This is a battle that will not be remembered by anyone except those involved.
Armies and armies, heroes and monsters, Heroic Spirits and Beasts.
In a world filled only with flying yellow sand and scorching sunlight, the King of Conquerors, who once wreaked havoc on the earth, led his unparalleled army and raised his iron hooves toward the princess submerged in a sea of darkness.
What was needed was not to defeat her, but only to buy time—that was what Iskandar thought before the battle. But as he stepped onto the battlefield, as he called upon his fellow countrymen, as he shouted the command to advance as usual.
He changed his mind.
Buying time?
Madness! How could he have such cowardly thoughts! He is Iskandar, the world-renowned conqueror, the ruler who nearly conquered the world!
What if the enemy is a Beast? He has conquered countless enemies, conquered one country after another, and conquered thousands of miles of territory! He has never retreated, never feared, so why should he fear here! Why should he entrust this to the enemy here!
There is only one thing he wants to do—conquer!
'King of Heroes, forgive me, I tried to buy time, but if I accidentally defeat her, you won't complain, right?'
Thinking this, Iskandar gripped the horse's belly tightly, and the sharp neigh of the wild horse echoed across the undulating yellow sand.
"ALAAAAAAAAA—!!"
The chorus of thousands of soldiers swept away all existing barriers.
Even with a powerful enemy at the gate, Manaka, sitting atop the Mountain of Corpses, remained fearless.
"There are actually a lot of people, but there's no point in competing in numbers, because I still have the advantage."
As she spoke, a crown emitting a strange light appeared on Manaka's head. In the boiling black mud around her, monsters emerged one by one. Although their appearances differed, the same number was engraved on each monster's forehead—666.
This is the manifestation of the power of the ancient goddess, the mother of all beasts. The black mud spreading around her was actually spread by her, continuously eroding the other barriers of this Reality Marble, the Princess of Monsters. As long as she is in this black mud, countless Holy Beasts, Demonic Beasts, and Phantasmal Species will be born endlessly!
"Go forth, my children." Manaka commanded, "I can feel that my prince is on his way to meet me. Nothing can stop me. All the insects blocking me from meeting my prince, disappear!"
The sea of darkness beneath the girl's feet spread rapidly, and the living monsters born from the black mud continued to emerge and multiply at a speed difficult to see with the naked eye!
In just a few breaths and blinks of an eye, the girl's domain had eroded most of the world of yellow sand. Half of it was a black sea, and the other half was yellow sand flying in the sky—the entire existing barrier formed a strange scene!
And at the moment the two sides collided—
*CRACK!*
The sound of a sharp crack drowned out all other sounds within the Reality Marble, and the black wave covering the sky... no, it should be called a tsunami, completely submerged the army, completely submerged the endless yellow sand, and completely submerged the entire world.
Then...
The world collapsed!
Everything returned to reality!
Struggling in the black sea, Iskandar turned to Gilgamesh, shrouded in a red storm, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Ah, what a pitiful defeat. But this is enough. The rest is up to you—King of Heroes!!"
"Well done! Iskandar!"
Gilgamesh laughed for the first time in this Holy Grail War.
"Then, let this strike be a farewell ceremony! While burying that Beast, I will also give you a grand funeral!"
Gripping the hilt of the Arcana, Gilgamesh raised EA above his head.
"I will tell you of the beginning. Heaven and Earth split, nothingness praised creation, my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world!"
The three parts of the cylindrical sword began to rotate at high speed in opposite directions. A red cyclone swept through in an instant, and everything it touched was shattered and annihilated without a doubt!
"Mortar of the stars, heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration. Now you shall die and be silent..."
"Enuma Elish (The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth)!!!"
The true King of Heroes announced the death sentence, and the countless red cyclones finally gathered at the tip of the Sword of Rupture. As the Sword of Rupture swung downward, the red light condensed into a sphere also exploded, bursting outward!
"..."
All sound vanished at this moment, and everything in front was caught in a storm powerful enough to create a world!
And then—everything collapsed!
The red liquid gushing from the gaps between the three blades of the Sword of Rupture turned into a red storm in an instant, like a terrifyingly sharp red blade, transforming into the most fearsome wind pressure, splitting the entire space.
Wherever the red storm passed, space seemed to shatter into pieces, as if bitten hard by an invisible bloody mouth, leaving behind jagged black fractures in space!
*BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!*
An indescribable, earth-shaking explosion erupted in the large underground cavity. The narrow space could not contain such immense energy. The next moment, the raging storm directly blew apart the top of the large underground cavity!
The mountain began to collapse!
Nature was powerless to stop this earth-shaking attack! Half of the small area of Mount Enzou was instantly engulfed by this storm! And then it completely vanished!
And of course, among those vanished were Iskandar and the endless black sea!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Not far away, witnessing the red light.
Arthur, speeding down the road while carrying Naoki, unconsciously stopped.
"What is that?"
"That should be someone's Noble Phantasm, Rider... No, it should be Archer's Noble Phantasm."
Naoki naturally knew that it was the light of the Sword of Rupture, and the appearance of this scene meant the situation had become serious enough for Gilgamesh to use this Noble Phantasm.
To be fair, considering the power of the Sword of Rupture, Naoki didn't think there was any chance Manaka could survive.
But—
"Keep going, Arthur. I don't think Manaka will be defeated so easily. You should know this better than I do."
"Yes! Hold on tight, Master!"