Having fully completed her three-stage transformation, Cirno was now far superior to her ultimate form of Choukyuu—exactly how powerful she had become was about to be revealed.
Though forcibly drawn into the realm within the vase by Eirin Yagokoro, Cirno showed no trace of fear, pressing her attack against Eirin without changing her expression... In truth, given Cirno’s utterly fearless nature, there was truly no one she feared, save perhaps the shrine maiden who had once given her psychological trauma.
Eirin Yagokoro was not the type of warrior who favored close combat; to be more precise, she was a combination of an archer, a mage, and a healer. While she might engage in close quarters when fighting weaker opponents, against a peer of equal strength, she would never allow herself to fall into such a disadvantageous position.
Thus, when facing Cirno’s charge, Eirin flashed backward with blinding speed, instantly evading the attack. She then drew her bow with her left hand and nocked an arrow with her right, and whoosh—that arrow was already flying towards Cirno. In that instant, a sharp sound of piercing the air erupted, like the cry of a wind-whipped eagle... This arrow, crafted entirely from ordinary wood, wielded a power far more terrifying and potent than an anti-army Noble Phantasm in Eirin Yagokoro’s hands.
For someone like Eirin Yagokoro, weapons were entirely superfluous. Even if she used a bow, it was merely a hobby, not a specialty. Never mind an ordinary arrow; even a single fallen leaf could become a divine weapon in her hands, capable of slaying dragons and tigers below, or cleaving the heavens above!
But Eirin’s assault did not stop there. At the very moment she loosed the arrow, she casually waved her hand, and the dazzling Milky Way—the same one that had recently tormented Flicker to the point of wishing for death—manifested in the starry sky, surging torrentially towards Cirno.
“A pincer attack? I’m not overly fond of this situation!” Cirno’s eyes surveyed all directions while her ears strained to hear everything. Despite being struck simultaneously from behind and the front, she showed no panic whatsoever. Facing a supreme expert like Eirin Yagokoro, she actually displayed a hint of excitement. Grinning widely, she declared, “Rather than being caught between two fronts, I prefer to see you scrambling... Sit upon the Frost Sky—Ice Dragon King!”
Cirno bellowed, and instantly, boundless cold surged from within her body. The rapidly incoming arrow was frozen solid by the cold mist before it could even reach her, then shattered with a sharp crack.
Not only that, but once released, the frigid air immediately began to spread outward in a vortex centered on Cirno... In mere moments, the once brilliant starry sky had transformed into a uniform, blinding white expanse, as if the entire world inside the vase had been frozen solid.
Under this comprehensive freeze, the Milky Way was naturally rendered useless.
But it didn't end there. Almost simultaneously, four colossal ice dragons materialized out of thin air, roaring as they coiled and wheeled in the sky. Cirno stood atop the head of one of the ice dragons, arms crossed, looking down upon Eirin Yagokoro with an imposing aura that seemed to solidify and sweep downward.
If Cirno fighting against the likes of Remilia earlier, who held no will to fight, made her seem like a near-saintly, soft-hearted pushover, then at this moment, she had fully transformed into a true queen... Her determined gaze, fearless expression, overbearing aura, lofty demeanor, and the triumphant smile that proclaimed her sole dominion—all of it broadcasted her confidence, composure, coolness, and... eagerness for battle!
This posture, this power—this was the ultimate form of Cirno after her third transformation: the Ice Queen!
“Let me show you just who is truly invincible within this world of frost!” Cirno declared proudly, tapping the ice dragon’s head sharply with her toe. The next moment, the four ice dragons roared fiercely and dove toward Eirin Yagokoro.
Eirin could clearly sense that these four ice dragons were not mere projectiles of condensed ice, but genuinely living entities—in other words... they were Ice Fairies created by Cirno!
Theoretically, Cirno could not create life; after all, even Lin Luo could not achieve such a feat. The reason Shinki could create life was solely because she was the Mistress of the Netherworld, a creator god within that realm, capable of anything—but only there. The beings she created were merely demons, and manufacturing any other form of life was completely impossible for her.
Therefore, no matter how powerful Cirno became, she should not be able to create living bodies.
But!
Ice Fairies were never truly biological life to begin with; they were manifestations of nature.
After evolving to the Ice Queen state via her three-stage transformation, Cirno had reached the apex of the ice element, completely usurping the attribute of ice in the natural world, granting her the ability to create objects from ice... Her existence was no longer just a natural phenomenon; she stood at the position of a creator, reigning over natural phenomena!
Thus, she could easily conjure any ice-based creature.
Furthermore, the Ice Fairies conjured by her were in no way comparable to those spontaneously manifested by natural instinct. Their combat power was nearly equal to Cirno's own.
This terrifying offensive descending upon her forced even Eirin Yagokoro to face it cautiously.
“Secret Art! Astronomical Burial Rite!”
Facing an attack of Cirno’s magnitude, the bow and arrow were now completely useless. Eirin did not hesitate in the slightest, decisively putting away her bow. She then rapidly inscribed symbols in the air with her index fingers, moving like a swimming dragon and dancing phoenix. Instantly, countless visible characters sprang forth, hopping merrily before her.
Following this, the characters rapidly arranged themselves in an inscrutable pattern and simultaneously flew onto the four ice dragons... The ice dragons, which moments before radiated fierce energy, instantly lost their vitality upon being permeated by these characters. They were frozen mid-air before finally shattering into ice dust with a loud boom.
“Hmph, ignorant brat, you want to claim invincibility before me? You are a million years too early!” Eirin scoffed, moving her fingers again, causing even more characters to leap from her fingertips.
As the Sage of the Moon, Eirin Yagokoro’s greatest strength lay not in pharmacology or barriers—though she rarely met her match in those fields—but in her wisdom and magic. During the first Lunar War, it was her overwhelming, unparalleled intellect and spells that allowed her to easily defeat Yukari Yakumo, who was already a Great Yokai Sage at the time, treating her like a child to be toyed with.
Now facing Cirno’s ultimate form, while she admittedly conceded that she was inferior in sheer presence, combat was not won by aura alone. She had no intention of losing to Cirno.
One should not mistake Eirin Yagokoro’s usually amiable demeanor for simple good nature; the reality was quite the opposite. A monstrous being who has lived for hundreds of millions of years, she had long since become detached from petty emotions. As long as her bottom line wasn't crossed, things were fine, but should she truly be angered, the ruthlessness of her methods was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
In addition to being a Sage, Eirin Yagokoro was also an invincible War Goddess!
Therefore, watching Cirno’s arrogant posture, Eirin was prepared to thoroughly crush the girl’s overweening spirit.
Facing the rune engravings flying towards her, Cirno executed a simple hand chop. The peak-level cold energy formed countless sharp swords, instantly freezing and annihilating all the runes. She smiled faintly. “As expected, it wasn’t that simple. In that case, I might as well go a little wild here... Ice Tide! Myriad Tornados!”
In an instant, countless ice dragons manifested around Cirno as the cold intensified. At Cirno's command, all the ice dragons surged toward Eirin Yagokoro.
Such numbers made Eirin slightly pause, but she knew this was no time for contemplation. Cirno might be an idiot generally, but this current incarnation clearly had no issues with intelligence—at least in battle. If she overthought things, she risked exposing an opening.
Eirin immediately began sketching even more runes in the void, dodging the attacks of the ice dragons while weaving the runes into tight formations... Every single rune, in Eirin’s hands, could form a separate array, and the connections between runes created yet another array. These different arrays, when arranged in a structured manner, formed an even larger and stronger lattice. Arrays nested within arrays, arrays bound by arrays... Gradually, a colossal formation capable of encompassing the entire world began to take shape under her hands, a structure containing ten thousand minor arrays, infinite in its mystery.
This was the ultimate manifestation of Eirin Yagokoro blending her wisdom and magic—Myth!
Both her personal existence and the secret arts she wielded were, to countless beings, a myth... One could only witness the myth, but never fathom its secrets, and certainly never resist it!
Unleashing the Myth technique signified that, at this moment, Cirno’s strength had earned Eirin’s full acknowledgment, meeting Cirno’s challenge with her strongest power.
The battle between these two had now completely transcended the level of Heroic Spirits. Even with their power restricted, they could still be classified as human-shaped strategic-level world-destroying forces. This was precisely why Eirin Yagokoro had drawn Cirno into the pocket dimension of the vase; otherwise, a fight between them in Fuyuki City would have caused catastrophic destruction.
At that point, stopping their battle would require Lin Luo and Rin Tohsaka to intervene personally, or the deployment of the two Counter Guardians.
...
Meanwhile, shortly after the battle between Eirin Yagokoro and Cirno ignited, Sanae launched her assault on the remaining group... Although she was personally reluctant, one must follow orders when caught in the currents of fate.
In terms of sheer strength, without the divine power support of Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya, Sanae might not have been able to defeat Flandre alone, let alone fight against ten opponents simultaneously.
However, Flandre’s rampage had concluded after the previous exchange, meaning she was at her weakest moment. Moreover, the others were severely drained, either having exhausted their magical energy or physical stamina. Coupled with the infinite mana cheat Lin Luo had granted Sanae, anti-army or anti-fortress Noble Phantasms became effortless to deploy... Under these circumstances, even though the opposition was numerous, they were still unable to halt the overwhelmingly one-sided defeat.
Fortunately, despite her internal complaints, Sanae was very conscientious in carrying out her duties; she merely defeated her opponents without killing them. Had she not, the likes of Marisa would likely have already been killed and sent home.
“Wait! Mei-dream, what are you doing?” Just as Sanae was displaying her might, Mei-dream swiftly pulled Tohsaka Sakura out of the fray, confusing Sakura, who asked immediately.
“The situation has changed. Staying there now won't end well for us, so we're retreating,” Mei-dream replied while pulling Sakura away.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. That shrine maiden is invincible right now. No matter how many of us there are, we’ll only be defeated, so there’s no point wasting our strength.” Mei-dream explained.
“But...” Sakura hesitated before saying, “Even though that person is indeed formidable, if we just leave, what about the others?”
“Don’t worry, they won’t die.”
“How do you know?”
“Because... that’s how the plot generally goes.”
“Plot?” Sakura’s mind was instantly filled with question marks.
“In short, that’s how it is. Stop asking questions. Our battle today is over. Get a good rest tonight, and we can discuss things tomorrow. Next time... next time we meet that shrine maiden, we will definitely win!” With that, Mei-dream said no more, hurrying with Sakura towards the Tohsaka residence.
Though Sakura didn't understand a word of what she was saying, she could only follow her arrangement.
...
About fifteen minutes later, Sanae's fight with Marisa and the others concluded, with the outcome precisely as Mei-dream had predicted: everyone was thoroughly defeated by Sanae, but no one died... For some unknown reason, after defeating the group, Sanae suddenly departed.
“Why was it like this?” After receiving this news from Rider, Tohsaka Sakura pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure out what had happened.
And she was not the only one burdened by this doubt. It included not only the Shingetsu Group, the Magic Group, and the Kara no Kyoukai Group, but also certain individuals secretly monitoring the Holy Grail War, such as Karin of the Church, and the native Servant of the Type-Moon world—Caster.
In a dimly lit room, a woman entirely shrouded in a voluminous cloak lowered her head, gazing at a mirror suspended in mid-air. The scene reflected within the mirror was the battlefield where Sanae and the others had just been.
This woman was Caster, a Heroic Spirit summoned by the Grail. Through her magic mirror, she had witnessed the entire battle that night. Originally planning to strike after others had weakened, she was now stunned by the power displayed by those individuals and had no idea what to do next.
“Bazett, what are your thoughts?” After a moment, Caster sighed deeply, turning her gaze toward the side.
On a table next to her, a physically imposing, simple-minded beauty in male attire was quietly eating. Hearing Caster’s question, she immediately put down her food, thought seriously for a few minutes, and then stated with conviction, “I don’t know.”
“...” Caster was speechless.
PS: I’ve finally finished writing this battle. I honestly didn't expect the first fight to take up so much space. Next, I’ll return to slice-of-life, and flirt with some girls along the way... Hmm, this is what I enjoy writing most, and I won't get stuck on writer's block.
Also, please consider giving me monthly votes; we’re almost at five hundred votes. And there will be another chapter exceeding five thousand characters tonight.