The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Seeing that Artoria's mental state was somewhat unstable, Hachiman Hikigaya quickly added.

"Purification?"

indeed so.

If the Holy Grail is unusable because it's contaminated, then wouldn't it be better to just purify it?

Thinking of this, Artoria's almost crumbling belief was rekindled. She looked up at the Holy Grail in Gilgamesh's hand, and a fighting spirit ignited in her heart.

"cut......"

Seeing that Artoria, who was almost lost, was brought back by a few words from Hachiman Hikigaya, Gilgamesh, who had failed to watch the show, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and summoned his Noble Phantasm again.

"Archer, how about a decisive blow?"

Just then, Karna, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

Having experienced the previous battle, he had a full understanding of Gilgamesh's strength, and Gilgamesh must also be very familiar with his and Saber's strength.

Rather than continuing a war of attrition, it would be better to concentrate our strongest attack, decide the outcome in the shortest time, and incidentally determine the final ownership of the Holy Grail.

"One strike? What an arrogant statement. But alright, based on the strength you've demonstrated, I'll reluctantly grant your request!"

Gilgamesh, who was full of confidence in his strongest Noble Phantasm, nodded mockingly after hearing Karna's suggestion.

Immediately, all the magical artifacts in the sky were withdrawn, and in their place appeared an ancient door behind him...

"This is really reckless..."

Hachiman Hikigaya, who also heard Karna's suggestion, couldn't help but sigh.

Fortunately, he still had two Command Seals left, which was just enough to allow Karna and Artoria to unleash their Noble Phantasms respectively...

"At the cost of two Command Seals, I command you, Lancer and Saber, to unleash your Noble Phantasms and deliver your strongest blows to defeat Archer before you!"

As he finished speaking, the Command Seal pattern on the back of Hachiman Hikigaya's right hand completely disappeared.

At the same time, the auras of Karna and Artoria beside him began to rise rapidly!

"Are you determined to strike? While your courage to oppose me is commendable, your fate of defeat has already been sealed."

Sensing the aura emanating from the two people before him, Gilgamesh dropped his nonchalant expression and stared at them indifferently.

In his hand, a huge golden key slowly rose up.

As it twisted in mid-air, the door behind Gilgamesh seemed to open, and countless lines appeared above his head, finally transforming into a golden sphere of light that hovered above his right hand.

"If you ask why, it's because I am the supreme ruler, the first king in the world! Come, EVA!"

An iron rod covered in dark red runes slowly descended from the sphere of light and finally landed in Gilgamesh's palm.

As Gilgamesh roared, it began to spin rapidly, emanating an aura of destruction.

"Lancer, Saber, take a good look at this magnificent power!"

The moment Gilgamesh summoned the star that separated heaven and earth, the two who were originally so imposing instantly became like fireflies in front of the sun.

Even so, neither Artoria nor Karna felt any fear.

"For Britain, I must obtain the Holy Grail!"

Artoria placed her left hand on her chest.

A scabbard adorned with blue and gold slowly emerged from her body; it was the very scabbard 'Far Affordance' that Irisviel had returned through Hachiman Hikigaya.

The scabbard emerged from Artoria's body, instantly scattering into countless fragments that formed an unbreakable barrier around Hachiman Hikigaya, herself, and Karna.

After the barrier appeared, the two people, whose momentum had been shaken by the appearance of the star that created the separation of heaven and earth, regained their strength and rose again!

"Indra, watch carefully."

Unlike Gilgamesh and Artoria, who were building up their power with great fanfare.

Karna, on the other hand, performed rather 'mediocrely'.

He gazed silently at Gilgamesh standing not far away, but through him he saw another figure.

A storm began to gather above his head, forming a massive magical vortex.

Karna then leaped to the very center of the vortex, and in less than half a second, he completely absorbed the immense magical power contained within it.

Karna exhaled and closed his eyes.

At the same time, an eye composed entirely of golden-red flames quietly appeared behind him...

"The star that opened up the sky and the earth!"

“Ex.......calibur!”

"annihilation hinges on this single thrust!"

The three launched their attacks almost simultaneously.

A shattered void appeared from the tip of the Star Sword of Heaven and Earth's Separation and Creation, and then the power of destruction rushed towards the two people in front of them along the path, determined to engulf them.

Karna's eyes snapped open, and a world-destroying spear of light materialized in his hand, then charged forward with overwhelming power.

Below, a pillar of light formed from the light of hope also shot straight toward Gilgamesh.

After a brief silence, the three heroic spirits clashed with their strongest attacks, and the overflowing energy instantly shaved off the entire mountaintop!

Protected by the distant ideal world, Hachiman Hikigaya was fortunate enough to escape the effects of the energy.

However, Kirei Kotomine, who stood behind Gilgamesh, was not so lucky.

Even though he had exhausted all the Command Seals to build a defense in front of him, the energy storm that was determined to destroy everything broke through the defense the moment it touched it, and tore Kirei Kotomine to pieces!

"Well......"

Gilgamesh had no energy left to care about Kirei Kotomine's life or death.

He gripped the Star of Heaven and Earth's Separation tightly in his right hand, and the tip of the sword once again unleashed destructive power.

However, Karna and Artoria were equally unwilling to be outdone.

They frantically drained every last bit of energy from Hachiman Hikigaya's body, causing the pillar of light emanating from their hands to grow ever larger...

Finally, the intersecting energy centers intersected.

Artoria and Karna's attacks bypassed the destructive power and went straight for Gilgamesh.

At the same time, a portion of the destructive power also rushed towards the two of them.

The barrier erected by the distant ideal world shook violently after being attacked by the power of destruction, but it managed to hold on for a while.

Meanwhile, facing the attack rushing towards him, Gilgamesh calmly released various defensive artifacts from his treasury to reach them.

However, one by one, the shields arrayed before him were destroyed by the immense energy, until finally, the Holy Grail in his left hand struck his heart with pinpoint accuracy...

With a "plop," the Holy Grail shattered as it fell from his hand.

Then, Gilgamesh felt a simultaneous flash of golden and red light before his eyes, and then he could see nothing at all...

Chapter 260 The End

"It's over..."

As the energy storm gradually subsided, the barrier erected by the distant utopia was concealed.

Hikigaya Hachiman looked around, gazing at Ryudouji Temple, which had been reduced to ruins by the battle just now.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew by, and then Artoria's anxious face flashed before Hachiman Hikigaya as she ran towards the spot where Gilgamesh had been standing.

"The Holy Grail... has it been destroyed?"

Seeing the last remnants of the Holy Grail on the ground, Artoria knelt down in despair.

"........."

Hachiman Hikigaya and Karna, who fell from the sky, exchanged a glance and both saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.

No one would have expected that the Holy Grail would be affected in the battle just now.

Moreover, despite being touted as an all-powerful wishing cup, it can still be destroyed by external forces...

This alone is enough to confirm that the Holy Grail is not omnipotent.

However, it was impossible for Hachiman Hikigaya to tell these thoughts to the heartbroken Artoria.

"Why...did things end up like this?"

Artoria, her hands trembling, picked up the fragments of the Holy Grail, attempting to communicate with the so-called Greater Grail through them.

However, no matter how much Artoria called out in her heart, she could not establish a connection with the Holy Grail.

"Is there more waiting going to happen?"

The worst has happened; the Holy Grail of this war has been utterly destroyed. If Artoria wants to avert Britain's destruction, she can only return to that hill littered with corpses and continue waiting...

Although Hachiman Hikigaya felt sympathy for Artoria's plight, he couldn't possibly conjure up a Holy Grail for her.

Therefore, with the idea of ​​letting Artoria have some peace and quiet for a while, he took Karna and prepared to deal with all the remaining black mud in the vicinity.

Black mud can be destroyed!

This is what Hachiman Hikigaya observed during a lull in the battle.

But just as he turned to leave with Karna, another change occurred in the sky.

It was as if a huge hole had been torn in the sky, revealing a dark void.

Then, under Hachiman Hikigaya's curious gaze, countless black muds fell from the sky, raining down on Artoria, who was kneeling on the ground in despair.

"Saber!"

With his dwindling spiritual energy rapidly circulating, almost instinctively, Hachiman Hikigaya charged towards Artoria.

"?"

Hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's call, Artoria, who had become complacent due to the end of the battle and the destruction of the Holy Grail, looked up at Hachiman Hikigaya.

When she saw the anxiety on Hachiman Hikigaya's face, she instantly became alert.

Looking up, she saw black mud pouring down on her.

Without the slightest hesitation, Artoria immediately stood up, then released the Wind King Barrier from her longsword, using the force of the wind to escape the Black Mud's attack in time.