Action was faster than consciousness.
Just as the crimson light was about to hit Brunestud, Moran stepped forward and quickly pulled Brunestud into his arms.
Moran raised his hand and switched the Divine Body Barrier to the Hades authority.
Using its decomposition properties, he blocked the crimson light.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the barrier had been struck by an arrow, and this arrow was from Alcides.
"…Alcides. Judging by the divine energy of this attack, you've not only taken Gilgamesh's Ea, but now you've even stolen the conceptual core of that Bull of Heaven."
Anyone who could trace the flow of magical power would know at a glance.
The typhoon, which had been hundreds of kilometers long, had now shrunk into cumulonimbus clouds only a few kilometers in size.
However, it was not weakening because Ishtar had fallen into the underworld.
Instead, the energy of the entire typhoon was concentrated in one place—or rather, concentrated on a Servant standing at its center.
Purple lightning covered the sky, without a moment's pause.
It was clear that simply being near it would result in being electrocuted to death by the thunderstorm.
The Avenger Alcides used [Reincarnation Pandora] to directly devour the conceptual core of the Bull of Heaven.
Now, his Spirit Core was inflated to an unprecedented state.
Just being able to maintain a human form was surprising enough.
Not to mention expecting him to maintain his sanity.
Before long, Hippolyta and the others also arrived at the scene, preparing to confront Alcides.
They hadn't expected it either.
That he could devour a Divine Beast capable of creating a calamity on the surface, that Noble Phantasm was simply absurd.
However, for Moran,
What needed to be done remained unchanged; he had to defeat Alcides in this Holy Grail War.
Moran threw himself into the battle.
Of course, when facing an opponent like Alcides, there was no reason to fight one-on-one.
Moran and Hippolyta and the others attacked together.
Hundreds of Gates of Babylon opened simultaneously, tens of thousands of beasts formed from blood, the Planet Authority mastered by the True Ancestor, and the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception that captured lines and points of death.
—They couldn't afford to be careless against Alcides.
Moran faced the enemy with the utmost seriousness.
A rain of Noble Phantasms fell on Alcides from all directions.
Although a moment ago it was empty, the hundreds of materialized swords dancing in the air were by no means illusions.
Each sword carried a sharp aura, lined up to kill the tainted Avenger.
However, the arrows released from the bowstring roared like poisonous dragons.
The thunder was like the wail of a world being torn apart.
These deafening roars overlapped, and the metallic rhythm of clashing swords and spears was like a torrential rain.
The forest of blades falling towards Alcides was shattered to pieces, not a single one remaining.
Moreover, a storm of crimson light flew towards Moran and the others, not sparing anyone.
But this also meant that he was observing everyone.
To still be able to do this when his sanity was overwhelmed by madness was truly remarkable.
Therefore, this was also an opportunity for Moran.
Holding the golden magic sword containing killing intent, using Hades' authority as a protective layer, reducing his presence to almost undetectable, and becoming one with the world.
Puchi—!!
Just as Alcides shattered the rain of Noble Phantasms and fired the crimson light arrows—Moran swung the blade in his hand at him.
In an instant, the Alcides's left hand flew off.
"Guh…!?!"
The Alcides's consciousness was awakened by this near-impossible action.
A trace of reason returned to his eyes, which had been consumed by madness.
Then, he used his remaining right arm, holding the longbow, to smash down on Moran.
—A very impressive reaction speed.
But unfortunately, Alcides, with little sanity remaining, was slightly inferior in martial skill compared to his sober state.
It would have been fine if he were facing other opponents; Alcides' martial skills had become instinct, and he could use them even without reason.
But when the enemy was Moran, who knew him best, if he still chose to fight using instinct, he would only fall into a trap where Moran would exploit his instinct.
Just like now—
Moran didn't stop but instead bent over, allowing the Alcides's heavy blow to sweep over his head.
He stared intently at Alcides' neck and chest.
The target for the blade to cut was the line of death.
"Haa…!"
Alcides' blood splattered in the air.
Although his body wasn't cut, it was indeed pierced.
The life force of his left hand had been plundered.
Even if he wanted to recover, it wouldn't be easy; it was estimated that his left hand would be useless for the entire battle.
At the moment when dark purple lightning erupted from Alcides' side,
Moran also retreated at an extremely fast speed.
At the same time, he threw the golden magic sword into the gap, hitting Alcides' throat.
Instantly ending one of his lives.
This battle had only taken place in a few short seconds, and the level of danger was enough to make one break out in a cold sweat.
Alcides also regained some reason due to the pressure of death.
He had already lost two lives when he was being pursued by Atalanta and the others.
Currently, he had six lives remaining.
Having sacrificed his sanity in exchange for power, he had one of his lives consumed by Moran because of it.
With this as the beginning, the battle between the two sides became increasingly fierce.
In the end, Alcides lost all six lives, fighting Moran's side to a dark and chaotic standstill.
Only Moran had the strength to continue fighting.
Atalanta and the others were excluded as the battle intensified, and they could only watch the final two fight.
Puchi—!!
The divine armor, having endured multiple heavy blows, shattered.
She had reached her limit.
However, Moran did not blame Full Moon.
Whether it was the barrier that initially defended against Alcides' surprise attack or the subsequent anti-planet cannon,
The former protected Brunestud for him.
The latter took away one of Alcides' lives.
She had done enough.
Therefore, there was no need to nitpick.
The divine armor also had a limit to what it could withstand.
It shattered in the continuous wear and tear, unable to resist Alcides' great power, and the arrows infused with divine power and mud pierced Moran's shoulder and abdomen.
Blood splattered on the ground.
At the same time, Alcides was not in good shape either; the golden magic blade had struck the point of death on his chest.
Another life slipped through his fingers.
Although Alcides' arrows contained Hydra poison, Moran's blood could generate Hydras.
Therefore, the snake venom was essentially ineffective against him.
Only the mud clinging to his wounds was troublesome, preventing him from recovering for a while.
This minor injury was nothing to Moran.
It wouldn't even make him frown.