Shinji Matou at Your Service

Pegasus's Charge.

Wildly, freely.

Faster than a meteor, more brilliant than a comet.

In this state, Pegasus is swifter than a dragon, fiercer than a griffin. The only one who might surpass him in speed is the demigod hero Achilles, known as the fastest.

So what if the Crimson Core, having absorbed the King of the Land, tries to escape? No matter how fast it runs, it won't matter.

In just a few minutes, the scarlet giant tree that had escaped Arcueid's sight due to her playful antics was once again visible, gradually coming within reach.

"Pegasus, let's charge straight through in one go!"

"Neighhhhh~~~~"

The excited Pegasus responded with a long, unprecedentedly bold cry, its wings whistling through the air, its hooves moving like the wind.

Shinji also felt a sense of relief at this moment.

"Hold on just a bit longer, Arcueid, we're almost there!"

However, just as Pegasus was about to make a final push into the core, Shinji suddenly felt a sharp, cold sensation at his neck, as if something hard and icy was pressing against him.

Accompanying this object was a chilling dampness that seemed to pierce the back of his head.

Damn!

Shinji's face changed instantly. He stiffly turned his body and looked back.

He saw Arcueid breathing heavily, her expression twisted, with large beads of sweat continuously dripping from her forehead. Her beautiful eyes alternated between a tormented gold and a bewitching red, looking extremely pained.

"Shinji... quickly... chains..."

This was a sign that the bloodthirsty impulse had overwhelmed her rationality and could no longer be suppressed.

As expected, she had reached her limit, hadn't she? At such a critical moment, to falter—no, this shouldn't have happened so soon.

Based on experience, Shinji and Merem working together could usually hold on for at least half an hour. It's only been ten minutes.

Right, the smell of blood!

Damn it! I've been here so long that I forgot—the entire forest isn't flowing with water or sap, but with blood—it's all blood!

The more trees they destroy, the more beasts they shred, the stronger the smell of blood becomes. In such an environment, Arcueid's bloodthirsty impulse would multiply.

This wasn't her faltering at a critical moment trait acting up; it was my miscalculation!

Having sorted out his thoughts, Shinji felt a wave of regret, but now was not the time for regret. Arcueid was holding on with all her might, so he couldn't give up either—no way.

With the years of experience and growth, Shinji's mindset has matured significantly. The more intense the situation, the calmer he became, with his thoughts and reactions becoming even sharper.

"Pegasus, stop. Ascend. Rise to a height where the forest can't reach."

The offspring of a sea god, the oldest Pegasus, highly intelligent, immediately halted its charge and directed all its strength into gaining altitude, knowing that its closest female master was not in a good state.

"Arcueid, stop the marble phantasm and focus all your energy on resisting the bloodthirsty impulse!"

"Ugh!"

Arcueid nodded with difficulty, her eyes turning red again. She covered her mouth tightly, with broken sounds leaking out from between her fingers.

"You... have to..."

"Don't speak at a time like this, just trust me—remember to trust me completely!"

"Mm!"

Arcueid nodded again. No matter how difficult or painful it was, she believed in her knight. From the moment they met, from the moment he willingly bore the burden of her bloodthirsty impulse just so she could have a moment of clarity.

"Alright, you two stay here. Leave the rest to me! I'll bring back that fruit for you."

By this time, Pegasus had already ascended high into the sky, out of the range of the forest.

Shinji pressed down hard on Pegasus's back with both hands, fully activating his magical circuits. Ignoring the damage to his body, he forcefully drew mana from the greater source, replenishing his depleted reserves.

Feathers scattered, and his feet were clad in Hermes's winged sandals.

Golden light shone, and in his hand was the Immortal Blade.

Particles of spirit converged as he nocked an arrow made of the purest solar flame.

Bathed in sunlight, the young knight drew his bow and shouted out the true name of the Noble Phantasm.

"Brahmastra Kundala: O' Brahma, Curse Me!!!"

The power of Vishnu, the divine might of Surya, the faith that Karna ascended through his life—fully unleashed!

For the first time since its creation, sunlight pierced into this horrifying forest, covered in black and red.

Under the power of this force, symbolizing dawn and hope, the twisted creatures that could only exist in darkness shrieked, wailed, and disintegrated into ash as if encountering a mortal enemy.

However, with its eight hundred years of predatory experience, the forest had accumulated enough knowledge to counter sunlight. Under its control, all nearby plants and animals transformed into barriers to block the solar light and flames.

Hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands—the Crimson Core had countless minions at its command. Even a Noble Phantasm that could incinerate the earth would falter against such overwhelming numbers.

But this outcome was already within Shinji's expectations. Before arriving in this world, he knew very well that while a Noble Phantasm against nations sounded grand, its actual effective range was less than a hundred meters, while he was more than five hundred meters above the ground, and the forest's range extended a full fifty kilometers.

So, the moment the solar arrow left the string, he transformed the Immortal Blade into its spear form and then merged with the spear, charging toward the crimson target.

The explosive solar arrow cleared a hundred meters of open space. Before the minions could reform their defenses, the golden spear trailing a long tail of flames flashed by, transforming into an even more powerful missile than the Solar Arrow, striking heavily against the faltering barrier.

"By my Command Seal—I command you—Vishnu, curse my body (Brahmastra Kundala)!!!"

The Noble Phantasm that could destroy nations was a major drain on mana. Even though he had forcibly drawn from the greater source earlier, it was barely enough to sustain Pegasus and one use of the Noble Phantasm. For the second time, he had to rely on another mana source.

With the true name released once more, a blinding light burst from the depths of the barrier, like a small sun.

The powerful barrier that could even withstand the King of the Land could not resist the light of the small sun and was completely dissolved.

"Good, once more!"

In the center of the small sun, his entire body burned red from the intense heat, Shinji spat out a mouthful of black smoke, fixing his gaze on the blood-red giant tree just ten meters away—this ten meter wasn't a miscalculation of distance, but the Core moving when he broke through the barrier.

At such close range, he could see the Crimson Fruit at the core, entangled in countless branches, resembling a human heart!

"This time, I will take the Crimson Fruit—!"

Staggering, Shinji raised his spear, aiming it at the tree's roots. The red light flowed through his right hand, coating the Unfading Blade in a brilliant crimson.

That was the light of the Command Seal.

"By my second Command Seal, I command you—burn everything except the Crimson Fruit!"

No matter the cost, all for the sake of the princess, so she would no longer be tormented by the bloodthirsty impulse.