He Tore Through The Holy Grail War, And You Still Call Him A Dragon?

"Ibaraki Dōji?"

Ugly Gozen recognized her instantly. "That aura… more like a Servant, isn't it?"

Ibaraki's body burned with crimson-gold fire, heat radiating in waves. But her eyes were clouded white, her form wrapped in black miasma.

"Yeah," Shirou muttered. He remembered—she had been Kazama Ruri's Servant. But now she moved alongside the monsters of the black fog…

He narrowed his eyes. Was she corrupted, stripped of control like Black Saber in the HF line? If so, then with near-limitless mana she'd be even more dangerous.

"Careful!" Ugly Gozen snapped. Her floating pauldron shifted sharply, carrying Shirou like a surfboard of thunder out of harm's path.

Ahead, fire blazed. A massive demonic claw, wrapped in searing flame, lashed forward with a hoarse roar—"Rashōmon Daianki!"

The fiery claw shot like a dragon, briefly parting the dark mist. Buildings it grazed shattered, glass melted into syrup, walls seared black.

"Petty tricks!"

Ugly Gozen's blade shone with lightning. "Judgment, carried out!"

Crashing thunder split the fiery claw apart.

But Ibaraki roared again. "Rashōmon Daianki!"

The pavement cracked under her steps, every footprint igniting. Black miasma surged with her mana. Her flaming claws multiplied, bursting forth in swarms, weaving a blazing cage of crimson hands that closed from every direction!

"Book of Five Rings!" Shirou crossed twin swords—Hōki Yasutsuna in one hand, Izumi Kanesada in the other. "Water Form—Reversing Tides!"

Waves erupted, crashing upward. Torrents slashed out like angry blades, cutting flame with roaring floods.

At the same time, Ugly Gozen gathered lightning in both swords. "Twin Blades—Thunderclap!"

Thunder danced wildly.

Her spirit stirred—the miasma made her divine aspect react. Power surged from her bull-headed origin. Her godhood was rising!

Crack!

Lightning multiplied, her strength soaring. She exhaled, eyes blazing. "Then die, oni of Mount Ōe! Die beneath my god-sundering thunder!"

Shirou's waves clashed with Ibaraki's inferno, vapor exploding in choking clouds. Into that steam storm, Ugly Gozen hurled her raging thunder.

The street erupted. Caught in the onslaught, Ibaraki's form convulsed under lightning strikes.

"Avenger! She's fleeing!" Shirou shouted. Even hit dead-on, she wasn't finished. Her presence darted away.

"Understood!"

The shoulder plates thrummed, hurling Shirou forward like a railgun shot.

"Courting death!" Ibaraki snarled. She staggered, wounds bleeding black mist, then sneered. "Ao-oni!"

Boom!

The fog tore apart. A colossal blue demon swung a spiked club, descending like a mountain.

Shirou didn't even glance up. His hand flared, forging a massive tachi.

"Summon the Ox King!"

Ugly Gozen's thunder struck down from behind, divine lightning smashing the giant oni as if it were a living lightning rod.

Using the hulking corpse as cover, Shirou darted through, blade gleaming. "Steel straight, thought fixed—one strike to gods and demons alike."

"Ungh…" Blackened Ibaraki grimaced, staring at his blade. She halted and raised her claws. "To charge in alone—you fool! Die!"

Her wounds bled more miasma, fire swelling. Shirou's eyes narrowed—mud-born mana!

"Mount Ōe—!" Her flaming fist blazed. Once prepared for Watanabe no Tsuna, now aimed at him. This time, she had power, mana, confidence. She grinned—this human would burn to ash!

"Secret Sword—!" Shirou's voice cut her off. His long blade, Bizen Nagamitsu, flashed cold.

"—Tsubame Gaeshi!"

For an instant, Ibaraki saw it—three slashes from three angles at once.

The technique of Sasaki Kojirō, born to slay swallows. A strike from three dimensions, unavoidable, inescapable.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Her eyes widened in shock. Blood burst. Flesh split. She collapsed, crimson spraying.

Shirou withdrew his blade. Ibaraki's body crumpled—then a sudden beam enveloped her, whisking her form away.

"You destroyed her core? Ahhh, you leave me no way to explain this to Mother Goddess…"

A teasing, sultry voice echoed from the fog.

Shirou froze as he glimpsed fox ears twitching in the mist.

——

"…So, we failed to hold it back."

Norton stared at the ruins of the great cavern.

What was once the Grand Grail site was now a collapsed pit, rubble burying all.

"It's over!"

Xia Mi scrambled up, dirt-streaked, Fenrir's dragon head rising behind her.

"Norton, what do we do!? I checked the leylines—the flow is all wrong!"

"Quiet. I'm thinking," Norton snapped. Her panic was noise. He needed focus.

He pieced it together. "White King's first step: reclaim control of the Grand Grail, then forge a new Nibelungen through it."

"Not a sealed space. An open one—devouring reality. With the leyline network, she'll expand her reach and accelerate corruption."

His eyes narrowed. "And once within her Nibelungen, she can reshape beings to pseudo-gods. That's how she rises toward divinity."

Xia Mi gaped. "Wait—she's really that insane?!"

"What's insane? She's the White Emperor, who rebelled against the Black King. If she wants to recreate myth, she'll gladly engulf the world."

The White King's rule would mean the Black King could never return. Convenient… but she would never spare them.

"You and Fenrir must retake the leylines. If not, the consequences will be worse than you think."

"Worse?"

"She won't stop here. This expansion is too obvious—it will draw enemies worldwide. So she must have another plan, a hidden one. Most likely—Yggdrasil."

Xia Mi froze. "What? How could she reach the World Tree…?"

"Have you forgotten? She is the walking Grand Grail."

His voice was cold. "A being linked to every leyline, with maximum Grail access. She can summon Servants at will. Use them to widen the 'hole' toward the Throne. In time, she'll create a seat for herself—becoming the true Supreme Goddess Izanami."

Silver lights spun from his hands, igniting a hellscape of flame.

"Jormungandr, move already! I can't hold her agents forever. If you're slow, beg Shirou for help."

A snap of his fingers—an enormous fire-dragon roared forth, devouring boulders.

From the mist stepped a woman, serene and cold, cloaked in moonlight.

"I am Tsukuyomi. All who oppose Mother Goddess—die."

Her robes fluttered, radiant in the darkness. A godlike Servant, bordering on divinity.

The ground surged upward, mountains forming, collapsing toward them.

Boom!

Fenrir thundered forward, shockingly agile for his massive form. His tail whipped, striking the mountain's "eye," shattering it into fragments.

He fought like Xia Mi—breaking weaknesses instinctively. But unlike her, he hadn't learned it. He was born with it. The true Destroyer King.

Xia Mi stared, stunned, at her foolish brother's sudden might. At Norton, who met gods without hesitation.

…And realized.

Wait. Why was she the last hope here?

They all believed in her—but she didn't believe in herself.

Should she… just kneel and beg Shirou for help?

But if she did… wouldn't that feel like admitting defeat?

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]

[Thank You For Your Support!]