That flexible waist bent into a shocking arc. Her long green hair dragged across the grass, and the sharp pressure of the blade swept over Atalanta's head, cutting through a huge tree that three people together could barely wrap their arms around.
Whoosh!
Facing danger, Atalanta treated it lightly. Without even a moment of pause, her waist exerted force again and she flipped over.
Like a cat stretching lazily, her limbs bent and extended. Against all physical logic, she changed direction in an instant and leapt up onto a tall tree trunk.
Whoosh!
Her slender and agile body dived in like a fish and disappeared into the sea of green, leaving only faint sounds of wind.
"What a pity…"
Iori appeared in the clearing, staring at the place where Atalanta had vanished, a trace of regret in his eyes.
It was a pity that when he had been hiding with Sella earlier, he had already revealed "Flash Step." Otherwise, that strike just now would at least have injured Atalanta.
Of course, this world was different from Akame ga Kill. This was a world filled with all kinds of skills and Noble Phantasms.
Let alone high speed movement, even techniques like ground shrinking, instant teleportation, and space folding existed here.
Heroic Spirits were experienced and knowledgeable. They would not necessarily be frightened by Iori.
In this place, he could not rely on tricking people who lacked experience like he did in Akame ga Kill.
He had to rely on real strength.
If this continued, before he could even touch the opponent, he would probably bleed to death first.
"My wounds?"
Iori noticed that his injuries were slowly healing. A pure stream of magical energy was being sent into his body through an unseen channel, repairing his damaged spiritual body.
"Sella is working hard too."
This was healing magic. Any qualified magus could use it. Normally it required physical contact, but because of the link between Master and Servant, healing magical energy could be sent directly.
With his Master supporting him so strongly, it would be too embarrassing for a Servant to suffer in his first battle. But if he kept chasing like this, it likely would not end well.
This classic kiting tactic, as an experienced gamer, how could Iori fail to recognize it?
An Archer who was not good at close combat daring to play this way clearly had confidence. In fact, with her two major skills, as long as the absolute speed difference was not too large, she truly would not be caught.
And this was in a forest.
Alright, decided. Time to use a new tactic.
"Nigerundayo!"
Without hesitation, abandoning Atalanta, Iori turned and ran toward Sella's direction.
"Sorry, I'm not the kind of man who clings stubbornly. I'm not interested in women I can't catch!"
In the dense forest, the female hunter was slightly stunned. Watching Iori turn around so decisively, she parted her lips a little.
She probably had not expected him to be so straightforward. She had thought he would try a bit harder. But the surprise at the corner of her mouth soon turned into a mysterious smile.
"Hmph, what a naive guy, showing your back to an Archer."
She nocked another magical arrow on the bowstring. Stepping on a branch, the female hunter began to chase the fleeing… victorious retreating Iori.
Maybe Iori was not a man who clung stubbornly, but she, Atalanta, was definitely a persistent woman. She would never let go of prey that her eyes had caught.
In myth, all the men who failed to pursue her ended up dying under her arrows.
Her beautiful eyes glowed faintly. With her extraordinary vision, she fixed her gaze firmly on Iori's back, never looking away.
Still one hundred meters… Iori could not shorten that gap, and Atalanta would not let him widen it.
The chase in the forest continued, but this time their positions were reversed. Unlike Atalanta's flexible movements, Iori focused more on pure explosive force. He frequently used Flash Step to avoid her arrows, and the trees now served as excellent shields.
What made it suspicious was that although Iori clearly could move long distances, he never leapt too far.
Each time he remained within the female hunter's field of vision. Even if he slightly exceeded it, she could quickly lock onto him again.
He seems to be guiding me somewhere.
Atalanta, a hero who had participated in the Calydonian Hunt and the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece, naturally saw the oddity with her rich combat experience.
But she did not stop. The battlefield was in the forest. As one favored by the goddess Artemis, her perception far surpassed that of ordinary Servants. She could confirm that apart from the distant church, there was no third Servant nearby.
As long as she did not fall into a siege by multiple Servants, she was confident she could handle any trap.
That confidence came from the Three Knight Classes' Magic Resistance and her own Crossing Arcadia.
Still, she kept a bit of caution. In the following pursuit, she only used ordinary magical arrows, applying pressure with dense attacks, but did not use high consumption charged shots, even though she did not lack magical energy.
Although her Master was a coward, preferring to hide behind the scenes and hand command over to the priest, never showing himself to protect his life… this displeased the female hunter.
Still, she had to admit he was quite capable as a Master. At least the efficiency of magical energy transmission was high, and she had felt no restriction in battle so far.
Archer was suited for solo combat anyway. Atalanta did not think lacking her Master's support was a major issue.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The two figures rushed forward and soon crossed most of the forest. The trees grew denser, and Iori finally reached the predetermined location.
Passing through the lush canopy, Iori leapt down. Deep in this forest stood a small pyramid that looked as if it were made of crystal.
He seemed to want to take his Master and escape together, but before he could dispel the Kidō, Atalanta had already caught up.
"Tch!"
Iori swung his blade to block an arrow. At the same time, one side of the small pyramid opened under his control.
A silver haired, red eyed girl hurried out, carrying only a suitcase, not even caring about the many precious artifacts she had packed.
"Berserker! Hurry over here!"
Sella shouted. Iori understood at once. Moving swiftly and lightly, he picked up his Master and fled into the shadows of the forest.
So he wants to protect his Master.
Atalanta no longer hesitated.
Although she did not have Clairvoyance, her vision was excellent enough. With magical enhancement, she saw clearly that the beautiful silver haired woman was just a human.
At this moment, appearing here, there was no other possibility except that she was the enemy's Master.
Was he fleeing so hurriedly and exposing such a large opening because of his Master's order?
Atalanta considered Iori an excellent swordsman with good combat sense. He should not have made such an obvious mistake.
But if it was a Master without battle experience making a panicked decision, then everything made sense.
Even so, Atalanta did not rush recklessly. She patiently maintained the standard one hundred meter distance.
The opponent was already at a disadvantage and now had an extra burden. The scales of victory had tilted toward her.
A hunter certain of victory had no reason to press a cornered beast too hard. Let the wounded prey struggle slowly until it completely lost strength. That was the smartest approach.
Full of confidence, the female hunter kept them locked in sight, striding forward on her well shaped legs as a streak of green cut through the forest.
However, when she was about to pass the place where Sella had hidden, for some reason, although she could have simply leapt over it, she inexplicably chose to pass through the ground instead.
It was a sudden whim without reason. Atalanta did not even have time to sense something was wrong. As she rushed past, the wide open pyramid entered her vision.
She did not want to be distracted.
She did not want to shift her gaze.
She should not have stopped.
But the female hunter could not help taking a glance. She could not help slowing down. She could not help diverting her attention.
Inside the pyramid, in that small treasure room, various rare ancient objects lay scattered. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing worth lingering over.
Yet by chance… or perhaps by inevitability, a flash of brilliant gold from the pile of junk entered Atalanta's sight and slowly enlarged in her beautiful yet entranced eyes.
That was gold.
No extra explanation was needed. It was the most symbolic wealth in human civilization, the most widely circulated, the most universally acknowledged.
Even before humanity rose, in the age when gods ruled the world, it was a treasure that captivated all intelligent life.
With little processing, pure gold, like a beautiful embodiment flowing from a dream… its very existence was a temptation.
No one could look away.
No one could abandon it.
No one could escape its curse.
'Damn it!'
Suddenly coming back to her senses, clarity returned to Atalanta's eyes. She was still in motion, but her movements were slightly stiff. That long gaze in reality seemed to have lasted only an instant.
But that brief lapse lit a fatal warning in her heart.
...Bang!
A dull sound came from her abdomen. The sudden impact made the female hunter feel as if her organs were being squeezed out. A sweet metallic taste surged to her throat and came out with a dry cough.
"Caught you!"
This punch instantly destroyed Atalanta's balance, canceling her forward momentum and sending her flying backward.
But this was clearly not the end. Without giving her any chance to recover, a strong hand grabbed her ankle. Surging brute force traveled through her body, making even her well trained thigh tremble.
Bang!
"Cough!"
Atalanta was slammed to the ground. Pain like broken bones spread through her body, especially at her ankle. She suspected the mobility she was proud of had been ruined.
Whoosh!
Even in such a desperate situation, the female hunter chose to counterattack. Her waist suddenly exerted force. Like a fish flopping onto land, she burst out with astonishing flexibility and broke free before Iori could apply new strength.
Her single leg bent and stretched. Atalanta leapt upward, turning around and drawing her bow at Iori...
A streak of gold flashed in the corner of her vision.
Swish!
The arrow shot out. Iori stood still. The arrow passed beside his head and failed to harm him at all.
Archer actually missed.
"What...!"
Atalanta was shocked and furious. But at this moment, both her mind and body were in unprecedented weakness. It seemed she had no way to turn things around.
No, there was one last chance, the final trump card of a Servant, Noble Phantasm release.
"Kuyao Binding!"
Iori did not want to give her the chance. In midair, Atalanta's body was bound by nine clusters of pitch black magical energy that appeared from nowhere.
Four wrapped around her limbs, and the other five formed spiritual stakes from different directions.
"Damn it!"
As one of the Three Knight Classes, Atalanta had Magic Resistance. But unfortunately, hers was only Rank D, just a little stronger than a certain red clad worker's Rank E, enough to nullify most modern magecraft.
But Iori had long prepared in secret and had even silently completed the full chant for high level Bakudo No. 79. It clearly exceeded the resistance range of Magic Resistance D.
Moreover, due to the effect of a certain holy relic, Atalanta's mental resistance had been weakened. Even without physical injuries, she would feel inexplicably weak.
"Let me go! Despicable man!"
"Don't praise me like that. It's embarrassing."
Iori held the Rhine Gold in his hand and examined it carefully under the dappled sunlight of the forest.
"No matter age or race, women really do love gold…"
"It's not a golden apple, but it's still enough to distract you, Atalanta."
"Why… do you know my true name?"
"A female archer who runs that fast, there aren't many in all of human history, right?"
Not to mention the obvious physical features. Iori glanced at her cat ears and tail.
Even if someone had not watched the original anime, as long as they knew a bit about Greek history, they could guess who this archery expert and running champion was.
"I never thought I would lose again in such a humiliating way… Urgh! Kill me!"
"You seem to think I'm some kind of bad guy." Iori smiled. "But maybe this is just a misunderstanding."
Ding!
At that moment, a familiar notification sound rang in his mind. Several streams of information flowed in, and the smile on Iori's face became strange.
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