To become a king and a magician

Her legs gave way and she collapsed, Fujimaru Ritsuka covering her mouth and coughing violently.

"Senior! Are you alright?"

"My head... feels so hot... like there's fire burning inside me..."

"How could that be? Senior should not have been affected by Senior Jie's attack."

Mashu felt a sudden surge of panic. In a sense, she and Fujimaru Ritsuka were both newcomers in their respective fields, and she had no idea what she should do in this situation.

Should we leave here with our senior now? But we're at least a hundred meters from the exit, and we might get caught in the crossfire while moving—

"boom------!"

Just as Mashu was thinking this, amidst the blood rain washing over the ground, a beam of dark light suddenly pierced through, followed by a cold, angry shout that reached their ears.

"ExcaliburMorgan!"

It is the release of the true name of the Noble Phantasm.

The pitch-black aurora burst forth from the holy sword in Black Saber's hand, and with the swing of her blade, it directly shattered the crimson light that was constantly raining blood in the air!

The blood rain that had been melting the ground stopped abruptly, and the image of the sky clearing after the rain immediately entered Mashu's mind.

With her hands resting on the holy sword, her armor and dress mostly torn, Black Saber sighed heavily: "What an amazing move. To self-destruct so decisively. If it weren't for the Holy Grail War, but on the battlefield between two armies, it would have been our army's defeat."

"But unfortunately, that's all there is to it."

Turning her gaze to Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka, Black Saber drew her sword and approached them. She could tell that, setting aside the Shield Hero, the red-haired girl was already at her limit; now was the perfect opportunity to eliminate both of them at once.

(This is the successor you have chosen, Lord Galahad... Perhaps there is indeed potential for you to entrust with this task, but now is not the time to need that potential.)

(terribly sorry.)

Filled with remorse towards her knights, Black Saber raised her holy sword high—

"Tch, he's not dead. He's really lucky to be alive."

An unexpected voice suddenly rang out.

The sword swing stopped halfway through. Black Saber stared in astonishment at the vast emptiness that should have been empty except for the three of them: "An illusion?"

"No, why do I feel like I'm hallucinating? Do you really think I'm dead?"

"That voice... Senior Akuta!?"

Upon recognizing the voice, Mashu exclaimed in surprise, "You...you're still alive? But you were just—"

"No one says you have to die if you self-destruct! Besides, I can't die even if I wanted to!"

"Buzz—!"

Accompanied by Hinako Akuta's voice, a point of light appeared without warning in front of Black Saber, almost instantly reforming into Hinako Akuta's appearance.

Hinako Akuta, who had self-destructed just tens of seconds ago, has actually revived on the spot!

Looking at Black Saber, whose armor had mostly disappeared, Hinako Akuta curled her lip: "She's really tough. Although I never really intended to take her down in one go—well, let's do it again!"

The terrifying, out-of-control magical reaction happened to Hinako Akuta once again!

Both Black Saber and Mash remembered that this was the phenomenon that occurred when Hinako Akuta self-destructed.

"Akuta-senpai! Please stop! This move can't be used anymore!" Mashu shouted urgently. "It's probably a curse caused by your uncontrolled magic; your body is about to give out! If you continue—"

"what?"

Hinako turned her head to look at Ritsuka Fujimaru behind Mash—indeed, just as Mash said, Ritsuka Fujimaru, who was leaning against the wall, looked to be in a terrible state, as if she had caught a bad cold and might collapse at any moment.

(This level of impact is unbearable... Humans are really fragile—)

"Sizzle—!"

A whooshing sound suddenly rushed towards them! Without the slightest hesitation, Hinako Akuta blocked the sword blade aimed at her with her arm, then jumped back to Mash's side.

"Senior Akuta, your hand—"

"It's just a superficial injury."

As Hinako Akuta spoke, the severed arm had already regenerated rapidly and returned to its original state, leaving Mashu speechless for a moment—like Ritsuka Fujimaru, she had experienced too many unbearable things in just a few hours.

Seeing this, Black Saber frowned slightly: "Immortality, huh? Then cut off your head or pierce your heart... No, judging from the fact that you were able to revive after your self-destruction, your immortality is probably real, isn't it? To kill you, I would first need a Noble Phantasm that can slaughter the immortal."

For example, the sword that the mythical hero Perseus used to kill Medusa—but unfortunately, Black Saber does not possess such a Noble Phantasm; the only Noble Phantasm she wields is the holy sword in her hand.

"Well, if it were that kind of weapon, it should be able to kill me, but you don't have it, so you can't kill me. By the same token, you definitely can't beat me either. But I can kill you."

As Hinako spoke, she raised her hand, and an endless stream of magical energy flowed from nature into her palm, forming a huge mass of magical energy in almost the time it takes to breathe.

Hinako Akuta threw the magic ball in her hand with all her might in the direction of Black Saber!

(This is—a sphere formed purely of magic. Its prototype should be Gandra, but its power should be equivalent to the blood rain just now... I see, so it can be used in this way.)

As the light blast came at her, Black Saber's holy sword emitted a jet-black aurora and slashed down directly at the target!

"Boom—!"

The earth-shaking roar resounded once again!

17. Let me demonstrate a quick kill by blocking the door.

Outside the large cavern, on a cliff directly opposite the entrance.

Listening to the sounds coming from inside, Natsukawa Torato thought, "It really is a fierce battle. Akuta-senpai is really going all out. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before they defeat Black Saber."

In any situation, the most troublesome opponent is undoubtedly the one with immortality. If the difference in strength is huge, it's fine, but if the two are evenly matched, the one with immortality is almost certain to win in the end.

Artoria Alter is not weak. Although the levels of her various skills have been reduced, in terms of one-on-one combat power, she has not actually been weakened much. In addition, with the magical power supply of the Greater Grail, she can also unleash her Noble Phantasm repeatedly.

If we let Artoria from Natsukawa Torato's family come over, winning won't be easy.

But Hinako Akuta is different. Even though her output is limited to the level of a Heroic Spirit, she has infinite magic power and can use self-destruct attacks anytime, anywhere. If one attack doesn't work, she can do it again. She doesn't need too many. About ten self-destruct attacks would definitely be enough to stop Artoria Alter.

"However, Miss Akuta Hinako cannot use that kind of suicide attack right now. According to the detection results of my real-time environmental monitoring function, Fujimaru Ritsuka's physical condition is quite dangerous."

Standing next to Natsukawa Torato, Sajou Rei frowned as she spoke.

"Shall we go and help, Master?"

"Okay, you go ahead. I'll stay here; I still have some things to take care of. I'll catch up with them soon."

Hearing what Natsukawa Tora said, without asking any further questions, Sajou Rei quickly leaped off the cliff and rushed into the large cavern—her master didn't need her to worry about anything he wanted to do.

After watching Sajou Rei enter the Great Hollow, Natsukawa Torama turned around to face the forest behind him: "Alright, it's about time you came out. I didn't know you had this kind of voyeuristic hobby, Professor Rafe."

"No, for now, it's better to call you [Demon God Pillar Flauros], isn't it?"

Emerging from behind a tree in the forest, Professor Rafe adjusted his hat and clapped his hands a few times. "This is quite a surprise. I didn't expect you to be able to sense my presence. My concealment should be perfect... No, in the end, why are you still alive and standing here? Natsukawa Tora. You were the closest person to me. You should have been blown up by me in that instant, just like Olga Marie."

Why is he still standing here?

"Heh, if that level of attack would kill me, I would have died hundreds of times over the years, Floros. Also, Olga Marie didn't die either. Although her soul and body separated, both parts are fine. Chaldea has also recovered 80% of its functions under my repair, and it will only take two or three days to fully recover."

"I'm sorry, the impact of your self-destruct attack may not be as great as you imagine; it's still within my control."

As he spoke, Natsukawa Tora raised his hand: "So, now all that's left is you. I know that killing you here won't have any real effect. Unless all seventy-two demon gods are eliminated, your life or death as an individual is of no consequence."

"But... I'm not the kind of person who would stay silent if I were attacked. Consider this a return gift for being blown up by you."

boom------

Scorching flames began to ignite around Xia Chuanhu, instantly engulfing Professor Rafe in a raging inferno.

Looking around at the sea of ​​fire, as if confirming something, Professor Rafe covered his face: "As expected... Just as my king said, you are indeed a great threat to our plans, Star Sword Master."

"Therefore, we must ensure that you are completely destroyed here."

"Destroy me? You think you can?"

Because Floros's words were too far-fetched, Natsukawa Tora frowned. A single Demon God Pillar was definitely no match for him, so why would Floros say such a thing?

The answer popped up on its own the next second.

"Buzz————————!"

Inside the large, empty space not far away, a completely new magical reaction appeared without warning, and the instant this magical reaction was sensed—

[Hey! Natsukawa! This magical reaction is bad!]

Roman's panicked voice came through the communication device on his wrist.

[This magical reaction is undoubtedly from a Servant, but the scale... it's practically god-level—or even higher! Natsukawa! Mash and the others are in danger!]

"I know!"

Without any hesitation, Xia Chuanhu waved his hand to shrink the fire circle, and after swallowing Floros's figure in one breath, he decisively rushed towards the Great Void!

He knew why Roman was so flustered. In fact, he was just as flustered as Roman, because both of them were quite familiar with this magical reaction that had just appeared!

Because that was the magic he had faced before, and the magic that Roman had once possessed!

But why? Why is he here? Why is he here at this time? Normally, he should have first appeared in London at the Fourth Singularity. Why is it so early?

(Is it because of me? Floros said I was a threat to them, and in order to eliminate me completely, he planned to take action from the very beginning?)

If that's the case, then Xia Chuanhu is truly flattered, never expecting that they would value him so much.

But there was no time for him to reminisce here. Even with Sajou Rei there, Natsukawa Torato didn't want to be even half a second late! After all, he couldn't imagine what that person would do in half a second!

Meanwhile, inside the great void—

The density of magic was so high that it was unbelievable. The immense pressure created by the dense magic forced Mash to hold up her shield with all her might to avoid collapsing. Beside her, Hinako Akuta also had a livid face. Only Rei Sajou, who was protecting Ritsuka Fujimaru, remained calm, but her expression revealed that she was not at ease.

Barely managing to lift her head slightly under the immense pressure of magic, Mashu strained to look ahead. On the platform, which was essentially equivalent to a giant magical furnace, a figure had appeared sometime earlier.

A figure that makes you feel like you can't breathe just by standing there.

"You are......"

18. Physical liberation from curses—that's impossible, right?

Rewind to about two minutes earlier.

Inside the Great Hollow, when Sajou Rei entered, the first thing she saw was Black Saber being blasted away by Akuta Hinako with all her might, her entire body embedded in the wall.

That was a fatal wound.