"Boom!" As a wave of magical energy diffused, the surrounding buildings were continuously destroyed.
Amidst the ruins, two figures swiftly weaved, ran, and intersected. Shirou and Karna's battle was not a stationary exchange of blows. Their battle was wilder.
Under the terrifying speed enhancements, the two continuously raced around the periphery of the Hanging Gardens at supersonic speeds. From time to time, they would fly into mid-air for fierce confrontations.
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Although Karna could no longer use his flame ability for offense, his flames were still extremely powerful in a supporting capacity. With the acceleration provided by flame jets, both land and sky were their battlefield. At this point, the Hanging Gardens no longer resembled its former self. Flames burned fiercely here. As Shirou and Karna continuously moved, the entire periphery of the Hanging Gardens, its full circumference, was engulfed in raging flames. Even Semiramis would shake her head at this sight. It was beyond saving!
"Clang!" Spear and sword collided once again. This was already their umpteenth clash. Using each other's impact, the two separated again. In this wasteland, facing each other, both understood that without a decisive, clinching technique, they simply couldn't determine a victor.
"It seems ordinary attacks simply cannot completely eliminate you. In that case, I suppose I can only use that!"
"Is that so? Has it finally come to the final round?"
Hearing Karna's words, Shirou understood that they had reached the decisive moment.
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At this moment, Shirou was more disheveled than ever.
His armor, the Dragon Blood Armor, was almost completely shattered. All of this was caused by Karna's attacks. In contrast, Karna's armor remained as exquisite as ever. Even though the effectiveness of the Dragon Blood Armor hadn't decreased at all, the contrast between the two was still very obvious.
"As expected of Divine Constructs!" Karna's armor was a gift from the gods, and although Shirou's projection ability could now project Divine Constructs, their effectiveness was greatly reduced. Karna's armor could reduce the damage he took by ninety percent, but Shirou's projected creations could at most reduce it by around sixty-six percent. In a way, such golden armor was inferior to the Dragon Blood Armor. This was because the Dragon Blood Armor provided a fixed reduction. The Dragon Blood Armor, which could nullify damage below B-rank, was clearly stronger than the projected golden armor in this battle.
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If Karna's attack power was ninety-five, then the Dragon Blood Armor would be an armor that fixedly reduced eighty damage, meaning he would only take fifteen damage through the armor. The projected Golden Armor, however, could only reduce two-thirds, meaning he would still take over thirty damage. Therefore, these two armors had different effects when facing different enemies.
The Dragon Blood Armor was best used in mass combat or against opponents whose attack power was slightly stronger than its defense. Such enemies either wouldn't penetrate the defense or would only cause minor damage. The current Karna was an existence that could only cause minor damage to Shirou.
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The Golden Armor, on the other hand, was more suitable for challenging opponents far stronger than oneself. The stronger the opponent, the better its effect. It was suitable for overcoming the strong with the weak, an armor suitable for creating miracles. Of course, if he could completely project Divine Constructs, then Karna's armor could be fully compatible! After all, even if one hundred damage hit Karna, he would only take ten damage. If this were applied to Shirou, who had extremely high endurance, wouldn't it be perfect?!
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Raising his spear high, Karna spoke seriously, "Let's decide the victor with this unblockable strike!" Karna, holding his spear aloft, had his entire body covered in burning armor. It eventually transformed into raging flames. His armor was disappearing, and in contrast, a divine spear emitting an infinite presence appeared in his hand.
"Anti-Divine Spear?" Looking at that strongest spear, Shirou's lips couldn't help but curl upwards. He eventually burst into laughter. "Good, very good, it should be like this!" Gripping his longsword tightly, a colossal magical energy surged from the full blade, twisting the phenomena of the heavens.
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Around the two figures standing far apart, two completely different forces simultaneously altered heaven and earth. The moment Karna's divine spear was summoned, colossal magical energy had already transformed into flames, burning the surrounding ground into molten lava.
As the fiery magical energy continuously spread, the entire land was thoroughly incinerated. In contrast, Shirou, standing amidst the flames, twisted the phenomena of the heavens with his sword. Instantly, immense snow continuously fell. A blizzard swept through the area. Snow from the sky, flames on the ground. The two opposing figures continuously accumulated power, awaiting the arrival of their strongest strike.
"I didn't expect you to have such power!"
"If I didn't have this power, how would I fight you?!"
Looking at the divine spear in Karna's hand, Shirou's eyes were filled with caution. Although he now stood on the fiery ground, he was completely unharmed. This was because he was immune to fire damage. But Karna's ultimate Noble Phantasm, "Vasavi Shakti," was not fire or lightning attribute. It destroyed all enemies with holy lightning! It was a righteous, true anti-god Noble Phantasm!
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"I was once a messenger of justice, but I did not persevere, betraying my ideals. I became an enemy of the world, this world's evil, solely for her salvation."
"Understand the mercy of the King of Gods."
"I prayed to countless heroes for salvation, yet no one answered. Only I answered my own prayer!"
"Indra, watch closely."
"Wielding a falsified sword, facing the hero of salvation, even if my body is scarred a hundred times, I will never let go, solely for her happiness!"
"Annihilation, lies in this single thrust."
"World, curse me!"
"Burn completely!"
"[For that, a vow under the snow!]"
"[O Sun, Obey Death!]"
Ice and fire, two destructive, annihilating strikes, collided here. Two destructive wills clashed in mid-air, yet showed no sign of canceling each other out. The immense magical energy collision created shockwaves that continuously spread outwards.
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At this moment, whether it was Semiramis and Astolfo in the center of the Hanging Gardens, or Atalanta and Frankenstein about to arrive there, or even Jeanne and Shakespeare underground, all Servants and Masters present, except for Chiron and Achilles who were in a different dimension, and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada in the Greater Holy Grail, were affected.
The destructive impact stirred up a storm that continuously ravaged everything around them. The surrounding buildings were visibly blown away by the storm. The entire Hanging Gardens shook continuously from the aftermath of their battle.
"What's going on!" Inside the Throne Room, Semiramis, who was at a standstill with Astolfo, asked in astonishment. As the owner of the Hanging Gardens, she clearly felt that the entire Hanging Gardens was being shaken by immense power. It was gradually tilting to one side. It seemed as if everything here would disintegrate in the next second.
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