"Oh? Saber, is that your familiar? Or a Noble Phantasm? To summon such a being truly makes Black fortunate. To battle on equal footing is an honor for us as well. But… you remain an obstacle on the path of my dream!"
Roar!
The giant bellowed, its body swelling larger as energy surged through it once more.
"I care not for whatever dreams you hold. I only know you shall fall beneath this vessel's blade."
Whoosh whoosh!!
Unfazed, the Shogun strode forward atop Orobashi' head. With one hand, she spun the massive Engulfing Lightning in several arcs before resting it behind her. Her kimono's sleeves and hem fluttered in the high wind, as though she were a sovereign surveying her domain. Her eyes fixed upon Caster and his automaton.
CRACK!
A streak of lightning tore across the heavens, framing her figure as the declaration of battle!
BOOM BOOM!!
The giant pounded the ground, then charged like a cannonball toward the Shogun and Orobashi. Each step sent tremors across the land.
"Orobashi, march with me!"
The Shogun raised her naginata high.
ROAR!
The serpent thundered in response, surging forward like a dragon across the forest, maw gaping wide for the giant.
Both sides closed rapidly, storms of dust billowing in their wake.
Whoosh!
An instant before they collided, the Shogun swung her naginata, unleashing a violet blade of energy. Its height rivaled the giant's own, as if to cleave the earth in two.
At the last moment, the giant twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the strike. As expected… despite its massive size, its speed and power were proportional—making it all the more troublesome.
Having evaded, the giant's chest expanded as it drove a fist like a boulder at Orobashi' head. The gale of its punch tore the air, scattering trees and branches.
"!"
Orobashi tried to dodge, but—
"Do not worry."
The Shogun lifted Engulfing Lightning, her body erupting with lightning fiercer than ever before. Gripping with both hands, she braced against the incoming fist.
Whoosh!
CRASH!!
Blade met fist. The clash boomed across the land like thunder shaking the heavens. A shockwave erupted outward, tearing the ground for leagues. Onlookers instinctively shielded their faces.
Even the giant staggered, unable to withstand her force. Its fist shattered, fragments flying.
ROAR!
Orobashi seized the moment, jaws clamping around the giant's torso. Its neck muscles flexed as it lifted the behemoth high.
Crunch…
But the foe's body was too hard—its fangs could not pierce. With no choice, it slammed the giant down!
BOOM!!
The land quaked. Even so, Orobashi refused to release, dragging the automaton along the ground, gouging a long trench as earth split and rumbled.
Still, the giant did not yield. Its fists hammered Orobashi' maw relentlessly. Forced at last to release, the serpent hurled it away!
The massive body crashed to the earth like a meteor, sending up another storm of dust as the ground shook violently. Rising again, the giant's wounds instantly regenerated.
"This one is formidable… such astonishing regeneration."
Orobashi rumbled to the Shogun standing on his head.
"Elemental force will be more effective against it."
The Shogun replied.
"Agreed… my fangs cannot pierce it."
Huff… hiss…
The serpent's body shimmered with watery light. The dry earth moistened, bubbles rising as though from the depths of the sea.
The giant's body shone with pale green life energy. Runes spread across the forested ground, from which earthen constructs began to rise—replicas of the giant's form. In an instant, the battlefield turned into a two-against-many. Several giant-sized golems now stood like an army before them.
Orobashi glanced at them, then opened his jaws. Dense torrents of water-elemental energy gathered within his maw, a whirlpool of blue radiance. His entire body shimmered with azure light.
Finally—
BOOM!
He unleashed a dragon's breath of water, a beam of blue energy slicing through the advancing golems. Unlike the true giant, these imitations shattered instantly upon contact. In moments, half of them were destroyed.
The giant, seeing this, charged forward itself, glowing with green light.
"Leave it to me. I'll deal with those nuisances."
The Shogun gave her orders, then vanished in a flash of lightning.
Thus, god and serpent divided their roles. Orobashi confronted the giant, while the Shogun, streaking through the air as thunder, cut down each golem one by one.
Whoosh!
Like a bullet, she landed on one golem's shoulder and swung her naginata.
Slash!
Its head toppled. She kicked off, soared into the sky, and shattered another with a single kick. Another golem swung for her, but she flashed behind it, stepping upon invisible stairs, and cleaved it in half.
She cut through them like weeds, a thunder-dragon weaving through the heavens. Wherever she passed, nothing survived.
Countless arcs of violet light streaked across the sky, a slaughterhouse above the battlefield, with the two titans clashing below.
"The last one!"
Landing, the Shogun sensed a looming shadow behind her. Without even looking, she lashed out with a sweeping kick.
CRACK!
Her strike shattered its leg, toppling its massive frame. She hurled her naginata, the blade piercing through its chest and pinning it to a great tree.
Bzzt!
Thunder coursed from the weapon into its body.
BOOM!
The golem exploded, leaving nothing but charred remains.
Raising her hand, she summoned her weapon back. It leapt from the tree to her knee, which she lifted to catch and guide, then caught neatly in her grip.
A greater shadow suddenly fell over her. Without hesitation, she vanished in lightning, reappearing atop Orobashi' head.
CRASH!
The source of the shadow landed where she had stood—the giant, hurled by Orobashi, smashing earth and forest into a massive crater.
"Concentrated elemental force slows its regeneration. That's when we strike decisively."
Orobashi rumbled, sharing his insight.
The Shogun looked toward the giant lying in the distance, chest torn open, vines knitting frantically to repair it. As he said, its regeneration was clearly slowed.
"That light in its chest… is that its core?"
Within the cracked torso, a glow wrapped in vines pulsed faintly.
"It seems so."
"But first, the man inside must be dragged out. As long as he remains, nothing is certain."
"Hah… I knew you'd say that. Fits your nature perfectly."
Orobashi teased lightly.
"This vessel has a plan."
The Shogun turned her eyes upon Orobashi, speaking low.
"…Then speak it."
Orobashi answered simply.
The plan was not guaranteed to succeed, but it was worth attempting.
The goal was to force Caster out of the giant's body and kill him, then slowly deal with the giant itself. Of course, no mistakes could be permitted in the process. But for these two beings—both gods—such a thing was trivial. If they intended to cut down their foe, then cut him down they would. There was no room for negotiation.
The automaton army that had surrounded them earlier had already been annihilated by the Shogun. Now only the giant remained. Even if it summoned more, clearing them again posed no problem.
But… it likely would not have the chance.
"I see. Understood."
Orobashi answered after committing the plan to memory.
"Are you certain you can manage?"
The Shogun asked.
"Heh… it matters not! This body once withstood a single blow from you. Compared to that, this is nothing at all!"
For the serpent, it was inconsequential. That strike of hers had left too deep a mark; nothing else could compare.
[Shogun… can you hear me?]
Fiore's voice reached her, rare in its urgency.
'What is it?'
She asked.
[The Eden-like barrier around the giant is almost complete…]
At this, the Shogun raised her gaze to the giant's feet. Just as Fiore said, the flora and vines around it were growing rapidly, spreading to trees and buildings alike, weaving into a vast garden.
[Once the barrier is complete, it will gain an immortal body. At that point, it will be disastrous.]
'So, we must eliminate it at once.'
[Yes… otherwise the entire world will be affected.]
'Understood.'
She cut the link.
"Didn't expect you, now, to lower yourself to heed the words of a human."
Orobashi teased. Truly, the times had changed. Gods who once dominated the world were now rulers who thought only of sheltering their people. He was the same.
"It is a long tale. Think no more of it. It is time to act."
Whoosh!
Buzz~!
She nodded down at him, then charged Engulfing Lightning with violet energy. Spinning it once, she vanished into lightning, streaking through the sky like a meteor before plunging toward the giant's chest.
CRASH!
The impact hurled its massive body back. Yet, swollen with stolen life-force, the giant had grown unnaturally agile. In midair, it twisted, righted itself in a graceful flip, and landed firmly once more.
ROAR!
Its glowing eyes fixed on her as it charged like a cannonball, arms lashing out in a storm of punches, each blow carving the air like blades.
The Shogun did not dodge. Raising her naginata, she met each strike head-on.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! ×N
Every clash of blade and fist unleashed shockwaves that rippled through the air. Compared to the towering giant, she was but an insect—yet she fought with flawless ease.
ROAR!
The giant ceased punching, raising its knee high and stomping down again and again, as though to squash a bug.
The Shogun's form flickered as lightning, weaving perfectly between the blows. Then, with a flash, she leapt before its face and drove her knee upward in a strike that could shatter mountains—straight into its nose!
CRACK!
Its head burst apart. The force sent it staggering back several steps.
"Orobashi!"
She shouted.
Whoosh!
Seeing the plan proceed smoothly, the serpent roared and lunged. In an instant, its massive coils wrapped the stunned giant. Jaws clamped down on its shattered head, fangs sinking deep. Its body coiled tighter, constricting with the might of a living mountain.
Crunch!
The giant's body groaned under the pressure, cracks spreading across its frame.
But vines erupted from the ground, weaving to repair it once more. However—
As if it could be so easy…
The serpent's scales shimmered, releasing torrents of elemental power. Dense water vapor poured out, bubbles and azure radiance rising from his body.
BOOM BOOM!!
A massive vortex of water surged from the ground, encircling the serpent and drenching the giant within his coils.
"Baalzebul, now!"
At his call, the Shogun became lightning, stepping across the void. Her naginata floated at her side, spinning as violet particles of raw energy condensed around it.
"Bury the Thunder!"
A bolt of lightning split the heavens. Thunder like a tidal wave crashed down, pouring upon Orobashi and the water-soaked giant!
With water as a conductor, the technique's already immense power multiplied severalfold, its ferocity overwhelming.
Bzzt bzzt!
Violet lightning wrapped around the serpent, coursing into the giant's body through the water.
"Urraghhh!"
Orobashi roared from the searing pain. At the same time—
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
The scream of another pierced the night, even more agonized.
The lightning that pierced the giant's body reached the hidden Caster within. High-voltage currents surged through his flesh, burning from limbs to brain. The unbearable agony forced him out of the automaton's body, flung onto its shoulder.
His body smoked, skin blackened and charred, his clothes burned away to rags.
Orobashi ignored his own pain, raising his head. Jaws gaped wide for the man.
"Heh… hahahahaha!! So this… this was your plan, Saber?!"
Caster laughed hysterically, even as the serpent's maw rushed toward him.
"Too bad! Saber, my duty is already complete! Now that the Noble Phantasm is unleashed, I have no regrets!"
The serpent's fangs loomed less than a meter from him.
"My dream! I will… I will create a world without regret—my Eden!!!"
CRUNCH!!!
With that last scream, Orobashi bit down, tearing his upper body free. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc across the sky.
Chomp! Chomp!
Fangs shredded the body into pieces, gore spilling from his jaws. Severed limbs fell as the serpent shook his head, scattering them like broken branches.
"Pah!!"
In seconds, Orobashi grimaced, spitting the mangled corpse like discarded gum into the forest.
"How was the taste?"
The Shogun, seeing his grisly feast, asked with a hint of mockery.
Gathering water in his mouth, Orobashi rinsed and spat it out.
"Utterly foul. Like wasabi drowned in soy sauce."