Shiomi knew perfectly well that his master's question was mostly a joke.
After all, when they entered the western sector of the Interstellar Metropolis, they hadn't bothered with any kind of targeted concealment. Zeus would inevitably notice them quickly and deploy forces to wipe them out.
That was the whole point of this operation.
They weren't trying to slip past Zeus's gaze and sneak into the Orbital Grand Temple. On the contrary, the plan was to draw as much of Olympus's attention as possible along the way.
"Does it really make a difference which way we go?" Shiomi spread his hands. "And besides—"
As he spoke, the ground began to rumble with a series of tremors.
"Honestly, Olympus's response speed is astonishing," Morgan shook her head. "If my Fairy Kingdom had soldiers and armaments this capable, then perhaps—"
"We do," Shiomi interrupted, shaking his head.
"Capable soldiers and equipment? Aren't they all in my beloved disciple's Londinium already?" Scáthach said with a teasing smile. "After all, compared to fairies, humans are far more dependable."
"…You're not wrong," Morgan sighed.
The three of them continued chatting casually, with no intention of retreating, simply waiting in place for Olympus's encirclement forces to arrive.
"This many… looks like about a thousand in total," Scáthach said, raising her hand and gripping Gáe Bolg. "I thought there'd be more."
"Don't underestimate them."
Morgan lifted her hand, and countless blue magic spears manifested above the trio, all aimed at the approaching soldiers.
A grand spell, completed in an instant, rained down without hesitation. A chain of massive explosions followed, and towering clouds of dust and smoke ignited the flames of battle in what had been an immaculately pristine city.
A light breeze passed through, slowly dispersing the smoke. The Olympian soldiers who had advanced raised their shields and formed tight, orderly ranks, successfully withstanding Morgan's grand magecraft.
Morgan showed no surprise at the sight and added calmly, "See that? Every one of these soldiers has power on the level of a Heroic Spirit."
"That armor and those shields… they're divine relics. No, divine constructs," Scáthach speculated.
Shiomi answered quietly, "No doubt about it."
"They're moving in. Say something," Morgan suddenly prompted.
"Huh?" Shiomi blinked.
"If we're going to make a mess here anyway, we might as well say something," Scáthach added.
Their task now was to stir up chaos, constantly repositioning to draw the attention of the local defenses. That way, Artoria's detached unit could move more discreetly and search for the advance party of Proper Human History Servants.
The bigger the disturbance they caused, the better the cover it provided.
That was why Shiomi, as their core combatant, had to remain firmly within Zeus's line of sight at all times.
"Well, if you say so…" Shiomi scratched his head, looked at the charging soldiers, and raised his spear. "Let's party!"
As the words fell, Shiomi brought Gáe Bolg down in a heavy forward swing.
The mana-laden strike ripped through the air, turning into an invisible torrent that swept up the soldiers at the front. Yet it failed to tear their bodies apart.
The divine armor was exceptionally durable, a mass-produced Noble Phantasm.
But no matter how sturdy, every suit of armor had its limit.
And the cursed crimson spear was that limit.
Slash!
Shiomi's Gáe Bolg pierced straight through two soldiers. Using them as improvised weights, he spun the spear with momentum and hurled their corpses forward, smashing them into the ranks behind.
Shaking the blood from his spear, Shiomi quietly watched the soldiers who had been forced back for the moment.
"Looks like that armor's defensive performance is below a B-rank Noble Phantasm," Shiomi said in a low voice.
"Sounds about right. Otherwise, even I would've had to borrow a spear from my beloved disciple," Scáthach laughed.
The arcs traced by their spears formed overlapping curves, placing Morgan safely at the center and allowing her to cast one spell after another without restraint.
Clearly, the soldiers had also realized that Shiomi and Scáthach were the ones handling close-quarters combat, their role being to shield the Magus behind them.
Then, the swords in the soldiers' hands began to change.
The blades formed from Mana vanished abruptly. They shifted their grip, and the hollow at the hilt where the blade had formed transformed into a firing port, turning the weapons into ranged devices that launched magical rounds.
"Petty tricks."
A faint, deep blue light flickered in Morgan's eyes. She brushed her hand through the air, and a golden, translucent wall enveloped the three of them, stopping the incoming magic shots cold.
"Seems these soldiers have quite a serious misunderstanding about us," Shiomi said.
As he spoke, he swung Gáe Bolg forward. The arc traced by the spearhead left behind a pale, ghostly glow, completely different from its usual crimson.
『Thalassic Calamity』.
A bone-chilling blizzard erupted, howling outward as if guided by its own will. It rapidly spread, transforming into a tornado that swept through the city, sparing none of the Olympian soldiers.
Even those who managed to keep their footing and avoid being carried off by the storm found their bodies sealed in solid ice, frozen in place and unable to move.
"I'll handle the cleanup," Scáthach said.
She hurled her weapon.
Gáe Bolg spun through the air, then suddenly came to a halt before splitting into hundreds, then thousands of copies that poured down like a torrential rain.
Even clad in divine armor, the soldiers could not withstand Shiomi's grand magecraft. Reduced to nothing more than ice statues, they shattered into countless fragments under Scáthach's strike.
With even their blood frozen solid, not a drop of crimson spilled.
"It's coming," Morgan warned quietly.
A massive iron fist, taller than a man, came crashing down from above onto their position. The three avoided it just in time, leaping clear of its range.
The impact blasted a crater several meters deep into the ground, and the shockwave scattered the shattered ice clinging to the soldiers' remains.
At last, the true source of the violent tremors reached the battlefield.
A bronze giant, seemingly careful not to damage the surrounding buildings, braced itself against the skyscrapers lining the street as it turned into the avenue where Shiomi and the others stood.
"Intruders detected. Commencing elimination."
A mechanical voice rang out.
"A Bronze Giant… a mythical monster that absorbed the legacy of Rhodes Island, an Olympus defense system meant to support those soldiers?" Shiomi raised an eyebrow, his expression finally turning serious. "Judging by its Mana signature, it's completely on the level of a Divine Spirit…"
As he spoke, he tossed Gungnir to Scáthach and gripped the Chosen Spear himself.
"That thing doesn't look like something Gáe Bolg can handle," Morgan said with a light laugh. "Without my Chosen Spear, Scáthach would just be scratching its itch."
"You seem pretty relaxed. That's good," Shiomi replied.
Despite the banter, the three had already formed a tight formation with their backs to one another, not a trace of carelessness between them.