The black giant moved in an instant. The moment his feet exerted force, the ground shattered beneath him. Under this immense power, the black giant turned into a cannonball, charging toward Morpheus!
"Boom!"
A deafening sound echoed as the slender figure raised the short sword in his hand, blocking the stone axe... or rather, stone blade... that could hardly be called a weapon in the giant's grasp.
Under Heracles' attack, cracks appeared in the ground beneath Morpheus' feet. This was the colossal strength that could contend with the Gigantes, the terrifying power that could temporarily hold up the sky. Now, this force brought immense pressure upon Morpheus!
"Indeed, it's a real shame we couldn't fight back then!" Morpheus muttered to himself, a trace of pity on his face as he looked at his familiar friend, now transformed into a berserk creature with little self-awareness remaining. It filled Morpheus with regret and sorrow.
Then, his own power erupted in that moment.
The magical formulas around Morpheus began to activate, unleashing even greater strength. In this instant, his physical durability, endurance, and more received tremendous enhancements. Then, amid Illya's surprised expression, Morpheus used the short sword in his hand to push back the stone axe in Heracles' grip!
Illya blinked, then laughed again. "Your strength is impressive, but it's still not enough compared to Berserker!"
Illya shouted, like a child refusing to admit defeat, loudly urging her guardian to try harder.
"Berserker, take him down!"
"Roarrrr!!" The Berserker bellowed, his furious battle intent enveloping the surroundings. This was a residential area... if the fight continued, massive damage was inevitable.
A peculiar magical fluctuation began to spread outward. It was a spell known as Idlers' Dispersal, naturally prompting unrelated people in the vicinity to evacuate, creating an area free of bystanders.
At the same time, Morpheus clashed with Heracles at incredible speed. In certain aspects, the great hero's power was indeed unmatched by anyone, but Morpheus now possessed supersonic combat capabilities, allowing him to withstand such assaults.
Silently calculating the time for the surrounding people to withdraw, Morpheus finally made his move after waiting about ten minutes.
Morpheus leaped upward, swiftly bypassing Heracles and rushing to Illya's side. This sudden change stunned Illya and drew a roar from Heracles. Even in his madness, he wanted to protect this small girl.
He charged forward like a madman once more, trying to reach the girl before Morpheus could. Illya, reacting quickly, raised her hand, intending to use a Command Spell to instantly teleport her Servant to her.
But Morpheus was faster!
A book emitting a faint golden light appeared in Morpheus' hand. As the pages turned, he murmured softly, "Night falls, and Hypnos lures one into dreams."
With these words, the authority derived from the Greek god of sleep, Hypnos, took effect. Under the cover of night, Illya was suddenly overwhelmed by drowsiness she could not resist.
Her eyelids began to droop, struggling to stay open. No matter how hard she tried to fight off sleep, she ultimately could not defy this divine power. Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.
At the same time, Morpheus scooped up Illya in one swift motion and dashed toward the distance at top speed!
He was heading to the place he had prepared in advance... the Emiya residence!
...
Emiya Shirou, Tohsaka Rin, and Artoria were currently running toward Shirou's home, but as they ran, confusion appeared on their faces.
The surrounding streets were unnaturally quiet... too quiet!
Many houses had already turned off their lights, and even in those still lit, people were opening doors, switching off the lights, and leaving.
These people ignored Shirou and the others hurrying back, their eyes fixed only on the road ahead, walking away faster than the last.
Soon, they vanished from sight, leaving the area pitch-black except for the Emiya house and the streetlights!
Sensing this eerie change, both Shirou and Artoria grew alert.
Shirou asked quietly, "What's going on? Is this some kind of magecraft?"
Artoria added at that moment, "It seems like their minds are being interfered with. Could these people be controlled by a magus to become hostages?"
For victory, she could abandon hostages, but clearly her Master was not that kind of person. If these people became hostages, she would be in a very troublesome position.
The battle would inevitably shift to a disadvantageous state for her!
"Idlers' Dispersal..." Rin muttered softly, then explained, "Don't worry, this is Morpheus' ma... magecraft. He's using it to evacuate the people here, preventing any accidents that could harm ordinary folks."
"Morpheus... You're calling out your Servant's name directly? Aren't you afraid of exposing his true identity?" Artoria remarked, though she relaxed slightly. If it was just driving people away, she wouldn't end up in too unfavorable a situation.
However, Artoria didn't fully lower her guard. She glanced at Rin, a few thoughts flashing through her mind.
If she took advantage of the opponent's Servant being absent and acted now, she could easily deal with that Archer.
But no matter how ruthless she could be, that Archer had stayed behind to cover their retreat. Acting now felt unacceptable even to her.
So, after a moment of hesitation, she chose to hold off for now.
"Let's head inside first. Since Morpheus said he'd come back, I'm sure he will." Rin said, turning to Shirou. "Emiya-kun, could you open the door?"
"Ah, right, I'll get it!" Shirou snapped back to reality and hurried forward to open the gate to the yard. Looking at the brightly lit house, he took a deep breath, recalling everything that had just happened. It all felt like a dream.
"What even is this situation? We suddenly get attacked, and the attacker is a little kid. That girl... I think I ran into her a few days ago... But why? Why is she a Master too? Is she a magus?"
Unable to make sense of it, Shirou turned to Rin, hoping for answers from her.
"That little girl, she..."
"She's from the Einzbern family, a magus named Illya. Don't underestimate her... her strength is considerable." Rin reminded him.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Rin noticed that when she mentioned the name Einzbern, the usually expressionless Saber showed a subtle change in her demeanor.
Filing that away in her mind, Rin continued, "The Servant by her side is incredibly powerful too. His magical energy is enormous... he could be called a monster, even among Servants!"
Hearing Rin describe it so gravely, Shirou frowned. "Then why did you have us leave... Morpheus alone..."
Rin took a deep breath and offered a faint smile. "He'll be fine. I believe in him..."
Though she said that, Rin felt a twinge of uncertainty inside.
"Morpheus has the blessings of the Greek gods, and his Noble Phantasms are impressive, but the opponent is strong too. Is he really okay?
"I should have given him the Moonstone earlier. With it, he could have unleashed even greater power. The Moonstone's strength could easily suppress even that monster...
"But even if I had offered it, he wouldn't have taken it. He let me leave alone because I have the Moonstone on me now, and as an amulet, it protects my safety..."
Thinking this, Rin couldn't help but gaze into the distance, silently praying.
"Please be safe. You have to come back!"
It wasn't for the sake of winning the Holy Grail War, but simply hoping that the guy who loved teasing her and making her angry would return.
Just for that, she prayed.
At that moment, Artoria suddenly looked up. Still clad in her armor, she dashed outside!
In barely half a second, the two inside the house heard a roar from outside!
It was the voice of that black giant!
Hearing it, both Rin and Shirou's faces changed drastically as they rushed out together!
Then, they witnessed a scene that left them somewhat speechless.
Morpheus was holding the unresisting girl with her eyes closed, addressing the roaring giant in the distance: "Hey, Berserker, your rampage ends here. If you don't want this little one to face any danger, stand still like a good boy!"
The giant known as the Berserker, who should have had his sanity stripped away by madness, now only roared but dared not move recklessly.
Watching the immobilized giant, Morpheus even burst into laughter.
No matter how you looked at it, Morpheus in his trench coat seemed like the villain, while the black giant appeared as the victim.
Rin couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her face. In that moment, she desperately wanted to say, "I don't know this guy."
Even Shirou, the advocate of justice, couldn't stand it. He called out, "Morpheus, isn't this a bit much?"
"Just watch for now. I'm not some villain." Morpheus replied, then shouted to Rin, "Rin, come over here!"
No matter how unwilling she was to acknowledge this guy who used "underhanded tactics" as her Servant, Rin had no choice but to approach. Morpheus handed her the girl: "Catch. And don't take the chance to grope her!"
Rin's eyes widened. "I wouldn't!"
"You never know." Morpheus said, eyeing the eager Heracles, who seemed ready to snatch her back. He raised his hands slightly and smiled. "In the name of YHVH, I seal you here!"
In an instant, a light rose from the ground, enveloping Heracles completely!
***
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