[Altair Brando]
With her body curled up, Olga held the Monkey King's Robe tightly. Her delicate fingers caressed the silky fabric as she watched two blurs moving at impossible speeds, leaving only ghostly trails behind.
Amid the indistinct figures, she could only glimpse the brutal clash of claws and a scythe.
However, on one of the very rare occasions when her eyes could follow the battle, they automatically fell upon the back of the boy who, in less than a day, had treated her as if she were someone special. Her slender fingers tightened their grip on the edge of the armor.
Altair had no idea how much he had lightened the weight on Olga's shoulders simply by treating her with kindness and patience.
The organization responsible for protecting humanity's history had been devastated by an unknown enemy. As if that weren't enough, the person she depended on emotionally was probably dead. Even the 47 Master candidates were in critical condition. Meanwhile, she, a simple non-master, was somehow trapped in Singularity F, facing dangers at every moment.
Olga was shattered, both emotionally and physically. At this point, her only safe harbor was the Monkey King Robe that carried the gentle scent of the boy who was now fighting against one of the gorgon sisters.
Feeling useless, tears welled up in her eyes, forcing her to blink.
When she reopened her eyes, the young Monkey King and the Gorgon had disappeared among the chains, moving at supernatural speed.
"I can't... keep up." Ritsuka's eyes widened.
Why the hell did this look more like a fight between aliens who turned into monkeys under the full moon than anything resembling normal combat?
But the most frustrating part was that she couldn't even follow with her eyes.
Holding back her frustration, she turned to the pink-haired servant beside her. "Can you, Mash?"
"I can keep up, but..." Mash clenched her fists. "I'm not sure if I could react to any of their strikes."
The fact that the pink-haired servant could follow the battle was impressive enough. Olga and Ritsuka could barely distinguish more than blurs moving between the chains.
Altair, with a theatrical smile, tilted his body, making the scythe's blade pass close to his face, tearing out a few strands of hair.
"Altair won't lose, right?" Ritsuka asked, staring at him with concern.
Even though Ritsuka had known the boy for only a few hours, he had already become an important companion, just like her servant.
"I'm not sure... it seems like Altair-senpai is slowly being overwhelmed."
Mash could see Medusa moving between the chains, using them to her advantage to surround him. Although her strength hadn't caused the slightest damage to the boy, he was still on the defensive.
"There's a chance Altair-senpai might lose..."
"Nonsense!"
The girls blinked in surprise, looking at the servant with long purple hair who had her arms crossed over her generous attributes.
Ritsuka couldn't help but wonder how it was possible for a pair of breasts to be so absurdly bountiful and voluptuous. Probably not even two hands could hold them.
In a way, Al-kun is well served in that regard.
That thought crossed Ritsuka's mind as the servant with the large bust opened her rosy lips.
"To someone without experience, it may seem like my son is at a disadvantage." Minamoto-no-Raikou said, gazing at her master with a maternal look. "But he's the one who has all the advantages."
"How so?" A slightly confused tone escaped the redhead's lips.
Why did this foolish child insist on drawing her attention away from her delicate son?
"Foolish child... in a battle between servants, the most important thing is the number of unrevealed cards you possess. The less your opponent knows about you, the greater advantage the servant will have."
Raikou shook her head, disappointed with herself for wasting saliva on them... hmmm... would her son like her saliva?
She raised the tip of her finger, brushing her own cheek with this innocent question that any mother would ask herself.
Realizing the innocence of her own thoughts, she raised her hand and gave herself a light slap on the cheek. For now, this wasn't the time for that kind of digression.
"While the serpent woman has already revealed her chains, her mystic eyes, and even the scythe's abilities, my master has revealed almost none of his capabilities." Raikou twirled some strands of hair around her fingers.
She explained, with her "maternal eyes" focused on every detail of the battle between her beloved son and that cow who was close to him.
And speaking of cow, the white-haired girl beside her wasn't much different.
Just the fact of remembering that this woman had her son's clothes wrapped around her body made her blood boil.
She didn't even know what glory she was experiencing, did she?
Raikou thought her an idiot who was wasting a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If it were her, right now she would have her delicate nose buried in his clothes, trying to intoxicate herself with the scent.
Realizing she was going off on a tangent, she shook her head, focusing back on her son.
Even if her master was really on the defensive, he was increasingly managing to corner the serpent woman.
Strangely, her son seemed to be adapting to her movements.
"This is nothing more than a premium training session for my master."
As if following her words, a foot buried itself in Medusa's abdomen, exploding in a gust of wind that erupted from the point of contact, the shockwaves distorting the surrounding air like broken glass.
The serpent servant's body was ripped from the ground like a rag doll, her feet leaving the floor as she was thrown back in a violent trajectory.
In the air, Medusa spun, catching one of the chains with her scythe, while a crimson trickle ran from the corner of her lips, tracing a bright line to her chin before dripping onto the ground below.
Ignoring the internal pain, she spun her body and landed on her feet atop one of the chains. "You know how to treat a lady." Medusa slowly ran her tongue over her bloodied lips, savoring the metallic taste before wiping the crimson trail with the back of her hand.
"The qualities of a knight." Altair averted his gaze from the bright red.
"You're charming. Unfortunately, my little ones also want to taste a bit of your flesh." Following her words, her long hair transformed into enormous snakes that lunged at Altair.
"Sorry, I'm not the type of man who enjoys being tied up." Altair gave a smile, jumping between the chains, dodging the snakes that pursued him, splitting up and attacking from multiple directions.
The snakes opened their mouths, revealing fangs covered in venom. With one foot on the chain, Altair spun in the air and swung his hand. His claws tore through the snakes, which turned back into hair and fell to the ground.
"How cute!"
Hearing the voice, he saw Medusa above him. Facing the boy who kept calling her attention, their eyes met and, in that instant, she activated her ⟨Mystic Eyes of Petrification⟩.
A golden glow erupted, and Altair felt his body begin to petrify. However, thanks to the high rank of his magical energy, the petrification lasted only a millisecond.
But it was enough for the spear's tip to be inches from his neck.
Inches from hitting him, Altair gave a light kick to Harpe, deflecting it and making the blade pass close to his body.
Without giving him even a moment to breathe, Medusa drove her knee into his belly, violently throwing him against the chains. Altair's body crashed against the cold metal and became entangled among the links, while she, gracefully balancing on one of the rings, allowed her hair to transform again into hissing snakes. The reptilian creatures launched themselves at him in a coordinated attack.
"Looks like I'm going to need a little help!" Altair plucked three strands of hair from his head and threw them into the air. Each strand transformed into a clone identical to him.
The three clones grabbed onto the chains, displaying maniacal smiles. Each clone possessed the same techniques and combat abilities as the original, though with inferior parameters.
Moving between the chains, the first clone jumped, his claws piercing the reptilian scales while the other two attacked simultaneously. The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the area as the second clone abandoned the claws and began to tear the snakes apart with his sharp canine teeth. Simultaneously, as if following a macabre musical sequence, the last clone devoured the snakes without hesitation, apparently indifferent to the venom that might run through their fangs.
Medusa, seeing this spectacle, licked her lips and activated her ⟨Mystic Eyes of Petrification⟩ again. Because they possessed inferior rank mana, they were instantly petrified.
Wielding her scythe, she propelled herself against the chain, decapitating the clones that dissipated into smoke, enveloping Medusa.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Altair emerged in the blink of an eye through the dense smoke, delivering a precise punch with all his strength to her abdomen. The violent impact threw her body against the chains, which shattered under the devastating force of the blow, while Harpe escaped from her hands and flew away.
"D-do you have some fetish for hitting women's bellies?" She raised her hand, wiping the red liquid from her lips.
The red liquid wasn't only on Medusa's lips; thanks to the punch's impact, a few drops had splattered on Altair's face.
"..."
Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face.
But before he could run his hand over his skin, a snake slithered along the chain and bit his leg, injecting a large amount of venom.
Feeling a slight burning sensation crawled up his leg. He raised his foot and brought it down brutally, crushing the snake.
I need to resolve this aversion to blood.
With that thought passing through his mind, he felt the venom course through his body, but it was a pity that Sun Wukong was so accustomed to eating strange things that the venom had almost no effect. However, it was enough for her to appear in front of him, landing a kick to his stomach and throwing him to the ground.
A dull thud echoed as his body hit the floor. Meanwhile, a snake crawled to Medusa, delivering the immortal-slaying scythe.
"That was fun, boy!" The youngest of the Gorgon sisters launched herself at Altair, who was still lying on the ground.
[Al!]
"I know." He blinked, looking stoically at Medusa heading in his direction.
Seeming not to care, he raised his hand, scratching his ear.
"This itch won't stop." The itch in his ear only worsened, to a level that was beginning to irritate.
Ignoring Medusa's rapid approach, he raised his hand and slapped his own ear.
Suddenly, something fell onto the palm of his hand.
Relieved, he tilted his head to the side, looking at the object. "A staff!"
In his hand was a small weapon that resembled a stone staff. Staring at the small gray staff, the name came to his mind.
"Ruyi Jingu Bang."
Upon pronouncing the name, the air around him trembled, and a hum echoed across the entire battlefield.
Olga pressed the armor against her chest. Mash stared at her senpai, while a proud mother's smile formed on Raikou's lips.
Even Medusa hesitated for a moment, her instincts screaming for her to retreat.
Meanwhile, the small staff grew, surpassing Altair's own height.
As if it were muscle memory, he knew the name of the stone staff: Ruyi Jingu Bang, Sun Wukong's main weapon.
Ruyi Jingu Bang was no ordinary weapon. Swords, spears, and halberds weighing tons didn't match Sun Wukong's peculiar tastes. But a pillar used to measure the depths of the oceans, capable of growing and shrinking, was exactly to the monkey king's taste.
Spinning the monkey king's legendary weapon and displaying a slight smile, he stopped the inertia, thrusting toward Medusa.
"Grow."
The staff responded instantly to its bearer's will, exploding in exponential growth. The gray stone weapon extended like a dragon uncoiling its infinite body, tearing through the air with a deep and resonant roar. The gleaming stone pillar cut through space at an astonishing speed, increasing in length meter after meter, dozens of meters per second, becoming an unstoppable column of destruction.
But it still wasn't enough for a certain young monkey king.
"Expand."
With a simple word, the staff, which was already growing longitudinally at terrifying speed, suddenly exploded in lateral expansion. Its circumference increased from a few centimeters to dozens of meters in fractions of a second. The weapon practically transformed into a colossal wall of shimmering stone, surpassing the width of an entire building.
In the blink of an eye, the chains throughout the field were pulverized; instantly, half of Medusa's body had been obliterated by the impact, evaporating even the blood.
There was no time for the Gorgon's comprehension. The impact was so absolute, so devastating, that half of her being simply evaporated under the incomprehensible force.
"..."
"Incredible..." Olga murmured, unable to take her eyes off the boy holding a gigantic pillar.
Olga had never thought Altair minimally useless, but she had no idea he had all this raw power... it was more than she could ever imagine.
Looking at the boy's back as he approached the fallen servant's body, she couldn't contain the chill in her stomach. With him by her side... yes, maybe things would finally work out for her. Maybe, just maybe, she could actually be happy.
Without realizing it, a pathological desire to possess him began to grow inside her..
≈≈≈≈≈≈★≈≈≈≈★≈≈≈≈★≈≈≈≈≈≈
A/N: The fight against Medusa took a bit longer than I expected, but the result was quite fruitful… though I feel I ended up spending too much time on the choreography details during the fight.
Don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review or drop a comment to motivate me.