What is the strongest point of the EX-level anti-world treasure "Hanging Garden of Vanity"
Different people will come up with different answers to this question.
Shakespeare would no doubt have said this was a wonderful view between reality and fantasy.
Heroes like Karna and Achilles would come up with the answer of a fully functional, powerful aerial fortress.
Semiramis took it for granted that this was her territory, where she could exert her strength to the maximum extent. Here, she would not lose no matter how powerful the enemy was.
Shirou's answer was different from everyone else's - the Floating Garden itself.
That’s right, it has nothing to do with the scenery, nor is it the strategic role of a fortress, nor is it the liberation of Semiramis’s strength, it’s just the huge thing floating in the air itself.
The Sky Courtyard is not materialized out of thin air, but is reorganized and reconstructed based on real materials. It is like a worker who builds buildings with existing materials. Although the reinforced concrete that integrates the building materials is made by the magic of Semiramis, the other building materials are real, have unshakable physical properties and conform to the laws of physics.
As for the amount of building materials, if nothing else, Shirou has spent decades in the Middle East, and the money he spent is enough to buy a small country, which speaks for itself. Aggregating and reorganizing these materials into a whole and suspending them in the air is itself a powerful mass weapon.
If he hadn't taken into account the emotions of Semiramis and other heroes, plus some unknown considerations, he would not have wasted so much time fighting this meaningless war. He would have just used his flying dragon... ahem, just attacked the enemy in the courtyard.
The weight of the city of Mirenia was several times greater than that of the city of Mirenia, and it was absolutely overwhelming. No matter how the black side struggled, it could not withstand this strongest blow in the true sense. The servants might not die, but if the master died, they would not have much time.
Of course, now we can only proceed step by step. At best, it is just a waste recycling and a trial run.
Looking at the mess on the screen, Shirou asked with a smile: "How are you, are you feeling better?"
"It's a little better... Well, I thought it would take some time to destroy the castle, but now it's much easier. Before, I thought it could only be solved with Lancer's Noble Phantasm..." The chill on Semiramis' body eased a little.
"Are the others back yet? They'll be back soon—"
Before Shirou finished speaking, someone took over and said:
"I'm back, I'm back. It's really annoying. I finally had a chance to enjoy myself but you interrupted me. You can't give me a satisfactory explanation. I'm going to make you pay."
The one who would speak in this tone is naturally the unruly Achilles.
"Watch your tone, rider!" Semiramis' eyes were cold.
"I'm just going to say this, what do you think?" Achilles squinted his eyes and looked at him without giving in.
"Do you want to die?"
"We don't know who will die yet."
Achilles gave a crazy smile and made a gesture of wiping his neck to Semiramis.
The empress was already in a bad mood, and after being provoked by this, she immediately stretched out her right hand to weave a spell. Fortunately, Shirou saw the signs and grabbed her wrist in time.
"Aassassin, now is not the time for internal strife. The overall situation is more important."
Across from him, Atalanta winked at Achilles: "You should stop now."
The two of them then snorted coldly, looked away from each other and stopped talking.
Shirou took this opportunity to explain: "Everyone has worked hard. I know your blood is boiling and you haven't calmed down yet. It's okay. Just be patient. We will fight again soon. But this time, it's not us who attack. They will attack and we will defend."
Atalanta asked in confusion: "Defense? What's going on? Does this have anything to do with us approaching that castle? Are we planning to kill the enemy's Master directly?"
As he spoke, the sky courtyard continued to move and had already reached directly above the city of Mirenia.
"Of course not. I am waiting for only one purpose, to make them return the Holy Grail."
All the servants present were silent for a moment. Rider and Archer looked at each other, and even Lancer looked at Shirou with a surprised expression.
"You want them to return it? No, anyway... how do we return it?"
"Assassin."
"I know!"
Semiramis pointed to the floor with some impatience.
"The reason why this hanging garden floats in the air is entirely based on the concept of 'reverse'. Plants grow downwards and water always flows from the bottom up."
The garden stopped above the Milenian Castle. If the residents of Tulifas looked up at the night sky, they might have a mental breakdown because of the huge garden that even blocked the moonlight.
"Watch carefully, you ignorant magicians. This is the true realm of magic."
Semiramis declared calmly, spreading her hands and releasing the spell.
Boom! A strong wind began to blow at the bottom of the garden. The airflow, which was similar to a tornado, was connected to the fortress like a pipeline.
"Hey, hey... Are you really planning to take it away?"
Witnessing such a magnificent scene, Achilles forgot about his temper for a moment.
Semiramis, who was concentrating on performing magic, sneered contemptuously.
"Of course! Because this garden is designed for this purpose! You are so ignorant that you can't even see this. All right, come out to me immediately, Holy Grail! Let me see your ugly yet beautiful figure constructed by divine magic!"
The soil began to collapse and was gradually absorbed. Two-thirds of the fortress had been destroyed, and the exposed rocky ground was gradually shattered and scattered, and the Holy Grail finally revealed its true appearance.
"That-is the Greater Holy Grail...?"
Atalanta muttered to herself with a dumbfounded expression. With her eagle-like eyesight, she did see the Holy Grail below. However, this was not what really shocked her.
Not only her, but also Karna, Achilles, and Shakespeare were all stunned. The colorless and transparent huge magic power that had been accumulating for more than sixty years and was absolutely unchanged was now swirling there.
"That's the Holy Grail...! Good! That's great! Great! Great, great, great!! Even I can feel the overwhelming magic here! I want to dive in and indulge in it, and even want to become one with it! Even so, the ugliness of the exposed human body! As the saying goes, 'clean is dirty, and dirty is clean';!"
Shakespeare gave a passionate cry of joy.
If it is this Greater Holy Grail, as long as the wish is not too large, it is not an exaggeration to call it a "universal wish-granting machine". It is natural for these servants to be so excited.
"... Hum, it has completely merged with the spirit vein. It will take some time to separate it. But, we can't just sit there. It's coming, everyone."
Semiramis didn't need to remind everyone, everyone present noticed this change. In order to prevent the Greater Holy Grail from being seized, the black servants rushed over one after another.
"I must focus my energy on the Greater Holy Grail for now. I'll leave the rest up to you. If you don't hold out for this period of time, your wishes will be in vain. Please proceed with caution, okay?"
After hearing her words with a mocking smile, the Greek duo retorted without hiding their hostility:
"—I know this even without you telling me. But you must not fail."
"I will do what I should do. I don't need you to point fingers at me."
Despite facing such obvious hostility, Semiramis remained calm and confident of victory.
However, it didn't take long for the calmness on her face to disappear.
PS: Semiramis is just self-righteous when facing any enemy in the Sky Courtyard. At least she can't beat Shining and Rascal II. Shining is the son of Mushroom, with infinite possibilities. EA estimates that the Courtyard may not be able to withstand it. Rascal II is not to mention. Except for the tomb that can't move, it is stronger than the Courtyard in both offense and defense (Dendra's electric ball is stronger than the magic cannon, and it is more powerful against the shell of the temple than the Courtyard). There is no need to play those empty tricks. The long-range wave can kill the Queen.