Deep within the Elsos Ruins, a massive altar resembling an arena unfolded before them. They had overcome countless obstacles and finally arrived at this mysterious forbidden land.
Riveria took a deep breath, her eyes firm: "Prepare to enter."
She stepped forward, raising the staff in her hand high. Magic power gathered within her, ready to be unleashed at any moment. As she advanced, she began chanting, intending to pour out her strongest attack the instant she laid eyes on that monster.
According to the plan, four Lv.6 adventurers would work together to heavily wound Antares, rendering it incapable of battle. Then, Emiya would attempt to use the Divine Spear to kill it.
If that failed, they would activate the magic circle provided by Friana and forcefully awaken the Divine Spear using their magic.
However, just as Riveria was about to continue forward, a staff blocked her path.
"Hedin?", Riveria looked at him in confusion.
"Stop, Princess Riveria," Hedin's voice was calm, "From this moment on, this is beyond the capabilities of us adventurers."
"What do you mean?", Riveria frowned slightly.
Hedin's tone remained indifferent, "Antares is not an ordinary monster. It has stolen divine power and has become another kind of existence. More precisely, it is a false god of the surface."
"A battle against a false god is no longer the duty of adventurers. This fight belongs to those who bear the 'blessing of the gods'. The 'heroes.'"
As he spoke, Hedin gently placed his right hand on Emiya's shoulder.
"Hedin, what exactly are you trying to say?", Riveria stared into his eyes, her tone growing extremely serious, "Are you saying that the upcoming battle will be fought by Emiya alone—"
In the original plan, Emiya was also supposed to participate in the fight, but it was meant to be under their protection.
Even so, Riveria was still concerned about his safety and had lent him the precious [Ring of the Elven King].
And now, Hedin was telling her that they wanted that child to fight alone?
What kind of joke was this?
Hedin remained unmoved and directly met her questioning gaze, "I'm sorry, Princess Riveria, but this has been the plan from the very beginning."
He continued calmly and firmly, "Our battle ends here. From now on, our duty is to take our respective positions and ensure the magic circle operates smoothly."
Artemis spoke, her voice soft, "A 'hero's' battle is necessary, and their 'great deeds' are the essential 'material' for forging a divine artifact."
"That's right, Princess Riveria."
Friana interjected, her tone as calm as ever, "Hogni has also arrived. Let's get to our positions as soon as possible."
"Friana-senpai!", Riveria's voice carried anger, "What exactly have you all planned, and why did you keep it from me alone?"
Friana: "It wasn't just you. That little girl, [Gale], was also kept in the dark."
"Because we knew you both would never agree to this plan."
Hedin's indifferent tone made Riveria want to punch his glasses into pieces.
"No wonder you left [Gale] on the surface," Riveria let out a cold laugh, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
She took a deep breath, her voice growing even more severe, "Friana-senpai, what exactly is that magic circle? What are you all scheming? I command you in the name of the royal family—tell me the truth."
"If you had read more books in your childhood, you wouldn't need to ask, Princess Riveria."
Friana 'politely' responded: "[Six Rings of the Immortal Spirits]—this was the original prototype of the ritual. It was a grand spell cast by six great spirits of wind, light, fire, thunder, earth, and water, who sacrificed their own lives to annihilate the evil dragon Nidhogg."
"An ancient elven sage referenced this ritual and removed the most unstable elements. Thunder and light—keeping only the four fundamental aspects of wind, water, earth, and fire."
"The stabilized [Six Rings of the Immortal Spirits]... should now be called [Four Elements Secret Ring]. Its function is to gather and supply magic power."
"However, the recipient of this magic power is not a weapon but a person."
"A thousand years ago, an elven king used an attack imbued with the magic of twelve elven sages to eradicate a powerful monster that threatened the safety of their race."
Riveria frowned slightly, puzzled, "[Four Elements Secret Ring]... why have I never heard of it?"
"Because it's practically useless, it was lost ages ago."
Friana bluntly stated, "Do you think this so-called secret magic is strong? In reality, its magic efficiency is far inferior to the [Fairy King's Mark] you received through divine blessings."
"If not for the fact that divine blessings didn't exist back then, who would use such an inefficient spell?"
In ancient times, before divine blessings, even elves, without the aid of the great spirits, could only release a few small fireballs after decades of training and meditation. They were far inferior even to modern Lv.2 mages.
Friana sighed helplessly, "I spent decades and still couldn't restore this formation. It's undoubtedly one of my biggest research failures."
Hearing this, Riveria was momentarily stunned, "You couldn't restore it? Then we..."
Friana: "Later, I got so frustrated that I left the Elven Forest, met a goddess, received a divine blessing, and then obtained [Four Elements Secret Ring] as a magic spell. An enhanced version of the original."
A lost secret technique that she failed to restore even after decades of research was granted in an optimized version by a single drop of divine blood. This was the unreasonable power of divine blessings.
Riveria was silent for a few seconds: "So, we are going to..."
"That's right, use this spell to supply magic power to Emiya. And since you were even willing to give him the 'Ring of the Elven King,' that's perfect. Combined with your [Fairy King's Mark], the efficiency will increase significantly."
Friana fearlessly met Riveria's gaze, "This is the only way. Without it, we can't kill Antares, and everyone will die."
Riveria fell silent. She looked at Emiya, then at the silent Artemis standing behind him.
The goddess bit her lower lip lightly and nodded.
"...I understand," Riveria compromised.
Emiya took a deep breath and stepped forward, gently holding the elven princess's slender, fair hands.
"Riveria nee-san, believe in me. I will return," He spoke seriously.
"…Alicia told me that when you kiss an elven woman, your abilities significantly increase?", Riveria suddenly asked.
Emiya: "What?"
"Yes or no. Answer me directly."
"Yes—"
Before Emiya could finish speaking, he felt a cool sensation on his lips.
'It's true, but that's because of the bond I share with Ryuu and the others, not because I kissed an elf…', That was what he had intended to say.
Riveria turned away from him, her back facing him, and spoke softly.
"We have done everything we can. Shirou, may fortune favor you in battle."
———
Emiya, alone, leaped down from the altar.
"Move out, to your respective positions… Hedin, can you still move?"
Riveria spoke softly.
"I'm fine, just temporarily out of magic power. With a spirit elixir and my skills, I'll recover quickly,".The platinum-haired elf spoke lightly.
Before Emiya stepped onto the battlefield, Hedin had bestowed a magic upon him.
The [White Fairy's Magic Wand] possessed three spells.
First Magic: [Caelus Hildr] – Wide-area annihilation magic.
Second Magic: [Varian Hildr] – Single-target attack magic.
Third Magic: [Laurus Hildr] – A bestowed magic, lightning attribute, with ultra-short chant time.
The Blessing of Thunder Flash cloaked the recipient in lightning armor, enhancing attack power, defense, and speed, while also improving reaction time and sensory perception.
It could not be used on oneself, only on someone the caster recognized. Upon activation, it drained all of the caster's magic power but fully restored the recipient's injuries.
Besides the goddess Freya, no one else in their faction knew about Hedin's final [Magic].
This spell consumed all his remaining mental strength as a price. Hedin himself considered it 'the worst condition' for activation.
However, in exchange, it provided blessings far beyond ordinary enchantments.
The lightning armor, which focused entirely on attack and speed, rivaled Ais' wind blessing—[Ariel].
Due to using this magic, Hedin had completely exhausted his mental power. Yet, at the same time, his abilities had started taking effect.
Development Ability: [Spirit Healing] – Automatically restores mental and physical strength.
Skill: [Hildr Blood] – Increases maximum mental power, magic potency, and mana regeneration speed.
Skill: [Diu Hjaðningavíg] – Enhances all stats during combat, with greater effects when mana is depleted.
With the addition of a high-grade spirit elixir, Hedin recovered in an extremely short time, returning to combat-ready condition.
This was the terrifying nature of the [White Fairy's Magic Wand].
"Everyone, take your positions."
Hedin spoke: "Friana-senpai?"
"Mm…"
Friana pressed her finger to her lips and softly spoke:
"[Whispers of Wind, traverse the endless wasteland,]
[Flames of Fire, burn away all falsehood,]
[Grace of Water, cleanse the dust of the world,]
[Power of Earth, solidify the foundation of all things,]
[Four elements converge, cycling endlessly, the beginning of all laws, weaving the strongest shield and blade in existence!]
[In the name of the spirits, I declare to the heavens and earth: At this moment, the elements align, eternal and unyielding, only wisdom and truth shall remain!]"
Green, red, blue, yellow—four dazzling magic circles slowly emerged at four points on the battlefield.
Four LV.6 elves moved into position within them.
The magical formations resonated with each other, their glowing runes and incantations intertwining, swiftly merging into a vast, magnificent array.
The structure of the formation resembled an ancient star chart, stretching across the ground. Runes and light intertwined, constructing a mysterious and intricate design at an awe-inspiring speed.
At the center of this grand formation, Emiya Shirou stood upon the altar, like the guide of a sacred ritual.
Riveria gently tapped the ground with her staff, [Magna Alf].
With a deep echo, another magic circle, shining with a brilliant green light, unfurled beneath her feet.
The formation, as if alive, expanded in response to her magic until it fused with the Four-Element Array.
Exclusive Skill: [Fairy King's Seal]
Effect: Enhances [Magic] abilities.
Strengthens all elven magic within its domain.
Converts the magical energy consumed within the formation into mental energy, absorbing it into herself.
Mana began to flow through her formation.
Not only did the magic circle amplify the power of the elves, but it also reclaimed the mana they expended, regenerating it into her own mental energy.
The cycle commenced.
The elves' magic power was continuously absorbed, restored, and amplified.
In that moment, humanity and elves grasped the power of perpetual energy.
"At last, we meet, Antares… and the goddess Artemis."
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