In the next moment, the highly concentrated power of the sun radiated from Karna's eyes, mercilessly blasting toward the ancient gate that separated life from death.
"Brahmastra, cover the earth!"
It wasn't the highest-ranked Noble Phantasm, nor the most destructive, but it was the most suitable for this situation.
How big could a gate be? Only wide enough for a few people, at best. Instead of using large-scale Noble Phantasms that attack hundreds or thousands at once, it was more efficient to focus the power on a single point.
Undoubtedly, this approach was correct. The ancient gate, which had been sealed for nearly two thousand years, began to melt, dissolve, and pierce through under Karna's relentless Brahmastra rays.
Of course, for a gate that had once blocked countless powerful beings, this was not such a big problem.
The gate of the Land of Shadows was incredibly durable. Even with the combination of the Brahmastra and the divine power of Surya, breaking it down wasn't an easy task. Moreover, the gate could absorb the souls bound nearby to restore itself.
This was why the gate had stood for so long, keeping countless powerful beings outside.
The Brahmastra rays were a burst attack, difficult to maintain for long, and consumed an enormous amount of energy. Under normal circumstances, before the gate could be destroyed, Karna would have depleted all his magical energy, and even the life force of his Master would be drained.
But this wasn't a normal situation. Under normal circumstances, no one would still be alive standing in front of the gates of the Land of Shadows.
And Shinji wasn't an ordinary Master. He was the executor of miracles, the wielder of the Third Magic. With his support, Karna received a boost far beyond what any previous Master could provide. Not only could he continuously fire the rays, but even higher-level Noble Phantasms could be used repeatedly without issue.
One shot wasn't enough? Fire another.
One eye wasn't enough? Use the other one too.
With nearly unlimited support, Karna had no reservations. He unleashed his power without restraint, determined to burn through the gate.
Once, twice, three times.
Five times, ten times, fifteen times.
By the time the rays from both eyes had fired more than twenty times, the ancient gate—without any maintenance or external support—was finally melted through, leaving a hole large enough for a person to enter.
"I'll go first."
Achilles eagerly rushed forward, only to be pulled back by Heracles.
"I should go first. The land ahead belongs to death. I have more experience with that."
Heracles was famously known for his Twelve Labors, one of which involved descending into the Underworld. After careful preparation, he completed the task and even wounded the god Hades, making King Eurystheus abandon any further plans to have him killed.
Achilles, as Heracles' junior, clearly knew this story well. He didn't insist and stepped aside to let his senior lead the way.
Nodding to Shinji, Heracles crouched down and squeezed through the hole. While it was spacious enough for most, it was still a bit tight for a giant like Heracles, who stood at a towering 253 cm.
The moment he passed through the gate, Shinji felt a slight pain in his wrist—a signal that Heracles had just suffered a fatal blow.
Soon after, Heracles' voice came through.
"It seems like passing through this gate requires dying once. I'm fine because of my Twelve Labors, but you all—"
"Who do you think you're talking to, you hulking brute? Clear the way properly for your king! You're not the only one who's been to the Underworld."
Gilgamesh scoffed, taking a protective charm from his treasury, hanging it around his neck, and walking through the gate with grandeur.
"I'll be fine as well."
Karna followed just a step behind Gilgamesh. His golden armor, which nullified ninety percent of all negative effects, was simply too overpowered.
And indeed, as the two golden Servants had promised, they successfully passed through the gate of life and death, unaffected by its deathly influence.
At this point, only Achilles, Siegfried—two heroes with incredibly strong but not entirely death-immune bodies—and their Master, Shinji Matou, were left outside the gate.
"Master, you must have a way, right?"
Siegfried asked, always straightforward and less concerned with appearances than Achilles.
"Uh, yeah, I didn't expect them to move so fast."
Shinji scratched his cheek while manipulating their spirit origins, essentially applying a "death-immunity" concept to them.
He had seen Scathach's memories and knew of the various traps in the Land of Shadows. Since they dared to venture here today, they had naturally prepared countermeasures, including those against death.
When the final three passed through the gate, they had officially cleared the first stage of the Land of Shadows dungeon.
Next, what awaited them was the second stage: an army of the dead and undead.
The Land of Shadows was one of the realms of death in Celtic mythology. Before the end of the Age of Gods, countless dead souls had gathered here, and any living being that attempted to invade was killed by the mistress of the land, turning into more undead.
Normally, both the dead and the undead slumbered in endless wait for the world's end.
But when a living being invaded, they would awaken from their slumber and launch a frenzied attack on the intruders until the living were dead.
Thus, as the group passed through the gate and stepped onto the land of the shadows, the dead awoke and began their assault, like the fabled undead scourge.
Faced with such an overwhelming attack, the heroes did not falter. Each of them was a top-tier Servant, a hero among heroes in their respective cultures. No matter how formidable the enemy, they would not cower.
Siegfried drew his fantastical sword, and with the amplification of True Ether, he slashed out beams of twilight light.
Karna revealed his indestructible bow and unleashed the flames of the sun, raising a miniature sun in the darkened Land of Shadows.
Achilles summoned the armor forged by the god of fire and, with unparalleled speed, dashed through the army of the dead. Wherever he went, no (dead) man could stand in his way.
Gilgamesh opened the Gate of Babylon, continuously unleashing anti-undead Noble Phantasms. No matter how strong the undead were, none could survive more than one round of his barrage.
But the most eye-catching of all was Heracles.
He wielded his longbow, shooting bronze arrows that transformed into monstrous birds.
He wore the Nemean Lion's pelt, rendering him completely immune to the undead's attacks.
He had the Girdle of Ares wrapped around his waist, enveloping him in dense divine energy that further enhanced his already terrifying capabilities.
On top of that, he summoned several mythical beasts to fight alongside him.
Among them was the legendary Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld. It was the gatekeeper of Hades, tasked with preventing the dead from escaping, making it the natural enemy of the undead.
Despite being somewhat weakened without Hades' blessing due to the different mythological systems, Cerberus still retained its ability to counter the undead. Wherever it went, countless undead were devoured by its three massive jaws.
With the aid of his equipment and summoned beasts, Heracles alone could display the power of several armies, claiming the most victories among the top-tier heroes.