Ruyi Jingu shot toward the Berserker, rapidly growing in size.
"Expand!"
With another command, the weapon expanded sideways, increasing its reach even further.
But Hercules—the most powerful and famous hero of Greek mythology, son of Zeus, and a mortal—was still Hercules, the demigod, even in his Berserker form. Though he wasn't at the peak of his power, his reputation as the strongest of the Greek heroes remained intact.
Thanks to his [Mind's Eye], Hercules had already sensed the danger of the strike. He spun his body, placed a hand on the edge of the Ruyi Jingu, and launched himself over the stone pillar.
"Rrrauuughhh!" Hercules roared as he landed on the stone. Without hesitation, he ran at high speed along the surface of the Ruyi Jingu.
Smiling, the wild-haired boy parted his lips. "Shrink!" Altair commanded, causing the weapon to return to its original size.
Berserker, now unsupported, plummeted from the sky. The height wasn't enough to harm him, but that wasn't the Master and Servant's goal.
"Truly a monster," Nobunaga commented, standing atop a floating arquebus as she observed Hercules fall. Around the warlord, seven arquebuses floated in the air.
Normally, the arquebus shots wouldn't deal much damage to someone with Berserker's endurance. However, in addition to receiving a bonus for being in Japan, Nobunaga was also receiving a significant boost to her stats thanks to her skill [Unification of the Nation by Force - Innovation], which granted modifiers that favored her the higher the enemy's Divinity or Mystery rank. And before she stood Berserker, son of the king of the gods, with Class A Divinity. In short, these shots would deal considerable damage.
"Fire!" Nobunaga snapped her fingers, and the arquebuses fired.
Even in his fury, Berserker was still a warrior with sharp instincts. He quickly raised his axe-blade weapon, blocking most of the shots, though a few pierced his shoulder.
He roared in rage, slamming the ground so hard that a cloud of dust rose up.
"Rrrauuughhh!" Berserker let out another roar, swinging his weapon to clear the dust, only to find five Altair clones, each wielding a Ruyi Jingu.
The first clone spun its weapon and struck from the side. Though the Ruyi Jingus in the clones' hands were mere imitations with only a tenth of the real one's power, they could still deal damage if they hit the giant Servant.
Without even looking, Hercules swung his axe blade, colliding with the weapon. The sound of the impact echoed through the city. But without wasting time, he flexed his legs and vanished in a burst of speed.
Despite his size, Hercules was surprisingly fast—faster even than Medusa herself.
That was proven when one of the clones saw only Hercules' giant hand grabbing his head.
"Rrrauuughhh!" With a roar, he crushed the clone like a melon, making it burst into smoke. Meanwhile, another clone leaped at him, trying to strike with the Ruyi Jingu. Berserker leaned back, dodging the blow.
With a simple motion, he sliced the clone in half with his axe blade.
As he defeated the clones, two shots echoed through the sky.
By instinct, Berserker raised his arm, but two red projectiles dug deep into his flesh.
"Grrrr..."
Before he could react, one of the clones spun the Ruyi Jingu and struck his chin hard. Berserker's head tilted slightly from the impact.
Without roaring, he turned his gaze to the remaining three clones, his eyes glowing a deep crimson.
"It was he," one of the clones said, pointing to the one in front, clearly stepping back.
"You traitor..."
Berserker's axe blade struck the clone, destroying it. He spun, grabbed the head of another clone beside him, and with a growl, hurled it toward Nobunaga, who calmly shot a red beam at the clone, vaporizing it.
"So cruel, aren't you, big guy?" the last clone said with a grin, staring at the fuming Hercules.
"I guess it's my turn." The clone pulled back the Ruyi Jingu and spun it, thrusting it forward. "Grow and expand."
The Ruyi Jingu, now tree-sized, began to grow toward Berserker. Instead of dodging, he raised his fist and, with all his strength, punched it.
The Ruyi Jingu and the punch collided, generating a shockwave so powerful that, even from afar, Nobunaga had to raise her arms to shield herself.
"Grrroouuugggghhhhh!" Berserker roared as cracks appeared on the Ruyi Jingu while blood dripped from his fist.
"Hahahaha!" The clone laughed in pure ecstasy, irritating Berserker further, who grabbed the side of the stone pillar and threw it aside with some effort.
With the Ruyi Jingu out of the way, he flexed his feet and appeared before the last clone.
"It was fun…" Before the clone could finish, Hercules buried his fist in him.
"Rrrauuughhh!" he roared at the sky, looking up.
But as he squinted, he saw a small human figure descending.
It was Altair, the original.
Altair pulled back the hand holding the Ruyi Jingu and thrust it forward. "Grow and expand."
The sky was suddenly covered by a massive stone pillar descending rapidly toward Hercules. Its size was so immense that it cast a colossal shadow over Berserker.
There was nowhere to run. Even with his explosive speed, Berserker couldn't escape an attack that spanned several kilometers.
"Graaaaauuuughhh!" he roared, raising his arms. His muscles swelled with veins, and in the next moment, he caught the Ruyi Jingu with all his strength.
The impact was so powerful it created a shockwave, destroying the ground around Berserker.
Blood spilled from his lips as the ground beneath his feet began to crack. Instantly, blood gushed from his veins, yet he still held up the enormous pillar, demonstrating the strength of Greece's most powerful demigod.
Altair couldn't help but feel a certain admiration for his enemy. He was worthy of the legend of holding up the sky in Atlas's place.
"You really are a monster," he muttered, still holding the pillar. "But I'm more." His smile widened as he gave the final command.
"Heavy!" With that command, the Ruyi Jingu's weight began to multiply rapidly, surpassing thousands of tons.
Blood gushed from Berserker's mouth. In the next instant, even he couldn't withstand the Ruyi Jingu, and with a thunderous crash, his body was crushed beneath the massive pillar, creating another massive shockwave as it hit the ground.
Altair, hand resting on the Ruyi Jingu's base—wider than a football field, stretching like a stone plain—was staring at the sky.
"Looks like your plan worked," Nobunaga said, descending from her arquebus and landing on the pillar.
"I told you," he smiled. "We beat him without spending too much mana, and didn't even need your Noble Phantasm."
Altair's plan had been to defeat Berserker without resorting to Nobunaga's Noble Phantasm, which, while extremely effective against Hercules, wasn't guaranteed to kill him outright.
"So, now let's—"
Nobunaga paused and looked down. "My retainer, I think this isn't over."
"For the love of the gods, he was crushed by tons. The pressure and impact of the Ruyi Jingu should've been enough."
He rolled his eyes, but suddenly, the Ruyi Jingu began to tremble, as if someone were lifting it.
"That's impossible." Altair stood up on the pillar. Nobunaga sighed and floated back onto her arquebus.
Beneath the Ruyi Jingu, Hercules was lifting the massive pillar. Even without his Noble Phantasm, he was still Hercules.
[Mad Enhancement] worked at full power, boosting all his parameters at the cost of his reason, while [Battle Continuation] prevented him from dying and reduced the lethality of Altair's strike.
Blood ran down his body, but he kept raising the Ruyi Jingu higher and higher.
His eyes glowed with an intense, dangerous red.
"Truly a monster," Altair muttered, leaping back and grabbing Nobunaga's hand.
With those words, Berserker hurled the Ruyi Jingu to the side, crushing everything nearby. A certain Lancer-class Shadow Servant, who was searching for his king's enemy, was crushed before anyone could even learn his name.
"Rrrauuughhh!" Berserker roared fiercely, staring upward, his eyes locking with Nobunaga's, who floated in the air on an arquebus, holding her master's hand.
"Shall we go with plan B?" Nobunaga asked with a grin.
"Plan B it is," Altair confirmed, still in disbelief that the demigod was still standing.
They couldn't afford to drag out the fight. Altair had to help his team.
He narrowed his eyes toward Hercules.
"I'll tire him out as much as I can," he said, releasing Nobunaga's hand.
"Good luck... master." Nobunaga smiled with mischief, releasing his hand and letting Altair drop toward Berserker.
••• ••• •••
A/N: Honestly, if Altair fought in sync with Nobunaga, he would most likely win easily, but unfortunately, our protagonist is quite selfish.
Don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me.