Chapter 479: [479] The Final Command Spell
The hurricane tore through an entire rock layer, churning underground water currents. As the Greater Grail gradually detached itself, the golden light shimmering in the flowing water slowly faded, as if heralding a certain future.
"To think there was still such a method..."
While the Black Faction remained in chaos, Darnic, the true leader of Yggdmillennia, stood atop the castle walls, coldly watching the thing he had guarded for over sixty years slip from his grasp and vanish before his eyes.
A foul wind howled against his face, tearing at his platinum robes, yet Darnic remained oblivious, silently observing the absurd spectacle before him.
Now, Yggdmillennia, which he had protected for so long, had been driven into a corner... That was the truth.
When the Red Faction deployed their "Hanging Gardens of Babylon," it proved their preparations far surpassed the Black Faction’s. Defeat was inevitable.
But this degree of hardship was nothing new—eighty years ago, Yggdmillennia had received a prophecy of decline, the day they could no longer rise as magi.
A glint flashed in Darnic’s eyes. Through the surveillance of his familiars, he saw the golden-masked man bid farewell to his young Master and stride toward the battlefield. He saw Fiore in her wheelchair, still calmly directing the family’s forces. He saw the sage wielding a longbow leap over rooftops and onto the garden.
I participated in the Holy Grail War, exploited nations and armies, even discarded allies as pawns. To prolong my life, I devoured souls until I no longer knew who I was.
A gust of wind swept past. Vlad III, the mighty Servant he had summoned, stood with arms crossed, carried toward the decisive battlefield by countless stakes. The hippogriff neighed as the pink-haired holy knight and the dragon-slayer of the Netherlands streaked across the sky like meteors.
These were the warriors of the Yggdmillennia, Darnic’s final gamble.
Standing on the slowly rising stone platform, the only Master to personally charge into battle, Darnic had never felt his heart surge with such fervor.
Even so, I will claim the Greater Grail—how could I ever let it fall into another’s hands?
———
As both sides had anticipated, the moment they set foot on the garden, the battle erupted in full force. Heroes sought out their opponents, and the clashes began anew.
"Spares me the trouble of hunting you down, Sakatsuki! This time, I shall skewer you like a kebab!"
"My earlier rudeness aside, let us resume our battle here—I shall show you proper courtesy. You will fall by my hand, Black Saber!"
"Master... no, Black Archer. Come, let us continue our duel!"
Fireballs streaked through the corridors, only to be blocked by stakes forming shields. The golden-masked magus embedded jewels into the walls, summoning colossal golems powered by the garden’s mana, which crushed the charging skeleton soldiers with ease. Arrows flew, destroying the towering golems in turn. Bow clashed with spear, but once again, the master seized his disciple’s opening, hurling him backward with a throw.
Like a reenactment of the ground battle, yet this time the tides of war had undergone a dramatic reversal.
Not just because the Empress had joined the battlefield, harassing the Black Faction in various ways and greatly hindering their advance; nor merely because Karna had lost his golden armor, inevitably falling into disadvantage against Siegfried; nor simply due to Frankenstein’s withdrawal, leaving Atalanta of the Black Faction without anyone to restrain her—
"As I expected."
"Ugh...!"
The black figure wandered lost through the shadowed corridors, each appearance pushing the Black Faction’s Lancer, Vlad III, further into desperation.
Wooden stakes thrust forth, only to be effortlessly shattered by a knifehand strike—those ruthless, precise attacks carried the cold-blooded efficiency worthy of an assassin’s name.
"This Hanging Gardens is territory dominated by the Red Faction, not yours. In other words—as long as you remain within these gardens, you are no longer the hero who saved the nation."
Watching Sakatsuki approach him step by step, Vlad III instinctively retreated before gritting his teeth and unleashing his Noble Phantasm.
"Kazikli Bey!"
Though the incantation remained identical, the quality of the Noble Phantasm had inevitably degraded. A mere C-rank Noble Phantasm now, its speed and sharpness were worlds apart from before, unable to even pierce the air currents surrounding Sakatsuki. With a slight shudder from the young man, the attack was effortlessly deflected.
His power was declining. If Vlad III’s previous strength had been at 100%, now it was at most 60%—perhaps even lower.
"’The Hanging Gardens of Babylon’ is a fortress-type Noble Phantasm capable of dominating a certain territory. In other words, this is no longer Romania where you were revered as a hero. Vlad III, your fame has been reduced to zero."
The assassin pressed forward relentlessly, his words chipping away at Vlad III’s fighting spirit. Once his will weakened, the end would come like an avalanche.
Though the Red Faction’s Lancer, Karna, also had nearly zero fame here, the difference was that Karna’s base strength was incomparable to Vlad III’s. As long as legends of him existed somewhere in the world, Karna remained undeniably a great hero. Vlad III, on the other hand, once outside Romania, was merely a bloodthirsty vampire.
The Voivode of Wallachia, brandishing his spear against Sakatsuki, had lost the elegance, grandeur, and ferocity he normally maintained. Now, only his dignity as a hero sustained him in battle—this alone granted him the strength to fight.
But under these circumstances, defeating Sakatsuki was as difficult as scaling the heavens.
"I see... So my power holds no sway here..." Even the ferocious king had to acknowledge his disadvantage now. "Yet even so, I shall defeat you, if only to uphold the name of the Lord..."
Empty bravado.
Sakatsuki saw through the enemy’s bluster at a glance. Coldly raising his hand, he loaded magical bullets into his pistol, intending to end the weakened Black Faction leader within three exchanges.
But—something unexpected occurred.
"No, victory is not yet impossible."
Standing atop the eaves above the two locked in confrontation was a magi draped in white-gold robes.
"Darnic..." Sakatsuki frowned, naturally raising his gun and pulling the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet shattered the wooden beam in succession, fragments drawing blood across Darnic’s face. His expression shifted slightly, no longer daring to underestimate the situation as he retreated behind Vlad III, continuing to speak.
"King of Romania, surely you don’t wish to disappear disgracefully in such a place. Is this how a heroic spirit summoned to this land with hopes should act?"
"Darnic? Why are you here...?!"
"Isn’t it obvious, pitiful Voivode of Wallachia?" Understanding the plot, Sakatsuki spoke up to prevent Darnic from using his trump card, revealing the latter’s original plan prematurely. "You still possess that Noble Phantasm, don’t you? The one called ’Legend of Dracula’!"
At Sakatsuki’s resounding words, all Servants present simultaneously halted their movements—not just because of the sudden arrival of the Black Faction’s leader, but more due to the lethal killing intent erupting from Vlad III the moment Sakatsuki finished speaking.
"You... what did you say!!"
"Hah, seems you’ve figured it out. To reverse this battle, what else could achieve it but that cheating Noble Phantasm!"
Just as Vlad III turned his murderous gaze toward his Master, Darnic raised his voice in turn, denying Sakatsuki’s provocation.
"No! How could I possibly do such a thing? You underestimate me too much, Sakatsuki!"
"...What?!"
Muttering in disbelief, Sakatsuki watched as Darnic raised his arm, the final Command Spell beginning to glow. Casting aside all hesitation, he charged forward while firing at the magi’s head!
The bullet tore through the air, gleaming coldly as it carried death’s approach—only to be blocked by weakened yet still present wooden beams. Seizing this opportunity, Darnic exercised his final right as a Master.
"—By my Command Spell!"