Karna was a tragic hero, his fate sealed from birth, a tale of sorrow. As the son of the sun god Surya, he was denied the recognition he deserved. Though blessed with his solar armor and earrings, his potential was curtailed compared to other heroes.
Yet, through sheer determination, he rose to the precipice of greatness.
The gods, unwilling to let him reach the pinnacle, intervened. Indra, king of the gods, offered Karna the god-slaying spear Vasavi Shakti in exchange for his solar armor, a weapon capable of killing even deities. But the cost was steep: using it meant shedding the armor that had always protected him.
Even the mightiest warrior can fall to a single strike without defense. For Karna, unleashing Vasavi Shakti as a Heroic Spirit required abandoning his armor, trading invulnerability for a devastating blow.
This was the ultimate attack Altair sought to provoke.
Altair stood his ground, awaiting Karna's move. Flames of magical energy erupted from Karna, scorching the earth within dozens of meters into a molten pool, transforming the battlefield into a lava field through his power alone.
"Witness the mercy of the king of gods." Karna intoned, beginning his chant. As he spoke, he rose like a dawn sun, floating into the sky.
"Indra, behold."
Raising his golden spear, Karna let its form melt into flames, not transforming into blue-white lightning but becoming raw thunder in his grasp.
"Obliteration lies in this single thrust."
"Burn completely, Vasavi Shakti!!"
Karna poured all his magical energy into the spear, aiming at Altair below and hurling it. The thunderbolt reached him in an instant.
At that moment, Altair's cursed energy surged. In his golden dragon eyes, the spear seemed to freeze in time.
Now!
Altair's left hand summoned a dialogue board in a split second, raising it to block the spear. Knowing Karna would unleash his ultimate attack, Altair was prepared. His [See, I Told You!] skill, while silencing his speech, produced an invincible dialogue board. Its offensive power was negligible, but as a defensive tool, it was unmatched, by design.
When wielding the board, Altair entered a temporal rift, moving so swiftly that time appeared to stop for everyone else. This effect applied only to his hands, but that was enough.
Your god-slaying spear? I'll block it with my invincible dialogue board!
As he positioned the board, time resumed. The spear struck, erupting into a towering pillar of light. The ground exploded with lightning, shockwaves radiating outward, followed by a fiery blast laced with electricity, a terrifying display.
Mordred and Achilles, fighting nearby, were flung back by the shockwave. Semiramis, already near death in the ruins, fared worse. Barely able to move, she was caught in the lightning and flames. Having endured Altair's divine-slaying Atomic Breath, she now faced Vasavi Shakti's wrath. As a divinity-tainted servant, daughter of a fish god, she suffered doubly. Wishing she could shed her divinity, she had no such luck. The consecutive divine-targeting attacks reduced her to ash.
Karna, sustaining minimal magical output, hovered in the air, gazing at the burning ground below. Without his solar armor and with his magical energy nearly depleted, he sensed his Master's supply weakening further. His attack had likely affected Assassin, disrupting her control over their Master. His time was running out.
Seeing no magical signature in the flames below, Karna assumed his foe was vanquished. "My time is short, but at least I've claimed victory."
Yet, as he savored his triumph, a blade pierced his chest from behind.
"What?!"
Karna stared in shock at the sword protruding from his heart. He sensed Altair pressed against his back.
Perched on his golden cloud, Altair's voice was a low murmur. "Lancer, what made you think you'd defeated me?"
"You…" Karna turned slightly, stunned to see Altair nearly unscathed. His left arm's gauntlet had melted, molten metal clinging to his skin, giving it a gruesome appearance, but no other wounds marred him.
"So, my proudest attack only harmed your left hand? How regrettable." Karna said, closing his eyes with a serene smile. He dissolved into motes of light.
The mightiest Heroic Spirit, Karna, was no more.
***
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