The clash of power against power created a terrifying wind pressure, which swept away the dust in the air, revealing the true form of the hand's owner.
A pure white ceremonial dress, flowing golden hair, a flawless figure and face, and those golden eyes exuding supreme authority—identical to the adjudicator who stood on the outer wall overlooking the battlefield.
"Cast!"
With Zepia's declaration, Phantom Arcueid grasped the scythe's blade with her other hand as well. With both hands exerting force, she lifted the other end of the scythe and then slammed it down heavily.
Luckily, Shinji reacted quickly, dispersing the physical form of the Harpe in time. Otherwise, the slam would have been enough to shatter his grip and break his arm. Although he appeared in the form of a Servant with superhuman physical qualities, he still couldn't compare to a True Ancestor. Even though this was just a replica, her physical attributes were identical to the original.
"Don't underestimate people, seeker of the Third Magic. How does it feel to be attacked by your princess? If you want to defeat Night of Wallachia, you'll have to defeat your princess first—"
The voice was incredibly familiar, one he heard every day.
The speaker wasn't Zepia, but Arcueid, whose voice had also been perfectly replicated.
Shinji, continuously stepping in mid-air to create distance, furrowed his brows tightly. Arcueid was on a completely different level compared to the phantom he had dealt with before. No matter how strong the phantom were, they hadn't reached the level of a Servant. Shinji was confident in defeating any number of them, but this phantom... even if it was just a part, could rival a top-tier Servant. If its completion was high enough, it could even surpass the realm of a Servant.
"—Or will you be killed by the princess?"
As she said this, the phantom Arcueid forcefully pushed off the ground with her legs, appearing in front of Shinji in the blink of an eye, demonstrating the overwhelming agility that came with the exceptional speed.
Following the agility came the display of strength. EX-rank strength could block Shinji's full-power slash single-handedly and could also directly crush his body.
The beautiful fingers curled into claws and slashed down in mid-air.
Shinji hurriedly clasped his hands together, manifesting the Shield of Athena, while simultaneously reversing the thrust of his winged shoes to maximum. This was the best way to counter the claw attack.
Knowing each other for two years, Shinji had often sparred with Arcueid and gradually figured out some countermeasures. The reason he didn't retreat immediately was because of this experience, and he did not believe that Zepia could perfectly replicate a princess with specs higher than the original Arcueid.
The expected claw strike did not arrive. Arcueid claw inexplicably grazed the shield and struck to the side, the powerful force creating a sharp whistle as it cleaved through the air, yet it still failed to hit its mark.
"Oh?"
Shinji raised an eyebrow.
Phantom Arcueid, controlled by Zepia, also uttered a puzzled "tsk" sound.
"Still can't fully control the strength, huh? But next time, it won't miss."
The second claw strike was launched, directly blasting Shinji away and piercing through the outer wall of the Temple building.
"Die!"
"No, the one who will die is you."
Faced with the phantom Arcueid's arrogant declaration, the battered Shinji revealed a confident smile.
"As expected, you're just a king of falsehoods. No matter how you disguise yourself as a True Ancestor, it's just a dishonest lie, a clumsy magic. That power is too immense for you—Zepia, you'll never become a True Ancestor! You're just seeking your death!"
"You really can talk!"
A visible whirlwind rose around the phantom Arcueid, causing the rubble on the ground to tremble continuously under immense force.
"Even if it's false, I am now the executor hunting Dead Apostles. Let's hunt with this false power, oh false moon."
Reality was overturned. Above the Temple building, a massive fireball suddenly appeared over everyone's heads—no, it wasn't a fireball; it was a meteorite. The phantom Arcueid used her power to manifest a meteorite. Although the meteorite wasn't large and it fell slowly, it still possessed a destructive force comparable to Broken Phantasm.
"Ahahahahaha, crush, crush, crush!"
Under the meteorite, the phantom Arcueid laughed maniacally.
Shinji also laughed. He held his shield in one hand and opened his other palm, revealing a deep blue glow swirling within it.
"I was waiting for you to use Marble Phantasm."
The blue glow flashed and exploded upon contact with the air currents surrounding the phantom Arcuied. The scattered light points blossomed like fireworks in the night sky.
Within the fireworks, the phantom suddenly began bleeding from her seven orifices.
Following that, the meteorite above her head also exploded, creating a massive fireworks display a hundred times bigger, dissipating into the night.
"You Yの#￥you D...&did S#& it!...#%what L...#...is@T&90/."
Zepia finally stopped speaking through the phantom Arcueid. However, his sentence was mixed with various languages, such as Tagalog, French, German, Japanese, and Italian, along with many unintelligible syllables. Fortunately, Shinji had inherited Scáthach's knowledge crystal, which made him fluent in many languages; otherwise, anyone else wouldn't have understood what he was saying.
"Nothing much just added a little something to your Marble Phantasm. How does it feel?"
Shinji leisurely sat in the gap he had created, not launching any further attacks, just watching Zepia, whose face was pale and who was babbling nonsensically. That was a sign of mental attack and brain disorder.
Two years ago, during his first battle with Arcueid, at the end of the fight, one of them activated Magic while the other initiated Marble Phantasm. The interference resulted in both of them being blasted unconscious and suffering severe mental damage. If even Arcueid was affected, how could Zepia's phantom escape?
After a brief exchange, Shinji had already determined that while the phantom Arcueid was almost indistinguishable from the real one, Zepia couldn't control this power. The missed claw strike was the best evidence. The fact that Zepia didn't create any other phantom afterward indirectly proved that his computational power had reached its limit like a balloon stretched to its breaking point.
At this moment, what would happen if more gas was injected into the balloon, especially gas that conflicted with the existing gas?
The answer was simple: Boom, explosion.
So, the phantom Arcueid exploded, her blood spraying like a fountain.
The meteorite also exploded, disintegrating before it could interfere with reality.
Shinji didn't explode because he had learned from his previous failure, maintaining a sufficient distance and not entering the range of the phantasm.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! I'm going to tear your flesh into pieces!"
Zepia, clutching his head in pain. The uncontrollable power ravaged the ground and walls, resembling the scale of an earthquake.