Finish!

The crimson storm unleashed by EA was so immense that even from within the fiery area, Naoki, Chiron, and Avicebron could clearly see its presence.

Observing the towering storm piercing the sky, Naoki was slightly surprised. "She's using EA? Angelica's getting serious. Her task was just to hold them off, but at this rate, it seems Mordred and I won't need to intervene."

His ears caught the repeated tearing of the atmosphere, and the flames surrounding Naoki moved on their own, forming a fiery wall around him, instantly incinerating all arrows fired by Chiron.

This scene had been repeating for several minutes.

Chiron was undoubtedly a master archer. Compared to Atalanta, he might even have a slight edge. In an era where true archers were rare, Chiron was a highly valuable orthodox Archer.

But his archery skills were useless against Naoki.

As mentioned before, due to frequently using Summoning Magecraft to channel spirits, Naoki possessed traits akin to fairies and spirits. These traits were subtle in normal conditions, merely making fairies and spirits more drawn to him. But when channeling, these traits were amplified to the level of true fairies and spirits.

In other words, Naoki now held a star attribute, with the lowest level of authority over the surface world—roughly equivalent to a village chief in a remote mountain hamlet with no real power.

Naoki didn't care much for this minor authority. If needed, he could switch to Tsukihime mode and become an administrator.

For now, this small authority was still useful. For instance, it allowed him to perceive his entire surroundings. The range wasn't vast, only the area enveloped by his sea of flames, but within it, he could sense everything.

The moment Chiron made any move, Naoki could instantly detect and react—almost like pseudo-foresight.

*BOOM!*

His senses received feedback again. This time, Avicebron was the one moving, creating two massive stone golems in front of him.

The flames behind Naoki condensed into a giant sword and shot forward, piercing the golems' cores the moment they formed.

"Always golems? No other tricks? I even held back from attacking first to give you a chance to show off." Naoki said, rarely provoking. "Is this all a Caster can do?"

"Not necessarily."

Avicebron snapped his fingers, and the fragments of the golem pierced by the fire sword transformed into a massive wave of earth, surging toward Naoki.

A feint?

*HOOOSH!*

Naoki raised a fire shield to block the wave of earth, but at that moment, the earth hitting the shield inexplicably turned into transparent crystal. A giant crystal dome instantly trapped Naoki inside, leaving only a small opening at the top.

Was this his plan?

'Restrict my movement, trap me in this space, and give Chiron time for a precise shot?'

Ordinary precision shots wouldn't work—Naoki would react the moment an arrow left the bowstring.

So, the only option left for Chiron was…

Naoki looked up at the sky.

"Antares Snipe, huh?"

Antares Snipe—the embodiment of Chiron's legend as the constellation Sagittarius, eternally aiming at Scorpio. Said to be a strike capable of piercing stars, it was the pinnacle of an archer's skill.

No need to declare its true name or prepare. Since Sagittarius is always aiming at Scorpio, it only required selecting a target, releasing the bowstring, and firing.

And now, in the night sky above Naoki, a star was shining.

'Here it comes—Antares Snipe!'

[You're not planning to dodge?]

Manaka's voice echoed in his mind.

[It's a Servant's Noble Phantasm, after all. If you know an attack like that is coming, breaking this damn dome now would make dodging easy.]

Even the power of fairies and spirits couldn't withstand Chiron's meteor strike.

"I want to try."

Naoki smiled as he spoke.

"Though Antares Snipe is an A-rank Noble Phantasm, its power isn't particularly outstanding due to its precision and speed—so I want to test if the current me can take this attack head-on."

Crushing all of an enemy's moves directly—that was a perfect victory.

Manaka fell silent for a moment.

For a fleeting moment—was it an illusion? Or because of the identical appearance, had she misunderstood again?

Naoki, now challenging the meteor strike, briefly overlapped with Arthur in Manaka's eyes.

'No, that's wrong…'

Quickly dismissing the foolish thought, Manaka snorted coldly.

[Then go ahead and die like an idiot. It'd be convenient for me to break free from your seal. Die, you wretch—that'd be best.]

"Relax, I won't die."

Naoki laughed, his entire body radiating blinding Mana light.

"As long as you're alive for even a single day, I'll fight like a cockroach until your existence is completely erased from this world."

"So, until you're truly dead, I'll never die."

Magic circuits fully opened!

Summoning Magecraft ritual initiated!

Sky, meteor, night—enemy elements confirmed.

Earth, soaring upward, day—reversed elements, summoning conditions confirmed. Using the above to construct the summoning array.

"Open, gate to the sea of stars!"

"Fairies of another realm, answer my call. You are the chariot of light that once raced across the earth and soared through the skies!"

Immense Mana spread outward from Naoki's body, visibly coalescing into a radiant illusion.

"Shatter the falling meteor! Manifest, Merkabah!"

"ROAR!"

A beast-like roar erupted, and a terrifying sonic wave and storm instantly shattered all the crystal shields around Naoki. Amid the countless reflecting crystal fragments, the radiant illusion behind him seemed to shed a thin veil, manifesting its true form in the material world.

It was a chariot.

Reminiscent of the mythical chariot of light that pulled the sun across the sky, bringing light to the world.

Holding a weapon and standing atop the chariot, Naoki, clad in pristine white armor, seemed to merge with the chariot. He looked up at the sky—the meteor was falling!

"Merkabah."

"ROAR!"

The chariot, an incarnation of a spirit, let out a long roar. A path of light formed beneath its wheels, leading toward the falling meteor. Naoki spurred the chariot, charging into the sky.