64. Superlative Weapon

*Slash* Shirou cut down the tendrils that lashed out at him, but no matter how many he destroyed, more kept rising from Shinki's ever-expanding shadow. He gritted his teeth, constantly on the defensive, unable to get close.

Sakura, seeing his blind spots, fired arrow after arrow of fiery energy, burning away the tendrils threatening Shirou from behind.

Rin remained silent, her eyes sharp as she observed the battle, looking for any opening in Shinki's seemingly endless assault.

For what felt like ages, they continued this dance—Shirou cutting tendrils, Sakura providing support, and Rin studying every move Shinki made, who remained eerily silent, shrouded in her growing darkness.

"What about it, Nee-chan? Have you found a gap in her attacks?" Sakura asked, loosing another arrow to destroy a tendril creeping toward Shirou.

Rin shook her head. "No... I still can't see one. Every time Emiya cuts down a tendril, more appear from under her shadow."

"We need an attack that's big enough and strong enough to destroy all the tendrils in one strike!" Rin called out, her voice determined but strained.

"Haaah!" Shirou grunted as he slashed through another wave of tendrils. Hearing Rin's words, he glanced down at Excalibur in his hand.

"Noble Phantasm..." Shirou muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on the sword.

"I have a powerful attack I learned from Rei," Rin said, glancing at the two of them. "It's like a nuke... but I don't know if I can control it properly. I mean, I did ask for the strongest spell for some reason!"

"Didn't you say it was because you thought it looked cool and wanted the strongest spell you could learn?" Sakura teased, her tone half serious.

"Shut up!" Rin snapped, clearly flustered.

"I can use Saber's Excalibur, but because of my Od, I can only use it once!" Shirou called out, his eyes still on Shinki.

"Then do it, fast!" Rin pulled out five jewels from her pocket, crushing them in her hand. The fragments of magical energy scattered across the ground before her, forming a protective aura.

"Emiya, Sakura, get behind me!" Rin shouted.

Both Shirou and Sakura rushed behind her, still fending off the relentless tendrils as they moved.

"Phalanx!" Rin cried out, and a bright light shot from her hands, forming a barrier that enveloped them. The tendrils smashed against it, but they disintegrated the moment they touched the shield, unable to break through.

"Now, Emiya! Do it!" Rin commanded, her voice clear as the shield held strong.

Shirou, now in position, raised Excalibur high, the golden light of the sword glowing brilliantly in his hand. He took a deep breath, focusing all his remaining mana into the weapon.

"EX...CALIBUR!" Shirou roared, slashing down with the sword.

A beam of radiant, golden energy shot out from the blade, cutting through the air and obliterating everything in its path. The tendrils, the shadow, and even Shinki herself were engulfed by the sheer power of the Noble Phantasm.

The sky lit up with a brilliant flash, and for a moment, it seemed as if time stood still.

-----

Meanwhile, in a different part of the school, Saber Alter was locked in combat with Rider, the two clashing repeatedly.

*Boom* "Damn lasers!" Saber grumbled as she deflected yet another beam of energy, Rider firing those constant laser attacks without pause.

Ever since Saber had managed to lure Rider away for a one-on-one fight, all Gorgon had done was bombard her with lasers. She was beginning to wonder if Gorgon had any other abilities aside from firing lasers and turning people to stone.

Still, Saber wasn't too concerned. With Avalon, she didn't have to worry about taking damage or being petrified. All she had to do was defeat Gorgon and then deal with Shinki afterward.

'Looks like you're having fun, Artoria,' Rei's voice suddenly echoed in her head.

"Rei? Where are you? The school is under attack by Shinki right now," Saber said, her tone urgent.

'I know,' Rei replied calmly. 'But I'm making something right now. It's almost done, and I'll send it to you.'

"Making something?" Saber muttered, deflecting another laser attack with Avalon.

'Oh, it's done. Here, catch.'

Suddenly, a void gateway opened beside her, and something shot out from within. Saber quickly caught it and found herself holding a sword.

"This sword... isn't it the one you used before to test my Excalibur?" Saber asked, looking down at the weapon.

What she held was Rei's Excalibur, but this time, instead of the pure white sword she had seen before, it was now a deep purple, adorned with intricate, gleaming ornaments.

'Superlative Weapon, Version 1: Excalibur Prototype,' Rei's voice rang in her mind again.

Hearing this, Saber dismissed her own dark Excalibur, choosing to wield Rei's version instead.

'Now, just say the word.'

"Awaken!" Saber shouted.

At her command, the sword responded, releasing its immense power. A brilliant aura surged around her, enveloping the weapon. The ground beneath her feet shattered and cracked from the sheer pressure of Excalibur's unleashed energy.

The air around Saber grew heavy with power as she faced down Gorgon, her eyes glowing with renewed intensity.

"Hyaaah!" Saber swung her sword, sending a massive wave of aura hurtling toward Gorgon.

Gorgon saw the attack coming and swiftly dodged, her giant form moving with surprising agility. However, to her shock, the aura wave didn't simply continue forward as expected—it abruptly changed direction, homing in on her like it had a mind of its own.

"!?" Gorgon's eyes widened in surprise as she was forced to weave through the air, trying to evade the relentless waves.

Saber smirked, gripping the hilt of Rei's Excalibur Prototype tightly. "You're not getting away that easily."

The aura waves pursued Gorgon relentlessly, growing faster and more erratic with each passing second. Gorgon twisted and turned, trying to avoid the incoming attacks, but the waves only closed in tighter.

Saber stood her ground, watching calmly as the homing aura hunted down her opponent.

The waves finally reached Gorgon, crashing into her like a tidal wave of pure energy.

The aura waves slammed into Gorgon, her massive body thrown back as the force of the attack exploded against her. She let out a deep, guttural roar of pain, her scales cracked and charred where the aura had struck. Black ichor oozed from the wounds, and her movements became sluggish as she struggled to stay in the air.

Saber could see how injured Gorgon was now. Her once imposing figure had been reduced to a weakened, staggering mess, and the damage was far worse than any of Saber's previous attacks had managed. This new sword truly carried a devastating power.

Just then, Rei's voice echoed in Saber's mind again, calm yet firm.

'Finish it, Artoria. With the sword I gave you, it should take you one hit to kill her.'

Saber tightened her grip on the Excalibur Prototype, feeling its immense energy pulse through her veins. She knew Rei was right—this sword was designed for something far beyond what she had wielded before. With it, she could end this battle in a single strike.

With renewed determination, Saber took a deep breath, preparing for the final blow.

Saber took a deep breath, raising the sword above her head. As she summoned its power, the purple aura that had been enveloping the blade vanished, leaving the sword itself glowing with a deep, intense light. The ornate patterns carved into the blade began to pulse, shining with a brilliant purple glow that surged through the air around her.

The Excalibur Prototype hummed in her hand, the energy inside it building to a crescendo. Saber could feel the weight of its power, something far more dangerous and unpredictable than her own weapon. This sword had a different nature—a distortion of reality itself.

Without hesitation, Saber swung the glowing blade forward, releasing a powerful burst of light directly at Gorgon.

The moment the light struck Gorgon, something strange happened. Her enormous, serpentine body began to twist unnaturally. Her limbs, her tail, even her head, started to warp, as though an invisible force had grabbed hold of her and was twisting her form around an axis.

Gorgon let out a horrified, guttural scream as her body was distorted, her massive form spiraling out of control, contorting in impossible angles. The space around her seemed to warp as well, bending and twisting like a vortex.

Saber watched, her eyes wide, as Gorgon's form was torn apart by the sword's ability, her entire being twisted and warped until she could no longer maintain her physical shape.

-----

"Hahhhh..." Shirou collapsed after using Saber's Noble Phantasm.

The Excalibur in his hand also began to fade away.

"Emiya, are you okay?" Sakura rushed over to him, checking his condition.

"I'm fine... just really tired. Using Excalibur for that long took almost all my Od."

"What about Shinki? Did I manage to defeat her?"

"Well..." Sakura glanced over at Shinki, who was lying on the ground, her body covered in wounds from Shirou's Excalibur attack.

If she hadn't used all her strength to protect herself, she might have died from that attack. But now, she was merely unconscious. Not long after, the Command Spell on her arm began to fade, becoming barely visible—a sign that her Servant had died.

"She's probably still alive... maybe. I can see she's still breathing from here," Rin said.

Hearing this, Shirou forced himself to stand. "What are you doing? Just stay there and recover your energy," Sakura tried to warn him.

"I'm fine, I need to check on what happened to Shinki." Shirou slowly walked toward her.

Sakura and Rin could only watch as Shirou steadily approached Shinki's body. They exchanged glances before sighing and following him from behind.

As the three of them stepped out of Rin's Phalanx, the barrier immediately dissipated.

Sakura cautiously aimed her bow at Shinki while Rin kept an eye on their surroundings.

But before they could reach Shinki, she was suddenly swallowed by her own shadow.

"Shinki!" Shirou ran toward her, but it was too late. She vanished into the shadow and disappeared from the school.

"...Damnit!" Shirou cursed, furious at his failure to save Shinki. After all their efforts—his, Sakura's, and Rin's—he had still lost her.

"She disappeared? Where did she go?" Sakura muttered.

But then, the bounded field that enveloping the entire school began to fade.

"Wait, wait, this is bad! If the bounded field disappears, everyone's going to see what happened inside the school!" Rin shouted.

"Nee-chan, do something! You can use a bounded field, right?" Sakura said in a panic.

"Like hell I can instantly create a bounded field for the entire school! Even making one for our house took days!"

"Emiya, use your weird ability! Create something!" Rin shouted this time.

"It's not weird! And I can't create anything besides weapons!" Shirou retorted.

"Then what are we supposed to do???" Rin yelled back, frustrated.

"Rei! Summon Rei right now!" Sakura reminded her older sister.

"Oh, right!" Rin and Sakura quickly pulled out their necklaces, which had changed color to blue.

After using the necklaces to summon Rei into their world, the blue color remained because the source of their power—Rei—was now near them.

"Alright, let's do it together!" Sakura urged.

As they spoke the words to summon Rei, their necklaces began glowing a bright blue.

Soon, a void gateway appeared before the three of them, and out stepped Rei from within.

"Hmm? Looks like you three already finished up," Rei said casually as he emerged.

Without hesitation, Sakura and Rin rushed toward him. "Rei, please fix the school! Hurry, before the bounded field disappears!" they both said simultaneously.

"Alright, calm down," Rei told them as he stepped forward.

However, as he moved ahead, a few more figures emerged from the void gateway behind him. Echidna, Ayaka, and Archer Fujino followed Rei out.

"Looks like almost everyone in this school is already dead," Echidna commented casually.

"Wait, what?? Shinki really almost killed everyone in the school??" Ayaka gasped in shock, unable to believe what had happened. She knew Shinki had started acting strangely and killing people, but before she could do anything, Rei had taken her away. She had hoped that many might have escaped, but it seemed like Shinki had trapped everyone and nearly wiped them out.

"What's your plan now?" Archer asked Rei.

"Well, fixing everything," he replied simply.

Twelve purple wings appeared behind him, extending from his back as he began to rise into the air.

"Heaven's Floodgates," Rei said, and his wings responded. A purple aura enveloped them, and with a sudden surge, the aura exploded outward, slowing down everything around them.

The scene shifted, as if time itself bent under the influence of Rei's power.

As the purple aura from Rei's wings expanded, the flow of time began to reverse. The chaotic destruction around the school gradually started to rewind. Bloodstains vanished, shattered glass reassembled, and the walls mended themselves as if untouched. Those who had fallen, their bodies strewn across the battlefield, began to stir, their wounds closing up as life returned to them.

Almost everyone beside Echidna and Fujino watched in awe as the reversal continued. The students and faculty who had perished at Shinki's hands blinked back into existence, unaware of the grim fate they had narrowly escaped.

Rei's aura grew even stronger as time continued to roll backward. In the blink of an eye, the day reset itself. The school was pristine, untouched by violence or chaos. The clock now showed the early morning, just before classes were set to begin, as if nothing had ever happened.

Rei descended slowly, the glow from his wings fading. "Everything should be back to the way it was before Shinki attacked," he said calmly.

Sakura and Rin looked around in disbelief. The entire school was alive and well, and the damage that had once been everywhere was now completely undone.

"Wow... That was... incredible," Sakura muttered, barely able to comprehend what had just happened.

Rin nodded. "Yeah, you really did fix everything. It's like it never happened at all."

Rei glanced back at them. "That's the idea."