"Rome! Rome! Rome!"
The thunderous cheers, the audience's anticipation and blessings transformed into roars that reached the challenger's heart.
Amidst the deafening clamour of the colosseum, the young man gripped his crimson demonic spear and took his first step forward.
Spear raised, he charged!
His opponent was a beast of Sodom, dozens of meters tall, the malignant aggregation of primates, humanity's natural enemy!
Yet in this arena of glory and slaughter, facing the enemy's star-like blazing power, what surged within Sakatsuki was none other than joy and ecstasy.
"Good, very good! Glory still lies beyond—only peaks are worth scaling!"
The cheers of a certain Emperor Alexander from the audience seats rose sharply. Under the passionate gazes of countless onlookers, the weapons behind the young man shrieked as they flew out—not for attack, but to form a ladder to the heavens, assisting the fearless gladiator as he leapt up, thrusting his first spear toward the beast's head!
A fierce collision erupted across the arena. Draco's black-and-red skirt, resembling beast ears, flared up and instantly hardened, blocking the sharp thrust. At the same time, her wings spread wide, and dark, mud-like orbs surged out in all directions. The power of corruption and depravity within them forced Sakatsuki to avoid contact. Pushing off with projected Noble Phantasms, he flipped backwards to evade!
Laughing mockingly, even as her Golden Grail was suppressed, Draco still held the shadow of the Holy Cup in her palm. With a flick of her jade-like hand, blood-red blades sharp as threads shot forth, striking Sakatsuki mid-air where he had no footing, sending him crashing to the ground!
Black mud rose like a barrier between man and beast, bubbling and flowing as if countless vengeful spirits were whispering, lunging toward the living!
The black tidal wave swallowed Sakatsuki whole!
The audience held their breath. Then, as an eerie light flashed, the black tide was uncontrollably drawn into a bottomless abyss. The unharmed gladiator burst forth, vanishing the moment he made contact with the blades swung by Draco—only to reappear, falling from a prism suspended in the sky, his crimson demonic spear unrelentingly aimed at Draco's head!
Clicking her tongue in displeasure, Draco likewise vanished from her spot, causing the long-prepared strike to hit empty air. But when Sakatsuki landed, the true trap revealed itself—a black-and-red vortex erupted where Draco had stood, rapidly spinning as shadowy warriors condensed from within.
"Shadow Servants!" Fujimaru in the audience seats clenched their fists, palms drenched in cold sweat.
It wasn't just these Shadow Servants meant to stall. Worse still, not far away, Draco had already begun charging her attack, half-submerged in the black mud, her body wreathed in a crimson vortex.
Whatever she was doing, it couldn't be anything good!
Yet at this moment, Sakatsuki was entangled by multiple Shadow Servants, unable to intervene!
"Be careful, Mr. Sakatsuki—!"
The shout would never reach Sakatsuki's ears, yet as if sensing it, he looked up and smiled toward Fujimaru. His movements, however, only grew fiercer. The demonic spear, having just pierced a Shadow Servant's spiritual core, hummed as he dragged its end backwards, then thrust forward without looking—instantly meeting the sensation of striking a vital point.
"A beautiful reverse thrust!" The martial-inclined Servants cheered, but soon, their smiles vanished.
Amid the spreading whirlwind, Draco laughed triumphantly. The crimson vortex, compressed to its limit, bloomed like a flower, calling out to the void.
The gravitational field warped. Cracks in the void split open, and from the heavens above, countless stars came streaking down, trailing fire and iron as they fell!
A full-powered meteor shower!
Bolstered by the Beast's mana, the meteors crashed down with unprecedented force. Some even struck the outer walls of the arena, only to be nullified by an invisible barrier, sending ripples across its surface. But the majority rained down upon Sakatsuki's position, the light of their impact like a supernova, engulfing the entire colosseum.
Some in the audience shut their eyes against the glare, while others strained to keep theirs open, tears streaming as they searched for that familiar figure.
Under such an attack, did he still exist? Could he still survive, still rise to challenge humanity's greatest enemy?
As the light of destruction faded, a brief silence fell—then the audience erupted into frenzied cheers, their faces flushed with excitement!
Bathed in the dazzling dawnlight, the bow-wielding hero emerged from the void. Though his face and arms bore burns and his spiritual attire was tattered, those golden vertical pupils still blazed with undying fighting spirit!
No words from man, only a cold scoff from beast—yet the bone-deep killing intent between them was unmistakable.
Finally, as Sakatsuki spoke the first syllable, a new chapter of battle began.
"Set—"
Draco's expression twisted, and without hesitation, she hurled three crescent-shaped arcs of lethal light!
A void arrow loosed, the expanding imaginary-number curtain shattered by an unknown force. One of the arcs slipped through, its power diminished but still shearing off Sakatsuki's defending left arm.
Yet even so, this was still Sakatsuki's victory in this phase!
"I exist here!"
The chant, compressed into a single action, concluded—and so, the distant dream cast its reflection upon the world. An overwhelming ice field replaced the colosseum, a vast white expanse where countless blades reflected the cold gleam of snow.
White snow fell from the sky, the pristine blue firmament mirroring the ice crystals below.
"This is..."
"A Reality Marble..."
"So beautiful..."
Not just the citizens of Rome, not just the assembled Servants—even the three supreme gods seated at the pinnacle, and the Chaldea Command Room observing from across time and space, all gasped in unison.
A mental landscape like glazed glass—no one could remain unmoved by it.
Thanks to the three gods' manipulations, the battle within the Reality Marble was projected back into the colosseum. It was for this reason that Fujimaru, Nero, and the many Servants were struck speechless with awe.
Every snowflake, every sword, even the sun hanging in the sky—all were manifestations of the soul.
A Reality Marble was the reflection of its caster's inner world, and thus, it could refract the nobility and purity of human nature.
While the audience marvelled, Draco, dragged into this mental world, was far less pleased.
It was as if a mirror had been held up to her, exposing her unsightly form—not only shocking others, but unbearable even to herself.
This world was too pure. It had no place for anything foul.
"Even if this is a first-rate performance, don't shove this garbage in my face!" The Beast's body glowed with bloody radiance, a stark contrast to the silver-white world. Draco roared in fury, her magical energy skyrocketing exponentially.
"Or do you truly believe this tired old trick can destroy me?!"
Facing this imaginary-number shadow that had once dwelled within him, witnessed his battles—the Beast of Sodom—Sakatsuki, clutching his rapidly healing arm, smiled silently.
Behind him, the swords of mountain-cleaving, sea-boiling flames crossed once more—one as a shield to block Draco's assault, the other as a strike, descending upon the giant beast in a flawless overhead slash.
Crack!
Against all expectations, this time, Draco made no move to block. She simply allowed the sword of all-melting flames to shatter her barrier and strike her... or rather, the form hovering three feet above her head.
It was a swirling mass of darkness, an indescribable cauldron of calamity.
Sensing the danger, Sakatsuki frowned and immediately waved his hand, summoning countless blades to surge skyward like a reversed Milky Way, pouring down upon the shrieking, pained Draco.
"GAAAAAH—!"
Divine spears and demonic swords broke through her magical barriers one after another, piercing Draco's delicate skin. Blood flowed, lending her face a touch of fragility—yet despite this, the aura of the Beast of Sodom only grew stronger.
"Bad news!" In the audience, Waver suddenly realized something, his face paling.
"Satsuki's in danger!"
[Calamity Concept Manifestation]
[Golden Chalice Extraction]
[Success]
Having been captured by the Reality Marble, freed from the colosseum's suppression, the Beast could now fully manifest her true nature—the incarnation of calamity, the supreme authority!
"This is your defeat, Sakatsuki!" The mingled agony and ecstasy twisted Draco's face into a snarl. Amid her mad laughter, thick clouds blotted out the sky.
A hollow, crimson light devoured the sun, casting down lightning forged from blood.
"Calamity comes like a flood—let all be destroyed here and now! [Now at the Bottom of Ancient Limbo]!"
The moment this Noble Phantasm was unleashed, Sakatsuki's Reality Marble shattered.
***
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