This day was catastrophic for internet users around the globe. The reason was simple: total internet outage!!
Not just individual households, neighborhoods, counties, or cities—not even just specific states or nations. It was a worldwide, indiscriminate collapse, affecting everyone regardless of wealth or status.
While the public angrily cursed their telecom providers for the outage...
World leaders were terrified. Even government intranets had failed, including critical control networks for standby nuclear weapons.
No matter how hard their technical staff tried, no one could bring the systems back online.
And as time passed, the isolation between regions grew increasingly dire. Even old-school, reliable wired communication systems and power grids were being eroded and destroyed.
People were horrified to discover the sudden appearance of a strange purplish-red crystalline substance in their world, parasitically attached to all man-made communication devices.
As if by some selective instinct, this crystalline matter ignored ordinary people, plants, animals, and civilian machines—but to those in military bases, it was death incarnate, a demonic toxin unleashed upon humanity.
Some who didn't believe it tried to touch military equipment and were parasitized. The proliferating crystal spikes tore their bodies apart, causing massive bleeding and death.
All over the world, exotic, dazzling "crystal forests" erupted from military-designated locations.
Under the sunlight, they shimmered with a semi-transparent, jewel-like brilliance.
If one could ignore the horrific corpses, these "Crystal Glass Forests" might even seem like scenic wonders.
In a single night, the world was hurled back to a pre-industrial age. Cities, states, and continents fell into a vast and terrifying darkness.
Up in low Earth orbit, astronauts aboard the space station had no idea what was happening.
Suddenly, they lost contact with mission control. Gazing down at Earth, they could only watch helplessly and in fear as purplish-red lines spread from the westernmost Pacific islands, gradually blanketing the entire planet.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
At that moment, most of Fuyuki City had already vanished from the map. Just as fleeing citizens caught their breath, terrifying tremors knocked them over again.
Thunderous rumbles followed one after another. The violent seismic shifts split the mountains and cracked the land.
From afar, people could see it clearly: a towering, mountain-sized Divine Beast Goddess, with the power to flatten cities and tear through the sky with a mere gesture. Her presence was overwhelming.
"Wh-what is that thing? A mutated radioactive serpent?!"
"Why the hell do you care? That's for the Self-Defense Force and the U.S. garrison to deal with! If you don't run now, you're dead!"
BZZZZZ—!
Up in the sky, brilliant flames surged like a roaring fire dragon, tearing through the heavens. Blazing arcs of fire rained down from above, slamming against the terrifying demonic avatar.
RUMBLE—!
Countless glowing projectiles howled down from above, trying to halt the advance of the Servants.
Behind the Beast Goddess, innumerable violet serpentine strands of hair suddenly swelled and extended. In a flash, they roared to life.
Over a dozen booming magical blasts spewed from the snake-haired serpents' maws, shaking the very air as they crisscrossed toward the advancing Servants below.
"Aaaaahhhhh—! (Blasted Tree, The Lightning Tree of Crucifixion)"
The pure white bridal maiden let out a fierce cry, raising her spherical war hammer entwined with tree-branch-shaped lightning. Buzz—! She brought it crashing down upon the oncoming giant serpents with a thunderous blow.
Crackle-crack!
Brilliant emerald lightning burst forth and scattered, transforming into countless tiny electric serpents that cascaded down from the split hammerhead like miniature lightning-shaped trees. They rained down in torrents, clearing out the surrounding serpentine tide in an instant.
"Ahahahaha—! The scent of oppression! Another oppressor! Hahaha, an unprecedented oppressor—I can feel it...!"
With his pale blue muscles scarred from countless battles, Berserker Spartacus charged toward Selene, cackling madly.
Since being summoned back to the present world, Spartacus hadn't stopped laughing. Kings, generals, demigods, deities—their auras muddled his mind. Anyone who enslaved others was his enemy.
Originally, Spartacus's presence risked causing an internal conflict in Chaldea. But with Selene standing there as a massive, obvious target, Spartacus took one look—and without hesitation, rushed straight at her.
The overwhelming stench of blood and tyranny pouring off her was unlike anything else. Compared to her, even someone like Gilgamesh barely felt like an oppressor—more like a village chief.
Hisssss...
Before the frenzied, childlike brute could finish his cry, shadows fell. From above, countless serpentine tendrils formed from hair descended, each opening gaping maws as they lunged at Spartacus.
"Oh~ This pain... it's exquisite."
A smile of painful delight crossed his face. Even the dozen incoming magical blasts were absorbed or countered by his steel-like body. Torn flesh was immediately replaced by fresh, pale pink muscle.
His pale-blue frame swelled with new interwoven muscle, bulging grotesquely.
"O Oppressor! Come! Trample me! I, Spartacus, shall rise in rebellion through liberty—and destroy you with my love!!"
Relishing the pain, he moved with surprising agility. Like a rampaging boar, he charged, hacking down one serpentine head after another with raw, brutal strength.
"Now's my chance."
Taking advantage of the towering pillar of flame that temporarily blocked Selene's terrifying mystic gaze and burned away her hair-born web, Rider Achilles grinned and sprinted across the snake-formed terrain around Selene.
Pulling back his spear, Achilles held his breath. Every muscle tightened into coils of power as he lowered his stance—"Comet Form (Dromeus Komētēs)."
In an instant, he vanished.
BOOM!
Only then did the sharp sonic boom arrive. The sheer force of his takeoff nearly snapped one of the snake-like bodies in half.
Like a war chariot blazing through stormy seas, Achilles burst through the air at supersonic speed. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed hundreds of meters, leaping from Selene's lower body up to shoulder height.
Hiss hiss hiss~
That cascading waterfall of silky hair transformed instantly into swarming serpents. Their tips morphed into monstrous snake jaws, building purplish-red magical light inside their mouths.
"Ignore it. Run free, Rider!"
"Let this bloodstained life of mine be offered here! Kazikli Bey—King of Impalement!!"
With a mighty sweep of his unique silver lance, Lancer Vlad III cleaved apart the serpent heads converging on Achilles. Letting out a fierce roar, he spread his arms wide as jet-black blood burst from beneath his feet.
Centered on Vlad, countless blood-soaked spikes erupted from the ground.
Zzz! Zzz! Zzz!
Under his command, the black thorns shot skyward like a twisted, bladed storm, colliding head-on with the wave of magical projectiles aimed at Rider Achilles.
Boom boom boom!
"Thanks, Black Lancer!"
Building up explosive force with unmatched divine speed, Rider Achilles grinned. "Now this is the kind of battle I live for!"
"Go, my spear, my belief!"
"Ride once more—Tempestuous Immortal Chariot!! (Troias Tragōidia)"
A glint of golden light flashed—the lance-tip of the cross spear. Achilles roared as he charged toward the unprotected junction between Selene's throat and collarbone.
Interesting tactics. Almost like 3D maneuver combat. Is he trying to slash my nape?
Everything happened in an instant. Karna's fireball hadn't fully expanded yet. Though its pillar of flame blocked peripheral vision, Selene clearly sensed the high-speed storm rushing toward her blind spot.
"Greatwing Gale."
With a light grunt, the Beast Goddess engulfed in fire stirred her sky-darkening wings. A single sweep unleashed a giant tornado that shattered the surrounding ring of flames in an instant.
"What?!"
Caught in the turbulent winds, Achilles faltered.
Danger! Danger! Danger! Not this distance! I must not meet her gaze!
Under the weight of that cold, domineering stare, an inexplicable fear surged from the depths of Achilles' soul, paralyzing his mind and body. He screamed inwardly in panic.
He knew—he must not raise his head!
With Divinity and the 'Andreas Amarantos,' he might escape unscathed if he avoided direct eye contact. But if he met her eyes—he'd die.
"Achilles, guard your ankle!" Chiron's urgent voice echoed in his mind.
The next moment, as Achilles kept his head down, darkness fell across his vision. The crushing gale weighed upon him like a falling mountain.
Move!
Buzz—
Magic surged. Rider Achilles pushed his body to the limit. In the nick of time, he curled himself up, abandoning his thrust. With great effort, he moved his fingers to summon a large Greek shield to cover himself.
Then—BOOMMMMM—!
As the descending 'Five Finger Mountain' collided with the emerald light point, a deafening shockwave exploded outward, strong enough to rupture eardrums. The atmosphere for several kilometers was instantly displaced.
Selene had swatted him down like a fly. Achilles plummeted like a meteor.
The impact zone sank into a vast crater. The howling wind ripped through earth and stone like a typhoon. Even the air turned lethal, slicing everything to dust.
This was the perfect demonstration of Strength: EX. No magical enhancements, no Noble Phantasm buffs—pure physical might.
"Did you all really think I was just a stationary target with both hands tied?"
Her left claw continued to release the imaginary number flood, maintaining the beam that tore through reality itself. Her right claw lowered slowly, casually brushing dust from her shoulder as Selene spoke proudly:
"Even while upholding the Heavenly Barrier and maintaining the Imaginary Rift, one hand is more than enough to deal with insects like you."
Feeling the pressure on her cheek scales fade, Selene's gaze grew colder as she looked toward Lancer Karna.
So, these pests are all aiming for my face, huh?
She could understand their strategy—trying to block her petrifying Mystic Eyes with attacks—but that didn't make it any less annoying.
A serious gleam passed through her crimson diamond-shaped pupils.
"Still not enough. Son of Surya, if it were that blasphemous spear, then perhaps I'd have reason to be on guard."
Seeing his attack blocked, Lancer Karna, who had prior experience fighting Selene, wasted no time retreating swiftly.
Better to get out of her strike range first—Achilles getting slammed into the ground was a clear warning.
"Forgive me. I shall fully honor Rider's expectations," Karna declared solemnly.
During the Romania Holy Grail War, Lancer Karna hadn't even gotten the chance to unleash his trump card before the Red faction lost. With no mana left, he could only make a desperate final stand against Selene—and died a frustrating death.
Of course, Karna wasn't planning to open with his ultimate this time either. A yet-to-fall "Sword of Damocles" always held Selene's attention. His golden armor was the real foundation of his ability to contend with her.
Karna didn't have Jeanne d'Arc's magic resistance, nor the endurance of someone like Berserker Spartacus. Without that armor, Karna—as a fragile main DPS—would be instantly deleted by someone like Selene, who had high offense, defense, and HP.
He had good reason to believe Selene feared him precisely because of that one spear. Going headstrong and reckless now would only play into her hands.
"Hmph, don't think you'll get away with using it again!"
As she spoke, Selene's pupils contracted sharply. The countless strands of her violet-white gradient hair suddenly swelled and stretched outward, transforming into dozens of serpent heads that all let out a shrill cry.
Roar of Dread, Rank: A++
ROOOAAARRR—!!
It became a tangible shockwave, shooting from her body and layering wave upon wave of pressure into a single, world-shaking blast.
BOOM!
The violent air was shredded. Centered on Selene, the super-compressed airflow spread like a wall of white, tearing apart the ground and unleashing a devastating shockwave that made hearts tremble in fear.
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