On a hill northwest of the ice field, azure Light Arrows shot out at an estimated Mach 4, then rained down on Illya and Heracles like a sudden downpour.
The autonomous evasion magecraft Illyasviel had already set up reacted immediately, but someone else was faster!
"ROAAAR!!!"
Heracles swept Illya behind him, then drew the Axe-Sword fashioned from a temple foundation stone that had been cut and solidified. With a furious roar, he met the rain of light head-on!
His previously steady presence turned as wild as a tsunami. With just one hand, Heracles swung the massive Axe-Sword as easily as a twig picked up by the roadside. Amid the clang of clashing metal and stone, he cut down every azure arrow, and the northwestern hill fell silent, with no further sign of movement.
Illya did not believe the enemy's probing attack would end there. With her back against Heracles, she scanned their surroundings, trying to find some clue in the pure white ice field. Yet there seemed to be nothing besides her footprints and his.
Looking back along the path they had retraced, she saw only her shoe prints and the tracks Heracles had left walking barefoot through the snow.
But somehow, the number of bare footprints seemed to have suddenly increased. Had Heracles started taking shorter steps... no, those were not his footprints!
There was another set of barefoot tracks, a size smaller than Heracles's. With the sun yet to rise, they were impossible to distinguish without a close look.
In other words, someone else was nearby-an enemy!
"Berserker!"
At Illya's cry, Heracles immediately understood. He swung his sword several times toward the spot where the smaller footprints had vanished, and the roaring waves of air successfully forced their opponent out of hiding.
"ROAR!"
Heracles threw his head back