---o---
Honkai Beasts were a terrifying breed of creature.
It wasn't that their abilities were so horrifying—among the lower-tier Honkai Beasts, aside from the Honkai Emperor and Honkai Queen, most were limited to physical and simple energy attacks.
And yet, they were still terrifying.
The reason was simple.
Their sheer size and mass.
These were monsters that were easily the height of a large building. Even without special abilities, their mass and volume alone were deadly.
To put it into perspective:
Under normal circumstances, the height of a single residential floor doesn't exceed 2.8 meters.
A ten-meter-tall Honkai Beast would be slightly taller than a three-and-a-half-story building.
A hundred-meter-class Honkai Emperor was roughly the height of a thirty-five-story building.
And these demonic beasts, forcibly infused with a massive amount of Honkai energy, were nothing less than moving skyscrapers.
A thirty-five-story-tall behemoth, leading a pack of monsters clearly taller than three stories, charging towards a few people...
Any person of normal intelligence would not consider them easy to deal with just because they weren't adept at energy attacks.
"ROAR—!!"
Like a beast king commanding its subjects, the behemoth that had clearly reached the pinnacle of lower-tier Honkai Beasts—an Emperor-class creature—let out a furious roar.
In response, the Honkai Beasts following it split into groups of three, spreading out in triangular formations. Roaring in unison, they unleashed torrents of flame from different directions, cutting off Guda and the Lecherous Eggplant's path of escape.
Correction. These Honkai Beasts, converted from demonic beasts, were very adept at energy attacks.
"Master, follow me!!"
Never imagining that her journey to the Seventh Singularity would begin with a chase by a pack of Honkai-fied demonic beasts, the Lecherous Eggplant threw caution to the wind. She grabbed her Master and tore through the sea of fire, fleeing into the distance.
It looked pathetic, but it was a very wise decision.
As a Servant, Mash could perhaps hold her own against a few, or even a dozen, of these Honkai-fied demonic beasts—stalling them, fighting them, and maybe even turning the tables.
However, Fujimaru Ritsuka was just a third-rate magus. A single graze from those beasts would mean game over.
If the last Master in human history were to die...
Then the Human Order would truly be finished.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!"
"Why are there so many demonic beasts we've never seen before!!"
Looking back at the stampeding monsters, Miss Fujimaru, who had never seen such colossal beasts in Chaldea's bestiary, was on the verge of tears.
"Doctor, give us directions, quickly!!"
"The concentration of magical energy here is too high! It's extremely difficult to generate a map!!"
The acting director, completely unaware that the beasts' orders were to "capture the Guda trio and force Chaldea to airdrop Romani," was sweating profusely.
Fortunately, it seemed providence was on their side.
Perhaps...
"It appears I've arrived just in time."
Like a hero descending from the heavens, golden chains sliced through the sky. With terrifying speed, they tore through the sea of fire and, like nimble snakes, coiled around the neck of the nearest Honkai-fied demonic beast.
The armament known as the Chains of Heaven twisted, snapping the monster's head clean off.
A beautiful figure dressed in long white robes—so handsome it was difficult to tell their gender, or rather, they had no gender at all—had appeared on a battlefield where they should not have been.
They extended a hand, and the Chains of Heaven danced like a long whip, lashing out with unerring accuracy at several of the beasts.
"BOOM—!!!"
Like a hot knife through butter, the chains transformed into a peerless blade, severing the monsters' limbs. The off-balance beasts roared in fury but could only crash heavily to the ground.
Then, the tips of the chains plunged viciously into their vulnerable eyes, scrambling their brains.
The leading beast roared. Its form was humanoid, like a colossal, fully armored knight. It raised its hand, and a massive knight's lance, carrying an unnatural force, shot towards the sudden intruder, intending to pulverize them.
When a hundred-meter-tall behemoth launched an attack with all its might, the scene was no different from a landslide!
"Dodge, quick!"
Even without witnessing the leader's attack firsthand, Fujimaru Ritsuka could imagine how terrifying it would be.
A direct hit would spell doom for any Servant without a defensive Noble Phantasm.
"Do not worry about me, Master of the Observatory."
But the beautiful person merely smiled at her before crouching low to the ground like a swift cheetah.
"These creatures are indeed powerful, but they are no match for me."
Before the words had even faded, an arsenal of weapons—blades, swords, spears, and halberds—erupted from the ground. Their cold edges sliced through the air, breaking the sound barrier as they flew towards the giant beast entangled by the Chains of Heaven.
It was like a swarm of countless monsters opening their bloody maws to tear their prey to shreds.
Kingu, the synthetic demonic beast created using Enkidu's body as a base, could freely use Enkidu's abilities.
This included the Noble Phantasm that drew upon the power of the earth to summon forth weapons like blades, spears, and chains.
Having dealt with the threat, the beautiful person calmly patted their clothes, dusting off non-existent dirt, before smiling at the astonished Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Master of Chaldea."
After unleashing their Noble Phantasm and slaying the dozen or so attacking Honkai-fied demonic beasts, the beautiful person introduced themself.
"My name is Enkidu."
In truth, it was Kingu, the synthetic demonic beast who planned to lure the Master of Chaldea into Gorgon's Blood Fort and murder them in a suitably ceremonial fashion, who gave the introduction.
His voice was clear and pleasant, easily inspiring goodwill.
"It's a pleasure to meet you! We're from Chaldea."
Completely unaware that the mama's boy, Kingu, was planning to ceremoniously dispose of them, Fujimaru Ritsuka greeted the synthetic demonic beast who had suddenly appeared and saved them.
"The situation is unusual, so I will be brief. Gilgamesh sent me to assist you."
Kingu, who had indeed sensed a very unusual aura, offered his suggestion.
Along the way, he had encountered many mutated demonic beasts that were disobedient, surprisingly resilient, and required him to use more than just the Chains of Heaven to defeat.
This gave him a sense of crisis.
He had to be more efficient.
I must bring Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash back to the Blood Fort quickly, Kingu thought.
But it seemed his reaction was a moment too late.
The master of the slain creatures had already noticed that its pets were killed.
"Is it really wise, Kingu, to suddenly kill another's pets, then flee with your chosen prey?"
The shadow of a great dragon fell over them.
Like the sun itself drawing near, an immense pressure descended from the heavens.
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: For some reason, I feel like the protagonist is more like the final boss.