Chapter 259

Chapter 259: Chapter 259

While Kiriya and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada were locked in their confrontation above, an entirely different crisis was erupting across the ruined Yggdmillennia estate below.

Without warning, a giant more than fifteen meters tall appeared in the middle of the grounds, and its arrival immediately threw the remaining defenders into chaos.

BOOM!

An explosion tore through the estate as Caules, Fiore, and several nearby homunculi burst out of the smoke and debris.

They hit the ground hard and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop, after which Caules forced himself upright and stared at the enormous figure looming before them in disbelief.

"That’s... the golem Caster talked about? He actually completed it?"

"ROAAAAAR!"

The giant answered with a thunderous bellow.

The sheer force of the sound swept across the battlefield like a physical shock wave, making everyone on the ground dizzy as their vision briefly darkened.

Two homunculi had barely recovered from the blast when a massive hand descended upon them.

Before either could react, the giant seized both at once and pressed them directly against its chest.

"Aaaaah!"

The homunculi screamed instinctively and struggled to free themselves, but the giant’s body behaved less like solid flesh and more like a bottomless swamp.

Their limbs sank deeper the more they fought, and within a single breath their pale skin darkened into the brown-black color of soil before their bodies completely dissolved into the giant.

Caules and the surviving homunculi felt a chill crawl down their spines.

"That thing... ate them?"

The horror only deepened when the giant slowly turned its gaze toward the rest of them.

"Run, Caules!"

Fiore shouted and immediately activated the Mystic Code mounted behind her.

Two mechanical appendages snapped forward like enormous crossbows and fired in rapid succession.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The projectiles possessed enough force to kill an ordinary magus outright, but against a creature of that size they did little more than tear shallow wounds across its surface.

Worse still, the attack succeeded only in drawing the giant’s attention toward Fiore.

To the golem, her exceptional magical aptitude meant only one thing.

Better nourishment.

The giant reached out with one enormous hand.

"NEE-SAN!"

Caules threw himself toward Fiore without hesitation, trying to push her clear of the descending grasp, but at that distance there was no realistic chance either sibling could escape in time.

Just as the massive fingers were about to close around them—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A barrage of arrows tore through the air and struck the giant’s arm with tremendous force.

Blood and fragments of earthen flesh burst outward as the repeated impacts knocked the limb off course.

The giant roared in pain and turned its enormous eyes toward the direction of the attack.

"So you finally noticed us."

Chiron lowered his bow slightly.

After Kiriya’s Shadow Clone teleported everyone back to the ground, they had almost immediately noticed the commotion within the estate and rushed toward it as quickly as possible.

Several figures crossed the battlefield in succession and landed directly in front of Caules and Fiore.

Jeanne.

Kiriya’s Shadow Clone.

Mordred.

And Astolfo.

"You’re all... safe."

Fiore released a breath she had not realized she was holding.

With several powerful Servants arriving at once, perhaps they really could stop the monster before it consumed anyone else.

"Oh? So this time we’re fighting a giant?"

Mordred rested Clarent against one shoulder and flashed the creature an eager grin.

"Interesting. You’d better last longer than the last few things I fought."

"Hey, Caster!"

Astolfo, meanwhile, was far more concerned with the person responsible for the creature.

He pointed accusingly toward Avicebron.

"What the hell are you doing?! Aren’t we supposed to be on the same side? Why are you suddenly attacking your own allies?"

"To erase all sorrow from this world, I will slaughter everything that stands before salvation."

Avicebron’s answer left everyone staring at him.

Every individual word made sense.

Put together, however, the sentence sounded so absurd that several people felt as though their minds had simply refused to process it.

"I will use my supreme Noble Phantasm, Golem Keter Malkuth: Royal Crown, the Light of Wisdom, to save the world."

Avicebron was not merely an eleventh-century philosopher and poet; he was also remembered as one of the great pioneers associated with Kabbalistic magecraft.

His reason for answering the Holy Grail’s summons had never been as simple as obtaining a wish from the Grail itself.

To him, the Holy Grail was merely one possible tool for reaching his true objective.

It was not even indispensable.

If all of the necessary conditions could be prepared through other means, Avicebron could bypass the Grail entirely and fulfill his wish through his own Noble Phantasm—

Golem Keter Malkuth.

For that purpose, he had even sacrificed Roche, the young Master who had revered him as both teacher and idol.

Now that the golem was complete, remaining loyal to the Black faction no longer mattered.

"Save the world?"

This time everyone understood.

Then, almost simultaneously, they all turned toward Kiriya’s Shadow Clone.

There had already been one lunatic up in the Hanging Gardens trying to "save all humanity," and judging by the situation above, that one was probably almost finished.

"Are you stupid?"

Astolfo slapped a hand against his forehead.

"Did studying magecraft rot your brain or something? How is a giant doll supposed to save the entire world?"

"What an unpleasant mouth."

Avicebron snorted.

"No wonder your reason is said to have evaporated. You truly possess no understanding whatsoever."

He spread both arms, his voice growing increasingly fervent as he began explaining his creation.

"This golem reproduces the miracle through which God created the primordial man. Wherever it stands, the land itself is transformed, recreating the conditions of Eden."

His eyes burned with fanatical conviction.

"Once that domain expands across the entire planet, all humanity will be carried into paradise. The corrupted world will be replaced by a new Eden, and at last... the world will be saved."

Shhk!

A streak of crimson lightning crossed the battlefield before he had even finished speaking.

Mordred appeared beside the giant and brought Clarent through its lower leg in one brutal sweep.

The limb separated cleanly.

The enormous golem lost its balance and crashed sideways with an earth-shaking impact, while Mordred stared down at the severed leg with open contempt.

"This is supposed to be the primordial giant?"

She snorted.

"That’s it?"

"Ignorant fool."

Avicebron’s expression did not change.

"So long as it stands upon the earth, my Golem Keter Malkuth is an immortal existence."

As though the golem itself intended to prove his words, the severed leg began regenerating almost immediately.

Earth and magical energy gathered around the stump, rapidly shaping themselves into new flesh until a complete limb had formed in place of the one Mordred had destroyed.

And that was not the only change.

The giant rose again with noticeably greater speed than before.

Its movements had become smoother, its balance more refined, and when it attacked, the motion no longer resembled the crude swinging of an enormous puppet.

There was already the beginning of actual technique behind its movements.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each blow sent tremors through the estate as the giant attacked Jeanne and the others with rapidly increasing force.

"What...?"

Jeanne’s brows tightened as she noticed something beneath the creature’s feet.

Grass and flowers were growing wherever the giant stepped.

Not merely ordinary vegetation, but luxuriant life bursting from the soil with unnatural vitality.

The air around those plants carried an almost impossibly peaceful fragrance, creating an atmosphere of serenity so profound that it genuinely resembled the legendary Garden of Eden.

"Whoa... that regeneration is ridiculous."

Astolfo’s eyes widened.

No matter what they did, the result seemed the same. Chiron’s arrows tore holes through its body, Mordred’s sword carved away entire sections of flesh, and Jeanne’s attacks opened wounds large enough to cripple ordinary enemies, yet every injury healed almost immediately.

Worse still, the regeneration was becoming faster.

The giant itself was continuing to grow as well.

Its body expanded.

Its strength increased.

Its movements became more agile.

Even the way it attacked was evolving, with crude swings gradually giving way to increasingly efficient uses of force.

At the current rate, imagining what this creature might become upon reaching full maturity was genuinely terrifying.

"Yes. Exactly."

Avicebron’s voice grew more fervent with every passing moment.

"Spread your Reality Marble across the entire world, my masterpiece. Transform this corrupt and sinful world into a new Eden."

Shhk!

A kunai suddenly crossed the distance between them with terrifying speed.

It pierced directly through Avicebron’s Spiritual Core.

His body jerked violently.

Avicebron lowered his eyes toward the weapon buried in his chest before looking down at Kiriya’s Shadow Clone.

"You talk too damn much."

The clone’s expression was completely unimpressed.

Avicebron pressed one hand against his ruined chest and laughed softly.

"It is useless. Once Golem Keter Malkuth has been activated, it cannot be stopped. Even my death will not halt its growth."

His fading voice carried the same unwavering fanaticism as before.

"All of you... will come with me to Eden."

"Hmph."

Kiriya’s clone looked toward the enormous golem and gave a dismissive snort.

"We’ll see about that."

He was already in Sage Mode, and this idiot had chosen to keep bragging right in front of him. If someone insisted on presenting a face this conveniently, Kiriya saw no reason not to slap it.

The clone brought his hands together.

Natural energy and chakra surged violently through his body, and the earth across the ruined Yggdmillennia estate began trembling in response.

"Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!"