Deadpool, acting as bait for Heracles, led him with all his might towards the Ark of the Covenant. As soon as the Shepherd guarding the relic came into view, Deadpool braked sharply right in front of it.
"Phew…" he took a breath. "What would happen to me if I accidentally got caught in the crossfire?"
"Well," the Shepherd lazily answered the question, continuing to sit on a stone and leaning on his staff, while Heracles rushed towards them in a mad fury, "I haven't met anyone like you before, so I don't even know."
"Whoa. I'm curious myself, can I touch it once…" …
"■■■■■■■!!"
As soon as Deadpool turned towards the Ark, Heracles was already a couple of steps away. Judging by the reduced distance, he was about to bring down his sword-axe. It was necessary to dodge at all costs and lure him as close as possible so that Drake and Emiya could deliver a blow of such force that would push the giant forward. Then Heracles would touch the Ark and disappear.
"Uh-oh," Deadpool squeaked and, covering his face with his hands, somersaulted forward. Heracles, flying at full speed, tried to brake, but inertia carried him past.
"Now!"
Only two steps remained to the Ark.
Drake and Emiya, emerging from cover, attacked simultaneously: bullets and arrows charged with magical energy rushed towards the target.
Drake's shot hit its mark. Heracles swayed from the impact and took a forced step forward.
Emiya's arrow followed. As if hit by a battering ram, Heracles took another step. Losing his balance, he fell directly onto the Ark.
"Finale!" Deadpool playfully poked Heracles in the back, and he finally fell face down.
"■■■■■!"
With a desperate roar, Heracles instinctively reached out to the Ark, trying to grab onto anything. As soon as his fingers touched the golden surface of the chest, bursts of bright light erupted from his body. A moment – and the hero crumbled into dust, disappearing without a trace.
"And that's it? Just like that, he was done for?"
"I told you," the Shepherd replied. "Death is inevitable. No matter how many lives you have, even if you are a demigod – if you are human, touching the Ark means the end."
"And what am I then?"
"I'm not sure about you."
Deadpool felt a slight disappointment. In books or movies, to prolong the runtime or fill pages, they usually arrange a long and noisy brawl with lots of special effects, but here Heracles was defeated in one go, without unnecessary fuss.
"Oh, this is just like the ending of my first solo movie," Deadpool grumbled. "I gathered all the guns in the world, but due to lack of budget, I had to fight only with knives. Well, at least it looked cool there, but here… it's kind of a bummer, isn't it?"
However, no matter what, the plan worked. Now all that remained was to retrieve the Lion's Holy Grail from the "white witch" Medea, and this singularity would be corrected.
"I have a bad feeling," the Shepherd suddenly said, frowning. "You'd better hurry back to those children."
Deadpool himself felt a pang of anxiety: everything had gone suspiciously smoothly, which meant that somewhere else, something was about to explode.
"Yes, I feel it too. Like something sticky is crawling down my back."
"It's normal: if everything is quiet on one front, then on another everything is going to hell," Emiya interjected. Drake nodded in agreement.
They were about to move towards Ritsuka and the others, who were fighting the "Argo"…
"Damn it," Deadpool exhaled.
Where Ritsuka's squad was, a giant pillar of magical energy shot into the sky. Deadpool knew too well what that meant. Seventy-two demons who had made a contract with the Magus King Solomon. Beings who sought to burn human history using the Grail as a catalyst. The Pillar of the Divine Demon.
"The kid is in danger!" Deadpool suddenly became serious and, along with Emiya and Drake, rushed towards the coast.
"The pillar… so you finally did it. My son," the Shepherd whispered, left alone by the Ark, looking with longing at the beam of light ascending into the zenith.
"This pillar…!" Mash exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka, Mash, and Euryale managed to defeat Hector. They were helped by their numerical advantage and Euryale's cold fury, whose feelings were heightened by what had happened to Asterius.
Jason, beside himself with rage, lost the last remnants of his reason and began to shower Medea with curses and insults. He himself had done absolutely nothing during this time, only boasting on deck, but he didn't think to blame himself.
"Do not forgive me," Medea said in a cold tone. "For I will not forgive you either."
With magic, she bound Jason's arms and legs, and then turned to the heavily wounded Hector:
"I command you as your master, Medea Lily. Kill yourself, Hector."
She already felt that the great hero Heracles had fallen. Fortunately, the Ark did not absorb the magical energy of his twelve lives – it flowed directly into the Grail. To replenish the missing amount of energy, equal to one Servant, she needed to sacrifice Hector.
"Well… in the end, I was just used and thrown away," Hector gave a bitter smile. "This role really doesn't suit me. I wish I had been on your side…"
He clearly didn't like the ending of this story. With a sigh of regret, he plunged the spear precisely into his own heart. Blood gushed out like a fountain, but instead of pain, relief appeared on Hector's face – he was finally freed from this shameful role.
"Sorry, guys. Well, you're strong, you'll figure it out somehow. If you need me… feel free to summon me. But preferably into good company…"
Dying, Hector smiled at Ritsuka and completely dissolved into the air.
"Hey, Medea! What are you doing?! No, my Medea isn't like that! You… you're a witch! A scoundrel!"
"No, it's me," she cut in. "Although my body is young now, I remember everything from my past life."
Once, Medea loved Jason so much that for his sake she killed her own brother. And Jason only used her like an object, and then betrayed and abandoned her. And yet, the "white witch" Medea could not forget him.
"When I say I won't forgive you… I don't mean your betrayal. I don't forgive myself for having to betray the person I love right now."
"What are you talking about? You…!" Jason shouted.
Before Iason could utter a word, Medea sadly pressed the Holy Grail, overflowing with magical energy, to his chest. At that moment, a colossal pillar of mana enveloped Iason, and he, along with the "Argo," disappeared without a trace into the depths of the rapidly growing mountain of flesh.
"Mash!" Mash cried out, and her face contorted with anger. She remembered the Lion, who once turned Rome into a sea of fire and, with the help of the Grail, summoned the Pillar of Divine Demons, which absorbed the spiritual foundations of rage and resentment.
"Hey, kid! I had a bad feeling, so I… Oh, damn it!" Deadpool, who arrived in time with Emiya and Drake, froze, looking at the unfolding scene: storm clouds raged, lightning streaked across the sky, and the sea churned and swirled in furious whirlpools. The giant pillar of living flesh continued to grow, threatening to break beyond the coastline and engulf the entire island.
"Everyone on board!" Drake commanded.
Obeying her order, Ritsuka and the others hastily boarded the "Golden Hind."
"Captain! There's a monster…" one of the sailors began.
"I see it! Hoist all sails, we're leaving the shore at full speed! We need to get as far away from this creature as possible!"
The sailors bustled about, setting sails, and soon the "Golden Hind," catching a squally wind, began to rapidly move away from the island. However, the pillar of flesh, as if sensing prey, began to move, cutting through the sea waves.
"I am Forneus. I will incinerate the foundations of this world and cut off the future of human history. I will complete what my predecessors failed to finish!"
Suddenly, hundreds of blood-red eyes opened in the depths of the pale, intertwined flesh of the giant pillar, fixing their gaze on the "Golden Hind."
"Oh, watch out, this thing shoots lasers!" Deadpool warned, having already had experience fighting such creatures. Drake, desperately spinning the helm in an attempt to dodge, realized that she wouldn't be able to get away. She sharply turned the ship's bow towards the enemy.
"Captain! Are you going to fight this monster? It's suicide!" a sailor shouted.
"If we're going to die anyway, we might as well die fighting than flee in shame!" Drake retorted.
That's why she changed course. It was easier for her to die in battle than to cowardly flee. Such was her nature – not even as a pirate, but as a human: at the moment when the world was on the brink of destruction, she did not want to disappear helplessly with it without making a single attempt to resist.
"If we have to die, let's at least piss off this bastard one last time! We're not going to live forever, are we?!"
"Golden words!" Deadpool picked up. "I know that feeling: when you realize you're screwed, you really want to make that bastard eat shit one last time. I had that when 'that movie' failed miserably – I wanted to do it to the director and screenwriter. But in the end…" he lowered his voice to a whisper, "...I just sent that sexy Canadian to heaven, so it didn't come to extremes." He winked conspiratorially.
Seeing how enthusiastically Deadpool supported the captain's logic, the sailors, with desperate "come what may" resolve, moved to their posts in unison.
"Open the bow ports! Gunners aim at the pillar as soon as you finish charging!"
Three gun ports in the bow of the "Golden Hind" opened.
"Hey, are you just going to watch?" Drake threw at the others.
"No! We'll fight too!" Mash replied, raising her shield and stepping forward. "I'll take care of defending against its attacks!"
"I'll try to provide maximum support," Emiya added. "If things go really bad, I'll have to use my Noble Phantasm."
"Don't you dare count me out! I'm a goddess, after all," Euryale chimed in. "We need to teach this unholy creature a lesson!"
Emiya and Euryale prepared their bows and stood in a line behind Mash, firing arrows towards the demonic pillar.
"Captain! Charged!"
"Fire!"
The cannons spewed fire, and the cannonballs hit the lower part of the monster's body. However, the Pillar of Divine Demons had appeared in this world imbued with colossal magical energy, so the cannonballs only slightly scratched it, not causing serious harm.
"No one will stop me," Forneus boomed.
Hundreds of red eyes simultaneously focused on the "Golden Hind." A terrible sound, like the screams of a thousand people, rang out, and beams of light struck the ship.
"Anti-missile maneuver! Hold on tight!" Drake shouted, sharply twisting the helm.
The "Golden Hind" tilted dangerously, cutting through the waves, and miraculously dodged the main blow. However, it was impossible to avoid all damage: the deck and one of the masts took the hit.
"Captain! The ship…!"
"Calm down, we won't sink! Do you think I'll let it go down?! Open all the starboard ports!"
Drake spun the vessel to the left, exposing the starboard side and preparing to unleash a power on the enemy that the bow cannons could not match.
"Fire!"
The roar of dozens of cannons shook the air. The "Golden Hind's" broadside pierced the monster's carcass at point-blank range, penetrating layers of flesh. This time, the damage was significant: with a desperate cry, the giant red eyes writhed in agony.
"Good! Keep pushing!" Then we… – Drake was about to give the order to reload, feeling that the situation was changing in their favor, but at that moment, a huge tentacle burst from the base of the demonic pillar and struck the ship with a backhand blow.
"Aaaaaaah!!"
"Senpai!" Mash cried out.
The ship tilted sharply from the terrible blow. Ritsuka, losing his balance, flew over the side and fell into the sea. Mash reached out in horror, but didn't manage to catch him. "I must protect senpai!" With this single thought, she plunged after him into the raging waters.
"Hey, kid! Oh, damn…!" Deadpool was about to jump after them, but at that moment another giant tentacle shot up into the sky, ready to crash down on the "Golden Hind" and shatter it to pieces.
"Fire!"
Suddenly, hundreds, thousands of projectiles flew from the open sea. They accurately hit the monster's tentacle with a salvo. A series of powerful explosions rang out, and the demon's limb, losing its strength, sank powerlessly into the abyss.
"A little late. Deadpool in red pants," a voice came from afar.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan