Chapter 26: The Strongest... Master?

The emotion known as terror fermented across the wharf. But then, demons are beings born to inflict fear upon others.

Are they not?

Zoran had struck with a casual air, yet the trench carved into the concrete was etched like a permanent scar into the minds of everyone present. One by one, gazes full of profound shock fixed upon him, this Master in Taoist robes, drifting serenely in mid-air.

"Ah... he really is a Master. I'm not seeing things, but..."

But in all of history, had there ever been a Master this powerful? Or rather, had there ever been a magus this powerful?

Undoubtedly, Zoran was a magus. But was it even logical for a magus to be this strong? He looked capable of tearing a Servant apart with his bare hands!

In the night sky, Zoran seemed satisfied with his entrance. He lightly brushed a speck of non-existent dust from his sleeve, his long, violet-black hair nearly blending into the darkness.

"How do you feel?" He looked toward Shendu, whose aura was somewhat flagging.

Zoran raised a finger and gave a light tap. A surge of emerald light flowed into Shendu's body. This was Chi Magic, a craft he had mastered while in Uncle's Rare Finds. For a demon whose lifespan was measured in tens of millions of years, once a skill was learned, forgetting it was the difficult part.

That is, unless he was once more trapped in the Netherworld.

At this moment, Shendu's aura swelled. He stretched his monstrous limbs as power surged through him, returning this vessel to its absolute peak.

"That is much better," Shendu hissed with a wicked grin.

Zoran's gaze swept across the battlefield, ignoring the collective shock. The outcome of this Holy Grail War had been decided from the very beginning. He was merely making a minor move to manifest that reality.

Nothing more.

"MONGREL—!!!"

From the pitch-black water, a golden light erupted. Gilgamesh's face was distorted, contorted by a rage beyond measure. As the oldest King, to be so utterly dismissed was an absolute, unforgivable insult.

Emerging from the sea, he held Ea high and roared, "Destroy everything! ENUMA ELISH!"

The titanic force shoved thousands of tons of seawater to either side as the Anti-World power of the Noble Phantasm surged toward Zoran in a frontal assault.

"Angry, are we?" Zoran smiled. He tapped the air with his fingertip once more.

Vroom—

The torrential power slammed into an invisible wall, creating ripples like a stone dropped into a pond. It remained held at bay behind those shimmering waves, unable to advance a single inch.

"He actually blocked Archer's Noble Phantasm?!" In the distance, Waver rubbed his eyes in disbelief. That overwhelming, mysterious weapon had destroyed an entire Reality Marble in an instant. That level of power touched the very limits of existence.

And yet... it was stopped so easily by Caster's Master?

"Hey, you're a magus too. Why aren't you that impressive?" Iskandar asked his Master.

Waver hung his head, looking utterly soul-crushed. "If I were that impressive, why would I need you guys? I could have won this myself," he muttered weakly.

Even among the recorded great magus lineages, no such terrifying individual had ever appeared. While Waver was lost in thought, his teacher, fellow participant and Master of Lancer, Kayneth, was even more shaken.

Kayneth was no ignorant novice. As one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower in London, he was a celebrity in the global magus community. But the scene before him... in all his years, he had never seen anything like it.

This had completely transcended the limits of humanity; it had transcended the very concept of "Magecraft."

This was… Magic!

In an instant, Zoran's silhouette drifting in the night sky became infinitely more terrifying. This man had surpassed the boundaries of a magus. He might very well have... reached the Root!

A brainstorm erupted in Kayneth's mind, bordering on obsession. The power Zoran displayed could no longer be explained by Magecraft. After all, Magecraft was merely a human technique used to imitate Magic. The power he showed was likely true Magic, the power obtained after touching the Root.

The Root. The ultimate goal and truth dreamed of by every magus. It was a craving rooted in their very souls. Every single one!

But... if such a being existed, what was his purpose in seeking the Holy Grail? If he had already reached the Root and understood how to manipulate the essence of the world, why would he continue this quest?

Kayneth couldn't fathom it. The impact of this realization was too strong. He sank to his knees, eyes bloodshot, staring blankly into the night sky.

Zoran, of course, was unaware of Kayneth's mental breakdown. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. The ultimate goal of the magi in this world was to reach the so-called Root, the "beginning and end of all things."

Zoran had never visited such a place. However, if the ability to manipulate the fundamental essence of the world was considered a sign of touching the Root, then he truly possessed that power.

His strength was never "Magecraft"; it was true Magic! This power was a sovereignty etched into his blood, his marrow, and his very soul. It had flowed through every inch of him since the moment of his birth.

With a cold snort, he raised a hand to suppress Ea's world-ending might. Once again, he crushed Gilgamesh back into the sea.

"An Anti-World Noble Phantasm? Hmph..." Zoran let out a faint chuckle. "Come back to me when you can actually destroy a moon."

In the dark depths of the ocean, Gilgamesh began to charge his power once more, preparing to burst through the surface.

Zoran slowly pressed his palm downward.

In an instant, time seemed to congeal. A bird in flight froze in the night sky, motionless. No, it wasn't frozen. The bird beat its wings frantically, but it could not move forward an inch.

From every direction, from heaven to earth! An invisible force held everything within range in an absolute grip. There was no path to the sky, and no door to the earth.

The golden light beneath the sea had only just flickered to life before it was instantly extinguished.

Even the wind... dared not stir.