Abnormal Type-Moon

"Leave those monsters to me!"

Seeing not one, but four calamity giants lumber out of the pit, even Archer's expression hardened.

But in this situation, only he was capable of holding them off. With a sense of duty pressing down on him, he shot a quick word to Rin, then swiftly raised his hand.

More than twenty projected weapons manifested in the air, streaking toward the giants with a speed that tore the very air apart.

The giants, enormous as they were, could cross vast ground with a single stride—yet their actual movement speed was far from impressive. The supersonic barrage of projected weapons struck them easily, sinking into their massive forms as if disappearing into a quagmire of sludge, merging with their limbs and torsos.

Without hesitation, Archer triggered Reality Marble collapse, detonating all the weapons at once inside the calamity giants. For a moment, the space filled with a storm of splattering black mud.

Seizing the opportunity, Rin surged forward, reinforcing her legs with magic, charging straight for the volcano's crater.

And mid-air, she lashed out with a flying kick at Kirei.

Kirei lazily raised a hand to swat aside her kick, but his brow involuntarily furrowed, shaking off the numbing ache in his hand.

Before he could recover, Rin landed, spun on her heel, and launched a sharp roundhouse kick aimed at his right arm.

Kirei had no choice but to block, the force behind the kick strong enough to send him staggering back several steps before he steadied himself once more.

Rin didn't press the attack immediately, instead dropping into a low fighting stance, fists raised, her center of gravity perfectly balanced—poised to strike at any moment.

More notably, her entire body glimmered with threads of green lightning-like magic circuits, surging with the glow of reinforcement spells.

A clear sign of a body enhanced by sorcery.

"Planning to use the Bajiquan I taught you against me? Don't you think that's a little arrogant, Rin?"

Kirei gave a dismissive, almost amused smile at her stance, then casually slipped into the same one.

Yet compared to Rin's aggressive posture, his was far more natural, without the slightest wasted movement. And in its relaxed form lay an oppressive, needling intent that made Rin's skin crawl.

Rin's heart tensed.

She was well aware—Kirei's mastery of Bajiquan was leagues beyond her own. Her stance shouted her intentions, clear and easy to read, while Kirei's concealed every intent, his technique so refined it blurred the line between thought and action.

But Rin also knew full well that in a clash of pure magecraft, she had no chance against Kirei. He was her senior apprentice, and he understood her techniques inside and out. If she tried hurling a gem-loaded spell, he'd crush it with a Black Key before it even left her fingers.

Compared to that, even though he had also taught her Bajiquan and would be familiar with her habits and tells, she still held one decisive advantage.

"You're a priest of the Holy Church—bound by its laws. A priest isn't permitted to use any sorcery beyond baptismal rites. In that, the edge is mine!"

Without hesitation, Rin stamped forward. A single stomping step shattered the ground beneath her foot, and she launched a hammering fist straight at Kirei's face.

Kirei said nothing, but even he chose not to take this earth-splitting strike head-on, sidestepping the blow.

What followed was a relentless barrage of strikes from Rin, surging forward like a crashing tide.

Perhaps to avoid harming Kirei by accident, the calamity giants never approached the pair. Instead, they kept their distance, continuing to lumber toward Archer.

Archer deftly dodged and countered, detonating projections within the giant's bodies, a calm ease in his movements.

"Big, dumb targets with nothing but bulk."

He exhaled in relief.

Though their frames were titanic, their attacks amounted to nothing more than clumsy slaps and stomps, like oversized infants, lacking any real lethality. Their sluggish movements made them easy prey, even for a wounded Servant like him.

Vrrrrrrrrrrr—

At some point, a strange droning hum began to fill the cavern, high-pitched and piercing, like countless insects beating their wings in unison. It quickly rose in intensity until it became an ear-splitting, shrill noise, as if a drill were boring into one's skull.

"What the hell is that sound…?"

Rin grimaced. The noise clung to her ears, impossible to ignore, growing sharper and more agonizing by the second.

Seizing the moment of her distraction, Kirei swept a leg at her, forcing her back, before rubbing his reddened, overheated arms.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Kirei murmured, a smile playing on his lips. "It's just the Greater Grail moving to its second phase."

Rin's heart froze.

She glanced toward the volcano crater—and saw it.

Within the hollow, the massive orb engraved with the form of a woman now emitted a sinister radiance: a black-red glow like a miniature black hole, devouring all light around it.

"By now, the black mud should already be flooding the outside world."

Kirei's voice was unnervingly casual, as if none of it concerned him in the slightest.

"If no one stops it, history's about to repeat itself, you know. Another catastrophe like ten years ago."

You bastard…! Rin grit her teeth.

Though she currently outmatched Kirei in pure physical enhancement, her attacks were still too easily read by him—and his mastery of Bajiquan meant she couldn't land a decisive blow. She couldn't get through him. And if she couldn't beat him, there was no way to stop the Greater Grail.

And then—

BOOOOM!!

Suddenly, a thunderous blast shook the entire underground cavern. The tremor felt like an earthquake of magnitude eight.

Both Rin and Kirei staggered, quickly lowering their centers of gravity and crouching to keep their footing.

"What now?!"

They swept their gazes around—front, back, left, right. No signs of a collapse, no advancing giants. Nothing on their level could have caused such a tremor.

Which could only mean one thing.

"Above us!"

Both looked up toward the cavern ceiling.

And what they saw made their blood run cold.

The entire dome ceiling had vanished—leaving behind a sweltering heat like the surface of the sun, crashing down on them in suffocating waves.

"What… the actual hell…?"

Rin gawked at the scene. Above them was the same clear night sky, with the full moon hanging bright and distant.

But the mountain above them had been completely vaporized.

From the surface to this underground hollow, it was over a hundred meters of solid rock.

And it was just… gone.

At the cavern's edge, golden droplets of molten liquid dripped down, burning holes into the ground wherever they landed. It was like watching molten iron searing through stone.

The rock… melted?

Where the hell could heat like this come from?

"It couldn't be…"

Rin immediately thought of the only possible culprits and felt a chill run down her spine.

Up on the mountain, there were only two Servants still fighting.

And if there were anyone capable of melting an entire mountain in the middle of their duel…

Of course it would be them.

"You two maniacs…! Does your fight have to be this apocalyptic?!"

***

Hey readers!

Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.

🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹