The moon was absent in the sky.
There is a legend that spoke of when Astolfo, Rider of Black, had found his sense of reason on the moon.
Had it been the real, actual moon? Who knows. What is important is the very legend itself.
To put it another way; if his sense of reason are on the moon, then Astolfo on Earth has none. Thus, should there be no moon in the sky…
"Here I goooo, Master—!"
The hippogriff neighed as loudly as the roaring wind surrounding them, reverberating shrilly.
It smashed its hoof on the steel roof of the airplane, ran forward, and—soared high into the sky.
"Astolfo of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, entering the fray!"
Rider of Black loudly and proudly announced himself; such that any who were there even for an instant would've been aware of him.
The laughable knight who, legendary as he is, had been attested to be "weak."
Yet even so. His proclamation was that of a true Heroic Spirit, through and through.
He soared higher. Higher. Faster.
Faster.
The hippogriff, an impossible mystical beast born of the legendary griffon and a mare, soared 7500 meters up high on the sky, caring not of the roaring wind around it.
With great vigor, it began to invade the enemy's stronghold, the Aerial Gardens of Vanity(Hanging Gardens of Babylon), and—!
Naturally, Assassin of Red would not let such a thing happen so easily.
The interception spell,
Tiamtum Uumuu
Eleven Black Coffins()
. Titanic, dark sarcophagi created in the likeness of eleven beasts that were said to have been born of the legendary beast Tiamat.
Assassin of Red's masterpiece that would eliminate her enemies utilizing light cannons easily surpassing A rank.
She observed the yelling about Rider of Black coldly.
Indeed. The opponent lacked none in terms of vigor. He would continue standing back up and fighting even after a defeat; the hallmark of Heroic Spirits.
Yet a defeat it would be. And it did not seem that he had any countermeasures in plan to overcome it. It was inevitable.
"Think you able to evade this one, perhaps? Fool. That arrogance shall be your last regret."
The Eleven Black Coffins began to stir. Their target: Rider of Black.
As if laughing, all the light cannons simultaneously fired, thus ending him—
"…What?"
Or rather, they should have.
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The moon was absent in the sky. His madness abated. His trembling, on the other hand, subsisted.
And still, he was the white knight who never gives up. Sieg was holding on to Rider's back, clinging on him. No need for any words; all he could do right now was to believe in Rider.
Whether or not the Rider of Black had his sense of reason with him, always he would be a gallant knight. Always he would be—without a doubt—a Heroic Spirit.
"Alrighty, it's showtime! My heart may shiver in fear where no moonlight shines, yet still forward I shall go! Unbind—
Casseur de Logistille
Destruction Declaration()
!"
Rider then pulled out a book, which pages then began to tear themselves in pieces. They rode the wind, the pieces of paper falling as if in a dance.
The light cannons loomed ahead of them, faster than the speed of sound. Yet Rider of Black continued charging ahead without a care. Even Rider, who possessed A-ranked Magic Resistance skill, would be mowed down back to the ground by the anti-army class light cannons—yet the first to strike failed to reach him.
With a sound of steel breaking, the light cannon dissipated. Of course, there were more than one incoming; the meteor shower aiming at Rider began to rain down upon him.
But once the grimoire's True Name had been spoken—once Casseur de Logistille had been unbound, any and every forms of magecraft would be rendered useless.
"Ahahahaha! Maaan, this feels gooood! Master, hold on tight, yeah!? I'm gonna ram up the speed even faster!!"
"Yeah, got it!"
The homunculus—Master of Rider, Sieg, undauntedly replied Rider of Black. The book's pages swirled about around them, while the light cannons continued to bombard them uselessly.
"S-Still, this is quite amazing!"
To that, Rider of Black yelled in reply.
"My book is!?"
"No! You! You're amazing!"
The one whom Queen Logistilla had entrusted this book to. The one who, up until just now, did not even remember its true name yet bravely soared through the sky.
"Heheh! Not the time to be surprised yet, Master! Alrighty, let's chaaaarge!"
Lightly clapping on the excited hippogriff's head, Rider accelerated even further. So was the amount of the light cannons. The Black Coffins, defensive mechanisms that they were, aimed 6 out of 11 amongst their numbers towards Rider.
"Simultaneous fire? …Fine, try me, then!"
They were light itself, compressed. Pure mayhem that simply overpowered everything in their path. And still, they failed to break through.
Rider of Black was unbowed, unbroken. He simply pushed forward, and forward, and forward…!
"We are aiming at them big, black cannons! Without those, Rulers and the others would be able to board the garden no problem!"
"Can you destroy them!?"
Rider immediately replied to Sieg's question.
"Dunno! But I'm doing it!!"
"…Alright, go for it!"
They should probably slow down instead… but Rider was correct. Removing these cannons would make reaching the garden become far, far easier.
The problem is Assassin—that is, how would Semiramis respond. There was no way she would simply laugh off and overlook them. It was likely they only had one way to go about this.
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Originally Posted by Arashi_Leonhart
