"Rule Breaker!!"
"Pain Breaker… Cap-Princess Slayer!!"
"Amazing, Master!"
Viewer Discretion Advised—Demon Pillars with weak hearts and wills, do not watch!
"Ugh… (Still as creepy as ever.)"
A grotesque mass of flesh, a blasphemous pillar, manifested before them.
"What the—?! And what did she say? Forneus? That's… Solomon's familiar?!"
"Yup, called it."
"King David, could you pipe down?! Ugh, no doubt about it! That's definitely a Demon Pillar! But why—?!"
"…"
"Scared?"
"…Yes. The Hero-King and everyone else aside… I'm still…"
"Hehe, Mash, you're such a scaredy-cat. Me too, though."
"Senpai…"
"That thing's nothing compared to a change of heart! Plus, look—"
Treasures unleashed, tearing into Forneus' body.
"A Demon Pillar? Hah, don't make me laugh, filth. If your form is grotesque, your name's even worse. Unbearable to look at—die quickly… no."
—The selection of treasures was already complete.
"Let's see how far you can go before you break."
"—My body is changing… this is…"
"Too late to notice. I just unleashed a pseudo-'immortality' archetype. I'll use you as a durability test for your kind, tormenting you to the limit. So, you're not permitted to die until I grant it."
"Impossible—"
In an instant, a hundred shots, rivaling battleship cannons in power and rapid-fire in speed, reduced Forneus to dust.
"—So, a sluggish pillar of flesh? Hardly a threat. Greece was crawling with these."
Forneus regenerated instantly, standing tall again.
"Haha, what absurd power! A dazzling shot! Worthy of a great hero's might!"
"That was just a light jab. —Master."
Heracles turned.
"I want to save my friend. …Please, lend me your strength."
"Of course! Go get 'em, Heracles!"
"—Thank you."
Bullets slammed into Forneus.
"Score! Direct hit! If it lands, we can take it down!"
"Captain Drake!"
"Come on, Mash, here's what you say: 'No use for an ugly like you. Hand over that shiny crown quick!'"
"—!"
"Captain's girly talk is so cute!"
"—H-Hey, don't tease me!"
"Captain's scary!"
"Master, please!!"
"—?!"
A voice roared loud enough to burst eardrums—Chaldea's Iskandar.
"Summon me there, Master! Him too! I beg you! The Conqueror King kneels! I'll even give you my limited-edition Great Strategy! I need to join that battlefield!!"
"What's with this intensity, loyal subject?"
"Rider Iskandar's a huge Heracles fan."
"Got it! Sure thing!"
"Really?!"
"Like a fan visiting a voice actor or idol, right? Gotta make it happen!"
"My thanks! I'm proud to serve such a bold Master! Let's go, kid!"
"I get it, I get it—just wear your usual gear!"
"Come! Iskandar, Zhuge Liang!"
Her right hand glowed, and the Conqueror King and his loyal strategist descended upon Okeanos.
"Heracles! To fight shoulder-to-shoulder with you—my utmost gratitude!!"
"Another supposed descendant… Macedonia's Conqueror King, huh?"
"Indeed! From now on, we fight together! Shape up, kid!"
"…I'm too awestruck to look up."
"China's strategist, eh? I'm counting on you."
"Uh, yes."
"What's this, getting all rugged now? Alright, Mash and Rikka, over here!"
"Wah!"
"Eek—!"
"Hahahahaha!! The stage is set! Time for a crushing curtain call!"
"Leave that Medea to me. I'll finish her off-screen."
"…Can you handle it?"
"Piece of cake. You lot deal with that."
—Be careful, Medea.
"Gil, I'll oversee Master's work!"
"Permitted! Haha, you want to witness your past up close!"
"I don't care anymore! Marie, if you're disappointed, I won't forgive you!"
"I won't be! Never!"
"Right—let's do this!! Master, Mash, everyone! Show them my royal path from the start!!"
Iskandar drew his thick sword, his voice brimming with valor as he raised a battle cry.
"Gather, my comrades!! Today, we etch our valor alongside the unparalleled great hero!!"
Sand and dust began to swirl, growing fiercer.
"Pfft! Sand?!"
"What's this? Sandstorms at sea? Some irony."
"It's akin to the blue rose's essence. —The principle's the same as Olga Marie's."
"This reaction—!"
At the storm's peak—
This…!
A piercing blue sky, a blazing sun. Scorching sands and swirling dust—a searing desert expanse—
"A Reality Marble?! Iskandar's a mage?!"
Like Olga Marie's Chaldeas Animusphere, Flower of Hope Aligned with Humanity—a manifestation of a mind's landscape…!
"Hmph, nice reaction! Rare is the thrill of the unknown! This scenery, this vista—it's possible because it's the heartscape of all of us!!"
The presence of countless Servants behind them—easily tens of thousands—!
"Behold my peerless army!! Bodies perished, souls ascended as Heroic Spirits—yet still loyal to me, legendary warriors answering my summons across time and space!"
It was proof of his royal path. The culmination of Iskandar's life, forged through bonds and conquest.
"Huh… the land's conqueror sure is popular."
"As ever, a noisy rabble of soldiers."
—Despite the vessel's nonchalance, the overwhelming aura and pressure could obliterate them! Thank goodness he's the vessel…
"—Courage and bonds. The crystallization of a conqueror's path."
Heracles nodded, deeply moved.
"These bonds are my greatest treasure! My royal path!! The mightiest Noble Phantasm of Iskandar—!"
Spreading his arms, Iskandar proclaimed proudly.
"Ionioi Hetairoi, Army of the King!!!"
At the king's command, countless heroes roared.
"Wow! It's like Comiket!"
"Comiket's this epic?!"
"Maybe just as much?"
"Ho! The modern world has an army of warriors like ours? I'd love to spar with them!!"
"The world's toughest motley crew."
"—So, Great Hero Heracles."
Iskandar asked, almost shyly.
"My royal path, my army—do they meet your standards?"
"—…"
The peerless hero surveyed them.
"—A fine army. It'd take me half a day to conquer."
"Hahaha!! To hold off the great hero for half a day?! We're not so bad!!"
"I'd crush it in a second, world and all."
"Don't say that! You're the ultimate cheat!"
"Hahahahaha!! Neither I nor Heracles can be stopped by rabble!!"
—Kingly aura… it's suffocating…!
"We can't lose to them!"
"Captain! How do we sail in a desert?!"
"—Governor!"
"No issue. I upgraded it for 'sudden desert scenarios'—it can fly!"
"What kind of scenario is that?!"
"It's true, Captain!! The Golden Hind—it's floating!"
"No way!!"
"Amazing—!! A flying ship besides Vimana!!"
The Golden Hind glided through the air, carrying Master and Mash, setting sail on the sky's ocean.
"I threw in some ammo too! My final gift—use it freely!!"
Mystic-packed custom rounds, sure to harm the Demon Pillar. Their ship's a fine force.
"So generous! —Hey, Hero-King."
Iskandar grinned mischievously.
"Remember that drinking talk?"
"Arming your army with my treasures, huh?"
"That's it! I really, really wanna do it… can you let it slide?"
"—…"
—I've already cataloged their numbers and weapons, so it's doable.
All that's left…
"—Hahahahaha!! Fine!!"
The king's hearty approval.
"I'll take that drunken jest seriously!! Let's show the difference in class and generosity between me, the gorgeous Archer! Not a bad idea!"
"—Ohh!! Then!!"
"I'll lend my treasures and grant the honor of wielding them! Adorn yourselves, you motley mongrels!!"
Golden ripples unfolded, equipping each soldier with fitting weapons.
"Lending treasures is the duty of the gorgeous! The Golden Rule is my armory, my royal path!! Feel the difference in class, you wretched mongrels!!"
"'Aye! Aye! Aye!'"
"Hey, don't get cocky just because you got top-tier gear!"
"'Aye! Aye! Aye!!'"
Thus, the Army of the King, armed with the Gate of Babylon.
"Yo! Can we kick this off?!"
And the Golden Hind, soaring through the skies.
"—Hero-King. I'll rip out its core."
And the Great Hero Heracles.
"Very well. Go all out to save your friend."
—The crowning piece: Gilgamesh, Humanity's Oldest Hero-King.
The stage was set.
"—All units! Issue the command!!"
The king's roar tore through the desert.
"Aye!! —The farthest sea, Okeanos, is the end of the world we dreamed of and aimed for!!"
"'Aye! Aye! Aye!!!'"
"To witness it, to etch it in our hearts—that's our expedition!! This false sea is not our end!!"
"'Aye! Aye! Aye!!!'"
"Having glimpsed the true end, we've no use for this contrived finale!! Roar, warriors!! Show the scoundrels who insulted our dreams the fire in our hearts—!!!!"
"'Aye! Aye! Aye!!!!'"
"You lot!! Ready?! Gold, silver, treasures, lives—everything's on the line!! No holding back!! Win or lose, it's all or nothing!!"
The war horn blared.
"—Ready to go bankrupt?! Let's make it a spectacular bust!!"
"'Aye aye, sir!!'"
"It's not 'sir,' you dimwits!!"
"'Sorry! Too manly, we messed up!!'"
"—Let's go."
Heracles took a battle stance.
Leaping from the ground, he stood at Vimana's bow, arms crossed, roaring.
"It's time for annihilation, vile filth!! I'll carve the folly of absorbing my treasures into your soul!!"
"Go, everyone!!"
"—Magnificent!!"
"Here we go!!"
"Let's do this!!"
"Hey, the chariot's on you, kid!"
"Huh?!"
"—Endure with all you've got!!"
"—The Wild Hunt begins!!!"
"Crush them—!!!!"
In the scorching desert, the great annihilation of the Demon Pillar began—!!
A single Demon Pillar against a king, treasures, cannons, and an army.
"—Raaahhh!!!!"
Heracles outran Iskandar's Bucephalus, charging faster than any army.
"Demon, prepare yourself—!"
Unleashing peerless arrows at that speed, tearing into the Demon Pillar's body.
"—Ngh!!"
Plunging his hand into the flesh, he ripped out the Grail, Jason's core.
"Whoa!"
Firing a spare Grail to forcibly sustain it, preventing its collapse.
Heracles landed on Vimana with a great leap.
"Is there a way to heal him?"
"I'll stabilize his Spirit Origin. The rest is up to Medea."
"Martial prowess at its finest! I won't be outdone!! The Conqueror King won't let you steal the show!!"
"No way I can handle a divine beast—!!!"
"Hahaha!! Give it a shot!! AALaLaLaLaLa—i!!!!"
The army and charge ravaged Forneus.
"Fire, fire!! Everything we've got!! Sorry if we clip the heroes below!! Pirates don't fight fair, so shoot, shoot, shoot—!!!!"
Pirate lawlessness and cannonfire tormented Forneus.
"Now, I'll have to shoot my share!"
—The selection was done!
"Time for some demon-slaying! Gate of Babylon, Treasury of the King!!"
Judgment and possibility's treasures swept Forneus away.
Cursed with immortality, the Demon Pillar endured endless death and regeneration—
"Finish it, Heracles!!"
"—Is that alright?"
"Of course! Your Noble Phantasm's death was meant to break the curse!"
"Heracles!!"
"Show me your true worth!!"
"—Understood."
From Vimana's skies, he drew his bow with utmost strength—!
"Everyone, clear out!! Heracles' Noble Phantasm is coming!!"
"Hard to port!! Get clear!!"
Confirming their retreat, he unleashed—
"Nine Lives, Shooting the Hundred Heads"
The pinnacle of Heracles' martial art, crafted to slay phantasmal beasts.
A single arrow morphed into nine dragon-shaped lasers, each with power to fell dragonkind, storming the Demon Pillar—!!
"—Meaningless, meaningless—"
After enduring thousands of deaths, Forneus had no strength to resist—
The desert quaked, the sky trembled, the world groaned in the explosion's aftermath—
"—(Speechless)"
"This… is Heracles' Noble Phantasm…"
—Leaving a void in the world, a massive crater—no trace of the Demon Pillar remained—
"'—Roooaarrrr!!!!'"
All that remained was the warriors' victory cry and—
"Hmph, old hat."
"Monsters like that? Seen plenty."
—The certainty of the Singularity's resolution.
"Makia! Hecatic Graea!!"
"Kyaa!! Princess Overkiller!!"
"We did it! Amazing, Master!"
"No way you'd beat me with healing magic! Begone, psycho me!"
"Hehe… self-denial is… the theme of the original work… (collapses)"
"—We won…!"
"Amazing, Master!"
--------------------------
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