Not long after, the whole group had climbed all the way to the top.
Right in front of them, Asmodeus was standing completely still, doing nothing.
They were just standing there… menacingly!
Robert glanced at Asmodeus's massive genitals and couldn't help but feel terrified.
"Hm? More people have arrived?" Asmodeus opened its eyes. It seemed to be absorbing power to truly evolve into a full Beast.
Well, half-Beast, not full Beast yet.
Rider, Archer, and Lancer all jumped off the wooden boat and stared at Asmodeus with caution.
There was no doubt about it — this thing was strong enough to defeat all of them.
"Saber!" Robert shouted when he saw Saber lying face-down on the ground.
"Hoh? Even Saber's Master came up here? How reckless," Asmodeus said, sounding slightly surprised before returning to its calm demeanor.
Lancer glanced at Archer and Rider, then nodded.
At this point, the enemy was so overwhelmingly powerful that hiding their strength to the other was no longer an option. They had no choice but to go all out.
"Don't worry, everyone. I'll be the one to take the hits!" Rider stepped forward, swinging a chain with a heavy weight attached to it.
"We're counting on you," Lancer said with a smile. Archer drew her bow and jumped backward.
"Master of Saber! You should stay as far away as possible! Otherwise you'll die!" Rider shouted to Robert, who nodded in response.
But Saber was lying there, and he was genuinely worried. He really wanted to save her.
Asmodeus looked at the three Servants and smiled, especially at Archer.
If given the chance, it could easily deal with all three of them.
"Come at me, all of you. Let's see if you Heroic Spirits can defeat the Original Sin of humanity."
Without wasting any more words, Rider and Lancer charged forward.
Rider threw his chain at Asmodeus, binding it tightly. Lancer immediately aimed a thrust at its armpit.
Asmodeus's tentacles shot out to block Lancer's attack, but Lancer split Durindana into the sword Durendal and slammed the pommel forward.
The sword pierced straight through the tentacle. Lancer then pulled the blade back and slashed hard, severing a whole bundle of tentacles.
Seizing the opening, Rider hurled several small knives into the wounds Lancer had just created, embedding them deep into Asmodeus's arm.
He then pulled out a bottle of liquor, took a big swig, and struck a match.
"PHOOO!!"
A stream of fire blasted straight at Asmodeus, forcing it to squint.
Lancer reassembled his weapon back into spear form and thrust repeatedly at the tentacles.
'I see. The Lancer will focus on breaking through my defenses, while the Rider will harass me so I can't concentrate.'
Right after that, the sound of a bowstring being released rang out. Both Lancer and Rider quickly retreated.
Since Asmodeus was still bound by the chains, it could only watch as Archer's arrow flew straight toward it.
BOOOM!!!
The powerful shockwave nearly blew Robert off the edge. Thankfully, Rider's monster crew members held him back.
"Did we deal any damage?" Rider asked, turning to Lancer.
"Probably. That shot must have been critical," Lancer replied, watching carefully.
Once the smoke cleared, Asmodeus had burns on its shoulder and leg, yet its expression remained calm and relaxed.
'That's a pretty relaxed face for someone who just took a direct hit from Archer,' Lancer thought, narrowing his eyes.
Asmodeus slowly touched the burn marks and smiled.
"It hurts… but it's worth it."
"?"
Both Servants were confused by Asmodeus's words when they suddenly sensed something was wrong.
"Kuh!"
Archer clutched her head, sweat pouring down her face. She gripped her sword tightly to keep from collapsing.
"W-What's happening?!" Robert stammered, stunned. They had just been gaining the upper hand — why was Archer suddenly in so much pain?
"Oii…" Lancer broke into a light sweat as he looked at Asmodeus.
"'Illusion of the Lustful Mind' — that is my true power," it said with a pure, innocent smile.
"…Great. We've already lost one," Rider said with a bitter smile.
From the name of the ability, it was easy to guess its effect: it would plunge the target Servant into hallucinations of their own past, especially targeting those who had once loved someone deeply.
Lancer had a family he cared about immensely, so he would likely be affected less severely than the two girls.
As for Rider, he was a womanizer by nature, so the ability wasn't very effective on him — he basically did whatever he wanted anyway.
"Meaning… Saber lost consciousness and is dreaming about someone she once loved?" Robert asked.
"Yeah, but it's not unsolvable. You just need to send mana into Saber so she realizes it's an illusion. She should be able to break free since she has high Magic Resistance. But looking at you… the only way is through physical contact," Lancer said.
"But I advise you not to do anything. Normal humans can't easily resist these illusions — even a high Magic Resistance Servant like Saber got caught," Rider added, drawing his blade.
"…"
One of the nearby monsters noticed Robert's eyes constantly drifting toward Saber and sensed something was off.
Lancer and Rider charged in again, this time closing the distance rapidly.
But Asmodeus wasn't going to let them. It extended its tentacles, making them longer and thicker, and began whipping them everywhere, forcing both Servants to dodge.
When Rider threw his knives, the tentacles knocked them away. When Lancer launched Durendal, it simply evaded to the side.
Archer had completely collapsed, lost in her hallucination.
"UOHHH!" Rider roared as a bell-like sound rang out. His blade grew massively in size and slashed downward vertically.
"Hmp!" Lancer wasn't outdone either. He kept switching his weapon's form to block and counterattack.
Both weapons came dangerously close to Asmodeus's neck, but they were still blocked.
"I commend you both, but this is as far as you go," Asmodeus said. Its tentacles transformed into sharp spikes, ready to pierce through them.
At that exact moment, a figure dashed past all three of them.
"!" Rider, Lancer, and Asmodeus all widened their eyes as they saw Robert rushing straight toward Saber.
Are all allies of justice this stubborn?
"That idiot!" Rider shouted.
"Hmph. Foolish human. Don't think I won't do anything to you," Asmodeus narrowed its eyes.
Instantly, Robert was hit by an extremely powerful illusion.
To Asmodeus, normal humans didn't require the full "Illusion of the Lustful Mind." A light hallucination was more than enough.
Robert suddenly saw a group of beautiful, naked girls surrounding him.
They struck the most seductive, lewd, and daring poses imaginable, trying to tempt him.
Since Robert was an ordinary human, the effect was extremely powerful.
"Eh…"
He stood there stunned, dazed by the sight, almost unable to resist.
One of the girls leaned close to his ear and whispered softly:
"You don't need to worry about your Servant anymore. We're here for you."
"Everything will be fine. You can rely on us."
"You don't have to try so hard. You can just rest if you give up."
The girls spoke in voices as sweet as honey, continuing to seduce him.
She's right… All he had to do was give up…
If he just abandoned everything…
Then he could…
…
YOU'RE A MURDERER!!
Robert Judgeson, we have no power, no voice. Better to stay quiet than rise up and die horribly. The choice is yours.
My son, I'm leaving everything to you.
"…Bullshit."
Rip!!
"?!" Both Rider and Lancer's eyes widened.
Especially Asmodeus.
Because what Robert had just done…
Was bite off his own index finger and spit it onto the ground.
Robert's eyes were filled with determination.
A determination bordering on madness!
"…" Rider stared at Robert in shock, then with extreme interest.
This guy… he's no joke!
Asmodeus quickly snapped out of its daze and unleashed even more illusions toward Robert.
But Robert continued advancing like a moth to a flame, completely unaffected even as blood poured from his severed finger like rain.
'Is this guy missing his reproductive function or something?!'
"LOOK OVER HERE!!" Rider roared, stabbing his knife upward into Asmodeus's chin.
Then both Lancer and Rider delivered powerful kicks straight into its stomach, forcing it to stagger backward.
And with that, Robert finally reached Saber. His blood touched her body.
Slowly, Saber's eyes began to open.