You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Page 258

That is the great rune left behind by Odin, the Norse father god, the one-eyed conqueror, the Hanged Man!

Legend has it that Odin foresaw Ragnarok from the three Fates long ago, and he made many preparations for the final battle, such as establishing Valhalla to summon brave and indomitable souls, or binding Fenrir tightly with the Chains of Lies.

These markings were also part of their backup plan, scattered throughout this Lostbelt, and were patiently collected by Skadi.

There were seven in total. Skadi's squad took three, leaving four for Iori and her group to deal with the stronger Surtr. And naturally, Caster Cú Chulainn would take control of them.

After completing their preparations, the two teams parted ways. Iori and Beowulf followed Cú Chulainn to a snow-covered valley. Looking down from the cliff edge, the white ice reflected a shimmering red light, like glass covering the entire valley floor. At the very center was a mass of reddish-black matter, somewhere between flame and magma, which looked like the egg of some giant creature.

Dark chains stretched down from all sides of the valley, firmly locking the mass of matter in place!

Even standing on the ridge a hundred meters high, Iori could still feel the scorching heat waves constantly surging over her. But interestingly, despite the scorching temperature, the ice and snow in the valley showed no signs of melting.

Cold and heat, ice and fire, reached a wonderful balance at this moment.

"Is that Surt? The legendary King of the Flame Giants..."

"Yes, but we must remain calm, old lady, cough! The goddess hasn't sent a message yet. We'd better start our attack simultaneously and take her down at the same moment."

"That's quite challenging!"

Even in the freezing cold, the shirtless, dark-skinned, well-built blond berserker Beowulf laughed heartily.

"Although I have challenged giants, I am no match for the monsters in mythology. I never thought that even after becoming a Servant, I would still have the opportunity to achieve feats far exceeding those of my previous life. Even if it costs me my life, it is still a worthwhile price!"

"Actually, this is my first time trying something so far beyond the norm, but Iori should have experience, right?"

Cú Chulainn smiled at the black-haired youth: "Or should I call you 'Lord Susanoo'?"

"They figured out my real name after all," Iori thought to herself.

No wonder Skadi and the others trusted him so much, entrusting such an important task as challenging Surtr to a Servant they had just met. It turns out they saw him as Susanoo... Indeed, if a god-level powerhouse were to descend, even in Servant form, the chances of defeating the King of Flame Giants would be much greater.

"Like the Yamata no Orochi or something?"

“That’s right, that’s right… After all, our two Noble Phantasms aren’t really suitable for dealing with such a huge monster, so we’ll probably have to rely on you a lot, Iori.”

Suddenly, Cú Chulainn's eyes flashed, and he pulled a wooden plaque from his robes, closing his eyes as if sensing something. He quickly opened his eyes, his expression turning serious.

"We've received the signal from Skadi. You two should be ready by now, so let's begin!"

With that, Cú Chulainn slammed his staff heavily on the ground, sparking a burst of fire despite it being made of wood.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

One rune after another lit up and spread out along the ridge, encircling the entire valley and then spreading inward, surrounding the magma-like substance. There were probably thousands of these densely packed runes at a glance.

"This, this is?"

Beowulf was stunned; even a berserker could see just how astonishing this scene was.

"You were so amazing before?"

"Don't underestimate me, I've been preparing for today for a long time!"

Cú Chulainn smiled smugly, letting the cold wind whip his clothes around his neck, his red eyes fixed on the valley below: "To wake this guy up, we'll have to make a big commotion!"

hum-

Like a fuse or dominoes, the runes beneath Cú Chulainn's feet spread rapidly into the distance as if ignited the moment he turned his staff. From above, two bright lines of fire would be seen encircling the valley from the left and right sides along the ridge, and then the entire interior space would be divided by intersecting arrays of runes.

An immense and terrifying surge of magical energy rose within the valley—

“Art is an explosion!”

boom! ! ! !

The towering pillar of fire instantly tore through the sky, and the heat waves, as if they were tangible, surged in all directions, causing even more unbearable suffering than a real sea of fire. The unmelting ice and snow had already evaporated in the blink of an eye, and the white mist was swept away by the chaotic magical fluctuations.

In an instant, the icy valley had turned into a barren and desolate land, with a pillar of fire in the center casting dazzling light and shadow, as if one had entered hell!

"Hey, shouldn't we just blow Surut up this time?"

Beowulf clicked his tongue in amazement, "After all, they haven't even woken up yet, and they've taken such a huge hit head-on... Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing, it's just... haven't you noticed yet?"

"What?"

The berserker was taken aback.

"It's already started."

Before anyone knew it, Iori had already drawn the Ama-no-Kurakumo sword.

Belwuf then realized that the temperature in the air was rising steadily, and even after Cú Chulainn's magic effect faded, the temperature continued to rise without any sign of stopping.

flame!

Even hotter, more spectacular, and more terrifying flames erupted from the ground!

It's magma!

It was as if a hole had been punched in the earth's crust, from which a continuous stream of golden-red magma gushed forth, condensing in mid-air to form the outline of a giant human face, and this was just the beginning.

The earth cracked, mountains collapsed, and the treacherous terrain crumbled in an instant. The piece of land beneath Iori and the others' feet also fell, but fortunately, the three were skilled enough to escape in time. They then watched from a greater vantage point witnessing this spectacular scene—a transformation that seemed to have compressed billions of years of geological change into a mere three minutes!

In just a short while, the original valley was transformed into a massive garbage dump filled with countless piles of rubble!

The temperature is still rising!

Even Beowulf, the Servant, began to find it unbearable—

Bang!

The entire world was bathed in red as giants, awakened from antiquity, descended upon the earth. Each giant was only half a body long, yet a hundred meters tall, with unformed magma flowing across their surface. As they straightened up, the magma spilled out, causing a series of explosions upon hitting the ground, much like the rain of fire that destroyed Sodom in the Old Testament of the Bible.

"Well!"

Iori braved the heatwaves, looking fearlessly at the world-destroying giant Surtur. Surtur seemed to sense some unseen guidance, lowering his gaze to focus on Iori.

It was Cú Chulainn who woke him up, but the angry giant seemed more concerned about the black-haired youth.

wow~

In the atmosphere distorted by the intense heat, a brightly colored slot machine emerged from the translucent ripples, its symbols changing before revealing three horned demons lined up in a row—

call out!call out!call out!

An invisible pressure descended upon the three Servants. Cú Chulainn and Beowulf turned pale almost instantly, while Iori fared slightly better but still felt a strange palpitation.

Susanoo's Spirit Origin... After undergoing these trials, Iori's fame has been increasing, allowing him to unleash even greater power.

But as the saying goes, every gain has its loss, and this allowed the slot machine to seize upon his "achievements" and then target them for denial!

Challenging Surut in a weakened state? That's quite a challenge!

"Let me show you the so-called essence of runic magic I learned from Scáthach—"

Just then, Cú Chulainn pointed his staff at the Fire Giant, and a huge rune appeared out of thin air. A subtle yet powerful magical wave rippled with bluish-purple light, instantly spreading throughout the entire valley!

The next moment, Surut's breath suddenly stopped, as if he had been provoked.

"Roar!!!"

The earth-shattering roar dispersed all the lava on his body, and the Giant King revealed his true self!

It had two horns, its body was covered in magical arrays, and its entire body shimmered with a metallic sheen under the flames.

"Success! The Great Rune we just used has weakened it!"

Cú Chulainn was greatly encouraged.

"Weak? I didn't see that coming!"

Beowulf has drawn his beloved twin swords (which are actually more like thick clubs).

Despite the obvious disproportion between the two in terms of both size and strength, the berserker couldn't suppress the smile on his face and launched an attack even faster than Iori!

"Sorry, no one can steal my thunder—fall!"

Iori smiled confidently. As the Ama no Kusanagi sword fell heavily, a thick bolt of lightning descended from the dim sky, transforming into a ferocious beast that slammed into Surt.

boom!

Thousands of lightning bolts engulfed it, turning the entire world a ghastly white, intertwined with the flames of purgatory.

"hold head high!!!"

"The conquest begins!"

...After many arduous and extraordinary battles, Gudako finally obtained the legendary Holy Grail.

"Oh my god, is this the treasure that can turn me into a lucky person?"

Gudako looked at the Golden Cauldron in her hand with surprise: "With this, will I never have to worry about spending too much money on in-game purchases again?"

“…Master, I think you might as well set your sights higher.”

The red Saber beside her said helplessly, "This is a real all-powerful wish-granting machine. Even if you want to become the king of the world, or have the same combat power as a Heroic Spirit, or even true immortality... it can all be done."

"is it?"

Gudako tilted her head; these temptations that could easily sway people's hearts seemed to mean nothing to her.

"Being the king of the world is too much trouble. My grades in school are only average. I definitely can't manage the whole world."

Immortality sounds so lonely. If possible, I'd like to die of old age before Mashu and the others pass away, so I won't have to be sad at their funerals.

...So what if I become as powerful as a Heroic Spirit? Having you by my side is enough.

Oh right, I know how to use it now!

The orange-haired girl looked at the red tyrant, the famous Nero, with surprise: "I'll use this to keep you here! Chaldea needs more excellent Servants!"

"..."

"Huh? You don't want to?"

Gudako tentatively asked, "Do you hate me?"

"no."

Nero smiled: "It's just that I've seen this scene so many times that it makes me a little sentimental."

Too many times?

Gudako didn't understand.

Just then, a red light suddenly shone in the sky. Gudako turned her head in surprise and found that a continuous stretch of fiery clouds had somehow covered half of the sky.

Then, a thunderclap suddenly sounded!

It didn't look like it was going to rain...

"They can even sense it here... The commotion down below is quite significant."

The Red Tyrant pondered, "But no matter how many ordinary Servants you accumulate, they will not be a match for Surtr."

"Lower level? Surut?"

Gudako was somewhat confused.

"Alright, let's not think about that anymore. Let's see what we've got... Reach into the Holy Grail and see if we can get anything."

Nero, with a mysterious smile on his face, encouraged Gudako to take action.

"Why... Okay, okay, I'll listen to you."

Gudako reached out as instructed and actually touched a small, hard lump.

"Oh, what's this? Broken glass?"

It was a colorful shard of glass, shimmering with a mesmerizing light in the girl's hand.