Chapter 72: Victory and Defeat.
[For you, this will be the final decisive strike of this volleyball match!]
[Kotomine Kirei shows immense interest in you, not hesitating to use his Noble Phantasm for the sake of this match.]
[He seems not to care that this is merely a Friendly Match, nor does he care whether you have the ability to block it, much less about the moral standards of the world—It's just the act of someone who lives for pleasure.]
[However, you still do not know how much of his strength he has used. Perhaps to him, this is still nothing more than a bit of leisure after a meal.]
[But for you, that no longer matters. On your side, all that is required is to go all out.]
[He is serious, and you are serious as well. Opportunities to confront Kotomine Kirei head-on are extremely rare—the greater the pressure he exerts, the less you want to give up.]
Mana begins to gather and surge, filthy black mud thick and viscous pouring out from every gap.
This horrifying scene is exactly the same as the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City back then.
And this is precisely the terrifying power displayed by the Pseudo-Servant known as Kotomine Kirei—and perhaps this is still only a very small portion of him.
Eikou grits his teeth, plants his feet firmly, and turns his resolute gaze toward Caenis beside him.
"I can block it one more time,"
he says, "but I'm afraid I can only block it this once. After that, it'll have to depend on you. Can you do it?"
"I understand."
The tall, dark-skinned woman nods, turning her face toward Kotomine Kirei, an unprecedented seriousness appearing on her face.
Those beautiful deep-blue eyes shine with the fierce aura of a true warrior.
"You've done well to hold on this long and keep every single ball in play. Then leave the rest to me."
[When facing a powerful enemy, your performance has been acknowledged by Caenis.]
[Feeling the trust Caenis places in you, her favorability has increased.]
[Not yet to the point where you can learn a skill, but she now regards you as a reliable teammate, an equal standing beside her.]
[And Kotomine Kirei's Noble Phantasm comes rushing toward you.]
The fatal strike, carrying ferocious black mud, charges straight toward Eikou.
Without the slightest hesitation, Eikou activates his strongest skill—[Determination of Steel (Moon) EX]!
This is a precious skill taught to him by a Servant who once lived a brutal life, belonging to the Middle East Class, named Mochizuki.
[You have activated [Determination of Steel (Moon) EX]!]
[You are granted one instance of Battle Continuation, an Invincibility Pierce effect that ignores all enemy evasion, along with extremely powerful Mana Burst.]
[You have activated [Dreamlike Charisma B]]
[In this desperate situation, the strength of both you and Caenis has been greatly increased.]
Alright, there's still one skill left—[Possessiveness B]. Should he use it on Caenis?
…No, that's not right!
His head overheated by the intensity of the match, he nearly failed to think things through. Fortunately, at the very last moment, he managed to slam on the brakes.
That was dangerous—he almost used it!
In theory, Eikou could activate Possessiveness on Caenis, binding the relationship between the two of them tightly together. According to the skill description, it would [mark the other party as one's woman]. In that case, perhaps she could also receive enhancement from his skill, and the chances of victory would increase.
But…
Eikou has never used this skill on a girl before, so he has absolutely no idea what consequences using it would bring.
Especially Caenis—she is not an ordinary girl at all!
Using such a sensitive skill on a violent beauty like her—what on earth would happen?!
[After a brief moment of hesitation, you ultimately give up on using this skill.]
[For the sake of maintaining proper distance in relationships and the bearing of a gentleman, and before fully understanding the risks of this skill, you will not use it lightly. Losing is losing—being defeated by Kotomine Kirei is still better than causing a major disaster in matters of romance.]
[And at this very moment, Kotomine Kirei launches his all-out assault.]
The evil current of mana, overflowing with a cursed aura and thick black mud, comes surging wildly toward Eikou, as if trying to swallow him whole.
This volleyball seems to have become a vessel of malice—truly a killing ball.
But Eikou plants his feet firmly, spreads his arms wide, bites down hard on his lip, and forcefully receives the ball head-on.
Boom!
[You have activated Determination of Steel.]
[Your indomitable will allows you to hold onto the ball. All mana is used to reinforce your physical body, and Battle Continuation lets you barely endure this fatal strike!]
"Caenis!"
Eikou drains the very last of his strength, tenses his entire body, and forcefully pushes the ball away, passing it straight toward Caenis.
"Leave it to me!"
In that instant, the Magic Circuits on the Greek female warrior's body operate at high speed. Her white beast-like ears stand straight up without yielding, and even her heroic, dignified blue eyes turn blood-red with the frenzy of battle.
Mana continues to surge—clearly, she intends to decide the outcome with her Noble Phantasm.
Under the scorching, blazing sunlight, Caenis stomps hard against the ground and leaps skyward. Her terrifying explosive power sends countless grains of sand flying, her right arm aiming straight at the incoming volleyball.
Boom!
As if launching a great spear, she pours all her mana into a decisive strike. The ball instantly transforms into a blazing golden bird soaring upward, bursting into fierce flames, carrying mythic momentum as it hurtles straight toward Kotomine Kirei!
[Lapithai Caeneus: Soar, My Great Golden Wings]—that is Caenis's Noble Phantasm.
Transforming into the legendary "bird with golden wings" that she herself became upon death, she dives headlong into the enemy formation to deal damage—a true Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
Yet, even in the face of this most ferocious smash from the Greek warrior, Kotomine Kirei remains calm, without the slightest hint of panic.
He simply raises his fist, assuming a Bajiquan stance to confront it head-on.
"What…?"
Eikou cannot believe his eyes, staring wide-eyed.
That bastard Priest is already like this and still has strength to spare—does he intend to use pure martial arts to directly block this Noble Phantasm?!
Though Eikou had long anticipated that Kotomine Kirei was unfathomable, his true power still genuinely shocks him.
Is there really no way left to stop Kotomine Kirei…?
Eikou grits his teeth. He has already given everything he has and can no longer continue fighting.
However, at that very moment, a fierce blue gust of wind suddenly sweeps violently across everyone's field of vision.
Immediately after, a sharp red flash flickers and vanishes in an instant. When they come to their senses, it has already slipped behind Kotomine Kirei—an area with absolutely no defense.
"You are—"
Sensing a fatal threat from behind, Kotomine Kirei's eyes widen instantly.
"Lancer…"
That person is none other than Cu Chulainn.
More precisely, it is Cu Chulainn who has activated Battle Continuation, forcibly supporting his injured body as he crawls back up for revenge!
"Die, you fucking Fake Priest! Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!"
At some unknown point, Lancer in his tight blue outfit has circled behind him. With a swift flick of his wrist, the dark crimson spear spins once, then thrusts straight into Kotomine Kirei's back without hesitation.
A righteous sneak attack from behind!
[In that instant, Kotomine Kirei is unexpectedly stabbed by Cu Chulainn.]
[His martial stance immediately collapses. At the same time, Caenis's Noble Phantasm comes surging in with earth-shattering momentum. The large-scale strike of the Anti-Army Noble Phantasm slams directly into Kotomine Kirei, and the unfortunate Cu Chulainn standing nearby is also swept into it.]
"Cu—Chul—lainn—"
No!!!!
"Boom——"
[The volleyball slams heavily into the sand, kicking up a staggering cloud of dust.]
[Final score, 7:6]
[Team Priest, Dog and Chef, defeated!]
[The Dog is Dead!]
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