Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others confirmed that Hassan of the Cursed Arm was on their side, so their wariness toward him eased a little. Since the sun was already rising, they gave up on sleeping again. After a brief rest, they began discussing their next move.
Kadoc analyzed the situation for the group. "No matter where we go, we cannot stay here. From what you said, that Assassin's Noble Phantasm creates clones. She will definitely tell the other Servants where we are.
"We have four combatants, but Mash lacks attack power, and Hassan of the Cursed Arm is not suited to frontal combat. If three or more Servants attack us at once, we will probably start losing people immediately."
Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded. "We really cannot stay here. But where should we go? If we wander at random, we might run into enemies too."
Everyone began thinking about what they should do next. Then Hassan of the Cursed Arm raised his hand.
"I do know one direction where there is a Servant." He pointed in a direction and continued, "I came from that side yesterday. Yesterday afternoon, I sensed a strong magical energy source there. I secretly investigated and found a Berserker. Because communication was impossible, I could not confirm which side he belonged to."
After receiving this information from Hassan of the Cursed Arm, the group began considering the possibilities. In the end, Moriarty proposed a choice.
"Thinking in place will not solve anything. Choose. Do we go look for the Berserker Hassan mentioned, or do we move in the opposite direction to avoid him?"
Everyone looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka. In this team, Fujimaru Ritsuka was unquestionably the core.
Under everyone's gaze, Fujimaru Ritsuka decided. "I want to find that Berserker.
"If he is an ally, I can form a contract with him. If he is an enemy, with four Servants on our side, we should be able to deal with him."
Everyone accepted Fujimaru Ritsuka's decision. Under the current circumstances, it was the best option. So they set out at once, following Hassan of the Cursed Arm toward the Servant he had sensed.
Whether their luck was good or bad, the Berserker was also wandering. A little over two hours later, Fujimaru Ritsuka's group encountered him.
The problem was that Fujimaru Ritsuka could not form a contract with him. That meant he was not an allied Servant.
The greater problem was that this Berserker was Heracles.
"Roar!"
Heracles swung his massive axe sword with tremendous force and smashed it toward Mash. With a thunderous bang, Mash was sent flying.
"Roar!" After sending Mash away, Heracles was about to pursue her. Musashi appeared at his side and cut toward him.
In a situation where dodging should have been almost impossible, Heracles bent backward in an absurd motion and avoided that dazzling slash. Before Musashi could react, he kicked her away.
Just after Musashi was knocked back, Moriarty and Hassan of the Cursed Arm appeared at Heracles's sides and began harassing him, preventing him from following up on Mash or Musashi.
Musashi's feet carved two trenches dozens of meters long into the ground before she finally stopped. She shook her numbed hands, then looked up at Heracles, who was still chasing Hassan of the Cursed Arm and Moriarty.
"Hah... hah... This guy really is a monster."
Mash stopped herself with her shield and steadied her body. Then, when she saw Heracles about to strike Moriarty, she joined the fight again.
Farther away, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Kadoc had grown weak from constantly using support Magecraft. The result of all that effort was that they had killed Heracles seven times.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm's Noble Phantasm and Moriarty's Noble Phantasm each took one of Heracles's lives. When both Noble Phantasms were used together, they took another. After that, however, their effects against Heracles decreased sharply.
Musashi, with Mash's support, cut down three of Heracles's lives through swordsmanship, then claimed another with her Noble Phantasm. But Heracles had now adapted to Musashi's sword technique. He also understood that Musashi was the true threat, so after that, he gave her no further openings.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka, this cannot continue," Kadoc warned from the side. "He still has five lives. Right now, only Musashi can damage him, but he is guarding against her constantly. Most importantly, everyone is almost out of stamina."
Fujimaru Ritsuka understood the severity of the situation. But this team had no magus who could create an illusion, and the surrounding area was all flat plain. Unless they fled an extreme distance at once, Heracles would catch them. He had already done exactly that once.
After thinking for a long time, Fujimaru Ritsuka had no choice but to reach a decision. For the sake of the others, one person would have to stay and hold Heracles back. That person could not be fragile, and they also had to be able to pierce Heracles's defense so that he would remain cautious. Among everyone present, only Musashi had that ability. But in Musashi's current condition, if she was left alone, her chances were grim.
Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed his lips together. He could barely bring himself to say it.
If there was truly no other way, he still had three Command Spells on the back of his hand. With everyone's cooperation, he was confident he could use only two Command Spells to kill Heracles's remaining five lives. But they could not leave this place or replenish Command Spells. If they reached the Evil of Humanity afterward, losing that resource might put them at a serious disadvantage.
Finally, Fujimaru Ritsuka made up his mind. They could solve what came later when it came. Trading one for one against those nine Servants would be a terrible loss.
"Command..."
"Ahahahahaha. It seems I arrived at precisely the right time."
The familiar, delighted laughter made Fujimaru Ritsuka's spirit surge. Dozens of golden ripples appeared around Heracles. Golden chains shot out from within them. The net woven by those chains was so dense that even Heracles could not block all of it. The moment the first chain wrapped around him, the second and third followed. In the end, he was bound so completely that he could not move.
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked up and saw a flying ship made of gold and agate slowly descending. Mash cried out in joy.
"Mr. Gilgamesh!"