"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

"Clang!" The longsword in his hand dropped to the ground, a crisp sound echoing around. Looking at the gradually disappearing figure before him, Shirou, hands on his knees, panted violently. At this moment, he was truly at his wit's end. If it weren't for the transformation of his magical energy, no longer relying on mental power converted into magical energy as he did in the dungeon, he would have already fainted from mental exhaustion.

"What a long-lost desperate battle!" It had been a long time since he had fought to exhaustion like this, unable to muster even a sliver of strength. Back then, he had many reliable teammates by his side. But now, he was all alone. From the backpack behind him, he pulled out vitality potions, mental power potions, and panaceas, continuously pouring them into his mouth. Shirou knew very well that this was not the time to rest.

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"Mr. Emiya!"

"Caules, what are you doing here?" Looking at Caules running towards him, Shirou asked in confusion. Caules quickly ran to Shirou's side and helped him up, saying helplessly, "Actually, I was already here when you were fighting Karna, but your combat range was too large, I dared not approach at all."

"But even at the periphery, I was almost caught in your attacks, narrowly escaping death several times. It scared me to death."

"That means you haven't reached the most dangerous moment yet! Otherwise, why isn't Frankenstein by your side?" With Caules's help, Shirou slowly stood up. Feeling the magical energy and physical strength gradually recovering within him, Shirou chuckled teasingly.

"I wouldn't summon Frankenstein. After all, her battle is much more important than mine." Caules knew very well that whether Astolfo and the other two could suppress Empress Semiramis until Shirou's battle ended was extremely important for the entire war. If his rashness led to the failure of the entire battle, how could he explain it to his sister?!

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"Is that so?" Shirou, surprised by Caules's strong resolve, smiled and looked at him with new respect.

"By the way, where's Celenike?"

"That woman!" At the mention of Celenike, Caules's expression immediately turned bitter. "She truly won't listen to reason. She insisted on going to Astolfo, even though I told her the inside of the temple would surely be filled with traps, and it would be difficult for us two Masters to get through."

"If we were to summon Servants because of it, leading to

the collapse of the battle, the situation would only worsen."

"But she just wouldn't listen, insisting on finding Astolfo.

There was nothing for it, we had to split up!" Shirou couldn't help but smile wryly at Caules's lament.

Celenike had a kind of pathological affection for Astolfo, so she would never just wait for the outcome.

Unfortunately, Shirou hadn't thought of this before, otherwise, he would have definitely stripped that woman of her Master qualifications. But it was too late now.

"That's truly troublesome!"

"I hope nothing goes wrong over there!" Looking at the center of the Hanging Gardens, Shirou couldn't help but sigh.

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Hanging Gardens, Throne Room.

Looking at Astolfo, who was gradually disappearing, Atalanta and Frankenstein beside him fell silent. On the ground nearby, Celenike's corpse lay.

"Phew! I didn't expect to leave the stage like this. It's a bit of a shame! I really wanted to fight until the very end!"

"But please don't be sad for me. Even though I didn't make it to the end, I still had a lot of fun!"

"Honestly, to be able to make it this far with my strength, it's truly thanks to everyone's help."

"If there's one regret, it's probably not seeing that child one last time." Recalling the homunculus boy he once saved, Astolfo couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy. But this emotion instantly vanished without a trace. After all, he had reached his limit.

"Farewell, everyone!"

"Ah, farewell, Astolfo!"

"Mm, mm, mm!" With that, Astolfo's figure disappeared from this place.

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"Tsk!" Looking at Celenike's corpse on the ground, Atalanta kicked it in annoyance. Previously, relying on Astolfo's 'La Black Luna' and the Guardian Cloak provided by Shirou, the three of them jointly managed to suppress Semiramis. Especially Astolfo, every time he faced Semiramis's terrifying magic, he would bravely rush to the front, shielding Atalanta and Frankenstein from countless attacks. Just when the three of them were about to defeat Empress Semiramis, Celenike suddenly appeared in the temple.

Because Semiramis had been busy dealing with the three's prolonged struggle, her control over the Hanging Gardens had almost dropped to its lowest. In addition, Celenike luckily found the path Atalanta and the other two had previously taken. Following the traces of destruction, she miraculously reached this place without encountering any danger.

(The automated defense mechanisms along the way had all been destroyed by Atalanta and Frankenstein.)

Although Astolfo and the other two tried their best to protect her afterward, without the Guardian Cloak, she wouldn't have survived long here. And while Astolfo and the others were unable to attack due to protecting their Master, Semiramis quickly vanished from here, leaving the Throne Room.

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There was nothing for it; it wasn't that she feared the three of them, because once Celenike died, Astolfo would immediately disappear. Then it would be two-on-one, and she would definitely win. But the key to this battle wasn't here at all.

Just now, while the three were unable to attack, she checked the surrounding battle situation and found that Achilles had also been defeated by Shirou. Now that their general was dead, continuing to fight these people would do more harm than good. She now needed to go to her Master's location to prepare for the final confrontation. Therefore, Semiramis completely disregarded the situation here and quickly disappeared from the three's sight.

Then, Celenike and Astolfo died one after another. And this was also the reason why Atalanta was so angry.

Although she had only known Astolfo for a few days, during the previous battles, he had always protected both of them. His actions were perfectly fitting for a teammate. But this teammate, whom she acknowledged,

actually left the stage due to such a baffling reason.

How could Atalanta not be angry about such a situation!

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"Huff, calm down, Atalanta!"

"You immediately take Frankenstein to the Greater Holy Grail's location and help Jeanne!"

"Understood!" Hearing Shirou's telepathic message, Atalanta, knowing that Shirou had won his battle, immediately calmed down. Then, she took Frankenstein and entered through the door Jeanne had previously used.

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"Tsk, something did happen after all, but thankfully she arrived late, otherwise there would have been big trouble!" After recovering some magical energy, Shirou saw the situation in the temple through his Master-Servant connection, and then persuaded Atalanta to leave. After all, Jeanne's situation was probably even worse now.

Soon, Shirou and Caules arrived at the Throne Room.

Looking at Celenike's corpse, Caules felt a little regretful.

Looking at the passage to one side, Shirou suddenly said, "Caules, you stay here! Semiramis's lethality towards Masters is too strong!"

"I!" Although Caules wanted to continue, the scene before him made it impossible for him to refuse.

"I understand!" Patting Caules on the shoulder, Shirou entered through the door on one side.

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