The moment Darnic's body fell to the ground, Heracles on the battlefield shuddered.
The feeling was like a taut thread suddenly snapping.
The magical contract between Master and Master, the invisible bond that held Servant, shattered completely the moment Darnic's heart stopped beating.
Heracles's movements were momentarily delayed.
His combat power dropped a level the instant the contract broke.
The Command Spell ' enhancement effect has also disappeared.
Without his Master continuing to use Command Spell to replenish his power, he could no longer recklessly squander the Nine Lives as if it were a normal attack.
But he hasn't fallen yet.
The android battery beneath the Millennia Fortress is still operating. While its mana supply is not as strong as that of Master Contract empowered by Command Spell, it at least prevents the android from dissipating due to mana depletion.
Heracles regained his footing, his axe and sword held horizontally in front of him.
His gaze swept over Karna and Achilles in front of him.
They can still fight.
Chaos reigned in the central hall.
Darnic's body lay on the ground, his face still bearing the look of resentment.
Several shattered monster carcasses lay scattered around him, purplish-black venom seeping from their broken bodies, leaving a pool of pungent liquid on the floor.
Fiore's hands gripped the armrests of the wheelchair, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.
She has activated the emergency Command Spell transfer technique.
As one of the organizers of the Great Holy Grail War, the Yggdmillennia family naturally had contingency plans in place for such extreme situations.
When Master dies, Command Spell can be transferred to Magecraft with similar bloodlines, provided certain conditions are met.
The problem is that the Servant isn't around.
The transfer of Command Spell requires the Servant's own Spirit Origin as an anchor point to re-establish the contract, and Heracles is currently fighting two top-tier Servant on the battlefield a few kilometers away.
This made the entire transfer process extremely complicated.
Fiore bit her lower lip, her Magic Circuits operating at full speed.
"Faster..."
Caules stood beside her, his face deathly pale.
He glanced at his uncle's body on the ground, forcing himself to look away. Now was not the time for grief.
"Sister, how long does it take to transfer the Command Spell?"
"Normally a few seconds would be enough, but Heracles isn't here... It will take at least ten more minutes to complete the remote anchoring."
Ten minutes.
In Servant -level battles, ten minutes is enough to decide everything.
On the edge of the battlefield.
Jeanne d'Arc stood on high ground, holding a banner, overlooking the entire battlefield.
She noticed Heracles's change immediately.
The great hero's movements slowed down, his attack frequency dropped sharply, and the number of times he used the Nine Lives" skill went from being as frequent as a machine gun to being fired only occasionally.
The contract is broken.
Jeanne d'Arc's eyes narrowed slightly.
The contract between Heracles and his Master has been severed.
Does this mean something happened to Darnic?
What happened inside the fortified village?
Was it made by Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?
Jeanne d'Arc's mind raced for a few seconds.
Almost all of Red Faction's main forces appeared on the front lines: Karna, Achilles, Atalanta.
But Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was not there.
Semiramis was not there either.
A feint to the east while attacking in the west.
So that's how it is; the Red Faction's real objective was never direct confrontation from the start.
Jeanne d'Arc took a deep breath.
My thoughts quickly converged on a single point.
But now is the perfect opportunity.
She had already reached a verbal agreement with the Red Faction.
Join forces to defeat Archer, the Black Faction Mukuro Hoshimiya.
That anomalous being possessing " Michael," that dangerous element who desires a physical body to remain in the mortal world and should not appear in the Great Holy Grail War.
Mukuro Hoshimiya's wish is to obtain a real physical body.
This very desire is a challenge to the order of the Great Holy Grail War.
As Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc had a duty to prevent this anomaly.
Heracles without Master status does not have Magic Resistance skills because his class is Berserker.
It has extremely low resistance to Command Spell.
Jeanne d'Arc made her decision.
"Command it with Command Spell-- "
Her voice echoed clearly and firmly in the night sky.
" Black Berserker Heracles, please immediately assist the Red Faction Servant in defeating Black Archer Mukuro Hoshimiya!"
The Command Spell transformed into a crimson beam of light, traversing the entire battlefield and penetrating directly into Heracles's Spirit Origin core.
Heracles ' body trembled violently.
His eyes suddenly widened.
An irresistible force was surging within me.
Heracles ' feet turned in a different direction against his will.
They turned away from facing Karna and Achilles, and towards the location of Mukuro Hoshimiya.
Heracles ' consciousness was resisting frantically.
His reason told him he should stop. Mukuro Hoshimiya was his companion, the benefactor who sealed his Mad Enhancement, the one who used "closure" to restore his rationality.
But the Command Spell had too strong a binding force on him.
Heracles ' body began to move.
They ran towards Mukuro Hoshimiya's direction.
Karna witnessed this scene.
He looked up at Jeanne d'Arc on the distant high ground.
"Ruler's Command Spell?"
Achilles also stopped his attack. He raised an eyebrow and then let out a low chuckle.
"I see. Ruler has finally made his move. Their target is Archer on the Black Faction?"
Karna did not answer, but his body had already turned in the opposite direction.
The tip of the spear was pointed at the location where Mukuro Hoshimiya was.
Let's go.
Karna's voice was as calm as still water.
Achilles grinned.
Alright.
The two of them vanished from their spot at the same time, flying towards Mukuro Hoshimiya's direction.
Mukuro Hoshimiya is currently confronting Atalanta.
The two remained about fifty meters apart, and neither made the first move.
Atalanta's bowstring remained taut, but the hesitation in her eyes was palpable.
The words spoken in the restaurant earlier that day were still lingering in her mind.
The truth about the Holy Grail.
A deception of wishes.
Her fingers remained on the strings, never letting go.
Mukuro Hoshimiya noticed Atalanta's condition.
Low morale.
Atalanta in this state poses no threat whatsoever.
Suddenly, Mukuro Hoshimiya sensed something.
She turned her head abruptly.
Heracles.
Heracles was charging towards him.
Mukuro Hoshimiya's pupils contracted slightly.
The next second, Heracles was already in front of him.
The axe and sword fell from above.
Mukuro Hoshimiya raised his Michael to block, but the force of the impact caused his knees to buckle, and the ground beneath his feet shattered into a spiderweb-like crater.
Heracles!?
She looked up at the face of the great hero in front of her.
Pain and struggle surged in Heracles ' red eyes.
His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something. But the power of the Command Spell locked his will, allowing his body to execute only one command.
To subdue the Mukuro Hoshimiya.
The axe and sword were raised once more.
Mukuro Hoshimiya jumped back.
Then Karna's spear tip pierced through her right rear.
Almost simultaneously, Achilles ' spear slashed in from the left.
A pincer attack from three sides.
Mukuro Hoshimiya used a portal to dodge Karna's thrust, but ended up running right into Achilles ' attack range.
The spear tip struck her shoulder, which was clad in Astral Dress, producing a piercing metallic clang.
Mukuro Hoshimiya was sent flying, tumbling twice in the air before regaining her balance.
A faint white mark appeared on the surface of the Astral Dress.
It didn't break through the defenses, but the impact was real.
Jeanne d'Arc--!!
Mukuro Hoshimiya roared.
From a more distant location on the battlefield, Jeanne d'Arc strode forward, holding a banner.
Her expression remained completely unchanged.
" Black Archer, Mukuro Hoshimiya. Your existence is the greatest anomaly in this Great Holy Grail War."
"Your wishes, your Noble Phantasm, your abilities—all of these exceed the bounds of what Great Holy Grail War should be."
"As Ruler, I have an obligation to exclude you here."
Are you out of your mind?!
Mukuro Hoshimiya cursed, but had no time to argue with Jeanne d'Arc.
Because Heracles charged again.
Axe and sword swept across.
Mukuro Hoshimiya jumped back, spinning the Michael in his hand to remove the "release" enhancement from Heracles.
But even without the blessing of "letting go," Heracles is still Heracles.
Three demigod-level heroes surrounded a Servant agility was far lower than theirs.