Benkei.
A voice came from below.
Benkei his head.
Amakusa Shirou was lying there.
The wound on my left shoulder is still bleeding.
But his eyes were clear.
You don't need to worry about me.
"But--"
"Of everyone here, I'm the weakest in melee combat."
Amakusa Shirou's voice was calm.
"To protect someone as useless as me, and to waste your time, truly makes my conscience uneasy."
Benkei looked at Amakusa Shirou.
"But if I leave, you will—"
"The worst-case scenario is that I'll activate my Noble Phantasm and perish together with these monsters."
When Amakusa Shirou said this, there was even a slight smile on his lips.
He was prepared for the worst.
Benkei looked directly into Amakusa Shirou's eyes.
There was not a trace of hesitation in his eyes.
Unwavering belief.
"... Understood."
Benkei nodded.
Then he turned around.
They rushed towards Ushiwakamaru's direction.
" Yoshitsune! Benkei has arrived--!"
Ushiwakamaru heard Benkei's voice.
But the defending monsters are almost here.
She needs to be faster...
Amakusa Shirou lay beside the rock.
They lost Benkei's protection.
He looked at the approaching monsters.
Ready to activate my Noble Phantasm at any time.
but.
The monsters completely ignored him.
A dozen or so Mushussu ran past him without even glancing at him.
It was as if they were unwilling to waste their time and energy on him, a weakling.
They all surrounded Ushiwakamaru.
"..."
Amakusa Shirou's expression froze.
It turns out I was overthinking things.
These monsters probably never even considered me a threat.
On the city wall.
Tomoe Gozen is also in trouble.
Several large, four-legged magical beasts she had never seen before approached her.
They were too large; while arrows could inflict damage, they couldn't kill them quickly.
Once someone gets close, her situation will be very dangerous.
Tomoe Gozen put the bow away.
A red light appeared out of thin air in his hand.
The light faded.
A red katana appeared in her right hand.
Another red light.
A naginata appeared in her left hand.
The first monster pounced.
Tomoe Gozen dodged to the side, then swept his naginata horizontally.
The red blade sliced through the monster's abdomen, cutting a deep wound.
The monster fell to the ground.
But a second head had already attacked her from behind.
She turned and parried with her katana.
"Clang--!"
A tremendous impact came from the blade.
Her feet slid several meters across the ground.
Its close-combat ability is in no way inferior to its archery skills.
However, faced with such a large number of large magical beasts, she was unable to break through with brute force alone.
We're surrounded.
Five or six large magical beasts attacked her simultaneously from different directions.
Tomoe Gozen's tachi and naginata drew red arcs in the air.
It blocked the attack from the left.
The naginata forced back the one on the right.
But behind and above--
"Well...!"
A monster's claws grazed her left shoulder.
His armor was torn, and blood seeped out.
She gritted her teeth.
We must not fall.
Just then...
She felt the pressure from the surrounding magical beasts suddenly lessen.
The scorpion summoned some of the returning magical beasts.
The siege situation on Tomoe Gozen's side immediately eased up a lot.
Chance.
It only lasted for a moment.
She bravely took the attack from a monster on her right, but her left shoulder was hit again.
But an arrow was already nocked in her right hand.
Crimson magical flames ignited on the arrow.
The bowstring is drawn taut.
aim.
Scorpion Man.
She did not recite the true name of the Noble Phantasm.
However, the power of this arrow is already close to the level of Noble Phantasm unleashed.
"--Whoosh!"
The arrow left the bowstring.
The crimson flames left a straight trail in the air.
Too fast.
The scorpion-man had no time to dodge.
It could only hastily adopt a defensive stance.
Its two claws are crossed and placed in front of it.
"Boom--!"
The arrow struck the scorpion-man's pincers.
A violent explosion.
Firelight, smoke, and gravel.
The entire battlefield came to a brief halt for a second because of the explosion.
The smoke and dust cleared.
The scorpion-man's figure appeared behind the smoke and dust.
In a sorry state.
Several obvious cracks appeared on the carapace.
But they didn't suffer much actual harm.
"Roar--!!"
The scorpion-man let out a low growl.
It was angered.
Its stinger lashed out suddenly.
The defending monsters turned around and surrounded Ushiwakamaru again.
Then it charged towards Tomoe Gozen on its own.
Tomoe Gozen's pupils contracted.
That's too fast.
The Scorpion's sprinting speed was completely disproportionate to its size.
She had just fired that arrow and didn't have time to nock a second one.
Moreover, several large magical beasts were harassing her.
She used her naginata to block an attack from a demonic beast.
Then an opening was revealed.
The scorpion-man seized the opportunity when Tomoe Gozen was defending against attacks from other magical beasts.
It held one of its giant claws high.
Then he smashed it down with all his might.
The giant claw traced a dark brown arc in the air.
It possesses enough power to smash a large hole in the city wall.
It fell straight down on Tomoe Gozen's head.
If that blow lands...
Even if Tomoe Gozen doesn't die, she'll be half-dead.
Tomoe Gozen saw the giant claw fall.
She wanted to hide.
But her left shoulder had just been hit twice, making her reaction a beat slower.
It's too late.
She closed her eyes.
Then.
She heard a voice.
"Clang------!!"
A loud clang of metal colliding.
The entire battlefield trembled.
Tomoe Gozen opened her eyes.
She saw a figure standing between her and the scorpion man.
Crimson Astral Dress. White bull horn headdress. Deep red twin tails.
One hand held a giant axe that was longer than her own height.
The axe handle is black. The axe blade is red.
Camael.
Kotori, wielding her axe with one hand, steadily blocked the scorpion-man's giant claw.
The scorpion-man's massive pincers pressed down on the axe blade.
Kotori stood still.
They didn't retreat an inch.
"... Kotori?"
Tomoe Gozen's voice was filled with shock.
Kotori was engulfed in crimson flames.
Flames spread outward from her body.
It was like a ring of burning shockwave.
It instantly devoured all the large magical beasts around it.
"Boom--!"
The five or six large magical beasts didn't even have time to scream in the flames.
It was burned to the ground.
The flames died down.
Kotori was still standing in the same spot.
The Camael remained firmly atop the scorpion-man's giant claws.
She turned her head.
He glanced at Tomoe Gozen.
Beneath the black ribbon, her crimson pupils held an icy coldness.
Are you alright?
Tomoe Gozen paused for a moment.
"... fine."
Kotori nodded.
Then she turned back.
Look at the scorpion man.
"And you--"
Her voice stopped.
Because the Scorpion Man is already moving.
The Scorpion Man stared at the tiny red-haired boy in front of him who had blocked his full-force attack with just one hand.
It is knowledgeable and experienced.
It has lived for a very long time.
Having experienced countless battles.
It analyzed it instantly.
I've met my match.
This little redhead's power far surpasses mine.
And that giant axe and the raging flames surrounding it—
Not an ordinary Servant.
withdraw.
Retreat immediately.
Its massive claws snapped back.
The scorpion's tail simultaneously thrust out towards Kotori as cover.
Then it suddenly exerted force with its lower body, retreating at full speed towards the wilderness behind it.
It's very fast.
They were even faster than when they charged earlier.
Kotori didn't chase after her.
She simply stood there.
Watching the scorpion-man's retreating figure.
"..."
Tomoe Gozen ran over from the side.
" Kotori, it's running away, should we chase after it?"
"Need not."
Kotori said.
The scorpion-man had already run quite far.
It's at least a hundred meters away.
The remaining monsters around them lost their leader and began to fall into chaos.
Some were still charging towards the city walls. Others had begun to retreat.
The situation reversed in an instant.
Did I let you leave?
The voice was icy.
Everyone on this battlefield heard it.
The scorpion-man's body stiffened for a moment.
It did not turn back.
It dared not turn back.
But it could sense the terrifying magical fluctuations coming from behind it.
It is accelerating.
It's going to run.
Kotori stood still.
He swung the Camael with one hand.
I just made a quick cut.
A crimson flame slash was unleashed from the axe blade.
A fiery slash swept through the air.
It was so fast that it surpassed the speed of sound.
The scorpion didn't even have time to turn around.
The fiery slash caught up with it.
Then it examined its enormous body, along with its thick carapace, giant claws, and scorpion tail.
It was cut in two.
"Boom--!"
The scorpion-man's two halves of his body crashed to the ground.
Flames burned at the wound.
The cut was as smooth as a mirror.
The surrounding monsters that had lost their commander.
In that instant.
All movement ceased.
Then.
They ran away.
All the monsters were fleeing in a direction away from Uruk.
They didn't even dare to turn their heads.
The battlefield fell silent.
Only the sound of flames burning on the scorpion-man's corpse remained.