Shinji Matou at Your Service

The elderly man who unleashed the world-shaking blow was gone.

But this wasn't the end—rather, it was the explosive beginning of an even grander scene.

Naturally, after witnessing such a fantastical display, Senji Muramsa and Ayako Mitsuzuri would surely be bombarded with questions by the monks of Ryuudou Temple, who had never seen anything like it. Questions like, "What's the deal with that sword?" and "What was going on with those flying and burrowing creatures over the mountain?"

And if things went poorly, they might even report it to the authorities or call in the Self-Defense Forces.

However, before the monks of Ryuudou Temple could gather their wits, a strange roar echoed through the heavens and earth.

The reason it was strange wasn't anything sinister; rather, the sound was incredibly beautiful. If it hadn't caused an enormous shockwave, it wouldn't even have been described as a roar.

After the roar, a giant rose to its feet.

Standing over 15 meters tall, it was impossible to miss from any angle.

From its appearance, it was a female giant. Her pale blue skin was unlike anything seen on humans, and the adornment atop her head resembled both horns and bunny ears.

A casual glance from her was enough to rob the monks of their consciousness. The aura of destruction and the beauty that transcended humanity were so overwhelming that even the gods and Buddhas they worshipped couldn't resist.

This wasn't just a giant—it was a giant god, a massive deity.

"The Giant God of Destruction, Sefar... I should have realized it. I should have figured it out long ago."

As the giant god appeared, Arcueid's sister, Altrouge, lost her smile for the first time. A trace of fear appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face. Then, as if realizing something, she called out to those below.

"Arcueid, King Solomon—we need to call a temporary truce. Our conflict is an internal matter of the planet, but she is an enemy of both humanity and the planet. If we let her go unchecked, the world will be destroyed."

"..."

Arcueid said nothing, neither refusing nor engaging in the deadly battle as she had when she first encountered Altera.

"Fine."

Solomon, the King of Magecraft, exchanged a glance with the Primate Murder. Both retreated to their respective positions.

"What's going on?"

The question came from Lorelei. This Queen of the Clock Tower, capable of seeing the past and future, evidently knew something about the connection between the King of the Huns and the Giant God of Destruction.

"I... I don't know either."

Lorelei was the most confused of all.

Earlier, in the Sea of Life, they had been in a dire situation. Without a Noble Phantasm capable of breaking through, they had exhausted all their means—Noble Phantasms, magecraft, supernatural abilities—none of it could break Kirei Kotomine's Reality Marble.

They planned to stall for as long as possible, hoping Kirei's magical energy would eventually run out, causing the Reality Marble to dissipate on its own. But after transforming into a Beast, Kirei's magical energy reserves seemed bottomless, rivaling the highest-tier Phantasmal Species.

For the first time in her life, Lorelei, the ruler of Barthomeloi and the Clock Tower felt despair.

And then, her Servant, Altera, suddenly said, "Master, I'm sorry. I'm going to sever our contract."

Just like that, their contract was inexplicably severed, and Lorelei had no idea what had happened.

With her level of magical expertise, she couldn't even tell how the contract had been broken.

After all, could a contract of this level even be severed by the Servant? It's not like Altera had a special Noble Phantasm like Medea, or that they were so far apart that the bond between Master and Servant had weakened. And Altera was certainly not a swordsman ignorant of magic.

It was utterly nonsensical—not just illogical, but against the very principles of magic!

But the most inexplicable event was yet to come.

Once the contract was severed, Kirei's Reality Marble immediately shattered, leading everyone to believe that this was an additional effect of the severed contract.

Fortunately, the mark left by Ten Grips · Muramasa remained, and the divine sword in Senji's hand hadn't vanished—after all, it had been forged piece by piece out of real materials. Even though it wasn't the original, authentic sword, it wouldn't disappear like a Noble Phantasm.

When everyone turned their gaze back to Ryuudou Temple, Altera had already transformed into a huge spiritual cocoon, and within a few seconds, she had emerged as the Giant God of Destruction.

"Altera, you—!"

Lorelei raised her head, shouting as loud as she could.

"F...o...r...g...i...v...e...me, Master."

The giant god heard her and responded. Perhaps due to the difference in vocal organs, the voice sounded somewhat coarse.

"Because... if I don't do this... there's no way... to destroy... him. He... took Shinji... my most important friend... so... I must... destroy him! I am a weapon, a weapon meant to destroy everything..."

The moment the giant's enormous eyes locked onto Kirei Kotomine, the latter's body trembled as though the most terrifying enemy had set its sights on him. The immortality he gained from the Sea of Life, a characteristic of Beasts, lost all its power under that gaze.

The so-called Beast, and the so-called Sea of Life, were concepts confined to the interior of the planet. They had no relevance to beings from beyond the planet.

The Giant God of Destruction, Sefar, was a weapon created by the Predatory Star with the purpose of annihilating civilizations and destroying life. She had once indiscriminately cleansed the surface of the planet, defeating all gods, Phantasmal Species, and powerful beings, bringing both the planet and humanity to the brink of ruin. Powers and immortality were meaningless in her presence—they would all face equal destruction.

It was like a computer system where you had locked a file with the highest authority, but it couldn't withstand a virus that crashed the entire operating system and deleted the file.

Faced with such an unpredictable force, Kirei turned and fled at once.

But there was no way the giant god would let him escape. Her massive arm swung down with great force, only to be blocked by a seductive figure in black—Altrouge!

"Don't... stop me!!!"

The giant god roared again, and the immense shockwave instantly sent the highest-ranking Dead Apostle princess flying.

However, as Altrouge retreated, the Primate Murder emerged to attack again.

After barely managing to fend off this more powerful and pure force, Solomon stepped forward to block the way.

"Why? Why? Why? I just want to... destroy him... just him."

"I believe you, but your growth is too fast," Solomon explained as he used various means to set up obstacles between himself and the giant god. "We must destroy you as quickly as possible, or the tragedy from 14,000 years ago will repeat itself."

Like Avicebron's Primordial Giant, Sefar was a growth-type giant god. In the beginning, she was only about ten times the height of a human, and top-tier Servants would still have a chance to destroy her if they gave it their all.

But if she were allowed to continue growing, her height and strength would increase geometrically. Once that happened, no one would be able to stop her. She would follow her instincts and destroy everything, just as Altrouge had said—the world would be finished.

As if responding to Solomon's words, a light appeared before Sefar.

It was the light born from the Sea of Stars, symbolizing victory.