Wearing casual attire, Melusine activated her combat form. A torrent of scarlet magical power erupted, generating scorching air currents that instantly blocked Atalante and Chiron's escape routes.
"A dragon?"
Chiron, with his vast experience, felt a renewed sense of pressure from Melusine's completely unmasked aura. Her combat capabilities far exceeded his expectations.
"And she's not just any Flying Dragon-type, Atalante! Be careful!"
"Even if you hadn't said it, I could tell!"
Atalante found Chiron's warning redundant. The unrestrained torrent of magical power pouring from Melusine spoke volumes about her strength. There was no need to state the obvious.
"So, should we split up and run, or join forces to take her down?"
"We don't have time."
Chiron glanced behind them. Though Jiang You showed no signs of pursuing, they couldn't risk betting on him remaining idle. Creating distance quickly was their safest bet. "Atalante, I'll hold her off. You must get word of this situation out immediately. This is no longer something we servants can handle alone—not even all of us together! Please, I'm counting on you."
Chiron didn't believe he and Atalante would easily lose to Melusine in a straightforward fight. While her aerial mobility made her a difficult target, both he and Atalante were formidable Archers with attack ranges that included the skies. However, if they became locked in a protracted battle, escape would be impossible.
"You'd be better off running. You're slightly faster than me, right? It's better if I hold her back."
Atalante felt uneasy about letting Chiron cover their retreat. Besides, when Chiron unleashed his full A+ speed, he far surpassed her own.
"It's not just about speed," Chiron pointed out. "You don't have enough magical power left to use your Noble Phantasm again, do you?"
Chiron had been observing the battlefield intently. Now that they were operating independently of their Master, most servants only had enough magical power left for a single Noble Phantasm. He had deliberately refrained from attacking Jeanne d'Arc alongside Atalante earlier, precisely to prepare for this situation. "Without your Noble Phantasm, you'd be at a severe disadvantage against other servants. So, I have to do this."
Atalante wasn't one for sentimentality. Now that Chiron had laid out the pros and cons so clearly, she didn't dwell on it.
"Then I'm counting on you. Just don't die too pathetically."
Chiron smiled. While his Spirit Origin was far inferior to Melusine's, he wasn't necessarily destined to lose. His Noble Phantasm possessed the power to turn the tide with a single strike. As long as Melusine's defenses weren't overwhelmingly formidable—provided the numerical gap wasn't completely crushing—he still had a chance to turn the tables.
"If I get the chance, I'll bring back her information and find you again."
"I'm sorry, but neither of you will escape. After all, I've received my orders, and failure would negatively impact my evaluation."
Melusine stepped forward expressionlessly. "As the weaker party seeking to expand my race, I must enhance my competitiveness."
Atalante had no idea what Melusine was talking about. She exchanged a glance with Chiron, and understanding dawned between them. She began leaping wildly away, while Chiron drew his bow, his sharp arrows targeting Melusine's heart and carotid artery.
Yet Melusine ignored his attacks, allowing the arrows to strike her. Despite her delicate appearance, she was, in truth, a genuine dragon with absurdly thick hide. The arrows left no mark on her skin as she pivoted and dove straight toward Atalante's escape route.
"Even in human form, her defenses rival Dragon Scales?"
Chiron grew even more certain of the vast gap between himself and Melusine. "I'll have to use my Noble Phantasm, but her speed..."
Chiron gave chase, knowing Atalante stood little chance of escaping alone at Melusine's speed.
"What?"
Atalante's instincts compelled her to glance back. A crimson meteor had already appeared in her field of vision, poised to slam into her if she didn't evade. Having witnessed Melusine's grand entrance, she knew instantly that the fairy knight had pursued her. She was already running at full speed—after all, even Chiron, without using his Dromeus Komētēs technique, was no match for her unless he used the Golden Apple to immobilize her. But a flying servant clearly held the upper hand.
"She's already caught up? Even Chiron couldn't stop her..."
Atalante gritted her teeth, sidestepped Melusine's charge, and fired a volley of arrows during the brief moment Melusine slowed to hover. Just like Chiron's earlier attempts, the arrows proved utterly ineffective, bouncing harmlessly off Melusine's skin.
"Useless," Chiron said, catching up moments later.
"Her skin is at least as tough as Dragon Scales. Attacks below D-Rank... even C-Rank or higher might not deal any meaningful damage."
"Looks like you're helpless against her too, huh?"
Atalante let out a disgruntled snort. Both she and Chiron were stumped by this unknown dragon-type Servant, even losing to it in terms of speed.
"Now's not the time to dwell on that," Chiron said with a wry smile. Atalante had always loved to compete with others, even when it came to marriage (treating it like a footrace). He pushed her aside, and together they dodged Melusine's attack.
"Then what do we do? Can your Noble Phantasm hit her?" Atalante asked, using the trees as cover to disrupt Melusine's lock-on. She had never witnessed Chiron's Noble Phantasm before. As the teacher of so many legendary Greek Heroes, his Noble Phantasm should be capable of breaking through Melusine's defenses, right?
"No problem."
Even Achilles, renowned for his divine speed, couldn't evade this space-based weapon. Moreover, with an A-Rank attack, it could inflict significant damage even on Melusine, a Perfect Dragon. Chiron was confident in its power. However, maintaining a lock-on while Melusine remained in her high-speed flight mode was proving challenging. "But we need to force her to the ground. Her physiology isn't suited for rapid movement on land."
"If that's the case, then I'll have to contribute too."
Atalante nodded. As an Archer, her effectiveness against Melusine was limited. "Don't speak to me casually from now on. I can't guarantee how much rationality I'll retain."
"If my Archer advantages are useless, then I'll stop being an Archer!"
Atalante retrieved the Agrius Metamorphosis and draped it over herself. Purple magical patterns spread across the black boar hide. The moment she donned it, the pelt seemed to merge with her body. Fine fur sprouted across her limbs, and sharp claws replaced the slender fingers that once drew her bow. If the previous Atalante had been a wildcat, she had now transformed into a ferocious black panther, her primal instincts overwhelming her remaining reason. "Not enough... I'm still ravenous. Insatiably hungry. I crave the taste of blood...!"
The Agrius Metamorphosis Noble Phantasm had few drawbacks aside from its corrupting influence on reason. Atalante's Parameters were dramatically amplified, along with her bloodlust.
"Die!"
Atalante launched her attack, leaping from tree to tree. Her C++ strength surged explosively (for example, if C = 30, A = 50, then C++ could reach 90 during a burst). The sheer force of her kick shattered the tree trunk, and the recoil propelled her instantly before Melusine.
"Still not enough."
Melusine remained unfazed by Atalante's savage aura. Having endured more battles over centuries than most servants, her mechanical-looking wings emitted a surge of magical power, subtly shifting her upward. This minute adjustment perfectly evaded Atalante's charging trajectory, placing Melusine directly above her.
"Wingless weakling, the sky is not your domain."
Melusine raised her wings, unleashing a torrent of magical power that blasted upward. Using this force as propulsion, she slammed downward, driving Atalante into the ground.
The impact dragged Atalante several meters across the earth before Melusine seized her by the neck.
"Alright, I've caught you. Get some rest."
Jiang You's order was to capture Atalante, preferably without killing her. Whether out of loyalty or her own ulterior motives, Melusine intended to comply.
"Hahaha! You think you've caught me? No, you're the one who's been caught!"
Though Atalante's rationality was largely overridden by her primal instincts, she never forgot her original goal: to drag Melusine down from the sky. With a claw dug into the ground for leverage, she reached her other hand toward Melusine's slender neck. Melusine's slender neck gave Atalante the illusion that it could be snapped at any moment, but the neck's hardness rivaled titanium alloy. Even with Atalante's strength, she couldn't gain much advantage.
Melusine had no intention of letting Atalante succeed. She immediately began channeling magical power to take flight. While Atalante's grip was difficult to break free from, the ground's capacity to withstand force was limited. The entire ground buckled upward. In a few more seconds, Melusine would lift off into the sky, taking the patch of earth and Atalante with her.
Atalante grew frantic. She couldn't afford to hold back now. In her beast form, she was the type who would never give up until her goal was achieved, completely disregarding her dwindling magical power as she activated her Noble Phantasm.
"You won't escape! Burning Shadow, Moon-Piercing Arrow, bear my hatred!"
Purple magical power surged from her fur, flooding into Atalante's body. Then, like a missile, a concentrated burst of magical energy erupted from her form. At point-blank range, the attack was impossible to evade. Melusine tried to fling Atalante off, but Atalante had already abandoned all restraint. She opened her jaws and bit down on Melusine's wing.
"Stop immediately!"
At this distance, Atalante couldn't escape either. With her magical power nearly exhausted, even a minor injury would send her back to the Throne of Heroes. Chiron was frantic as well. Atalante had already bought him enough time to prepare his Noble Phantasm, but he hadn't anticipated her losing her rationality completely.
"Agrius Metamorphosis!"
Atalante had no intention of stopping; her only desire now was to kill the enemy before her. The explosion triggered by her surging magical power completely engulfed both of them. The violent shockwave tore trees within a radius of several dozen meters into shreds, and billowing smoke and dust blotted out the sun.
"..."
Chiron silently watched the smoke dissipate. Agrius Metamorphosis, a Noble Phantasm designed for wide-area attacks, amplified its destructive power twofold in such a concentrated blast. Even a dragon would have no chance of survival. Melusine, even if she survived, would likely be left with little combat ability. While weakening the enemy was a good thing, the loss of a comrade brought no joy.
However, he was clearly mistaken. A figure rose from the smoke, the twin wings on her back confirming her identity. Melusine released a surge of magical power, the resulting gale instantly dispersing the smoke. Lying motionless on the ground was a blackened Atalante, her fate uncertain.
"I really like this outfit. I can't let you people stain it."
Melusine sighed in relief. She had activated her Noble Phantasm just in time to protect her clothes.
The scene was terrifying for Chiron. Atalante's desperate strike hadn't even breached Melusine's defenses, let alone damaged her clearly modern, magic-untainted clothing.
"This one... is nearly dead. How pathetic."
Melusine gazed at Atalante on the ground, her expression troubled. Jiang You knew this cat-eared woman, and if she died here, it would be difficult to explain to him. Spreading her wings, Melusine turned to Chiron and asked, "Could you please hurry back with me?"
Chiron understood that with him being the only one left, escape was impossible. Melusine's defenses were impossibly strong, but his own Noble Phantasm was no mere decoration. Regardless of the outcome, he had to give it his all.
"Forgive me, I cannot comply. Since Atalante has made her decision, I cannot lag behind. This strike shall pierce the Scorpio of the stars! My arrow has already been loosed! Antares Snipe!"
Melusine felt a sudden chill run down her spine, a primal sense of danger descending from the sky.
Instinctively, she tilted her head upward, gazing at the sky. In that fleeting moment, a colossal arrow, forged between the stars and infused with immense magical power, hurtled toward her head.
There was no escape, no time to dodge. Had Melusine still been airborne, she might have had a sliver of a chance to evade, but grounded as she was, she couldn't even muster the acceleration needed to take off. This attack was equally unblockable.
However, Melusine hadn't been able to block Atalante's suicidal strike earlier either. After all, Agrius Metamorphosis and Antares Snipe were both A-Rank Noble Phantasms. Though Antares Snipe focused more on single-target attacks, Melusine simply wasn't tough enough to withstand either Noble Phantasm head-on. But her own limitations didn't preclude leveraging external forces.
"Success," Chiron murmured, reading the expression on Melusine's face to confirm his attack's success.
Yet reality once again slapped him in the face. The moment this devastating space-based weapon struck Melusine's head, it was repelled.
Chiron: "—?!"