Helplessness

"Ugh..."

Frankenstein covered her wound and took a few steps back.

The fact that she was injured made her realize that the weapon in Shirou's hand was indeed extraordinary. In this world of ordinary humans, there were not many weapons that could harm a Servant.

"Well, looks like it's quite effective..." Shirou said with a smirk.

Seeing his annoying smile, Frankenstein's anger surged again.

"AAARGGHHH—!!!"

She roared like a beast, charging forward, wielding her menacing round hammer straight at Shirou's head.

"Simple and direct, truly fitting for a Berserker." Shirou remarked, effortlessly jumping back and easily avoiding the hammer's attack.

*BOOM!*

The hammer struck the ground with undiminished force, causing a loud boom. Dust billowed up, completely obscuring Shirou's view.

"What?!"

A sudden chill rose in his heart.

Shirou instinctively raised his katana to block in front of him.

*DING!*

The crisp sound of metal striking echoed as the menacing round hammer pierced through the dust, heading straight for his head.

*BOOM!*

The terrifying impact sent him flying until he crashed into a sturdy tree, finally stopping his momentum.

*Cough! Cough!*

Shirou knelt on the ground and propped himself up with his katana. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking toward Frankenstein not far away.

A wry smile appeared on his face.

"So, this is the power to break through everything? It really is an unreasonable way to fight."

"Hmph!" Frankenstein lifted her chin triumphantly, finally making this annoying man pay a price.

Shirou rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

The current situation was not favorable for their side.

Lancer, with an insufficient magical energy supply, was struggling against Lancer of Black.

Assassin and her Hanging Gardens of Babylon were entangled by the black dragon.

The rebellious Saber had already retreated, and although Rider and Berserker had managed to suppress Archer of Black, they couldn't defeat him in a short time.

Moreover, Saber of Black also heading toward Rider's temple, and with the addition of this Servant of Black, the situation might change again and worsen.

According to the plan they discussed earlier, they needed to give Archer at least an hour. But considering the current situation, could they really hold on until then?

"Fufufu~ it seems like your situation isn't going too well, Father Kotomine."

With a seductive and affectionate laugh, a tall nun emerged slowly from the shadows of the trees.

"Miss Sesshouin?" Shirou opened his mouth in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to convey Archer's message. Her side is proceeding smoothly, and she should accomplish her objective in about half an hour." Kiara said with a subtle smile.

"Is that so?" Shirou sighed in relief.

If it was only half an hour, it should be manageable and wouldn't be a problem.

'Archer? Objective?' Frankenstein caught the keywords and immediately became alert.

Could there be some other plot by the Red Faction?

She quickly turned her gaze to Kiara.

From the conversation earlier, this strange woman should be Archer of Red's Master. If she could eliminate her here, it wouldn't matter what Archer of Red was up to.

Having made her decision, Frankenstein roared like a beast, raising her menacing round hammer and charging toward Kiara like a chariot.

"Ara~? Are you targeting me now?"

Kiara tilted her head slightly, a seductive smile appearing on her lips.

"You know... that's not~good~at~all~"

===

Meanwhile, inside Ozymandias's temple, Ramesseum Tentyris.

*Pu-chi!*

*BANG!*

Penthesilea's sharp and hooked claws pierced through Heracles's heart, while at the same time, his sandbag-sized fist slammed fiercely into her face.

With Heracles's 'A-rank Strength' combined with his Pankration fighting technique, Penthesilea's head almost collapsed as her body flew like a cannonball, crashing into the nearby wall.

*BOOOM—!!!*

It was a blow capable of shattering a dragon, yet she quickly stood up again as if nothing had happened. Apart from a bruise on her face, there was almost no visible injury. Her eyes were still filled with rage and bloodlust.

Heracles lowered his head, watching the rapidly healing wound on his heart, his brow slightly furrowed.

"This is the fourth life..."

As a daughter of the god of war, Penthesilea's combat talents were exceptional. Before, he could suppress her due to the advantage in his parameters and Noble Phantasms. However, after receiving Ozymandias's blessing, her combat power skyrocketed, making it quite challenging for him to handle her.

If it weren't for the eleven additional lives granted by his God Hand, he might have already died by now. Even so, he had already used up three resurrection chances.

In other words, Penthesilea had killed him three times.

Of course, he gained something too.

During the battle, he inflicted eighteen fatal blows on her. Though she stood up unscathed each time, he could clearly feel the diminishing power of Ozymandias's blessing.

According to his combat experience, he only needed to sacrifice three more lives to permanently end her.

However, the crucial point was that he wasn't facing only Penthesilea now.

Heracles glanced at the man seated on the throne.

That man was the true threat.

If he wasted too many resurrection chances on Penthesilea, facing Ozymandias would make victory seem very bleak.

Heracles clenched his fist, feeling a hint of helplessness for the first time.

If only he had the complete version of God Hand, he wouldn't be in such a passive situation now.

Currently, God Hand only provided immunity to all attacks of B-rank and lower and eleven resurrection chances. In its complete version, aside from resurrection and damage immunity, it could also adapt to attacks and grant resistance to the said attack as a third effect. This effect would allow him to ignore the same type of attack after experiencing it once.

For example, if he suffered a fire attack, his fire resistance would increase, making him resistant to it after resurrection. No matter how powerful the attack that killed him was, it wouldn't work again after his resurrection.

In addition, another incomplete Noble Phantasm of his, King's Order, should, in its complete version, also include an effect that came from his mentor, Chiron, who offered him his immortality.

If that effect were available, his situation right now would be much better.

Unfortunately, whether due to balance reasons or because those effects were too overpowered, he didn't obtain any of them.

However, if his Master was willing to use her command spells as payment, he might be able to unlock one of those effects.

But since this temple was essentially a Reality Marble, Heracles couldn't contact his Master from the moment he stepped in.