64: All three Command Seals activated! Demon King's Noble Phantasm unleashed!

No matter how violent the storm of demonic energy Shuten-dōji whipped up, or how sharp the claws he swung—enough to tear through steel—all attacks were completely neutralized upon touching the pale gold barrier surrounding Jeanne d'Arc.

That barrier seemed thin as a cicada's wing, yet it was indestructible.

Inside the command centers of major nations across the globe, countless top military analysts and physicists stared intently at the unbelievable live broadcast... inside a rental apartment in Toshima Ward.

Through shared vision, Takahashi Shota clearly felt the sense of struggle coming from Shuten-dōji.

For the first time, he realized that his Servant, the "Oni King," was not an invincible existence.

The sickly ecstasy on his face was gradually being replaced by anxiety and impatience.

He didn't want to see this kind of evenly matched confrontation.

He wanted to see a crushing victory.

He wanted to see destruction.

He wanted to see that holy woman wailing at his Servant's feet, being torn into pieces!

"Useless trash! What are you doing?! Kill her already!"

Takahashi Shota let out a low, angry growl at the screen.

The futile attacks made him feel as though the supreme power he had just acquired was being publicly humiliated.

Suddenly, a piece of knowledge he had gained from Shuten-dōji flashed through his mind.

command spells.

The absolute right of a Master to command their Servant.

Not only that, but by consuming a command spell, a Servant's power could receive an explosive boost for a short period.

Takahashi Shota's breathing instantly became heavy, and the last shred of sanity in his eyes was completely swallowed by madness.

Hesitation?

What was that?

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his right hand. The three twisted, blood-red strokes on the back of his hand were emitting an ominous heat.

"By the power of this command spell, I order you!"

Takahashi Shota roared at the empty room.

"Berserker! Crush the enemy before you!"

The moment his words fell, the first of the three command spells on the back of his hand burst into flames, turning to ash and disappearing completely within a second.

At the same moment.

The Tokyo battlefield.

"Roar—!"

Shuten-dōji suddenly threw his head back and let out a roar, a sound intertwined with extreme pain and an indescribable sense of release.

A dark red demonic energy, far exceeding anything before, erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption.

This power was so immense that it even forcibly pushed back the inviolable holy aura surrounding Jeanne d'Arc by dozens of meters.

Shuten-dōji's momentum climbed steadily as he raised his right hand.

A beam of highly refined and concentrated demonic energy shot out from his palm, blasting straight toward the silver-armored girl opposite him.

Wherever the beam passed, the air let out an overwhelmed wail.

The demonic energy beam accurately struck the indestructible golden wall of light in front of Jeanne d'Arc.

This time, the wall of light did not completely nullify the attack as it had before.

Crack...

An extremely faint yet clear sound of cracking rang out, heard by all broadcast terminals worldwide.

At the point of impact, a spiderweb-like crack suddenly appeared.

The moment the crack appeared, it spread across the entire wall of light at an alarming speed.

In the next second.

Accompanied by a loud crash as crisp as shattering glass, the golden wall of light that had previously blocked all attacks suddenly crumbled before the eyes of billions of viewers worldwide.

The golden specks of light dancing in the sky were like fireflies on a summer night, brilliant yet fleeting.

With the golden wall of light shattered, the remaining momentum of the demonic energy beam continued, still carrying destructive power as it shot directly toward Jeanne d'Arc herself.

In a flash, Jeanne d'Arc slammed the flag in her hand horizontally in front of her.

Boom!

The flagpole and the residual energy of the beam collided heavily.

The ground beneath Jeanne d'Arc's feet instantly cracked, and a visible shockwave radiated outward with her at the center.

She was sent flying back dozens of meters by the immense force, her feet plowing two terrifying half-meter-deep trenches into the rubble-strewn ground before she managed to stabilize herself.

Before she could even steady herself, Shuten-dōji was already upon her.

With a cruel smile on his face, his oni claws, wrapped in solidified demonic energy, clashed repeatedly with Jeanne d'Arc's flag.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Every impact erupted with the deafening sound of clashing metal, sending sparks flying everywhere.

With the blessing of the command spell, Shuten-dōji had completely suppressed Jeanne d'Arc in terms of pure strength.

Inside the rental apartment.

Seeing that the holy woman on the screen had finally been put in a pathetic state, only able to passively defend against Shuten-dōji's frantic attacks, Takahashi Shota let out an even more crazed and joyful laugh.

"Hahahaha! Yes! Just like that! It's not enough!"

He didn't just want victory.

He wanted a thorough humiliation, a feast of destruction that would make the whole world tremble.

Takahashi Shota raised his right hand once more.

On the back of his hand, the remaining two command spells were emitting an ominous red light.

"By the power of the second command spell, I order you!"

"Berserker! Abandon all defense! No matter the cost! Tear her completely to shreds!"

Another blood-red stroke burned away.

The Tokyo battlefield.

The second command spell brand on Shuten-dōji's body instantly vanished.

He completely abandoned all defensive stances, even allowing Jeanne d'Arc's flag to carve wounds into his body.

But what flowed from those wounds was not blood, but churning demonic energy, and they healed in an instant.

His figure expanded once more, his muscles knotted, and his oni horns became even more terrifying, as he transformed into a demon god born purely for destruction.

His attack speed and power surged once again!

Jeanne d'Arc's holy defense was completely torn open. She could only rely on the combat instincts engraved deep within her soul to swing her flag, constantly parrying and redirecting the force.

Clear claw marks began to appear on her silver armor.

Just at the moment she was about to be completely overwhelmed.

In the palm of Jeanne d'Arc's empty left hand, two command spell patterns emitting a soft golden glow quietly emerged.

This was her proof of authority as a Ruler to maintain the rules.

Without any hesitation.

One of the golden command spells instantly vanished.

"In the name of the Ruler, I forcibly bind the violating Servant!"

Jeanne d'Arc's voice remained calm, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

Several chains made of pure light appeared out of thin air, like sentient spirit snakes, coiling toward the completely maddened Shuten-dōji from all directions.

The golden chains accurately bound Shuten-dōji's limbs and body, and holy power began to flood in, attempting to suppress the boiling demonic energy within him.

Shuten-dōji's movements came to a sudden halt.

However, this pause lasted for less than half a second.

"Roar!"

Shuten-dōji, who had been continuously strengthened by two command spells, let out a heaven-shaking roar.

His muscles and demonic energy erupted together. The golden chains, which were enough to seal an ordinary Servant, were actually forced apart by him, developing cracks and letting out overwhelmed groans as they neared the point of shattering.

Inside the rental apartment.

Seeing Shuten-dōji bound, Takahashi Shota's final shred of sanity was completely swallowed by panic and anger.

He could not accept his Servant being suppressed, even for a single moment.

Using all his strength, he issued his final command, his voice sounding like a cuckoo crying blood.

"By my final command spell, I order you! Berserker! Unleash your Noble Phantasm! Destroy her along with this damn world!"

The last blood-red command spell on the back of his hand burned into ash.

The mark composed of three strokes completely disappeared from his hand.

Tokyo.

The golden chains wrapped around Shuten-dōji could no longer withstand that terrifying power and instantly shattered into a sky full of light specks.

The power of the three command spells was completely stacked.

At this moment, Shuten-dōji's demonic energy reached an unprecedented peak.

The sky was completely dyed an ominous blood-red.

This time, Shuten-dōji did not continue his attack.

He slowly raised his hands high, making a gesture as if worshipping the sky.

Behind him, a massive torii gate constructed from bleached bones and blurred flesh tore through the ground and rose high.

Behind the gate of the torii was a bottomless darkness. Countless painful wails and shrill screams echoed from within, as if it were connected to hell itself.

[Noble Phantasm: Gate of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons].

Jeanne d'Arc calmly gazed at the terrifying gate that emitted endless evil energy, enough to turn the entirety of Tokyo into a realm of ghosts.

She slowly pulled the flag in her hand out from the ruins of the building beneath her feet and raised it high.

In the next moment, the fabric of the flag ignited without fire, turning into pure holy flames that illuminated her face with a divine glow.

Jeanne d'Arc's voice echoed through the sky.

"My Lord is here, the Lord is my shield—La Pucelle!"