Chapter 49: Why Don't You Two Just Attack Together
A bolt of lightning shot from the boy's hand, surging toward the swarm of locusts. That lightning, which didn't look particularly thick, extended wildly through the swarm the moment it touched them, crackling and snapping!
In just an instant, the army of locusts was completely annihilated before Verethragna.
Verethragna curled his lip in dissatisfaction and looked toward Melqart.
"Did you think you could defeat me with just these locusts? King Melqart!"
"Of course not. How could those things possibly stop you? I never even considered it." Melqart's voice spoke like rolling thunder, and simultaneously, violent winds suddenly rose.
Melqart is the God of Storms; he possesses winds with the power to blow away the very cities where humans reside. The [Gale], one of Verethragna's Ten Incarnations, simply could not compare to it.
But then, Verethragna activated the power of the [Goat] incarnation. Thousands of lightning bolts, like spears from heaven, crashed down, incredibly managing to break through the storm.
"Still shifting your form so casually... truly a bothersome power," Melqart said with a hint of loathing.
It was precisely this ability that had forced him into a bitter struggle originally, resulting in a battle where both sides were severely injured. It had taken a long time for him to finally recover to this extent.
"With this power of transformation, I can grasp victory in my hands regardless of the battlefield. King Melqart, take this!"
As he spoke, Verethragna raised his hand mercilessly. In that instant, thousands of lightning bolts descended once more.
"Don't think I fear you, Verethragna!"
The God-King Melqart, with a frame as massive as a mountain, whipped up a gale merely by speaking. Storms and lightning clashed violently!
.
.
.
"They've already started fighting."
Shirou squinted as he watched the scene of wind, rain, and thunder—a spectacle that looked as if the apocalypse was imminent.
"Exercising Authorities of the sky domain in front of me, are you...?"
He couldn't allow them to fight until the very end. Their strengths weren't that far apart; if they suddenly ended up killing each other simultaneously, Shirou would be at a loss.
Verethragna is the War God Bahram of Persian mythology, known as Verethragna in Greek. In myth, he is called the "War God of the East." He once appeared in the form of an eagle in the famous Avesta, where he is described as a symbol of royal power and the guardian of justice and the people.
In the 6th century BC, the Persian Zoroaster founded Zoroastrianism and proposed monotheism and dualism—light and darkness, good and evil. The church worshipped the one true Good God, Ahura Mazda, whose enemy was the Evil God, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). The War God Bahram played a very important role in the war between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. He defeated the drought demon Apaosha as well as the famous evil god Azi Dahaka, binding the three-headed dragon to Mount Damavand.
Speaking of Persian myth, many people think of Azi Dahaka, yet few know of the War God who defeated him.
Melqart, who was fighting him, was a deity worshipped by the Phoenicians in another localized pantheon. However, the "Herculean" hero Heracles of ancient Greek mythology has deep roots with Melqart. In the eyes of some, there is little difference between Melqart and Heracles; they are viewed almost as the same deity.
These pieces of information flashed through his mind in an instant. At this moment, the battle between Verethragna and Melqart was approaching its conclusion. Storms and lightning raged at the center of the battlefield, the howling winds catching up plants and trees to dance in the sky.
Just the aftershocks of the combat between the two "Heretic Gods" had already made the island's condition increasingly dire. If they were allowed to keep fighting, the island would sink today.
Shirou felt the timing was right. He descended directly from the high altitude and charged into the center of the battlefield.
"Demon King of the earth, do you wish to stop the battle between us?!" Verethragna frowned, his expression carrying a hint of displeasure.
"Leave at once! This is not a battle you can participate in, otherwise, we shall unite to expel you!" Melqart let out a roar like thunder at that moment.
"That's perfect then. You two should attack together."
Shirou hovered in the center of the clash between the two "Heretic Gods," the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. He wasn't afraid at all.
"Hmph! In that case, foolish God-slayer, I shall slay you here and now!" Verethragna shouted.
In fact, he didn't mind adding another opponent to the battlefield. Because he was a War God, a God of Victory, he enjoyed the battle and the beautiful taste of victory. Whether it was the "God-King" Melqart or the Demon King of the earth—the Campione—he didn't intend to let either of them go. He wanted to test himself against both. That was Verethragna's mindset.
Accompanied by Verethragna's cold snort, a shining Golden Sword descended from the sky, shooting straight toward Shirou's body.
Whoosh—!
The Golden Sword crossed the horizon in an instant, trailing a golden mark across the sky. The power of that Golden Sword was not much inferior to the A++ rank Noble Phantasms Shirou projected. If Verethragna had detailed information about Shirou, he could even directly seal the Authorities Shirou possessed, leaving him helpless.
But Shirou, who had already devoured two Greek Main Gods, could hold the upper hand even without using Authorities against these two "Heretic Gods."
"Trace, On!"
Azure light covered the sky, like a dense array of rain arriving in a flash.
"Broken Phantasma!"
Boom boom boom—!
Intense explosions covered the battlefield. The resulting shockwaves of magical energy drove away the storm, and a brilliant light that made it impossible to keep one's eyes open suddenly spread out!
Melqart swung the massive club in his hand, over ten meters long, to parry, while simultaneously looking at Shirou with slight surprise.
"Is that your Authority?"
As Melqart spoke, Verethragna knit his brows and said:
"No... that fellow hasn't activated an Authority at all."
Verethragna was greatly shocked by the power caused after Shirou detonated the Noble Phantasms. Even he didn't believe that, without using an Authority, one could withstand such an attack merely by relying on a divine body to tank it.
Every "Heretic God" has more or less resistance to the magecraft of the mortal world. Some can ignore it completely, while others feel it is equivalent to a needle prick; in short, they all look down on the magecraft used by humans and treat it with disdain.
And the "Projection" used by Shirou was, naturally, magecraft.
However, because its power was so immense, it made it difficult for Verethragna to believe it was actually magecraft.