I Will Eventually Embark On The Path Of No Return Called A Hero

[Arc4] - 10. The Muscular Magical Girls

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To prevent their personal desires from causing an explosion of natural gas in Fuyuki City, the wealthy mage Luvia Edelfelt generously rented out an entire forest.

"Let me say this upfront," Cyd cracked his neck, "I can tell your mental endurance is pretty strong, so in a moment, I'll go all out to make sure you suffer as much as possible while still being able to walk home."

Lord El-Melloi II quietly lit a cigarette and glanced at Luvia and Tohsaka Rin. Since Cyd said this, he would definitely follow through. If it could dampen the arrogance of these two students, who thought they could challenge a Servant just because they became magical girls, he'd be quite pleased.

"You've really underestimated me, Sapphire!" A vein bulged on Luvia's forehead.

"Ruby!" Rin stretched out her hand toward the floating Ruby by her side.

"Understood."

"Got it~"

Cyd watched with great interest as Luvia and Rin naturally struck an embarrassing transformation pose.

Amid flashes of starlight that only appear in shoujo manga and blinding holy radiance, the transformed Luvia and Rin appeared before him.

"Pfft..." Cyd covered his mouth and looked away.

"What's so funny?!" Rin's face turned red as she yelled in frustration, her cat-ear-like accessories twitching wildly.

She already felt embarrassed, and now Cyd had the audacity to laugh right in front of her!

"No... I just thought of something funny... pfft…"

If elementary school kids struck such poses with those effects, it would be fine, but Luvia and Rin were a bit past that age.

Gray seemed to recall something embarrassing as she covered her face.

"Hey, Luvia, I'm going to hit him with a big one!" Rin raised her wand and aimed it at Cyd. A massive amount of mana gathered visibly at the tip of the wand.

"Do whatever you want," Luvia crossed her arms, lifting her chin slightly.

"Die!"

It was no joke—an immense torrent of mana surged out, with the gusts of wind sweeping through the forest. Even a Servant wouldn't choose to take on such an attack head-on.

Lord El-Melloi II silently exhaled a ring of smoke.

"The sunlight is lovely today~"

Cyd raised his left hand towards the mana blast, and the crystals on his wristband, representing divine power, began to glow one by one.

"Boom—"

The mana cannon blasted through the forest, shattering countless trees and leaving a scorched trail on the ground, a testament to the terrifying power of the attack.

"No way... is he dead?" Rin looked at the rising smoke, starting to feel uneasy.

"Impossible," Luvia showed no hesitation, raising her wand and aiming at the smoke. Mana, no less powerful than Rin's, gathered at her wand's tip. "That man can't be brought down by such a simple attack!"

"Boom—"

A deep blue beam shot toward the smoke, but something unusual happened this time. The mana blast didn't pierce through the forest but refracted within the smoke, like light hitting a prism, before shooting into the clouds.

A dazzling explosion erupted in the sky, triggered by Luvia's mana, scattering the clouds completely. As the now harsh midday sun bathed the ground, the thick smoke turned somewhat transparent, revealing a sight to behold.

Orange light, like the strokes of an artist's brush, traced a totem of the sun, slowly spreading through the smoke.

"Not a bad attack," as the smoke cleared, Cyd stood there, the totem of the sun glowing softly on his exposed left arm. He lowered his hand.

[Reforged Pandora]—a black box began to turn, its long black handle digging into the ground. As the handle extended, [Reforged Pandora] began to grow larger, its color shifting from black to red.

"But if this is all you have to challenge a Servant, I suggest you give up. Even if they've lost themselves, Servants—those heroes—possess something that humans cannot surpass."

Cyd pulled the massive hammer out of the ground with one hand and rested it on his shoulder.

"The light you're showing now is still too dim."

"Are you really human?" Rin stared at Cyd in disbelief.

Her first mana cannon didn't even prompt Cyd to defend himself—he took the full brunt of the attack. And the second, from Luvia, was simply deflected by Cyd's left hand.

The only damage they caused was a bit of smoke rising from his body, and a tear in the sleeve on his left arm.

"I am human," Cyd raised his right hand.

The scarf of scales wrapped around his neck slowly unfurled. The black scales layered themselves over his right hand, growing larger and larger.

"I'm just a bit stronger, that's all."

"That mana cannon was just a greeting," Luvia began cracking her knuckles. "Now I'll show you my true strength as a magical girl. Rin, stop holding back!"

"Alright, alright," Rin scratched her head in a resigned manner.

"I honestly don't think you can unleash a more powerful cannon than that," Cyd raised an eyebrow.

Luvia and Rin exchanged glances, and at the same time, they tossed several gems into the air above Cyd. Under the sunlight, the multicolored light from the gems enveloped him.

"Interesting," Cyd looked up at the floating gems, "is this a binding or an explosion?"

"It's to distract you!"

A blue and red blur shot toward Cyd at terrifying speed. Small, delicate hands wrapped in powerful wind pressure, and white knees carried the momentum to pierce through stone.

"Are you really magical girls?" Cyd glanced downward, commenting on the two brawling maniacs before him.

"This time, stay down!" Luvia didn't care if her movements caused her to flash anything, as she aimed a knee strike right at Cyd's face.

Rin stomped the ground, causing countless cracks to spread outward from her boots. Her long fingers clenched into a fist as she swung it toward Cyd's stomach.

"I refuse."

His dragon-scale-covered right hand reached out and caught Luvia's knee, while his left leg came up to meet Rin's fist with his own knee.

"Boom—"

Cyd flew out as if hit by a speeding train, propelled through the air at terrifying speed. Countless scales from his scarf poured out, forming giant dragon claws that slammed into the ground, gouging out several trenches before finally stopping his momentum.

"How's that! This is the power of magical girls!" Luvia covered her mouth, laughing proudly.

No, this is your true nature...

Lord El-Melloi II silently smoothed out his hair, which had been tousled by the gusts of wind.

He had long heard that Luvia and Rin were experts in close combat, often fighting like demolishers. Now, with Ruby and Sapphire enhancing their physical abilities to a terrifying level, it was no surprise.

"I've seen enough," Cyd dusted himself off, lifting his heavy hammer and lightly tapping it on the ground.

"Now, how about you see what I can do?"