Extra Chapter: Gudaguda Honnō-ji – Avengers.
"It's that guy!" Spider-Man pointed at the appearing Loki in fright. "The very one who said he could summon Deadpool…"
Loki winced, clearly displeased that some pathetic spider-boy was pointing at him. He gave the youth a heavy look, and Spider-Man, pulling his head into his shoulders, hastily hid behind Deadpool's back.
"Hahahaha. It seems my appearance has shaken you considerably."
"Oh, yeah. So much I'm about to hiccup," Deadpool confirmed the god's words, but there was no fear in his tone. "(Whispering) Though just seeing that face can make you kick the bucket…"
Despite his words, Deadpool had no intention of being scared. On the contrary, he was mocking his opponent, bending and unbending his extended middle finger.
"I am he who is destined to become king. And I have become king. With the help of this Holy Grail. An amazing thing. Honestly, I thought that with the Tesseract, nothing was beyond me, but this artifact turned out to be much more interesting."
Loki smiled predatorily and showed the Grail, inlaid with a shining azure stone. Unlike ordinary chalices, this vessel was shrouded in a ghostly blue haze – the influence of the gemstone was obvious.
"Thanks to the fusion of the Tesseract's power and the Grail, I have reached unprecedented heights. Look at my kingdom – Sacred Asgard!"
"Ah, you mean that tasteless golden pillar you jammed on top of the Japanese castle, like a candle on a cake?" Deadpool quipped, pointing at the cumbersome structure towering over Honno-ji. Loki merely smirked condescendingly, spreading his arms wide as if demonstrating his greatness and divinity to all.
"Bow before Loki, the great king of Sacred Asgard, right now – and I will order my warriors to cease their pursuit. You may even beg me for mercy, and then I might find you a suitable spot at court."
This boundless arrogance provoked a furious reaction from the one whose fortress had been brazenly seized and this golden monstrosity placed upon it. Mao Archer, having lost Honno-ji, made no attempt to hide her rage.
"How dare you erect this abomination on my castle! I'll take your head!"
"Try me," Loki threw back.
As soon as the god provoked her, Mao Archer summoned a flintlock rifle and pulled the trigger. Instead of a normal lead ball, a blinding beam, akin to a laser, shot from the barrel and struck Loki precisely.
"Don't strain yourself," Deadpool tried to calm her. "This guy is too cowardly to show up in person. It's probably just an illusion."
When the smoke from the shot cleared, Loki stood in the same pose with outstretched arms, as if nothing had happened.
"Hey, god of trickery. If you're so brave to dare us from afar, why not come down? Is the great 'king of Sacred Asgard' afraid of mere mortals?"
Now, Deadpool attacked.
"Hahaha. If I were my old self, I might have gotten angry and fallen for your cheap trick. But I am the god of trickery, an Asgardian, and the ruler of Sacred Asgard! Your pathetic provocations don't affect me, mortal."
Loki laughed triumphantly. But Deadpool, without batting an eye, struck back…
"Frigga. How is your mother doing?"
Loki's face remained impassive, but his eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. Deadpool didn't miss this fleeting movement.
"Hahaha! Exactly. Those tricks of yours with clones… Mommy taught you, didn't she? Along with telekinesis? Oh, I know everything. I know that no matter how much you hated Father and brother, you could never look at her that way."
Loki began to pale rapidly. The provocation had hit its mark.
"Remember what happened in the second 'Thor'? You got so full of yourself that in the end… who died there?"
"Shut up!"
Where had the recent arrogance and swagger gone? Loki, whose face was now flushed with crimson rage, roared so loud that the heavens seemed to tremble. Deadpool merely grinned with satisfaction.
"Wow. Pool-san's provocations are terrifying, senpai," Mash whispered.
"Well… when it comes to verbal battles, jokes about parents are always a cheat code," Ritsuka replied.
"In professional jargon, that's called 'trolling the mom,' rookie," Deadpool interjected.
"I showed royal mercy, but you rejected it yourselves. Well, it's regrettable, insignificant mortals. Then only death remains for you."
Loki raised his hand, and in the sky, as if from nowhere, a hole shimmering with azure opened up. Dozens of alien creatures, which had recently been wrecking the city, poured out, followed by hundreds of Little-Pools and Nobbu.
"Nob-bu!"
"Nobu-nobu!"
"Dep! Dep-pu-pu!"
The sky filled with aliens, and the ground with hordes of shorties. Loki smiled victoriously.
"And this isn't even half my army. Try to break through to my castle if you dare. I'll be waiting. Heh-heh-heh."
Loki's illusion melted away, and the wave of monsters, along with the tiny invaders, surged forward.
"U-um… Mr. Deadpool? What do we do now?" Spider-Man stared at his partner in panic, looking at the boundless army.
"Why are you asking me? Do I look like Tony Stark?" Deadpool shot a displeased glance at Spidey, as if he were trying to shift all responsibility onto him.
"Nobu-bu-ut!"
At that moment, hundreds of Nobbu began to merge into one, creating a "Big Nobbu." It looked the same as the small ones, but its size rivaled that of an alien leviathan.
"No-bu-u-u!"
The giant Nobbu raised its fist and brought it down on Ritsuka's squad. However, Sakura Saber instantly drew her blade and blocked the devastating blow.
"No matter her size, Nobbu is still Nobbu. She's no match for me."
"Kgh!"
Mao Archer, hearing Saber's words, suddenly coughed as if something had struck a nerve.
"Actually, I was saving this for Loki, but since we need to crush this behemoth and break through, there's no other way," Sakura Saber looked at Ritsuka and nodded. She gripped her sword more comfortably and assumed a stance. "I will activate my Noble Phantasm."
Saber closed her eyes. The mana pulsing in her body began to concentrate in the blade.
"Now it's gonna blast a beam!" Deadpool impatiently crossed his fingers. "Right. Saber without a beam isn't Saber. All the Sabers I know shoot beams from their swords. Go on, burn!"
At that moment, a huge alien monster, writhing in the air, turned its body and charged straight at Sakura Saber.
"Careful! Saber!"
"Senpai, leave this to m…"
Sakura Saber was focused on accumulating mana to activate her Noble Phantasm, so she couldn't be distracted by the approaching alien monster. Mash was already preparing to intercept, but at that moment, Mao Archer, pushing off her shield, soared into the air and landed right in front of Sakura Saber.
"Well, I never!" she exclaimed. "Must I do everything myself in this world! What a bother. But there seems to be no other way to reclaim my castle!"
Mao Archer concentrated her magical energy, unfolding her Phantasm. Dozens, hundreds… no, thousands of flintlock rifles appeared around her, each targeting the giant monster.
"Pave the way with the corpses of the Three Thousand Worlds… Descent of the Heavenly Demon! Behold the might of the Demon King!"
"Triple volley…"
"The Three Thousand Worlds!!"
Even though they were old rifles, thousands of beams, comparable in power to optical weapons, rained down on the enemy. The monster let out a death cry, but survival under such a barrage was impossible. Under the onslaught of thousands of flashes of light, it disintegrated, leaving no trace behind.
"Your turn, girl from the Shinsengumi!" Archer shouted.
"Nobu-u-ut! No-o-o-bu-u!"
As soon as Mao Archer's Phantasm ended and the giant Nobbu charged, Sakura Saber, having finished her preparations, leaped, using her ally's back as a springboard.
"First step – overcoming sound. Second step – the path to Oblivion. Third step – the cleaving blade!"
One step, pushing off Mao Archer's back.
Then a second step.
And Sakura Saber, frozen right before the giant Nobbu, unleashed her Phantasm.
"Nameless! Triple. You. Fall!"
It was like a classic "instant strike" scene from Japanese films: one sword swing, and it was over. The enormous Nobbu merely squeaked its name powerlessly and melted into the air.
"Come on! The path is clear, let's go quickly!" Archer commanded.
"Ah… yes! Understood!" Mash and Ritsuka snapped back to attention.
Stunned by the power of two consecutive Phantasms, they only came to their senses after Mao Archer's shout and hurried after her towards Honno-ji, breaking through the dense attacks of Little-Pools, Nobbu, and aliens.
"These aren't beams… These aren't beams… Why aren't they beams?!" Deadpool lamented to the void. "She's a Saber! She has the 'Saber-face'! Damn it, even Emperor Nero shoots beams, even Mordred shoots beams, so why doesn't she?! Why?! For what?!"
Deeply disappointed that Sakura Saber's Phantasm turned out to be "not a laser," Wade continued to complain to an invisible interlocutor, but his only answer was silence.
"Kha!"
Sakura Saber, having expended too much energy on the Phantasm, coughed up blood. Mao Archer caught her, grumbling about how weak she was. Despite the biting remarks and displeasure in her voice, the Demon King slung the girl over her shoulder and swiftly maneuvered between enemy projectiles.
" at this pace, Honno-ji is within reach. These oafs will either run out of steam themselves, or Loki will order a retreat! This time, I'll definitely get my castle back!"
Mao Archer's eyes sparkled with excitement. The goal for which she had started all this was now very close.
"Don't you think it's suspiciously easy to break through Loki's cunning plan?" Spider-Man asked. With the enemies left behind, he could finally catch his breath, but doubts gnawed at him: the god of trickery's attack seemed too unserious.
"He may be able to throw punches, but he's truly dangerous with his schemes," Deadpool replied. "He's probably luring us in on purpose. Got his paws on the Grail and thinks he's the center of the universe!"
Wade was sure: this was typical Loki.
Soon, a majestic Japanese fortress loomed before them. The castle of Honno-ji.
It looked so imposing that in any anime or manga, this moment would undoubtedly be accompanied by a thunderous sound effect: "Tu-dum!"
"Honno-ji… I remember now!" Mash exclaimed. "It's the end of the Sengoku era. The castle where the man who almost unified all of Japan lived and met his death. That very castle!"
When Mash realized the true nature of this place, Ritsuka and the others involuntarily turned to Mao Archer, who was still dragging the semi-conscious Sakura Saber.
"What? Didn't I say I am Oda Nobunaga, the True Demon King of the Sixth Heaven?"
"Actually, no," her companions replied in unison.
"Is that so? Well, it's a bit late to introduce myself now, but allow me nonetheless! I…!"
Even though everyone had already understood, Mao Archer – or rather, Oda Nobunaga – couldn't miss the chance for a dramatic entrance. She unceremoniously dropped Sakura Saber, who was already delirious from blood loss, onto the ground and, proudly puffing out her… let's say, not the most prominent chest, proclaimed:
"It is I! The disturber of peace, the conqueror of the Sengoku era! The one who threatened to chop off the cuckoo if it didn't sing! The mistress of the 'Tanuki' on the right and the 'Monkey' on the left! The Demon King of the Warring States period! The True Demon King of the Sixth Heaven! It's all me! Oda Nobunaga!"
As soon as she finished this pompous tirade, fireworks began to explode around them, which Deadpool had managed to set up in advance. It turned out excessively spectacular. Nobunaga, clearly pleased with the show, winked at Wade and gave him a thumbs-up.
But the triumph was short-lived.
"■■■■■■■…!!"
Something huge and dark blue crashed from the heavens directly in front of Honno-ji's main gate. For Mash, Ritsuka, and Deadpool, the appearance of this Servant was so familiar that they didn't even know how to react.
"Is he going to appear in every episode? What role does he have this time?"
"Hera-a-acle… ■■■■■■■■■!! K-ha-a-a-a… ■■■■■■■■…!!"
Despite being Berserker, the great hero Heracles, he… spoke. Or rather, he shouted fragmented words, interspersed with his signature mad roar.
"Oh god. We've finally descended into this kind of crossover," Deadpool wearily covered his face with his hand, clearly expecting something like this.
"Heracles! Smash – ■■■■■…!!"
Unlike his previous incarnations, this Heracles was unarmed. He clenched his massive fists and, jumping high, brought them down on the ground, aiming at Ritsuka's group.
"Loki, you scoundrel, who did you summon?!"
"Heracles! Smash! ■■■■■…!!"
Heracles – or rather, Herak – continued to shout threats, methodically attacking the heroes.
" 'Looks like the joke about the 'weak god' won't fly anymore in this situation.'"
" 'Oh, come on. If you've joked twice, it's practically a classic.'"
" 'Or did I joke only once? Ah, right. I dished it out to that bull-headed guy in Okeanos the second time. Right.'"
" 'By the way, where did the author go? They say he went to work on an event in Onigashima or something like that?'"