At this moment, both Lin Luo and the King of Heroes understood that the current Saber simply could not be judged by conventional means. Although the corruption by the Black Mud had changed her in unknown ways, one thing was certain: in her eyes, everything she saw was an enemy. Including Lin Luo, including the King of Heroes—her desire was not to eliminate just one person, but both of them entirely.

Of course, even though she was polluted by the Everdistant Utopia, as a warrior, she possessed incredibly precise judgment. She knew that facing the two enemies before her, her win probability in a one-on-one fight was slim; she could not allow herself to fall into such a scenario. Therefore, the prerequisite was that these two must perish together or at least sustain heavy mutual damage, leaving her to reap the ultimate benefit.

Lin Luo and the King of Heroes were bewildered by the Dark Saber's insidious strategy, yet they had gained some insight into her motivation, otherwise, the fight wouldn't have descended into such chaos. This left both of them deeply troubled about the next course of action. Firstly, Gilgamesh, the Loli Servant, had lost her Master, meaning the time she could remain in the current world was limited.

Although the Black Mud slightly augmented her power, it couldn't sustain a Servant without a Master. As for Lin Luo, setting aside the unknown repercussions of delving deep into the world to contact the Root, the more critical issue was that the power of the Everdistant Utopia was growing, while the protection of Avalon was slowly fading. Once he lost the sheath’s defense, confronting the Everdistant Utopia would be nearly impossible.

So, what was to be done? There was only one way... "You'll exit the stage first, Saber." Both of them directed their attacks toward the dark maiden simultaneously.

Though Lin Luo was reluctant to strike, the overall situation took precedence. Moreover, as a Servant, she couldn't truly die, and he still had an unused Command Spell; perhaps he could summon her back later. However, the two had clearly underestimated the current King of Knights.

The corruption of the Black Mud had not only massively increased Saber’s strength but had also brought her sly and cunning side to the forefront... Ten years on the battlefield, twelve major wars fought, with zero defeats—she had clawed her way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. In terms of sheer combat experience, few among the Heroic Spirits could surpass her.

Lin Luo, despite his current power matching Saber's, had been an ordinary otaku just a year ago, possessing practically no combat experience. As for the Loli of Gold, while her power was heaven-defying, that was due to the strength of her Noble Phantasms; her own combat skill level was mediocre, compounded by her greatly diminished magical energy now. Thus, although they attacked the Dark Saber with a shared purpose, after only a short skirmish, they realized the opponent they were fighting desperately was their former "ally," while their mutual enemy had slipped away to unleash an Enuma Elish barrage on them.

Two individuals possessing power superior to Saber’s but saddled with abysmal close-quarters capabilities were being toyed with by the Dark Saber's tactics, leaving them utterly frustrated to the point of vomiting blood. "Damn it, King of Heroes! What are you doing?

If you don't want to fight, get out of the way! The Holy Grail is gone anyway; what are you still clinging to?" Lin Luo grew angrier as he fought, unable to resist cursing the Loli of Gold. "Hmph, mongrel!

Are you ordering this Great King? Are you seeking death?" Infinite killing intent flared in the Loli’s eyes. Their fragile alliance immediately shattered.

She leveled the Sword of Rupture at Lin Luo and sneered, "Never mind, I'll tell you: I have decided to make you my eternal slave. With your power, if you die, you're guaranteed to form a contract with the world. So...

rejoice, mongrel, you have the supreme honor of serving this King." The Loli of Gold burst into laughter, then unleashed her strongest attack—Enuma Elish! "Damn it all!" Lin Luo felt on the verge of a breakdown. How could this Loli be so brazenly arrogant?

But then again, since when had she set her sights on him? Lin Luo’s face was a mask of confusion, but his hands never stopped moving. He activated his Rule Power to forty percent and struck toward his opponent.

At this very moment, the Dark Saber also assumed a stance. A deep, shadowy light coalesced around her corrupted Ea, directing her Enuma Elish toward Lin Luo and the King of Heroes. Having fought for so long, the two were already highly wary of her and had no intention of being casually annihilated by a sneak attack.

In an instant, their attacks shifted, converging on the dark Enuma Elish. Just as these three formidable energies were about to collide, a massive bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the heavens, striking the three converging energies with pinpoint accuracy... BOOM!

With an earth-shattering roar, Lin Luo’s white mist, the King of Heroes' beam of magical energy, and the Dark Saber's black light vanished instantly without a trace, leaving only the sun-like lightning flickering. "What was that?" Lin Luo's expression drastically changed. "Uh..." Not only him, but even the King of Heroes was momentarily speechless.

What kind of attack could completely erase three such immense energies? This was preposterous! The most tense, however, was the Dark Saber.

The instant the lightning appeared, she felt immense pressure, her face displaying extreme caution as she gripped her Holy Sword tightly, alertly watching. Then, the three simultaneously turned their gaze toward one direction, and what they saw next... was the small figure entirely enveloped in rampant lightning, bathed in its radiance—Misaka Mikoto.

"No, that's impossible, right?" The King of Heroes’ face was filled with disbelief. She could not fathom that her attack had been neutralized by such a small girl, yet she had no choice but to believe it. Because that little girl had one hand pointed toward the still-flickering lightning, and she could sense the overwhelming, unparalleled might radiating from the opponent.

Outmatched. Absolutely outmatched. The King of Heroes' intuition screamed at her: if she dared to attack that person, she would be instantly reduced to dust, leaving no trace behind.

"Mikoto, you..." Lin Luo was equally stunned. What in the world was happening? Never mind how Mikoto had suddenly become so powerful; he sensed profoundly that the girl before him was no longer the person she used to be, filling him with unease.

But before Lin Luo could finish speaking, Mikoto snapped her fingers lightly. CRACK! A deafening thunderclap sounded, instantly drowning out Lin Luo’s words.

Then, boundless lightning flashed across the night sky, far more intense than the display by the river the previous night. The light was so dazzling it was nearly blinding, and it all struck down upon Mikoto. Of course, as an Electromaster, she could never be killed by lightning.

On the contrary, these electrical discharges provided her with even greater power. To the astonishment of the three watching, she absorbed and assimilated all that lightning energy, and then... The body, originally only seven years old, instantly grew, transforming into the figure of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old maiden: a beautiful face, a tall figure, a full bust, flowing long hair...

her entire being radiated the allure of a mature woman, mingled with divine majesty. "This..." Lin Luo was momentarily too shocked to speak. Next, without any external aid, Mikoto slowly ascended into the sky, floating above the void, her gaze fixed upon the Black Mud Pit below...

The Everdistant Utopia seemed to sense a threat, letting out a roar akin to a wild beast as endless Black Mud surged madly toward Mikoto. "Be careful..." After uttering those two words, Lin Luo realized his concern was unnecessary. A faint luminous barrier materialized around Mikoto, and all the Black Mud was immediately blocked outside, completely unable to penetrate.

The next moment, Mikoto raised her hand, making no motion, yet all the Black Mud began to retreat... In his fear, Lin Luo could sense that the Everdistant Utopia was terrified. "Judgment," a soft voice issued from Mikoto's lips, yet it carried immeasurable authority.

Then, the instant her hand swept downward, the apocalypse for the Everdistant Utopia arrived—Divine Judgment. At this moment, there was no resistance, no opposition; her word was truth, it was everything. Endless lightning cleaved down from the heavens.

Every speck of Black Mud it touched was instantaneously vaporized. The churning pit of mud, the exploding muck... they seemed to scream, to lament.

Then, in less than ten seconds, all the Black Mud vanished. The Everdistant Utopia was utterly eradicated, not a single trace remaining, including the polluted Black Holy Grail. Completely, absolutely erased from the world.

"This, this is simply..." Lin Luo was dumbfounded. Not only him, but the King of Heroes and the Dark Saber also found it utterly incredible. The Everdistant Utopia, which even they couldn't resist, had been so effortlessly resolved in ten seconds.

This was madness! However, before anyone could process their shock, after eliminating the Everdistant Utopia, Mikoto turned her gaze toward them—or rather, toward the Dark Saber. "That is?" Lin Luo hadn't been able to see clearly because of the blinding lightning earlier, but now he saw clearly: within those brown irises, there was a gaze utterly devoid of human expression—no emotion, no desire, like a high and mighty god looking down upon the ants below.

"Mikoto, what are you..." "Evil must be purged." The cold, emotionless declaration seemed crafted only for the extinction of wickedness. Mikoto raised her hand, aiming it at the Dark Saber, and lightning flickered. "Stop!" Before Mikoto could launch her attack, Lin Luo hastily shielded the Dark Saber.

He could feel it, though he didn't know why—he knew with absolute certainty that Mikoto's attack was fundamentally different from his or the King of Heroes'. If he or Gilgamesh killed the Dark Saber, she would merely have been defeated in this Holy Grail War. But if Mikoto killed her, Lin Luo knew...

Saber would disappear completely. Not just the Dark Saber before him, but even Altria, lingering outside the flow of time, would utterly cease to exist. Furthermore, Mikoto’s current state was bizarre; that expression devoid of feeling was not the one the original her possessed.

She was completely like an empty shell without a soul. If this state were allowed to continue, the real her would never return.