"What's going on? What happened?"
The sudden shaking almost made Achilles fall while he was riding in the chariot. He looked around, trying to find the source of the tremor.
"It's coming from over there."
Chiron reacted faster than Achilles. While carrying Caules on his back, he gazed into the distance.
"That's the palace area..."
"That's the altar where the Greater Grail is placed."
Standing on the giant's shoulder, Avicebron spoke.
"This explosion should be related to the Black Assassin."
"That guy is going all out. But it looks like the Greater Grail is still intact. I wonder how that guy is holding up."
After carefully sensing, Achilles confirmed the fact. Although he was a top-tier warrior, Achilles also had high magical skills. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to create a variant of the Reality Marble, a duel space that isolates divine interference.
Just as Achilles was about to leap to a high place to further confirm, Astolfo's anxious voice came from above.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't just stand there in a daze! I can't hold on much longer! Help, I'm going to die!"
Looking up, he saw that the ten heads of Hydra and Bašmu were frantically chasing the Pegasus, trying to bite it.
The shaking of the ground had attracted the attention of the Servants but had little effect on the two magical beasts. After all, they could cause massive tremors themselves, so they were used to it. They just shook their bodies and continued their attack.
The ones bearing the brunt were the weak Astolfo and Bellerophon, who were both scared stiff.
As for Sieg... well, he had already fainted, dizzy from all the high-speed maneuvers.
Upon receiving their companion's plea for help, Avicebron immediately ordered the giant to rush forward. Chiron followed closely, his rapid-fire arrows once again blinding the Hydra.
Achilles found his balance after a few steps and was about to charge when he noticed Atalanta still standing there in a daze, muttering to herself.
"Did it happen?"
"What happened, big sister?"
Atalanta didn't answer. She just drew her bow and shot an arrow towards the direction of the Greater Grail.
"What are you doing—?" Achilles asked.
Atalanta had a complicated expression.
"Nothing, just fulfilling a promise to someone."
"Someone?"
"Yes, someone who would do anything for revenge. Although that guy is very annoying... never mind. Rider, let's finish this quickly. There might be another monster to hunt over there later."
"Another one? Alright, no problem. I'm going in, you cover me."
In a flash, Achilles turned into a streak of light.
Atalanta immediately drew her bowstring, and her first shot was the "Phoebus Catastrophe!!."
After a rain of arrows, she glanced again at the source of the tremor and silently thought to herself.
"Don't die. Maybe I don't care, and you don't care about yourself, but Jack cares-chan, Master Fiore cares, and many others are waiting for you."
No matter how intense an explosion is, it can't last forever. Soon, the storm caused by the two massive energies subsided.
Perhaps Atalanta's wish had come true, as the space collapse did not kill Shinji. It only left him with a head wound and some minor injuries.
Unfortunately, his opponent, Shirou, also did not die in the explosion and space collapse. Although he lost both arms and was in tatters, looking much worse than Shinji, he managed to survive.
More importantly, the Greater Grail he protected behind him was also preserved. Although its outer shell was destroyed by the explosion and it lost half its volume, the Greater Grail still retained its brilliance and continued to function.
At this rate, the Greater Grail would soon regain its functionality.
Kneeling on one knee, Shirou exhaled deeply:
"Very good. Using the Crying Warmonger to store magical energy in a materialized state to cause a self-detonation, then reverting to a Servant at the critical moment to use Broken Phantasm for a follow-up attack. Your use of Noble Phantasms is quite impressive, but unfortunately, my Twin Arm is a bit better."
"Yes, you are better, but the battle isn't over yet."
Shinji calmly admitted, his expression very serene, unlike his previous twisted, hate-filled look. The wounds from the explosion were healing at a visible rate, thanks to the Noble Phantasm by Spartacus.
"No, you no longer have a chance."
Shirou stood up. From his broken robe, two rows of bright red marks were visible, a third of which had already dimmed, and three more dimmed right after.
"I command my body to be restored with a Command Seal."
Miraculous magical energy gathered, forcibly recombining the Spiritrons. Shirou's arms regenerated at a speed even faster than the Crying Warmonger effect.
"Not bad. Although the destroyed Noble Phantasm hasn't recovered, wielding a sword isn't affected. As expected, having more Command Seals is beneficial."
Shirou clenched his newly formed hands, patted the tattered remains of his upper garment with one hand, picked up the katana that had fallen at his feet with the other, and swung it twice. Finally, he pointed it at Shinji, who stood empty-handed.
"Do you still want to continue fighting without a weapon? Let me be clear: the same trick won't work on me. I won't give you another chance to accumulate magical energy for a self-detonation."
The self-detonation required accumulating enough damage to have a chance of destroying the Greater Grail. Therefore, the correct approach was to kill swiftly, giving no time for charging, and Shirou could do so.
"Yes, I know—"
Shinji's expression remained calm as if he were not facing a Sword Saint who had mastered the ultimate in swordsmanship. He looked up, his gaze passing through the palace roof destroyed by the explosion.
"—So I'll create my opportunity."
Before his words fell, a dark shadow smoothly sliced through the air and landed at Shinji's feet, making no sound throughout the process.
"What is this—?"
It was a black-coated arrow, seemingly inconspicuous, an arrow used by night hunters to ambush their prey. The arrow itself was not particularly remarkable; the key was the Spiritron-wrapped object around it.
The moment Shinji's hand touched the arrow, the Spiritrons transformed into a tangible form—a similarly pitch-black piece of cloth, resembling some kind of animal hide, exuding a spine-chilling malevolence.
"This is my chance. You should know the name and usage conditions of this hide."
"I... the Boar Hide, Calydonian Boar—haven't you had enough!"
Shirou was too exhausted to curse anymore.
The Calydonian Boar, Atalanta's second Noble Phantasm, grants the user the power of the fearsome beast that had summoned warriors from all over Greece, resulting in numerous casualties. As a cost, the user's mind would be overtaken by the boar's spirit, losing rationality and becoming a creature driven only by destruction and slaughter.
For the user, this was another form of self-destruction.
Following the weakened version, the full version, and the ultimate version of the attack, this was the fourth consecutive strike!
Three EX self-destruction combo!