[center][h2]Demon Castle NAGATO[/h2][/center]

...futile. 

In his haste to trust his steed, Rostam had made a fundamental misstep. This was born from nothing other than the speed of a Phantasmal Beast.

Rostam's steed was fast, that much was obvious. Compared to a mundane horse, there could be no comparison, and in fact in a sustained race against a Servant, it would come out on top against all but a handful of heroes. However, in terms of the burst speed that it could reach, the first Pegasus could merely scrape into the realm of half the speed of sound, and the Divine Beasts who pulled a certain king's chariot were below even that. 

In comparison, while a Servant could not maintain such speeds in as reliable a fashion, in terms of "burst" movement speed, one would be hard pressed to find a Servant who could not casually shatter the sound barrier. This was the nature of the difference in speed between a Phantasmal Beast and a Servant; while the former had greater strength and greater sustainability, the latter's burst speed was supreme. And in this case, to avoid that Kaleidoscopic light, what was needed was burst speed.

In other words, had Rostam moved on his own rather than trusting in the speed of his mount, then perhaps he could have slipped away, but...

The light streamed forwards, engulfing the horse who was unable to leap out of its purvey in time, and engulfing the Servant who rode atop it. At this point, there were many additional considerations. Were Rakhsh a steed that granted its owner additional defense like the bridle of a Gorgon, were Rostam's armor something that covered all his body in the same way as a nearby Saber, were his steed to have let loose with the Prana Burst inherent to all Phantasmal Beasts in an attempt to push back against the light, then perhaps it could have been survived. Alas, none of these were to be. 

[color=9e0b0f]You will slay demons.

You will slay your child.

You will be slain by deceit.[/color]

The light tore through Rostam and his steed, and when it cleared, neither was present any longer. Even Battle Continuation could not save a Servant from their body being destroyed. 

Having taken the first tribute of the battle, NAGATO looked to the gathered Servants with a somber expression, that multicolored light beginning to condense once again. However...

-This time, it surrounded both hands.