The Legend of Cú Chulainn
"Oh, oh—! How can this be...! My hound, whom I raised with such care...! Oh—! Ooooooooh...!!"
"Splendid, Setanta! Such valor at your age! You will surely become a brave warrior who leaves his name in history!"
"..."
"...What is wrong? Setanta."
"Move."
"Nuh!?" (← The King)
"Blacksmith Culann. ...I'm sorry. I killed the dog you cherished so much. ...Not knowing is no excuse. No matter how much I grieve, he won't come back."
"Setanta..."
"So—let me raise this dog's child. Until he is fully grown, I will protect you. I will become your watchdog."
"Oh, Setanta! That is—!"
"I make a vow. 'I will never eat dog meat in my life.' So—please don't cry. Seeing an acquaintance shed tears is painful."
"—...Setanta..."
"Hahahaha! You have made a vow here! Then you must be given a new name!"
"You should feel a little bad for not telling me beforehand, you..."
"Then—from this day forth, you shall call yourself the Hound of Culann! 'Cú Chulainn'!"
"The Hound of Culann, huh— Ah, it doesn't sound bad!"
Making a vow for the weeping blacksmith Culann. Swearing to become 'The Hound of Culann' for his master.
"Leave it to me! I'll protect the one I've chosen as master, no matter what—!!"
The Hound of Culann
A clash between Gáe Bolgs, impossible in life—
"Tch—!"
"—Tch."
The answer appeared instantly. A crimson demon spear flying far to the rear while gouging out the American earth; a slaughtering demon spear burying itself deep into the ground, gouging out the planet's bedrock as it burrowed.
—Spears that both claim inevitable hits and certain kills. If their origins were different, it would have been a mutual kill, but... because their origins and existence were recognized as the same, the 'exactly identical trajectories' and 'exactly identical curses' collided, clashed, and resulted in a perfectly equal phenomenon.
Both had let their reliable spears leave their hands.
"Noble Phantasm, Sealed. —Transform."
—If I don't have it, I'll just kill you without it.
Releasing all the curses dwelling within his body, the armor of the reddish-black, ominous sea beast was unleashed. Cú Chulainn Alter transformed into a hideous demonic beast.
"Let's go, Full Speed Release—!"
—As if I could ever show my back!
Armor of azure and silver, a futuristic streamlined form. Igniting various boosters instantly, the Hound dashed forward in a gallant and supple form.
In that case—the two determined hounds simultaneously deployed their innermost secret techniques—!!
""'The Beast of Crushing Death Fangs: Curruid Coinchenn'—!!""
A crimson sea beast, an azure hound.
"Oooooooh—!!!!"
"Hmph—"
Baring their fangs to bite each other to death, roaring furiously, they collided and devoured one another—!!
"Gaaaaaaaah—!!!"
—Fangs of slaughter wielded with off-the-charts muscular strength. Sweeping, slamming, gouging, punching, hammering, twisting, crushing.
Each blow, embodying the raging anger of Cú Chulainn Alter, was a jet-black and crimson combo capable of burying Servants, massacring everyone, and building a mountain of corpses—a truly hair-raising assault.
"That was dangerous!!"
Using his boosters, positioning based on intuition, dynamic vision, and body movement, Cú Chulainn dodged the death-dealing fangs by a hair's breadth, by a single sheet of paper, neutralizing them.
"You're a stupid dog with no discipline, whoops—!!"
Striking in a momentary gap, he deployed his leg boosters and slammed a full-force rolling sobat into Cú Chulainn Alter's stomach.
"————Tch."
A kick with instantaneous speed that shook off gravity. Combined with a sonic boom, his body and internal organs were torn to shreds as the Mad King was blown out of the White House, smashing through the wall.
In the aftermath, everything inside the White House was obliterated, shredded by sonic blades and blown away without a trace.
Reset, Cú Chulainn judged calmly, reverse-thrusting his boosters to fly into the sky.
(Whether I use a Noble Phantasm or whatever, I gotta get a grip on the pace first. First—)
—It was at that moment that Cú Chulainn's eyes widened.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaa—hh!!"
Raising a roar that made even the earth spirits tremble, flee, and cower in confusion, shaking the ground—
"What the—!?"
The Mad King gouged out the White House along with the bedrock, pulled it out, lifted it up—
"—There."
And with all his might, threw it at the hovering Cú Chulainn—!
"Heh, even crazy, 'I' am doing some messed up stuff!"
Laughing, Cú Chulainn deployed and summoned a Noble Phantasm—
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! A castle for a castle! Come! 'The Crushing Castle to Throw Down: Castle Throw'!!"
Behind Cú Chulainn, a massive, super-massive 'Castle' appeared, towering high into the heavens.
"Ora, yo-tto!!!"
Thrusting his right arm into it with brute force, he swung the castle, lifted it, and hurled it at the incoming White House, slamming them together—!!
Slamming into each other in mid-air, crushing together, collapsing, and being destroyed—the White House and the Ulster Throwing Castle.
"—Tchhh!!"
Without waiting for the collapse and pulverization, the Mad King charged, grabbed the mid-air Cú Chulainn with all his strength, and flung him far into the distance.
"Whoaaaaaa—!!?"
The momentum of the thrown Cú Chulainn far exceeded Mach speed. Terrifying G-forces assaulted him, bearing down with pressure that threatened to tear his flesh to pieces.
"That bastard, he's pushing himself while fixing his broken body—! That hurts way more than it looks!"
Applying braking with reverse thrusters, trying to impose his own weight to avoid destroying the surroundings as much as possible, he played his next hand.
"'The Single Throw of the Divine Son: Del Frhis'!!"
A Noble Phantasm sublimated from his own legend, a full-power throw that grants mystery to whatever is held and thrown to deal a certain kill—
"Go!! 'The Indestructible Spear that Pierces and Crushes: Dubthach'!"
Boasting indestructibility, the spear that crushes all creation was fired with all his might at the approaching Mad King—!
"————"
The accelerating Mad King dodged—no, 'did not dodge.'
—It's a wound I'll fix anyway, what a pain.
With that sentiment, he found dodging the blow bothersome and took the direct hit.
His right arm blew off. —I don't care. The left hand is enough.
Enduring agony that would drive even a Servant mad while repairing his shattered right arm, he dove straight into close quarters.
"Whoops!!"
Cú Chulainn delivered more kicks and headbutts, making him stagger even if he didn't deal damage.
"—Ansuz!"
Drawing the rune of fire, he instantly turned the Mad King into a fireball and slammed him into the earth with an aerial rotating heel drop.
"Dogs shouldn't be flying in the sky!!"
Again, the Mad King was slammed down at speeds far exceeding the speed of sound. The American earth exploded as if a meteorite had struck, creating a massive crater.
"Ah, right, we're outside—"
This is bad, gotta restrain myself, he thought to himself, drawing runes with his right hand and using words of power to deploy another Noble Phantasm—
"—My magecraft is a cage of fire, a green giant like thorns. Karmic retribution, a shrine to cleanse human calamity—"
Chanting the activation spell, a colossal giant woven from wicker branches, boasting the majesty of a building, appeared behind the Mad King just as he tried to leap out.
"—Cheap tricks. Being uselessly dexterous is my unfathomable special skill."
The giant forcibly grabbed the Mad King and threw him into the chest cage where no sacrifice sat, and then—
"Collapse, Wicker Man!! Taste being roasted whole!"
Activating the rune, he burned the Mad King along with the giant—!! Raising the surrounding temperature to 80°C (mistake in original text, likely meant much higher or scope implies environmental effect), burning until nothing remained—
"Tch!!"
Burned until nothing remained—no. What the Wicker Man held was not a sacrifice. It was the 'Mad King.'
"Don't get cheeky—!!"
Treating the burns with runes—no, healing while being burned, so it wasn't even treatment. The Mad King simply rampaged, raged, went mad. Instantly smashing the cage surrounding him.
"—It's hot."
Tearing it open from crown to crotch in a straight line, destroying its role as a doll—!
"—!!"
No sooner had he escaped than he leapt at Cú Chulainn, piercing him with fangs, claws, and his sheer majesty.
"'The Radiance of the Shattering Sword: Cruaidín Catutchenn'!!"
Deploying an ivory hilt and jade-green laser blade, he parried, deflected, swept, and cut away all the fangs of destruction.
Claws and blade locked in a contest, vibrating the atmosphere and raising a wail.
"Next to magic tricks, it's talentless swordplay? How boring."
"Shut up! Fergus's sword technique isn't just swordplay—!!"
"'Must be defeated by one holding Caladbolg'—if you're expecting that Geas, give up. Even if I break the Geas, I will kill you."
"Hah, —like I'd rely on something like that—!!"
Both unleashed kicks.
"—Raaaaaah!!!"
Enlarging Cruaidín until it reached the heavens, he swung the laser blade upward from a low stance in one breath.
Slicing the continent and the earth along the trajectory, he cut off the Mad King's left side.
"—"
"If you want it, I'll give it to you!! 'The Ancient Rainbow that Crushes and Spins: Caladbolg'!!"
He threw the spiral sword borrowed from Fergus, which drew a spiral on its blade, at the Mad King and activated it.
The moment it was thrown, it turned into a drill, gouging out the right arm raised in defense, dragging it into the spiral and shattering it.
"—Gaaah!!"
Repairing it with runes, he charged as a matter of course, swinging his tail to strike Cú Chulainn.
Armor creaked, his body screamed. While amazed at that terrifying brute strength, Cú Chulainn laughed.
"Hah, you really don't know when to quit! That bastard Medb built you to be a pain in the ass!"
"The feeling is mutual. —I don't know how many times I've taken a fatal wound."
"Shut up, if I can't kill you, it means nothing—!"
He couldn't use 'The Slaughtering Warhorse that Rends and Runs.' Loeg and the others were already fighting.
"—If you can use that much, you should have your original Berserker form. Why not use it?"
—Yes. Cú Chulainn possesses a Noble Phantasm that qualifies him as a true Berserker. —Likely, the most grotesque Noble Phantasm form.
"The answer is obvious. —Against the likes of you."
Deploying boosters—
"There's no need to use it—!!"
Pushing back the Mad King's body—!!
"—Die while holding back then—"
Responding to that, the Mad King roared and unleashed his brute strength—!!
—The two hounds rampaged across the narrow confines of America, their aftermath trampling the land thoroughly.
"Take thaaaat!!!"
When Cú Chulainn slammed the Mad King into the sea, the surrounding waters instantly dried up due to the Mad King's rage and heat.
"There—"
When the Mad King dragged Cú Chulainn around, they advanced while instantly destroying the ruins of American cities where evacuation had finished.
"That hurts! Let go, ora!!"
Crashing into a forest while tumbling, the trees instantly became stumps spreading before their eyes due to the shockwaves of their struggle.
"Keh—!!"
Grabbed and thrown casually by the Mad King, Cú Chulainn slammed into a mountainside, blowing it away and necessitating a drastic correction of the mountain's height.
Stomping gouged the bedrock.
Roaring blew away all the clouds.
Stepping firmly caused earthquakes.
The spirits of the entire American continent, unable to bear the groans of the two Cú Chulainns any longer, went into a frenzy, whipping up hurricanes across the entire area.
The sky became overcast, the sea raged, the earth twisted endlessly.
"Oooooooohhhhhhhh!!!"
"Tchhh—!!"
—The eastern side of America was beset by a catastrophic disaster.
Due to the fierce battle of just two people—though not quite extinction.
Cú Chulainn knew by intuition. How much would destroy the continent.
The Mad King grasped it. How tough his territory was.
Right at the edge of not being destroyed—the two waged the greatest, strongest decisive battle over America—
Outside the Reality Marble—just the two of them, waging a final war—!!
[—Aniki...!]
Rikka was running. Taking breaks, clad in the Azi Dahaka Armor, she simply ran.
[Mash, Con-chan, wait for me! I have to entrust the final finish to Aniki!]
Deploying her wings, she took off into the scenery of ruin and apocalypse that was America.
No fear. No hesitation. —Just fulfilling the Master's duty.
—To put a period on this battle—!
"A stalemate. Since we were both held by wishes upon the Holy Grail and altered, there isn't much difference in basic specs—huh."
At the border of East and West, in the center of America, pressing foreheads together, the Cú Chulainns glared at each other.
"Oh, man, I hate this. Having me as an enemy is this much of a pain. —I wonder if Medb and Aoife felt like this. —How many times have you died, you bastard?"
"I stopped counting after 100. —You know best about being a sore loser, don't you?"
The beast growled, the hound raged.
"No doubt. —Geez. It's a lie if I say I didn't want to show that one person is enough... but a dog that neglects its master is truly a mad dog."
The Mad King looked suspiciously at the self-deprecating Cú Chulainn.
"—What are you babbling about?"
"Tell me one thing. —Why did you choose such a stupid path?"
What Cú Chulainn addressed was the Mad King's way of being.
He questioned the existence of living as a King while finding no joy in it.
"—Every King I saw was a fool. That's all there is to it."
Everyone fought for their own greed, for prestige.
Then he would simply do the same. Fighting, fighting, fighting through, believing that running out of strength was his goal.
Running not for survival, but for extinction.
The Cú Chulainn who lives, laughs, and fights.
The Cú Chulainn who dies, looks down, and growls.
—Yin and Yang, incompatible.
Though the same, there is nothing left but to kill each other—
"—No doubt. Objectively speaking, I'm too simple-minded."
"Is that your last word? —In the end, you never brought out your Berserker form."
Both of their armors were pushed beyond their limits. Armor exceeding durability and beginning to rot away.
"If you had let go of reason and become a beast, you could have broken through me. —You lost because you worried about your back and paid attention to your surroundings."
—Yes, what he destroyed was only the Mad King's territory, the eastern half of America.
Cú Chulainn, betting on his own strength, fought to ensure no damage reached the West side, where his comrades would return—
"Maybe. —If it was 'just' me, a mutual kill would be the best I could hope for."
The Mad King felt something wrong with Cú Chulainn's tone.
"—Just, you say?"
"Did you forget, idiot? We are 'The Hound of Culann, Cú Chulainn.' We're different creatures from wolves who believe in solitude."
—The boosters roared once again.
"Just us alone, this is as far as we go. After all, we're mirror images; we'll never reach a conclusion no matter what. —Then, for the end, I need a 'move,' a winning technique. —It's a pathetic story, though."
"—What are you talking about?"
The Mad King's brute strength pushed Cú Chulainn back. But Cú Chulainn's conviction was unwavering.
"Don't you get it? —No wonder. It's something the current 'me' has, but 'you' don't."
—The Mad King realized.
"You—don't tell me—"
Grin, Cú Chulainn smiled.
Why did he hold him back here? Why did he engage in a contest of strength while inferior in muscle, without using acceleration?
"—Too slow, idiot. A 'Master' comes attached to a 'Hound,' doesn't she?"
—Cú Chulainn believed.
"—My vow isn't 'Pleasure'! It's 'Victory'! —Sorry, but let me rely on you!!"
—That 'she' would defeat Medb—
"GIVE ME A 'COMMAND SPELL'!! 'MASTER'!!!"
Shouting loudly—
"YEAH!!"
—Humanity's Final Master responded!
"...Tch, a Master—!"
"'Gandr'!!"
Firing a Gandr condensed with mud and Chaldea's electricity, binding and stopping the Mad King's movements—!
"—Command Spells to Aniki!! I entrust all three to you!!"
Furthermore, without hesitation, she released the Command Spells toward Cú Chulainn!
"'Win, Aniki'!!!"
Hearing the wish of the three used Command Spells.
To 'Win'—the damage received and the magical energy consumed were instantly recovered and replenished to Cú Chulainn—!
"I believed in you! Young Lady! Leave the rest to me!! —Here comes the big trick!!"
When Cú Chulainn slammed his hand onto the earth, a massive barrier unfolded and activated to cover all of America, trapping the Mad King.
"—A barrier mobilizing all the Primordial Runes—You, while being blown away—"
Yes, Cú Chulainn had been carving them into the American earth during the fight.
'The Great God's Carving: Ochd Deug Odin'—the starting points and rune characters for a barrier using all Primordial Runes. Believing that the magical energy to activate it would be replenished.
—Believing in his Master's victory. Believing that she would definitely entrust her trust and victory to this body—convinced that she would entrust the miracle of the Command Spells!
"Killing won't make you die—that's my trait. But—you know well enough that there are guys in the world who can 'kill just by looking,' right?"
Cú Chulainn's eyes shone with the seven colors of the rainbow—
"'I will kill you.' —Let's go. This blow, a blow staking my everything, accept it as a parting gift—"
'The Evil Eye of the Evil God that Kills at a Glance: Balor'... Shining with the eyes of his strongest blood relative, the Evil God, he definitively manifested and locked onto the Mad King's 'Death Point' and 'Death Line.'
"Fly, Young Lady!! As high as possible!"
[Y-Yeah!]
Flap, deploying her wings, Rikka left the earth.
Deploying boosters all over his body, Cú Chulainn accelerated from an initial velocity of 300 km/h to instantly reach Mach 10, flying far beyond the clouds—!
"—Tch...!"
The Mad King couldn't move. His movements were completely sealed by the Gandr, the Runes, and Balor's Evil Eye.
He flew, he ran. High, high. Cú Chulainn flew even higher.
He flew and raced until he reached a height where the continent disappeared and a sea of clouds spread below him.
"—Come!!"
He made Gáe Bolg fly 'towards himself.' Responding to the master's command, the crimson demon spear flew from far away.
"Now, this is genuinely my body and soul! Don't hesitate! —You go ahead and die for the finale!!"
Protecting his own body with 'The Beast of Crushing Death Fangs,' pushing his body's functions beyond their limits with 'Primordial Runes.'
Just as the Mad King had done, he repaired his body as it shattered under the excessive burden. He simply 'endured' the maddening agony.
"This blow—I dedicate it to the Young Lady!!"
—Tearing through the clouds, fixing his eyes on the incoming Gáe Bolg, fully deploying all boosters prepared for collapse, revving his momentum to the limit.
"'Lugh Leading to Certain Death—'!!"
Deriving a trajectory that would reach only that specific spot, capturing the figure of the Mad King below in his eyes—
"'The Ultimate Balor'—!!"
With momentum and spirit enough to shatter his own body—he hammered in a full-power 'Leg Throw,' an overhead kick accelerated by his armor!!
"'THE DEMON SPEAR: GÁE BOLG'————!!!!!"
—That full-power throw, the pinnacle of the spear. Cú Chulainn's lifetime, the 'Anti-World/Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm' hammered in with everything he had.
Bringing certain death to individuals, or reaching the realm of 'piercing the world,' a full-power, ultimate secret technique that only the current 'Cú Chulainn' could unleash.
'The Ultimate Demon Spear Leading to Certain Death: Lugh Balor Gáe Bolg'—speed could no longer be measured; it had no meaning.
Simply to 'pierce,' to 'bring death'—blowing away all clouds, tearing apart the atmosphere.
—Shining with a seven-colored flash, Gáe Bolg raced through—!!
—And then.
"——————"
One thrust, one kill. Piercing the heart, singing the inevitable hit.
[Th-That was—]
The seven-colored spear, flying from the distant heavens, pierced the Mad King's chest without fail, piercing through his 'Spirit Core,' 'Heart,' and 'Fate of Death' all at once.
With a hole the 'size of a heart' pierced in his chest, the Mad King stood still.
"—Tch, looks like I've gotten sloppy too..."
Repelling all resurrection, revival, and recovery.
"—Young Lady."
[Y-Yes!]
"—The rest is just the Demon Gods. Stay sharp."
To the Master who fought hard, defeated him, and led his other self to victory.
"—See ya."
Briefly stating praise and farewell.
—The Mad King who had trampled and terrified America quietly faded away—
—And then.
"—How was it, Young Lady? The 'me' you chose was strong, wasn't he?"
From beyond the sky—
"—It means the Young Lady who chose me wasn't wrong!"
Clad in futuristic armor, Rikka's strongest warrior.
"—Yeah! Aniki is—so cool!!"
Cú Chulainn gently caught Rikka's diving hug—
The Ultimate Demon Spear Leading to Certain Death: Lugh Balor Gáe Bolg
Type: Anti-Unit / Anti-World Noble Phantasm
Rank: EX
Range: 1-1000
Max Targets: 1-1000
Cú Chulainn's greatest and strongest single thrust, unleashed by mobilizing 'The Evil Eye of the Evil God that Kills at a Glance,' 'The Great God's Carving,' and 'The Beast of Crushing Death Fangs' all at once. An absolute killing demon spear that pierces the 'Causality of Death.'
An overhead kick throw fired from the distant heavens. Transcending even speed, the spear approaches the target seen by Balor's Evil Eye—an inescapable ultimate of death.
Against a person, it pierces 'Causality,' 'Soul,' 'Spirit Core,' and 'Heart' all together; it becomes a single blow of absolute slaughter that 'pierces' and 'kills' invincibility, resurrection, immortality, and concepts alike, flying as a seven-colored demon spear. Defense and evasion are rendered impossible by Balor's ability. It reproduces the original ability of death simply by 'being seen.' However, this effect does not work on the World.
If fired at the 'World' itself, it becomes an Anti-World blow that severs history with a single thrust. It becomes a spear that tears apart the world, kills widespread causality, and severs even reincarnation—a throw of 'World Killing' that reaches the domain of Scáthach. However, this efficacy does not work on people (though since the world is torn apart, arguably it doesn't matter).
—It is also a safety, a final resort for when the Human Order reaches an irreversible situation.
As a price, if he does not protect his whole body with 'The Beast of Crushing Death Fangs' and mobilize 'Primordial Runes' to strengthen his body, he will instantly perish. During this, since he regenerates his body while it disintegrates, Cú Chulainn is assaulted by constant agony at a level that would drive one mad.
Furthermore, because he performs the absurdity of combining Gáe Bolg and Curruid Coinchenn using Command Spells, the magical energy consumption is tremendous, and it cannot be fired consecutively. Once per Singularity conquest is the limit.
—Therefore, he will only unveil this when he has found and acknowledged a master truly 'worthy of serving with his everything.' Simultaneously, only when receiving an 'Order' in the form of 'Three Command Spells.'
—He has no intention of releasing it for his own greed, or even at his teacher's plea.
—Only for the command of the one and only Master who believed in his everything and entrusted her life to him.
To endure all pain and agony, and to live up to expectations, he wields this Ultimate Art.
NEW Legend of Cú Chulainn
Finds a Master he can trust from the bottom of his heart. Together with her, defeats his own self who had gone utterly mad.
Masters the spear of 'God-Slaying,' which he did not reach even in life.
Acceptance of the Command Spell: 'Win, Lancer.'
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