---o---
Enkidu—no, Kingu was an enemy!
He held absolute malice towards Chaldea!!
In that first instant, both Fujimaru Ritsuka and Romani in Chaldea realized this.
With nothing more than a basic exchange of glances, Fujimaru Ritsuka's intention was transmitted to Mash.
The Demi-Servant, inheritor of Galahad's Saint Graph, raised the shield in her hands and launched an attack in Kingu's direction.
"Get lost, you third-rate Servant!"
The synthetic demonic beast's hand slammed violently against the massive knight's shield.
An immense, overwhelming force, like that of a landslide, penetrated through the giant shield.
The young girl who had inherited the power of a Knight of the Round Table was sent flying backward like a stone flung from a sling.
"Is it really right to be so rough with a girl, Kingu-kun?"
A specter from hell seemed to creep forward silently.
Without any warning, a strange, trident-like spear pierced through space, baring its vicious fangs at the being known as Kingu.
A thunderous roar echoed from above, carrying with it the taste of apocalyptic despair.
Kingu's expression hardened, and his speed exploded in an instant.
But—
His reaction, for a certain someone, was not nearly fast enough.
The casually swung, ice-cold tip of the spear left a crimson gash across his handsome face.
So fast!!
Whether it was Kingu, or Fujimaru Ritsuka and the recently knocked-down Mash watching from the side, all were completely shaken.
The speed at which that person had brandished his spear was simply too fast.
He had managed to wound Kingu's face in the very first moment of their clash.
That level of strength...
"The child of Tiamat is surprisingly weak."
A youth, holding a demonic spear in his hand and a demonic sword at his waist, appeared soundlessly behind Kingu and spoke nonchalantly.
"To entrust the task of her rescue to such a weak child... Tiamat is truly foolish."
His words carried no personal emotion, as if he were simply stating a rational opinion.
For the mama's boy Kingu, however, such words carried an unexpected lethality.
Before the horrified eyes of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, who had already been forced out of the battle, Kingu's face grew progressively darker, and the magical energy readings from his body began to surge rapidly.
"What an ill-mannered fellow."
"If that's how it is, then I shall play with you for a while."
It was as if the very earth had become his armory.
Blades, swords, spears, and halberds erupted from the ground. Their cold edges sliced through the air, breaking the sound barrier as they flew towards their prey like countless monsters opening their bloody maws to tear it to shreds.
The sharp weapons tore the earth asunder, layers upon layers of blades jutting upwards, resembling a great tide of swords from a distance.
It was grim and terrifying.
A veritable hell of blades, straight out of folklore.
The synthetic demonic beast, created using Enkidu's body as a base, could freely use Enkidu's abilities.
This included the ability to draw upon the power of the earth to summon weapons like blades, spears, and chains.
To be pierced by dozens of swords and then finished off by hundreds more—unless one possessed a Noble Phantasm like Courageous, the Unfading Flower or God Hand, there was absolutely no chance of survival.
However, the person targeted by this myriad of weapons showed no intention of dodging.
He simply and silently simulated the Core of the Herrscher of Wind with his Core of the Herrscher of Reason, and then continued to advance.
"Danger!!"
Instinctively, the girl standing to the side shouted a warning to the holder of solar divinity—who, while perhaps not on their side, was definitely Kingu's enemy.
If she could, she would have wanted to step in and help, to see if she could ally with this person whose gaze seemed friendly, yet exuded an inexplicable sense of danger.
But—
Mash was not a particularly powerful Servant. She was not strong enough to interfere in a battle that was clearly on the level of Divine Spirits.
Therefore, she could only shout a warning from the sidelines.
The youth who was warned, however, continued as if he hadn't heard a thing, brandishing his spear and charging towards Kingu's forehead.
It was as if the forest of blades and spears blocking his path were mere illusions.
And then—
An utterly breathtaking scene unfolded.
The terrifying weapons crashed against the youth's body, only to be sent flying away.
The blessing from the Triumphant Bow simply nullified the attack that would have been terrifying even for a first-rate Heroic Spirit.
"Damn it!"
Golden chains shot out from beneath Kingu's white robes, transforming into coiling serpents that struck out at his foe.
This was Enkidu's own Noble Phantasm, the very chains that had once, with Gilgamesh, bound the Bull of Heaven that had plunged Uruk into seven years of famine. It possessed the characteristic of "Enforcing the Laws of the Gods," a Noble Phantasm whose durability increased in proportion to the target's divinity.
At its maximum deployment, it was a chain that could even restrain Tiamat herself. Against an enemy with extremely high divinity, it was the most vicious armament imaginable.
The divine light of a holy weapon flowed at the spear's tip.
The next moment, a frigid gleam flared to life. One after another, afterimages of the spear struck out at the living chains, batting aside every single one that came for him.
Then, before the astonished eyes of everyone present, the youth who had deflected the Chains of Heaven came to a stop.
Seeing his enemy suddenly halt, Kingu also paused. This person's actions were too strange; there might be a trick involved, and he needed to proceed with caution.
"During our fight, you've breathed quite a few times."
The youth, having retracted his weapon, stated a simple fact.
Breathed?
What about it?
Without warning, a chilling sensation, like a snake slithering across his skin and licking it, crept into Kingu's heart.
"Do you know what a fluid is?"
The youth, who had used the Core of the Herrscher of Reason to simulate the Authority of the Herrscher of Wind and had, during their battle, brought a considerable portion of the surrounding fluid matter under his control, smiled faintly.
A fluid is a state of matter that corresponds to solids; it is the collective term for liquids and gases.
When a fluid's viscosity and compressibility are negligible, it can be approximated as an ideal fluid. It is a theoretical model introduced to study the motion and state of fluids, serving as the medium for hydraulic and pneumatic transmission.
And an ideal fluid is physics' ultimate spear and ultimate shield.
A substance that shouldn't even exist, it could easily slice through numerous celestial bodies, including but not limited to stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes.
Of course, Li Zihan, simulating the Authority of the Herrscher of Wind, was incapable of turning air into a true ideal fluid. For that matter, not even the Herrscher of Wind could do so.
If the Herrschers of Reason and Wind could perfectly control ideal fluids, then any civilization below the level of a God-class civilization might as well just commit mass suicide.
They had merely gained the potential to access "ideal fluids," not direct dominion over them. They could only try to push the fluids they controlled towards that "ideal" state.
However, to deal with Kingu, a true ideal fluid wasn't necessary. A force that merely approximated an ideal fluid was more than enough.
Inhaled air passes through the nostrils, nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, left and right bronchi, and finally the various bronchial tubes to reach the alveoli.
These are the organs that air passes through in the human body.
As a doll created by the gods, Kingu's organs, without alteration, were the same as a human's.
Now, think about it. What if the air he inhaled turned into blades?
That was the look in Li Zihan's eyes as he stared at Kingu now—the look one gives a dead man.
And then—
Without any warning, a brilliant flower of blood bloomed.
Kingu's throat was suddenly torn open as if slashed by an invisible blade. The intense agony twisted his handsome face.
But that was only the beginning.
The air, long since dominated by the pseudo-Herrscher of Wind and pushed towards the state of an ideal fluid, was now seeping downward.
The next moment, his bronchial tubes were severed.
Then came the lungs.
Like a tornado rampaging through fragile internal organs, the terrifying fluid shredded Kingu's lungs and ripped open his chest.
Completely ignorant of Honkai energy, let alone the authority of a Herrscher, Kingu had taken no precautions. Feeling his life force rapidly draining away, he clutched at his sliced-open throat and chest, staggering.
Blood dripped to the ground, staining his pure white robes an ominous red.
His vision was gradually dimming, his senses growing dull. Even the pain of his body being torn apart began to fade...
He was probably going to die.
His body had failed to withstand the slicing force of the pseudo-ideal fluid. The splattering blood was the life he was losing.
But—
He couldn't die before liberating his mother!
The eyes of the synthetic demonic beast, created by Goetia, turned crimson.
Rescuing his mother was the very meaning of his existence!
Right, the Holy Grail.
If he used the Holy Grail's magical energy to reconstruct his body and seal off his respiratory organs, he could continue to fight!
Continue to fight for his mother!
Kingu, who had been granted the seventh Holy Grail by Goetia, roared in his heart, drawing upon its magical energy.
If he could just draw a large amount of magical energy, restoring his torn body would be a simple matter.
But...
Would he get the chance?
The answer was no.
As if a segment of time itself had been erased, a slender, elegant hand had, without anyone noticing, already reached the location of his magical core—the Holy Grail.
"I'll be taking this Holy Grail now."
The youth, his Herrscher core now simulating that of the Herrscher of Rock, chuckled softly as he soundlessly placed a hand on Kingu's shoulder.
As if the laws of physics had been overturned, an immense gravitational force descended without warning.
It was the power of the First Herrscher.
Simulated Herrscher of Rock: Pseudo-Black Hole.
Like a ravenous beast opening its bloody maw, an ultimate darkness swallowed the heavily wounded synthetic demonic beast whole.
[You have slain the synthetic demonic beast, Kingu. You have obtained the Noble Phantasm: Chains of Heaven.]
The System, which was finally starting to act like one after having enough software installed, pronounced Kingu's death sentence.
Kingu, who possessed power on the level of a Divine Spirit, was dead.
In just a few exchanges.
"Hey, Senpai, that's a Holy Grail, isn't it?"
Mash, having personally witnessed the youth with solar divinity seize the Holy Grail from Kingu's body, felt a chill run down her spine.
Next, were they supposed to ask him for that Holy Grail?
They would definitely be killed!
"I... I know."
Swallowing hard with great difficulty, Fujimaru Ritsuka, her scalp tingling, managed to force out the words.
The prerequisite for restoring the Human Order was to eliminate the seven Singularities. Therefore, no matter what, they had to obtain the Holy Grail clutched in that youth's hand.
No matter the cost, she had to try and ask, to see if they could get it.
"How do you plan to compensate me?"
Before Gudako could steel herself and step forward to ask, the youth's voice reached their ears.
Compensation?
Completely bewildered as to what they were supposed to be compensating for, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash exchanged blank stares.
Had they done something that required an apology and compensation?
"You killed my pets. You should pay the price for that, shouldn't you?"
The youth, who had seen Kingu kill his Honkai beast kin, smiled faintly, his expression brilliant.
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: 3.5k characters, I'm spitting blood.