Metatron's light cannon narrowly outperformed the Shooting a Hundred Gods.
But it was only a slight advantage.
Heracles ' arrow had already consumed more than 90% of the energy of the light cannon.
The remaining aftershocks of the light cannon continued to propel towards Heracles, but their power had significantly diminished.
Heracles removed the Apollo's Divine Bow from his hand.
The golden longbow vanished into the void.
He did not dodge.
Because he doesn't need to dodge.
A suit of armor appeared on his body.
It is a set of golden breastplates.
The armor's surface is as smooth as a mirror, with flame-like patterns flowing across its golden surface. Every seam of the breastplate has undergone the ultimate forging process, so perfect that it looks as if it were carved directly from a single piece of gold.
That was armor forged by Hephaestus, the god of fire and forging.
In Greece mythology, Hephaestus forged weapons and armor for Heracles.
This golden breastplate is one of the most outstanding works, capable of withstanding attacks from Divine Construct.
at the same time.
A shield appeared on Heracles ' left arm.
The shield is round, about one meter in diameter.
The front of the shield is carved with a relief.
The face of Medusa with snakes for hair.
Every single snake hair was incredibly lifelike; Medusa's lips were slightly parted, and her empty eyes radiated a petrifying magic.
Athena's Shield. Aegis.
According to legend, Athena embedded Medusa's head in her shield.
Heracles, as Zeus's most favored son of a demigod and the hero who eventually ascended to Olympus, was entitled to borrow this divine shield.
Heracles raised Athena's shield.
The aftershocks of the beam cannon struck the surface of the Aegis.
A strange light flashed in the eyes of the Medusa relief.
The holy light was deflected.
The golden-white beam of light changed direction the instant it struck the Aegis, and was ejected diagonally into the depths of space, disappearing into the endless darkness.
Heracles stood still, motionless.
Metatron sat on his throne, watching this scene unfold.
The seventy-two wings folded slightly.
She didn't say anything.
But Heracles understood her silence.
That's a recognition from one strong person to another.
Heracles raised Apollo's bow once more.
The next round of confrontation is about to begin.
On the other side of their battlefield.
The battle between Karna and Mash has entered a delicate phase.
Karna the Raiment of the Three Gods is too strong.
It's not the kind of strength where one particular ability is outstanding, but rather a complete and overwhelming dominance across all dimensions, brought to an extremely high level.
Attack power.
The triple divine flames are attached to the Shemesh, yielding to death, each strike carrying the triple effect of solar fire, flames of destruction, and radiant protection.
It's not just physical destruction, but also conceptual burning.
speed.
Surya's solar Divinity granted him the ability to travel at near the speed of light.
The trajectory of the spear tip left a crimson-gold afterimage in the void.
defense.
Vishnu's protective power formed an invisible shield around him.
Although it lacks the damage reduction of one-tenth that of the Golden Armor, the direct protection of the Three Gods' Power is even more flexible in some aspects than the Golden Armor.
Faced with an offensive of this caliber, Mash could only defend.
Every time her massive cross-shaped shield blocked Karna's thrust, she would be jolted back several steps.
The debris beneath her feet shattered on the soles of her boots. Her arms began to go numb from the continuous impact.
But she's holding on.
There was no fear in those purple eyes, only focus.
Because she was waiting for something.
The Holy Sword Loading.
Lord Chaldeas – The Holy Sword Loading after the release of the Shield of Human Order That Builds Hope.
In the previous battle, she had already used the Shield of Human Order to withstand the shockwave from the shattering of the moon.
That successful release prepared her for the conditions to Holy Sword Loading.
The loading is now complete.
She can start now.
The Sword of Human Order That Validates Hope.
Rayproof Kyrielight.
Her strongest Noble Phantasm.
But the problem is that she can't find an opportunity to release her emotions.
This Noble Phantasm requires transforming the shield into a cannon shape. Although the transformation process is short, she will lose the shield's basic defense during those few seconds.
Karna's attacks were almost uninterrupted.
Gunfire erupted like a torrential downpour.
The interval between each shot shall not exceed 0.1 seconds.
Under such a dense onslaught, even a defensive gap of 0.5 seconds would be enough for Karna's spear tip to pierce her body.
Mash parried while simultaneously thinking.
She needs a break.
Even if it's just for two seconds.
Two seconds is enough.
Karna's spear thrust forward again.
This time, the trajectory changed. The spear tip suddenly changed direction halfway through, transforming from a frontal thrust into a side sweep.
Mash raised her shield and parried.
The sound of metal clashing echoed in the void.
She was swept away thousands of meters by the force of the sweep, her boots carving two deep marks on the surface of the debris.
After regaining her balance, Mash, panting heavily, looked at Karna opposite her.
Karna stopped his attack.
He stood there, his spear held upright at his side.
His crimson eyes were fixed on Mash.
There was a two-second silence.
Then he spoke.
You're waiting for an opportunity.
It's not a question; it's a statement.
The Knowledge of the Poor.
Karna's inherent ability is to see into people's hearts.
He noticed Mash's condition from the very beginning.
While she was desperately defending, she was constantly looking for an opportunity to unleash some kind of attack.
Her eyes held anxiety and focus, but not despair.
That means she has a card in her hand—a card that could change the game, but she just can't play it.
Karna looked at her.
He saw it.
The power hidden within the shield.
The Holy Sword Loading.
That was a means of attack that posed a significant threat to him.
If he continues this high-pressure offensive, Mash will eventually collapse from exhaustion.
In that case, she would never have the chance to play that card.
He will win.
But that kind of victory.
That's not what he wanted.
Karna thrust his spear, tip pointing downwards, into the shards beneath his feet.
Mash's pupils contracted slightly as she watched this scene.
"Unleash your ultimate move," Karna said calmly, as if discussing the weather.
"The card in your hand."
I want to see its whole appearance.
The gun was pulled out of its fragments and held horizontally in front of him.
The triple flames rose once more.
"Then, I will catch it with all my might."
"This is the kind of battle I've been hoping for."
The hero who gives alms.
Naturally noble and pure, yearning to fight against the strong.
In his value system, crushing an opponent who cannot fight back is just as shameful as running away from a fight.
He was willing to give his opponent a chance to unleash their strongest move.
Mash's hand trembled slightly.
Then she took a deep breath.
"Thanks."
She did not hesitate.
Such an opportunity will not come twice.
The giant cross-shaped shield was raised high.
The shield began to deform.
The structure of the metal is reorganized, extended, and stretched under the influence of magic.
The shape of the Round Table shield has disappeared.
Instead, it took on a completely different form.
A giant spear.
Or it could be called a cannon.
The black cannon barrel extends from the center of the shield, its surface covered with intricate Magic Circuits patterns.
The cannon's muzzle was large enough for a person to pass through. A line of small text was engraved on the side of the cannon.
Black Barrel Replica.
The Black Barrel Replica Gun Barrel.
A replica of one of the seven great weapons of the Atlas Institute.
A fusion of Galahad's Round Table shield and the Black Barrel Replica Gun Barrel.
This is the true form of the Sword of Human Order That Validates Hope.
The Magic Circuits inside the cannon began to operate.
The energy from the Holy Sword Loading surged from the shield's core into the cannon.
at the same time.
Something that wasn't magic was also being injected into the cannon.
That is something more fundamental than magic. It is the entire historical weight of human civilization's survival to this day.
The muzzle began to glow.
Mash's purple eyes reflected the light from the cannon muzzle.
She aimed her cannon at Karna, thousands of meters away.
His finger tightened on the trigger.
"A testament to hope--"
The vibrations from the cannon traveled throughout her entire body.
" The Sword of Human Order!!"
A blue-white beam of light shot out from the cannon muzzle.
That beam of light was different from Metatron's Holy Light Cannon.
Mash's light is a light that belongs uniquely to humanity.
It is the light that is formed from the entire history of human civilization, from ancient times to the present, from ignorance to awakening, and from despair to rise up time and time again.
The essence of the black gun is activated at the core of the light pillar.
Measure the scale of the target's existence. Read its lifespan. Calculate its existence weight.
Then, the concept of "death" is imprinted onto the target.
Ignore defense. Ignore Divinity. Ignore immortality. Ignore regeneration.
Special operations against "human threats".
The blue-white beam of light flew straight toward Karna.
Karna looked at the light.
Blue and white light shone in his crimson pupils.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Just as I thought."
"Very good."
He raised the Vasavi Shakti.
The triple divine flames converged to their limit at the tip of the spear.
Red, gold, and blue.
The three colors of flame intertwined, forming a blazing sphere of light.
The temperature is rising.
The surrounding debris began to melt.
The debris further away began to evaporate.
Mash, 500 meters away, felt the heat.
Even from this distance, I could still feel a burning pain on my skin.
Karna thrust his spear forward.
The ball of light at the tip of the gun detached from the gun body and flew head-on towards the blue-white beam of light.
Two beams of light collided in the void.
Blue and white with red gold.
The light of humanity and the light of God.
A burst of mixed-color flash erupted at the center of the collision.