A Familiar Figure

"Cosmosphinx..."

Heracles muttered softly, revealing the true identity of the Sphinx before him.

Just like every group has its leader, the Sphinx also had its own, known as Cosmosphinx. It surpassed ordinary dragons, almost on par with top-tier divine beasts like great dragons.

If Heracles were just an ordinary Servant, the Sphinx's attack moments ago would probably have wiped him out completely.

Meanwhile, Cosmosphinx shook its head, rising to face him again. Though it lacked facial features, anyone could sense its intense anger.

*ROOOOAAARRRR—!!!*

Cosmosphinx roared, and its golden wings behind it suddenly flapped, unleashing a fierce wind accompanied by raging flames, charging toward Heracles.

Heracles stood firm, facing Cosmosphinx head-on. The violent wind and flames ruthlessly battered him, but left no trace of injury, nor did it halt his steps.

Similar to Siegfried's Armor of Fafnir, Heracles's 'God Hand' transformed his body into resilient armor, immune to any attack of B-rank and below.

In the blink of an eye, Heracles closed in on Cosmosphinx.

His massive longbow transformed into a rough-hewn axe-sword, his colossal body brushing through the air. Amidst the roaring wind, he swung the weapon toward Cosmosphinx's head without mercy.

"Nine Lives—Shooting the Hundred Heads!"

The enormous axe-sword descended from above, striking Cosmosphinx's head with unparalleled almighty power.

It created a series of dazzling afterimages, generating visible shockwaves.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

After nine consecutive strikes, Heracles finally ceased his attack, landing on the ground with a lingering bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Cosmosphinx in front of him had long lost its vitality, its body smashed into a complete mess, showing no traces of its former majestic appearance.

"Hahhh..." Heracles exhaled slowly, lifting his axe-sword, and continued toward the depths of the temple.

"To deal with my pet so violently, you're quite a barbarian, Greek hero..." Ozymandias remarked as he lounged casually on his throne. "But this is far from enough."

*Whoosh—!*

A sharp wind suddenly attacked from behind, causing Heracles's pupils to instinctively contract.

*BOOOM!*

A tremendous force struck him, sending him flying, smashing into a nearby wall, shattering it into pieces, and raising a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, Heracles reappeared, frowning as he saw Cosmosphinx, which had somehow restored its original form.

'Immortality? No, just a fake version of it, limited only to this temple.'

Due to the immortality previously bestowed upon him by his mentor, Chiron, Heracles was no stranger to this kind of power. Naturally, he quickly identified the flaw in this immortality.

"Since killing you in this temple won't have any effect..."

Heracles clenched his fist, charging toward Cosmosphinx, who seemed to sense something, and relentlessly unleashed various long-range attacks to hinder him, but none had any effect.

"Then settles it outside!"

He charged at it like a bull, crashing into its legs with incredible force, propelling it toward the temple gate.

Realizing the impending danger, Cosmosphinx roared and vibrated its wings. As long as it left the ground, this man couldn't touch it!

"No escaping!"

Heracles grabbed its legs, muscles bulging like rocks on his arms.

*Swish—!*

With a burst of incredible strength, he forcefully pulled it down.

"It's over!"

Heracles roared, lifting Cosmosphinx's legs and throwing its massive body, over ten meters tall, into the sky.

As the embodiment of the Sky God Horus, the sky should have been the Sphinx's most familiar domain. However, all that filled Cosmospinx's heart at this moment was endless fear.

Without the sanctuary of the temple, it meant it could no longer resurrect!

"Goodbye."

Heracles drew his obsidian longbow, unleashing 'Nine Lives: Shooting the Hundred Heads' in arrow form. Nine scorching dragon-shaped arrows shot out like meteors, crashing into Cosmosphinx's body without mercy.

*BOOOOOM—!!!*

A deafening explosion echoed, and before it could even scream, Cosmospinx's body completely dissipated.

Once Heracles confirmed the complete dissipation of Cosmosphinx's aura, he didn't pause for a moment. He quickly turned and returned to the temple, heading deeper inside.

With his 'A+ Agility', it took him less than a minute to reach the center of the temple. It was a spacious area equivalent to about two football fields, not at all dim even without lights.

"Never expected you'd actually find your way here, O Greek hero." Ozymandias sat high on his throne, looking down at Heracles. "Indeed, the surprises you bring me just keep increasing."

"It's over, Rider of Red."

Heracles raised his longbow, aiming at Ozymandias on the throne. At this distance, he was absolutely confident in piercing through Rider of Red's head.

"Oh, come on, don't be in such a hurry..." Ozymandias slowly curled a smile. "The real show is just about to begin."

Hearing that, Heracles furrowed his eyebrows.

"ACHILLEEESSS—!!!"

Without warning, a piercing roar suddenly echoed, like demons howling in hell.

"ACHILLEEESSS—!!!"

With a blood-curdling, ghostly howl, a figure suddenly dashed out from the corner. Fists shrouded in icy armor, carried a fierce wind as they charged toward Heracles.

Heracles narrowed his eyes, slightly lowering his body.

Channeling all his strength into his right arm, he unleashed a plain yet powerful straight punch.

*Whoosh—!*

The air distorted slightly as the punch surged forward.

*BOOOOOM—!!!*

The two fists collided, unleashing a terrifying force, akin to a small nuclear explosion, sending visible shockwaves rippling out.

*Rumble—*

The powerful recoil forced both parties to retreat ten meters each.

It was an obvious draw, but considering one of them was the melee-invincible Heracles, the result itself was surprising enough. Even more surprising was that the opponent holding their ground against the legendary Greek hero was a woman.

She wore armor that barely covered the essential parts, revealing well-defined muscles. Despite exuding a savage aura reminiscent of prehistoric beasts, her breathtaking beauty, akin to a goddess, couldn't be concealed.

"It's you..."

Heracles straightened his body, calmly locking eyes with the familiar face before him.

"Penthesilea..."

Penthesilea, the queen who led the Amazons and the daughter of the Greek God of War, Ares. After Hector's death, she led the Amazon army to join the war as the ally of the Trojans and ultimately met her end at the hands of Achilles.

Heracles and Penthesilea had crossed paths before.

In an attempt to obtain War God's Military Sash from Hippolyta, Heracles found himself in conflict with the Amazons due to the meddling of Hera. It was during that time he fought Penthesilea and ultimately won, but out of respect for her being Hippolyta's sister, he didn't take her life.

Who could have thought that, after endless years, they would once again meet on this Holy Grail War?