Sure enough, after barely exchanging blows a few times, the flood-like magic power suppressed the son of the sun, and a sudden burst of arm strength sent him flying again.
But as if it had been planned beforehand, the King Arthur who had been waiting nearby regrouped and charged in once more.
After being knocked down earlier, her armor now had many cracks. Her arms, thighs, and the area beneath her chest had quite a bit of exposed skin.
That sickly pale whiteness looked almost like a ghost. Paired with a beautiful yet dignified face, she looked like a goddess from the underworld, making it hard to look at her directly.
She had also passed the curse check of the Eight-Headed Serpent. As a king chosen by the Holy Spear, the Blessing of the End gave her extremely high resistance to mental abnormalities.
Whoosh!
Her beloved horse Llamrei easily avoided the snake head's bite. After rushing into the sky, it dove down again. The spiraling magic raised a storm.
Although it was not a Noble Phantasm release, it was a full-power magic burst, and its strength was not inferior to some Anti-Army Noble Phantasms.
And during the descent, she tightly restrained that immense power along the shaft of the spear, coating the Holy Spear in a crimson magical glow.
"Didn't you understand what I said?"
Ibuki Douji flew into a rage. "Only after I deal with him will it be your turn!"
With a single thought, the snake head beneath her feet shone with divine light in its eyes. The surrounding air suddenly became thick, and a large amount of water essence was released, all of it gathering onto the divine sword...
"Raise the waves!"
The tangible water current, strengthened by divine power, gained the impact to crush everything.
It surged upward and collided head-on with the black Knight King. Wind pressure and water currents tangled and wore each other down, quickly turning into a spiraling tornado.
"Ha!"
Ibuki Douji suddenly exerted force. Her magic output far beyond that of a normal Spirit Origin pushed the tornado forward like thousands of spinning blades, knocking Rider down from the sky and successfully canceling the King Arthur's mounted state.
Rider showed no fear in danger. Wearing full iron armor, she adjusted her posture in midair, preparing to use magic release again to resist Ibuki Douji's pursuit.
However, at the same moment, the snake head opened its huge mouth. A powerful wind pressure blew from all directions.
That deep serpent maw became a bottomless abyss, and the enormous suction force pulled Rider toward it against her will.
Her expression changed instantly.
Without her mount, it was difficult for her to face the pincer attack of Ibuki Douji and the giant serpent at the same time. Even if she tried to escape the vortex of wind pressure, Ibuki Douji would definitely stop her.
But if she were dragged into the serpent's belly… it was unknown how long her armor could last.
Although the Greater Grail was supplying magic, an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm was not something she could simply activate whenever she wanted.
BOOM!
At that critical moment, a streak of rushing crimson lightning filled with arrogance and rebellion tore through everything as it shot from the ground into the sky.
The dazzling flood of lightning struck the serpent's lower jaw. Amid countless flashes of electricity, the jade-like scales exploded apart, and the serpent turned its head away in pain.
Buzz!
Black-red wind pressure swept across the area. Rider seized the chance to break free from the serpent's devouring pull and landed on the ground along a curved arc.
After stabilizing herself, she raised her head in surprise and looked at the heavy figure wrapped in steel ahead of her.
"Mord..."
"Tch!"
Red Saber glanced back with extreme annoyance and snorted coldly before turning her head away again.
"I actually missed!"
Black Rider paused for a moment, then a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Rebellious child. If you want to inherit the throne, you still have a long way to go!"
"..."
The tall and full-figured King of Knights held the Holy Spear. For the first time she chose to stand on the same side as Mordred, yet there was still a very subtle sense of distance between them.
"How persistent… I'll at least acknowledge your ability to cling on."
Ibuki saw that Rider was not seriously injured, and Karna had also returned to the battlefield. She could not help curling her lips as her mood turned sour.
To change the situation, she removed an ornament from around her neck. It was carved from green jade and shaped like half of a yin-yang symbol. In the Far East it was called a "magatama".
Since ancient times the magatama shape had been given divine meaning by people. They appeared in many large rituals, and the magatama necklace around Ibuki's neck was not a simple decoration.
"Grow, grow. The child's game. Everyone, come dance together!"
She tore the necklace off and casually threw it downward. The magatama floating in the air began to glow with faint divine light. Then their shapes began to change, gradually revealing all kinds of strange forms.
Some were small like children, wearing only a bellyband.
Some had horns on their heads, forked tongues, and bodies covered in scales.
Some had the upper body of a young girl and the lower body of a snake.
Every single one of them released magic fluctuations comparable to first-class Servants!
They laughed happily. Barehanded or holding weapons, they turned into streaks of light and rushed toward Karna and the others.
"What is this?!"
This strange spell caught people off guard. But the heroes participating in the battle were experienced. An ability similar to turning beans into soldiers was rare, yet still within their understanding.
Everyone regained their focus and faced the attack. Their opponents' martial skills were surprisingly excellent, entangling the heroes whose conditions were already not ideal.
Karna had relatively more room to maneuver, so he received special attention. The one who came for him was the dragon god's child with a human body and snake tail.
That's right. These figures created from the magatama were also Ibuki Douji, but different aspects of her, her younger self, her demonic form, her divine form, and so on.
Before becoming "Shuten-Douji", she had lived in the mountains for quite a long time. After countless years and many transformations, these different selves were produced. They were originally part of her Spirit Origin, forming the present "Ibuki Douji" together.
Now she used her "father's" power to manifest them independently to restrain the other heroes.
Normally, such an ability would consume a large amount of magic power, essentially weakening Ibuki Douji herself.
But Ibuki did not care. As long as the divine sword was in her hand, she had nothing to fear!
Whoosh!
The centaur sage's arrow arrived even before the sound of the wind. Ibuki did not even try to dodge. When the arrowhead passed by, a layer of translucent ripples appeared like water.
The arrow seemed to snap away. It should have hit Ibuki's head directly, but instead it passed several centimeters away, only blowing a few strands of her hair.
Ibuki glanced calmly in the direction the arrow came from and did not even bother to counterattack.
Her eyes were entirely focused on Iori in the distance. During the previous siege, that man had not acted. Ibuki did not know why, but she could vaguely guess that he was looking for an opening.
Thinking of the invisible sword energy that had cut off her arm and leg earlier, even someone as powerful as Ibuki felt uneasy.
Perhaps because he held the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword, her strong body could not resist that sharpness at all. Even the serpent's head had been cut apart…
Of course, considering the legend of the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword, this was not strange. After all, it was a blade born from within the body of the Eight-Headed Serpent. It was essentially the most refined part of this calamity god.
It was roughly equivalent to piercing dragon scales with a dragon's fang.
Troublesome, but as long as she was not hit, there was no problem!
Ibuki was very confident about that. Her attributes completely crushed the opponent's, and she also had more methods.
As long as she kept an eye on "Takeru's" movements and did not give him another chance like before, it would be fine.
"Hm?"
Three thousand meters away, the magical light in Chiron's eyes gradually faded as he frowned.
However, after only a moment, the divine glow returned to his eyes. He pulled his Greek bow into a full moon shape. After gathering strength briefly, he released a powerful arrow.
Whoosh!
It still missed.
This time Ibuki could not even be bothered to look. Just an archer. Even the son of the sun and the King of the Wild Hunt could barely hold on against her. That guy who only knew how to shoot arrows posed no threat at all.
The only thing she cared about was when Iori would make his move, so she could respond immediately.
But immediately afterward came Chiron's third arrow, as if he refused to give up...
Rip!
Flesh split and blood sprayed. Sharp pain struck Ibuki's brain.
The third arrow grazed the side of her neck, missing her throat by only a tiny margin.
"Impossible!"
Ibuki's eyes widened in fury. Before the hot drops of blood could even fall, the air trembled slightly. A figure appeared without any warning, and cold sword light struck toward her brows...
Shing!
Clang!
Sword energy pierced the center of her brow. Two ancient swords with similar designs but very different sizes collided.
"Bastard!"
Ibuki Douji's face was covered in blood as she revealed sharp white fangs. Feeling the pain drilling straight into her brain, she wished she could bite pieces of flesh off Iori's body.
"You dare use my own sword against me!"
"You're too arrogant, Ibuki."
A calm and confident smile appeared at the corner of the young man's mouth. Although he was suppressed in strength, he had seized the initiative. A series of rapid attacks forced Ibuki into a flurry of defense.
This was not like Karna or King Arthur's spears. Ibuki could resist those with magic release and her physical body. But if she was cut by Ame-no-Murakumo… she would really die.
"This sword never belonged to you. It was born within a dragon's corpse and came into existence through my hands. It was destined to be a divine blade that destroys evil and slays demons!"
Clang!
"What nonsense!"
Ibuki naturally thought he was referring to the legend of "Takeru and the Kusanagi Sword". Naming the sword could indeed be considered its birth in a certain sense.
However, what Iori was actually referring to was the sword itself. It was a dragon-slaying blade forged from materials of another world.
Because Iori had been given the true name "Susanoo" by the style-value system, it automatically matched the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword in this world.
But… during the forging of this sword, Iori had deeply participated in the process. In his previous life he had never seen the "Takeru" of this world, but he had a very deep impression of the "powerful and beautiful Ibuki Douji" from FGO.
So the shape of this sword… was really not a coincidence.
It could only be said that fate worked in mysterious ways. With both the name and appearance matching, and Iori as the wielder becoming "Susanoo", even if the sword were placed in front of the Eight-Headed Serpent itself, it probably would not doubt it.
Let alone Ibuki...
"This is 'father's' power. Just like my flesh and blood. Now it's time to return it to me!"
Clang!
There were no flying sparks, only scattered water vapor separating the two as they stared at each other coldly.
Whoosh!
Another arrow came flying. Ibuki did not dare to be careless this time and quickly dodged. But because of that she lost the balance she had finally gained, and Iori seized the chance to attack again, leaving a ferocious wound on her arm.
In her shock and anger, Ibuki suddenly realized something.
The momentum of the "Takeru" in front of her was continuously rising in a strange way. Compared to when they met on the river before, and even compared to just a few minutes ago, he seemed much stronger.
But other than cutting off a snake head and her arm and leg, he had done nothing. He had not even released any Noble Phantasm… Had his Master used a Command Seal?
Whoosh!
"Ah, damn it!"
Ibuki's cheek was cut by another arrow, and she grew furious. Her extremely flexible body suddenly exerted force in an unbelievable posture, slashing toward Iori's waist...
Whoosh!
The sword passed through his body without harming him at all.
Instead, Iori's counterattack immediately afterward actually suppressed Ibuki while she still had not straightened her body.
'Damn it! If it weren't for that cursed archer!'
Her divine sword carried the Water God Barrier. It could use water mist to hide the blade. She had never needed it before.
On the other hand, when the barrier expanded, it could cover her whole body, bending light and shadow like the surface of water.
In close combat it was hard to fool skilled warriors. At most it could create a little information advantage at the start.
But for long-range attacks, this was absolutely a skill comparable to Protection from Arrows.
However, she had not expected that Greek sage to see through the nature of the barrier at a glance. In just three arrows he had determined the rate at which the light was refracted.
'Damn… I shouldn't have underestimated him just because he was weaker!'
Ibuki clenched her teeth. Her Mountain-Shaking Arm Strength burst out. Even from an absolutely disadvantageous posture, she forcefully blasted Iori away.
Then she realized a universal truth of team battles...
"Kill the shooter first!"
But Iori would never let her succeed. With a flash step and slash, before Ibuki could even take a step, her plan to kill Chiron was already crushed.
"Fine. Then let's see which of us survives to the end and claims this divine sword alone!"
"Naive…"
Clang!