The [Wrath of the Gods] buff granted Altair a divine-slaying edge, while his draconic transformation maximized his attack power. Combined with his Atomic Breath and the lines he spoke before unleashing it:
"I am fire."
"I am death!"
These were the iconic words of Smaug, the fire-drake from The Hobbit trilogy. Though Smaug was a relatively weak dragon, felled by a single arrow, his lines carried undeniable weight.
[See, I Told You!]
As Altair spoke Smaug's lines, he activated another special buff:
[When appearing as a villainous dragon, damage to the heroic faction is doubled.]
This buff was tailored for villains, and Altair, having stolen the Greater Grail, fit the role perfectly.
While Amakusa was also a villain, his allies, Achilles and Karna, were heroic figures, icons of valor. Altair's Atomic Breath, amplified by both the divine-slaying buff and the doubled damage against heroes, became a devastating force.
Already formidable, the attack was boosted further by these buffs, effectively turning Altair into a walking catalyst for destruction, unleashing a relentless barrage of energy.
The Red Faction aboard the Hanging Gardens never anticipated Altair's opening move, a supercharged Noble Phantasm-level attack. The Atomic Breath's power was enough to pierce the Earth itself.
Semiramis tried to maneuver the Hanging Gardens to evade or counter, but there was no time. She could only rely on the fortress's defenses, activating its twelve floating stone tablets, each capable of anti-army magical bombardments and limited protection. With no time to reposition all of them, she managed to align only three to face the onslaught. The tablets were instantly pierced.
The beam struck the Hanging Gardens' main structure, tearing through it. The fortress was engulfed, reduced to fragments as the blue light consumed it.
The beam didn't stop there. It sliced across Romania, soaring beyond its borders, climbing through the atmosphere, and piercing into space, a strike that breached the heavens.
"No way! An attack of this magnitude? Is this even possible?" Mordred gaped from below, awestruck by the beam that broke through the atmosphere. Could the Pendragon bloodline really produce such power? If she mastered this, she'd be unstoppable!
Nearby, Kairi, serving as their magical battery, watched the battlefield, his sunglasses slipping off in shock. "That attack… Arthur did that? With power like this, did he even need to steal the Greater Grail?"
He chuckled, shrugging. "Whatever. My job's done." This Holy Grail War had been a windfall for him, and now he could relax, carefree.
As Altair closed his massive jaws, the blue beam faded. The azure glow in his golden dragon eyes dimmed, returning to their natural hue. He lowered his enormous head to Mordred.
"Well, Mordred? Did you learn it?"
"Uh…" Mordred blinked, dumbfounded. Learn that? Father, you think I can master something like that?
"It's simple." Altair said patiently. "Activate the bloodline power within us to become a true dragon. In dragon form, we unleash our greatest strength. You must learn this. Once you do, you'll become a Heroic Spirit beyond all limits."
Mordred nodded, still clueless but unwilling to admit it. If Father said so, she'd try, couldn't exactly say she had no idea, right?
"In my world, your counterpart is still learning this, only managing partial dragonification." Altair continued. "But I believe you have more talent. You'll master full dragon form before her."
"No question about it! I'm your sole heir, the greatest knight!" Mordred declared, her competitive spirit ignited, pounding her chest.
"Good. I've set the stage. Now, Mordred, let's finish this fight together!"
"Alright!" Mordred drew her greatsword, ready for the final battle.
"Here we go!" Altair scooped Mordred up in his claw, flapped his wings, and launched skyward. His takeoff left two massive craters in the ground, the gusts flattening the surrounding forest.
The colossal black dragon soared, accelerating toward the wreckage of the Hanging Gardens.
The fortress, unable to withstand the Atomic Breath, had been obliterated. Though grand, it was merely a castle, not a city. Even a metropolis would have crumbled before a strike that could pierce the Earth. The Hanging Gardens was reduced to burning fragments, scattered across the forest, turning it into a wasteland.
The massive dragon descended, eclipsing the moonlight and casting the ruins in shadow.
A burst of flames erupted from the debris. Karna, battered and scorched, emerged, clutching his spear. Standing on molten ruins, he gazed up at the black dragon. Even with his solar armor and the Hanging Gardens absorbing some of the damage, the divine-slaying attack had wounded him gravely. His hands were charred, his hair disheveled, and his legendary armor, said to be impervious to gods, was blackened and tarnished.
Karna remained expressionless, staring at the dragon. Achilles, however, was in dire straits. Lacking Karna's damage reduction, he'd been trapped in the confined space of the Hanging Gardens, unable to use his comet-like speed. Now, he lay heavily injured, on the brink of death.
Sprawled on the ground, Achilles looked up at the dragon and gave a bitter laugh. "This is a natural disaster. How am I supposed to fight that?"
Nearby, Semiramis was barely clinging to life. Though her combat prowess was limited, she possessed divinity as the daughter of a fish god. Even low-grade divinity made her vulnerable to Altair's divine-slaying buff, leaving her in critical condition.
Caster Shakespeare, who'd been a bystander throughout, was killed instantly in the blast.
The Red Faction's servants, under Altair's single attack, were nearly wiped out.
***
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