Crack!
Amid the billowing dust, two agile figures, one black and one red, were blasted backward by a powerful surge of mana. At the same time, a clear metallic tremor rang out.
A sharp sword mark cut through the Golden Armor of Karna, the Son of the Sun God, leaving a bloody wound across his chest.
Likewise, a vicious gash appeared along the chest of Siegfried, the Great Hero whose head bore dragon horns and whose body was covered in scale-like patterns of light. His sliced flesh curled outward like a baby's tiny mouth.
The Dragon Slayer merely lowered his head for a glance at his chest before paying it no further attention.
Fortunately, they were only superficial wounds. Nothing serious.
His ability to fight on even terms owed much to another of his talents.
Dragon Blood Armor.
—A Noble Phantasm that materialized the legend of Siegfried bathing in a dragon's blood.
All attacks below Rank B were incapable of harming him. For attacks above Rank B, damage was calculated after deducting an amount equivalent to Rank B. An ordinary Rank A attack would become A minus B—in other words, a blow equivalent to Rank E. When a Noble Phantasm launched an attack, it activated defense equivalent to Rank B+.
However, Noble Phantasms and skills such as anti-dragon effects could still affect him.
Moreover, B+ was only when he took the attack head-on. If he used the "Phantasmal Greatsword, Balmung" defensively, the damage could be reduced even further. Siegfried, fighting with all his strength in a defensive battle, was practically a moving fortress.
However, the one place with no protection at all was the part of his back covered by a Bodhi Tree leaf. Once injured there, it was extremely difficult to repair even with healing magecraft.
His exposed back