"Hmph. The main and secondary cannons aside, probability-altering rounds, palm-ascension magecraft, lightspeed missiles, star-slicing blade, celestial spiral drilling arm, phase-transition barrier, parallel-dimension observation computer, and planetary teleportation are all unusable. Even Siduri can't be awakened."
—Far too little power. I'll need to gather more, bit by bit.
"No matter, that's for later. Let's not be crude. I'll sip wine aboard Vimana and watch the invincible hero's downfall."
The Invincible Hero
"Let's board! Gotta settle this before that crazy Governor pulls another stunt! Mash! Rikka! Let's go!"
"Yes!"
"Space battleship Maaar-duuuk!"
"Senpai?!"
"Big, tall, and haughty… maybe I'll draw an anthropomorphic version later."
"Come on, hurry up!"
"Hahaha, where do I even start with this?!"
"I'll tag along. If I die, well, handle the rest~"
"…Master, if it's too painful, return to Chaldea…"
"It's fine, don't worry. …Thank you, Marie."
"When we're back, can I ask for a wardrobe change?"
"—Sure, that's fine."
"Master, stay by me. He'll target you."
"Y-Yeah!"
"Here we go! The final showdown!"
"—Oh, Heracles!"
"What is it, Master?"
"—There's something I want you to be careful about."
"Well then, off I go."
Near-death, Hector readied his spear and stepped forward.
"Leave the rest to me, Medea."
"Of course. Protecting Master is my duty. I'll see it through to the end."
"Yikes. That's what they mean by naturally unhinged… Alright."
He glanced at the enemy.
"Overwhelming foes, us on our last legs. No way to turn this around—then…"
Gripping his spear in his right hand, he unleashed mana.
"…I'll just have to make a souvenir for the underworld!"
"!"
"Noble Phantasm unleashed! Hector's true worth is coming!"
"!"
"Senpai! Behind me!"
"Quick reaction—time for this old man's final blast!"
Unleashed: the peerless throw of Troy's hero!
"No need for a True Name—too much hassle! No pride, no crap in this fight, so look it up yourselves! Now—get blown away!!"
The spear, unstoppable save by Ajax or Achilles, aimed at Mash and Master—
"Come! Ami—"
—No. The target wasn't Master, but…
"The goddess! Your life! For the Ark!"
—Euryale, behind them…!
"Damn—!"
"—Yeah, I knew."
The spear was blocked by the Nemean Lion's Hide.
"What—?!"
In that instant, ten arrows pierced Hector's heart and Spirit Origin.
"Huh…?"
Shielding Euryale, Asterios was protected in turn by the peerless great hero.
"—Well done, Heracles."
Neutralizing the spear and delivering the finishing blow with arrows… it was Heracles, rushing to Euryale's side on Master's orders.
"—Farewell, warrior of Troy."
"—Damn… when did you see through my plan…?"
"I didn't, really. Just…"
Readjusting her pirate hat deeply.
"If you took down the 'great pirate Blackbeard,' nothing you do surprises me. So I told Heracles to stay sharp."
"—Hah, I'm done for. Outclassed with Heracles on guard. What's an old man to do?"
Another volley of arrows severed Hector's head.
"—Guess we're both out of moves."
"No corpse will remain. —Noble guardian, may we meet in a better cycle."
"—Think a villain like me gets summoned again?"
A final arrow obliterated Hector's body.
"…"
"Senpai, you okay…?"
"…Yeah. I hope we meet again. He… didn't seem all bad."
(…We haven't even talked much. There's no rule saying we can't get along, right, Blackbeard?)
—Raising her head, Master spoke.
"Let's end this. The finale of this voyage!"
"Yes!"
"Heracles!"
"Indeed."
"…Thank you."
"—You did well."
"No… Let's go."
"Yeah—"
"Hector…!!"
"Hector's gone too, Lord Jason. What will you do?"
Medea spoke with a sing-song smile.
"Surrender's impossible, retreat's impossible. I'm just a mage skilled in healing and defense. So, what will you do?"
A slap struck Medea.
"Shut up!! Act like a wife! Protect your husband!!"
"Of course. That's my duty as a Servant—to protect you, Lord Jason."
"You…"
Medea smiled. Smiled, and kept smiling.
"It's always been like this, hasn't it? Since I stood by you, always, always, always, always, always."
She kept smiling, blissfully.
"Right, my Lord Jason?"
"Hkk—"
For the first time, the invincible hero realized the 'pure terror' of the delicate girl's smile—too late.
"Jason."
"!"
Another witch, Medea, spoke.
"What—What is it, you filthy witch?!"
"—I no longer expect decorum from you. Just one question."
Hiding tearful eyes under her hood, the witch asked seductively.
"—Who convinced you to commit the utter folly of offering a goddess to the Ark of the Covenant?"
"Master…?"
"Shh, trust me, Marie."
"It's none of your business!! Get lost, witch!!"
"Well done, witch. You stole my question."
David whistled, casually dissing Medea.
"(Tch)"
"I'm curious too. Offering her would've ended the world, you know?"
"—What?"
"Obviously. That Ark decrees and delivers death. Offering a divinity to it? Insanity. This unstable era would've been obliterated."
"—Impossible."
Jason muttered, stunned.
"No way, that can't be."
"—I know you were manipulated. The Jason I know would never commit such a grandiose, foolish act as 'destroying the world.'"
She pressed, exposing his fatal mistake.
"—!"
—Are you that foolish, Jason—?!
"So it meant that…"
"Answer, Jason. Who told you offering a goddess would 'make you a king'?"
"Hector? Medea? Which one? Spill it, invincible hero."
"…Medea."
Slowly turning to face her.
"That was… a lie, right?"
To the smiling girl beside him.
"Offer a goddess to the Ark, and I'd gain invincible power, right? That's what she said—"
"No, it wasn't a lie. After all, 'if the era dies, the world ends.'"
Medea sang. The girl smiled.
"If the world ends, there are no enemies."
With utmost grace, she thrust the truth at him.
"See? Invincible, right?"
The invincible hero—that's what it meant.
A king standing in a ruined world has no enemies.
"You… You all lied to me?!"
Jason's crumbling ego, his soul, rallied with its last will.
—Here, the hero's true nature was laid bare.
"Then what's the point?! I was going to build my ideal kingdom this time!! Where everyone respects me! Where all are content, with no conflict—a true utopia!!"
Biting her lip under her hood, Medea looked down.
"Wasn't this a trial for that?! A second chance given to me?!"
"—That's an impossible dream. An unfulfilled regret, Jason."
Heracles, his truest friend, spoke.
"Heracles…!"
"We are heroes, phenomena of history who raced through our era, summoned by the world. Our endings are fixed; there's no second chance. —No matter how desperate your regrets, they must not be fulfilled. You must not deny your own path. —To deny your life is unforgivable."
"What—What are you saying?! What do you know?! You, who were sought and loved by gods! Who gained everything—!!"
"—True. I claimed glory, feats, blessings, even a divine seat."
Heracles looked at his fist.
"—But, Jason… what I truly loved, protected, and wanted to hold…"
—Warm tears fell onto his hand.
"A warm hearth, a devoted wife, a child who loved and laughed with the world… —With these hands, I crushed them utterly. With this fist that slew countless monsters—I shattered them to dust."
The great hero's maddening grief and pain left all speechless.
"…Heracles…"
"—That's why I…"
"Heracles, let me take it from here."
The young Medea spoke.
"You cannot become the ideal king. Even if the people's peace were real, your soul is hopelessly twisted."
Whispering softly to Jason.
"You must not fulfill your dream as you desire. The moment you grasp what you truly want, you'll only realize your fate is to destroy it with your own hands."
"What—What are you saying, witch?!"
The whispers of the girl-witch beside him stirred Jason's soul with resentment and curses.
"What would a cloistered temple maiden know?! Born a king's son, yet robbed of my throne by my uncle, shoved into a centaur's stable! I honed my wit through that humiliation, built the Argo, and united heroes!! What about me—where do I lack the right to be king?!"
His accumulated grief and rage echoed across the sea.
—On Vimana, high above.
"Splendid. Such exquisite pain and lamentation. Cheap wine tastes like divine nectar."
—Jason, you…
"The end draws near. Make a fine spectacle, invincible hero—ready?"
"Uh, Hero-King…"
"Hm? What is it, loyal subject?"
"…Give me time to fix my outfit."
"?"
"I just wanted my kingdom back! My own kingdom!! What's wrong with that, you traitor—!!!!"
"—So you heard, Witch Medea?"
"—You…"
"Hehe, but sadly, I only spoke the truth, Lord Jason."
Stepping closer.
"I'm the princess Medea before betrayal, the witch who loves the Jason who took her to the outside world. I protect you. All true, all fact."
Taking the Grail from his hand.
"For example—I just said I'd protect you, right? Here's how."
"—Stop!! Medea!!!!"
Jason's abdomen was pierced.
"Huh?"
The Grail was driven in—
"—!!!"
"Hehe, like this."
The embedded Grail warped Jason's form, corrupted his Spirit Origin, devoured his will, and consumed his identity—
"What! You—Stop! What are you doing?! No, my body—it's melting!!"
"Medea!! You—!!"
"Will you strike Lord Jason, Heracles?"
"Ngh—!!"
"Holy Grail, ultimate vessel of my desires. Manifest, engrave. From this rise the seventy-two demon pillars."
"No! Heracles!!"
"—Jason—!!"
"Heracles!! Save me!! Hera—Gah, giiiii!!!!"
"I grant you strength to fight. Power to resist."
The witch Medea smiled.
"Fight to perish."
"You wretched woman—!!"
"Now, rank thirty, sea demon Forneus. With its power, end your journey—"
What was once Jason—
"—Hera…kles—"
—transformed into a grotesque abomination—
"—My friend—!!"
The Pioneer
"Huh?! What's that, Governor?!"
"What is a ship?"
"Uh, what?"
"I asked, what is a ship?"
"—It sails the seas, right?"
"Hahaha! Half right! A ship 'sails the stars'! I'll show you its true meaning in the next tale!!"
"I can't take off the lion's hide! Or maybe a loincloth? To stand with Heracles, I must dress to the nines, or I'd shame my manhood!"
--------------------------
Thank you so much to everyone who has followed and supported the story! 🙏
Every like and comment means a lot to me.
If you want to go further, join my Patreon to be able to read the latest chapters!
👉 Check it out here: [patreon.com/Greyhounds]