SWOOSH!*

A golden light streaked like a meteor, splitting the sky in an instant.

"What's that?"

"A flying ship… not Black Rider, it seems."

All of the Black Faction's Servants were gathered at the castle. If Black Rider appeared, it would come from there. But this golden light clearly came from the same direction as Achilles and Atalanta, so it couldn't be from the Black Faction—or the Red Faction, for that matter.

After all, the Red Faction's Rider was right here.

"Sis, can you see what's up there?" Achilles asked.

"Not from this angle. I have far-sight, not x-ray vision—"

Atalanta's words were cut off.

Because at that moment, a sight left them both stunned.

A deep red moon fell from the sky.

And crashed directly into Yggdmillennia Castle!

*BOOOOOOM!*

A deafening roar echoed through the night sky.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Landing on the ground from the air, Naoki scratched his head as he surveyed the crater where Yggdmillennia's stronghold once stood, obliterated by a single Moon Fall. "Looking at it like this, this move's power is insane."

Including this time, Naoki had only used Moon Fall twice. The last time was against a pseudo-Heracles in the Mirror World, which destroyed the entire Mirror World.

But the Mirror World was relatively small, just a building and its surroundings. Even its destruction didn't fully showcase Moon Fall's power.

Now, in this open plain with a clear view, Naoki finally grasped the true extent of Moon Fall's strength.

Though he deliberately restrained its power, the entire hill, including the castle, was completely obliterated. The terrain itself transformed from a hill into a massive crater!

"In a situation like this, I don't know if the Black Faction's Servants are dead or alive. They're Heroic Spirits, after all—they shouldn't all die just from being crushed."

If he could wipe them out in one strike, that'd be ideal, but if not…

*CREAK!*

The sound of shifting rubble echoed as, one by one, figures emerged from the darkness.

Six Servants, not one missing.

"Didn't expect them all to be there. I thought at least one or two might've been crushed. Seems falling from thousands of meters gave you too much buffer time. If I'd cranked up the power, it might've done the job."

"—Mordred, Angelica."

At Naoki's call, Angelica, already using a Class Card, and Mordred, clad in armor, leapt down from the Vimana.

"Surviving the impact doesn't matter. It just takes a little more effort. Three against six—advantage is mine."

"Come on, Black Faction folks, let's end this team battle in one night."

Naoki's smile darkened the faces of every Black Faction member.