["Kill you… kill you… I'll kill you!"]
[Atanta, consumed by madness, drew her Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven and unleashed a relentless storm of dark arrows toward Jeanne.]
[The wild, feral nature of her attacks disoriented Jeanne. The unpredictable onsught, devoid of any strategy or rhythm, forced her into defensive maneuvers. But the relentless arrows still found their mark, inflicting wound after wound.]
["Archer, well done. Ruler will soon be eliminated."]
[Semiramis, seated atop her throne in the Hanging Garden of Babylon, showed no concern for Atanta's deteriorating condition. With a wave of her hand, she commanded the Bck Coffin to lock onto Jeanne and fire with full force.]
[But the next moment, she froze in disbelief.]
["What are you doing?!" ]
---
Semiramis: "???"
Waver: "Looks like something unexpected just happened."
Tohsaka Rin: "Could it be Sieg? Or Astolfo? Or maybe the siblings who vanished earlier?"
---
["You're so annoying!"]
[Astolfo, atop his Hippogriff, grumbled as Karna continued his relentless pursuit. Despite the dimensional jumps granted by Hippogriff, Karna gave him no room to breathe.]
[Even though they'd reached the Hanging Garden, the constant pressure from Karna's spear kept them circling the airspace with no chance to nd.]
["Damn it… this is draining way too much mana. Master, you okay back there?"]
["Yeah… I'm fine," Sieg replied through bored breaths.]
[Astolfo blinked in surprise. By all logic, Sieg's mana reserves should've been nearly depleted after such prolonged use of Astolfo's Noble Phantasms. Yet Sieg seemed unfazed.]
---
Kayneth: "Impossible! After all those Noble Phantasm activations, Sieg's mana reserves should be completely drained."
Waver: "Could it be Siegfried's heart… or Sieg himself?"
Siegfried: "Hard to say… but if it's the heart, it shouldn't provide that much magic."
---
[Astolfo gave a thumbs-up. "Amazing, Sieg! You're like a walking mana generator."]
["Yeah… but this can't go on forever."]
["True. Give me a sec to figure something out."]
["We have six minutes," Sieg said. "Use that time to destroy as many of the bck coffins as possible. If we disrupt their formation, Jeanne and Archer might break through."]
[Astolfo caught the determination in Sieg's eyes and turned his head away. "Don't you dare die on me, okay?"]
["I won't," Sieg said, forcing a smile. "Rider, trust me."]
[Ahead, one of the massive bck coffins loomed in the night sky. It was rge enough to serve as a nding point.]
[Astolfo tightened his grip on the reins. "All right, time to get this mission started!"]
---
Tohsaka Rin: "Looks like he pns to transform into Siegfried again."
Waver: "The first fight of this Holy Grail War was Siegfried versus Karna… looks like history is repeating itself."
Tohsaka Tokiomi: "But Sieg's transformation is time-limited. Against someone like Karna, his odds aren't great."
Siegfried: "Karna is no ordinary opponent. Even if I were summoned directly, I'd have difficulty defeating him. And here… we're at a terrain disadvantage."
Emiya Kiritsugu: "It's less about winning and more about deying. Sieg is buying time for Astolfo."
---
["Rider, ready?"]
["Yeah."]
["Got it. Go for it!"]
[As the Hippogriff hovered above the bck coffin, Sieg leaped off its back. Mid-air, his Command Seals ignited, activating the dormant circuits in his body.]
[Light engulfed him as Siegfried, Saber of Bck, manifested once more.]
["There you are."]
[Karna greeted the transformation with a nod. He abandoned his pursuit of Astolfo and charged straight at Sieg.]
[Sieg drew his greatsword, bracing for the collision.]
---
Siegfried: "Ah, Karna… I wish I could face you myself."
Karna: "I feel the same. Perhaps another time."
Siegfried: "As long as we're part of this war, that day will come."
---
["Balmung!"]
[Without hesitation, Sieg released Siegfried's signature Noble Phantasm.]
[Karna made no effort to dodge. The wave of mana engulfed him, and Sieg lunged forward with a follow-up strike. The two cshed midair, falling off the bck coffin in a flurry of steel and fire.]
[As they descended, several of the bck coffins pivoted toward Sieg, unleashing a barrage of anti-army light projectiles.]
[Sieg's greatsword shimmered as he deflected the incoming attacks, the bullets ricocheting into the night.]
---
Waver: "He's deflecting the bck coffins' bsts?!"
Siegfried: "That's the Armor of Fafnir. It offers resistance to magical attacks."
Tohsaka Rin: "Wait… that basic-looking armor is actually a Noble Phantasm?"
---
["Assassin, I'm going to damage your garden. Don't bme me."]
[Karna nded on the Hanging Garden, his golden spear humming with divine power.]
["O Brahma, grant me thy strength…"]
[He stomped down, shattering the marble beneath his feet, and hurled his spear toward Sieg with the force of a meteor.]
[Sieg pnted his feet and raised his sword. Once again, Balmung roared to life.]
[The resulting explosion illuminated the sky, blinding everyone on the battlefield.]
---
[Meanwhile, a small pne, hidden behind the rger decoy jets, finally reached the Hanging Garden.]
[Fiore and Caules sat inside, tension written across their faces.]
[The pn had worked, while the rger pnes served as decoys, this eleventh pne had remained hidden until the st moment.]
---
Caules: "Haha… making a feint while attacking. Cssic."
Caules: "Fiore, we made it!"
Tohsaka Rin: "Yeah, but… what's the point of just the two of you being there?"
Caules: "Ah…"
Fiore: "…That's… a fair point."
---
[The siblings disembarked cautiously. Caules summoned a spirit familiar, a low-level predatory bird to assist their descent.]
[As they touched down on the Hanging Garden, Fiore's gaze lingered on the wreckage nearby.]
["…Is Chiron gone?"]
["Yeah," Caules said softly.]
[Fiore took a deep breath. She'd already accepted this outcome. Chiron had said his goodbyes beforehand.]
[But reality hit harder than she'd anticipated.]
---
Ishtar: "Pfft… you two climbed all the way up there for nothing?"
Caules: "..."
Fiore: "We were just… following the pn."
---
[Meanwhile, Astolfo was still in the air, gripping a golden knight's nce while pages from Casseur de Logistille swirled around him like protective talismans.]
[His mission was clear: destroy the Bck Coffins.]
[But even his enchanted tome whispered doubts: This task is nearly impossible.]
[Astolfo grinned. "Impossible? Nah."]
["Heroes exist to make the impossible possible!"]
["Let's gooooo—!"]
[Gathering the power of his four Noble Phantasms, Astolfo finally got serious and charged toward the bck coffin.]
[Question: What will happen to Astolfo next?]
A: Mission failed, killed by "Bck Coffins."
B: Mission failed, gives up on destroying the "Bck Coffins."
C: Mission successful, but falls from mid-air due to exhaustion and is eliminated.
D: Mission successful, but killed by Semiramis.
E: Mission successful, saved by other Servants before Semiramis can kill him.
F: Mission successful, joins up with the others and enters the pace.
[Please answer within 1 minute. Exceeding the time limit will result in forfeiture.]
---
Tohsaka Rin: "Astolfo's mission is to destroy the 'Bck Coffins'! Isn't that impossible?"
Even though Astolfo had four Noble Phantasms, none of them were offensive in nature. And as a Servant, Astolfo wasn't exactly powerful. The thought of him destroying eleven bck coffins in succession seemed unrealistic.
Waver: "But there's no other choice. After all, in the Bck Faction, only Astolfo has the ability to stay airborne."
Semiramis: "Hah! That kid thinks he can break my bck coffin? Don't make me ugh."
Astolfo: "Are you underestimating me? I'm really strong, you know!"
Semiramis: "Then make your choice."
Astolfo: "My choice… I choose… uh…"
There were four possible outcomes if he succeeded, but which one should he pick?
Astolfo knew his limits. Even if he managed to destroy the "Bck Coffins," defeat would likely follow.
But all four options seemed pusible…
***
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