Extra Chapter: Gudaguda Honnoji Avengers.
"Hey, Hulk! Bruce? Are you in there? If you hear me, answer or win this battle of personalities already!"
Deadpool shouted this while dodging Herak's massive fists. Sakura Saber, Nobunaga, Spider-Man, and Mash were trying to restrain him with all their might, but if even the ordinary Heracles-Berserker was uncontrollable, then [Herak], summoned by Loki, was no different.
"Herak! Red guy… Crush! ■■■■■…!"
"Ua-a! What strength! But why is this Servant, Herak, only chasing Mr. Deadpool?"
Spider-Man, straining to bind Herak's powerful arms with webs, wondered why he was ignoring everyone else and showing such obsession specifically towards Deadpool.
"Kgh! It's hard to explain in this situation, but…!"
"Bad luck. You could say, karmic connection. Yes, that's it. This is the third time already…"
Instead of Mash, who was clinging to Herak's right leg with all her might, Ritsuka, standing at a distance and recalling past encounters, answered.
In the Singularity of Fuyuki, they clashed one-on-one, and then met again in Okeanos. In Okeanos, victory went to them thanks to the Ark, but it was Deadpool who acted as bait then, so the connection was obvious.
"Oh! I know! It's… kgh! It's that love that transcends time and space, about which they write in novels!"
To Oda Nobunaga's words, who was hanging on the giant's other leg with Sakura Saber, Deadpool, fleeing the monster with all his might, flared up:
"What love! This is outright harassment! I did not consent! Well… of course, he's muscular, and his straightforward way of charging headfirst is my type… But I'm a busy person! I already have partners, both male and female! With one, I'm already planning children, and another is my husband from the future!"
"Crush-i-i!"
The story of Deadpool's turbulent personal life gained a third "lover" in the form of Herak.
"Who gave you permission to turn this into a romance novel?!"
Deadpool yelled into the void, while Herak, with a single tug, threw off all the Servants who were trying to hold him back. Feeling free, he lunged after Deadpool with a delighted grin from ear to ear.
"Wait! Wait a minute!"
Deadpool suddenly stopped and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. An ordinary Berserker Heracles, driven mad by Mad Enhancement, wouldn't have even paid attention to this, but the current [Herak], whose summoning was distorted, obediently froze.
"Bruce? Bruce? Or Hulk? Are you in there? If so, speak up! Hey, strongman! The sun is already setting! Hey, Big Guy! Big guy!"
He desperately called out to Bruce or Hulk, hoping one of them was hiding inside Herak.
"Uh… does anyone understand what he's doing? Did this brute somehow eat some Bruce and Hulk?"
"Oh, I know. The prototype for this Servant is likely Dr. Bruce Banner. More precisely, the Hulk. The Hulk is a kind of second personality that Dr. Banner transforms into when he gets angry. So Mr. Deadpool is trying to awaken the true 'self' sleeping inside Herak. Although I'm not sure if it's actually Bruce Banner…"
The group of Ritsuka understood little from Spider-Man's lengthy explanations, who had become unusually talkative lately under Deadpool's influence. But not wanting to listen to even longer tirades in the spirit of the Talkative Mercenary himself, they simply nodded in agreement.
"Red guy. What are you doing?"
"I'm calling the personality sleeping within you! Bruce! Bruce! Come out already!"
"Bruce is not here. Herak is Herak!! ■■■■■…!"
With that roar, Herak grabbed Deadpool by the legs and began to ferociously pound him into the ground: right, left, right again, and twice in a row to the left.
An ordinary person would have long since died from broken bones and ruptured internal organs, but Deadpool, being an irregular Servant with the healing factor skill, merely writhed in unbearable pain, remaining alive.
"Yeah! That's exactly what I felt back then!"
Somewhere there, from the top of the golden pillar, Loki's malicious laughter echoed.
"I've been slammed into the ground like this for the second time. The first was that guy with the bull's head… Oh-oh-oh, it hurts so much!"
Herak, confident that he had struck the opponent with sufficient force, fell into confusion seeing Deadpool, despite groaning in pain, calmly getting back on his feet.
"Herak sees: red guy is fine. Herak is bored. Herak seeks a smaller target. Herak! Catch the spider-boy! ■■■■…!!"
"Oh-oh? Why me right away?"
It turned out that Herak was not devoid of wit: realizing that fighting someone who didn't die from his blows was pointless and boring, he instantly changed his target.
Some might call it cowardly, but Spider-Man, who was being stared at by the monster, had no time for labels. The lenses of his mask widened in horror, and he nimbly climbed up the castle gate of Honno-ji.
"Mr. Deadpool! Help!"
"Run, idiot! Just run!"
This was all Deadpool could do to help. However, deciding not to forget his comrade's noble sacrifice, he shed a single tear and gave a salute.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Herak plays with spider! Spider-boy! Herak crush!!"
Herak, with a roar, broke through the massive main gate of Honno-ji. Spider-Man, hanging on it, frantically shot webs and flew towards the tall castle tower.
"People! Anyone! Help me!"
Spider-Man desperately cried for help, but seeing Herak, without any spider abilities, punching holes in the stone masonry with his bare fingers and climbing after him, he had no choice but to flee higher.
"Friends. Let us honor the memory of our Peter Parker with a moment of silence. Thanks to his selfless sacrifice, our plan worked. So, three seconds of silence…"
"Enough already! Help me, damn it!"
Despite his cries, everyone else, as if infected by Deadpool's mood, silently bowed their heads and then walked single file through the destroyed gate of Honno-ji.
"If that's the case, I'll have to come up with something myself!"
There was no other choice – Spider-Man had to hold back Herak alone. He shot a stream of webs, firmly wrapping the approaching giant's body. No matter how strong he was, it would be difficult to break through the high-tensile web created by Peter in the lab.
"Okay, I've bought time… Oops!"
But then a new misfortune arose. Either summoned by Loki or remaining in the castle of Honno-ji, a crowd of Little-Pools and Nobbu poured out.
"Nobu-bu! No-obbu!"
"De-de-dep! De-dep! Dep-pu-u!"
"He-help…"
In this living wave of multiplied Nobbu and Little-Pools, Spider-Man finally got confused and disappeared from view, as if in the depths of the ocean.
◇
"Look! The enemy is in Honno-ji! Forward!"
Meanwhile, Ritsuka's group, having infiltrated the castle, led by Oda Nobunaga, who knew every nook and cranny here, rushed towards the golden pillar where Loki was hiding.
"Wow, those are the exact words Akechi Mitsuhide said when he stormed Honno-ji."
"Ugh. I can't believe I said that myself. Damn Mitsuhide! What's wrong with calling a bald guy bald?!"
Nobunaga began to make excuses, recalling an incident from his life when he teased his vassal for his unusual hairstyle, the "golden kumquat," pulled his hair, and beat him up, as if this made him absolutely innocent.
"But in the original sources, Nobunaga was indeed an arrogant type, senpai."
"Hey! I can hear everything! I might be arrogant, but not to that extent!"
"No, that's right. What kind of scoundrel must one be to think of turning the Holy Grail into a bomb…"
"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!!"
As they made their way to Loki, Mash and Sakura Saber began to discuss the bad character of the historical prototype Nobunaga. Annoyed Nob, whose girlish body was practically jumping with indignation, merely grumbled irritably in response.
"Ladies and gentlemen. While we're having a 'Secrets of History' segment here, it seems we've reached that ugly pillar."
They had indeed arrived at the foot of the "Divine Asgard" tower, as Loki called his refuge. All that remained was to overcome the stairs leading to the sky-high summit.
"Nobbu-u!"
"Dep-pu-pu!"
Of course, all the steps were literally littered with crowds of Nobbu and Little-Pools waiting for Ritsuka's group. The celestial monsters couldn't squeeze inside the narrow pillar, so only these small copies blocked the way.
"I'll deal with these trifles in a jiffy! Although it feels bad to attack myself.
"It also hurts me to cut myself, especially such tiny and cute ones. But if it's not a Nendoroid, then I don't need such merchandise."
The originals – Deadpool and Nobunaga – raised their paired pistols and flintlock musket respectively, aiming their barrels at the wave of advancing cute creatures.
Deadpool's powerful .45 caliber fire and the light beams emanating from Nobunaga's musket cut swathes through the ranks of Little-Pools and Nobbu. The heroes advanced, continuously fending off the pressing crowd.
"Mr. Nobunaga… You shoot very well! I like you more and more. Your arrogance is even amusing."
"And you, Deadpool, are an interesting guy. My, you fight so bravely with those flimsy pop-guns."
Hearing this, Deadpool seemed to remember something. He shoved the empty pistols into their holsters and began rummaging in his pants. Nobunaga, whose eyes widened at the sight, didn't have time to say anything – all her attention was consumed by the endless stream of enemies.
And then, with a triumphant look, Deadpool pulled out something that simply couldn't fit in his pants!
"MG42! Bearded Idiot's Chainsaw! Now I'll turn you into mince… Ah, wait. That's not it. Just a second."
Pulling out a heavy machine gun, he immediately realized he had made a mistake and simply threw it down the spiral staircase. Then he reached into his pants again, just like the blue robot cat from the Japanese cartoon.
"Oh! That's right! Found it! A small and elegant weapon!"
Despite his words about "elegance," he brought out a cyclopean construction. It wasn't even just a machine gun, but a multi-barreled monster capable of turning anything alive into dust with a single pull of the trigger. A minigun.
"And why didn't I think of it sooner? Why bother with two pistols when it's 'better' to mow them all down at once with one big gun!"
"Uh… Wade? Not 'better,' but 'better.'"
"Get to the Chappa-a-a!!"
Ignoring Ritsuka's remark about spelling, Deadpool, imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice, pulled the trigger.
Instead of the usual "tra-ta-ta," a low hum of rotating barrels sounded, and a rain of five-millimeter bullets turned the Little-Pools and Nobbu into powder.
"Hey, kid, why are you frozen? Collect the loot before it disappears! We still need to exchange it for stuff at the shop!"
Following Deadpool's advice, Ritsuka began picking up the trophies that dropped from the fallen enemies.
"I want one of those too! And why was I bothering with this musket? Truly, the fruits of civilization are magnificent!"
"Lady Nobunaga, at the time, the musket was also the height of technological progress," Mash interjected.
Nobunaga merely glanced at her with an expression that said, "Are you serious?", looking at a weapon that delivered the firepower of several thousand muskets at once.
Finally, when the annoying hum and the clatter of empty shell casings rolling down the steps subsided, the squad reached the summit where Loki awaited them.
"Alright. This isn't needed anymore."
Having finished his business, Deadpool carelessly tossed the red-hot minigun, its barrels almost bent from overheating, into the stairwell's opening.
"So, Loki's behind this door. Everyone ready? Let's turn this bastard into a cutlet!"
Loki, whose self-importance could easily rival Stark's ego, had adorned the golden gates with his own likeness. Deadpool kicked them open, revealing a spacious hall overlooking the entire Honnō-ji castle. In the very center, Loki sat enthroned on a golden throne.
"Haha! So, how's the royal mercy doing? Prepare to die, Loki!"
Despite Deadpool's taunting tone, Loki merely propped his chin with his hand and smirked contemptuously.
"Uh, Wade? I don't like the look of this…"
"It's you who should be preparing to die!"
Loki, clutching the Grail with its glowing blue gem, snapped his fingers on his other hand.
"Oh, crap. Finger snapping again?"
The next moment, Ritsuka and the others, including Deadpool and Loki himself, were sucked into a spatial rift generated by the Grail's power.