Bellerophon

Souichirou Kuzuki sprinted toward Illya. Only when the distance between them had shrunk to less than two hundred meters did Illya realize that she was his target.

Because Assassin had suddenly been enveloped by some powerful Reality Marble, his steps became even more urgent.

Souichirou Kuzuki’s martial arts were quite outstanding by this world’s standards. That strange technique born specifically for assassination was also highly effective against this world’s magi.

Medea, floating above Souichirou Kuzuki, was not skilled in combat, but she possessed an extremely powerful command of magecraft.

When she saw Illya raise her hand, sending familiars shaped like doves from her hair along with flying swords, she spread her hand, and a surge of purple magical energy annihilated them.

In her right hand, she held that special Noble Phantasm capable of severing any contract.

No matter how powerful Mercenary Tao was, as long as his connection to his Master could be cut, without a supply of magical energy, a Servant’s performance would inevitably be severely restricted.

Just like Saber at this very moment.

She could see it clearly. Saber’s strength had not been brought into full play at all. As a class considered among the very best, Saber had relied almost entirely on close-quarters martial arts and swordsmanship in her previous battles. She had not used any magical energy release skills, much less unleashed a Noble Phantasm.

At first, she had thought it was Saber’s arrogance, but faced with an insane enemy like Mercenary Tao, no matter how arrogant she was, she would not keep holding back.

The only explanation was that Saber could not receive a supply of magical energy and had been fighting solely on her own innate reserves.

Medea’s gaze shifted away from Saber with a trace of hesitation. She actually felt a strange greed toward that Saber.

If I could seize control of Saber…

Boom!

A black giant crashed down from the sky, completely blocking Souichirou Kuzuki and Medea’s path.

It was Berserker, who had previously been locked in a mad battle with Assassin Mercenary Tao.

This pitch-black Berserker had not joined the effort to kill Mercenary Tao, yet now he inexplicably stood before Illya, Mercenary Tao’s Master.

"Could it be…"

Illya looked at the giant standing before her. Just as in that forest back then, he would always protect her, until she finally died…

She stepped forward on her own initiative. Heracles let out a low growl, the red light in his pupils terrifying, but Illya did not retreat. Instead, she moved even closer.

In the end, Heracles turned his head and picked up that oversized axe-sword. He tried his best not to look at Illya, instead directing all his violence at everyone else.

"Berserker, kill them!"

The young girl’s clear voice made Medea’s heart sink rapidly.

This was that girl’s Servant too?!

How could one Master command two Servants, both of them so powerful…

She felt that something had most likely gone wrong with this Holy Grail War.

Medea gently took Souichirou Kuzuki’s hand, signaling for him to prepare to retreat.

But with a crisp crack, the Reality Marble shattered, and the tall Archer in red slowly dissolved into blue radiance.

Leaving only the terrifying Mercenary Tao, who emerged completely unharmed.

Bellerophon!

Without any warning, at that instant, a white aurora erupted. A Pegasus from the Age of Gods spread its wings, white feathers drifting down from both sides like fragments alongside magical energy of utmost purity.

The blinding aurora crossed several kilometers almost the instant Mercenary Tao emerged from the Reality Marble.

Medusa seemed to have known all along that the one to survive Archer and Assassin’s battle would inevitably be the beyond-standard Assassin, Mercenary Tao.

She had unleashed her Noble Phantasm in advance, and at this moment, she fully released its dazzling killing blow.

Boom!

Bai Cangshu had only just returned from the Reality Marble. Neither Mantra nor Vortex of the Heart had yet fully grasped the information around him when he instantly felt a devastating force pierce straight through him.

The force and impact were so immense that even Bai Cangshu’s current physical defense, combined with a Martial Arts Grandmaster’s perfect Force Dissipation, could not withstand it.

The instant of impact, the rock strata beneath Bai Cangshu’s feet shattered across several thousand meters. Then his entire body was sent flying, his breastbone caving in amid the sound of rupturing organs as blood scattered through the air.

That was not all. Medusa’s dazzling Demonic Eyes stared directly at Bai Cangshu. As he instinctively met her gaze while under attack, Bai Cangshu seemed to feel a terrifying, sinister magical energy erupt within the structure of his cells and the spiraling strands of his genes.

Cell by cell, his entire body began to petrify. Within one thousandth of a second after the impact, more than fifty percent of Bai Cangshu’s body had turned to stone. With his flesh deprived of vitality, a Martial Arts Grandmaster’s Force Dissipation could no longer function at all.

"Ahh—ha!"

Medusa opened her mouth in a furious shout as well, fiercely cracking the glowing reins in her hand. The Pegasus beat its wings again with a thunderous roar.

Bang!

Bai Cangshu’s petrified body exploded, and the Pegasus trampled over the remains as it thundered onward for several thousand meters.

Medusa landed on the ground, panting heavily. This all-out strike after unleashing her Noble Phantasm had almost been a prediction, but at the same time, it had been a tactical arrangement made by that red-clad, white-haired Archer.

Before the Reality Marble had unfolded, she had received his warning. He would pin Mercenary Tao in one place for roughly ten seconds to one minute.

That Servant, who seemed exceptionally proficient in tactics and strategy, had worked with her to complete this fatal strike.

Boom!

On the other side, the crazed black giant cleaved apart hundreds of meters of ground with a single slash and continued his mad pursuit at extreme speed. That Caster and her Master seemed unable to hold on much longer.

Medusa was about to offer support when her body suddenly stiffened.

A layer of fine bumps instantly rose across her beautiful, fair skin.

A hand—a long, powerful hand—seemed to descend from thin air behind her neck, gripping her pale throat. Its fingertips even flirtatiously brushed across the skin of her chest.

That speed, that ability to hide, and… that killing intent!

Medusa twisted her body, moving like a beautiful great serpent. In an instant, she left several afterimages behind, and her twin daggers had already stabbed hundreds of times toward her back while silver-white chains completely bound the person behind her.

She then flipped backward, retreating dozens of meters, before seeing that the one who had been standing behind her was indeed Mercenary Tao.

Not only had he not died, but his petrification had also been undone.

No, she immediately overturned that thought. Assassin’s Magic Resistance was not high enough to negate her Petrification Demonic Eye, much less undo it. So… it was not that he had never died. He had come back to life after dying!

"An Assassin with the ability to resurrect…"

Medusa pulled hard with both hands, the chains seeming about to cut into his flesh. Yet at this moment, Mercenary Tao’s body was wrapped in a crimson phantom, like a new layer of flesh that continuously writhed.

As a result, the chains could not touch his true body at all.

Bai Cangshu sniffed his fingertips. When Heroic Spirits became Servants, they indeed possessed living flesh. He smelled the scent of fresh "meat," and gained a deeper understanding of the so-called Third Magic.

Medusa frowned. There seemed to be no lust in his eyes, but in the next moment, she froze. He was meeting her gaze?!

Petrification Demonic Eye!

The Demonic Eye took effect instantly.

Boom!

It was as though some kind of impact had been released through the air. Medusa was suddenly struck by a powerful shock, her mind spinning as blood flowed from her nose the next moment.

She actually found herself unable to control the waves of lust that arose in her mind.

And just as her body became difficult to control, a familiar yet unfamiliar numbness kept spreading through her.

"Charm Demonic Eye… Petrification Demonic Eye?!"