After transforming into a mammoth-sized Magical Beast, Ivan the Terrible shook the earth with every step he took.
"What a massive monster. Facing it head-on will be troublesome."
Shiomi landed directly in Ivan the Terrible's path, twirling his Gáe Bolg before aiming it toward the Tsar.
From between the fallen trees, two Frost Great Dragons burst upward and crashed into the mountainous mammoth's body, barely managing to pin it in place for the moment.
Outside a Reality Marble, even with the advantage of terrain, Magecraft of this level couldn't produce familiars anywhere near this size.
Of course, that was merely Shiomi being dissatisfied with his own output.
Realizing he was unable to move, Ivan the Terrible's eyes quickly locked onto Shiomi standing in the snow-covered forest.
"Who dares obstruct my advance?! Ana, have you betrayed me?!"
It was clear he had never trusted Anastasia. The relationship between the Thunderous Emperor and the Crypter had never been cooperation—only mutual use.
"Ana is dead." Shiomi spread his arms. The blizzard, already intensified by the Tsar's arrival, grew even more violent. "We are Chaldea of Proper Human History. We're here to bring down the King of this Lostbelt. Ivan the Terrible, this place will be your grave!"
"Chaldea? So there are survivors after all!" Ivan the Terrible roared again, furious.
The colossal beast shifted its enormous foot, intent on crushing the human—an ant before him.
"Survivors? Well said!" Shiomi let out a quiet laugh, then leveled his spear at the Tsar and declared, "We survivors of Proper Human History will shatter your ambitions completely!"
"Mere remnants! Don't be insolent—!!!"
Azure lightning erupted across the mammoth's massive form, magic surging wildly as Ivan the Terrible prepared to strike.
"That's our line!" Shiomi shot back. "Look to the sky, Ivan the Terrible! With your sight blinded by the blizzard, have you not realized your life is moments from ending?"
"What?"
Ivan the Terrible had indeed noticed the storm growing unnaturally fierce—so fierce even he couldn't see clearly through it. He assumed it must be the Chaldeans influencing the weather.
But a mere blizzard? He believed he could tear apart this sky-darkening storm with a single breath.
So when he finally ripped the blizzard open and saw the woman standing still beneath the clouded sky, he understood instantly that the situation had turned far worse.
Magic began to gather between the mammoth's sharpened tusks—aimed straight at Morgan.
[Excalibur—!!!]
From the snow forest to the left, golden light erupted and fell like a pillar, aimed at the true body of Ivan the Terrible fused into the mammoth's head.
"Grah—!!!"
Artoria released her Noble Phantasm at the perfect moment. But even a direct hit from the holy sword couldn't sever the mammoth's head. Ivan the Terrible's core resisted the blow with the last of its strength.
The immense pressure of the holy sword cracked and shattered the ground beneath the giant mammoth, sinking its entire body into the earth.
Unable to spare time to gather more power, Ivan the Terrible forced the beast's body under control and aimed its thunder-charged tusks at Morgan in the sky.
He could feel a massive Noble Phantasm gathering power. If he didn't interrupt it now, death was inevitable.
At this point, Ivan the Terrible no longer cared about Anastasia's supposed betrayal.
An enemy like this was far beyond the capabilities of even his Black Dog troops. Their previous assault on Antarctic Chaldea had relied entirely on the advantage of ambush.
"I am Russia, the one who bears this world! How could I possibly lose here to you old breeds?!"
Magic compressed to its limit between Ivan the Terrible's twin fangs.
Just as the attack was about to be unleashed, two crimson Gáe Bolg spears burst through those fangs, shattering the flow of Mana. The thunder that had been moments away from erupting weakened beyond recovery. No matter how Ivan the Terrible tried to salvage it, the collapse could no longer be stopped.
Unless the curse on the spears was dispelled, those tusks would no longer function as weapons for channeling magical attacks.
The mammoth colossus swayed violently as it struggled to climb out of the crater, but the Tsar's true body suddenly felt a killing intent colder than the Russian permafrost approaching from behind.
Though he couldn't turn fully, he traced the path of the attack through the surrounding Mana. The twin tusks on his head grew rapidly, curling around his body and forming a barrier just in time to block the twin crimson spears thrust by Shiomi and Scáthach.
He raised his scepter high. Countless bolts of lightning streaked across the mammoth beast's form, but Shiomi and Scáthach ran across its vast body as if it were solid ground, weaving between the strikes.
The overwhelming density of lightning finally forced them to leap away. Ivan the Terrible immediately commanded the massive body to jump. When it crashed down, the resulting shockwave obliterated the snowy forest, flattening everything into a barren wasteland.
Every living thing in that expanse was instantly reduced to mangled flesh, fused into the earth.
It should have ended there—
But from beneath the ruptured permafrost surged blistering heat.
As Shiomi's descent ended, he activated his Grand Magecraft.
Lava erupted through the cracks in the frozen earth, engulfing the mammoth's four legs in an instant. The scorching burns immobilized the creature; if it didn't leap clear immediately, it would be consumed by the molten flow.
Ivan the Terrible intended to do exactly that—but his time was already gone.
From the very start, Chaldea had launched an all-out assault on the Russian Lostbelt without holding anything back. One-on-one battles would take too long; Shiomi had no patience for that, and so he joined the others in striking together.
Ivan the Terrible's first Noble Phantasm—his 3,000 Black Dog Hunters stationed near Moscow, each comparable to a low-tier Servant—had already been decimated by the Chaldea frontline led by Melusine.
By the time the Tsar awakened, less than a quarter remained, and they were dismissed the moment he regained consciousness.
"It's about time you returned to slumber, King of the Russian Lostbelt," Morgan murmured. "Disappear here, together with your mistaken history."
The dark clouds above churned, shifting into a vast surface like a deep, shadowed lake.
This was Morgan's full-power strike, prepared with time and precision.
"My march will continue for eternity. God's beast crushes all underfoot! Zveri - Krestnyy Khod: The Beast that Accompanied Me On My Journeys!"
Ignoring the agony and the crushing situation, Ivan the Terrible forced all remaining power into his colossal form—his second Noble Phantasm.
Trunk and tusks contracted, gathering every last drop of Mana before firing it all at once.
"'Tis a ruinous dream I cannot bear to see. No recompense, no salvation to be had. At the world's end, a bird sings of tomorrow. Let this be a sign— Roadless Camelot: The Utopia No Longer Within Reach!"
From the dark lake in the sky, an even greater light descended, overwhelming Ivan the Terrible's Noble Phantasm in an instant.
Endless radiance engulfed the mountain-like giant.
...
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