-875- The heated battle

As the son of the sun god Surya, Karna possesses an innate Noble Phantasm called (O' Sun, Become Armor) Kavacha and Kundala.

It's a powerful defensive Noble Phantasm that integrates with Karna's physical body, emitting sunlight continuously.

This existence made of light itself is nearly indestructible, making it difficult even for gods to damage.

It reduces all hostile interference, such as physical attacks, magecraft, curses, etc., to one-tenth of it's original strength, and also possesses healing capabilities, fully restoring even fatal injuries.

This Noble Phantasm is rated at A level.

Thanks to this Noble Phantasm, Karna is almost invincible. Even during his lifetime, he was feared by the thunder god Indra, who believed that Karna, with his golden armor, was nearly unbeatable.

To ensure Arjuna's victory, Indra tricked Karna into relinquishing the golden armor. Without this defense, Karna not only lost his near-invulnerability but also suffered significant damage. If not for this Noble Phantasm, Karna would not have survived the behind-the-scenes manipulation during the destruction of the native state.

However, Karna doesn't rely solely on this Noble Phantasm.

For example, there's his divine spear, a transformation of the immortal blade bestowed by the axe-wielding Rama. This Noble Phantasm enhances Karna's strength r to A rank, making it exceptionally potent. Karna can imbue this spear with his inherent heat effects, launching it to create an attack comparable to a nuclear weapon.

"O' Brahma, Curse Me(Brahmastra Kundala" is the Noble Phantasm Karna employs in the current situation. It's not just an anti-unit or anti-army Noble Phantasm; it's an extremely powerful anti-fortress Noble Phantasm.

"Boom!"

When the fearsome flame erupted from the Argo, Karna compressed the flames surrounding him into the divine spear in his hand and threw it.

The divine spear transformed into a streak of fire, akin to a beam of light, directly striking the surging water current descending from the sky.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a thunderous sound, flame and water collided abruptly in the high sky, creating a magnificent explosion. Water vapor, like an avalanche, expanded in all directions.

The strike capable of killing fallen gods was nullified on the spot by Karna's concealed anti-fortress Noble Phantasm.

"What...!?"

Fionn's smiling face vanished, replaced by a look of astonishment.

"Roar!"

At this moment, an angry roar echoed through the air. A massive black figure broke through the pervasive water vapor, soaring into the sky from the Argo with a howling gust of wind and a sonic boom, landing in front of Fionn.

It was Berserker.

"Roar!"

Berserker roared, wielding an axe-sword that descended like a meteor, heavily cleaving toward Fionn.

"Clang!"

In a resounding clash, the axe-sword was deflected by the purple double-headed spear, creating shockwaves and sparks.

"Guh...!"

Fionn felt a tremendous force through his raised spear, emitting a muffled groan.

"Roar!"

Berserker roared again, executing a sudden spin and delivering a powerful flying kick, his rock-solid and sturdy foot slamming fiercely into Fionn's abdomen.

"Pound!"

Like an explosion, Berserker's kick sent Fionn flying, creating a shockwave that dispersed the surrounding water vapor.

Fionn was propelled through the air like a kite with a broken string, generating a sonic boom as he crashed into the ground, causing the terrain to sink.

For a moment, sand, debris, and cracks traversed the ground, sending many Celtic soldiers flying and turning into large pieces of debris.

However...

"An opening!"

A figure silently darted out from behind Berserker.

Except for Diarmuid, who else could it be?

"Hahh!"

Diarmuid exclaimed with a low growl.

In his hand, the last remaining yellow short spear surged forth like a yellow flash, stabbing towards Berserker's back.

"Splurt!"

In the next moment, the yellow short spear pierced through Berserker's abdomen, protruding from his front belly.

Blood gushed out profusely from Berserker's body.

"Roar!"

Berserker emitted a roar of agony.

Diarmuid, on the other hand, had no time to rejoice.

Because...

"Shoo—!"

Amidst the sharp sound of breaking air, an arrow, mixed within a magical whirlwind, soared into the sky and shot towards them.

"Clang—!"

Diarmuid swiftly swung his spear, and his other hand, which now held the thrown magical spear with a red rose, deflected the A-ranked magical arrow.

With the magical spear's anti-magic effect from the Red Rose, Diarmuid wasn't threatened much by Atalante's magical shots, even at A-rank.

However...

"Don't forget about me!"

Rama shouted loudly, his figure already leaping into the air.

Descending with momentum, Rama raised the Immortal Blade high, delivering a powerful strike towards Diarmuid, who had just parried Atalante's attack.

"Clang—!"

With a clear sound of steel colliding, Diarmuid pulled out the yellow short spear that had pierced Berserker's body, swiftly lifted it, and blocked this formidable blow.

Unfortunately, unlike Atalante's A-ranked magical shots fueled by mana, Rama's physical strength was genuinely at the A-rank.

Even with Diarmuid's strength, being struck by the descending force from above, he couldn't maintain his stance. Moreover, after numerous exchanges in mid-air, Diarmuid, having leapt into the air himself, was struck while descending. Even if he managed to block the attack, he couldn't maintain his position.

And now, Berserker had already landed back on the deck of the Argo.

Blood continuously dripped from his abdomen.

Looking at Berserker in such a state...

"Why... Why isn't he regenerating!?"

Jason exclaimed in disbelief.

You see, Berserker is a Servant with the ability to resurrect even if his core is shattered, possessing a Noble Phantasm that grants him regenerative capabilities. Being pierced through the abdomen, before his regenerative powers, was practically nothing.

Only Rozen knew the truth.

"That wound won't heal."

Rozen spoke in a low voice.

"That's Diarmuid Ua Duibhne's second Noble Phantasm—Gáe Buidhe."

—"Gáe Buidhe."

It was a gift from the Sea God Manannán mac Lir to Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, possessing the effect of impeding the recovery of those pierced by it, just like the red spear.

This spear, also engraved with runes, bore the runes for "Success," "Hail (Strength)," "Gift," "Birch (Abundance)," and "Martial God (Victory)."

It carried a curse that prevented wounds caused by the spear from healing, even with healing magic or regenerative abilities. It was another continuously active Noble Phantasm, requiring no true name invocation to take effect.

To lift the curse of this spear, one would have to destroy the Yellow Spear or kill Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, its wielder.

Therefore, even with Berserker's resurrection ability, he couldn't recover from this injury.

"So this is the Mythological War...."

Mash couldn't help but shiver.

The others felt a similar heaviness in their hearts.

The war had just started, not even lasting a few minutes, and both sides' Servants had already unleashed several Noble Phantasms, resulting in such an astonishing battle.

And this was just the beginning.