Chapter 235: Chapter 234: One Man vs World
"It’s raining," Ryuu said.
The sky, covered with thick clouds, kept pouring down countless raindrops like tears.
Riveria: "It seems one can hear...the weeping of the city."
The place where they were standing now was the Babel Tower at the center of the labyrinth city, the tallest building that had always belonged to the city’s [King], now occupied by these outsiders.
From the top of the high tower, the elves with vision far superior to ordinary people could clearly see that, at this moment, the gates on all four sides of the labyrinth city were wide open, and on the roads leading out of the city, traffic flowed endlessly. At every exit, the lines of people formed by the citizens stretched for several miles.
The Guild staff tried to dissuade them, but were pushed aside by the panicked citizens. Some staff even simply took off their uniforms and blended into the crowd leaving the city.
The adventurers who had already been defeated did not show themselves; the city was completely dominated by fear. In such circumstances, the residents’ first choice was naturally to flee.
The city managers, the Ganesha Familia, also somewhat went with the flow, letting them leave. After all, if [Heracles] truly intended to destroy the city, at least this way there would be more survivors.
"That’s fine too. This way, we don’t have to worry about involving the civilians," Riveria said.
"Um...", Haruhime asked softly, "Should we...do something?"
"No need," Ryuu looked at the distant sky, "Next, we only need to wait for him to return, and that will be enough."
Riveria: "Mm. Then, we can go home."
She had started to miss Ais. Although there was also a cute little sword princess in this world, in the end, Riveria still preferred her own one.
"Um, Lady Riveria."
"What is it, Ryuu?"
"Have you ever thought about...how many children would be good?"
"Eh?", Hearing the girl of her same race suddenly ask such a question, Riveria’s delicate face began to warm up.
Haruhime’s ears even perked up, her eyes sparkling as she looked over.
"W-why are you suddenly asking that? I haven’t thought about it...", Riveria said softly, "For us elves, it’s not so easy to have children."
The average lifespan of elves far exceeded that of humans and other demi-human races; correspondingly, the probability of childbirth was much lower.
For the royal family, whose lifespan was several times longer than that of ordinary elves, this was even more so. Riveria’s father hadn’t had his first child until he was three hundred years old.
"...It’s nothing, just asking," Ryuu said, no longer continuing this topic, which instead made Riveria somewhat concerned.
’What is she planning?’, Riveria thought secretly.
Ryuu was thinking, "Sure enough, I don’t want to give up any of their names..."
———
Orario, the central plaza where Babel Tower stood.
This central area of the labyrinth city was as fitting as could be for the final battlefield.
In front of Babel Tower, Emiya stood with his eyes closed, quietly in the rain, patiently waiting.
On the other side, Zald put on his helmet, the ultra-heavy full-body armor creaking, a weight that would crush ordinary adventurers. He raised his head, taking in the towering white giant tower before his eyes.
Carrying the black greatsword capable of cleaving a dragon in half, Zald set out.
He had barged uninvited into the Guild headquarters, and under the fearful gazes of several staff members, had taken, one could say retrieved, the dozen or so magic stones stored in the Guild warehouse, for they had originally been placed there by him.
These were the magic stones of rare species, enhanced species, and even solitary dungeon kings from below the 60th floor.
As he advanced toward Babel Tower, Zald placed the magic stones into his mouth one by one like snacks, chewing, swallowing, and digesting.
[Deus Ambrosia], Zald had obtained the title [Gluttony] precisely because of this skill.
While the skill was active, anything eaten would increase his ability values, and the higher the quality of the food and the stronger the energy within, the greater the increase.
Zald swallowed all the magic stones completely. At this moment, his physical state had already reached its limit, second only to the time when he had risked his life eating the flesh of [Behemoth].
Finally, the man arrived before the high tower.
"Just standing in front of you, I already feel my blood boiling...and even starting to tremble," Zald said, "Now I finally understand why [Silence] lost to you."
At this moment, the danger Zald felt from his opponent surpassed that of anyone he had ever seen. Whether it was the [Hero], [Empress], or [Silence], none could compare.
If one had to say, the closest would be those three "Calamity"-class existences, Behemoth, Leviathan, and the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
Emiya slowly opened his eyes. Since earlier, the feeling of drowsiness he had been experiencing was growing stronger and stronger.
"Sorry, Zald. They were a bit too tired last night; they probably haven’t gotten up yet," He said.
"No matter. Now...let me enjoy it alone first," Zald slowly raised his greatsword, a bold smile appearing on the man’s face, "Let my wail be the trumpet that begins the trial."
A deafening roar, stone fragments flying everywhere.
[Gluttony]’s charge, just taking the first step, caused the collapse of nearly half the plaza floor beneath him.
The man’s figure rushed into the curtain of rain, his strength far surpassed that of a [Braver], his speed several times that of the [Goddess’s Chariot]. [Gluttony], from the very start of the battle, erupted with his full power, leaving no way back.
"aaaaAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A beast-like roar came from his mouth, and the man opposite him simultaneously swung his black greatsword.
Two sword strikes exploded with a shock that reached the heavens, the roar echoing throughout the labyrinth city.
———
The fierce sounds of sword strikes continued endlessly.
The vibration and rumble were like fireballs spit out by dragons exploding, constantly emanating from the ground. A tremor more intense, heavier, and more powerful than an earthquake.
Ottar: "One of them is Zald."
Even in the [Folkvanger], the shockwaves from this city-shaking fierce battle could be clearly felt.
"Want to go?", Allen looked at Ottar.
The boaz warrior’s attitude was somewhat lost, "Even if we go...what’s the point?"
He did not fear offering his life for the goddess, but facing such an existence, even if he staked his life, what use would it be?
Hedin stood up, "Do as you like. I have already decided to die for the goddess."
He walked toward the Familia’s front gate. After a while, Hogni stood up and followed the white elf.
Just then, the healer Heith walked in.
"This package was just delivered to the Familia residence," Heith said. Her face was pale, tinged with the blush of shame and anger.
Ottar felt something bad. He took the package and slowly opened it.
The [King]’s hands trembled violently.
Inside the package were the goddess’s torn clothes and disheveled shoes and socks.
There was also a note placed atop the crumpled dress.
[I have made a deal with Lord Heracles. He will not trouble you anymore.]
[Do not worry.]
[—Your loving goddess]
Beneath the goddess’s clothes was a set of photographs, nearly a hundred in total.
"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Ottar let out a roar of fury, humiliation, and grief. Not only him, every member of the Freya Familia’s eyes turned completely blood-red.
"Absolutely, absolutely will not forgive you!"
"Even if I die, I will bite a piece of flesh from you!"
"Charge! Avenge the goddess’s humiliation!"
The Freya Familia was the first to leave their residence and rush toward the central plaza. Almost simultaneously, the Astraea Familia and Loki Familia began to move.
———
[Astraea Familia’s Residence, Stardust Garden]
"Captain, that useless elf, she secretly ran out on her own!", Lyra rushed in in a panic.
Kaguya stood up immediately, "What? That idiot, is she looking to die?"
At this moment, Alise suddenly spoke, "Everyone, follow Ryuu, let’s go together."
The pallum girl glared at her, "Alise, you idiot, do you know what you’re saying?"
"Of course I know, Lyra, this is my intuition," Alise said seriously, "Perhaps at the critical moment, Ryuu’s judgment is the correct one. To fight is the only sliver of survival!"
"Intuition? At a time like this, you actually choose to follow intuition...?"
"That’s right, no matter what, I can’t just leave Ryuu alone... This is not the captain’s order, but my request. Those who trust me, follow me!"
After saying this, Alise set out without hesitation, heading in the direction of the Babel Tower.
The girls chased after her while cursing "idiot."
———
[Twilight Manor]
Loki Familia’s adventurers’, both their state and mood were much calmer.
"Finn, are you sure?", Riveria asked softly.
"Mm, this is my judgment. We can’t run, we can only face them; it’s the only correct choice," The pallum [Braver] said seriously.
Even if they couldn’t understand Finn’s thinking, for the Loki Familia members, trusting their captain had already become instinct.
Loki, as one of the few goddesses in the city who hadn’t been captured, lightly patted Finn’s shoulder.
"Since you’ve decided, then act," The goddess said seriously, "I believe you will bring everyone back safely."
"And, you must teach that ’Heracles’ who looks down on me a good, hard lesson!"
For this request from the goddess, Finn could only smile bitterly.
’Me fight Heracles, really...?’
The pallum [Braver] shook his head, raised the flag bearing the clown emblem, "Depart, target, the central plaza!"
———
[Gluttony] propped his body up with his greatsword, panting heavily.
The ground around was already in complete ruin; the paving stones of the central plaza were all shattered, and everywhere in sight was nothing but broken rock fragments and dust.
Emiya stood in place, raising his greatsword onto his shoulder, calmly watching Zald.
At this moment, [Gluttony] looked extremely miserable; his black heavy armor had been completely shattered, only some fragments clinging to his bloodied body. His sturdy helmet was cracked, with one-third of the left side gone, one blood-filled eye exposed.
"After fighting a monster like you, I probably won’t have any other kind of nightmares again," Zald removed his already damaged helmet and tossed it aside.
Just then, he began hearing footsteps coming from afar.
"There are still a few people with at least some backbone, huh," Zald grinned, supporting himself on his knee, slowly standing up.
"Yeah," Emiya responded, "Faster than I expected."
"HERACLES!", A deafening roar rang out.
Emiya lifted his head slightly, looking at the meteor-like figure charging toward him from the front.
[Goddess’s Chariot], Allen Fromel.
Emiya: "This speed, it’s already out of control."
In truth, in terms of starting speed, Allen couldn’t surpass Ottar, whose level was one higher and whose agility was also trained to S.
What truly made him "the city’s fastest" was the acceleration granted by magic.
[Glaneze Fromel], this magic could theoretically let his speed increase without limit, and convert that speed into destructive ramming power.
The magic’s acceleration had no limit; the only constraints on Allen’s top speed were his physical endurance and reaction speed, especially the latter. Once speed exceeded a certain threshold, Allen wouldn’t have time to turn, and would crash into himself.
But this time, Allen started accelerating from the city’s outer boundary, charging straight here. From the city gates to beneath the Babel Tower was a straight road.
Emiya could clearly feel that Allen’s speed had even surpassed his own Lv.6 limit; at this moment, what constrained him was no longer reaction speed, but his tearing body.
Unable to stop, unable to turn, unable even to aim, relying solely on will and resolve, Allen turned himself into a burning chariot, swinging a fatal blow.
"Not bad," [Gluttony] commented, "But—"
Emiya raised his hand, pressing down on the catman’s head.
Like an absolutely rigid body from a [Academy] physics problem, Allen’s impact didn’t even make him take a step back.
"This level is just an ordinary strike for me, how could it possibly work," Watching the bloodied, skin-split catman being thrown away, [Gluttony] sighed like this.
"Courage admirable, but strength still far from enough," Zald said, raising his greatsword again.
THUD! THUD!
Behind him came such footsteps.
The boaz warrior, wearing his black-gold full armor for the first time in a while and dual-wielding greatswords, walked up behind [Gluttony].
"Stupid pig brat, this isn’t a fight you can be part of. Go home and wait for the result. Cry if you want," Zald sneered.
"This level of mockery is nothing to someone who’s lost more than anyone else," Ottar replied calmly.
"Unlike that pallum, I’ve never read books, never had a clever mind. Even now, I still don’t understand what you all are doing."
The captain of Freya Familia, [King] Ottar, was a warrior through and through, and he knew himself clearly.
"But there is one thing that even a fool like me can understand," The boaz said, "That goddess wants me to challenge him."
Even if it meant sullying her own honor and reputation, she had decided to awaken her familia’s fighting spirit. On this, Ottar would not be mistaken.
"Don’t flatter yourself, [Gluttony], I’m not here to fight alongside you."
"For the goddess, I’LL DEFEAT THAT MAN, NOTHING MORE!", Ottar’s roar shook the sky.
"Heh, stupid wild boaz kid, you’ve grown a little. Still hopelessly weak, but at least a bit more manly," Zald picked up the catman on the ground and tossed him to the healer who had come with Ottar.
"Pallum, and you few, why have you come here to die?", He looked at the few rare familiar faces in the city besides Ottar.
"For the city, for the future of Loki Familia, nothing more," Finn replied.
"The lofty and beautiful apostles of ’justice’ finally appear... huh... already this many people?", Led by the red-haired swordswoman, the girls rushed into the plaza. Notably, among them was a blond elf with her head full of lumps.
"...Lv.3 joining the commotion," Zald’s mouth twitched.
So the city still had such comedic characters.
Emiya, however, stared straight ahead, seemingly ignoring the members of Freya Familia, Loki Familia, and Astraea Familia entirely.
He looked at the battered [Gluttony] Zald.
"Warm-up’s over," His body leaned slightly forward, stepping out once.
Only now did Zald realize that during their entire fight earlier, this man had not moved his feet even once.
Cold sweat seeped out as instinct drove Zald to roar in rage and charge with all his might.
Retreat was impossible, just the thought of fear meant defeat.
Emiya exhaled slowly.
As he said, warm-up was over; from now, true despair would descend.
"REA AMBROSIA!"
"Mercy of the Silver Moon, golden fields, please grant my body the fate of a fierce boaz in battle. Bearing the divine will of the goddess, charge forward. [Hildis Vini]"
"O demonic spear, pierce through my skull, drink deeply of blood, [Tir Na Nog]"
Although they had never coordinated before, the three men facing Emiya made the same decision at the same time.
Magic and skills fully unleashed, going all out from the start, holding nothing back.
Ottar took on Emiya’s sword, and Finn, the only one who had never fought Emiya, understood what kind of opponent this was after seeing the state of [Gluttony].
Zald’s magic activated, blazing flames surged forth, covering his greatsword. This was a fire-element augmentation magic similar to Alise’s [Agaris Alvesynth], but unlike [Agaris Alvesynth], [Rea Ambrosia] did not increase the user’s agility. Instead, its enhancement was extreme attack power.
When [Gluttony] attacked at full strength, the resulting flames could cover the entire battlefield. Now, Zald focused all that power onto his sword’s edge.
Ottar’s blade shone with a golden light, an attack power boost, simple and straightforward. At the same time, Ottar activated the skill [Vana Arganture], beastification, granting massive all-around stat boosts.
As for Finn’s [Tir Na Nog], Emiya was quite familiar with it. The strongest berserk magic in the city, sacrificing reason for an immense all-stat boost.
These men, standing at the very top among adventurers, undoubtedly possessed magic and skills in the strongest tier.
At this moment, Emiya activated only one Development Ability.
Development Ability, [Fate].
He raised his greatsword and swung a semicircle.
Whether it was Zald’s flaming sword, the war boaz’s full-power strike, or the pallum’s fiercest thrust, all were swallowed by that circular sweep.
With one blow, the fierce flames dimmed, the mighty boaz spat blood, and the pallum’s spear snapped in half.
He raised his left hand, caught the broken half of the spear, and casually tossed it to the side.
"Careful!", Gareth raised his shield to block in front of Riveria, but the second-stage-armed heavy shield was cut clean through by the spinning spear blade, leaving a deep wound on the dwarf’s shoulder.
Riveria’s face turned pale; her just-begun magic chant almost broke, but she persisted firmly.
"—Gather, breath of the earth, my name is Alf"
A translucent robe of light appeared over Zald, Ottar, Finn, Gareth, and Hogni.
Defensive support magic [Veil Breath], the light robe granted to its targets, increased resistance to both physical and magical attributes, and could slightly heal injuries.
For those outside Loki Familia, this was their first time experiencing this magic.
"Draw and bloom, glory of the demon sword king. At the cost of reason and the blood of offerings, until the feast ends, kill without restraint, [Vow Hjaðningavíg]"
At that moment, Hogni’s blade was already approaching Emiya’s back from behind.
After using [Vow Hjaðningavíg], Hogni gained no stat boost, but unlocked a second personality and could fully wield his true strength.
"Under my blade’s edge, go to hell!"
Hogni’s cursed sword [Victim Abyss] had a curse attribute, preventing wounds from healing and delaying recovery.
If this sword struck the enemy, it would create a huge advantage.
However, as the blade swung down, there was no sensation of hitting. Hogni’s pupils widened slightly.
"Disappeared—", A hand strike hit his side, sending the dark elf flying, spraying blood.
"[Varian Hildr]!"
Completely disregarding Hogni being in the same line of attack, a thunder spear thrust forward, but Emiya merely raised his hand and crushed the lightning barehanded.
He slightly turned his head toward Riveria’s direction.
"—Soon, flames will be released"
"The quietly advancing flames of war, the inevitable destruction..."
Riveria was still chanting. Realizing this, everyone roared and charged at once.
From the front, Zald, Ottar; from behind, Hedin, Hogni; from the side, Finn, Gareth; all attacked at the same time.
Emiya... Heracles swung the greatsword with his right hand, his left hand empty, yet with the strength of one man alone, he blocked the siege of six people.
"Burn all, Sword of Surtr, my name is Alf"
Riveria’s chant ended. Everyone but Zald retreated immediately.
Zald roared, attacking even more fiercely, willing to take the magic together with Emiya.
At that moment, Emiya’s consciousness wavered slightly.
A pillar of fire roared upward, engulfing both their figures. Zald let out a satisfied shout.
Emiya’s quiet murmur, however, was incomprehensible.
It took Ottar and the others several seconds to realize what it was.
At this moment, their anger and humiliation could no longer be described in words, that man had yawned.
Emiya, however, was polite, "Sorry, I really do feel a bit sleepy."
The rising drowsiness meant he had stayed in this world too long, and was causing greater and greater disturbances.
"They’re not here yet...? Let’s wrap this up quickly."
Emiya’s body leaned forward slightly, like a starting stance, then in the next instant, his figure vanished.
Finn’s eyes widened, spitting blood; before he could understand what happened, his body was already flying backward.
The same thing happened to everyone present.
The air compressed to the extreme, producing deafening sonic booms, accompanied by repeated bone-cracking sounds, like the furious beat of war drums.
But to those taking the hit, it was a song of despair.
Be they strong dwarves, rough boazmen, or the [Gluttony] known as the [Overlord], their bodies bent in pain at almost the same moment, some kneeling, some flying away.
The most pitiful was Riveria, clutching her abdomen and curling on the ground, as if to vomit out everything from her stomach.
Stepping over the overlapping bodies of the red-haired swordswoman, golden-haired elf, and Yamato Nadeshiko, the man said nothing, only overlooking all beings.
No magic, no skills, just pure martial arts.
[Shooting the Hundred Heads(Nine Lives)]
———
[Mini Scene]
"Mm... what time is it now...", Hippolyta rubbed her eyes, getting up from bed. She looked at the clock.
When she saw the hands’ position, she suddenly woke up.
"Get up quickly, we overslept!", The [Empress] immediately called everyone out of bed.
On the large bed, the beautiful bodies of female adventurers lay sprawled in disarray, eyes hazy, hair messy.
The [Sword Saint], [Celestial Fox], and [Stellar Bow] barely managed to wake up quickly, but [Silence] could not be woken at all.
If not for still breathing, they would suspect Alfia was already dead.
"Don’t bother with her. With Alfia’s weakling constitution, she might not get up even tomorrow," Mashiro yawned.
Last night, they heard Alfia’s cries. It hadn’t been long, but she sounded like she was about to die.
As expected of a weakling with only G-rank endurance.
For Alfia’s sake, the Hera Familia seniors "reluctantly" acted to save her from fire and water.
The bond between familia comrades was touching (tearful eyes).
However, for Emiya (Heracles), five people were far too few; maybe ten times that, forty-nine people, might be about right.
The [Empress], confident in her Lv.9 rank and Amazonian constitution, provoked Emiya into activating his berserk skill.
The result, Hippolyta surrendered first, and the others were nearly broken.
In the end, to buy some rest time, they even dragged the goddess Hera in. Not troublesome, since when they opened the room door, the goddess, leaning against it, fell right in.
But thinking of the goddess’s performance yesterday, Hippolyta felt embarrassed, "Goddess-sama, are you really in a mortal body without [Falna]...? You can still wake up so lively today."
Battle aftermath summary, Hera Familia, Emiya subjugation battle, damage taken ratio:
Hera: 60%, MVP
Hippolyta: 15%, understandable
Melvette: 10%, did her best
Mashiro: 10%, honorable in defeat
Luna: 4%, racial disadvantage
Alfia: 1%, weakling durability
"We woke up too late, we must depart quickly... Mashiro, what are you doing?", Melvette stared in disbelief as the [Celestial Fox] dashed to wash her face, then sat before the dressing mirror.
"Putting on makeup," the fox woman Mashiro answered naturally.
The [Sword Saint]’s mouth twitched, "...If we don’t hurry, Zald might get killed."
"When the captain returned to the city, she happened to meet a [Academy District] ship and already told Leon to come over. That kid is Lv.7 now; he can hold on for a while," The [Celestial Fox] spoke while putting on mascara.
"Today is the battle with ’Lord Heracles.’ I must let him remember my most beautiful self!", Mashiro declared resolutely.
"...Indeed. Mashiro, when you’re done, help me get ready too," Hippolyta said.
"I believe in Zald, and in Leon."
"Let them suffer a bit, and let Goddess Hera take the blame."
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