Chapter 61: STELLA!!!
Empowered by the Instant Enhancement, Arash became immediately courageous and confidently wielded his red bow to engage Tom in another round of combat!
B-ranked Strength, B+ ranked Agility, EX-ranked Endurance, and... Instant Enhancement surging power! There was no doubt that Arash, at this moment, could easily defeat the peculiar feline Servant called "Schrödinger's Cat." This wave, there was no way he could lose.
However, just as Arash was confident and prepared to engage in another three hundred rounds of battle with Tom, he suddenly heard a chilling voice that made his hair stand on end.
"In the name of Command Seals, use your Noble Phantasm, Arash!"
"Master?!" Upon hearing this voice, Arash felt his back ache, his legs hurt, and his confidence wavered. He turned his head towards Gudako's direction with a face full of shock and confusion.
In that moment, he also noticed that the knife stuck in Mashu's buttocks was broken.
But at this point, he obviously wouldn't pay attention to that. What bewildered him the most was that even though he had the upper hand, why did his Master suddenly command him to use his Noble Phantasm?
Arash was confident that with his current physical condition, victory was practically assured. But now, his own Master was using Command Seals to make him unleash his Noble Phantasm. What kind of situation was this?
"The enemy is formidable, only by using your Noble Phantasm... Great hero Arash!" Gudako fixedly stared at Arash's figure, her eyes appearing slightly red as if she were saying, "I'm reluctant, but there's no other choice." She continued, "I entrust everything to you, great hero!"
"Wait, wait a minute, isn't there something wrong with this?!?" Listening to Gudako's serious words, Arash couldn't shake the feeling that this was all a predetermined trap, as if a huge pit had been dug for him to step into. Although he knew that as a Servant with a self-destructive Noble Phantasm, he would eventually have to release it and retreat from the battlefield, but... so soon? Had he even been on stage for more than five minutes?!
"I will miss you, great... cough... cough, hero!" Gudako, halfway through her sentence, seemed to have foreseen it all. Just like countless fireworks before, she couldn't help but burst into laughter, but quickly concealed her inner excitement.
"Go, Arash, great hero! Transform once again into the shooting star that brings peace!"
Feeling the Command Seals of Chaldea, which shouldn't possess any compulsive command abilities, inexplicably forcing his body into action, Arash knew that he had no choice but to unleash his Noble Phantasm.
Amidst the confusion and sorrow of appearing on the stage for less than five minutes only to immediately retreat, Arash began to chant his Noble Phantasm.
"O’ sacred Lord in Heaven."
"Radiant Lord, merciful, who bestowed upon me wisdom and strength..."
As Arash began chanting his Noble Phantasm, Gudako resolutely pressed a button located in the upper right corner of her field of view.
"Skip!"
Instantly, Arash, who hadn't even finished the second line of his chant, transitioned from a stationary position to a serious stance of drawing his bow. It was as if the chant had been skipped entirely.
Just as he was about to fully draw the bowstring, Arash suddenly realized that he might have missed a few lines and wondered why he had abruptly started pulling the bow. It felt like a significant portion of his memory was missing.
They say that in a person's final moments, time seems to slow down significantly. But why did it feel like someone had pressed the fast-forward button for him?
He didn't even have time to contemplate why Gudako wanted him to use his Noble Phantasm at this moment. It was already the final moment, so Arash had to focus on aiming at the enigmatic "Schrödinger's Cat" before him.
Seeing the enemy suddenly emanating a mysterious golden light, Tom, who had been prepared to pounce and disarm it with a few "aha" moments, became alarmed. Something was clearly amiss; it was even more unusual than Jerry drinking a potion and transforming into a muscular man!
Flashing with golden light, Tom had witnessed a similar scene in his previous owner's house. It was a clear sign of an imminent explosion!
Tom's mouth opened wide, his legs trembling. He quickly retreated several meters to a withered tree in a panic, his heart starting to beat uncontrollably. A heart-shaped symbol protruded from Tom's chest and continued to pulsate outward in an exaggerated manner.
Noticing his wildly beating heart, Tom hurriedly covered the heart-shaped symbol on his left chest with both hands. However... even though he covered the left side, it didn't matter. This heart had a mind of its own; it jumped out from the right side and continued to beat with great intensity, unaffected by Tom's attempt to cover it.
Observing the enigmatic and somewhat comical "Schrödinger's Cat" before him, Arash was curious to know what kind of bizarre creature it was. However, he no longer had the opportunity because he had already begun unleashing his Noble Phantasm.
"---Stella!!!"
With a shout, Arash released the bowstring amidst immense pain. A burst of colorful light erupted, as if it were about to engulf the entire world. The force was so powerful that even the earth trembled.
With the bowstring released, an arrow imbued with immeasurable magical energy shot out, accompanied by a radiant brilliance. In that instant, Arash was on the verge of being obliterated, but he relied on his EX-ranked sturdiness to endure for a fraction of a second and witnessed the cat being defeated and reduced to spiritual particles.
Witnessing this cataclysmic attack, which seemed to herald the end of the world, hurtling towards him, Tom's mouth hung open in shock. He quickly tried to close it and make a hasty escape.
But because they were so close, to the point where their faces were practically touching, it was evident that Tom didn't have a chance this time.
The arrow, enveloped in an immense amount of light, struck perfectly into Tom's mouth, carrying a devastating force that surged inside. And then... Tom inflated, transforming directly into a balloon suspended in mid-air.
Seeing his Noble Phantasm being swallowed by Tom without any apparent effect, Arash, who was left with only his head, froze on the spot.
"???"
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