Chapter 378

Chapter 378: Chapter 378

"Berserker..."

Seeing Berserker collapse helplessly into a pool of blood, Illya instinctively wanted to scream.

However, Forest of All Things had already drained a considerable amount of her stamina, leaving even her voice weak and feeble.

"What a shame. Such a terrible shame."

Esdeath landed lightly on the ground and shook her head as she looked at Berserker’s enormous body, which was still spilling blood across the shattered earth.

"This isn’t your true strength."

As a veteran of countless battles, how could Esdeath fail to recognize how much the Berserker class had diminished Heracles as a warrior?

Certainly, Mad Enhancement had raised his parameters to an almost incomprehensible level, granting him physical abilities that few opponents could hope to match.

But in exchange, he had lost something far more important: his reason.

All he knew how to do now was charge forward and overwhelm his enemies through brute force.

Yet what made someone a hero was never merely the strength they possessed. True greatness was also the culmination of character, courage, vision, judgment, and wisdom.

Heracles’s martial abilities had undoubtedly been refined through countless battles.

Even his instinctive movements were remarkably precise, efficient, and decisive.

But without the ability to read the battlefield, control the rhythm of combat, or understand an opponent’s intentions, even a warrior of his caliber could be manipulated by outside circumstances.

Just as he had been moments earlier, when Esdeath exploited his distraction and landed a fatal blow.

"Hmph. You two idiots really think you’ve won?"

Illya lowered her head, seemingly overcome with grief.

Hidden beneath that sorrowful expression, however, her crimson eyes glittered with the satisfaction of a little girl whose scheme was going perfectly.

Her distress had been nothing more than an act.

She wanted Kiriya and Esdeath to lower their guard, creating the perfect opportunity for Berserker to launch a surprise attack and rescue her.

And judging from the way the two were still standing around lamenting his fate, her deception had worked beautifully.

"Berserker."

Illya called softly.

The enormous body lying in the blood began to change.

Wounds that should have been fatal closed at astonishing speed.

Torn flesh knitted itself together, and the injuries running through his massive frame vanished as though time itself were being reversed.

Then a pair of blood-red eyes snapped open.

Berserker surged to his feet and charged straight toward Kiriya like an unstoppable war chariot.

In less than half the time it took to blink, he was already upon him, his gigantic axe-sword descending with enough force to split the heavens.

BOOOOM—!

The earth ruptured beneath the strike, and an enormous fissure extended toward the limits of sight, pulverizing everything in its path.

"What?! He’s still alive?"

Esdeath stared in disbelief, an extraordinary possibility suddenly occurring to her.

’Was that... resurrection?’

...

Inside the church, Kirei Kotomine frowned as he watched the scene unfold.

"That creature can actually resurrect itself?"

A vague suspicion was already forming in his mind.

"Indeed. Who would have imagined that Heracles, the most celebrated hero of Greek mythology, would be reduced to surviving like a mindless beast?"

Gilgamesh watched the battle outside with undisguised contempt.

"Those Einzbern mongrels really have outdone themselves."

"That Noble Phantasm is certainly formidable," Kirei observed. "Though with your abilities, I imagine dealing with it wouldn’t be particularly difficult."

"Of course not. Who do you think you’re speaking to?"

Gilgamesh’s voice overflowed with arrogance.

"Had that man been summoned as Archer, I might have shown him a measure of respect. But as he is now, he’s little more than a beast. My treasury contains more than enough treasures capable of disposing of him."

Heracles’s demigod heritage alone made him especially vulnerable to the Chains of Heaven. Once restrained by those chains, the great hero would be entirely at Gilgamesh’s mercy.

"Then there’s nothing to worry about."

Kirei returned his attention to the battle.

"This is an excellent opportunity to observe that young man and the woman accompanying him."

"Precisely. That boy possesses some rather interesting abilities."

Gilgamesh’s crimson eyes narrowed with curiosity.

"If my assessment is correct, he can manipulate space and time. What’s more, his movements leave no trace of Magecraft activation."

A pleased smile appeared on the King of Heroes’ face.

"To think I would encounter someone like that in an age when Mystery has declined so far. Interesting. Truly interesting."

And so, the two men who found their greatest pleasure in witnessing the unexpected and the suffering of others watched the unfolding battle with increasingly delighted expressions.

...

Outside the church, Esdeath’s attention remained entirely focused on Berserker.

As for Kiriya’s safety, she was not remotely concerned.

Heracles’s attack was unquestionably fierce, but avoiding it would hardly present any difficulty for Kiriya.

Sure enough, his familiar voice sounded beside her a moment later.

"God Hand: The Twelve Labors. It’s a Noble Phantasm representing immortality, both a divine blessing and a curse. Whenever Heracles dies, his body automatically resurrects. Since it stores eleven additional resurrections, you have to kill him twelve times before he’ll stay dead."

Kiriya continued explaining without the slightest urgency.

"And that’s not all. The same technique won’t work against him twice. In that respect, he’s even more ridiculous than a Saint from Saint Seiya. So if you intend to use Afterglow again, you’d better be careful."

"Seriously? It can even do something like that?"

Esdeath sounded skeptical.

"That Noble Phantasm of his really does have some unbelievable properties."

Still, she had just witnessed a dead man return to life before her eyes. At this point, there was little reason to dismiss Kiriya’s explanation.

Illya, meanwhile, had been preparing to struggle again in Kiriya’s grasp. But the moment she heard him describe Berserker’s Noble Phantasm, she went completely still.

She stared at him as though she had seen a ghost.

Her expression practically screamed, ’How could you possibly know all that?!’

"I know quite a lot, little girl."

Kiriya grinned and gave Illya another flick on her smooth forehead, immediately provoking a pained yelp and a fresh round of protests.

"Ow! You big bully! Let me go already! Berserker, hurry up and save me!"

Hearing Illya’s cries, Berserker’s fighting spirit erupted with renewed ferocity.

He charged toward Kiriya once more, clearly intending to reduce the man holding his Master to a bloody pulp.

"Afterglow!"

Unfortunately for him, his eyes were fixed entirely on Illya. He once again failed to pay sufficient attention to Esdeath, allowing her to launch another surprise attack.

’How pitiful.’

For once, Esdeath actually felt a trace of sympathy for her opponent.

’What good is being able to resurrect over and over if you’re still reduced to fighting like a mindless animal?’

That sympathy did not last long.

Because this time, Berserker did something entirely unexpected.

Instead of attempting to evade the incoming sword light, he thrust his massive chest forward and met Afterglow directly.

The dazzling slash struck his body—and shattered.

Berserker forced his way through the attack without slowing down, charging toward Esdeath with the unstoppable momentum of a prehistoric beast.

"What...?!"

Esdeath’s eyes widened.

Afterglow had been one of her most reliable offensive techniques, and seeing someone disregard it completely was genuinely shocking.

Even with Kiriya’s warning, she had not expected such an overwhelming demonstration of the Noble Phantasm’s effects.

Nevertheless, her combat instincts remained sharp.

The moment Berserker entered her range, she unleashed a tremendous wave of freezing air.

Crack! Crack! Crack—!

The raging cold swept over the charging giant, encasing his enormous body in thick layers of ice until he became a frozen statue.

Esdeath understood perfectly well that this would only restrain him temporarily. Rather than remain within striking distance, she immediately retreated and widened the gap between them.

"Kiriya, if that Noble Phantasm has any other abilities, tell me everything now."

"God Hand doesn’t take the form of a weapon or a piece of armor," Kiriya explained rapidly. "Strictly speaking, Heracles’s body itself is the Noble Phantasm. It transforms his flesh into an extraordinarily durable suit of armor, completely nullifying attacks of B rank or lower, whether they’re physical attacks or Magecraft."

He glanced toward the frozen giant.

"In other words, ordinary freezing attacks really aren’t going to accomplish much against him."

Almost the instant Kiriya finished speaking, the ice covering Berserker exploded outward.

BOOOOM—!

Enormous fragments scattered across the cemetery as Heracles broke free, his towering body surging forward with the ferocity of a primeval monster.

The murderous pressure radiating from him was so intense that even experienced warriors might have been overwhelmed by fear.

Esdeath, however, reacted in precisely the opposite manner.

Her excitement grew even stronger.

With a wild, delighted laugh, she raised her sword and charged directly toward Berserker.

The second round of their battle had begun.

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