Chapter 89: Berserker Atalanta.
"Well?"
Caenis strikes a proud pose in her swimsuit, her brown skin shining brilliantly under the blazing sunlight.
"Considering yesterday's volleyball match, today I deliberately wore a swimsuit and adjusted my Spirit Origin. My current class is Rider—faster, better at support, and also more suitable for fighting in coastal terrain."
She raises her head to look at Eikou with an expression full of pride, blinking confidently.
"In this situation, my strength is boosted by another level! Even if it's Heracles, I can still fight him head-on!"
"U-umu..."
Eikou's face turns slightly red.
"Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Your reaction looks kind of weird?"
The beast ears atop Caenis's head tilt to one side in confusion as she looks at Eikou with a puzzled expression.
This Caenis actually still had a move like this hidden away.
In terms of combat compatibility, she really is stronger, but on the other hand, her compatibility with him has become much worse. He also has the skill My Love is Eternal—facing a dark-skinned, seductive woman like this, how is he supposed to withstand it? It would only make it easier for him to get distracted from the battle.
"...It's nothing!"
But Eikou quickly shakes his head and enters a state of serious concentration.
Calm down. Now is not the time to be distracted by beauty, nor can he let it affect Caenis, because she is the strongest main attacker of the team.
What he needs to do is support her properly.
[You activate a series of support skills.]
[Hero Creation, Protection of the Lake, further raising Caenis's strength by another tier.]
[Rider Caenis also activates her personal skills: "Summertime Combat B+" and "Beach Crisis (Poseidon) EX"; in the terrain "Water," her strength can be further enhanced.]
[With extremely high terrain compatibility, the power of Swimsuit Caenis is noticeably increased, even far stronger than during her time as Lancer.]
"Alright, let's begin!"
Caenis bares her teeth in a bold grin, her beautiful face brimming with momentum and clearly showing excitement.
She tightens her grip on the spear in her hand. In an instant, her fighting spirit erupts like a violent gale sweeping across the battlefield, causing Heracles on the opposite side to immediately grow much more serious. He bares his fangs, hunches his back low like a wild beast, and enters a ferocious attack-ready stance.
On Jason's side, he also forcefully swings his arm and shouts loudly in the tone of a Captain: "Charge, Heracles!"
"ROAAAAARR——"
Heracles immediately lets out a deep, heavy roar like a fierce beast, and without the slightest hesitation charges straight toward the enemy.
In the very next second, Caenis lowers her body slightly like a nimble female panther, both legs slamming hard against the ground. Power explodes violently, as if she herself has transformed into a long-prepared spear, pouring all her strength forward in a straight thrust.
Boom!
The two ferocious Greek heroes collide head-on. The massive axe-sword and the long spear entwine together. Within just a few brief seconds, multiple violent exchanges occur. Blade winds shriek, grass fragments scatter, the ground roars, and the water's surface trembles. In that instant, those nearby feel as if they are standing amid surging waves, violently shaken by the impact from both sides.
Eikou widens his eyes, somewhat stunned, staring at the figure directly confronting Heracles.
Unbelievable…
Caenis, after being fully enhanced, is actually not at a disadvantage at all when facing Heracles?!
Although Heracles still has twelve lives to rely on, Jason is not a fool. There is no reason for him to expend his strongest trump card right here.
As long as the situation can be dragged out, there is a very high chance that Jason's side will have to avoid the spearhead!
There's a chance!
Just as Eikou is thinking this, he suddenly feels a chilling, beast-like killing intent pressing in on him.
Sharp claws flash past his eyes.
"Die!"
[Berserker Atalanta has launched an attack toward you.]
[Please perform an opposed Agility check with difficulty Very-hard.]
Cold sweat immediately beads on Eikou's forehead. Without the slightest hesitation, he throws the die.
[…Check - successful.]
[Although your physical condition is not good, your keen instincts still allow you to sense this killing intent and immediately twist your body to dodge.]
Clang!
At the very moment the claws were about to tear his body apart, Eikou hurriedly twists his wrist, raising the projected Kanshou and Bakuya to block.
As the claws and blades brush past each other, sparks scatter, reflected in Atalanta's eyes, as if a cold, savage flame is burning deep within them.
"Mochizuki Eikou——!"
Atalanta, draped in the hide of the Calydonian Boar, bares her sharp beastly fangs and lets out a ferocious roar toward Eikou.
Immediately after comes an extremely violent, almost frenzied chain of attacks, overflowing with wild instinct and bloodlust. The performance of Mad Enhancement is pushed to its absolute limit; every strike is lethal, with no restraint whatsoever, forcing Eikou continuously into a passive position, able only to struggle to defend.
Hey, hey, why is she this vicious?!
Eikou blocks while feeling utterly confused inside. Even if they are opponents now, this is still just a simulated match—there's no need to go this far, right? It feels like she genuinely wants to kill him, is the resentment really that intense?!
"What the hell is this, first Alter and now Berserker—have you completely lost your mind or what?"
Terrified, he barely blocks another attack and keeps retreating, trying to maintain distance from the beastlike Atalanta.
"Muahahaha,"
Jason bursts out with a villainous laugh: "This young master had already predicted you might become my opponent, so I set up the situation in advance this time. I deliberately said a lot of bad things about you in front of Atalanta. That girl really likes children, so I described you as someone who specializes in bullying kids. Now she's mentally prepared to go all out against you."
No wonder Atalanta was acting strangely and wearing the boar hide—so this guy was pulling the strings behind the scenes!
"This isn't a joke at all, she'll really kill me! Just what on earth did you say to her?!"
Eikou shouts in extreme dissatisfaction, raising the twin blades and maintaining a defensive stance.
"I said you like giving kids nicknames like shit and piss, that when they try to talk to you, you deliberately ignore them, that you kick apart the brick structures they worked so hard to build, that you release all the insects they catch, and that you even snatch their candy!"
"How could I possibly do things like that! And besides, that kind of bullying is way too low-level—kids in the last year of kindergarten can come up with way worse stuff than that! Is Atalanta really going to kill me just over such trivial nonsense? Is my life really that cheap?!"
Jason's smile grows even more smug: "Hehehe, of course that's not all. I also said you're suspicious and like striking up conversations with little girls—Helena, Kama, Shuten-Douji, and so on."
"Putting aside whether I even know them or not, none of the people you mentioned are actually little girls, okay?! They're all existences that just have the appearance of children but are old enough to be my great grandmother!"
Eikou retorts, his face red with anger.