"Roar!"
The snake head opened its huge mouth, and invisible magic twisted the light and shadows.
Thunder, sound waves, beams of light, blazing fire, poisonous water… every one of them had power beyond an A-rank great magecraft, reaching an out-of-standard level (EX).
Even magi from the Age of Gods would need to rely on a workshop to perform such secret rituals, yet for the Eight-Headed Serpent it only needed the action of "opening its mouth" to skip all preparation steps, and launch them at the same time.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Black Rider herself seemed like a long spear. Facing each spell that could easily flatten a whole city block, she directly crashed into them, causing violent explosions that shook the air.
But the King of the Wild Hunt did not stop because of that. Her momentum remained the same as she rode her warhorse out of the smoke. Her armor was full of cracks, yet she showed not the slightest hesitation.
Looking closely, the tip of the Holy Spear was wrapped with extremely dense black-red magic power.
It spiraled around the spear again and again like a massive drill, piercing through every energy wave that crashed toward her.
The explosions were extremely powerful. Even armor made from condensed magic could not fully defend against it.
Black Rider could clearly feel her skin being scorched and shocked by electricity, but instead she became even more excited.
After breaking through the layers of obstacles, the spiral of magic around the spear suddenly expanded...
"Rhongomyniad!"
It was also a raging storm, but compared to the previous simple release of magic, the calamity raised by the Holy Spear this time had more than ten times the power.
And what pierced through that storm was a black tide that reversed the aurora, a frenzy that could devour all light.
BOOM!!!
The snake head of the Eight-Headed Serpent could not avoid it and was struck head-on by the A++ rank Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm. Its massive outline was instantly swallowed by violently surging darkness.
Buzz!
The pillar of light rose into the sky, piercing through the layers of clouds. A pure beam of moonlight fell down, revealing the current state of the Eight-Headed Serpent.
Its scales were torn away, flesh cut open, veins blown apart. This hill-sized snake head collapsed instantly, leaving behind only ghastly white bones!
Yet the King of the Wild Hunt did not relax her guard, because within that blood-soaked skeleton there was still extremely powerful vitality hidden.
Before the aftereffects of the Noble Phantasm had even faded, the remaining tissue in the eye sockets began growing again.
Soon a pair of vertical pupils formed. When the berry-like crimson light lit up once more, the snake head opened its bony jaws and released a silent hiss.
An enormous amount of magic power poured in endlessly, letting flesh regenerate at an unbelievable speed.
One layer after another formed repeatedly, then came skin and scales. In only a few breaths, the snake head regained its rough outline, but during the regeneration process it looked even more hideous and terrifying.
"So it really wasn't going to be that simple~"
Black Rider tightened her grip on the Holy Spear. Driven by instinct, she pulled the reins, trying to dodge to the side, but she was still struck by the enemy's sudden attack.
The attack did not come from the snake head that was regenerating, but from a dragon girl who appeared from the darkness.
She had a non-human face and dragon-like features. Her body was tall and well built, and she held a huge sword nearly as tall as a person as she slashed down.
Rider tried to block it with her spear, but the instant their weapons touched, she realized that decision was a mistake...
Bang!
The atmosphere trembled. The King of the Wild Hunt, who could sweep through thousands of troops, was smashed away together with her horse.
This was not pure brute force. The mountain-shaking strength of the Eight-Headed Serpent had been placed inside that "small" body.
When the sword came down, Rider felt like she was fighting a giant beast hundreds of meters tall. Even someone as powerful as her was defeated without any suspense.
BOOM!
Black Rider smashed a huge crater into the ground. The attacker who entered the moonlight shed the darkness around her, revealing her real form. It was clearly Shuten Douji after "shedding her skin".
No, it should be said she had the same origin but represented a different side of the wild god's demon child... Ibuki Douji.
"Since you're one of the Three Knights, and the legendary King Arthur, you probably won't die from that attack just now… right?"
Ibuki Douji grinned. The rainbow light in her pupils proved she possessed high-level divinity close to that of a god.
The huge amount of magic power inside her had already surpassed the scale a Servant should have.
A casual strike from her was comparable to an ordinary Servant's Noble Phantasm. She was practically a walking natural disaster.
Raging currents of water formed out of thin air and gathered in Ibuki Douji's hand. Then they let out a sharp trembling cry like a baby's wail before compressing into an extremely thin water beam that shot toward the ground.
Whoosh!
A meteor flew across the sky, and countless arrows rained down along its path. But no matter the angle, their target was amazingly the same...
Ibuki Douji...
"Ha!"
Ibuki didn't even glance at it. She casually raised her hand and swung toward the sky.
The thin water beam drew a long arc, cutting through the poisoned land, cutting apart the magic arrows, and even slicing open the clouds in the sky, leaving behind a thin crack.
At the same time Achilles, driving his chariot, was almost torn apart by it. A piece of the chariot's rear flew down like a meteor.
"What rude people. Don't throw things around, haha!"
Ibuki Douji's sleeve fluttered as she stepped into the air as if standing on solid ground. Her flexible body moved like an acrobat as she kicked the falling chariot piece and launched it like a cannonball.
"You might hit the flowers and grass… or little kids!"
Buzz!
In an instant it crossed more than two thousand meters like an electromagnetic cannon, piercing everything and perfectly "erasing" the upper half of a towering tree.
The centaur sage Chiron was in midair. He narrowly dodged the long-range projectile and looked solemnly at the tree trunk that had lost its upper half along with countless wood fragments, as if the foothold had simply disappeared.
"So besides brute force, her perception is this outrageous too… It seems this battle will be very difficult."
He turned back and drew his bow like a full moon, releasing a powerful arrow. It showed exquisite technique.
Without even aiming deliberately, it struck Ibuki Douji, who barely blocked it with her great sword.
But when Ibuki angrily tried to find her opponent, her snake eyes that could see for thousands of miles could not see Chiron anywhere.
That sage was not the strongest among Servants, but he was absolutely the most troublesome one.
Once he realized his position had been exposed, he activated Presence Concealment and hid like an assassin, waiting for the next chance to deliver a killing blow.
...Speaking of which, among the Assassin class on both the red and black sides in this Holy Grail War, their stealth skills were not very good. They were even worse than Chiron casually playing the role…
Once the sage hid carefully, even Ibuki could not find him.
But Ibuki soon didn't need to worry about that anymore, because an even bigger problem appeared...
BOOM!
The huge ice-carved snake head suddenly exploded. Snow-white ice fragments and black poisonous liquid were blown apart. A streak of golden-red flames rose from within, dispersing everything like the rising sun.
The great hero Karna was completely unharmed.
It sounded like a long time had passed, but from the moment he was trapped in the trap to when he broke free by force, only a few breaths had passed.
The golden armor formed from sunlight once again proved its flawless defensive ability. Neither the cursed poison that could corrupt heroes nor the targeted freezing seal could stop Karna.
"Don't come close to me, it's too hot~"
Ibuki glanced at Karna with annoyance. She held the great sword with both hands and raised it high.
In the empty air, rushing streams of water appeared from nowhere, gathering around the divine sword as if drawn to it. Finally Ibuki swung down with great force...
Roar!!!
A fierce winding water dragon rushed toward Karna and collided head-on with the blazing fire of the sun, instantly exploding into waves of air.
Whoosh!
Steam and water curtains were split apart together as Ibuki flashed in front of Karna. The son of the Sun God faced the danger calmly and crossed weapons with her...
Bang!
The same scene that had happened to the King of Knights happened again.
Ibuki almost "smashed" down with her sword, making even Karna, whose martial skill had reached the realm of gods, feel a heavy shock in his chest as his body was sent flying uncontrollably.
"Weak!"
King Arthur, the centaur sage, even Karna who represented one of the strongest figures in Indian mythology. Ibuki Douji showed complete contempt for these heroes recorded in human history.
It wasn't that she lacked other abilities, but she didn't even need to use them. Just relying on pure physical strength was enough to crush everything.
Mountain-Shaking Arm Strength and Eight-Vein Raging Waves. Those were the endless powers brought by the blood of the Eight-Headed Serpent, symbolizing "mountain" and "sea".
Floods and earthquakes. Those were the two natural disasters most feared in the far eastern lands, and they were also the source of the Eight-Headed Serpent's divinity.
When placed upon Ibuki Douji, her parameters far exceeded the limits of the data panel. It was a conceptual kind of strength that allowed this body to destroy everything.
Without legends about shattering mountains or carrying mountains while chasing the sun, it was impossible to fight her head-on.
After defeating several powerful enemies in a row, Ibuki Douji showed little joy. Instead she suddenly became strangely silent.
Her unsatisfied snake eyes trembled slightly as if she were enduring something.
Suddenly she raised her head and roared. Invisible but tangible waves of magic burst out.
"Still not here?! Berserker!"
As if responding to that sentence, the world suddenly became quiet. The twisted wind pressure in the atmosphere instantly calmed. Ibuki's pupils shrank as she felt as if she had pierced through the surface of water...
Clang!!
A massive "blade", invisible to the naked eye and capable of cutting everything, stretched across the sky, slicing through the clouds and the snake head at the same time.
Ibuki had originally been on that "line", but an extreme dodge barely saved her vital points. Her left arm was cut off at the shoulder, and two-thirds of her thigh was severed.
Immediately after that, the sound of a mirror shattering rang out. The world returned to noise again.
The severed arm and thigh flew away, poisonous blood scattering through the sky, while that snake head slowly fell like a broken mountain crashing to the ground and raising huge dust waves... this time it did not regenerate.
"So I was still too greedy. Relying on one strike can't guarantee killing two targets, huh?"
Within the poisonous mist, a black-haired young man wearing a shihakushō and holding the Kusanagi Sword slowly walked out. His bright eyes shone like those of a god.
"Long time no see, Shuten… no, Ibuki Douji."
"So you finally showed yourself!"
Ibuki Douji ignored the wound that was still spraying blood. Her eyes shone brightly as she stared fixedly at Iori. Her mouth stretched into a grin, revealing sharp white teeth.
"I knew it. You would definitely come! Only you… I will never let go!"
"What are you looking at?"
"O Brahma... "
Two cold voices sounded at the same time. Immediately afterward a beam of magic light pierced the sky.
The highest level Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm created a raging storm, while the scorching fire of the sun turned into a thin pillar of light that pierced space.
Black Rider and Red Lancer. These two great heroes had not fallen silent. Once again they returned to the battlefield with the posture of conquerors.
Using the opening created by Iori, they released destructive Noble Phantasms together to destroy Ibuki Douji.
"Get lost! Don't get in the way!"
Ibuki's eyes widened angrily. The eight-colored storm clouds in the sky suddenly released countless bolts of lightning, flooding down like a tide that drowned the Eight-Headed Serpent and met the two top Noble Phantasms head-on...
BOOM!!!
The huge explosion blew away the surrounding ground and even temporarily cleared the poisonous mist.
The chaotic waves of magic made it impossible for Artoria and Karna, who launched the attacks, to approach.
When the terrifying scene finally cleared, what appeared before their eyes were giant snake heads wrapped in lightning.
They twisted around each other and gathered together. Their scales were damaged beyond count, yet soon they shed the old skin and grew new skin and scales.
Ibuki Douji flew out from the gaps, her face dark.
"I'll kill all of you. Especially you... Berserker Musashi!"
"That's troublesome. That strike just now was already my full power. If we keep fighting, I have no confidence at all."
Even while saying that, Iori stepped closer and closer to the Eight-Headed Serpent and Ibuki Douji. His eyes were bright and cold. There was no tragic feeling of going to die. Instead there was an indescribable determination.
"Stop talking nonsense. Once I cut off your Kusanagi, my 'Divine Sword' will go even further!"
Ibuki Douji flipped backward lightly and jumped high into the sky. She landed on one of the coiled snake heads with a single foot, causing it to open its eyes and glow crimson.
The huge jade-white snake head slowly rose. The demon god child's arm and thigh also began growing new bones and muscles at a visible speed.
The figures of the giant serpent and the divine child cast long shadows in the moonlight shining through the clouds.
"I've been waiting for you all this time. The moment to surpass myth has finally arrived!"
"Come challenge me. Come fight with everything you have. Come devour each other..."
"Hero!"
Roar!!!
The snake head of the Eight-Headed Serpent raised its head and opened its mouth toward the sky.
Invisible ripples swept through the air like rolling thunder passing through every Servant's body. Iori instantly felt his body suddenly become "heavy".
His hands and feet also felt somewhat stiff. Even turning his neck slightly produced a creaking sound like rusty machinery.
The surrounding temperature dropped rapidly. Layers of frost appeared, covering the ground with a white veil.
The heat from his breath almost instantly turned into tiny crystals. He could even hear faint rustling sounds beside his ears.
The flow of magic power was affected. His perception was restricted to around ten meters. Many chaotic thoughts appeared in his mind. His body felt as powerless as if he had a terrible hangover…
Iori did not know how many curses were contained in that single roar, but judging from his own experience, if an average Servant stood here, these negative effects alone would probably make it impossible for them to even release a Noble Phantasm.
Fortunately, the ones participating in this battle were all first-class Servants. Especially those leading the attack.
In their own mythological systems they were all beings considered among the "strongest".
Although the evil of the Eight-Headed Serpent was extraordinary, a single roar could not make them lose their fighting spirit.
Buzz!
Karna was the first to act. The radiance of the sun protected him and prevented the curses from invading.
All negative states including the poisonous mist were completely nullified. The great hero accelerated instantly, breaking through the sound barrier and racing forward.
He became the most eye-catching streak of fire in the night as he moved along the body of the Eight-Headed Serpent and rushed straight upward toward Ibuki Douji.
He was not a Caster and did not understand the core of this summoning ritual, but his "Knowledge of the Poor" allowed him to keenly sense that Ibuki Douji was the one in control.
With the size and regeneration ability of the Eight-Headed Serpent, even ten Servants might not be able to destroy it without special means. But if Ibuki Douji could be dealt with, it might be possible to stop this summoning ritual.
"Trash, get out of my way!"
Ibuki Douji arrogantly called the son of the sun trash as she stood proudly atop the snake head and received the god-speed attack head-on...
Clang!
Exploding flames flashed across the night sky like fireworks. The golden spear that could melt steel and pierce buildings was firmly blocked by a dark blue ancient great sword.
The rolling heat waves were stopped by an invisible barrier. One side of space was twisted with light, while the other remained completely calm.
This was the result of "ocean" and "sun", water and fire, two divine powers clashing.
If their essence had no difference in rank, then the deciding factor would be the "scale".
Clang!
[🎉 Shoutout to baby_pal and LeadStar p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]