"Controlled by divinity and authority, becoming a new god bent on creation, human emotion and reason should no longer exist… and yet, you're still bound by the remnants of who you once were."
As Morgan spoke, the giant god's encircling hands stopped an instant before crushing her.
"——??"
The giant let out an unnatural, low rumble, as if resisting something it could not comprehend.
It wanted to kill this tiny enemy before it, yet its hands could not move any closer.
"Just as I thought. Even without intellect, you still can't kill me, my husband…"
Morgan said this softly, turning her head slightly toward Shiomi, who stood back-to-back with her.
He had spread his arms, gripping two crimson spears, ready to block the giant's hands so Morgan could retreat.
But the giant had halted. Even so, he did not dare relax his guard.
"Of course. Even if there are lunatics who can strike down the one they love, that could never be me," Shiomi replied quietly, his voice steady.
"We've only been together for five years," Morgan laughed softly.
"For humans, five years of sharing a bed day and night isn't short," Shiomi answered without turning around.
"…That's true."
A single tear slid down from the corner of Morgan's eye.
Through this impossible situation, she saw more clearly into Shiomi's heart than ever before.
"If it's too much, fall back for now. Leave this to me. A problem of one's own should be settled by oneself."
Convinced the giant would not act immediately, Shiomi drove the crimson spears into the ground.
"I don't know how long the Fixed Outcome can hold. Before it collapses, we need to weaken the 'New God' as much as possible."
"Even if it's difficult, we can't retreat."
Morgan raised her left hand. The magic spear of starry night and rain shifted shape in her grasp, transforming into a long sword resembling the Star Holy Sword.
At the same time, countless chains wrapped in dark blue mana burst from the ground, instantly encircling the 'New God' and binding its massive body.
During the restoration of the Uruk Singularity, Morgan had witnessed firsthand the combat performance of Enkidu, the divine construct known as the Chains of Heaven.
Just like the Holy Lance, she had learned and reproduced the Chains of Heaven in the form of Magecraft.
During the battle against Cernunnos, she had been too busy manipulating leyline-sealing armaments to use this spell.
She had originally planned to keep it as a secret trump card for confronting gods during the Greek Lostbelt campaign, but instead, it was used against a target she had never anticipated.
"It's an imperfect spell, but using my still-immature husband as a test subject… you won't be angry, will you?"
Morgan slowly lowered the long sword. She formed a temporary scabbard from mana, sheathing the blade while maintaining a stance ready to draw at any moment.
"If it's for better discipline later on, then I suppose I'll just accept it," Shiomi said with a helpless smile, then turned serious. "Even Enkidu couldn't completely bind Mother. An imperfect Chains of Heaven won't hold for long."
"I know." Morgan stepped forward. "My husband should focus on the fight ahead. I'll open the way here."
She was a Magus. Though she occasionally fought at the front in close combat, she had never adopted the stance of a seasoned swordsman.
After all, Shiomi was the one who taught her martial skills, and she was far more practiced with spears than with swords.
Even so, as part of her broad skill set, Morgan had mastered a single decisive sword technique.
A technique that would shine even more brilliantly in the hands of a true sword saint.
"Flash—!"
The instant the giant tore free from the chains binding its divinity, the long sword—accelerated within its mana scabbard—was drawn like moonlight cutting through a hazy night.
A sharp gleam flashed, its edge nearly ripping space apart.
Plain and unadorned, yet ferociously violent.
The strike landed squarely on the chest, where countless cracks had converged. The blade's sharpness rivaled a slash released at the True Name of a Noble Phantasm.
A thunderous sound like mountains splitting and stone shattering rang out.
The struck area burst open, exposing what lay within.
Or rather, the existence that had become the core itself.
With its vital point laid bare, the 'New God' was further provoked. A more violent surge of mana erupted outward, accompanied by a roar that shook heaven and earth.
The counter-erosion assaulting the Reality Marble suddenly intensified.
Shiomi was already pouring all his strength into suppressing the 'New God's' authority to erode the land and reshape the world. He could no longer rely on the Reality Marble to do anything more.
Morgan clutched her shoulder.
The excessively violent strike, combined with the effort of breaking the divine shell, pushed Morgan—never one to excel in direct physical combat—past her limits.
The pain of breaking bones lasted only an instant.
Her arm was still intact.
"Why did you insist on forcing yourself to use that move?" Shiomi said casually, rolling his shoulder. The injuries caused by the damage compensation were already rapidly healing. "You clearly had other options. Without my spell, you would've been seriously hurt."
"To control the scale of destruction and avoid damaging the core, that was the best choice in my judgment." Morgan shook her head. "The Reality Marble won't hold much longer."
"Fall back and help Skadi." After supporting Morgan to her feet, Shiomi released his grip. "From here on, the only one who can get close to that thing is me."
For anyone else, merely approaching would mean being affected by that Nega-Genesis–like ability, possibly even having their power stripped away entirely.
The land beneath their feet was already the world of the 'New God'. They had to resolve this with everything they had before a Grand Servant was dispatched here.
Shiomi had no desire to face someone like the Old Man of the Mountain.
As the Reality Marble shattered, Morgan's figure dissolved into a water mirror and retreated into the barrier Shiomi had set up from the start to resist the erosion of authority.
"Before formally confronting the Greek gods, I'll use you as a test subject, my past self. Whether it's myself or her, I'll save them both."
Shiomi stopped trying to maintain the Fixed Outcome and poured all of his power into controlling authority itself.
One wrong step, and he would lose to his past self.
After all, in terms of results, the past had already reached the seat of godhood ahead of the future.
The price was the loss of the most vital thing of all: intellect, leaving behind nothing more than a pure device for remaking the world.
What was it truly seeking? What did it intend to accomplish?
Shiomi knew there was only one way to find the complete answer. He had to destroy the core and free both himself and Morgan from within.
The mana wind grew faster and faster, surpassing any storm ever recorded on the planet.
Formed from pure mana, it shredded any vortex that touched it, even at the slightest contact. It spiraled around Shiomi and the 'New God', sealing them both inside.
Neither Scáthach and Artoria, who had pulled back into the sky, nor Morgan and the others, who had retreated behind the barrier, could see what was happening anymore.