NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: Fateful Confrontation
A handful of scorching sand slipped through her fingers.
Kurumi glanced around at this world, her brows furrowing. —So this is a Reality Marble?
The sun was too intense for her liking.
Rider stood alone before the sea demon, full of pride and confidence, raising his arm in a triumphant gesture.
"Behold! My invincible army!"
From the wind and sand behind him, mirage-like shadows began to take shape, forming the image of an army. Bit by bit, they were painted with vibrant colors.
Servants...
Tens of thousands of them, all in different garb... and they were all Servants.
Among them were even commanders and warriors whose presence rivaled that of the King of Conquerors—heroes such as Maharaja, figures who had once been invincible warriors. Now, at Iskandar's call, they manifested in this mental world.
This was the battlefield they had once ridden across together, a world etched into the hearts of each and every one of them.
All of them were renowned, illustrious figures, even the majestic horses they rode were as mighty as Heroic Spirits—like the great Bucephalus.
This was Rider's ultimate trump card, his EX-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm—Ionioi Hetairoi (Army of the King).
"The will of the king is the will of all his subjects!" Rider, astride his horse, raised his lightweight sword high. "The king who rallies the courage of all heroes and begins the march of conquest!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The thunderous chorus echoed.
"Warriors, let them see the might of our unparalleled army!" The burly man laughed like a child.
"Crush them!"
With a deafening roar, the unstoppable war host charged toward the sea demon.
"Avenger," Rider called over to Kurumi. "When your true body is ready, inform me."
"Naturally," Kurumi replied, deep in thought.
"Then let us charge!" Rider shouted, personally leading the charge on horseback.
Saber and Lancer were not to be outdone as they also rushed toward the sea demon. Kurumi, however, stood before the two magi, raising her firearm.
"Get ready."
The cold flames of death ignited on Kurumi's body.
After all, who said that an ADC (Attack Damage Carry) could ever just slack off?
The sea demon vanished from the Mion River.
This left Tokiomi Tohsaka with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was relieved that the crisis of the sea demon was finally over, but on the other hand, another EX-rank Noble Phantasm had appeared.
Other people's Servants were not only powerful, but obedient.
Sigh—Tokiomi let out a deep sigh as he watched the brilliant fireworks in the sky.
Two F-15J jets—those fireworks must have cost a fortune.
But Archer didn't relax after destroying those arrogant ants. Instead, his frown deepened.
Amid the blazing clouds, the roar of afterburners rumbled, like the cry of a dragon.
It was the sound of sonic booms from the jets breaking the sound barrier.
Diving down from the sky was a black beast over twenty meters long, its surface crisscrossed with blood-red lines of magical energy.
Berserker!
One of Berserker's Noble Phantasms was his ability to take control of any object identified as a "weapon" and elevate it to the status of a Noble Phantasm.
Knight of Owner (A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands).
The pinnacle of modern technology had instantly transformed into a monstrous weapon.
Tokiomi had already heard from Kirei Kotomine who Berserker's primary target would be.
"Heh, a mad dog... interesting." The King of Heroes sneered as he lounged on his throne, watching the black beast descend from the sky.
Meanwhile, Tokiomi searched for that man's location. Sure enough, on the rooftop of the nearest villa, Tokiomi spotted Kariya Matou.
The left eye filled with death, the right eye filled with hatred, the monster trapped between life and death.
Kariya glared at Tokiomi with pure malice, and their eyes met.
"My King, I shall face that Master."
"Go and have your fun," Archer commanded as he piloted Vimana, carrying Tokiomi to the skies above the villa.
At nearly 100 meters above the ground, it was no longer a concern for a magus.
"Good luck." Tokiomi dusted off his coat and spoke to Archer before descending.
On Vimana, Archer sneered cruelly. "A mere dog who dares to defile the skies of a king? Don't get too full of yourself!"
The radiant mythical ark soared upward, Archer's crimson eyes cold and indifferent. Vimana trailed a vast array of Noble Phantasms as it shot toward the black beast in the sky.
The black-and-red lightning clashed with the golden-and-green light, breaking the sound barrier as they raced toward the unreachable heavens.
The night fog was bone-chillingly cold as Tokiomi gripped his ceremonial staff, gracefully descending from the sky.
He landed as lightly as a feather.
It was a technique that would make any magus envious, but unfortunately, his opponent was a monster consumed by hatred.
Reverence had turned into loathing, admiration into fury.
For the man who had stolen his childhood love and then sacrificed the life Kariya had envied for the sake of magecraft, Kariya Matou felt only murderous intent.
The agony from the magical energy being devoured by Berserker was now fueling the flames of his vengeance.
"Give up on magecraft, yet still obsess over the Holy Grail? Coming back like this... you truly are a disgrace to magi, Kariya Matou." Tokiomi's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Heh." Kariya let out a cold laugh, one that sounded like the chirping of insects. "Tokiomi Tohsaka, I have only one question for you."
"Why did you give Sakura to the Matō family!?"
"What?" Tokiomi frowned, caught off guard by the question.
"Answer me!" Kariya roared, his voice on the verge of tearing apart his throat.
"—The answer should be obvious. I only wished for my beloved daughter to have a happy future."
"What...?" Kariya froze for a moment, then burst into manic laughter. "Heh, heh, hahahahaha!"
"Beloved daughter? A happy future?"
His eyes, filled with both life and death, stared straight into Tokiomi's.
"Today, you must die."
The Crest Worms within his body wriggled in response to his rage, the agony and revulsion igniting his thirst for vengeance.
Consume, consume!
He raised his right hand, and a swarm of insects crawled out from the shadows, quickly morphing into bladed winged insects. The black fog of the insect swarm surged toward Tokiomi.
"I will not spare you, you despicable magus!" Kariya's voice was like that of a demon clawing its way out of hell.
Tokiomi frowned as he raised his ceremonial staff, tracing the crest of the Tōsaka family in the air. The flames of his fire-based spell ignited into a scarlet blaze, forming a barrier that incinerated the incoming insects.
"Kariya Matou, you are a disgrace to magecraft."
"You heartless fiend." Even as the insects gnawed at his flesh, Kariya swore to himself that he would kill Tokiomi Tohsaka.
"You're wrong. Taking responsibility for one's actions is a fundamental requirement of being human. If you can't even do that, you're not fit to be a man—you're a dog." Tokiomi looked down at the vengeful man, speaking as a magus who stood above him.
"Do you understand now, Kariya?"
-84:25:22
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