Chapter 634

Rewind to thirty minutes earlier, Shirou, Rider, Haruri, Tiné, and some of the people from the El-Melloi Classroom were passing through the underground, heading towards the battlefield.

Shirou, who was keeping an eye on things from behind, chatted idly with Hippolyta.

Then they talked about the enemies Rider would face next.

"What did you say?"

"The Nine Lives' actually has a flaw."

Shirou repeated.

Rider looked displeased.

What is this guy... talking about?!

What do you even understand about Heracles!?

The Queen thought to herself with resentment, but Shirou spoke up as if he had read her mind.

"Ah, of course I understand, because I know the fighting style of the hero Heracles better than anyone else."

"... You really dare to say that."

Although Hippolyta didn't think "Nine Lives" was a flawless style, Shirou, as an outsider, acted as if he knew everything, which made her want to sneer.

However, Rider noticed that the boy's eyes were incredibly serious—he wasn't joking.

This piqued her interest.

Rider curled the corners of his mouth and said, "Then tell me, what exactly is the flaw in 'Nine Lives'?"

Shirou tilted his head and thought for a while before saying, "Just explaining it would probably be hard to understand."

Let me demonstrate it to you... Projection, start (Trace On).

"... ah?"

Rider stared blankly, wondering if he was hallucinating.

The next second, Shirou produced Noble Phantasm that left her speechless.

That was a greatsword that was too huge for humans, yet too slender for giants.

With its magnificent and sharp design and rich, flowing Divine Aura, Hippolyta vaguely knew the true name of this weapon even on their first meeting.

Mythical Artifact Marmiadoise

It does not appear in any Greek Mythology records related to Heracles, but it is recorded in the legends of the Knights of the Round Table as a phantom Divine Constructs.

Even the Queen of the Amazons was seeing it for the first time, initially thinking it was just a legend.

"... You don't even know this?"

Hippolyta's expression was very complicated.

"Even that guy's rumored strongest weapon is just a small part of your collection?"

Shirou wanted to say that the Mythical Artifact Marmiadoise was among the strongest in his collection, but he didn't say it aloud.

"Alright, time is of the essence... so let me reveal to you the strategy for the 'Nine Lives' build."

"Wait... wait a minute! Is this alright?"

Hippolyta suddenly looked tense.

Shirou countered, "What does it matter?"

Rider whispered, "Copyright stuff... it must be a lot of trouble, right?"

What knowledge did the Holy Grail actually impart to you?

Shirou rolled his eyes. "The copyright expired a long time ago, it's not Alcides's place to claim ownership of the technology."

It wasn't just "Nine Lives"; Shirou had the same attitude when Projection other weapons.

The copyright expired a long time ago.

When "Sunflowers" appeared on television, did they obtain authorization from Van Gogh?

Shirou felt no remorse whatsoever for Projection other people's Noble Phantasm and stealing their combat experience.

"Oh... okay, alright then, please take care of me."

Hippolyta was relieved to hear that she wouldn't be looked down upon by the black demon because of this.

She swallowed hard, watching Shirou's movements intently as she nodded.

In the next instant, a nine-hit combo that had annihilated many monsters of Greek Mythology unfolded before the Queen's eyes.

"... call."

Shirou let out a long breath and then asked, "So, did you understand?"

"..."

The Amazons Queen stared blankly, her lips parted slightly.

... It would be a miracle if anyone could understand it!!

If that attack had been directed at her, she would have died eight times over by now, Rider thought.

"I just can't do anything with you."

Shirou sighed helplessly.

"In that case, I'll lend you my hidden Noble Phantasm."

Volume 8: Chapter 395 Shirou, entangled with a troublesome woman again.

The skies above, now a battlefield of the Age of Gods, are beginning to emanate the aura of Magical Beast from the great battle Servant.

The Nemean Lion Pelt, which wrapped around Alcides' entire body, exuded the aura unique to Magical Beast, and then that aura materialized—

Rider frowned slightly as he looked at the swarm of mechanical Strange Bird blocking his way.

"The Strange Bird of Lake Stymphalus..."

That was Magical Beast that was included in one of the twelve trials of the Great Hero.

Hippolyta's mother once told her as a child that these mechanical Magical Beast were originally her father's wingmen unit, the god of Ares.

Their numbers have increased more than tenfold compared to what we saw a few days ago.

--I see.

--The Reincarnation Pandora "Noble Phantasm Reincarnation Pandora" is definitely not without risk or cost.

The Noble Phantasm can be considered a manifestation of the Heroic Spirit's Spirit Origin.

To commit such an atrocity as stealing Noble Phantasm, the price—or rather, to forcibly link the Spirit Origin of enemies and allies—must be that the spirit origins of both Spirit Origin partially merge and become interlocked.

Alcides stole a portion of Jack the Ripper's Spirit Avatar origin.

This Jack the Ripper seems to possess the ability to create clones, as demonstrated in his battle against Cerberus.

Alcides, who fused with the Spirit Origin, also inherited some of the ability to create clones, increasing the number of Strange Bird tenfold.

Even without Ares's blessing, the Strange Bird of Lake Stymphalus, in their current numbers alone, could give ordinary Heroic Spirit a hard time.

Hippolyta and her horse were thus overwhelmed by a horde of monsters.

"The betraying Queen."

A distorted magical power, resembling Black Mud, began to gather on the bow in Alcides' hand.

"With this arrow, a strike from the pinnacle of martial arts, I will bury you along with your father's pet."

As he spoke, the dark demon spread Black Mud all over his body and raised his beloved bow, which was nocked nine arrows.

"------" Nine Lives (Nine Lives)"

With a deafening roar that shook the very air, nine arrows were launched.

Alcides's target was Rider, who was surrounded by the Strange Bird; he intended to annihilate both the enemy and his familiar.

Having long since fallen into demonhood, he naturally felt no pity for a mere familiar, especially since it was the pet of a god who was his enemy.

His goal was to destroy both the Strange Bird of Lake Stymphalus and Hippolyta.

The arrows, coated with Hydra's venom, transformed into serpent phantoms, just as they had in the past.

The Hydra coiled and roared, then fiercely pounced on the flock of Strange Bird and Hippolyta, beginning to devour them.

That's it.

No matter how good the Master's support Rider received, she could not possibly survive her own "Nine Lives," Alcides was absolutely certain.

Just as the demon was preparing to refocus his attention on dealing with Humbaba.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh--!!"

Alcides looked surprised, not expecting that Hippolyta, who was being devoured by the serpent, would still have the strength to roar instead of screaming.

But this is meaningless.

"Nine Lives" is a deadly nine-hit combo; even if you survive the first hit, there are still eight more hits left.

Even if one possesses absolute immortality--

The Hydra venom applied to arrowheads is an absolute Natural Enemy to Greece Heroic Spirit, especially those with Divine Bloodline.

It is not only fatal, but can also bring unbearable suffering.

Even Heracles and the sage Chiron chose to give up their lives because they could not endure the snake venom.

Was Hippolyta intending to suppress the excruciating pain inflicted by the Hydra with a roar?

Shouting was pointless, Alcides sneered, knowing better than anyone.

After all, Alcides had done something similar in his lifetime, and even he couldn't endure the pain of snake venom.

Alcides felt a surge of respect and decided to witness Hippolyta's heroic death firsthand.

However—he sensed something was amiss:

"That shield is...!?"

In the name of Ajax (Aias der Tera)...

"Rho Aias - The Rho Aias"

In an instant, the serpent's phantom was squeezed to one side, and seven enormous petals opened in the sky.

The Amazons Queen sang of the Shield of Ajax, which in Greek Mythology protected against all things.

--During the Troy War, the hero Ajax used it to deflect Hector's javelin.

Later, its scope expanded to include "Conceptual Armament" that prided themselves on having absolute defense against projectile weapons, and its existence was elevated.

This is the Conceptual Armament that Rider received from Shirou before fighting the Avengers—a secret weapon powerful enough to defeat "Nine Lives".

Normally, Hippolyta, as Servant, would not be able to use the Shield of Ajax.

But here we should thank Alcides for demonstrating to Shirou.

Shirou drew inspiration from the operating Principle of the "Usurper of the Blowing Heavenly Wind"—

If Hippolyta were to transfer the "Spirit Origin that records the Noble Phantasm information" to her, she too could use the Conceptual Armament Projection Shirou.

As for how the Queen obtained a portion of Shirou's Spirit Avatar Origin...

Let's not delve too deeply into this part; Hippolyta simply couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

Although it's embarrassing, all of this is for the purpose of defeating Alcides.

The only weapon capable of countering "Nine Lives" is the Shield of Ajax, which is marketed for its ability to specifically target projectiles.

"▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇--!!"

The Hydra roared as it devoured the seven petals, beginning its destructive rampage with terrifying force.

In an instant, one of the seven was pierced.

At the cost of consuming one arrow, the serpent phantom continued its charge.

Soon, the second, third, fourth... all six petals scattered and withered.