Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

After Roman's call rang out, David, who already knew some of the details, explained.

"But why would the Argonauts come after our ship? It's almost like..."

Mashu paused, the unspoken meaning of which was simple: 'being treated as an enemy'.

"Because the captain has been targeted by them."

Kiyohime sighed, "In any case, let's retreat for now. If the captain can exert his strength, dealing with these guys will be a piece of cake, but... let's retreat, captain."

"..."

Meilushin paused for a moment, which was unusual for her, and could only nod.

Although she was somewhat uncomfortable fighting in the sea because she had died there before, it was just discomfort; she could still continue fighting. However, the seawater of the Oceanus had been specially modified by that bastard Typhon using the Holy Grail, so she would inevitably faint if she came into contact with it.

Oceanus is one of the primordial gods in the earliest Homeric epics. Together with his wife Thetis, he is the progenitor of all other gods. In Hesiod's system, he is classified as a second-generation god who arose from the primordial gods. He is the son of Gaia, the earth mother, and Uranus, the sky god.

In classical Greek mythology, Oceanus's position as the ruler of the sea was replaced by Poseidon, and in most European languages, the word for sea comes from Oceanus.

Thanks to the legend, Typhon, also a son of Gaia, was strengthened in this place. Not to mention that after obtaining the Holy Grail and learning about Albion's weakness, she made the water quality of the sea special and could beat Melsin to a pulp, which can be considered revenge for the beating she was given before coming to the Sea of ​​Oceanus.

In fact, the ship was built by Kiyohime. While fishing on the ship, she accidentally caught Merosin, who had fainted in the sea. After waking up, Merosin took over the ship on her own initiative. If Kiyohime hadn't gotten along well with her when discussing love, Kiyohime wouldn't have given up so easily.

"Indeed, without the captain's strength, we are clearly no match for them. After all, they are the greatest hero of Greece."

Because there are Servants there whose mere glance is enough to send chills down the spines of most magicians, causing their magic circuits to tremble.

His mere aura was enough to dominate the atmosphere; a few seconds of eye contact was enough to make onlookers feel the sheer terror of his presence.

Hercules.

For Ritsuka, it was good enough that she didn't faint directly. As for her legs trembling, there was nothing she could do about it. After all, just looking at it from afar gave her a fear far greater than seeing Fafnir... Wait, is that Fafnir overhead?

Only then did the orange-haired girl realize that besides the imposing Hercules, there were also enormous dragons circling above the ship, just like Fafner who had assisted them in the French Singularity.

Why is Fafnir here again?

However, before the girl could voice her confusion, her attention was diverted by the voice of the blond man who came from behind.

"Alright, we can finally get close enough to see their faces clearly. What a bunch of pathetic people."

The blond man, Zhan, opened his arms before Hercules and a young girl, saying, "Nice to meet you, you who seek to correct the evil in the world, we are the 'Heroes of Argonautica,' righteous heroes dedicated to maintaining the right order in the world."

"Medea, the Witch of Kolski".

"Hercules, the strongest hero in the world."

"Finally, there are the leaders mentioned above, the heroes of the four seas, who are none other than myself, Jason."

Of course, Kiyohime looked speechless at Jason's smugness.

"Justice? King? You're clearly a scumbag inside and out."

"Heh, arrogant woman, you're not respectful enough to me. But never mind, a king has the magnanimity."

Jason casually tossed his blond hair across his forehead. "Hand over that Melosin to me, and the king will generously let you go. With Hercules around, you're quite afraid, aren't you?"

Jason was telling the truth; at least for Ritsuka, simply standing up was already very difficult.

However, she still raised her head, looking directly at the Berserker Hercules and Jason, and said firmly:

"We refuse! There is no way we can hand over our comrades!"

"Haha, really? Really?"

Jason burst into wild laughter, “How brave! Indeed, like a hero, so dashing!”

But the next second his eyes turned fierce.

"A bunch of trash, still so smug? Watch me wipe you all out! Hercules! Let them see the difference in our power!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp, piercing sound cut through the air, drowning out the sound of the sea.

Looking around, Hercules had already leaped over and was about to grab Ritsuka and Mash's heads. If no one stopped them, one of them would be blasted away and the other would bleed from the head.

However, while Hercules was fast, Melusin was even faster.

Its tiny body and outstretched hands seemed almost nonexistent compared to the giant Hercules, yet it somehow managed to fling Hercules to the floor with unimaginable force.

"Heh heh, Medea and Fafnir, get them both on!"

Even though Jason forced a smile, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine when he saw the tyrannical face of Melusin. He was terrified, as if he were seeing the exceptionally terrifying eyes of Typhon, who had promised him. But thankfully, they both knew Melusin's weakness.

So the witch and the dragon, under Jason's command, stirred up a great flood on the sea and rushed toward the ship where Melosin was.

Even though Melusin could use magic to separate herself from the seawater, she felt increasingly drowsy.

"Damn Typhon, I'll skin you alive someday..."

Melusin was furious. Her few weaknesses had been spread around by that damned Typhon, which she had always considered herself the strongest. How could she accept this? She had already mentally killed Typhon a thousand times over.

So, as before, Melisandre fell straight to the floor after Kiyohime splashed water on her, but in the end, she still threw Hercules onto Argonaut's ship, causing turmoil.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kiyohime quickly led Ritsuka and the others to retreat by boat.

"We've escaped from the Argonauts, but what do we do next?"

David asked.

"Our captain, as our greatest asset, has glaring weaknesses, and apart from that, none of us are a match for any of those Hercules..."

"So what? Right now, we only have one thing to do: defeat the Argonauts."

Ritsuka was still trembling unconsciously, but she still said it firmly.

"Yes, that's the version of events..."

David nodded. "But I probably do have a way to deal with Hercules. I guess the timing was just too perfect... Oh well, whatever."

Then, the green-haired man stood up and looked at an island not far away.

"Right there."

……

"The Ark of the Covenant, this is the relic I have been searching for."

After David brought Ritsuka and the others to the island, they followed a road to a dilapidated temple.

"I never expected it to be the Ark of the Covenant..."

Kiyohime covered her mouth with her folded fan. "The sacred relic recorded in the Old Testament is the box in which Moses received God's instructions to seal the tablets of the Ten Commandments. It is said that anyone who opens it will be punished. It is a prop that often appears in stories of 'never to be opened'."

"Kiyohime, you know so much."

Ritsuka, carrying the unconscious Melsin on her back, couldn't help but admire the green-haired girl's extensive historical knowledge.

"Hehe, of course. I am striving to become a perfect lady. Even those of you here are the best students of the first term of 'Tamamo Classroom' and 'Enma Kitchen'."

Kiyohime narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly.

"In Japan, the story of the Ark of the Covenant is equivalent to the 'hand-held box' in the Urashima Taro legend."

"So, archer, what's this about using the Ark of the Covenant against Heracles? And how do you even know about the Ark? That's very suspicious."

"As soon as he touches the Ark of the Covenant, he will surely be destroyed."

David sighed, “The Ark of the Covenant was originally a treasure that appeared in the world with me. Now I will not hide it from you, but I was the king who transported the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem during my lifetime, namely King David.”

However, the shock David expected did not appear on the faces of the others, except for Kiyohime, who burned his hair into an afro because of his lie.

"Haha, what a terrifying temperature... But since I can't move the Ark of the Covenant, because I'd die if I touched it, I can only stay here with the Guardian Captain."

At the same time, in the command center of Chaldea, Roman, lost in thought, heard the voices of the staff below:

"Acting Commander? I have a way to handle this."

"Well, what is it?"

"Make Fujimaru prepared to die."

Subsequently, through Roman's relay, everyone learned the plan: Fujimaru would carry Melsin on his back, then lure Hercules ashore so that he could come into contact with the Ark of the Covenant and be destroyed... Ritsuka agreed to this, while Melsin, still unconscious, was 'forced' to agree.

A few minutes later, seeing the Argo reappear on the sea, Kiyohime, David, and the others launched their Noble Phantasms, forcing Jason to let Hercules leap over in order to protect himself.

"It's time to begin—"

As Ritsuka was speaking, the earth suddenly trembled violently, and its surface shattered.

"Ran."

Just as she was about to speak, some magical light fell between Ritsuka and the others. With just a slight lift of her eyes, the girl could face Hercules, who was completely unharmed despite being attacked by David, Kiyohime, and Mashu.

Although she was very surprised, Ritsuka still carried Melsin and ran towards the Ark of the Covenant first, because if they failed, they would really die.

The trees swayed, casting shadows on Ritsuka's shadow.

Can you make it?

Get there!

Ignoring everything, letting her body's functions burn uncontrollably, the orange-haired girl mentally encouraged herself.

The voices of Chaldea kept echoing in my ears.

"Hercules is only 500 meters away from you, very good! At this speed, you can escape!"

"We're almost at the Ark of the Covenant! Keep going!"

"Hercules is here! He's come into view!"

"Don't turn around! You'll be overwhelmed by their presence!"

At this moment, the girl's face was covered in sweat, snot, and even drool was flowing incessantly, but she had no time to care about any of that.

He just kept repeating to himself, "Keep running!"

Suddenly, Ritsuka couldn't breathe, and her body, defying her will, became immobile.

This was the first time the great hero Hercules unleashed his pure killing intent in this singularity. The pressure was so great that even Servants trembled, and ordinary humans simply could not withstand it.

Ritsuka even thought that this was not a place for her to stay. Her instincts tried to escape the terror, and she even wanted to cut off her consciousness.

Tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes, because of the presence behind me, even though I couldn't see it.

However, the next moment, the girl used her last bit of strength and jumped up despite the excruciating pain in her legs.

No, it's not over yet. My answer, and what kind of expression should I be wearing now...?

I can't smile like David, nor can I fight like Captain Meloscin. Even so, everyone trusted me and came this far together. It's not out of responsibility or obligation; I just wanted to repay their trust...

Even if I can't fight and don't have great power, I'm still everyone's Master! Besides, I haven't made Novia my Servant yet! He hasn't called me Master yet!

That's all the reason.

In fact, Ritsuka had been trembling ever since the Fuyuki Singularity, and what was even more terrifying was that she had been trembling even more ever since she learned of the burning of human reason.

Suppressing the instinct to fear that arises from dread is a form of courage for humans who live in the present.

The next instant, a gust of wind blew by.

Hercules rushed past the altar Ritsuka had jumped over, but then came to an abrupt halt.

“…Failed.”

Roman, who was watching all this unfold at Chaldea, gritted his teeth. "Fujimaru, Mashu, forced spirit transfer will be performed in thirty seconds. No arguments will be accepted. You, Mashu, and everyone else did their best, but we still couldn't defeat him. That's reality. We can't pay the price of losing you all for one failure."

"Wait, Doctor, please wait. If we retreat now, what about the others, including the missing consultant—"

"Prepare to retreat! I told you to hurry!"

The doctor's words were not directed at Mash and Ritsuka, but at the Chaldea operators.

He certainly found this situation hard to accept, but...

Romani lowered his head helplessly.

"Yes, we lost..."

No, not yet.

David, covered in blood, charged straight at Hercules from behind and wrestled with him.

That thing originally belonged to 'God,' to that great being in heaven. To commit such an unjust act before this sacred object—what a joke! Therefore, at least if given the chance, I will take action.

Besides, I also need to show him my "handsome side"!

"You're not the only one blessed by God. Also, although I can't move the box, I can still move it a little bit."