Chapter 89

Above the sky, standing in the grand hall of the strongest, the War God Alstert calmly awaited those who dared to challenge him.

His enormous form was nearly twice the size of a typical Celestial. His black beard, resembling iron, hung down, and his deep, chiseled face bore slightly dim golden eyes that watched the two figures approaching. Behind him, eighteen white wings spread out like an enormous cape.

His eyes fluctuated slightly as his divine voice echoed through the vast space.

"You insects have done well, but without true wisdom, you are still mere ants before a god." 

"Since you have come to challenge the mightiest, let me grant you the despair you seek."

"Ants, state your names."

Banir folded his demon wings behind his back, a smile appearing on his lips. He held his chest and gave a slight bow.

"Good noon, most powerful deity of this realm, War God Alstert. I am Banir, one of the seven dukes of Hell. It is truly an honor to meet you!"

"Wuxian, a human."

"A foreign presence, from another world?"

The golden divine eyes of Alstert shone brightly, yet he could not see through Banir and Wuxian. He could only sense that the unfamiliar power surrounding them was not of this world.

Alstert's dignified expression wavered, and he raised his arm. In his hand, a black bolt of divine lightning materialized.

Boom!

The destructive lightning, tearing the space apart, erupted from the throne. Alstert, staring at the pair before him, let his voice carry his first sign of excitement.

"Interesting. Let me see what these challengers from another world can do."

Divine light appeared around Wuxian as he wielded an ancient sword, slashing directly at the world-shattering lightning.

The dim light flickered, and the sky full of lightning vanished.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his lips, Wuxian glanced at Banir and then shot up into the sky.

Standing high above, Wuxian looked down at the unmoving War God. The early formed divine power within him surged, circulating throughout his body.

With hands forming a sword seal, the air around Wuxian began to whirl, and a colossal sword appeared that stretched from heaven to earth.

Sword light shone in Wuxian's eyes as he softly commanded, "Heavenly Sword."

Like a sword capable of severing stars, it cleaved through space and tore the divine domain, aiming at the War God Alstert below.

The platinum sword light lit up the sky, severing space as it reached Alstert.

Looking at the falling Heavenly Sword with amusement, Alstert threw a direct punch at the seemingly sky-falling sword.

Boom!

In the tremendous sound that followed, Alstert's fist directly impacted the Heavenly Sword, which had the size of a small continent, and stopped it in its tracks, causing it to shatter rapidly.

Even after exhausting his energy due to his ultimate attack earlier, the War God Alstert remained the strongest in this world.

Standing up from his throne, Alstert opened his hand before himself and looked at the small amount of golden blood dripping from it. He then clenched his fist once more.

"To think you could injure me. You are indeed quite impressive."

Looking up, Alstert watched his war hall collapse beneath him. Standing in the air, he stared down at Wuxian and Banir.

"But this is far from enough! If you wish to defeat me, the strongest, you as mere mortals must use everything—your life, your wisdom, and even your soul—to fight me to your utmost.

"Only then would you be worthy of seeing the strongest fall, of witnessing the weakest prevail."

"So, show me the final light of your lives."

With all eighteen wings unfurled, Alstert's form instantly appeared above Wuxian. His fist smashed down on Wuxian with a force that shattered the space, creating an abyss.

Banir summoned a black world, enveloping War God Alstert and pulling him back to the time before the world was born.

Spatial fluctuations flickered, and Luo Xiaohei arrived with Hiroshi, Satou Kazuma, and Kamijou Touma by Wuxian's side.

Seeing his master covered in blood, Luo Xiaohei was alarmed, immediately asking, "Master, are you alright?!"

Shaking his head, blood flowed from Wuxian's seven apertures. Even though Banir's dark world had interrupted Alstert's punch, just the initial force alone had severely injured him.

Seeing Wuxian shake his head, Luo Xiaohei took a deep breath, then looked upward at Banir, who was struggling to maintain his dark world. He shouted, "Domain Open—Space Construct!"

"Domain Open—Five Elements Construct!"

Beside him, Hiroshi unleashed his domain, fusing it completely with Luo Xiaohei's. The fusion of space and the five elements created a small, hazy new world.

"Ready? I'm coming," Kamijou Touma shouted, swallowing nervously. He extended his right arm toward the sky, reaching into the newly formed world.

The newborn world was pure and untouched—aside from space and the five basic elements, there was nothing else.

Then, a seemingly ordinary hand reached in. Holding a sword in his left hand, Kamijou Touma looked at his right arm and couldn't help but yell, "How unlucky!!!"

Blood splattered. Kamijou Touma's right arm entered the nascent world, and the "Imagine Breaker," in reality a foundational rule of the world, began to shape and color the empty space.

A rule encompassing what is called "the normal world" was imprinted, creating a complete new microcosm.

Both Hiroshi and Luo Xiaohei trembled, blood streaming from their orifices as the domains they had trained so hard to master lost their connection to them.

Roar!

With an earth-shaking dragon roar, eight dragon heads coiled around Kamijou Touma. Surrounded by the eight dragons, he stepped across their necks and reached Hiroshi and Luo Xiaohei. The three bloodied men shared a smile as they looked up at War God Alstert, emerging from Banir's dark world.

Luo Xiaohei spat out a mouthful of blood, showing his teeth in a grin as he roared, "Space Seal!"

Blood flowed from Hiroshi's eyes as he raised his hand towards Alstert and said with a smile, "Power of Anti-Magic!"

The last of their power turned into a white light that enveloped Alstert, who had been immobilized by Luo Xiaohei's disrupted spatial teleportation.

Beside them, Kamijou Touma—his eyes red—thrust his right arm forward, screaming, "The world that is normal!"

Within the newborn world, Alstert's golden eyes scanned the empty, narrow space. The little divine power remaining in him had already faded. A smile touched Alstert's lips as he looked out from the miniature world at the figures beyond and spoke calmly, "Not bad."

Outside, Venti caught Hiroshi, Wuxian, Luo Xiaohei, and Banir as they collapsed. A breeze of cyan wind swirled around them, beginning emergency treatment.

Golden light flashed, and Kizaru appeared beside the group. He looked at the fallen warriors and then at War God Alstert, who stood inside the small world, looking around. After a moment of silence, he said, "The girls are here now. I couldn't stop them."

His words had barely faded when several streaks of light arrived, following in his wake.

"Hiroshi!"

"Brother Hiroshi!"

With tears streaming down her face, Gokou Ruri rushed to Hiroshi's side. A white glow enveloped her hands as she joined Venti in healing Hiroshi.

Klee's face was streaked with tears. She extended her small hand to wipe the blood off Hiroshi's face, asking sadly, "Brother Hiroshi, what's wrong?"

Wiping the bloodstains on his clothes, Hiroshi held Ruri and Klee's little hands and said, "It's alright, we won."

"Weren't you supposed to use the god-slaying equipment we designed?! Why did it turn out like this?" Megumin, clutching her staff in confusion, asked, looking at the blood-covered warriors.

Banir slowly sat upright, looking at the distant stars and the radiance of the Star Chalice. He adjusted the half-broken mask on his face and laughed, saying, "This is our god-slaying weapon, only we used ourselves instead of the materials Shirou Emiya gathered. And we even gave it a name that didn't quite suit it."

"Wuxian externalized the embryonic world within him, forming the Heavenly Sword to attract Alstert's attention. I used my dark world imbued with primordial darkness to temporarily trap Alstert in his weakened state. Xiaohei and Hiroshi sacrificed their domains to create a new embryonic world, while Kamijou Touma used his right hand as the core to imprint rules on that world to trap Alstert."

"Thus, a world cut off from all other powers was born."

Struggling to his feet, Banir's dark world had been completely torn apart by Alstert, yet he felt exhilarated. Riku and Shubi had seen the situation through the livestream and had immediately pierced the Star Chalice, breaking through the Spirit Corridor. With Satou Kazuma's power and Shirou Emiya's protection, the Star Chalice, which had just emerged, was likely already in Riku's grasp. This unprecedented sense of fulfillment filled his heart with contentment.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

"So this is what defeat feels like?"

A delighted voice mixed with the sound of cracking resounded. War God Alstert swung his fist, shattering the world and stepping out.

Glancing at the shattered Spirit Corridor, Alstert looked at the incoming attacks and said calmly, "But I suddenly do not want this feeling anymore."

Without using any supernatural power, War God Alstert used nothing but his physical strength to shatter the world that had sealed all powers.

Clenching his fist, divine power shone once more. Alstert threw a punch.

Golden dragon eyes shone from Hiroshi, Wuxian, Banir, and Keqing, who had transformed into lightning, as they all stood before the others.

Facing the unstoppable might of the deity, the four of them burned everything they had as they unleashed their final strikes.

"Sturdy as a fortress."

A deep, magnetic voice rang out, and a golden shield enveloped everyone, blocking Alstert's divine strike.

A divine presence like solid earth enveloped the four in front. Their originally frantic energy quickly calmed.

A tall figure walked forward from before them. Zhongli, the Geo Archon, spoke with reassurance.

"You all did well. Leave the rest to me."