[#]: Support & Read Up to 10 Advanced Chapters on Patreon!
[#]: For More Chapters - Drop Some Power Stones! 💎💎
━━━━━
"Heavenly Fire: Annihilation? Is this your trump card?"
After a brief moment of astonishment, Gilgamesh burst into laughter.
"You intend to challenge Ea with this insignificant power? How laughable!"
Enkidu: Ea.
This sword represented the creation of heaven and earth.
The Primordial Sword.
The embodiment of absolute power and judgment.
Gilgamesh couldn't fathom that Mika possessed any means to counter it.
"Words are meaningless. Let's begin."
Mika gripped the hilt of his greatsword tightly, positioning it beside his face as he stared intently at Gilgamesh.
"Hmph, foolish."
Gilgamesh extended his hand, palm down, and slightly raised it. The primordial divine sword, a symbol of creation, slowly emerged from the Gate of Babylon, eventually resting firmly in his grasp.
"Unleash your divine might, Ea! Make this thief who dares to defy you pay the price!"
Raising Ea high, Gilgamesh spun the sword, creating a swirling vortex of wind that raged around him.
Facing him, Mika also raised his greatsword.
He wielded the greatsword inherited from his father.
Unlike the first stage of Heavenly Fire, which imbued his weapon with flames, the second and third stages, Annihilation, wouldn't damage the weapon itself. This was why Mika chose to use this significant blade.
Different from the second stage, the third stage of Heavenly Fire didn't require an incantation.
Because the fuel for this spell was the caster himself.
As Mika activated the spell, flames erupted from various parts of his body, engulfing him in a blazing inferno.
Despite the searing pain, Mika's expression remained unchanged.
He possessed the willpower to endure this agony.
In mere moments, the raging flames flowed from Mika's body onto his sword.
They coiled and compressed around the blade.
Within Mika, all his energy – magic, Od, and spirit – burned fiercely, transforming into pure flames that surged into his sword.
The flaming sword extended upwards from Mika's blade.
As it grew taller, it also expanded in width.
Beneath Mika's feet, the intense heat softened the earth, transforming the rocks into molten lava that spread rapidly.
One meter, two meters, three meters, then fifty, one hundred.
In an instant, the ground within a hundred-meter radius around Mika had become a sea of scorching lava, bubbling and churning.
Mika stood unfazed amidst the molten inferno.
At this moment, he had become the embodiment of fire, one with the flames.
"What is that?!"
From within the Einzbern Castle outside Fuyuki City, Kiritsugu Emiya, Kayneth, Diarmuid, and Artoria, engaged in their own battles, couldn't help but turn their gaze towards the city.
There, a colossal pillar of flames shaped like a sword clashed against a chaotic vortex of wind.
Their presence drew the attention of every Master and Servant in Fuyuki City.
"That's Mika's magic."
Not far from Mika, Airmid and Mellie watched the towering flamesword reach for the sky, their faces filled with awe.
Fueled by the combined strength and amplification of their powers, Gabriel's magic, and everything Mika possessed.
This devastating attack now stood as a testament to their collective might.
"Is that so? Such power... how fascinating!"
Witnessing the flamesword pierce the clouds, its tip disappearing into the heavens, Gilgamesh sensed its power rivaling that of Ea. He finally understood why Mika hadn't feared his Primordial Sword.
Because Mika possessed a comparable power.
Even if this power couldn't be replicated in a short time.
Instead of anger, a hint of excitement flickered in Gilgamesh's eyes as he faced Mika.
"Then let's see who is truly stronger!"
Sensing that Ea had reached its peak power, Gilgamesh roared, "Enuma Elish!"
"Heavenly Fire: Annihilation!"
Mika responded without hesitation, swinging his flamesword down to meet Ea's attack.
As their ultimate attacks collided, a chaotic storm of wind clashed against the all-consuming flames, each trying to devour the other.
Flames and wind.
Heavenly Fire: Annihilation and Enuma Elish collided with unimaginable force.
The resulting maelstrom engulfed Mika and Gilgamesh, then raged across Fuyuki City.
Intense wind pressure swept through the city.
Even Kiritsugu Emiya and the others, located on the outskirts, could sense the dramatic shift in the atmosphere.
Of course, the most striking sight was in the sky above.
The collision between Heavenly Fire: Annihilation and Enuma Elish created a pure energy beam that connected heaven and earth, piercing through the very fabric of the world.
The shockwave obliterated all the surrounding ruins, leaving only a flat expanse.
Even the ground itself was consumed by the immense energy, forming a massive crater.
"AAAAAHHH!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
Accompanying the clash of their attacks were the cries and laughter of Mika and Gilgamesh.
"Mika, is it? I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent!"
"Hmph, I don't need your approval."
Unlike Gilgamesh's confident laughter, Mika's body burned ever more intensely as time passed.
Although Airmid's protection prevented him from being reduced to ashes, the excruciating pain threatened to break his unwavering resolve.
"AAAAAHHH!"
"I can't hold on much longer!"
Unlike the Key of Destruction it was based on, the Divine Key from the Honkai Impact world, crafted from a Herrscher core, possessed an incredibly high output limit.
When fully unleashed, it could sink continents.
It was true divine power.
While Mika's magic was similar, it was still magic. Its upper limit was influenced by his own strength.
Mika was confident that he could eventually enhance Heavenly Fire: Annihilation to surpass the Divine Key's level, but that was in the future, not now.
At present, he couldn't match the power of Gilgamesh's Ea.
Without Airmid's enhancements and Gabriel's magic, Mika wouldn't have lasted this long.
But thanks to their support, he had managed to hold his ground against Ea, refusing to yield.
"With the blessings of my companions, I cannot lose!"
Mika tightened his grip on the greatsword and slowly pushed downwards.
"You want to settle this? Then let's do it!"
Seeing this, Gilgamesh also pressed down with his sword.
In the next moment, both Heavenly Fire: Annihilation and Enuma Elish, which had been clashing in mid-air, descended simultaneously.
They collided directly in front of Mika and Gilgamesh.
The victor would be decided now.
---
"AAAAAHHH!"
"AAAAAHHH!"
As Mika and Gilgamesh pressed down with their weapons, their decisive battle commenced.
Initially, the two opposing forces clashed in mid-air, generating shockwaves that created violent gusts of wind. However, these had little effect on Mika and Gilgamesh themselves.
But now, as they forced their weapons downwards, the residual energy that had previously dissipated in the air began to relentlessly assault their bodies.
Propelled by the shockwaves, Mika and Gilgamesh were pushed backward, leaving trails etched into the ground.
Simultaneously, the energies released by Heavenly Fire: Annihilation and Enuma Elish converged between them.
At the point of collision, a vast and chaotic force gradually reached equilibrium, maintaining its existence before rapidly expanding outwards.
"AAAAAHHH!"
"AAAAAHHH!"
Amidst Mika and Gilgamesh's cries, the rapidly expanding energy engulfed them both, continuing to spread outwards, obliterating everything in its path.
Until it reached its limit and finally detonated.
At that moment, a mushroom cloud rose majestically above Fuyuki City.
This wasn't a nuclear explosion.
But its power far surpassed that of the ancient nuclear warhead Gilgamesh had launched from Vimana.
This was true "judgment"!
...
"Mika!"
Airmid and Mellie cried out in unison as they watched Mika being swallowed by the explosion.
"Wait! Don't be rash!"
Merlin swiftly intervened, preventing them from rushing towards the blast.
"Don't underestimate Mika. If he decided to take this course of action, he must have anticipated the consequences."
"Moreover, Gabriel is with him. He won't be harmed."
"As for you two, retreat immediately! That thing is about to explode."
Airmid and Mellie snapped back to their senses, heeding Merlin's warning.
Seeing their compliance, Merlin quickly initiated a spatial transfer, vanishing from the ravaged landscape along with Airmid and Mellie.
As the mushroom cloud rose, the area they had just occupied was utterly destroyed.
...
"That was a close call!"
Standing at the edge of the ruins, Risei Kotomine couldn't help but sigh in relief as he surveyed the devastation wrought by the explosion.
As Kirei Kotomine's father and the overseer of the Holy Grail War, he was responsible for concealing the traces of the conflict and dealing with its aftermath.
This duty remained even though he had secretly formed an alliance with Tokiomi Tohsaka.
Moments ago, while monitoring the battle, Risei had noticed the escalating intensity of the clash between Mika and Gilgamesh. He immediately began evacuating nearby residents.
Thanks to his swift action, the explosion claimed no lives.
"But how am I supposed to explain this? A natural gas explosion?"
Risei shook his head with a wry smile, gazing at the lingering mushroom cloud.
"I wonder what Tokiomi Tohsaka is doing right now. He'll definitely have to take responsibility for this."
...
"So that's how it is..."
Tokiomi Tohsaka, lying on the ground, muttered to himself as he observed the distant battle through his familiar.
He had emerged victorious from his fight against Kariya Matou, albeit by a narrow margin.
Unlike Kariya, a self-taught magus, Tokiomi had received rigorous magical training from a young age, making him an elite among modern mages.
Self-defense was a fundamental requirement for modern magi.
Even though Tokiomi, upholding the Tohsaka family's elegance, hadn't dedicated himself extensively to combat training, his honed skills allowed him to seize an opportunity and turn the tables.
If not for his initial underestimation of Kariya, which resulted in a severe injury early in the fight, Kariya wouldn't have gained the upper hand.
As for how narrow his victory was?
Kariya Matou was unconscious.
Tokiomi Tohsaka was conscious but unable to move.
"No, I cannot fail here. I must achieve victory!"
"For the Tohsaka family's ambition."
"For the Root!"
Tokiomi's gaze shifted to his arm, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.
"By the power of the Command Spell, I implore you to reclaim your glory, Archer!"
As he issued the command, one of the Command Spells on his arm vanished.
Then, a satisfied Tokiomi Tohsaka lost consciousness.
...
"You've finally done something that pleases me, Tokiomi!"
Feeling the power surge through him from the Command Spell, Gilgamesh's wounds rapidly healed, and his magical energy replenished.
"It seems victory belongs to me!"
"However, this victory was achieved because I am a Heroic Spirit. As a mere human, you've demonstrated remarkable valor. I acknowledge your courage."
"Consider this an honor, Mika! The King of Heroes has recognized you!"
"Who needs your recognition?!"
The sound of crumbling rubble broke the silence. A hundred meters away from Gilgamesh, Mika, clad in his armor, rose from the debris.
His body swayed as he felt the extent of his exhaustion.
Mika's survival after enduring the devastating explosion was thanks to his armor, the Angelic Armament.
This armor was a weapon he had crafted using his Conjuration Nen ability.
Due to the limitations of his restrictions and vows, the armor couldn't defend against physical attacks. However, it could negate ninety percent of pure energy attacks.
It was this armor that had shielded him from the blast.
As for how Mika managed to overcome the near-death state he had fallen into after using Heavenly Fire: Annihilation, which had saved his life through its "shared suffering" effect, it was thanks to Airmid's magic.
Airmid's magic had a lasting effect.
While buried beneath the rubble, the healing magic she had cast on him before the battle continued to mend his wounds, pulling him back from the brink of death.
However, Mika's current state was the weakest he had ever been.
Despite this, he still refuted Gilgamesh's "praise."
After all, such words were typically spoken by the victor to the vanquished.
And Mika had not yet been defeated.
"Is that so? You still wish to continue fighting?"
Gilgamesh saw the unyielding spirit burning in Mika's eyes.
He was familiar with that look.
He had worn the same expression when defying the gods' control.
He would never surrender.
"I retract my previous statement, Mika. You do not need my recognition."
"You are an adversary I must acknowledge."
"I will grant you the grandest of farewells."
Gilgamesh raised Ea once more, his expression serious.
━━━━━
Support and Read 10 Advanced Chapters Chapters!
https://p@treon.com/dragonnx
[Replace '@' with 'a' to access Patreon normally]