Chapter 377

Chapter 377: Chapter 377

BOOOOM—!

The collision was so violent that the sound seemed capable of tearing eardrums apart.

The asphalt beneath them cracked and collapsed in layers, shattered fragments of road being ripped loose and hurled away by the resulting shockwave.

Esdeath was sent flying with them.

Her parameters were undeniably high.

Whether in the world of Akame ga Kill! or after coming to Orario, Esdeath had always ranked among the outstanding fighters of her era.

But against Heracles, even she appeared physically inferior.

There was no mystery as to why.

Berserker possessed A+ rank Strength alone, and a single swing of that axe-sword carried enough raw force to split a mountain.

Esdeath being unable to withstand such power head-on was hardly surprising.

Crack—!

She slammed heavily back onto the ground, her boots digging into the earth and plowing a long trench before she finally brought herself to a stop.

Esdeath wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stared at Berserker with blazing eyes.

Her voice rose with an excitement Kiriya had rarely heard from her.

"Yes... this is it! This is exactly the kind of opponent I’ve been looking for—"

She never finished.

Her vision blurred, and Berserker’s demonic figure was suddenly right in front of her.

The enormous axe-sword came crashing down with the overwhelming momentum of a mountain collapsing from above.

BOOOOM—!

The earth split apart instantly.

A tremendous fissure tore through the cemetery, dividing the grounds in two.

Countless gravestones were shattered along with the bones buried beneath them.

If the gravestones could have spoken, they probably would have screamed, ’What the hell did we ever do to deserve this?!’

Berserker naturally heard no such complaints.

Even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared.

His axe-sword became a blur, raining down one brutal strike after another upon Esdeath.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

Crater after crater appeared across the ground beneath his attacks, yet Berserker never managed to land a decisive blow.

Esdeath either evaded at the last possible moment or intercepted the strike with her sword, and as the battle continued, she gradually became capable of launching occasional counterattacks of her own.

The reason was simple.

Battle Intent Furnace.

Whenever Esdeath’s fighting spirit rose, the Skill dramatically enhanced her Strength, speed, Agility, Mana, and other attributes.

The more excited she became and the higher her battle intent climbed, the greater the enhancement.

Against an opponent like Heracles, who forced her fighting spirit higher with every exchange, the Skill was operating at an extraordinary level.

It was precisely because of Battle Intent Furnace that Esdeath could compensate for the enormous gap in raw Strength, progressing from being completely overwhelmed to actually holding her ground in a direct confrontation.

Of course, stubbornly fighting an opponent’s greatest strength with her own weakness had never been Esdeath’s style.

Once she survived the initial chaos and adapted to Berserker’s rhythm, she changed tactics.

Instead of continuing to meet every strike head-on, she began circling and harassing him, exploiting bursts of extreme speed to search for openings and carve wound after wound across his enormous body.

"Hm?"

Illya’s crimson eyes widened slightly.

"Is it just me, or is that Big Sister getting stronger?"

"You’re not imagining it."

Kiriya’s voice suddenly sounded right beside her.

"She really is."

Illya’s entire body tensed.

Silver strands instantly gathered in the air, weaving themselves into the shape of a bird before firing several bolts of light directly toward Kiriya.

Engel Lied.

It was an alchemical technique inherited from her mother, based upon the Einzberns’ sophisticated wirecraft.

Familiars could be formed from fine metal threads—or even the user’s own hair—and programmed to independently seek out and attack enemies.

Illya referred to this particular bird-shaped familiar as a Storch Ritter.

In practical terms, it functioned like a highly mobile autonomous magical turret.

Its maneuverability and offensive power were both impressive, but maintaining one consumed an enormous amount of magical energy.

An ordinary Magus might exhaust themselves merely by summoning such a familiar.

Illya, however, possessed an extraordinary constitution and immense magical reserves, allowing her to use them almost extravagantly.

Clang! Clang! Clang—!

Kiriya casually swung his sword and knocked aside every blast.

He shook his head.

"That’s not very well-behaved, little girl. You shouldn’t play around with such dangerous toys."

"My, my. Isn’t it because Big Brother suddenly appeared right behind me and frightened me?"

Illya clasped her hands behind her back and stuck out her tongue playfully.

"Besides, Big Brother is perfectly fine, isn’t he?"

Her eyes shifted toward Esdeath.

"More importantly, could Big Brother explain something to Illya? If you do, I’d be very grateful."

Her voice remained sweet and innocent.

"What exactly is happening to that Big Sister?"

"It’s nothing too complicated."

Kiriya smiled.

"She has a particular talent. When she encounters a sufficiently powerful enemy, she becomes stronger along with them. That’s all."

"You’re lying! There’s no Skill like that!"

Illya rejected the explanation instinctively.

Unfortunately, the battle unfolding before her made it difficult to deny what she was seeing.

"Believe it or don’t. The evidence is right in front of you."

Kiriya shrugged, then began walking toward her.

"All right, it’s getting late. It’s dangerous for a little girl to be wandering outside at night, so you should go home and sleep."

"Oh?"

Illya lightly bit her lower lip.

"Does Big Brother think he’s already won?"

Several more strands of her silver hair rose and transformed into additional Storch Ritters.

This time, they unleashed an even denser and faster barrage of magical fire.

Clang! Clang! Clang—!

Kiriya continued deflecting everything with unhurried sweeps of his sword, and his pace never slowed in the slightest.

"You really are strong, Big Brother."

Illya retreated while changing the flow of magical energy through her familiars.

The airborne birds immediately transformed into several white blades of light and shot straight toward Kiriya.

"Pretty technique."

Kiriya casually swung once.

A sword flash tore through the white blades and destroyed them all.

Then his legs exploded with strength.

His figure vanished from where he stood and appeared directly in front of Illya, one hand landing lightly on her shoulder.

Five Elements Seal—Seal!

It was a sealing technique originating from the Naruto world. Although specifically designed to interfere with chakra, it still had some effect on magical energy.

After all, chakra was refined from physical and spiritual energy, while magical energy in the Nasuverse was likewise closely tied to life force.

The systems were different in form, but similar enough in fundamental nature for the technique to function to a certain extent.

"What did you do to me?!"

Illya’s face changed drastically when she felt the magical energy inside her fall into an unprecedented stillness.

"You big bully! Let me go!"

Even after Kiriya tucked her under one arm, she continued struggling violently.

"Quiet."

Kiriya rapped her lightly on the head.

The physical version of a silence spell proved remarkably effective.

Illya immediately settled down.

Still, Kiriya had no intention of taking chances.

Forest of All Things produced wooden vines that wrapped around her body and began steadily draining both stamina and magical energy, preventing her from doing anything too reckless.

"Berserker! Save me!"

Feeling her strength continuously disappearing, Illya finally panicked and called desperately for the Servant she trusted more than anyone.

"ROOOOAR—!"

The sight of Illya being captured sent Berserker into a frenzy.

His overwhelming protective instinct toward the little girl erupted into raw power, allowing him to blast Esdeath away before charging toward Kiriya like an unstoppable war chariot.

"Afterglow!"

Esdeath’s cold voice came from behind him.

A dazzling sword light descended from above.

Had Heracles been summoned in another class with his reason intact, the legendary hero would undoubtedly have remained aware of his surroundings even in the middle of a charge.

He would have anticipated the attack behind him and responded with the instincts and judgment worthy of his legend.

Unfortunately, he had been summoned as Berserker.

His reason had been stripped away.

And with Illya captured before his eyes, rage consumed what little restraint remained.

All Berserker wanted was to reduce the man threatening her to bloody paste.

That made his response to the attack from behind far slower and less precise than it otherwise would have been.

Shhk—!

The brilliant sword light carved into his back and burst straight through his body.

Blood sprayed violently across the cemetery.

Esdeath had claimed the first kill against Berserker.