Chapter 229
"How did he... take him down that easily?"
Caules stared at the scene in disbelief.
That was a Servant with EX-rank Endurance—a genuinely inhuman body—and yet Berserker of Red had barely lasted three exchanges against Kiriya.
"What kind of monster is that man?"
Celenike bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, yet did not seem to notice.
"Gordes, didn’t you say he fought Lancer of Red with martial arts and swordsmanship?"
Roche turned toward the fat middle-aged magus.
"So what was that just now? Some kind of... magecraft?"
Gordes stared back at him blankly.
’Why the hell are you asking me? How should I know?’
"That wasn’t magecraft."
A golden gleam flashed through Chiron’s eyes.
His Clairvoyance had allowed him to observe everything clearly.
"It uses an energy similar to magical energy, yet fundamentally different from it. He can manipulate plants in the surrounding environment for combat purposes, and those plants are even capable of draining energy and stamina from anything they restrain."
His expression grew slightly more serious.
"An exceptionally troublesome ability."
Darnic remained silent.
He merely watched Kiriya with deepening wariness.
Superb martial arts.
Exceptional swordsmanship.
And now bizarre abilities that rivaled high-level magecraft.
Their newest Master was becoming more troublesome by the minute.
"Isn’t that a good thing?"
Astolfo was practically bouncing in place.
"Master is amazing! Long live Master!"
"At the very least, we’ve already eliminated one enemy Servant."
Fiore smiled faintly.
"That is an excellent beginning."
"Hahahaha!"
Vlad III threw back his head and laughed, clearly delighted.
"Excellent, young hero!"
"Let me see just how far you can go."
Darnic considered the battlefield for a moment.
"The two remaining Servants should be left to Saber and Berserker."
"Agreed."
Vlad swept one hand outward.
"Go, Saber. Berserker."
His voice rang with sovereign authority.
"Claim victory in my name."
"Yes."
Siegfried nodded.
He was just about to head out with Berserker of Black when the sudden shouts from the other Masters and Servants caught his attention.
"What is he doing?"
"Wait..."
"Master, don’t be reckless!"
Siegfried looked toward the battlefield.
Then his expression changed.
Kiriya was charging directly toward the other two Red Servants!
"He’s planning to... defeat every enemy by himself?"
Caules murmured.
"That’s insane!"
Gordes cried out.
"Those are Achilles and Atalanta! Fighting both of them at once is impossible!"
"Hmph!"
Astolfo immediately jumped to Kiriya’s defense.
"Master isn’t some brainless idiot! If he’s doing this, then he definitely has a reason."
His eyes lit up.
"Maybe he’s confident he can beat both of them at the same time!"
"How impressive."
Celenike sneered.
"Such a shameless boasting."
Astolfo immediately bristled.
"What did you say, you perverted sadist?!"
Celenike’s face twisted.
She wanted nothing more than to sew his mouth shut.
Vlad III raised one hand and silenced the argument.
"Whether he possesses the ability or not will become clear soon enough."
Darnic said nothing.
His expression shifted subtly as he watched Kiriya’s rapidly retreating figure.
...
At the same time, Rider and Archer of Red—
Achilles and Atalanta—both paused when they saw Kiriya charging straight toward them.
Then their expressions hardened almost simultaneously.
"He has some nerve."
Atalanta stood atop a large boulder, her voice cold as ice and her gaze sharp as a blade.
"Is he truly intending to face both of us alone?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"It seems defeating Berserker has made him overconfident."
"Seriously, there’s a limit to how much you can look down on someone."
Achilles twirled his spear in both hands, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face.
"He’s just a human."
He glanced toward Atalanta.
"Big Sis, stay out of this one. I’ll deal with him first."
"Don’t underestimate him."
Atalanta warned him.
"He may be human, but his physical abilities are already comparable to mine."
"And that strange ability of his... if those plants manage to restrain you, it could become troublesome."
"Relax."
Achilles’s confidence did not waver in the slightest.
"With speed like that? He’d have to dream about hitting me."
Atalanta stared at him.
’Was that supposed to be aimed at me?’
While they spoke, Kiriya closed the distance until only fifty meters remained between them.
With no obstacles left between the three, their gazes met clearly across the open ground.
"Hmph."
Achilles lowered his stance.
"Human, whether this is reckless stupidity or genuine confidence..."
His spear tilted forward.
"I’ll measure it with this weapon."
He did not attack first.
He wanted Kiriya to come to him.
As one of the greatest Servants in the war, Achilles possessed more than enough pride to allow his opponent the opening move.
Besides, he had another reason.
He wanted to see the expression on Kiriya’s face when all that confidence collapsed.
The anger.
The panic.
The humiliation of being crushed into the dirt.
That would probably be entertaining.
"Servants of Red."
Kiriya smiled pleasantly.
"Nice to meet you."
Two kunai appeared in his hands and he threw one toward each of them.
The weapons crossed the distance in an instant.
Achilles almost laughed.
"This is what you’re relying on?"
His expression turned mocking.
"Two little knives?"
Against an ordinary human, perhaps they would have been dangerous.
Against a Heroic Spirit like him?
Even if he stood perfectly still and allowed the kunai to hit him directly, they would barely qualify as an attack.
What was this supposed to be?
A joke?
Achilles reached out casually, intending to slap the kunai aside before teaching Kiriya exactly what it meant to challenge a legendary hero.
He would show this boy what true strength looked like.
What a hero looked like!
The instant his hand was about to touch the kunai—Kiriya disappeared.
Achilles’s eyes widened.
Kiriya reappeared in the air behind Atalanta with a brilliant blue sphere of energy was already spinning in his palm.
Then, in a single breath, it expanded violently until it reached nearly three meters in diameter.
"Massive Rasengan!"
"What?!"
Atalanta’s expression changed dramatically.
She immediately tried to move.
Too late.
BOOOOOOM!
The enormous Rasengan slammed directly into her shoulder.
Atalanta was driven into the boulder beneath her as the spiraling energy erupted outward.
The rock shattered instantly.
Then the surrounding ground began twisting, buckling, and collapsing beneath the violent torrent of chakra.
"Big Sis!"
Even Achilles lost his composure.
He had never imagined that Atalanta would be struck almost instantly.
That movement had been so fast that even the legendary huntress had failed to react.
Achilles instinctively prepared to charge forward and kill Kiriya.
But the explosion from the Massive Rasengan unleashed a terrifying storm of energy.
The resulting hurricane was powerful enough that even he could not ignore it.
Achilles crossed both arms in front of himself to block.
The shock wave still swept him away.
Only after some time did the violent energy finally subside.
The wind died.
Achilles pushed himself back to his feet.
Then he looked toward the enormous crater before him.
It stretched more than ten meters across.
His expression became exceptionally ugly.