The wind whipped harshly against his face.
Falling straight down from thousands of meters in the air, the weightless sensation of having absolutely no safety measures assaulted his entire being.
If he were an ordinary person without any training, it would be possible to die of fright right now.
But Lin Qi, who possessed the power of Romulus, felt not a trace of fear in his heart.
Perhaps this was the confidence that power bestowed?
Lin Qi fundamentally refused to believe that he, possessing this level of power, could die from merely falling a few thousand meters.
Just as the torrent of light from the [Photon Ray] was right before his eyes.
It had already painted Lin Qi's face in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Lin Qi had always possessed a ruthless and reckless streak, which was precisely why he had employed this unconventional method to release his Noble Phantasm, using an unstoppable mass to launch a single, decisive attack.
Just like Altera, Lin Qi would not retreat, nor would he use roundabout methods.
...Besides, by the time the tree was less than halfway fallen, Lin Qi had already lost the ability to control whether he could stop this attack or not; at best, he could only adjust the direction of its fall.
So—
Victory or defeat would be decided in this single move!
"Command Spell!"
'Unleash the power of this Noble Phantasm without reservation!'
The mental command was issued. The final Command Spell transformed into a red light that enveloped the colossal tree beneath Lin Qi's feet.
It added an explosive surge of power to this already sky-shattering attack.
It was like water being split by a longsword.
The light stream of the [Photon Ray] was utterly incapable of halting the descent of the sky-piercing giant tree. it merely stripped away its outermost "bark" before splitting and flowing around the trunk.
From the very start, Altera should not have tried to take this attack head-on. An absolute weapon of mass, combined with the kinetic energy from its high-altitude fall...
How many Noble Phantasms in this world could surpass the power of this attack?
Altera stood her ground.
Her emotionless pupils reflected the sky-piercing giant tree, bathed in the iridescent light stream. It looked so beautiful, so magnificent.
"BOOM————!!!"
The mountains crumbled and the earth split, the heavens overturned and the earth upheaved.
On the other side, the soldiers who had been locked in fierce battle, upon witnessing this fight between gods, suddenly felt their own struggle was meaningless. As if by prior agreement, they dropped their weapons, found a safe place, and settled in to watch the spectacle.
Watching the sky-piercing giant tree fall, each and every one of them felt their hearts leap into their throats. They stared unblinkingly ahead, and without exception, they unconsciously swallowed their saliva.
Even from several kilometers away, they braced themselves for the impact.
First came a earth-shaking tremor that rattled both their bodies and their hearts.
Followed by a prolonged, deafening roar that assaulted their ears.
Before they could even recover, a wave of air, carrying countless dust particles and stones, swept across the ground towards them.
A few of the men were even forced back a couple of steps by the "gale-force waves."
After the dust had passed over them.
"To witness this scene... it's worth it, even if I die now!!"
One soldier suddenly clenched his fist, his face fanatical.
The soldiers beside him looked at him as if he were insane, but after thinking about it carefully, they realized... this really might be a sight you only see once in a lifetime?!
"This is what I wanted to see, argh!!"
Thus, having convinced themselves, the soldiers erupted into a collective frenzy.
At the site where the giant tree fell.
Crack—
This was a shattering sound only Lin Qi could hear.
It signified that the Saint Graph within him had completely shattered under his own unrestrained usage.
After all, Lin Qi had thoroughly indulged himself this time, as if wanting to release all the grievances he'd suffered from previous fights in one go, he had seized the opportunity and unleashed a relentless onslaught.
The result was that after using just one Noble Phantasm, Romulus's Saint Graph had shattered.
Well, it also had to do with Romulus acting his part to the fullest, having genuinely taken the Noble Phantasms from both him and Nero head-on, which had already damaged the Saint Graph.
But none of that mattered now.
The golden Holy Grail floating in the air before him was proof that one Noble Phantasm was sufficient.
Watching the Founding Spear in his hand dissolve into points of light and vanish.
Lin Qi let out a somewhat regretful sigh.
Such immense power? And he could only use it once!
He had only just gotten a taste of it before it was gone!
"Maestro~!"
A familiar, girlish cry came from the distance. Lin Qi turned to look.
That red figure running towards him—wasn't that none other than Nero?
Lin Qi relaxed and let out a breath, smiling as he waved at Nero.
"Maestro!"
But Nero, without slowing down, threw herself into Lin Qi's arms, causing him to startle in surprise.
His hands hung awkwardly in the air, unsure where to place them.
"...Your Majesty?"
Feeling Nero's tight embrace, especially the pressure of two soft slimes against him, Lin Qi couldn't help but have a slight, different kind of reaction.
But then, Lin Qi felt the girl's slightly trembling body and a sensation of warmth spreading against his chest.
Realizing what was happening, Lin Qi finally looked down properly at the girl in his arms.
He noticed that Nero's clothes were in a state similar to his own, tattered and torn in many places.
Her smooth golden hair was splayed out, just like that night, but now it was strewn with dust, twigs, and leaves.
Lin Qi's eyes instantly softened, and those other thoughts were immediately suppressed.
"I didn't realize I held such a high position in Your Majesty's heart?"
Lin Qi gently held Nero in return and spoke in a joking tone.
Although he was quite fond of Nero, that was because he'd played the game and watched the anime, so he started with a naturally high favorability rating.
But the reality was that he had only been in this Singularity for less than a week...
Even grinding favorability in a game wasn't this fast, was it?
"Of course! You are UmU's one and only personal guard! UmU's most beloved subject!"
Nero lifted her head, stared at him with slightly reddened eyes, and declared without hesitation.
Then she buried her head back into Lin Qi's chest, nuzzling against him like a spoiled child.
Lin Qi's body stiffened.
He felt satisfied, because being held by a girl he liked truly made him happy.
He also felt awkward, because Boudica was watching the two of them with an amused smile...
Boudica, who had walked over at some point, looked Lin Qi over.
'The wound on his face is striking... but it's proof of his efforts, right?'
Boudica, who did not dislike hardworking people, had a very high initial impression of Lin Qi. Especially the multitude of wounds covering his body further proved he had played a pivotal role in the recent battle.
"So you're the little Master, then? Nero, just now, was so happy after seeing you that she even forgot to dodge attacks."
Having finished her appraisal, Boudica looked at Nero teasingly, a full-faced auntie smile spreading across her features.
This side of Nero was something she had never seen before!
"Nou, she was in such a hurry to see you that she even forgot your Noble Phantasm. I brought it over for you."
Boudica handed the banner in her hand to Lin Qi, not missing the chance to expose Nero's blunder.
This made Nero jerk her head up and glare at Boudica angrily.
"Thank you, Boudica. We owe our final success to your help."
Extricating himself from Nero's embrace, Lin Qi hurriedly took the banner and offered his sincere thanks.
The intensity of this battle had honestly exceeded Lin Qi's expectations. If everyone hadn't arrived one after another, and if they hadn't all been so capable, it would be hard to say whether he'd even be standing here right now.
"Eh? I don't believe we've met before, have we? You even know my identity?"
Boudica looked Lin Qi over, a little puzzled.
"Ah, that... let's just say I know what you all look like. I wouldn't say we're acquainted, though."
Lin Qi laughed awkwardly.
Regarding this often-asked question, Lin Qi didn't know where to begin explaining, so he could only give a simplified account.
"By the way, Maestro, where did that Altera strike you earlier? UmU looked for you several times but couldn't find any trace."
As Nero spoke, she glanced a couple of times at the giant tree dissipating beside them.
And to rejoin the battle in such a familiar manner...
"Let's talk while we walk. There's still something I need to retrieve."
Lin Qi turned back and took the Holy Grail floating in the air into his hand.
Boudica and Nero had no objections; they were also quite interested in hearing what had happened.
The sun had, at some point, hung in the western sky. Just like in the first Singularity, the dusky light spilled across the land.
But unlike before, this time Lin Qi still had time to chat more with the others.
"Where should I start? Actually, there's probably nothing too interesting about it. It's just that my luck was good this time, and I didn't die on the spot from the mishap..."
...
"Oh! So it was the Divine Ancestor who saved you after all! UmU said that Noble Phantasm looked familiar!"
"Yeah, I owe it all to him. Otherwise, I'd still be buried under the rubble right now."
"And judging by the Noble Phantasm I just released, it's clear the Romulus was holding back a lot during our fight."
"UmU, even though UmU gave it her all, she couldn't even make the Divine Ancestor get a little serious..."
"How frustrating!"
"—But UmU also feels a little happy to have been looked after by the Divine Ancestor..."
"Haha, I actually think Romulus was quite satisfied with your performance. After all, it gave him a reasonable excuse to exit stage left and go into hiding."
...