Aozaki Aoko Case File

Faced with a torrential downpour of Noble Phantasms, even Marisbury, the esteemed Lord of the Clock Tower, couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

 Unlike his Master's unsettled demeanor, however, King Solomon, as the Servant, remained unfazed. Calmly and methodically, he countered the onslaught of the King of Heroes.

Once again, the power of the Ten Rings in Solomon's hands was unleashed, activating the legendary summoning magecraft for which the King of Magecraft was most renowned in history.

 Confronted with the ferocious assault of the fully armed King of Heroes, Solomon summoned the 38th demon pillar, Halphas, as the foundation to chain-summon Vual, Marax, Stolas, Phoenix, Malthus, Raum, Focalor, and Vepar. Together, they formed an army of nine demon pillars. United as the Arsenal of Nine Pillars, these demons embodied the fire of sorrow and the reverence of destruction.

The moment these nine demon pillars materialized in the world, they synchronized their intrinsic magical formulas, instantly elevating the surrounding magical environment to the level of the Age of Gods.

 Had any ordinary modern humans been nearby, they would have perished immediately from the sheer toxicity of the divine ether; modern humanity is incapable of breathing the air of the Age of Gods.

Under Solomon's precise control, the Arsenal of Nine Pillars united their power, activating a unique spell to amplify their destructive capabilities. Together, they proclaimed to heaven and earth: "The time of conquest has arrived." Their compound eyes radiated a blinding light.

The strange magic, known as the Burn Formula, was unleashed once more. If any Servant was capable of countering the King of Heroes' overwhelming rain of Noble Phantasms with magic alone, it could only be the King of Magecraft, Solomon.

A roar rose from the earth to the heavens as a torrent of magic clashed head-on with the King of Heroes' downpour of treasures. The explosion from their collision illuminated the entire sky, turning night into day.

...

Meanwhile, in the underground workshop beneath the Tohsaka mansion, Tohsaka Tokiomi had already crushed half a box of precious gemstones, yet his condition remained precarious. Sweat poured from his forehead like rain. The tremendous mana consumption from the fierce battle between the King of Heroes and his opponent was proving too much for even this powerful magus to handle.

He began to ponder whether he should use a Command Spell to force the King of Heroes to retreat.

How could it come to this? Tokiomi's thoughts were filled with turmoil. He had summoned the most powerful Servant—the oldest King of Heroes. These accomplishments should have brought him double the joy. Yet, why had they encountered such a fearsome opponent?

As he hesitantly raised his right hand, debating whether to use a Command Spell, someone firmly grabbed his arm and resolutely shook their head.

"Tokiomi, think carefully!" Kotomine Risei, his long-time friend, looked at him seriously. "That King of Heroes is not someone who would tolerate you interfering in his battle at a moment like this. If you act now, it will bring irreversible consequences!"

Forcing himself to calm down, Tokiomi thought for a moment, then reluctantly nodded, deciding to heed his friend's advice.

The time-reversal elixir gifted to him by the King of Heroes earlier was certainly not a treasure to be obtained without cost.

 The notion that everything is secretly marked with a price by fate had never been more vividly demonstrated.

If Tokiomi could support the King of Heroes to victory in this critical battle, it was highly likely that even greater treasures awaited him—rewards surpassing the elixir. Such treasures could secure the Tohsaka family's legacy far beyond the reach of other magical families.

After all, while the King of Heroes would eventually return to the Throne of Heroes after the war, the divine treasures he bestowed would not disappear.

Drenched in sweat, Tokiomi continued supplying mana to the King of Heroes with all his might, mentally cheering himself on, determined not to collapse from the strain.

Above the park near Mion River, the battle between these two unparalleled powerhouses had escalated to a critical point.

Faced with Solomon's powerful counterattack, the King of Heroes decided to draw even more powerful Noble Phantasms.

 Several massive golden ripples—far larger than the usual Gates of Babylon—appeared in the air. Among them, the most prominent was a colossal, twin-edged broadsword.

If any Servant from Sumerian mythology had been present, they would have immediately recognized this weapon: Igalima, the divine weapon of Zababa, the war god and guardian deity of Kish. Known as the Ig-Alima, it was one of his two legendary weapons.

This enormous, seamless sword was not simply designed to cut with its blade or crush with its weight. It combined both properties, capable of cleaving mountains, hence earning the title "Green Field Cutting Through the Thousand Mountains."

Within this divine blade resided the concept of the horizon—the separation of heaven and earth—bearing countless ties to the King of Heroes' strongest Noble Phantasm, Ea.

The fact that the King of Heroes had chosen this weapon meant that he was now fighting with absolute seriousness.

If the current tempo continued, the King of Heroes would undoubtedly reveal the most radiant treasures in his treasury. When that happened, the very survival of Fuyuki City might be at stake.

Seeing the King of Heroes so committed, how could the King of Magecraft—the embodiment of wisdom and intellect—not respond in kind?

Solomon raised his right hand, successively activating the powers of the 8th, 9th, and 10th rings, granting himself and the Arsenal of Nine Pillars defensive, purification, and output-enhancing unbreakable buffs.

The aura of the Nine Demon Pillars, led by Halphas, surged to unprecedented heights. The collective gaze of their myriad eyes focused intently on the divine weapons, led by Igalima.

Fuyuki's leylines were once again violently drained. Even the Aozaki sisters, stationed at the leyline node in Ryudou Temple, sensed the disturbance and dispatched a familiar to investigate.

All the eyes of the Arsenal of Nine Pillars glowed simultaneously, concentrating their combined mana into a single beam aimed at Igalima.

As the beam of light clashed with the divine weapon, the two forces entered a temporary stalemate in the air, neither advancing nor retreating.

However, the streams of magic scattered from their intense conflict caused massive collateral damage to the surrounding environment.

The once-picturesque riverside park had been reduced to blackened, scorched earth, and many nearby buildings were already leveled.

The scale of destruction caused on the very first night of the Holy Grail War far exceeded anything that could be explained away as a gas explosion.

Still, since the local Holy Church and the Clock Tower were not entirely aligned, Kotomine Risei and Tohsaka Tokiomi might manage to cover it up later as a terrorist attack—as long as no further unexpected incidents occurred.