Chapter Forty-Seven: The Dawn of Creation

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My name is Lin Hao.

Golden gleams and the two Sabers had yet to determine a victor.

129:35:08

“Hehehe, hahaha! Hahahaha!!”

Accompanied by wildly arrogant laughter, one dazzling golden Noble Phantasm after another descended from the sky. The golden ripples that blanketed the entire heavens had not dissipated for even a moment since the battle began. If one had the leisure to observe in reverse, they would notice the sky resembled the surface of a pond amidst a torrential downpour.

“Damn it, even if that guy’s Noble Phantasms are endless, can his Master’s mana keep up?”

The Einzbern Castle, once famed in the legends of Fuyuki City as a mythical city, was now in utter ruin—more accurately, completely devastated. Not only had the original garden battlefield been thoroughly destroyed, but most of the main building and annexes affected by the battle were also demolished. Yet, the golden radiant Servant in the sky showed no sign of resting.

Meanwhile, the two Sabers were exerting all their effort to fend off the barrage of Noble Phantasms hurled by the Ancient King, who laughed madly as he ascended into the air. Fortunately, since there was nothing to protect, such attacks were not difficult to deal with for those possessing [Instinct]. But the problem was—

The [Chains of Heaven]!

Lily and Alter simultaneously leapt away from their original positions, and in the next instant, dozens of golden chains appeared, shimmering with light. They seemed to tremble in disappointment for failing to catch a target before vanishing again.

This was one of the troubles. Unlike those straightforward Noble Phantasms falling directly from above, which, apart from their explosions, had no special features, these chains abruptly created ripples beside them. At first, Saber Lily was caught off guard and ensnared by one chain, unable to break free, only to be swiftly bound by the following chains. Had Saber Alter not arrived in time to sever the bindings, she would have been taken as a trophy by Gilgamesh.

And there was another significant problem—The Saber clad in silver armor glanced skyward, noticing that the golden radiant Servant had, at some point, drawn a weapon: a strange red-and-black baton with a golden hilt that spun on its own.

Though its power was unknown, its manner of use suggested it was not something to be casually thrown. That was the Ancient King’s true trump card. If he chose to wield it, Saber Lily would have no choice but to release her Noble Phantasm’s true name to engage it in combat. Her instinct warned that when facing that Noble Phantasm’s assault, dodging or parrying would be useless.

“Hm?”

With a puzzled sound from Gilgamesh, the rain of Noble Phantasms suddenly ceased. The Sabers hesitated, stopping their evasions and raising their heads.

“The mad dog has been defeated and fled? Their lair has been raided? Tokimine, are you accusing my strategy of being flawed? Do you wish to die?” The Servant in the sky spoke fiercely to someone.

Though the Ancient King’s casual revelation of battlefield intelligence reassured Saber Lily somewhat, his escalating murderous intent made her uneasy.

“Dare not? You seem quite bold—want me to decide for myself?”

If he dared not let you decide, that would truly be courting death. Having guessed that the other party was communicating telepathically with his Master, Saber Lily rolled her eyes discreetly and moved closer to her darker counterpart to discuss strategy.

“Hmph, then let me show you my decision. Don’t die on me, now.” Gilgamesh ended the communication and cast a cold, murderous gaze down at the Sabers.

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“Last time I ask: will you come with me willingly, or shall I kill you and take your spirit roots?”

The spirit root is, as the name suggests, the foundation of all Servants’ existence. Normally, it lies within the Throne of Heroes, the destination for the Servant’s true form or avatar upon death. However, to be summoned into the present world, an avatar Servant requires a temporary spirit root, which disappears when summoning conditions become invalid—such as defeat, Master’s death, or voluntary recall.

The spirit root mentioned by the Ancient King clearly did not refer to the Throne of Heroes. He intended to take the two Sabers’ avatars like toys. Realizing this, both Sabers—black and white—were filled with great rage.

“No matter how many times you ask, our answer is no!” Saber Lily raised her golden longsword to the sky. “And if you say you’ll kill us—”

“Then try if you can!” Saber Alter’s golden vertical pupils narrowed completely—the look of a beast about to pounce on its prey. “We’ll show you the might of the King of Britain!”

Neither of them noticed how naturally they now used “we” to refer to themselves, perfectly finishing each other’s sentences despite their usual discord.

“Hmph, so be it.”

The Ancient King, Gilgamesh, raised his Noble Phantasm.

On the hilt, three black and red cylindrical segments connected and began rotating at increasing speeds, accelerating as if infinitely. The rotation stirred up crimson gales, which, merely brushing past, caused the remaining parts of Einzbern Castle to crumble.

“That can’t be allowed to continue.”

Feeling the mounting pressure, Saber Lily glanced at her other self, who returned the gaze. At this moment, the two opposite facets of the same person reached a consensus and simultaneously raised their swords at the enemy above.

A magnificent golden and blue stone sword, and a grand black and red broken steel sword—two legendary blades, never before crossed in history, now fighting side by side.

“[Chosen Sword, grant me strength—]” “[Low King’s Hammer, reverse the dawn—]”

“Watch closely, this is—”

Light gathered around the White Knight, while darkness swirled around the Black Knight.

Elements that should be mutually exclusive, now coexisted without interference at close quarters.

At the same time, the Noble Phantasm in Gilgamesh’s hand ceased spinning, releasing an aura of destruction and rebirth.

Undoubtedly, this was a clash between EX-rank Noble Phantasms beyond the comprehension of contemporary mages.

“[Victory’s Golden Sword!]” “[Oath’s Sword of Triumph!]”

“[World-Creating Star of Separation!]”

In the next instant, a black torrent wrapped in countless golden rays collided head-on with a descending red wave.

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129:33:21

The battle between Kiritsugu Emiya and Tokimine Tohsaka had been ongoing for some time, but neither could gain the upper hand.

Tokimine, a traditional mage, naturally employed straightforward tactics: maintaining flawless defense while unleashing powerful attack magic to break through the opponent’s protection. If both sides used similar strategies, a decisive result could emerge immediately upon engagement. If it were not a life-or-death fight, the clearly weaker mage might resign outright.

Kiritsugu, however, relied on an unorthodox, speculative approach—maximizing his evasion and speed, wielding a special technique that ignored magical defenses, hoping to find a moment to strike down the opposing mage in a single blow. Neither side held back, so the fight inevitably ended with one’s death.

“A so-called ‘Mage Killer’ like you?” Tokimine maintained his defensive formation, addressing Kiritsugu’s unseen position. “Are you only killing apprentices?”

Kiritsugu naturally refused to reveal his location but was vexed by the situation. He had never encountered a mage who so thoroughly countered him head-on.

Conventional bullets could not penetrate the flame-formed defensive barrier, while origin bullets were meaningless against Tokimine’s magic-infused gem stone—stones have no magical circuits. As for risky close-range gunfire—he had nearly been bitten by two fire dragons the last time he tried. Tokimine clearly anticipated this tactic.

Though he considered retreating to lull Tokimine’s guard, that would allow the mage freedom to move anywhere on the battlefield, devastating Kiritsugu’s plans for soldier-versus-soldier and king-versus-king confrontations.

Unless a favorable outcome was decided elsewhere first... Kiritsugu suddenly looked northeast, where the howling cold wind and swirling snow had vanished.

It seemed Berserker had been repelled—a good sign. Under the joint assault of Caster and the Rider she had somehow summoned, this was a natural result. Now, if Tokimine became distracted—

“—No, I did not mean that. Just reporting the current situation. Please decide how to proceed, my king.” Though Tokimine was distracted communicating with his Servant, the vexing flame barrier remained. Kiritsugu weighed his options and abandoned the idea of using origin bullets directly.

As Tokimine cut off communication with a troubled expression, seemingly about to say something, a violent chill suddenly struck both mages engaged in their cat-and-mouse game.

[——————]

It was an indescribable sensation, as if watching the entire world being torn apart, repaired, destroyed, and reborn before their eyes.

Especially when these sensations came not only from the outside but through their magical circuits, a relentless, painful feedback demanding mana even after being drained dry. Under such torment, maintaining sanity was a challenge, let alone fighting.

Kiritsugu watched Tokimine’s magical defenses burst like soap bubbles, but he was too exhausted to raise his gun. Even if he forced himself to aim, he could not pull the trigger. Helplessly, he watched Tokimine stagger and turn away.

In any case, the three major attacks from Tokimine’s faction had ended. Now, Kiritsugu’s priority was to guard against Assassin’s sneak attacks. As he prepared to rendezvous with Mai Kujou, he worried deeply about Eri, who was supplying mana to White Saber, fearing how she was faring amid such terrifying mana consumption.