Using poisoned wine to knock out the great yokai Shuten Douji and then beheading him, that legend is basically a lower version of Susanoo slaying the Yamata no Orochi.
With that kind of connection, Shuten of course would not mistake the legendary Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
Although she had never seen it with her own eyes, a weapon that could make her hair stand on end with just one glance was probably only Ame no Murakumo.
After all, she did not know that something like "art style value" existed in this world, something that could automatically match mythological legends and even fool the Throne of Heroes to obtain the corresponding data.
In fact, the current Iori was "Susanoo." Even if Susanoo himself came to look, he would most likely suspect that this was himself in his youth, or a version from some parallel world.
Of course, Shuten had another understanding of Iori's identity.
"Among the past owners of the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, the most famous are Susanoo and Yamato Takeru. But as everyone knows, Susanoo is a drunkard!"
"My 'Divine Convenience Demon Poison' can correspond to the fine wine Susanoo used to tempt the Yamata no Orochi."
"That was a nectar even the great god himself would be intoxicated by. Being inside this Noble Phantasm… there is no way Susanoo would not feel even a bit drunk!"
"Uh…" Iori thought about it and really found it hard to argue, so he could only stay silent and accept it by default.
Susanoo's poor drinking habits were quite famous. His compatibility with the Berserker class came from the legend of him going mad after drinking. Iori had also used this to obtain the Berserker class.
Logically speaking, Susanoo would normally not be affected by Madness Enhancement. But after coming into contact with wine at the level of a Noble Phantasm, he would definitely go wild and make a scene.
Iori's performance indeed did not match the records in mythology.
But his Zanpakuto was called "Clear Mirror, Still Water."
The passive ability of the Zanpakuto was to see through falsehood. After unfolding the Mirror World, Iori could even enter a selfless state of clear illumination of the heart. Making him "drunk" was impossible.
In fact, Shuten's Noble Phantasm was effective. But only Iori's body was affected. Mentally, he remained normal, so he did not look like the drunken god from legend.
But then… why say he was Takeru? Just because of Ame no Murakumo?
"In legend, Takeru had a handsome face and a light, graceful figure. When he was young, he even disguised himself as a shrine maiden to charm the ruler of an enemy country, then successfully assassinated him in one move!"
Shuten carefully looked over Iori's refined and handsome face, her tone full of confidence and certainty, "From this legend, without a doubt, you are Yamato Takeru!"
Iori, "…"
"Stop pretending. Admit it, you are that imperial prince famous for using any means necessary!"
Shuten said with a smile, "The rumors are true. You really are very good looking. Very suitable for dressing as a woman~"
'Fine. Decided. Kill her right now.'
The abnormal fluctuation of magical energy was quickly sensed by Shuten Douji. When the lightning symbolizing the wrath of heaven fell, she became even more certain.
This lightning technique and the earlier water dragon technique were impressive, but far from the level of divine authority.
They were closer to the level of a highly skilled onmyoji. Then the identity of the black haired boy before her was undoubtedly not Susanoo, the storm god.
It was more like he was borrowing the power of thunder and water through a weapon or blessing.
Was that not Yamato Takeru, who had been granted the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi?
Of course, even knowing Iori's "true name" did nothing to help Shuten change the current situation.
As the conqueror of Izumo and the mythological origin of "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians," Takeru had once been revered by the heavenly and earthly gods.
In the mystical system of the Far East, he stood far above Shuten, who was merely a descendant of the Yamata.
Not to mention that Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi… it could be called her natural enemy.
BOOM!
Lightning exploded, and a cloud of blood mist burst open on the spot. The sweet, cloying smell of blood immediately filled the air, making Iori instinctively cover his mouth and nose.
"…Trying to run?"
Iori was not fooled by the distraction. His figure flashed out of the blood mist, and with his long sword in hand he slashed down toward a patch of chaotic darkness.
Clang!
A crisp collision rang out, followed by a harsh grinding sound. Shuten Douji's great sword and Ame no Murakumo sparked fiercely under the moonlight.
The one armed great yokai was completely suppressed, forced out of the darkness. Iori followed with a flying kick to her chest.
With the sound of ribs breaking and air exploding, she was sent flying backward.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Shuten Douji's body skimmed across the water like a thrown stone, kicking up large splashes one after another.
She had no chance to steady herself. Before her momentum of being knocked away had weakened, Iori had already used Shunpo to get ahead of her, predicted her position, and slashed down with one strike.
Clang!
A slender arrow cut through the darkness and struck the back of the blade. The powerful force forcibly shifted the trajectory of the sword by three inches.
It cut diagonally into the demon girl's forehead, slicing off a bloody piece of skull as easily as a hot knife through butter, still attached to a crimson oni horn.
Whoosh!
Shuten Douji, who had narrowly escaped death, had no time to feel pain. Like a swift swallow, she suddenly changed direction.
Her body flipped repeatedly over the water. Her gorgeous kimono fluttered up and down like blooming flowers, making it hard to see clearly.
Slash!
Sharp sword energy cut through the kimono but did not hit the great yokai's true body. Only two pieces of fine cloth drifted down onto the water.
Iori raised his brow at the sight. He did not expect Shuten to use a similar trick of shedding her shell like a cicada. One was advanced Shunpo. The other was likely within the category of demon arts.
And… even with her skull cut open, it did not hinder her movement. That strange vitality truly matched the image of a "demon."
Only then did a sharp buzzing reach Iori's ears. It was clearly the lingering sound of that arrow from earlier, arriving late.
Its speed had absolutely exceeded the speed of sound, and not by a small margin.
The power and accuracy were not below Atalanta's. No, perhaps even stronger?
Facing the sudden change, Iori did not panic. He held the Zanpakuto, now like liquid mercury, and lightly drew a line under his feet.
Fine ripples quickly swept across the entire river surface. The waves stirred up by the fierce battle instantly calmed, returning to a mirror like stillness.
At that moment, an almost invisible dark light swept across the mirror surface. The boy suddenly turned around.
Clang! Clang!
Two arrows were deflected by the blade. But the third arrow, which suddenly appeared from behind them, was the true killing strike.
Like a lurking venomous snake, by the time it was noticed it was already too late.
No time to dodge?
At this critical moment, Iori remained calm, like a deep cold pool. Nothing could stir a ripple in his heart.
Sss!
With a slight twist of his wrist and a small adjustment of the blade, the edge met the arrowhead directly.
After a short scraping sound, the dangerous arrow split into two halves and flew off to either side.
"Beautiful!"
A thousand meters away, the archer locked onto his target with astonishing eyesight. Seeing Iori's move, he could not help but praise him even as an enemy.
Of course, he would not go easy because of that. The Greek style strong bow was drawn again, the string like a full moon.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Arrows surpassing the speed of sound shot through the air one after another.
But under the "mirror surface" that reflected everything, they were all blocked or avoided by Iori without exception. He fought while retreating, his figure agile as he withdrew toward the shore.
Unlike his earlier duel with Atalanta outside the church, at that time the priest had not fully controlled all the Servants.
With Black Rider attacking as well, he had been distracted. Iori's only opponent then had been Atalanta.
But now Shuten Douji and Black Archer had appeared one after another, proving that Iori's whereabouts had been exposed. If he continued to delay, he might be surrounded and beaten by the enemy.
Iori knew his limits well. Against Servants who specialized in physical attacks, even if outnumbered he would not lose confidence.
But if Black Rider came… someone who treated magical energy release like normal attacks, he truly did not want to face that head on.
Of course, this was a war between two camps. If the Yggdmillennia did not want their base attacked, they would never send all their forces to chase Iori.
Although failing to behead Shuten was a bit of a regret, he would eventually get that CG sooner or later. The Master was still drunk. It was better to leave quickly.
"Hm?"
A violent surge of magical energy and a wild aura rose in the distance, rushing toward this place at extreme speed.
The ground trembled slightly. Trees were knocked down one after another, countless birds taking flight.
Amid swirling dust, a huge and fierce figure burst out of the forest, let out a sky shaking roar, leapt up, and smashed down toward Iori.
'Black Berserker?!'
BOOM!
Like an execution tool, a massive double bladed axe fell, cutting off a corner of the riverbank. Amid roaring, countless fragments of stone flew.
But it was not over. That massive figure swung his arm, and a second equally terrifying giant axe fell, causing even more shocking destruction. With just one strike, that section of the riverbank completely collapsed.
Only the "Inverted Mountain Crystal" where Sella was remained. Bound by chains, the power of the ritual strengthened the surrounding ground, barely stopping the chain collapse.
"Roaaar!!!"
The frenzied warrior wore a bull headed mask forged of black iron. The two huge horns seemed natural.
Standing three meters tall, his body was covered in muscles worthy of his class. Countless scars crossed his body, telling of deadly battles he had experienced.
Under the mask, his scarlet eyes suddenly flared. The muscles of his right arm tightened. With one arm, he swung the enormous double bladed axe that ordinary people could not even lift, slicing toward that annoying "pyramid."
Clang!
A thick iron pillar fell from the sky and blocked the strike. The collision of steel against steel produced a tremor that shook the ground. The axe cut halfway into the iron pillar, but in the end failed to sever it.
Immediately after, four more iron pillars fell in succession, smashing toward the Berserker's head and limbs.
Facing this pure violence, the bull headed warrior rushed forward. With his left arm, he swung the giant axe in a huge arc, choosing to resist head on.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Bang!
Three iron pillars were knocked flying by terrifying brute force. But the last one hit his chest, forcing that massive body down to the ground and raising a gust of wind.
Iori appeared in front of the Inverted Mountain Crystal, his eyes calm and cold. For a moment, he considered using the one time only "Clear," but in the end he raised his left hand.
The magical energy in his body became extremely active, pouring into it like a tide. The strange gauntlet bloomed with dazzling light.
"Summon of the Thunder Emperor!"
Iori slammed his left hand down. "Ultimate Bliss Fall!"
A bolt of lightning, not particularly thick but compressed like a straight spear, instantly crossed the distance between heaven and earth and pierced through the Berserker's body.
BOOM!!!
Thousands of electric arcs erupted from the Berserker as the center, lighting up this half of the river like daytime.
Under this terrifying lightning strike, the Berserker let out a painful howl like a tortured beast. But after only a moment...
"Roaaarrrr!!!"
The wild cry shook the air. The lightning shattered and swept everything around. The iron pillar suppressing his body was thrown away faster than it had fallen.
Amid smoke, the tall figure panted heavily, yet forced himself to stand up under the damage, his aura still terrifying.
But when he tried to attack the "pyramid" again, he found that the target no longer existed.
———
"I am deeply sorry. We failed to capture or eliminate the enemy, and instead lost extremely precious combat power."
In the grand main hall of the Yggdmillennia castle, brilliant lights shone on glittering decorations.
The luxurious scene displayed the foundation and wealth of the clan. But the Masters and Servants gathered here did not look proud.
Instead, they showed unusual expressions, casting doubtful gazes at the middle aged man standing in the center of the hall, dressed in ancient Greek style short clothing.
As a Servant, his appearance had no particularly striking features. Proper and dignified facial features, a gentle tone, fluffy yellow brown long hair… aside from his well built and balanced muscles, and the horse tail hanging behind him, he looked like an ordinary teacher.
But everyone knew his true identity was a heroic spirit of ancient Greece, the centaur sage who had trained many heroes... Chiron.
This name was not as thunderous as Heracles or Achilles. But anyone who had studied mythology would know that many heroic figures in Greek myth, including those two great heroes, had once studied under Chiron.
These heroes were not all warriors. Some were skilled in strategy, others in medicine. That was because Chiron himself was proficient in many arts, from combat to medicine, magecraft, art, agriculture, even astrology and prophecy.
Aside from certain unique skills belonging only to specific heroes, such as shooting a hundred heads or Swallow Reversal, he had mastered most skills in the world.
This was "Wisdom of Divine Gift," almost comparable to the authority of a god.
In this Holy Grail War, although he manifested as Archer, strictly speaking he had compatibility with all classes except Berserker, and Archer might not even be his first choice.
In a certain sense, was he not quite suitable for Rider?
Even Black Lancer and Black Rider held great respect for this hero. As rulers of nations, no one understood better than them the importance of a sage.
Unless there were special circumstances, they would never let Archer face questioning in such an atmosphere that was close to an interrogation.
But rules were rules. Someone had to summarize and report on the failed battle. Only Chiron had the composure to do so now.
Fortunately, Chiron had a gentle temperament and did not resist such occasions.
Assassin was seriously injured. Berserker's language ability was barely functional. Among the three who had experienced it firsthand, there was no one else to choose.
Lancer sat above and raised his hand to signal Chiron not to blame himself.
"Your actions had no negligence or fault. This time it was Assassin who provoked the conflict on his own, catching us off guard."
"Otherwise, with more complete combat power, we would not have let the enemy Servant escape."
"We have already reviewed the battle records from the images sent back by familiars. But some things can only be felt by being there in person. Archer, speak of your thoughts."
"As you command, King."
Chiron gave a slight bow, then glanced at the Masters gathered to one side.