Breaking through the palace was far smoother than anticipated. Caligula, summoned by the Holy Grail, had already been slain. Caesar was engaged in battle between Pisa and the Roman Empire. Alexander, Darius III, and Leonidas had been completely annihilated by Sakatsuki not long ago, and Zhuge Liang had voluntarily defected to the enemy.
Not a single one of the six Servants remained.
Now, within the vast United Roman Empire, the number of individuals possessing Servant-level combat strength could be counted on one hand. To Sakatsuki, this was the perfect opportunity for a solo assault.
After all, the Great Qin's Wuan was most adept at blitzkrieg!
A crimson streak tore through the air as Sakatsuki bisected the soldiers rushing toward him. He chased the deepening trail of magical energy, searching for traces of the Holy Grail.
The Holy Grail—this was the reason he had chosen to storm the capital of the United Empire.
Servants, when it came down to it, were nothing more than familiars. To put it bluntly, they were slaves—individuals forced to hand over the chains binding themselves to their Masters.
In Sakatsuki's faction, both he and Zhuge Liang were constrained by others.
Weber had been summoned by the Holy Grail, so his ownership naturally lay with the United Roman Empire. As for Sakatsuki, he had pushed Nero to such an extent that she hadn't even used her final Command Spell. He even suspected that Nero had learned some truth, which was why she clung so tightly to this last insurance measure.
If he wanted to completely free himself from the control of these two "Romes," aside from killing their respective Masters, there was only one method left—obtaining the Holy Grail.
With the Holy Grail in hand, all problems would be resolved. Sakatsuki could even summon Servants from it to fill the gaps in his faction's combat strength.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Sakatsuki's movements never ceased. The bloodlust coalesced into a forty-meter-long blade, cutting down the fleeing soldiers who had barely made it thirty-nine meters away. As he turned the corner, a man clad in a green overcoat appeared before him, his face twisted with fury.
"You... how dare you invade my territory, my intelligence room!"
"Shut up, eyesore!" Sakatsuki's response was a merciless slash of his blade.
"Guh—!" The brown-haired man barely managed to flip away, but his abdomen was immediately struck as if by a heavy blow, sending him flying like a ragdoll before he crashed into the wall. As dust rained down, the man forced his eyes open, only to see Sakatsuki brandishing a guandao formed from congealed blood, his eyes overflowing with killing intent. With a stomp that shattered the ground, Sakatsuki leaped toward him, delivering a downward slash.
A crimson mist surged forth, endlessly expanding and devouring everything in its path. As the white-haired general advanced, all things were effortlessly torn apart.
There was no dodging this!
The brown-haired man's initial shock quickly turned to humiliation, his face twisting with rage.
"Damn you! Then let me show you the favor of my king!"
A brilliant light erupted, accompanied by a surge of malevolent magical energy. A Demon God Pillar with crimson, squirming skin and twisted bodies covered in rotating red eyes erupted from the ground, its malice and magical energy surging like a tsunami.
"I am Lev Lainur Flauros! One of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars—the Demon God Flauros!"
Lev—the one who had brought the Holy Grail, the mastermind behind this Singularity, and the perpetrator of the explosion at Chaldea that had cost Director Olga Marie her life. The so-called "Crown-Class Bomber."
Had Fujimaru Ritsuka been present, they would undoubtedly have led their Servants in a grueling battle against him.
Unfortunately for Lev, standing before him was Sakatsuki, who knew the Demon God Pillars inside and out.
With a sharp cry, three blood-colored terracotta warriors materialized, enduring the Demon God Pillar's magical bombardment as they firmly restrained it. Directly opposite the pillar, Sakatsuki gripped a crimson spear, its tip piercing forward, splitting the immensely powerful beam of light down the center before continuing unimpeded to stab straight through the heart of the Demon God Pillar!
Demon God Pillars did not trust humans, so the Holy Grail had to be in Lev's personal possession—which meant it was right here!
Under Lev's stunned gaze, Sakatsuki effortlessly located his target. The spear erupted with a frenzied crimson light, annihilating the surrounding flesh and digging out the golden cup hidden within.
"Your Holy Grail—I'll be taking it!"
"Wha—?! How did you know?!" Faced with Sakatsuki, who now held the Holy Grail, the Demon God Pillar Flauros flew into a rage. "Damn you, damn you, damn you! Intelligence Room, commence tribunal! Excavate the past, shoot down the future—『Ars Almadel Salomonis』!!!"
Under the torrent of magical energy rivaling an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, the three blood-colored terracotta warriors shattered, their remnants flowing into Sakatsuki's body and forming a thick crystalline cocoon that withstood the Demon God Pillar's final counterattack.
Without waiting for Lev's assault to end, Sakatsuki, now holding the Holy Grail and standing within the crystalline shell, calmly waved his hand. The blood mist beneath his feet surged, transforming into a swift boat that carried him rapidly away from the palace.
Though he didn't know why Romulus, the Divine Ancestor, hadn't intervened, now was the time to flee—why wait?
But then, an anomaly occurred.
ROOOAR—!
The ground shattered as a skeletal dragon's head emerged from the abyss below, its maw gaping wide as it unleashed a destructive beam of light that engulfed the fleeing Sakatsuki.
Caught between two attacks, the crystalline shell could no longer hold and promptly shattered.
"Tch!"
Amid the flying shards reflecting the chaotic light, a figure broke free from the storm of radiance, tumbling across the ground before springing back up into a combat stance. However, the left half of the man's body was charred black, the wounds from the beam still sizzling with smoke.
Yet, thanks to his EX-rank Endurance, Sakatsuki remained largely unharmed.
Amid the deafening roar, the Demon God Pillar bellowed in fury, lumbering toward him at a sluggish pace. But Sakatsuki paid no attention to the pathetic Lev, his gaze fixed firmly on the sky above.
Black mud cascaded from the golden cup like a waterfall, a surreal spectacle that blocked the white-haired general's path. It scorched everything, filled everything, and stabbed at the eyes of all who beheld it. Behind the deep black curtain, a petite figure wearing a crown cradled the Holy Grail, her lips curling into a soundless sneer.
"Beast—"
The mastermind who had escaped from his shadow in the Imaginary Number Space, the one who had stirred chaos within this Singularity, had now stepped onto the stage herself—to cut Sakatsuki down here and now!
Denying him any chance to recover with the Holy Grail, the floating figure lightly gestured, and her familiars roared as they shot into the sky. Their mouths gathered beams of annihilation once more, while their thick, powerful tails split the air as they lashed toward Sakatsuki.
With a furious roar, Sakatsuki encased his entire body in crimson crystal and leaped high into the air, crossing his arms to block the Beast's tail strike. Using the force of the blow, he shot upward, his spear thrusting forward with unstoppable momentum, piercing through the monstrous head. Then, a blood-colored barrier materialized mid-air. Kicking off it, the white-haired man changed trajectory, raising a newly formed staff high as he shot toward the floating black figure like a cannonball!
"Monster, take this—the staff of Old Sun Wukong!"
A sweeping arc exploded outward, the very air detonating as shockwaves rippled in all directions. Porcelain vases within the palace shattered, and the walls trembled, cracks spiderwebbing across their surfaces.
The source of this spectacle was a crimson spear—and a delicate, slender hand that caught it.
Sakatsuki's eyes widened just before excruciating pain erupted in his abdomen.
"Guh—!"
As if history were repeating itself, the white-haired man was sent flying, embedding himself into a wall like a thrown dagger. As soon as he shook off the dizziness, he saw a tentacle erupt from the ground, its sharp tip stabbing toward him!
Layer upon layer of crimson crystal coalesced—not for defense, but for offense. Blood vessels burst along Sakatsuki's arms as he gripped a ten-meter-long hammer, twisting mid-air to deliver a crushing blow!
BANG!
Like a tapestry of colors unfurling, red, black, and purple erupted from within the tentacle as it burst apart.
The tentacle let out a dying shriek, and this time, the hornet's nest was truly stirred. The earth itself shattered as more tentacles and draconic heads emerged from below, transforming into thousand-ton hammers that sought to crush Sakatsuki into paste with sheer weight and force!
"HAHA! DIE! 『Ars Almadel Salomonis』!"
Lev, finally catching up, naturally wouldn't miss the chance to beat a drowning dog. Magical energy condensed instantly as he unleashed a torrent toward the man with no footing in mid-air.
Was this the end...?
Like an eagle with broken wings, Sakatsuki plummeted. Glancing around, he let out a sigh before fixing a deep gaze on the sneering Beast in the distance. Then, his body actively dispersed.
BOOM—!!!
Amid the thunderous explosion, the draconic heads crashed into each other, dazed and disoriented, only to be struck head-on by the Demon God Pillar's full-powered attack. Their flesh burned and split as they howled in pain and rage, their furious gazes turning toward the now-isolated Demon God Pillar. Teeth gnashing, they licked their lips, eager to tear into him.
Lev seemed to sense the danger, stiffly retreating a few steps. But the Beast in the sky paid no attention to her familiars' infighting, her gaze fixed on a certain point in the void.
By the time the smoke cleared, the man was long gone.
[Successfully returned to the original worldline. Re-enter the Singularity within three days!]
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹