Chapter 328

After Romani's call rang out, David already knew some of the details, explained.

"But why would the Argonauts come after our ship? It's almost like..."

Mash paused, the unspoken meaning of which was simple: 'She was treated as an enemy'.

"Because they've got their eyes on the Captain."

Kiyohime sighed. "In any case, let's retreat for now. If the Captain can exert his strength, dealing with these guys will be a piece of cake, but... let's retreat, Captain."

"..."

To this, Melusine paused for a moment, and could only nod.

Although she was somewhat uncomfortable fighting in the sea because she had died there before, it was just discomfort; she could still continue fighting. However, the water in the Sea of Okeanos had been specially modified by that bastard Typhon using the Holy Grail, so she would inevitably faint if she came into contact with it.

Okeanos is one of the primordial gods in the earliest Homeric Epics. Together with his wife Tethys, he is the progenitor of all other gods. In Hesiod's system, he is classified as a second-generation god who arose from the primordial gods. He is the son of Gaia, the Earth Mother, and Uranus, the sky god.

In classical Greek Mythology Okeanos's position as the ruler of the sea was replaced by Poseidon, and in most Europe languages, the word for sea comes from Okeanos.

Thanks to the legend, Typhon, also a son of Gaia, was strengthened in this place. Not to mention that after obtaining the Holy Grail and learning about Albion's weakness, she made the water quality of the sea special and could easily beat Melusine, which could be considered revenge for the beating she was given before coming to the Sea of Okeanos.

In fact, the ship was built by Kiyohime. While fishing on the ship, she accidentally caught Melusine, who had fainted in the sea. After waking up, Melusine took over the ship on her own initiative. If Kiyohime hadn't gotten along well with her when discussing love, Kiyohime wouldn't have given up so easily.

"Indeed, without the Captain's strength, we are clearly no match for them. After all, they are the greatest hero of Greece."

Because there are Servant there whose mere glance is enough to send chills down the spines of most Magecraft, causing their Magic Circuits to tremble.

His mere aura was enough to dominate the atmosphere; a few seconds of eye contact was enough to make onlookers feel the sheer terror of his presence.

Heracles.

For Ritsuka, just not fainting was a blessing; her trembling legs were unavoidable, after all, merely looking at it from afar evoked a fear far exceeding that of seeing Fafnir... Wait, is that Fafnir overhead?

Only then did the Orange-Haired Girl realize that besides the imposing Heracles, there were also enormous dragons circling above the ship, exactly like Fafnir who had assisted them in the France Singularity.

Why is Fafnir here again?

However, before the girl could voice her confusion, her attention was diverted by the voice of the blond man who followed.

"Alright, finally we can get close enough to see their faces clearly. What a bunch of pathetic people."

The blond man, Zhan, opened his arms before Heracles and a young girl, saying, "Nice to meet you, you who seek to correct the evil in the world, we are the 'Argonauts,' righteous heroes dedicated to upholding the right Order of the world."

"Medea Witch of Colchis".

"Heracles, the strongest hero in the world."

"Finally, there are the leaders mentioned above, the heroes of the four seas, who are none other than myself, Jason."

Of course, Kiyohime looked speechless at Jason's smugness.

"Justice? Wang? You're clearly a scumbag inside and out."

"Heh, Pride woman, you're not respectful enough to me. But oh well, a king has the magnanimity."

Jason casually tossed his blond hair across his forehead. "Hand over Melusine to me, and the king will generously let you go. With Heracles around, you're quite afraid, aren't you?"

Jason was telling the truth; at least for Ritsuka, simply standing up was already very difficult.

However, she still raised her head, looking directly at the Berserker Class Heracles and Jason, and said firmly:

"We refuse! There is no way we will hand over our comrades!"

"Haha, really? Really...?"

Jason burst into wild laughter, "How brave! Indeed, like a hero, so dashing!"

But the next second his eyes turned fierce.

"A bunch of trash, still so smug? Watch me wipe you all out! Heracles! Let them see the difference in our power!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp, piercing sound cut through the air, drowning out the sound of the sea.

Looking around, Heracles had already leaped over and was about to grab Ritsuka and Mash's heads. If no one stopped them, one of them would be blasted away, and the other would be bleeding from the head.

However, while Heracles was fast, Melusine was even faster.

Its tiny body and outstretched hands seemed almost nonexistent compared to the Giants Heracles, yet it somehow managed to slam Heracles to the floor with unimaginable strength.

"Heh heh, Medea and Fafnir, both of you, charge!"

Even though Jason forced a smile, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine when he saw the tyrannical face of Melusine. He was terrified, as if he were seeing the exceptionally terrifying eyes of Typhon, who had promised him something. But thankfully, they both knew Melusine's weakness.

So the Witch and the dragon, acting on Jason's orders, stirred up a great flood on the sea and rushed toward the ship where Melusine was.

Even though Melusine could use Od to separate herself from the seawater, she felt increasingly drowsy.

"Damn Typhon, I'll skin you alive someday..."

Melusine was furious. Her few weaknesses had been spread around by that damned Typhon, which she considered herself the strongest. How could she accept this? She had already mentally Typhon a thousand times over.

So, as before, Melusine fell straight to the floor after Kiyohime splashed water on her, but in the end, she still threw Heracles onto Argo's ship, causing turmoil.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kiyohime quickly led Ritsuka and the others to retreat by boat.

"We've escaped from the Argonauts, but what do we do next?"

David asked.

"Our Captain, as our greatest asset, has glaring weaknesses, and apart from that, none of us are a match for any of Heracles..."

"So what? Right now, we only have one thing to do: defeat the Argonauts."

Ritsuka was still trembling unconsciously, but she still said it firmly.

"Yes, that's the version of events..."

David nodded. "But I probably do have a way to deal with Heracles. The timing was just so coincidental... oh well, whatever."

Then, the green-haired man stood up and looked at an island not far away.

"Right there."

"The Ark of the Covenant, this is the Holy Relic I have been searching for."

After David led Ritsuka and the others to the island, they followed a road to a dilapidated Temple.

"I never expected it to be the Ark of the Covenant..."

Kiyohime covered her mouth with her folded fan. "The Holy Relic recorded in the Old Testament Bible is the box in which Moses received God's instructions to seal the Tablets of the Ten Commandments. It is said that whoever opens it will be punished, and it is a prop that often appears in stories of 'never to be opened'."

"Kiyohime, you know so much!"

Ritsuka, carrying the unconscious Melusine on her back, couldn't help but admire the green-haired girl's extensive knowledge of history.

"Hehe, of course. I'm striving to become a Perfection lady, and even those of you here are the best students from the first term of 'Tamamo Classroom' and 'Yama Kitchen'."

Kiyohime narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly.

"In Japan, the story of the Ark of the Covenant is equivalent to the 'Tamatebako' in the Urashima Taro legend."

"So, Archer, what's this about using the Ark of the Covenant against Heracles? And how do you even know about the Ark of the Covenant? That's very suspicious."

"If he comes into contact with the Ark of the Covenant, he will surely be destroyed."

David sighed, "The Ark of the Covenant was originally Noble Phantasm Present World with me. Now I will not hide it from you, but I was the king who transported the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem during my lifetime, that is, King David."

However, the shock David expected did not appear on the faces of the others, except for Kiyohime, who burned his hair into an afro because of his lie.

"Haha, what a terrifying temperature... But since I can't move the Ark of the Covenant —I'd die if I touched it—I can only stay here with the Protection Captain."

At the same time, in the command center of Chaldea, Romani, lost in thought, heard the voices of the staff below:

"Acting Commander? I have a plan regarding this matter."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Make Fujimaru prepared to die."

Subsequently, through Romani's relay, everyone learned the plan: Fujimaru would carry Melusine on his back, then lure Heracles ashore so that he could come into contact with the Ark of the Covenant and destroy him... Ritsuka agreed to this, while Melusine, still unconscious, was 'forced' to agree.

A few minutes later, seeing the Argo reappear on the sea, Kiyohime, David, and David others launched their Noble Phantasm, forcing Jason to let Heracles leap over in order to protect himself.

"It's time to begin--"

As Ritsuka was speaking, the earth suddenly trembled violently, and its surface shattered.

They got away.

Just as she was about to speak, some Od light fell between Ritsuka and the others. With just a slight lift of her gaze, the girl could face Heracles, who remained unharmed despite being attacked by David, Kiyohime, and Mash.

Although she was very surprised, Ritsuka still carried Melusine and ran towards the Ark of the Covenant first, because if they failed, they would really die.

The trees swayed, casting shadows on Ritsuka's shadow.

Is it too late?

Get there!

Disregarding everything, letting her body's functions burn uncontrollably, the Orange-Haired Girl mentally encouraged herself.

The voices of Chaldea kept echoing in my ears.

"Heracles is only 500 meters away! Excellent! At this speed, you can escape!"

"We're almost at the Ark of the Covenant! Keep going!"

"Heracles is here! He's in sight!"

"Don't turn around! You'll be overwhelmed by their presence!"

At this moment, the girl's face was covered in sweat, snot, and even drool was dripping from her nose, but she had no time to care about any of that.

I just kept telling myself to keep running.

Suddenly, Ritsuka couldn't breathe, her body defied her will, and she became unable to move.

This was the first time the great hero Heracles unleashed his pure killing intent in this Singularity; the pressure was so immense that even Servant trembled, and ordinary humans simply could not withstand it.

Ritsuka even thought that this was not a place for her to stay. Her instincts tried to escape the terror, and she even wanted to sever her consciousness.

Tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes, because of the presence behind me, even though I couldn't see it.

However, the next moment, the girl used her last bit of strength and, despite the excruciating pain in her legs, she jumped up.

No, it's not over yet. My Answer, and what kind of expression should I wear now...?

I can't smile like David, nor can I fight like Captain Melusine. Even so, everyone trusted me and came this far together. It's not out of responsibility or obligation; I just wanted to repay their trust...

Even if I can't fight and don't have great power, I'm still everyone's Master! Besides, I haven't made Novia my Servant yet! He hasn't called me Master yet!

That's all the reason.

In fact, Ritsuka had been trembling ever since the Fuyuki Singularity, and what was even more terrifying was that she had been trembling even more ever since she learned of the Human Order Incineration.

Suppressing the instinct to fear that arises from dread is a form of courage for humans who live in the present.

The next instant, a gust of wind blew by.

Heracles rushed past the Sacrificial Altar Ritsuka jumped over, but then came to an abrupt halt.

"... It failed."

Romani, watching all this unfold from Chaldea, gritted his teeth. "Fujimaru, Mash, forced Spiritron Transfer in thirty seconds. No arguments. You, Mash, and everyone else did their best, but we still couldn't defeat him. That's reality. We can't pay the price of losing you all for one failure."

"Wait, Doctor, please wait. If we retreat now, what about the others, including the missing Consultant— "

"Prepare to retreat! I told you to hurry!"

The doctor's words were not directed at Mash and Ritsuka, but at the Chaldea operators.

He certainly found this situation difficult to accept, but...

Romani lowered his head helplessly.

"Yes, we lost..."

No, not yet.

David, covered in blood, charged straight at Heracles from behind and wrestled with him.

That thing originally belonged to 'God,' to that great being in heaven. To commit such an unjust act before this Divinity object—what a joke! Therefore, at least if given the chance, I will take action.

Besides, I also need to show him my "handsome side"!

"You're not the only one Blessing by God. Also, although I can't move the box, I can still move it a little."