346 Beast (II)
"Beast..."
Feeling the immense magical energy completely different from a normal Saint Graph, Jeanne's eyes were filled with determination.
"Is this what I was summoned here for?"
She muttered to herself, still somewhat puzzled.
Although she was a Ruler, in the face of such a world-ending catastrophe like the Beast, her ability to intervene was extremely limited. To confront a Beast would require the Counter Force themselves to take action personally.
Shaking her head, Jeanne pushed aside these futile thoughts. Regardless of why the Holy Grail had summoned her, the appearance of a Beast was a fact. Needless to say, she must stop this calamity by any means necessary!
Glancing at the disoriented Reika behind her, Jeanne hesitated for a moment but ultimately gritted her teeth and turned to rush toward the battlefield.
===
"Hey, Saber, what are you planning to do?"
Seeing Mordred advancing with her sword drawn, Kairi quickly spoke up.
"Master, you better run while you can..." Mordred said without even looking back. "The Counter Force won't tolerate this Beast's existence and will definitely respond. So, don't worry too much about the threat she poses to the world."
"For now..."
*Bzzzt—!*
Crimson thunder crackled around Mordred's body as her surging magical energy distorted the surrounding space.
"I'll do my best to buy you time."
"Saber..." Kairi stared blankly at her back, as if his throat was choked, unable to utter a word.
"Oh c'mon! Don't make that face, Master..." Mordred finally turned around with a bright smile on her face. "You admitted it before, didn't you? I'm your king, no? Besides, isn't protecting subjects the responsibility of a king?"
Hearing that, Kairi fell silent.
He called Mordred 'king' at that time merely for the simple selfish purpose of getting along with her. One should know that in this modern era, there were no true kings since this kind of title was nothing but an empty title.
"Yes, you are my king!" Kairi quickly knelt on one knee, bowing his head, his right hand clenched over his chest. "My King, please, once again, bring us victory!"
Crimson light burst forth from Kairi's right hand, and soon, Mordred felt the immense magical energy surging within her body. She pursed her lips slightly, and a brilliant smile quickly formed on her face.
"It's a deal then! I am Mordred, the rightful heir of King Arthur!"
Mordred turned her head toward Kama in the distance, her eyes burning with a fierce determination like flames.
"Get ready for my triumph!"
===
"Phew... It feels so refreshing to be completely freed up... That cramped Saint Graph was suffocating me..."
Watching the dark red flames burning in her hand, Kama remarked with a smirk before turning to Arkhan in the distance.
"Hey, Rider, do you finally realize the gap between gods and mortals?" Kama said with a teasing tone.
"Don't kid yourself, Kama." Arkhan approached and stared calmly at her. "Do you still believe that your current self can bear the title of god of love?"
"Obviously!" Kama lifted her chin arrogantly. "This appearance now is the true form of me as the god of love!"
"Bullshit." Arkhan's lips curled slightly. "Claiming to be the embodiment of love, only to suffer destruction as a consequence, yet now intending to monopolize love in the universe with your own love. In my eyes, being a god of love is nothing but an empty title for you. You're not giving love; you're escaping from it since you hate it. What's even more pathetic is that the power driving your current transformation comes from the tragic incident that led to your destruction."
Arkhan paused for a moment before continuing with eyes filled with mockery.
"I'm curious, what goes through your mind every time you wield that power?"
"Shut up!"
Growling softly, Kama waved her hand in anger, and a dark red flame coalesced into a lotus flower from the void, exquisite and dreamlike, devoid of any threat.
Seeing this, Arkhan narrowed his eyes, choosing not to confront the lotus. Instead, he immediately teleported several meters away using the power of Cosmic Juggernaut.
The lotus swayed gently as it touched the ground, silent and seemingly harmless like a leaf. But the moment it made contact, the dark red flames instantly spread, covering the land within a radius of fifty meters, leaving behind a massive crater over ten meters deep within just a couple of breaths.
This was undoubtedly abnormal.
Even the flames of the sun god from Karna couldn't cause such terrifying destruction in such a short time. The reason for this scene was that the concepts contained within these flames weren't merely about 'burning' but rather about deeper 'destruction'.
"Is that the flame that Shiva once used to try to kill you? As expected of the god of destruction, that power is indeed problematic..."
Arkhan's words sounded like admiration, but to Kama, they carried an indescribable tone of irony and mockery.
"How dare a mere mortal like yourself to boast so boldly in front of a god?" Kama looked at him coldly. "Alright then, if that's how it is, I won't use this power against you."
As the flames gradually subsided, they left behind dark red crystals resembling glass, surrounded by sparkling starlight, looking sinister yet divine.
"Open your eyes wide and watch closely, insignificant mortal..." Kama sneered. "I'll make you deeply understand what belongs to the god of love!"
Although Arkhan appeared indifferent on the surface, deep down, his mood was heavier than ever before.
After all, among all the people on the battlefield present, no one understood the terror and power of a Beast better than him. It was a crisis truly capable of destroying the world, a terrifying threat that only seven Grand Servants could confront.
Honestly speaking, as Rider, relying on his overpowered Skills and Noble Phantasms, his strength was no less than that of an average Grand Servant. Although still insufficient to directly confront a Beast, it was important to note that the Kama standing before him at this moment was not a complete Beast III.
Beast III was the Beast of Lust, consisting of two parts.
Among these two parts, Kama acted as the 'Universe', giving 'Love' to everything but not receiving anything back, known as 'Beast III/L (Lapse)'. The other part acted as the 'Hole', accepting 'Love' from everything but not giving anything back, known as 'Beast III/R (Rapture)'. Only when the two merge can the true Beast III be formed.
Thus, theoretically, he could still barely fight Kama. As long as he could hold her off until the Counter Force reacted, their emergency mechanism would naturally activate to get rid of the Beast.
But this was by no means an easy task.
Even if it was just a half part of Beast III, Kama's power was unquestionably powerful. Therefore, he must find ways to weaken her combat capability and increase his side's chances of winning.
