Fateful Night (04)

Archer grinned.

"For starter, how about you try resisting this?"

At that moment, countless colorful beams of light shot out from the ripples behind Archer, shooting straight at Ryan.

Ryan's eyes dilated at the sight of laser beams shot at him, 'He has reached this step? Since he can do it, I too…!'

Boom! Boom!

From the dust scattered around, a flaming shadow dashed forward toward the bone throne. A smaller scale of Archer's previous salvo was shot toward Archer in rapid succession following the advent of that red shadow.

"Hm, not bad." Archer still looked calm as a spherical shield bounced off the incoming laser shots.

Following those shots, smoke bombs exploded in succession,

Swish! Swish!

When the two swords were about to pierce him, Archer tilted his head slightly to avoid them, and those swords only managed to stab onto the bone throne.

"I thought you're going to be disheartened, losing your drive to fight. But it seems I was wrong.

"Looks like you even advanced your Demon King Arcane Art. Marvelous. I could not even reach that stage before."

At this point, that red shadow had arrived in front of Archer as he held his twin swords on Archer's neck.

"Are you mocking me? Get off your high horse, bastard!"

Ryan had already used his [Soul Contract], borrowing Yu Miaoyi's power for this battle.

"This feels like the scene when a hero points his holy sword to the demon lord, isn't it?

Unfortunately, we both know it couldn't be more false; I am not the demon lord, and you are not the hero either. We're just a selfish prick who stumbled on a 'lucky' chance."

Archer smiled lightly as he looked toward Ryan with eerie calmness. It was as if everything was already within his grasp, and he was merely enjoying every moment now as his own amusement.

"Did it never cross your mind why would that Goddess bestow us such magical 'providence'? The chance to keep getting stronger without limits, and two incomparably precious techniques?"

Even with his neck grazed by Ryan's twin swords, Archer merely grinned as he looked toward Ryan.

"...you sure have a lot of nonsense to say. We're only here to fight!"

The two men stared at each other for a moment.

One had an ice-cold gaze with his twin swords bearing down on his opponent's neck.

While the other party had a playful grin on his face as he sat calmly on his throne.

"Why the rush? I want to enjoy our fight for longer time, you know. But, since you wish to end this fast, so be it!"

Bam!

A black dragon claw swiped past Ryan's front, sending him crashing into the cavern wall.

"Kuughk!" Ryan coughed the blood on his throat as he gasped for breath.

Archer's sudden strike had left three deep, bloody gashes on his chest at once.

In front of Ryan, Archer's figure was nowhere in sight, what was left was only a black dragon staring down coldly at him.

Even though Archer managed to grievously injured Ryan, Archer also did not get out of it unscathed. There was a deep crisscross wound on Archer's dragon arm caused by Ryan's twin swords at the moment they clashed just now.

"Your life must be pretty easy huh! But of course, it's likely that those annoying existences are too scared to spook another calamity again."

The wounds on his chest were rapidly healed in just few seconds as Ryan got up from the rubbles. He held his bloodied twin swords tightly as burning flame slowly coated them.

"…what? You jealous? Suck to be you, eh!" Ryan sneered as he rushed forward again.

With Yu Miaoyi's power, Ryan could really fight with his all without worrying too much about dying.

Bang!

Loud booms echoed inside the cavern as Ryan was shot back, bouncing off on the cavern wall again.

There was a large hole in middle of his chest, his head tilted to the side as though it was broken, and both of his hands were crushed.

Yet, once again, Ryan quickly got up as his wounds were healed again in no time as though he returned back to the moment before he was injured. And so, once more, Ryan dashed toward Archer with another fierce momentum!

In fact, as long as he was not killed in one shot, Ryan could keep getting healed time and time again no matter how much grievous the injuries he received. This was the perk of [Taoist Winged Sage] skill, the symbol of Yu Miaoyi's immortality acquired as result of her being a creature similar to True Ancestor.

With the assistance of [Incarnated Spirit] skill, Ryan could replenish the lavish expenditure of his mana from the surrounding area.

Yet, it was still not enough–

'Hm? My vitality decreased… this guy!' Archer looked a little bit surprised feeling his lifeforce was depleted slightly.

Even if it was only like a drop of water at the sea, to Archer who had achieved full control of his body after long period of battles, Archer could feel a tiny bit of his vitality was slipping away toward Ryan.

"Hoo… you sure noticed it fast, how to say it, hm– as expected of myself? It looks like this will be a hard fight for me, but–

"Our battle will be legendary!"

[Refinement] was activated as metallic shine appeared to shroud Ryan's entire body.

[Mana Bullet] and [Gradation Air] were synchronized as various projections of firearms, missiles, gauss-rifles, and small-scale railguns materialized behind Ryan.

Ryan's shadow also split apart into several sections as he activated [Mirror Alter] and [Transmutation]; his doppelgangers were on the move too!

By utilizing [Bloodsucking] skill, Ryan would also get revitalized by Archer's vitality as long as the fight kept going.

At this moment, Ryan could only try to last longer than Archer to win this battle; and this battle would be like an endurance test for his will and fighting spirit.

As he stared at the black dragon, Ryan revealed a maniacal grin as he brandished his twin swords, rushing toward Archer in full might!

Archer who had managed to guess Ryan's intention was laughing loudly instead, "HAHAHA! Nice! This is better instead! I was afraid I'd crush you to death by mistake, but now I can rest assured. At least you won't die that easily! Then, let's enjoy this battle to our hearts content!"

Deep in the cavern beneath Ryuudou Temple, an earth-shaking battle between a man and a dragon happened fiercely as the red shadow collided against the black dragon.

Their clashes were so intense that the shockwaves from their impact grinded the ground and cavern wall to dust; their aftermath had blasted apart a sinkhole on the cavern's ground, revealing a dark abyss leading deep into the Earth.

Even so, as they were falling through that abyss, both the red shadow and the black dragon kept battling fiercely with no regards to their surrounding!

It was during that time when streams of unfamiliar, yet also familiar battle experiences were slowly transmitted into Ryan's mind as both of them were fighting to death.

As their battle kept going on, Ryan's movements became even nimbler and unpredictable; his assaults also turned more refined and varied, with more sly and vicious moves mixed among them.

Fake and real moves intertwined tightly, giving birth to unpredictable chaos which could confuse his opponent and reaped their lives in one moment of inattention.

Even so, Archer only scoffed. He growled angrily as he roared,

"Leeching off my experiences? Even if you do it, there's still a wide gap between our base power!"

The breaths of destruction stormed toward Ryan in full force, annihilating anything in its path.

"!!!"

Ryan tried to resist them with all his might, but his effort seemed futile. His limbs were severed as they rotted, decayed beyond recognition even after he had reinforced every part of his body.

His brain seemed to have been fried when all the pain coming together. Yet, he barely held on a sliver of tenacity to keep his mind sane as he tried to get away from those destructive breaths.

Before this battle, Ryan's experience in living through Yu Miaoyi's long life from their shared memories actually played a big role in tempering his heart and mind so that he could now withstand this kind of pain without passing out.

However, at this point, Ryan couldn't help feeling that what Archer had said was true. There was still large difference in their power even after he was buffed by Yu Miaoyi's power and had Archer's memories transmitted to him.

Ryan's limbless body was engulfed inside a fiery flame. Soon after, new arms and legs had replaced his previous limbs and there was also a pair of flame wings on his back.

As he looked toward Archer, Ryan's eyes slightly glowed with purple light.

Not yet– it isn't the time yet.

Since he doesn't give me any chance, I need to create my own chance!

"Hey, Archer! Do you know, I have specially invited Rin to watch our battle tonight! Let's see, what do you think I should do with her?"

Ryan shouted as he deflected Archer's claws. He had an evil smile plastered on his face as he smirked.

Archer's movement stilled slightly before he resumed his assault with more ferocity.

"It's useless. I have cut off my contract with her. You can't defeat me using that way!"

Ryan dodged Archer's tailwind as he shot another barrage of magical missiles toward Archer.

"Why'd you think I will kill her?? I haven't even tasted her yet. I will take my time to ravish her thoroughly before I kill her."

"Fat chance! You can't even defeat me here– bastard! You mean your doppelganger?!"

Archer's eyes glinted with cruel gleam as he looked down at Ryan, his expression turned extremely malevolent.

Ryan had placed his bet on the fact that Archer got on together with Rin in his previous life. If so, no matter how much Archer denied it, he was bound to have something special going on with Rin in this timeline.

"Bingo! Unfortunately, there's no prize for you! Even if I really die here, she would also accompany me in death. But of course, I would give her a lasting pleasure before her death. No big deal, right?!"

Ryan laughed loudly. He could feel Archer was raging as his attacks became more vicious and packed greater might than before.

Even if he was also pressed so hard that he could barely evade Archer's onslaught, Ryan still had that annoying smirk on his face.

"Bastard. I know I'm a prick, but you're even lower than me. Hats off to you, mate! You have successfully infuriated me!

"As long as I kill you, your doppelganger can't do shit! Only weaklings rely on doppelgangers!!"

Archer laughed in extreme anger as his viciousness burst out, he had launched himself toward Ryan in full force!

Despite his anger, Archer's moves were still perfect, Ryan still had no chance to strike him a deadly move.

Even so, as long as they kept fighting, there was bound to be a tiny flaw in Archer's moves...

As long as there was a flaw, Ryan would make sure there would be more flaws from Archer. He would definitely break Archer's seemingly perfect momentum!

Crash! Boom!

Their battle lasted even until they reached the bottom of the abyss. 

Waves of water splashed around fiercely as both man and dragon clashed.

'There's actually a water body far underneath Ryuudou Temple?' Ryan thought quietly as his Innate eyes took in this sight veiled in darkness.

Ryan could see their fight had led them to the underground river far beneath Ryuudou Temple. Perhaps, this river would also lead to the sea beside Fuyuki City.

Roar!

Archer was hell-bent in killing him now, so Ryan could only suppress his curiosity and tried his best to survive Archer's brutal onslaught.

Boom!

Colorful beams of laser were targeted at Archer, momentarily blinding this dark abyss. Some rubbles fell to the water, and the stone wall on the side were trembling slightly from Ryan's earlier shot.

'...cave-in, eh...' A bold thought flashed in Ryan's mind, though his face showed a little bit hesitation.

Bam!

Dark gleam suddenly flashed in front of Ryan's sight before he was sent crashing deep to the ground.

Ryan felt like he was hit by hundred tons steel rod when the black dragon's claw held him down tightly at this moment. 

There were clear signs that his body was breaking apart and his blood vessels ruptured under such immense pressure!

"What now?! You have no more words to say?" Archer growled coldly as he was staring coldly at Ryan on the ground.

Ryan's previous salvo only added another mild injury on his body. Though, there were already several deep slices on him after being repeatedly injured by Ryan in their heated battle just now.

Ryan was coughing blood and pieces of his internal organs as he smiled lightly.

"–––Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee combine with my deep crimson. The time of awakening cometh!"

Ryan's entire body was glowing crimson red with burning plasma leaked all around him.

"–––I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creations to cinders, and come from the abyss! This is the mightiest means of attack known to man, the ultimate attack magic!"

"This crazy guy..!" Archer's eyes narrowed. He understood what Ryan was about to do. As he wanted to retract his claw, he could feel two sharp swords was stabbed deep into his claw; Ryan had plastered himself closely on him.

At this moment, Ryan was smiling widely as he grinned at Archer,

"Hey, Archer, you should know this move right? After all, I directly imitate this from a certain cute crimson demon girl. Hehehe!"

"Bastard! Even if you explode yourself along with me, I will still survive!" Archer sneered seeing Ryan's futile attempt.

"–––EXPLOSION!"

BOOOOM!!!

Deafening rumbles thundered through the underground river. The stones kept falling down as an earthquake soon followed after the gigantic explosion.

ROAR!! ROAR!!

Seeing the large bedrocks plummeting toward him, Archer urged all his power to break through the rain of boulders. Though, it did look like he was quite in tough spot now.

After Ryan's explosion just now, Archer had also endured terrible injuries even if he survived the blast.

One of his wings had been torn off; his other wing had been wrecked full of hole; his right hand was severed; and his front side was blasted open, leaving a gaping hole on it. If one took closer look, one could probably see a large beating heart from that open wound.

'This madlad!'

Archer had transformed back into his human form to reduce energy consumption and to better avoid those falling boulders. He had also regenerated his injured parts, though it did take massive toll on him. His countenance had become unnaturally pale from the large mana consumption at this instant and his body felt more sluggish.

Archer swiftly flew forward in full speed, dodging any incoming boulders with ease. Even if it was him, although he would not die by being buried in this sinkhole, he would still need a lot of time to escape from it.

After seemingly few minutes of full-force flying, Archer could see the dim light from the underground cavern again.

Swish!

At that moment when he was about to land, a red shadow had unknowingly shot out from under him. Its speed was fast as it zigzagged past the falling boulders, and it had quickly caught up with Archer's trail.

'Not dead yet?' Archer looked mildly surprised.

Although he had guessed Ryan would not die so easily, but he did not expect Ryan to keep his vigorous momentum in full-drive. In fact, it even seemed like Ryan became more energetic as their fight went on!

Swoosh…

Ryan slowly landed on the opposite area in front of Archer. He was gasping for breaths, all parts of his body were screaming in pain, asking himself to rest. His countenance was even worse than Archer's, but the spirit within his eyes was still burning fiercely.

After fighting for so long until they both fell into the abyss, both men had finally returned to the cavern again. Their condition did not look too good either.

"…you've danced quite well, Ryan. Therefore, I will also show you the culmination of my life as a Heroic Spirit. [Stage, Set]." Archer smiled softly as he finally looked eye-to-eye with Ryan.

"The Past. Present. Future. All Eras converge.

I am Observer of the Past. Lantern of the Present. Oracle of the Future.

With my True Name, I announce; the End is here!"

Gigantic magic circle was formed behind Archer as soon as he finished his chant.

Ryan could feel tremendous amount of magical energy gushed out from Archer as 'something' had gradually passed through that magic circle. He quickly urged every fiber of his being to break past their limit, creating the maximum force of defense he could muster!

"This time, you may really die if you can't withstand it..." Archer grinned as he shouted,

"–Bring forth the promised destruction, The Arrow from the End of Time;

"Ark of Apocalypse – Harmageddon!!!"

At that moment, what Ryan could see was merely a 'light'.

Archer's figure had disappeared, along with the underground cavern they were fighting at previously.

There was only a blinding light which shone brighter than the sun, hotter than even the flames of Hell, engulfing him in his entirety.

His attempt to resist this light was just like a joke; they had been instantly destroyed the moment the light reached them.

As if it was truly the light of destruction coming from End of the World, it did not allow any forms and creations to exist in its path.

Ryan could feel that his body was being disintegrated the moment that light broke through his defense. Even the [Taoist Winged Sage] skill could not heal him as fast as the rate of his disintegration.

'…Ahh. So, this is why he said I'd really die this time…'

Yet, it was also at such moment that Ryan seemed to hear a familiar voice ringing clearly beside his ear.

"Sacred Lance, removing restraints!"

A gentle hand suddenly held him as a barrier had barely shielded him from Archer's Light of Destruction.

"…silly Master, you really forget about me after realizing the truth. However, even it is still not the whole truth. We will need to talk about it later, so let's focus on this battle first, Ryan."

'...?!'

"Light, may you be released from the ends of the world.

"Split the heavens and tether the earth, anchor of the storm! [Rhongomyniad]!"

An incomparably intense clash was occurring in Fuyuki City at that moment.

"The Lance that Shines to the Ends of the World" had finally met "The Arrow from the End of Time".

The dark night veiled upon the world had been forcefully lifted as though day had suddenly arrived when these two Noble Phantasms clashed in this inconceivable occasion.

* * *

Alternative Title:

"EXPLOSION?!"; "Clash of Great Noble Phantasms!"