Chapter 80: Human Sacrifice Tastes Good
With the unique nature of Projection Magecraft, Emiya can not only resonate with the memories of the holder from the history of the Noble Phantasms he projects, but he can also reproduce certain attributes in a short period of time.
How great was the strength of the demigod Heracles as a Heroic Spirit and Servant?
A simple numerical value might not be practical, but it is no exaggeration to say that what human society calls concrete and steel is like dregs of tofu in front of him; he could crush it with minimal effort.
Moreover, Heracles, who manifested as a Berserker wielding this Axe-Sword, prided himself not just on strength, but also on speed.
Mass × Velocity = Destructive power.
Most people subconsciously assume that strong individuals lack speed, but that's merely a balancing mechanism designed for player experience in games. In a real situation, characters excelling in strength won't have poor speed; at most, they might be outperformed in agility by smaller individuals due to their size.
But even though that Berserker was undeniably huge in size, his Strength, Speed, and Agility were all top-notch attributes, and his body was immune to any damage that hadn't reached the level of a Noble Phantasm.
And the current Emiya not only resonated with all his physical abilities, but his figure was also clearly the more agile one in front of this colossal "Mountain God."
'I won't give this guy a chance to react.'
Disregarding the monster's roaring, Emiya quickly stepped forward and brought down the Axe-Sword onto the creature lying on the ground.
"Nine Lives Blade Works!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!
This was supposed to be a nine-strike combo completed in an extremely short time, but the sound was completely merged into a single, continuous line due to the immense force.
The monster clearly had no conventional human weaknesses, but this school of combat was never created to fight humans; it was designed for monsters of this huge size.
There was neither smoke nor dust, as those elements were also completely blown away by the unimaginable colossal force. The sight presented now was perfectly clear: the 'Mountain God's' remaining torso was neatly erased for the most part, as if a canvas had been rubbed clean with an eraser, extending from its head all the way down.
And behind it, nine distinct fissures stretched all the way to the end of the shrine.
If this monster's body hadn't been the main carrier of the impact force, splitting open a mountain would truly not be an exaggeration.
"...Is it over?"
There was no sign of bloody flesh on the monster's body; instead, its wounds were detailed by leaves and a bizarre golden substance, just like the divine attendant that had just dispersed. Most importantly, the fox divine attendant not far away still maintained its original appearance and was launching continuous attacks at Emiya with a ferocious expression.
This means there's a high probability that the monster, too...
"?!"
By the time Emiya spent just a moment dealing with the fox divine attendant, he turned around only to find that the remaining torso of the "Mountain God" had already vanished.
Did it escape?
'No, it's behind me!'
Realizing the anomaly, Emiya swung the Axe-Sword behind him without hesitation.
Boom!
The blade accurately struck the monster's outstretched hand. Although there was a definite impact sensation, the Axe-Sword's swing only caused its hand to burst back into the form of fallen leaves. By the time it retracted its long arm back to its front, the hand had returned to its original state.
What is this? Is physical destruction completely ineffective against it?
That shouldn't be the case; this monster clearly doesn't look like it possesses such an ability. Even if it does, there must be some inviolable restriction that grants it this strange invulnerability.
For example... this entire mountain range?
As a form of faith-based Mountain God, its power would certainly be linked to this specific territory. Just as a water god would be stronger in the ocean, isn't it only right for a mountain god to receive enhancements within a mountain range?
But even knowing this, Emiya couldn't truly resort to leveling the entire mountain range to punish the opponent; that would be overkill.
So, apart from the mountain itself, what other object is associated with it?
Emiya's gaze quickly swept over the entire shrine, finally settling on the main hall inside.
Undoubtedly, this "Mountain God" is the product of some man-made ritual. And since it's a ritual, there must be a certain core object. It is either buried deep underground or is located within this conspicuous main hall.
"Human..."
"Sacrifice..."
"Tastes good..."
While Emiya was rapidly assessing the situation, the monster opened its mouth and made a sound—a human voice.
"So, I must eat you..."
It is indeed the product of some kind of evil worship.
What kind of Mountain God would express a preference to devour the worshipper along with the offering because it was satisfied with the sacrifice? And just how many people has it eaten in the past to speak this way?
"Then, it falls to me here to...
Kill you."
Clutching the Axe-Sword, Emiya moved his body at an extremely high speed, though his target was not the monster's main body, but the main hall located on the opposite side.
Whoosh—
The monster's massive form was too slow to intercept him, but other fallen leaves spontaneously rose in Emiya's path, coalescing into the two fox divine attendants that had just been destroyed.
But just as they reached out to perform some strange Cursed Technique, Emiya's attack arrived first, slicing both attendants in half at the waist.
In the moment he was delayed, the 'Mountain God' had already lunged at him from behind, forcing Emiya to turn around and counterattack, once again falling into a stalemate of mutual confrontation.
He hadn't fought the 'Mountain God' for long before the two divine attendants recovered their forms again, rushing towards him without hesitation. Attacks below a certain threshold find it hard to damage the 'Mountain God's' form enough to immobilize it, and even when they do, its body rapidly reconstructs itself in a very short time.
It was fortunate that Emiya was the one standing here; otherwise, most Grade 1 Sorcerers would likely be no match for this thing. A massive monster whose injuries recover without limit is simply too much of an outlier.
Furthermore, it wasn't as unintelligent as Emiya initially imagined. Once it realized Emiya had detected the anomaly in the main hall, its reckless attacks were all focused on preventing Emiya from moving in that direction, making it difficult for him to advance.
This stalemate is definitely not a solution. Should he really attempt to level the entire shrine?
Pondering how to break the deadlock, Emiya suddenly noticed that Miko Yotsuya's position seemed quite close to the main hall, and half of her hand was touching the door.
She wasn't just standing by and watching; she, too, had realized Emiya's intended target.
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