Margit, the Fell Omen

A tall, terrifying figure slowly emerged atop the wall's tower.

Beneath a tattered brown fur cloak, the outlines of knotted muscles were faintly visible. In his hand, he held an enormous staff shaped like a greatsword.

Amid a thick mane of white hair, twisted, jagged Omen horns stood clearly visible, while grayish-white fur covered his entire body.

Margit, the Fell Omen.

The nightmare of countless Tarnished. The densely packed ownerless weapons stuck in the ground were proof enough that innumerable Tarnished had died by his hand.

An undisputed powerhouse.

Boom!

As the ground trembled, Margit leaped down from the tower, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The Fell Omen gripped his sword-like staff and raised an arm, pointing it from afar at Lu Mingfei by the gate.

The battle began.

Following the old knight's teaching that "anyone who talks big before a fight is an idiot," Lu Mingfei gripped his sword hilt with both hands and assumed a stance. A gale rapidly gathered around the blade.

Taking advantage of the time the Fell Omen spent striking a pose, Lu Mingfei swung his sword, and an invisible blade of Storm instantly reached his enemy.

Squelch!

Though the strike landed, it left only a shallow wound on the Fell Omen's body.

"So, you are a descendant of Storm..."

The Fell Omen's voice was stern and cold.

"There are still remnants who have yet to submit!"

After charging forward at astonishing speed, he leaped high into the air and thrust his sword down at Lu Mingfei with a shrieking gust of wind!

Despite the imposing momentum, it was not difficult to evade.

With such an obvious opening move, if Lu Mingfei still could not dodge it, he might as well go back to the Church of Dragon Communion and reflect on his mistakes!

Lu Mingfei rolled forward, dodging the Fell Omen's plunging smash, then rose and followed up with the skill Spinning Slash.

The greatsword hacked fiercely into the Fell Omen's back, tearing a huge gash straight through his cloak.

With a pained grunt, the Omen turned with his staff raised, carving a sharp arc through the air. Lu Mingfei retreated swiftly, yet his chest armor still received a mark.

Lu Mingfei tried to widen the distance and cast an incantation, but two golden daggers came whistling at him one after the other, so fast that they caught him entirely off guard.

One grazed past Lu Mingfei's head, while the other sank viciously into his thigh.

Blood sprayed as the golden dagger pierced completely through Lu Mingfei's muscle, and agonizing pain instantly flooded his mind.

He swiftly pulled out a Flask and drank the Tears.

He could have endured an injury elsewhere, but a wounded leg severely affected both agility and combat ability. Lu Mingfei had no choice but to use his precious Crimson Tears immediately.

The instant Lu Mingfei drank the potion, Margit closed in. The enormous staff whirled through the air, and after striking down once, it followed with another consecutive blow.

Lu Mingfei ducked beneath the first strike; for the second, he had no choice but to raise his sword and block.

Clang!

The staff, made of some unknown material, collided with the Storm Knight Greatsword and produced a piercing sound. The overwhelming force nearly knocked Lu Mingfei off his feet.

Strength had never been Lu Mingfei's strong suit.

Judging by the tactical mindset the old knight had taught him, he had to escape this disadvantaged position immediately.

Storm Foot!

Lu Mingfei shouted lowly. As his foot stomped down, a domain of Storm instantly appeared.

Boom!

A sudden gale swirled around the Tarnished, making Margit's body sway.

Lu Mingfei seized the opportunity. As a blood-red mark appeared in his palm, the Dragon Communion Incantation was completed in an instant.

A massive phantom dragon head appeared in midair and viciously bit down on the Fell Omen's shoulder.

Squelch—

The fur cloak was completely torn apart, and the dragon's teeth sank viciously into flesh as blood spilled out.

Though the Fell Omen was thick-skinned and ordinary weapons could barely break his defense, how sharp were a dragon's teeth?

Wrathful, Margit spun with tremendous force. His thick, muscular tail lashed out like a whip with a howl, so fast it nearly left an afterimage.

Slowed by casting the Dragon Communion Incantation, Lu Mingfei could not evade in time and was sent flying by the Fell Omen's tail in an instant.

With the clear sound of ribs breaking, Lu Mingfei nearly passed out from the pain. Intercostal nerves ran along the ribs; the pain of broken ribs was nearly unbearable for an ordinary person.

Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth, took a fierce swig from the Flask, then performed an ugly donkey roll and once again avoided the Fell Omen's plunging smash.

As his wounds healed, the pain in Lu Mingfei's body eased as well.

"...Oh, not to be underestimated.

The Tarnished are indeed descendants of warriors."

Margit spoke indifferently. Though he was praising his opponent, there was not the slightest trace of respect in his tone.

As his words fell, the staff suddenly burst with dazzling light, and a massive hammer of light condensed in the Fell Omen's hand. He leaped high into the air, the hammer's shadow nearly engulfing Lu Mingfei.

Boom!

"Tarnished, cast aside that foolish ambition. The Erdtree is unbreakable..."

"Lost again."

Lu Mingfei scratched at his messy bird's-nest hair, which was practically turning him into a savage, but he was not particularly discouraged.

This was his twenty-third challenge against Margit, the Fell Omen, and also his twenty-third defeat.

He had been hammered to death six times, stabbed to death by the staff ten times, accidentally had a dagger plunged into his head once and died instantly, and accidentally fallen off a cliff once...

After all, even a seemingly formidable magic knight like Emiya Shirou had needed a full ninety-six attempts to defeat Margit, the Fell Omen. What were a mere twenty-three deaths?

Still, Lu Mingfei did not mean to look down on Emiya Shirou.

He had a rough understanding now that, among the Tarnished who reached this place, his current strength probably placed him among the stronger ranks.

That was entirely thanks to the boost from his Dragon Bloodline and the old knight's almost perverse training methods.

He could hardly imagine how badly he would have been beaten while fighting Margit, the Fell Omen, if he had not encountered the old knight.

To be fair, Lu Mingfei had become a qualified warrior inside and out.

From combat experience and tactical ability to his capacity to withstand pressure... he had not failed the old knight's teachings.

But Margit, the Fell Omen, was simply too powerful. The fact that such a powerhouse was willingly guarding Godrick's gate immediately made Lu Mingfei look down on Godrick five points less.

"If even an Omen is this strong, just how strong must Godrick, the so-called weakest demigod, be? And what about the real demigods? Wouldn't they be able to destroy heaven and earth in seconds..."

Lu Mingfei sighed, deeply worried about the future of being a Tarnished, and concluded that this was a job with absolutely no prospects.

"You're just a gatekeeper. Why are you working so damn hard? Does Godrick even pay your social insurance and housing fund?

I don't even have social insurance and housing fund.

Not to mention, I haven't even met my theoretical superior, those whatever-the-hell Fingers..."

"Forget it."

Lu Mingfei stood and patted the dust-covered armor.

After twenty-three deaths, he had basically figured out the Fell Omen's attack patterns.

"Come on, old bastard."

He muttered:

"What was that line again? I'm going to chop off your horns and use them as wine cups."