As the mighty Heracles, capable of bearing the world, his strength was beyond question.
But Artoria, imbued with the blood of the red dragon, was a humanoid dragon whose power was equally unimaginable.
Thus, this battle was a pure clash of brute force.
The deafening roars echoed ceaselessly, waves of energy surging like a tidal wave, with visible ripples spreading relentlessly, breathtaking in their intensity.
Heracles swung his axe-sword faster and faster. Despite his towering, muscular frame suggesting a strength-based fighter, his combat skills were equally exceptional.
In fact, they surpassed those of most Servants.
Without her Instinct skill, Artoria might not have been able to parry Heracles's storm-like onslaught.
His attacks were lightning-fast, each strike angled with cunning precision.
His strength was terrifying, each blow tearing through the air with a sharp, whistling sound.
After one round of clashes, Artoria instinctively put some distance between herself and Heracles.
Her right hand, gripping the spear, trembled slightly.
The mighty Heracles's power exceeded her expectations. Though she had managed to block his attacks, her hand was left numb from the impact.
Seeing this, Heracles closed the gap once more.
As the saying goes, press the advantage and give no quarter. Having gained the upper hand, he aimed to crush his opponent in one go, leaving no room for recovery.
Such a basic principle was not lost on Heracles.
The second round of combat began.
With his immense strength and masterful combat techniques, Heracles held the advantage from the start.
Though he hadn't yet breached Artoria's defenses, his wide, sweeping axe-sword strikes put immense pressure on her.
Each collision unleashed a storm, forcing Artoria to step back.
Her right hand grew increasingly numb.
Morpheus, observing this, sighed. A rational Heracles was indeed a tough opponent.
If that was the case, he wouldn't hesitate to give Artoria a boost.
Morpheus raised his hand, casting a series of enhancement spells on Artoria—speed magic, strength magic, defense magic…
One after another, the spells instantly elevated Artoria's abilities to an extraordinary level.
Artoria felt her strength multiply several times over, her body light as a feather, swift as the wind, moving like a bolt of lightning.
In that moment, Heracles's speed seemed to her like slow motion in a film.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Artoria flashed around Heracles in a blur, circling him once. Her spear danced, weaving a flurry of strikes, piercing several holes into Heracles's body.
Heracles let out a muffled grunt, pulling back to create distance while casting a glance at Morpheus.
He hadn't expected Artoria's Master to wield magic, boosting her strength by several magnitudes.
This was unreal.
Illya, seeing this, puffed out her cheeks and glared at Morpheus angrily. "Cheater! Using magic to help your Servant—that's cheating!"
Morpheus grinned. "How can you call strategy cheating? You can enhance Heracles too, you know."
"No need to tell me that—I was going to anyway!"
Illya huffed, channeling her magical energy to begin enhancing Heracles.
Morpheus smiled faintly, raising his right hand and snapping his fingers. A series of curse spells descended upon Heracles.
Weakness, dizziness, fatigue, blood loss… the curses not only negated Illya's enhancements but further diminished Heracles's strength.
Heracles stared at Morpheus in shock. This guy…
He was, after all, the mighty Heracles. Though summoned as a Servant in this Holy Grail War, he still possessed divinity.
Ordinary magic should have no effect on him.
Yet Morpheus's magic worked at full potency. This guy was no ordinary foe.
Seeing the opportunity Morpheus had created, Artoria charged at Heracles.
One enhanced, the other weakened—the contrast was stark.
Heracles was quickly forced into a retreat.
In mere moments, Artoria's sacred spear struck again, piercing more holes into him.
Illya, witnessing this, was on the verge of tears.
No honor! This Lancer's Master was too cunning, completely lacking in honor.
"Leysritt!"
She called out to her maid. Leysritt understood, drawing a long axe from behind her and charging at Morpheus.
If she couldn't outmatch Morpheus in magic, she'd eliminate him directly.
Morpheus chuckled, amused. Illya's plan was bold but overestimated her capabilities.
As Leysritt rushed forward, Scathach summoned her demonic spear and swept her away with a single strike.
They weren't even on the same level—Leysritt couldn't withstand a single blow from Scathach.
"Leysritt!!!"
Illya cried out, rushing to her side and kneeling to help her up.
Morpheus said calmly, "Relax, I didn't go for the kill. I'm not about to harm a homunculus."
"I'm fine, Illya," Leysritt said, shaking her head. Though she'd been knocked back, she realized Scathach had used controlled force, leaving her unharmed, just a bit disheveled.
"Nine Lives!"
At that moment, a low shout rang out.
Pushed to the brink, Heracles finally unleashed his Noble Phantasm.
In ancient Greek myth, the Hydra's heads would regrow even when severed. After slaying the Hydra with his bow, Heracles adapted this ability into his greatsword, perfecting the technique.
In essence, it unleashed nine simultaneous dragon-shaped tracking lasers.
The nine beams shot toward Artoria in unison.
Fortunately, Artoria's Instinct had foreseen this, allowing her to dodge most of the lasers in advance.
Three unavoidable beams were blocked by her sacred spear.
Heracles's Nine Lives fell short.
He realized Artoria must possess some form of future sight, or she couldn't have evaded his Noble Phantasm so effortlessly.
She was indeed a formidable opponent.
Seizing the moment when Heracles paused to recover from his Noble Phantasm, Artoria launched her counterattack.
Rhongomyniad!!!
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
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