Chapter 1413 - Clash

Due to her severe concussion, Olivia was in a deep state of unconsciousness, completely unaware of her surroundings. Though a part of her subconscious mind cried out, demanding her to take action, Caenis wasn't just going to wait around for her to recover. Without any hesitation, the white-haired woman hefted her spear and, in a single swift motion, pierced through Olivia's back, stabbing her in the heart.

Though she had already been laying on the ground, Olivia's body visibly deflated, quickly losing the last vestiges of its vitality. When Caenis pulled her spear free, her body had become completely limp, the light from her slightly parted eyes nowhere to be seen.

Since Olivia had fought honorably, Caenis offered a courtesy bow to the deceased but, just as she was about to issue a few parting words, incredulity marred Caenis' expression as Olivia's body began to flake away.

Before she was able to rationalize what had happened, Caenis felt an impact akin to being struck by a meteor. Though her flesh was impenetrable, giving her a considerable amount of durability, she wasn't actually indestructible. Her internal organs could still be damaged and, if the attack was from a B-Rank Noble Phantasm, or higher, her Skills offered little protection. This was the reason why she still carried around a hoplite shield as, despite the advantages provided by her blessing, it had a fair number of weaknesses...

With her body being propelled like a high-velocity shell fired from a howitzer, Caenis left behind a channel of destruction more than 300m in length, shattering any obstacles in her path. When the dust cleared, Caenis could be seen struggling to rise to her feet, a considerable amount of blood flowing from her mouth, staining her body and the ground beneath. Even parts of her armor had been lost in the previous impact, leaving her without the pauldron of her now crooked left arm.

At the location where Caenis had been standing previously, a man with a spikey black hair and a grim expression could be seen, his leg returning to the ground after having just completed a kick. His blue eyes were blazing like will-o-wisps in the low-light of the courtyard and, with lightning periodically dancing across his body, he appeared much like a vengeful and unforgiving god.

Appearing at the same time as the man, more than a dozen figures spontaneously surrounded Musashi and her companion. From behind them, blocking the way out, a young woman with fair skin, gold hair, and stark blue eyes dropped down like a meteor. This was none other than Artoria and, without the need for words, she instantly brandished her [Excalibur], charging at the shorter of the two women with a furious expression on her face.

Musashi was a little curious about the method used to spontaneously surround them but, as it didn't really matter all that much, she smiled toward the black-haired man, musing, "So, you're the guy that threw the world into chaos and destroyed the future?" At the same time, her companion pulled out a small handle that, at a glance, seemed eerily similar to the hilt and guard of [Excalibur]. Then, with a momentum that wouldn't lose out to Artoria herself, the woman spun around, a blade of blue light erupting from the handle as she collided with the furious Empress.

Though Artoria was usually pretty calm, there were a few things that could easily get a rise out of her, especially in a combat situation. The thing that bothered her the most was the overwhelming number of people that had a similar appearance to her. She no longer believed it was wholly 'her' appearance, as people like Nero were born long before her, but that didn't make it any easier to tolerate. The fact one of their enemies had, not just her face, but a mockery of [Excalibur], was more than enough to set her off...

Vahn hadn't actually expected Artoria to suddenly rush her doppelganger but, as their fight quickly moved beyond the walls of the compound, he continued to glare at Musashi, answering, "You know nothing about my goals and motivations. I'm doing everything in my power to create a better future, not destroy it! Have you ever thought about what would happen if you somehow managed to beat me? Do you have the ability to lead the world onto a better path, preventing them from repeating the same mistakes!?"

While Vahn had been directing his words toward her, Musashi had been taking in her surroundings, the smile never leaving her face. When he shouted the last few words, she turned to look at him, her peculiar bluish-purple eyes glowing slightly as she answered, "You know, I'm not all that great at the whole arguing semantics thing. All I know is that, as a result of your actions, countless futures have been destroyed. You might very well be doing your best to make the world a better place but, have you thought about all the fates you have severed in the process? The future may seem like a distant and abstract thing to you but, for the people living there, your actions endanger their very existence. Do you know the terror of being displaced from your original world? Can you imagine what it's like to know your entire reality has an expiration date based solely on the actions of a few people in the past, a place most can never hope to reach...?"

As if Vahn's response had never mattered, Musashi placed her left hand on the hilt of her wakizashi and, in the next moment, it was already at the completion of its arc. It was only after the completion of the strike that Vahn felt his perception of time come to a crawl, the world around him fading into muted greys, the only exception being Musashi's strangely glowing eyes...

Even as he felt his connection with the lower half of his body cut off, Vahn's aura erupted outward with the force of a tsunami. Musashi's eyes widened slightly as, not only was she forced to defend herself, but, despite having bisected Vahn from shoulder to waist, his body seemed to regenerate in an instant. The discarded part dissolved into fine black ash and, as if he was tearing through space and time itself, he appeared next to her, gauntleted hand outstretched toward her face.

Just as his hand was about to make contact, Vahn felt his instincts screaming at him and, in less time than it took to form a thought, Musashi had vanished from view. The world was still the same muted grey as before but, by the time his mind began to process Musashi's disappearance, Vahn felt as if his existence had been fragmented into tiny pieces, much like when he split his ego between several vessels. Though his ego was supposed to be indestructible, that didn't seem to matter to Musashi as, while unable to destroy it, she was, apparently, able to split it apart...

Vahn struggled with controlling more than three bodies proactively so, to have his Ego cut into more than a hundred pieces in an instant, he was momentarily overwhelmed by the sensory overload, his individual chunks peppering the ground like pieces of shrapnel due to his speed. As for Musashi, she had an incredulous look on her face, her smile nowhere to be seen as, despite cutting Vahn into tiny meat cubes, his aura had been gradually increasing.

Fortunately, due to his experience as a Doppelganger, Vahn was able to, quite literally, pull himself back together. Though it was far more disorienting than having his body 'completely' destroyed, his mind was no longer as fragile as it had been back in the Record of Danmachi. He knew that, so long as he refused to accept his destruction, there was nothing that could truly kill him. His Source Energy completely exceeded other energy systems so, no matter how great Musashi's mastery of the Laws, she could never hope to destroy it, only disperse it.

Seeing how quickly Vahn reformed his body, Musashi couldn't help but retort, "Seriously, you can heal from a wound like that and you want me to pretend you aren't a monster? What are you, some kind of Divine Spirit of the Earth or something? Don't tell me your life is somehow connected to the planet. Seriously, you Demon King types are always such ridiculous existences. I bet you even have multiple forms or something. Tell me, how many phases am I gonna have to go through before you finally stay down...?"

Not expecting Musashi to suddenly make game references, Vahn's own expression became slightly incredulous as, prior to her words, he had been intending to transform into his Qīnglóng form. For a brief moment, it really did seem like she was the Hero facing down the Demon King. Not only was she an inordinately beautiful woman, but, if he got completely serious, his form really did become something quite monstrous...

---

While Vahn was engaged in his battle against Musashi, all of the forces he had gathered to bait the trap were either watching in the periphery, aiding Artoria, or suppressing Caenis. The latter had her arm completely shattered by Vahn but, after her tattoos glowed, causing a cloud of steam to erupt from her body, she had returned to an undamaged state. It was similar to how Heracles' [Godhand] worked and, considering they were from the same era, there was a very good chance they drew from a similar origin.

Facing down the incensed Caenis was none other than Kenshin and, despite the former possessing a considerable amount of speed and power, there was a significant difference in their level of skill. As a result, Caenis was constantly forced on the defensive as, every time she tried to proactively attack Kenshin, the latter would cut, stab, pierce, or even dismember her. It didn't help that, in the distance, a beam of crimson-red energy would strike at her joints, ignoring the impenetrability of her skin and causing a considerable amount of damage.

Located atop a 177m tall tower more than eight kilometers away from the ongoing battle, the adult version of Nobunaga, crimson hair dancing in the wind, could be seen standing with a rifle that was longer than she was tall. This was one of the modified armaments she had developed alongside Da Vinci and, while it didn't have the charm of a Tanegashima rifle, it was caple of firing high-density, armor-piercing rounds. Each bullet was hand-made by Vahn himself, engraved with various different runes and infused with enough Magical Energy to rival an A-Rank, Anti-Divine, Noble Phantasm.

There was no way Nobunaga could just sit at home like an obedient wife all the time so, during the previous war council, she insisted on participating. Though not nearly to the extent of Vahn, she was more than a little annoyed with how things had developed with Scáthach. Since she also blamed the so-called Heroes for Scáthach's rash decision, Nobunaga wouldn't be able to rest easily if she didn't personally participate in their downfall. Thus, while Okita and Jeanne protected her at the side, she watched the battle through her magically enhanced scope, enchanted to give her a brief glimpse into the future.

Every now and then, Caenis would get annoyed by the constant long-range harassment but, with Kenshin blocking her way, there was no way for her to close the distance to the radio tower serving as Nobunaga's perch. As a result, she had tried throwing her spear, its phenomenal momentum far more than what was necessary to cross the distance between them. Unfortunately for her, Jeanne, wielding a massive kite shield, was able to easily deflect her spear toss. Thus, with blood staining her body, Caenis, much like a Berserker, futilely lashed out at Kenshin as the latter continued to pressure her without a single exploitable gap in her movements...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Surprise spear-fucker...!','This isn't even my final form...!','Talk about beating a dead horse...')<--(Caenis' ears, instead of being like a rabbit, are apparently horse ears. She is a very aggressive pony, I guess?)

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