In the past, the ultimate martial art fashioned by the great hero Heracles and whose principles even Scáthach delved into.
It was a school so formidable that even the war god Ares (Mars) held it in awe, and that the founding dynasty of Rome, after deification, trained in it to master its techniques.
Although Kay's attempt merely reproduced a fragment of it for a very brief instant through infinite effort and the wisdom of the Mystic Realm, the destructive power that erupted was the very reincarnation of the Age of Myth.
Kwad-dduk!! Jjeojeok!!
Nine trajectories struck almost simultaneously.
The nine successive slashes, aiming for the upper arm, collarbone, scapula, crown, solar plexus, ribs, throat, and thigh, surged forth as if nine golden dragons were about to devour Lancer Alter.
Lancer Alter's pupils trembled as though struck by an earthquake.
Instinctively, she summoned the last reserves of her blessing and simultaneously unleashed the magic of her pitch-black holy lance, swinging it like mad to deflect all nine trajectories.
Kaaang!! Kwang!! Kwachang!!
It wasn't the sound of metal striking metal. A monstrous roar, like thunder crashing down and triggering a chain of explosions, shook the fortress.
Though she barely managed to block or graze and thus neutralize the nine strikes, the explosive air pressure blasted from the axe alone forced red blood to spurt from Lancer Alter's nose and mouth.
The gauntlets on her hands gripping the lance shattered, and her bones screamed in protest.
Yet before that overwhelming violence and the threat to her life, Lancer Alter felt no fear.
If anything, even with blood trickling from her nose, a fierce joy and a peculiar heat welled up in her eyes.
'...Ahh. This is insane.'
She caught her breath and looked up at Kay.
His muscles swelled as if about to burst, exhaling hot steam, and his predatory glare shone fiercely as if he intended to tear his foe limb from limb.
The gentle, indulgent big brother she knew was nowhere to be seen; in his place stood a perfect, overwhelming male beast and warrior.
In the face of that savage, beastly machismo, a strange exhilaration boiled up inside Lancer Alter, sending shivers through her core.
"Haa… haa! Fine, brother!! If you truly crave my body that much… I'll give it my all in return!!"
Lancer Alter roared like a beast, spinning her holy lance around as she gripped it.
A black storm engulfed her jet-black armor and burst forth explosively.
She slammed off the ground and charged at Kay with ferocious speed—nothing like Lancer's usual elegant, precise spear play.
Like a beast's fangs, it was rough and destructive, a brutal, storm-like thrust that shattered everything around it.
Kwaaaang!! Kwang! Kwang!!
The massive golden axe and the pitch-black holy lance clashed incessantly.
The waves of magic and air pressure from those two monsters alone knocked the knights and soldiers around the training ground unconscious one after another.
It was as if they'd been hit by the conquering aura itself; they foamed at the mouth and fainted en masse.
"Grrgh…! De-deploy the shield barrier!!"
From afar, the commanders of the North Wales knight orders—Galehaut, Calogrenant, and Digor—were sweating bullets, digging their swords into the ground to barely hold their stance.
"I-it's force that wouldn't be outmatched even against His Lion King Majesty…! In fact, that merciless style looks far more brutal and dangerous than His Majesty's!!"
Yet against the head of the Wild Hunt rampaging so savagely, Kay was overwhelming him head-on without a shred of hesitation.
"Hyaaaaa!!"
Lancer Alter stabbed her spinning holy lance straight for Kay's heart—a black maelstrom of magic that would rip flesh and dissolve bone at the slightest contact.
But Kay did not dodge.
He deflected the thrust with the broad face of his axe and, twisting his waist, drove a heavy left fist into her unguarded abdomen.
Paaaargh!!!
"Kuhack…!!"
The moment Kay's fist landed, spiderweb-like cracks spread across Lancer Alter's pitch-black armor with a resounding splintering sound.
That brutal shockwave punched through her abdomen, tearing a straight path through the space behind her back. The agony of her organs twisting left her body rigid.
Kay showed no mercy.
In the split second weapons collided, he unleashed a whirlwind of varied strikes—axe blows mixed with elbows, knees, and kicks.
It wasn't a knight's scripted combat but a breath-taking torrent of violence fused with the survival techniques of the Mystic Realm.
Lancer Alter endured the pain and countered, spinning her holy lance like a windmill.
The lance's whirlwind came crashing down as if to shred Kay's arm, but the runes of hardening inscribed by Scáthach on his axe glowed red, strengthening him and deflecting the blade.
"Here comes the next one."
With Kay's low whisper, the [Ansuz] rune carved into the axe's haft was ignited.
The colossal golden axe erupted in fierce flame and plunged vertically toward the crown of Lancer Alter's head.
"Kuh!"
Lancer Alter recoiled in terror, stepping back desperately and just barely avoiding the axe blade.
Kwaaang! The burning axe was buried deep in the earth.
But Kay's true prowess began here.
Gripping the haft of the axe lodged in the ground, he used it as a pivot to effortlessly lift his massive body into the air.
Then, spinning with centrifugal force pushed to its limit, he delivered a flawless turning kick.
Pwaaak!!!
Kay's heavy iron-toed boot smashed precisely into Lancer Alter's temple.
"Aguk…!"
The sickening jolt of her brain slamming against her skull sent Lancer Alter's eyes rolling upward. Her mind went foggy, and her body rocketed off the training ground like a cannon shell.
Kwaaaaang!!!!
A massive crater opened in the middle of the training ground, the dust rising in a mushroom cloud.
As half the fortress trembled from the quake, Kay landed lightly through the dust. Amidst the debris, he shrugged as he approached Lancer Alter, who'd landed butt-first with her head buried in the ground, and said—
"This is combat from the Age of Myth. You'd better get used to fights like this if you want to go anywhere without getting your ass handed to you."
"Ugh… ughuck…"
Lancer Alter tried to rise, using her lance like a staff as she trembled violently. But her brain had rattled around half a dozen times, her focus was shot, and her legs gave out, causing her to collapse back to the ground. It was a complete and utter defeat.
No matter who she was, she'd never experienced a battle like this. Actually, it was impossible—there was no one in Britain capable of such feats. In an age like this, no one fought using these methods.
Of course, to Medusa, who was watching, this was a mundane fighting style.
Not just her, but in that era, Greek heroes living in the Age of Gods often used such combat techniques. Needless to say, the prime example was Heracles himself.
Arguably, from the generation of Achilles onward—when humans fought humans—such methods dwindled and eventually disappeared.
"Husband! No matter what, you shouldn't be roughing up your sister-in-law so brutally!"
Tamamo, who'd been watching from a distance, puffed up her tail and sprinted over in an instant. She stuck healing talismans to Lancer Alter's cheek and forehead, murmuring—
"There, you'll be fine in no time, no need to exaggerate, you black pig sister-in-law. Can't you see your husband spared your pretty face and just glancingly struck you?"
Thanks to Tamamo's healing, Lancer Alter barely regained consciousness.
But she didn't shed tears of indignation; instead, dazed, she stared up at Kay's massive, solid breastplate in awe.
'Ahh….'
The violence that utterly crushed her. Yet beneath it lay her big brother's rough yet tender sincerity: that he became strong so that no one would ever come after his precious family again.
In the end, after enduring that 'proper education,' Lancer Alter was once again perfectly enthralled by Kay's power and beastly charm.
Thud.
She staggered to her feet then, suddenly, flopped flat at Kay's feet and performed the ultimate dogeza—a perfect kneeling bow.
"It's my complete defeat, brother! My soul has succumbed to that overwhelming power and the scent of a male! Now, as promised, I acknowledge my defeat, so go on—cook my body and soul as you see fit!!"
"No, you crazy little girl! Who the hell beats someone with an axe and then does that! Just get up already! Everyone's watching!!"
Kay shouted in horror, but Lancer Alter, clutching his leg with a rapturous smile, refused to let go. Artoria Alter and Artoria Lancer, watching in bewilderment, clutched the backs of their necks.
"...That one has completely lost his mind. As filthy as his body suggests."
"Isn't it obvious? She planned to get whipped, win big brother's pity, and then crawl into the bedchamber. That lecherous little pig…"
She was especially ferocious toward her sisters—in fact, toward women in general.
In the end, the sparring commotion in North Wales concluded in a grand soap opera of illicit love, with even Lancer Alter completely at Kay's feet.
And then—
There was someone watching the entire absurd yet brutal drama unfold through a crystal orb from a forest.
A captivating, chilling woman clad in a black veil and dress.
The greatest witch of Britain, who hated the Artoria sisters yet harbored a twisted obsession for Kay.
Morgan le Fay.
"…"
Morgan bit her pale lip as she watched Kay's beastly might utterly pulverize Lancer Alter through the crystal orb.
"That bumbling, spineless wet nurse… to think she's returned as such a terrifying beast."
In her cold eyes, deep wariness and greed swirled together.
A dangerous calculation began to form in her mind: What if she could harness the overwhelming power and the mythical combat techniques Kay possessed for her own ends?
"I can't let such a monster go to waste as a toy for those dumb little sister bitches. I must make him one of my pieces."
Morgan stirred a cold smile as she raised her witch's staff.
"Yes. What if I put forward another niece or nephew? With that family bond, I could sway him. And if we engaged in communal child-rearing, I could shape a pureblood Pendragon into an even more perfect vessel for kingship."
Morgan glanced off to somewhere as she spoke.
"I'll need to keep it hidden from Alter, or it'll be troublesome if she finds out. Under what pretext should we meet? With his skills, if I show up uninvited, he'll be on guard and hostile. Ah, there's the answer."
She recalled the child she'd completely forgotten—her offspring who vanished alongside Kay and was handed over to Merlin, effectively abandoned.
"Yes. Should I use the story that I failed to protect Gareth as my excuse? Since he was taken, I don't need to pay childcare fees. Or would it be better to give them? Hmm, what gift should I bring to make him mine?"
She toyed with the question happily, a fishy smile curling her lips.
Her interest in them took a different direction than that of his sisters.
Not love, but greed. As she looked over the myriad Noble Phantasms at her disposal, she pondered what conditions she'd have to impose to make him hers.