"Eh?!"
Miku's expression filled with disbelief. Her melody had failed, but that was to be expected. Too many eyes were watching the Evas, each of them gathering information on how to defeat them. Brainwashing through sound was an obvious tactic, so before being summoned by Jeanne, all Servants of the Red Faction had been protected by Solomon's artifacts.
"Hick?!"
Atalanta's arrow gleamed across the sky, and Miku counterattacked with her voice. Unfortunately, there was no way her voice could block something as destructive as that arrow, one blessed by Apollo and Artemis—an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that should have been B+, but thanks to Solomon had risen to B+++. Miku's voice was not designed to strike people. Well, sometimes it did hit people, but as an idol, hitting others was not something she would do. She wasn't a violent woman...
She tried to flee in panic, but the arrow split apart, and a thousand arrows rained down on her mercilessly.
BOOMMM
An explosion echoed as a cloud of smoke spread across the sky...
"Is it over?"
It had been too easy. Atalanta doubted Miku had died like that, and she was right. With an archer's vision, even through the smoke, she could see Miku's current state.
"Damn it... my dress."
Her Astral Dress was torn to shreds, and part of her pale skin had been damaged, but that was all. At the last moment, Gabriel came into play, the organ blocking the arrows with its pipes. It was not a perfect defense, but it prevented fatal damage.
"No more cuteness. That really hurt. I'm telling Darling!"
Like a mother bullied by her own children, Miku covered her face with her hands, turned around, and flew toward the crystal tower to complain to her beloved.
"....."
Atalanta did not know what to make of it. It did not align with the earlier image of an overbearing mother. Still, it did not matter. She raised her bow again to stop this Eva from entering the barrier.
However, before Atalanta could attack, a surge of bloodlust made her hair stand on end.
"What did you do to Mama?!"
Shiii
The sound of knives slicing through the air rang out. Atalanta leapt aside, but thanks to the attacker's advantage, one blade still grazed her.
"Hm?!"
"Tch!"
Atalanta barely caught a glimpse of the attacker's face before they jumped back, mist gathering around them...
The attacker was Jack the Ripper. The entire Red team might have been immune to Miku, but Jack was different. A lone partisan in this war, Jack had killed her Master at the moment of summoning and defected. She had abandoned her group. She and her new Master had planned to hide and only emerge after the war calmed down. Unfortunately, Jeanne forced her into the open. Jack had no intention of fighting and had hidden in the mist from the start.
Thanks to her Information Erasure, everyone ignored her and rushed into battle. Unfortunately for Jack, Miku's sonic attack had no barrier to stop it. With Mana below B, Jack was controlled.
Now she looked at Miku as her adorable mother, her most precious treasure. Seeing Atalanta attack the object of her devotion enraged her so much that, without thinking, she deactivated her aura concealment and struck at Atalanta—but missed.
"You... who are you?"
True to Information Erasure at B rank, Atalanta could not remember her. Even so, she raised her guard as the mist thickened around her...
"How dare you hurt Mama! Unforgivable, unforgivable! My dear mother!"
Still, that was not enough. Jack's Aura Concealment was A+, amplified by the mist. Even for Atalanta, an experienced hunter, finding Jack was difficult...
"What is this?"
And that was not all. This mist was not normal. Atalanta could feel her strength and agility steadily draining away.
"Die!"
As expected, Atalanta could not evade Jack's strike. She twisted her body to avoid a fatal blow from behind, but Jack's knife still drove deep into her shoulder.
"Ack?!"
"Hehehe, it's useless. Die~"
"Damn it!"
Even if she avoided the first knife, Jack wielded four in total. At this distance, Atalanta could not escape. She could only watch as Jack's blade closed in on her throat.
"That's enough, Black Assassin. I order you with a Command Spell!"
The knife stopped. Jack shuddered, her body freezing in place as she slowly turned her head.
"You... damn you..."
"Calm yourself, Jack the Ripper."
Jeanne waved her Flag. The radiant light of the Saint illuminated the mist, dispersing it.
"Ruler...."
"I'm sorry, Archer of the Red Faction."
As the group's leader, others might have forgotten Jack, but Jeanne had not. She was aware of Jack's Noble Phantasm and had intended to use it against The Monster. With her ability, Jack had a chance to kill it. She had not anticipated Jack losing control because of Miku.
"I'll restore Archer of the Red Faction. We need you..."
"Thank you."
"No. This is my duty..."
Activating another Command Spell, Atalanta was healed instantly. It was a waste, but there was no other way to recover her so quickly. Jeanne could feel the Angel of Extermination approaching, and for that, she needed Atalanta.
"Haaahhhh!!"
At the same time Atalanta attacked, Mordred did as well. Lightning-infused mana turned her into a bolt as she slammed into Eggy's royal barrier. Unfortunately for her, the barrier flared, nullifying the attack, and a powerful impact rebounded outward.
"What?!"
With instincts as sharp as a beast's, Mordred twisted her body and avoided the counterattack, but she was still shocked. Even if it was not her full strength, that strike had been delivered by Clarent, a legendary sword. While it could not compare to Excalibur, the sword of the sea of stars, it was still superior to Caliburn.
None of that mattered. The barrier was unharmed. Still, Mordred refused to believe it could last forever. Even Camelot had fallen. This barrier would be no exception.
"Out of the way, Red Saber!"
Just as she prepared to attack again, a giant approached. The Giant Golem had recovered, its height increasing. Avicebron was pleased and mounted his creation once more.
"Tch!"
Annoyed, Mordred clicked her tongue but complied.
The giant raised its fist and struck the barrier, sending ripples across it. Unlike Mordred's attack, the Golem's blow carried the principle of Eden, preventing the barrier from countering it—yet it still held.
"As expected of an Eva. Even if my thirty-meter creation can't stop you, it doesn't matter. I'll keep growing..."
Seeing it was futile, Avicebron ceased attacking. He circled the barrier as flowers bloomed around it, his height increasing with every step.
"Hahahaha, the oppressors must fall..."
Following the Golem's lead, Spartacus attacked the barrier again, but like Mordred, he was repelled and sent flying.
"Haaa! Not yet, it's not over!"
Rising once more, Spartacus refused to give up and continued attacking.
"Hmph. For someone insane, you're not bad."
Unwilling to be left behind, Mordred removed her helmet and gripped her sword with both hands.
Fummmmmmmmm
The space around her and the sword were dyed a dark crimson. The blade, wrapped in a blood-red glow, emitted violent, distorted sounds as it began to warp.
Clarent's normally pure and beautiful form changed. Intense hatred enveloped the blade, transforming it into a sinister, evil sword befitting a demon—a demonic blade of calamity.
With Clarent twisted into a grotesque, repulsive form, a crimson flash streaked through the surroundings, all of it drenched in hatred.
"Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father!"
Mordred unleashed her Noble Phantasm...
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