The breeze of Olympus swept across the area as I gazed at the opponents standing before me.
"Well, well—you've certainly got some guts, standing up to me like that," I remarked, acknowledging their resolve.
"A knight's duty is to serve his king. Since there is no king, I have no choice but to pledge my loyalty to the most righteous among us. If I must die so that Ritsuka may fulfill his duty, then so be it," Gaheris declared, his sword drawn and held in a combat stance.
"I suppose there's really no other way, Father-in-law," Orion commented with a nervous smile.
The moment he said "father-in-law," my smile vanished instantly. The atmosphere shifted—a change both of them sensed immediately, as they both tensed up.
"I could never bring myself to forbid that marriage to my daughter. As a father, I was obligated to object, but I couldn't—so I suppose I'll just have to take all my frustration out on you." And, while I was at it, I might as well wreck this place a bit; the change in my class had stirred a sudden, intense urge to tear Olympus to shreds.
"You really should have kept your mouth shut," the knight in silver armor complained to his comrade-in-arms.
"There's no cure for stupidity," the son of Poseidon replied, summoning his bow and loosing several arrows—which I promptly blocked with my Buster Sword.
The force of the assault was enough to push me back, forcing me to leap rearward—though behind me lay nothing but an endless, bottomless void.
Without a second thought, Gaheris lunged forward, his sword aimed straight at me while I was still in mid-air.
But, utilizing geppo, I adjusted my position in the air and launched myself toward him. His eyes widened in horror, and he scrambled to shift into a defensive stance.
We both tore through the building, passing through two floors in less than a second, before I delivered a kick that sent him flying away from me.
We both got to our feet simultaneously and plunged back into combat.
The skill of a Knight of the Round Table was truly admirable; he might not have possessed Artoria's raw power or Lancelot's relentless technique, but he certainly had the ability to hold his own against opponents stronger than himself.
Unfortunately for him, my sword—which was far heavier than a standard blade, or even a typical greatsword—posed a major problem.
Every time he tried to parry one of my strikes, the sheer weight forced him violently backward.
Each clash of steel pushed him further away, giving me the opening to swing my Buster Sword, building up momentum and channeling even more force into every subsequent attack.
It reached a point where a single blow sent him crashing through the wall and out of the building entirely.
As I lunged toward his position, my Observation Haki immediately warned me of an attack from behind; I spun around, using my own back as a shield to block a volley of shots from Orion.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance—having this marksman around was going to be a real nuisance.
While in mid-air, I used geppo to ascend higher into the sky, then unleashed a slash of energy toward the son of Poseidon.
We both tore through the building, passing through two floors in less than a second, before I delivered a kick that sent him flying away from me.
Instantly, we both sprang to our feet and plunged back into combat.
The skill of a Knight of the Round Table was truly admirable; he might lack the raw power of Artoria or the relentless technique of Lancelot, but he possessed the ability to hold his own against opponents stronger than himself.
Unfortunately for him, my sword—which was far heavier than a standard blade, or even a typical greatsword—posed a major problem.
Every time he tried to parry one of my strikes, the sheer weight forced him violently backward.
Each clash of steel pushed him further away, giving me the opening to swing my Buster Sword, building up momentum and channeling even more force into every blow.
It reached a point where a single strike sent him crashing through the wall and out of the building entirely.
As I lunged toward his position, my Observation Haki immediately warned me of an attack from behind. I spun around, using my own back as a shield to block the shots fired by Orion.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance; having this marksman around was going to be a real nuisance.
While in the air, I used geppo to remain high up in the sky, then unleashed an energy slash at the son of Poseidon.
The strike destroyed a large portion of the building's roof, but Orion managed to dodge it just in time. I lunged at him, intending to take him down in one blow, but to my surprise, he simply summoned his copper club and slammed it against my sword.
The clash of the two weapons caused the roof to crack, though it didn't shatter completely. The Greek hero took only three steps back before coming to an abrupt halt.
He might have been making funny faces, but I couldn't help but notice the immense effort he was putting into stopping me in my tracks—and, to be honest, it's not as if my attack had lacked force.
Orion's strength in legend might not have equaled that of Heracles, but given his achievements, one could say they weren't all that far apart.
"What's the matter—is that all you've got?" I taunted him. In response, he simply drew in a sharp, forceful breath—from where, I couldn't tell—and shoved me backward with all his might, twisting his body to swing his club at me.
I parried the blow with my blade, forcing him to stumble back several paces. I intended to use the gap to dash forward at full speed and cleave him in two, but the very instant I planted my feet firmly on the ground, a series of gashes tore across the floor right where I stood.
"Huh?" I exclaimed in surprise, only to fall through to the level below, where I managed to catch Gaheris's grip with my hand.
While he exerted all his strength, attempting to drive his weapon into my heart, Orion seized the opportunity; he aimed his bow and fired several arrows toward my blind spots.
Without a second thought, I threw myself to the ground. The knight instinctively stepped forward, at which point I struck his stomach with my foot and, using the momentum of a spin, sent him reeling backward.
Mid-spin, I planted my hands on the floor and vaulted upward, ending up in an inverted position.
From that stance, I swung the Buster Sword in a series of slashes, destroying every projectile launched by the son of Poseidon.
As the barrage of arrows ceased, I was about to land face-first; instead, I placed my hands back on the ground and executed a somersault, landing firmly on my feet.
This bought Gaheris time to recover. He lunged, aiming his sword at my throat, but I stepped back—landing in the center of the room—and unleashed a strike. It was no ordinary blow, but one infused with energy, which severed the four pillars supporting the floor.
The ceiling collapsed, bringing Orion down to the same level where we stood.
With the archer now on the same plane as me, it would be far more difficult for him to land precise shots in my blind spots.
I spun rapidly and charged at Orion, who parried with his bow, while simultaneously fending off attacks from Gaheris.
Slashes and strikes flew back and forth.
Blows and slashes flew back and forth.
As I landed a cut on the knight in silver armor, I simultaneously blocked a massive strike from the son of Poseidon with my Haki-coated arm—a blow so powerful that I could feel my very bones rattle.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if my defense stat was just too low, if my body simply couldn't withstand this kind of impact, or if this guy's strength was on par with my own—or perhaps all three at once.
But one thing was certain: every wound or gash inflicted upon this member of the Round Table only served to progressively boost his defense and strength.
"Could it be his Noble Phantasm?" I wondered to myself.
"No idea, but one thing is undeniable," replied Kiss-Shot, who was watching the entire battle from within my shadow, as usual. "He died fighting Lancelot, so there must be a limit—whether it's a limit on how much he can endure over a certain period or..."
"Or how much he can take from a single attack," I finished her thought.
I planted my foot firmly, letting darkness envelop my leg.
"What is that?!" Orion exclaimed, staring in disbelief at a form of magic he had never seen before.
"This is dangerous," Gaheris remarked, taking several steps back with clear concern.
"It's useless," I said, as the darkness manifested into multiple serpents—resembling a hydra—that lunged toward the Greek hero.
At the same time, I shrouded my hand in darkness and reached out toward the knight.
He was instantly pulled toward me, completely unable to resist. Caught off guard by this ability, he couldn't manage to grab onto anything to stop himself from being dragged in. While Orion was being distracted by various serpents, observer clones—or whatever they were—I grabbed the Buster Sword with my free hand, planted my feet firmly, and unleashed my Conqueror's Haki while coating my weapon in advanced Armament Haki.
"Dikastírio Apólytis Epikráteias: Anótati Exousía," I announced my attack.
Gaheris could only use his sword to parry my attack, but it was futile.
The moment the strike landed, it felt as though the entire space ahead had been obliterated in an instant. The knight's sword was swept aside, along with a large portion of his armor.
The Knight of the Round Table spat out liters of blood as he was sent hurtling into several buildings at once.
He came to a stop within one of the structures—only for the entire building to collapse a second later.
"Well," I said, turning around and delivering a slash that Orion was forced to dodge as he attempted to strike me from behind. "That leaves you, you bastard."
As I spoke, I lunged forward—and this time, there was no one to stop me. My opponent tried to block the blow with his club, but the sheer force of the strike sent him flying into the air. I seized the opening, leaping up and twisting my body to deliver a downward strike.
Orion's body tore through most of the building's floors before finally bursting out and slamming into the ground, shattering the pavement of Olympus.
I immediately unleashed a wave of energy; miraculously, the son of Poseidon—though covered in blood—managed to react, scrambling to his feet just in time to dodge it.
Using soru, I reached his position to land a blow to his face, which sent him flying.
Or that would have been the case, had I not grabbed his foot—practically destroying it.
Without a moment's hesitation, I slammed him into the ground with all my might, creating a massive crater and shattering the nearby conduits in the process.
To my disappointment, Orion didn't get back up; he remained on the ground, coughing up great quantities of blood.
"Is that it?" I asked—more out of a habit of bantering during combat than any real desire to strike up a conversation.
"You broke my foot, my jaw, and part of my spine—what more do you want from me?" he shot back, still managing a smile.
Fair point. Unlike him, I have a Master who supplies me with mana, allowing me to heal my wounds and return to peak condition in a matter of hours.
Orion, Libra, Gaheris, and the others weren't so fortunate. Ritsuka might be present, but she's not capable of miracles like that—especially since she doesn't have a contract with any of them to facilitate such a thing.
I began this fight at my absolute best; they didn't. It was never a fair fight to begin with—but then again, this was a war, even if no one explicitly called it one.
I stood over him, the Buster Sword pointed directly at his chest.
"If I were still alive, I never would have allowed my daughter to marry you—let alone have children with you. But, all things considered, you were one of the better choices she could have made. At the very least, you aren't Zeus," I said.
"Is that a compliment?" he asked.
"Take it however you like. Now, I'm giving you the chance to see my daughter again in the future." With those words, I drove my sword into his chest.
More blood gushed from his mouth. "I can only apologize for not having asked for your daughter's hand in marriage, but I regret nothing; if I were to be reborn a hundred times, I would choose her every single time." With that, Orion's body vanished, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
"You damn bastard—how am I supposed to hate you when you say things like that?" I grumbled before glancing toward where Gaheris's body should have been.
"What do you intend to do?" Kiss-shot asked.
"Give it another shot," I replied, making the Buster Sword disappear. "Bring back the Assassin-class Servant."
"Are you sure? Your Saint Graph could suffer irreversible damage if you keep asking me to do this," my wife warned.
"It doesn't matter. It's not as if I want to keep fighting them, but..." I trailed off, looking toward a specific direction: "I still have some unfinished business—and, as it happens, my opponent is also here on Olympus."