This battle had only been possible because of the King of Conquerors' Noble Phantasm. He had provided the vastest of battlefields, allowing all sides to fight without worrying about their Masters being easily caught in the crossfire.
But now, within Ea's mana storm, that very battlefield was on the verge of collapse.
"Hmm... Want to find out?"
Raising the Replica Holy Sword granted by her Noble Phantasm, she uttered those words...
The next instant, Guinevere appeared just before the still-charging King of Heroes, pointing her Holy Sword at his throat.
Falsification of Reality—this Noble Phantasm could be used on herself, granting her any ability she could comprehend.
The result of sprouting wings and charging at supersonic speed was Guinevere's Holy Sword striking a suddenly manifested shield, creating a thunderous boom in the sky.
Ever since Lancelot's surprise attack nearly insta-killed him, the King of Heroes had been constantly on guard against a repeat of such an incident.
"You couldn't resist, could you, Mongrel?"
With a cold sneer, hundreds of golden ripples spread through the air, summoning a barrage of Noble Phantasms, all imbued with Anti-Magecraft effects.
Previously, Guinevere's attempt to use her Falsification on Kariya had failed, an event the King of Heroes had witnessed. This had given him insight into potential countermeasures against such Magecraft.
After forcing Guinevere back and compelling her into a series of aerial acrobatics, the King of Conquerors' army finally reached a position where they could fire their arrows at him.
An army of over ten thousand, unleashing far more than ten thousand arrows. As the endless rain of arrows soared upward like reverse fireworks, the King of Heroes finally swung his fully charged Ea.
The heavens and earth warped; the world itself split apart.
The strength of the Ionioi Hetairoi lay in its overwhelming tide of soldiers, among whom were many heroes whose strength rivaled the King of Conquerors himself. Furthermore, the mana for the Ionioi Hetairoi was supplied by all the Heroic Spirits comprising it.
However, the Ionioi Hetairoi had a critical weakness: the heroes summoned by the army lacked Noble Phantasms, Classes, and had low base stats.
Otherwise, some among them might have been able to counter Ea.
But reality offered no "otherwise." If Ea were allowed to shatter the arrow storm and strike the ground, the Ionioi Hetairoi would truly meet its end.
"Second Noble Phantasm Release! Falsification! The Dining Table is in my hands..."
"Dining Table True Name Release! My heart is a fortress overflowing with brilliance—Lord Camelot!"
Gasps of astonishment filled the air. No one believed a Caster should possess such a Noble Phantasm. But reality defied belief: just as Ea's torrent of mana was about to engulf the Ionioi Hetairoi, Guinevere soared forward, shield raised, to meet the cataclysm head-on.
Fifteen hundred years ago, this very dining table had been part of Guinevere's dowry when she entered Camelot. Had she been summoned in a different Class, it could have been her Noble Phantasm.
Now, Guinevere applied her Falsification to herself, directly altering her Class from Caster to Shielder. This allowed her to unleash the power of the dining table, which she had also Falsified.
Lord Camelot. When this Noble Phantasm was released, a phantom image of Camelot City materialized around the user, transforming the city itself into an ultimate shield.
Moreover, this Noble Phantasm had a unique characteristic: its strength was directly proportional to the user's mental fortitude. As long as the user's heart remained unyielding, the city walls would not crumble.
It was one of the few Noble Phantasms capable of withstanding Ea.
And at this moment, Guinevere's heart overflowed with absolute confidence that she could block Ea.
So, was Guinevere invincible?
No. If the King of Heroes simply tapped her with an anti-magic Noble Phantasm, her Falsification would shatter, and she would revert to a Caster, unable to release the dining table's power.
But as Ea's advance was halted, the King of Heroes responded by unleashing even greater power, refusing to believe that Ea could be stopped by a mere dining table.
"Tohsaka, replenish my mana with a Command Spell!"
Vimana had carried Tohsaka and Rin into the sky. Tohsaka was equally astonished that Guinevere could withstand Ea, but the situation now left no room for the King of Heroes' defeat.
"By the name of my Command Spell, I order you, Archer! Bring me victory!"
When used this way, a Command Spell simply replenished a Servant's mana. With this influx of power, the King of Heroes immediately increased Ea's output.
In that instant, Guinevere also turned to Irisviel, seeking a Command Spell to replenish her own mana. She was not yet willing to tap into the reserves stored within the Replica Holy Sword.
One second... two seconds... ten seconds. Guinevere held firm. But the storm of mana overflowing from the sides of the Camelot City Walls still tore through most of the Ionioi Hetairoi, causing the Reality Marble that served as their battlefield to collapse.
However, thanks to Guinevere's shield, the King of Conquerors and a portion of his army had emerged unscathed. Perhaps, by gathering his strength, he could still unleash a smaller-scale Ionioi Hetairoi.
But he remained silent as the world around him reverted to the Einzbern Castle.
He had boasted that he could defeat the King of Knights, Guinevere, and all the Knights of Camelot combined. Yet now, he owed his life to Guinevere's Noble Phantasm.
High in the sky, Guinevere continued her battle against the King of Heroes. An endless cascade of ripples selected an endless stream of Anti-Magic Noble Phantasms, while Guinevere relentlessly pressed forward through the rain of weapons, trying to close the distance to the King of Heroes.
At that moment, Guinevere had already discarded her Class Falsification, reverting to her true Caster Class.
Deception of Human Order, Falsification of the World was her Second Noble Phantasm as a Caster. Once she abandoned that Class, she could no longer use it.
Scrutiny and doubt filled the King of Heroes' mind. He couldn't comprehend the true nature of Guinevere's Noble Phantasm—it was far too versatile.
Admiration and fury warred within him—admiration that she had blocked his EA head-on, and fury that she had dared to do so.
"If only this King had sufficient mana..."
"Hmph. You say that as if I could fully unleash my Noble Phantasm."
The release of Ea was limited by the mana Tohsaka supplied, and the mana replenished by a single Command Spell had been less than expected.
If his mana were sufficient, Ea's full power could truly annihilate millions of demonic beasts and create a Primordial Hell in the modern world.
Its theoretical upper limit, like Guinevere's Second Noble Phantasm, was the infinite potential of an EX Rank.
Meanwhile, on the ground, back in the banquet garden of the castle, Kiritsugu Emiya was demanding that the King of Knights attack the King of Conquerors and his Master. But the King of Knights immediately refused.
As a knight, she would never take advantage of an opponent's weakness.
Besides...
"We invited the King of Conquerors to this banquet. He voluntarily helped us eliminate the 'rats.' By both honor and reason, we cannot attack him now."
In the sky, Guinevere continued her battle. She saw the King of Knights' vehement refusal below, even as she felt her own mana rapidly depleting.
Should I gamble the mana stored in the Holy Sword? Or have Irisviel use another Command Spell?
The mana within the Replica Holy Sword remained untouched, but falsifying her Class and blocking Ea with a mere dining table had consumed a massive amount of her reserves.
Guinevere had proven herself, demonstrating that her Falsified Noble Phantasm was as potent as the genuine article. However, tanking the attack head-on with a shield was simply not worth the cost.
The problem was, Guinevere had no other choice. If she hadn't blocked it...
"King of Heroes," Guinevere called out mid-flight, "why did you have to go berserk? Why did your Ea release have to envelop us too? Otherwise, I would have let you eliminate the King of Conquerors first."
As she spoke, a thousand ripples materialized behind the King of Heroes, each revealing an Anti-Magic Noble Phantasm.
While doing this, he also retrieved a strange fruit from the ripples. After taking a single bite, his mana seemed to fully replenish.
Watching this, Guinevere's breath hitched. The beating of her dragon-like wings faltered for a moment, causing her to nearly be struck by an incoming Noble Phantasm.
Is this for real? How could the King of Heroes possibly have a way to replenish his own mana? I remember in the original story, after gaining a physical body in the Fourth War, he had to resort to eating children to survive until the Fifth War!
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Guinevere couldn't help but draw her Replica Holy Sword. At that instant, it was the King of Heroes' turn to freeze.
"My King, please withdraw for today. Rin has returned to my side."
It's Tohsaka! He's the one kneeling before the King of Heroes! His counsel is what's provoking the King of Heroes' further displeasure!