Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

Thank you all so much for your support!!!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!!"

Steel flashed in the canyon as August and Gilgamesh moved faster and faster, their blades clashing over and over. Each missed blow tore into the ground, sending cracks through the earth and knocking chunks of stone into the ravine.

'Just... what is wrong with this human?' Gilgamesh deflected August's sword and moved in for another strike, only to find his opponent slipping past him even faster.

'His speed already exceeds mine.'

As the fight went on, it became obvious: August's body was still getting used to this world. Each clash made him faster, and every moment brought him closer to equaling the Heroic Spirits.

Neither side backed down.

Then Alcides moved... the Avenger had been watching from the edge of the battlefield. He had already made August use his resurrection once, and now he moved in again, lifting Nine Lives toward the back of August's head.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hippolyta saw the ambush and rushed to stop it. She refused to let Alcides attack someone who wasn't looking.

August reacted even faster.

"Come, Champion Of The Savages. Manly Warrior, Strong Hero, Greedy And Unjust Hero!"

Mana surged through the space around him.

"Show Your Worth If You Desire The Girdle Of The Empress. Satisfy My Body, Penetrate My Body, Kill My Body And Prove Your Worth!"

August raised his sword.

"My Starving Blade Is Hippolyta!"

"What?" Hippolyta nearly missed a step.

She stared at him in disbelief. Why was this odd human saying her name during a spell? And why did the incantation sound so aggressive?

August used the Magic Hell Kaios he had learned. The energy wasn't from his own body. Instead, it came from the reserves he had stored in the [Spatial Backpack]—saved for a moment like this.

The treasures he had taken from the Gate of Babylon appeared around him. One by one, the ancient weapons started to glow as their power and energy fed into the spell.

Gilgamesh recognized what he was doing immediately.

"He's using my treasures to charge the attack?" The King of Heroes stared for a moment, then grinned.

"What a brilliant little thief."

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

August swung his sword away from Gilgamesh and leveled it directly at the charging Alcides.

"You cut me in half just now," he said with a smile. "Now it's your turn."

The stolen weapons shattered into light.

"HELL KAIOS!" A massive beam erupted from August's blade.

The attack hit Alcides before he could change direction. Light covered his whole body, breaking through the Pelt of the Divine Beast and ripping apart the corrupted power around him.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!!" The canyon trembled.

When the beam finally faded, everything below Alcides's waist was gone.

"So this is how it ends?" Alcides looked down at what remained of his body.

He had tried to ambush August again, but August had always kept an eye on him. The chant, the mana, and the stolen treasures were all set up for when Alcides attacked.

To make things worse, the attack that beat him used Hippolyta's name.

Having abandoned his Divinity and Immortality, Alcides no longer possessed a resurrection ability—he could not restore himself through God Hand as Heracles once had.

Instead, the black mud created from human evil started to cover his broken body, wrapping around the wound and rebuilding his flesh and bones while using up huge amounts of magical energy. August's attack had destroyed over half his body and some of the treasures that gave him power.

Continuing the fight would be pointless.

"It appears I must withdraw for now." The mud tightened around Alcides as he got ready to leave.

To keep healing, he took more life from the hostages his Master had captured, draining their energy through the contract. He glanced at August.

"Outsider..."

Then toward Gilgamesh.

"...And feeble king."

Even as he left, Alcides made sure to insult them both. His body disappeared into the distance, carried away by the corrupted power around him.

"..." Gilgamesh watched him go without attempting to pursue. The battle with Alcides was over, for now.

On the other side of the canyon, Hippolyta and the Artemis Familia kept fighting with arrows and swords. The younger Amazons attacked from all sides, while Hippolyta fought back from Kalion's back. The battle was still even.

Gilgamesh had avoided the edge of the cannon blast, but after seeing what it did to Alcides, he understood. If he wanted to beat August for good, normal treasures wouldn't be enough. He would need one of his strongest weapons, something that could kill August before he could recover.

Still, Gilgamesh did not attack.

"Outsider." He turned his gaze toward a distant ridge. "Are you certain we are the only ones watching?"

Gilgamesh enjoyed battle, but he was not foolish enough to expose his back while unknown parties ringed the canyon.

His words were answered by a cheerful voice from the shadows.

"Yo!" Flat Escardos walked into the open, looking as if he was at a festival.

His Servant had brought him to the canyon so he could watch August's fight safely.

Another figure manifested nearby. The Zealot left the cover of the rocks, her expression far more guarded than Flat's.

Both were part of groups linked to the False Holy Grail War, but unlike the cheerful young magus, Assassin watched August with quiet suspicion. She had already fought him once and knew how dangerous he was.

Before either could speak, the ground beside Gilgamesh rippled. A green-haired figure rose swiftly from the earth and landed at the King of Heroes' side.

"Enkidu..." Gilgamesh tilted his head.

"You came as well?"

His warning wasn't meant for his closest friend—he already knew Enkidu was close. The real question was why Enkidu had decided to show up now.

Enkidu touched one hand to their ear, as though listening to a distant sound.

"I didn't come to join your performance. Someone troublesome has appeared."

Gilgamesh seemed to think they were there to show off with him, but that wasn't true.

Enkidu had come to help.

"Outsider... no. Perhaps I should call you Mother's Master." Enkidu looked directly at August.

August's face tensed a little.

"Would you care to explain what you've done?"

Gilgamesh caught the caution in Enkidu's voice instantly. August had clearly attracted the attention of an entity far more troublesome than the Servants already present.

Before Gilgamesh could demand an answer—a figure descended from the sky and landed beside August.

The newcomer had pale blue-green hair in two loose ponytails. She wore a modern school uniform, and her small, awkward steps made her seem like a clumsy teenager. She rushed toward August, pretended to trip, and fell into his arms.

August caught her by instinct.

Had she been an ordinary girl, Gilgamesh would not have cared. But two enormous dragon horns curved from her head. A long dragon tail swayed behind her. The presence flowing from her body was unmistakable.

Gilgamesh's eyes widened.

"Impossible." He could see the Saint Graph she was hiding behind. Archer.

"The Primordial Mother cannot possibly have been summoned by a brat like you!" His teeth clenched. "What did you do?"

A manifestation like hers could serve as an anchor, potentially drawing the true Beast into the World. Something was deeply wrong with this summoning...

Larva/Tiamat ignored Gilgamesh entirely and stayed comfortably nestled against August.

Enkidu, however, was already looking elsewhere.

"The others should reveal themselves as well." Enkidu was closely connected to the earth and could sense every change in the mana nearby.

Two hostile presences hid under August, both sending a clear threat.

A voice rose from the darkness.

"I told you the Chain of Heaven would cause trouble."

"How was I supposed to know they could see through the disguise?" Two figures surfaced from August's shadow.

The first carried the false Saint Graph of an Assassin: Marie Alter.

The second radiated the power of a Berserker: Jeanne Alter.

Both had dark looks, and their presence was full of arrogance, resentment, and violence. They weren't real Avengers in this ritual, but the feeling around them was like the corruption that surrounded Alcides.

Hippolyta glanced away from her battle for a second.

"Assassin and Berserker?"

She could tell what classes they were pretending to be, but neither woman seemed like a normal Servant from Snowfield's ritual.

The sudden appearance of four additional Servants—Olga Marie, Larva/Tiamat, Marie Alter, and Jeanne Alter—left the gathered Masters and Heroic Spirits silent.

Flat Escardos alone seemed delighted.

"Four more Servants?" His eyes shone with curiosity. "Are all of you participating in this Holy Grail War too?"

"Hah?" Jeanne Alter scowled at him. "Who said we were part of your group? We're nothing like you people."

She had no intention of being lumped in with either the True or False Servants.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

BULK UPLOAD OF 5 CHAPTERS IF WE HIT 900 POWERSTONES THIS WEEK!!

....

~ Every 300 Power Stones = Bonus chapter!

~ 30 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)