The dignified King of Magecraft actually refrained from using magecraft, instead opting for direct close-quarters combat.
Satsuki had to admit, this was beyond her expectations.
To borrow the expansion of the Temple of Time's Reality Marble for an unexpected ambush—an interesting strategy indeed.
But—
"Will it work?"
Satsuki did not back down in the slightest. Meeting Solomon's charging fist head-on, she hurled her own punch forward.
Her opponent's eyes flickered with a moment of surprise, but immediately after, the massive disparity in size between the two—a huge black fist and a smaller white one—collided together.
The clash between them erupted into a storm within the Reality Marble formed by the Temple of Time. The storm directly lifted the ruins of the temporal temple, and from the center where the two stood, a massive shockwave spread outward. Along its path, even the occasional Demon God Pillar protruding from the ground was instantly swept away and torn apart.
Crack, crack.
A long-lost sensation spread from the bones of Satsuki's fingers, yet she had no thought of retreating.
This was precisely the situation Solomon had foreseen—because this Heroic Spirit was far too arrogant.
He deliberately offered Satsuki the chance to fight head-on, betting that her first instinct would never be to evade.
And indeed, he bet correctly. Even though Satsuki's Tenseigan had already noticed the many extraordinary rings adorning his fingers, she still chose to clash directly. The power rebounding from his fists was utterly beyond what a Caster-class Servant should possess. Even in this direct exchange, she did not hold the advantage.
What's more, she was fighting barehanded, while Solomon's rings acted like knuckle dusters, greatly amplifying his strength and also diminishing his opponent's magical energy.
Her footing faltered, and immediately came her opponent's relentless assault. Without pause, another fist drove toward Satsuki's face.
Yet still, she neither retreated nor dodged. Dispersing the black sword in her hand into particles, she likewise swung her bare fist to meet the strike.
Two pairs of fists crashed violently together.
Crack, crack.
Again came the sound of breaking finger bones. "Kh…" Even Satsuki could barely endure the constant pain surging from her fingers. Her tightly clenched teeth let out a muffled groan, but at the same time, her Tenseigan only shone more brightly.
The two then launched into a fierce barrage, fist against fist. A dazzling flurry of fist-shadows wove curtains through the air around them.
In the storm of relentless blows, Tenseigan and Clairvoyance ceaselessly tracked every movement, predicting each other's actions and searching for openings.
Their bodies were like two steel pillars planted into the ground, unyielding despite the violent contest.
King Solomon's fists moved with clear form and discipline, as though honed through harsh training—borrowing, transferring, unleashing, and dispersing force to near perfection. With his distorted body, even his attack trajectories exceeded human limits.
Satsuki, though no expert in martial arts, possessed physical prowess so terrifying that even among Heroic Spirits, few could match it. She had no need for martial skill. Every punch she threw was an ultimate technique, each strike strong enough to upheave the very earth.
Their duel raged for a full half-minute—an exchange beyond mortal limits, testing not only strength, but also skill and will. The shockwaves from their clashing fists tore apart the ground around them.
At last, as if in perfect unison, they launched a final strike.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Solomon roared, his fist crashing with overwhelming force into Satsuki's body. At the same time, Satsuki's other hand broke through his guard, landing only a light tap upon his chest—before she was blasted away by the immense force.
Far away, a cloud of dust dozens of meters high rose amid violent explosions.
Watching the direction she was flung, King Solomon himself did not emerge unscathed. Even his powerful body had suffered under the intense backlash. For although Satsuki had engaged in fistfighting directly, faintly around her seemed to be an energy field capable of reflecting his strength back onto him.
Of course, this did not stop him from arrogantly taunting.
"I don't know whether to call you confident or foolish. Do you not know that as King Solomon, the Divine Fist Style is compulsory training? Even God Himself once fell to this technique."
Rumble…
Elsewhere, where Satsuki had been struck down, a sudden surge of vast energy erupted outward. The rubble scattered instantly, and even the Demon God Pillars attempting to ambush her were shattered into powder by the wave of magical force, dissipating into the air.
"If such fists could defeat God…" Standing unscathed in the crater, Satsuki's composure remained unchanged. "Then your God must have been far too weak."
As her words fell, six dark-golden orbs appeared behind her—Truth-Seeking Orbs fused with the End of Dharma, known as the Final Dharma Truth-Seeking Orbs.
These could not only erase all ninjutsu, but even after crossing worlds, could annihilate all existences constructed from anomalous legends and energies.
The moment these orbs appeared, the entire Temple of Time Reality Marble groaned under their weight. Huge cracks began splitting through the surrounding space.
The ruined throne itself split down the middle, a massive fissure extending directly to where the two stood.
"You're… unharmed? Impossible!"
"To cover up the sound of your rings shattering, I had to shatter my own finger bones with force." Satsuki blew lightly upon her fully healed hand, then looked coldly at the stunned Solomon, shaking her head.
"Your fists are interesting, but the force behind them is far too lacking."
"Wha…!"
At her words, Solomon glanced instinctively at the rings on his hand. Only now did he realize that his Solomon's Rings, an EX-ranked Noble Phantasm, had been cracked in the clash. As he clenched his palm unconsciously, three rings immediately disintegrated into dust, scattering into the air.
"You thought only you were plotting?" With a gesture, Satsuki merged the six Final Dharma Orbs into one, forming a dark-golden longsword so terrifying even Solomon felt dread.
His face twisted in shock. As he tried to shift his body into hiding, he suddenly realized the magical energy composing him was being corroded and scattered by some invading power. He could no longer control it—his mana itself was visibly vanishing.
"Impossible! With Solomon's Rings protecting me, no energy should be able to invade!"
His Clairvoyance instantly revealed the truth: during their direct clash, Satsuki had deliberately broken his rings and, with her final strike, injected that strange power directly into his Saint Graph. Now, he could not even move normally, let alone unleash his abilities.
Through his foresight, King Solomon understood her stratagem.
Snarling rage and frustration welled within him—yet when he saw her composed stance and graceful bearing, his fury warped strangely into admiration.
"Magnificent. Truly magnificent. Before I reached my apex, perhaps you are not the strongest Servant I've faced, but your intellect, your ability, and your composure—I cannot help but admire you."
But Satsuki's words were as cold as ever.
"If those are your last words…"
She lightly swung the dark-golden sword in her hand. Wherever its blade passed, space wailed, black lightning surged, and cracks spread ceaselessly outward. Even its mere pressure was nearly enough to tear the Temple of Time apart within the void.
"Then when you arrive in Hell, pray to your God that you never meet me again."
At that instant, Solomon's expression shifted drastically. In his gaze toward Satsuki flickered astonishment—and even fear he himself may not have realized.
"So it was you—"
Before he could finish, the golden sword cleaved down. But simultaneously, from infinitely far away, a massive beam of violet energy struck against the golden sword-light.
Boom—!
The clash between the two unleashed a storm that fused with the surrounding mana, detonating in a cataclysmic explosion.
The golden blade-light, unstoppable, split the violet beam apart after only a brief deadlock. Scattered energy swept out wildly, tearing heaven and earth into collapse.
As the great cracking of barriers resounded, Solomon's figure had already vanished from before her. The Temple of Time around them was shredded entirely by the collision between the golden blade formed from the Final Dharma Orbs and the violet beam.
In a dizzying blur, the scenery returned once more to the blood-soaked battlefield. But the surrounding walls and structures had been utterly destroyed by the aftershocks of their battle.
Satsuki dismissed the golden longsword, letting it disperse into particles, and re-formed her folding fan. Scanning with her Tenseigan, she found no trace of her foe.
"Escaped?"
As for the unfinished words Solomon had left behind—
—Now was not the time to ponder them. The Chaldean Servants seemed to have finished off the remaining two demons, and were already on their way toward her.
"Satsuki-senpai, are you alright?"
The first to rush over was the short pink-haired Servant called Mash. The worry in her eyes as she looked at Satsuki was not feigned. After all, the magical wave that had just burst forth here was far too terrifying. Even though they had experienced many adventures and quelled numerous anomalies, they had only faced enemies of that caliber in a handful of battles.
"I'm fine."
Satsuki turned to her, glancing briefly at the girl's slightly damaged armor and disheveled hair from the fight.
"Rather than worry about me, you should focus on learning how to better protect yourself in battle. Your shield is a fine Noble Phantasm, but only if you keep yourself alive can you better protect your comrades."
"Ah?"
Mash froze at the sudden remark, staring at Satsuki blankly. Her dazed expression slowly shifted into a warm smile.
"Thank you for the advice, Senpai. I'll remember it."
While the two were speaking, Ritsuka Fujimaru and El-Melloi II also arrived. Though their appearance was somewhat disheveled, they bore no wounds. The two demons had indeed been strong, but after being greatly weakened by Satsuki's Vipralopa, they were manageable. If they had been unable to deal even with those weakened demons, then parting ways with this Chaldean group would have been the best outcome for both sides.
But since they had managed to defeat the demons without injury, it proved they had trump cards hidden even Satsuki could not discern. In that case, they might be worthy of temporary cooperation.
Clearly, El-Melloi had also sensed the battle between Satsuki and the so-called Caster. From the overwhelming magic power released, the traces of the lingering Reality Marble, and even the summoning of demon nobles, it was obvious—the enemy Caster was not the one he had once known.
Yet despite such a powerful foe, before this woman he could only flee in disarray. Just what level had this lady's strength reached? Could she be a Servant who had attained the rank of Grand?
With this thought, El-Melloi lowered his stance even further: "Lady Satsuki, has the enemy here already been dealt with by you?"
"No. He escaped."
"To summon such demons, that Caster must be an extremely powerful Servant. To defeat him in such a short time is no small feat." As he spoke, Ritsuka Fujimaru was casting a healing spell, stepping forward nervously to ask: "May I ask, is your Master nearby?"
"Master?" Satsuki repeated the word indifferently, then recalled the Angra Mainyu she had left behind at the inn.
"She should still be watching television."
"Fou~ Fou~"
A small white creature climbed onto Ritsuka's shoulder, letting out a pair of cute cries.
"Ah, Fou says so too."
Though no one knew how he understood the beast's speech, Ritsuka turned his blue eyes toward Satsuki, asking hesitantly, "If you don't mind, may I cast a healing spell on you?"
When his gaze met her cold, indifferent eyes, he thought she was displeased with his suggestion and immediately grew flustered. "I understand that someone as powerful as you would not be easily injured in battle. But this is my way of expressing gratitude for your help earlier. I…"
"Go ahead."
"I know this means little to someone like you, but…" Ritsuka suddenly realized what she had said. "Eh? What did you just say?"
"I do not repeat myself a second time." With that, Satsuki extended her hand.
"Ah… thank you."
Relieved, Ritsuka smiled and began casting his healing magecraft on her hand. After a short while, he wiped the sweat from his brow and withdrew his magical energy.
"It's done."
Satsuki retracted her arm, then turned her gaze toward El-Melloi. Though he tried to mask it, his breathing and heartbeat betrayed his unease.
"Do you have any other business here?"
Her question carried a subtle shift. From their earlier conduct, she felt that this group was not entirely unworthy of cooperation. And El-Melloi's words had hinted at a certain familiarity with her, making her consider that continued contact might hold value.
"Ah, yes. Though this may sound abrupt, no matter what, I feel that only with your help can our mission succeed."
El-Melloi sighed before continuing: "To be frank, I am someone from the future, and in this Holy Grail War, I too participated as a Master. But here, in this world, the Servants that have appeared are drastically different."
"That likely means the world you crossed into and the one you originally experienced are simply parallel worlds." Satsuki, with her memories of traveling across realms, had little difficulty understanding. "It's only natural for history and the future to diverge."
"You're not wrong. But judging from the opponents we've encountered these past few days, the anomalies have already far exceeded my expectations. I now very much doubt that, with just the few of us, we can complete this mission."
"Senpai?" ×2
Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash looked at him in shock. The man who always seemed in complete control rarely showed such self-defeat. It clashed so strongly with the calm, sharp image he usually projected.
"Oh? Which Servant did you encounter that left you so discouraged?"
"Heh… more than an encounter, it was just a brief exchange of eye contact. But just now, when the battle ended, I sensed that presence again. In that instant, I felt as though death itself was tightening its grip on my throat. At times like this, I truly feel how powerless I am compared to you true Heroic Spirits."
"Eh? Senpai, on the way here, you sensed another Servant?" Ritsuka asked curiously.
"Yes. Outside just now, I faintly sensed a Servant exuding killing intent. The target wasn't me. But then it suddenly left, as if pursuing some goal. What's more, I believe it left intentionally for me to notice. Otherwise, with my abilities, there's no way I could have sensed such a terrifying Heroic Spirit."
Satsuki studied his expression, which bore no trace of deceit, and asked the key question: "Can you identify its class?"
"Only a rough impression. But from the extraordinary deathly aura, I'm certain it belongs to one of the seven standard classes—Assassin. And I guarantee, it was no ordinary Servant."
"Assassin, huh?"
Satsuki made a note of the class. She was curious about this mysterious Heroic Spirit. After all, during her battle alongside the Chaldean group earlier, she had unleashed both her Domain and the Tenseigan.
These two abilities not only suppressed all magical energy and the Servants and summons formed from it, but the Tenseigan itself granted insight into a foe's origin and extraordinary perception.
Yet even under these two powers, she had detected nothing at all concerning Assassin. If not for that deliberate reveal, she might never have realized she was under observation.
"But why would this Servant deliberately expose themselves?"
The question piqued her interest. Was it a sign they did not wish to be enemies? Or did this mysterious Assassin harbor another purpose?
Could there be another path in the Holy Grail War, beyond mere battle between Masters and Servants?
Pondering this, Satsuki fell silent for a moment. At that time, El-Melloi let out another sigh.
"To have finished with this matter here, only to now face that arrogant so-called 'genius'… truly, no moment of peace remains."