Miracle Summoner

"————"

Silence.

A deathly silence.

All sounds and movements vanished, leaving behind nothing but a space of absolute stillness.

The vast and bright hall had disappeared.

The earth-shaking commotion had unknowingly subsided.

However, the invisible winds of the world's peeling still blew gently, leaving behind only an eerie and illusory space—colorless yet seemingly full of colors, with auroras drifting and vortexes swirling, an utterly surreal sight.

"This place is…"

Mash, Bedivere, and Artoria Alter assumed guarded stances as they surveyed their surroundings in astonishment.

Rozen's gaze swept around at high speed, his Mind's Eye rapidly processing information, causing his expression to grow somewhat grim.

With Thought Acceleration and Thought Partitioning aiding him, Rozen understood almost instantly where they were.

This was the world's end.

This was also the interior of the Tower at the End.

When the world's outer shell was peeled away, the world that emerged was precisely this—an unfathomable, boundless space where only the floor beneath their feet remained unchanged.

"This just got tricky…"

Rozen murmured under his breath.

There was no helping it.

Within this realm, Rozen found that his Mind's Eye had lost its effectiveness.

That was not surprising.

"My Mind's Eye is originally a power that allows me to perceive the microscopic world. But now that the world's outer shell has been stripped away, its physical laws have been altered. Everything here is sustained by some unknown, mysterious force. Naturally, most of my Mind's Eye's power is nullified."

Now, Rozen's Mind's Eye had lost most of its abilities, leaving only its function of perceiving weaknesses in enemies and allies.

Of course, if Rozen were willing to unshackle his Mind's Eye and fully unleash its power, he could still peer into the world's essence, read its records, and grasp all of its past, present, and future.

Unfortunately, he was not yet capable of doing so.

That was why Rozen muttered that things had become tricky.

On the other hand, the ruler of this place could now wield even greater power with absolute ease.

Because…

"I am the Storm King, the Lord of the End, the Arbiter standing at the world's boundary. By the name of Rhongomyniad, I shall bring judgment upon all."

Artoria stepped forward toward the group.

At some point, she had already grasped her holy lance in hand.

From the lance, surging divine energy radiated outward.

"You seek to stop me, don't you?"

Artoria's eyes, shining with the brilliance of the stars, locked onto them.

"Then come, heroes of humanity."

With those words, a violent storm erupted around Artoria.

"The Authority of the Storm…!"

Mash cried out.

As the master of the holy lance and the warden of the Tower at the End, Artoria could wield all the powers of Rhongomyniad at will.

And since the lance was both the pillar that anchored the world's outer shell and the spearhead of the storm, Artoria could freely manipulate both light and tempest, bringing ruin to all before her.

"Perish."

With that declaration, the storm that raged around Artoria transformed into ferocious tornadoes, each like a tempestuous spear, hurtling toward Rozen and his companions.

"Scatter!"

Without hesitation, Artoria [Alter] shouted, stomping the ground and launching herself to the side.

"…..!"

Bedivere immediately mustered all his strength to follow suit, raising his silver arm as the blade of light extended from it.

"Senpai!"

Mash attempted to stand in front of Rozen, raising her shield to block the storm, only to be pulled into his arms.

"Kinu!"

Rozen called upon the name of his protective divine spirit, causing his coat to billow as if it had come to life. With Mash in his embrace, he transformed into a shadow and swiftly retreated.

The tornadoes immediately adjusted their course, twisting like dragons in pursuit of Rozen.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!…"

Everywhere the storm passed, the ground shattered, exploding into countless fragments of stone and rubble.

Its power had grown far more terrifying than the last time Rozen had seen it.

Back then, Artoria had neither fought at full strength nor stood within the Tower at the End. Her power had been somewhat restrained.

Now, she was wielding her Authority without reservation, making the might of the Storm Anchor truly fearsome.

In response…

"Come forth, Hokuto!"

Rozen did not hesitate to unleash his full strength.

Boom!

A dazzling light erupted from Rozen, soaring skyward like a streak of radiance.

"Roarrrr!"

With a dragon's cry, the light condensed into a long, serpentine form—an immortal golden dragon appearing in full glory.

This was Hokuto, the dragon Rozen had obtained at the Tsuchimikado household and nurtured to its current peak.

Having remained unsummoned for a long time, Hokuto's roar was filled with fervor and exhilaration.

With that fervor and exhilaration, Hokuto's body twisted through the air, surging with astonishing dragon energy, streaking toward the oncoming storm like a ray of light.

"BOOM!"

A thunderous collision erupted, sending shockwaves rippling through the realm.

Hokuto brazenly tore through Artoria's tempest, scattering tornadoes with its radiant dragon form until they vanished without a trace.

Hokuto's power had grown tremendously compared to before.

Naturally, this was because Rozen had also grown, and as his Beast Vassal, Hokuto had benefited as well.

Now, Hokuto surpassed even the strongest of dragon species, its power approaching grand-tier levels.

"A dragon…? You truly summon rare creatures."

Artoria remained unfazed. Her expression unchanged, she raised her holy lance.

"Roarrr!"

As if provoked, Hokuto let out an enraged cry, diving toward Artoria with a powerful atmospheric surge.

"Holy Lance..."

Artoria's cold voice rang out. Without retreating a single step, she thrust Rhongomyniad forward.

Thus, the lance's tip and the dragon's head collided.

"BOOM—!"

A radiant explosion burst forth, followed by Hokuto's anguished roar. .

Hokuto had lost.

Under a single strike from the holy lance, Hokuto's long body was flung away, crashing into the distance before slamming into the ground with a resounding impact, sending debris flying.

Artoria was about to pursue, but her movements halted.

The reason was simple.

"Holy Sword, shine forth."

A dark figure flickered beside Artoria, unleashing a terrifying surge of mana.

Like a black storm, the figure's jet-black holy sword radiated ominous light.

Who else could it be but Artoria [Alter]?

"BOOM!"

Artoria [Alter] raised her blackened holy sword, now engulfed in a dark aurora, and slashed down at Artoria.

"Clang—!"

The blade struck against the hastily raised holy lance, sending out a deafening impact.

"Zing—!"

Brilliant radiance and abyssal darkness burst forth, dazzling like twin suns.

"BOOM—!"

An explosive shockwave followed, sweeping away everything around the two Kings.