IBHJ 1265

Shirou drew Caliburn, stood before the three Grand Servants, and declared firmly: "Come!"

The moment the words left his mouth, King Hassan materialized before him like a phantom, his deadly blade thrusting directly at Shirou's head—

With a swift movement, Shirou raised his sword horizontally. The weapons met with a resounding "clang" as he blocked King Hassan's lethal strike.

Suddenly, two massive arms of "Evil" emerged from behind Shirou, lunging toward King Hassan!

But King Hassan, with unexpected agility, twisted his wrist and swung his great sword, slicing through both giant black arms!

"Thy destiny is at hand!" King Hassan proclaimed solemnly.

"My destiny isn't yours to decide—it's mine alone!" Shirou shouted back.

From the sidelines, Gilgamesh observed Shirou facing the three Grand Servants, gave a smirk, and turned to walk away.

Seeing Gilgamesh leaving, Arthur called out, "The battle's not even decided yet. Why are you leaving, King of Heroes?"

"The outcome was determined the moment that mongrel remembered how it felt to defeat me," Gilgamesh replied without turning back.

As he walked away, Gilgamesh paused and glanced back at the battlefield, a question forming in his mind: if it were him facing three Grand Servants at once, would he have any chance of victory?

He already knew the answer.

Gilgamesh's fist tightened.

Just then, a gentle hand came to rest on his clenched fist. He turned to find Enkidu looking at him with gentle eyes.

Gilgamesh relaxed his hand and said, "Let's go, Enkidu."

"Yes," Enkidu nodded.

The two departed together.

Back on the battlefield, the four extraordinary beings fought with incredible intensity. Deadly attacks flew in all directions, creating a spectacle so dangerous that onlookers broke into cold sweats just by watching.

Ritsuka rushed over, her face filled with distress as she watched Shirou battling against King Hassan and the other Grand Servants.

"Why is this happening?" she cried. "Why is my brother fighting against grandfather and the others? I don't understand!"

She started toward the battlefield, desperate to stop the fight. King Hassan, Orion, and the others had been her companions throughout her journey—they were like family to her—and Shirou was her actual brother. The thought of any of them being injured or killed was unbearable.

But just as she was about to run into the middle of the battle, Kirschtaria reached out and held her back.

"Why are you stopping me?" she turned to him.

"I'm sorry," he said firmly. "You cannot go there. This battle cannot be stopped."

"They're all my family. Are you seriously asking me to stand here and watch them kill each other?" she demanded.

He nodded solemnly.

Ritsuka's face crumpled with grief and anger. "Get out of my way, Kirschtaria!" she said through clenched teeth.

He was momentarily stunned—this was the first time she had ever correctly pronounced his full name.

Yet it had to happen under these circumstances...

She must be heartbroken, he thought.

But still—

"I can't let you pass," Kirschtaria said, shaking his head. This battle had to continue, not only because Shirou needed those three Grand Saint Graphs, but because it also concerned Ritsuka's life.

"Move aside!" Ritsuka's aura began fluctuating dangerously.

Kirschtaria closed his eyes, and slowly Zeus appeared behind him.

"Master," Zeus announced, "though I am not your equal, I am not someone you can easily defeat. If you try to force your way through, I will be compelled to stop you. And don't think of using Command Spells—you know they won't work on me."

"You all...!" Ritsuka clenched her teeth in frustration.

Finding family members like King Hassan with whom she had faced life and death, and reuniting with her long-lost brother and sister—these two joyful events should have brought her incredible happiness. Why had everything turned out this way?

"Haven't you realized it yet, Master?" Zeus asked coldly.

Kirschtaria suddenly opened his eyes, looking alarmed. "Zeus!" he shouted in warning.

But Zeus ignored Kirschtaria this time, fixing his gaze directly on Ritsuka. "The greater the power that gathers around you, the greater the power that will eventually take your life. The Grand Servants are like this, and so am I. I—no, we—gather around you not as family but to eventually take your life, Beast VII. The battle between you and us is unavoidable; your brother is merely fighting in your place in this farewell battle that will inevitably come!"

Hearing these words, Ritsuka stared at Zeus's cold expression and unconsciously stepped backward, her eyes constricted with shock.

Meanwhile on the battlefield, a flash of cold steel gleamed as a black sword appeared before Shirou like a phantom, swinging down toward him with frightening speed.

Not good!

Shirou's body reacted instantly. With battle-hardened instincts, he shifted his weight and raised his blade to meet the attack. There was a thunderous "clang" as the weapons crashed together, sending sparks flying around them. The raw power behind King Hassan's strike forced Shirou's arms down, the sheer force driving his legs three inches into the hard ground, breaking the earth beneath him.

His arms shook as he barely held back King Hassan's killing blow, his teeth gritted in pain. A flash of black light crossed his eyes as he fought back. Giant arms, cloaked in black mud, grew from his body, stretching out to trap King Hassan between them.

But before they could reach their target, Romulus struck. Moving like lightning, he cut through the space between them and smashed into the black arms with powerful strikes. The black limbs broke apart, dissolving into wisps of black mud.

Just as Shirou tried to regain his bearings, he saw Orion suddenly appear beside him. Alarm shot through his body as he quickly projected several legendary shields and formed multiple walls using his black mud in an attempt to block Orion's incoming strike.

But Orion's power was too much. With a thunderous boom, his fist tore through all of Shirou's defenses like paper and slammed directly into his abdomen.

He felt as if a high-speed train had crashed into his body, sending him flying backward through the air. He clenched his teeth as his stomach was on fire with pain, his vision dimmed, and his mind went blank. If not for the black mud hardening inside him, protecting his organs, that single punch would have ended him right there.

He crashed into the ground with bone-jarring force, carving a deep trench through the battlefield as his body skidded and bounced across the terrain. The impact sent waves of pain through his back that made him gasp for air.

"Look out, brother—!"

Kama's panicked voice snapped Shirou back to awareness. His eyes flew open to see Romulus plummeting toward him like a meteorite.

"Rhongomyniad—!" He called out instinctively.

Responding to his summons, ether photons instantly gathered in his hand, materializing into Rhongomyniad. The legendary weapon pulsed with energy and immediately discharged a powerful beam of light shooting straight upward!

"Boom!"

The violent blast caught Romulus directly in his descent, the blinding light engulfing his body and sending him flying backward with tremendous force!

Just after repelling Romulus, Shirou felt a cold wind sweep across his skin—the unmistakable presence of death itself. Gritting his teeth against the pain still radiating through his body, he forced himself to his feet.

The Ten Rings on his hand began glowing intensely. Feeling a surge of tremendous power flow through his veins like liquid fire, Shirou spun around and delivered a powerful sword strike that caught King Hassan, who had appeared beside him like a ghost. The blow connected with shocking force, sending the hooded figure flying backward through the air.

King Hassan crashed through a boulder, reducing it to rubble, but was already regaining his footing, darkness swirling around his imposing figure. Shirou had no time to pursue as he sensed another threat approaching from behind.

Then the black giant arms erupted from his back once more, multiplying rapidly as they shot outward like striking serpents. They slamming into Orion, who had been closing in for another attack, catching the warrior mid-leap. The arms wrapped around Orion's limbs and torso before driving him into the ground with enough force to shatter the earth, sending cracks spider-webbing in all directions!

…

"That's amazing!" Richard the Lionheart exclaimed, his face filled with astonishment.

He wasn't the only one shocked by what they were seeing.

Grand Servants were the elite among Heroic Spirits—the absolute best of the best!

When everyone first heard that Shirou planned to fight all three Grand Servants, they thought he had completely lost his mind, that he was practically committing suicide!

But now, Shirou was proving with undeniable evidence that this wasn't a death wish—he genuinely had what it took to stand against them!