Chapter 85: 81- Fight: Artoria and Kei.

Artoria had previously released Nyx and was now the target of the siblings' wrath.

Nyx is taking revenge for the humiliation she endured at our hands, despite the fact that Ahm and Scathach barely harmed her.

Probably her pride in play...

The other, Erebus, was driven by revenge for his sister's anger, believing that "they did something to her."

Artoria is currently under attack from both Gods.

…

"-so long as the knights were seated at the Round Table... " In order to cast a barrier, Artoria chanted.

Ahm demonstrated to her how emotions can influence visualization and produce unexpected outcomes.

Why did she choose this specific chant?

Nostalgia? definitely.

What could possibly be more "visual" for a while than watching your own memories again?

All knights boasted of an enchanted and strengthened body, including their brains

Even Mordred, although it is far from a perfect memory, is able to recall the lessons she learned in the past and refers to them whenever she goes about her daily routine on the training grounds.

"...Camelot won't fall."

Artoria observed as the two spheres of darkness collided with the emerging barrier, which took the shape of Camelot's familiar walls.

Even with Erebus and Nyx using their divinities to amplify the spell, neither sphere could penetrate the barrier.

But if the two Gods' attack ended there, it would be too disappointing for Artoria.

After colliding with her barrier, both spheres exploded turning into a dark cloud that enveloped the area around her.

Both inside and outside of her barrier were enveloped in a cloud of darkness as this one managed to pass through her barrier as if it didn't perceive it as a threat.

Changing the battlefield to your advantage…

'Basic' Artoria thought, but that doesn't make it less effective contrary to what one would expect.

As Artoria found herself blocking a strike coming from her back with her concealed sword, even when she was supposed to be safe inside her own barrier.

Only for another attack to come again at her back, Artoria had to use her own [Mana burst] this last one, her now golden mana simply used brute force to destroy the spell.

'So they can move across their own element… '

Nothing particularly impressive for Artoria, who is used to Ahm, who is capable of much more on his own...

Simply brutal in many ways, Ahm style.

He applied a mix of fear and helplessness that neither of these two Gods could ever hope to achieve.

Having inhaled the gaseous form of his Ink, he saw hundreds of enemies explode into monsters, or to melt into Ink for Ahm to utilize.

Artoria couldn't help but be astounded and terrified by his abilities, as a King.

Who wouldn't? 

It would be foolish to take on him alone because he has the numerical advantage and the freedom to move wherever he pleases.

And you'd need to be ready for losses if you brought an army against him.

In contrast, these two Gods appear to only be a minor annoyance in how they use their element as a glorified smokescreen.

Even so, it doesn't make the conflict any less difficult or stressful because it is obvious that the two Gods were able to coordinate their attacks

After that initial assault, they continued to attack with black waves, dark bullets, slashes, and stabs that always went for her blind spots.

Their complex and quick attack turned into a simple workout for her [Instinct].

Her Magic resistance took care of the rest while their Darkness turned her into a candle light, illuminating the majority of the darkness that got too close to her.

These two gods were challenging to defeat, but sadly they had to go up against the only one who can completely counter them.

However, that didn't make them any less dangerous, even a normal enemy could suffer serious injuries from a single attack from them, their element would corrode the wound and render it impossible for the enemy to recover in the midst of the battle.

The battle appeared to be at a standstill.

Up until Artoria stepped into a carefully hidden trap

Although it might have seemed like a small thing as her own defenses reduced the hit, the two shadows took it as a cue to launch a reckless attack and charged at her from both her front and her back.

Once more, Artoria followed suit, using her sword to deflect one of the blows while leaving the rest to her [Mana burst].

However, one of the shadows didn't feel as... solid this time, and a third shadow materialized and tried to slash at her back.

'They seemed to have noticed the little weakness of [Mana burst]' 

Just like its name implies, it burst mana out of your body or being more technical

'Infusing one's weapons and body with Magical Energy and instantly expelling it. Simply put, recreating the effect of a jet burst by spending large amounts of Magical Energy'

Given the forceful nature of [Mana burst], you need to restore from the strain placed on the flow of Magical Energy inside your own body before using it again, lest you injure yourself. It isn't difficult to notice this.

This ends in a little delay before each activation, something that many may not even notice.

Unfortunately for her, the Gods had enough time to capitalize it.

Artoria had to leap in order to be pushed back by the third shadow's attack and use that momentum to her advantage to situate herself in a more advantageous position.

With winning grins, Nyx and Erebus followed after her at their greatest speed yet.

Artoria felt her speed significantly slowing down as neither her [Mana burst] nor her body enhancement were able to react in time, she realized what was wrong seemingly too late.

Artoria was cut in half by Erebus as Nyx yanked her head out of her shoulders in the next instant.

However, when pink petals appeared in place of the anticipated blood and the knight body suddenly changed into more of them, the siblings weren't in the least bit happy about it.

"'Proficient in sealing magic'. I see… " 

Artoria talked to herself analyzing her enemies, sounding not so far from where she 'died'.

Erebus, a skilled trickster, couldn't help but sense something familiar in her.

They were deceived but when… how?

The two Gods could see their opponent, who was now sitting on a flower field and carrying a staff, despite the distance and darkness.

"Now. It's time, I believe, that we take this seriously." Artoria remarked with a smile but the magic spell that blasted the two Gods was anything but friendly.

Now the pair of brother and sister had to deal with an enemy that is skilled in both magic and swordsmanship.

***

With Kei.

Kei strength is difficult to categorize.

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She is a moving, indestructible fortress as long as she is near her 'friends' who are always glad to help her.

Her full body armor which is using the soil used to fill its insides to move as if it were a Mech made her attacks carry an incredible weight.

Poseidon realized this hard truth only after fighting against her for a while.

That's why after failing to break through Kei's defenses, Poseidon decided to move the fight to a more favorable location for himself.

That's how Kei ended up in the middle of a lake, sinking slowly as Poseidon pushed her down while attacking from all sides with his trident, weakening her shield with each strike.

This person in armor made the entire earth his enemy, despite the fact that he is supposed to have some control over it thanks to his Godhood.

Poseidon is also the God of Earthquakes, which should help him when fighting for control of an element, but not this time.

The earth simply refused to accept his call, as if she didn't want to harm her in any way.

Poseidon would consider her a new Goddess associated with the Earth or Nature, but her lack of divinity said otherwise.

And he realized why.

She does nothing to control Nature, unlike Gods who take control and rule over the element with force.

This is Poseidon's second time seeing something like that… but the first one is someone that nowadays is almost forgotten.

It's as if nature herself was assisting her without her having to ask, and it brought back memories of a long-sealed foe.

Poseidon didn't know that his fears were true…

Kei, on the other hand, was not fighting back as she was being dragged for a simple reason.

Kei has a special connection with nature and the earth itself, feeling their will and being able to befriend them.

You can call her a Child of Nature, even a natural born Druid.

But this was the first time she felt a 'friend' like this one.

The biggest one she'd ever felt, and she referred to herself as 'The mother of the friends',  she only awoke after sensing Kei's presence.

Annoyed and couldn't help but to mock his enemy seeing how her shield were weakened with every hit, already cracks in it "Not so tough now that you are in MY domain "

What he couldn't see because of her armor was that Kei was reacting instinctively while her mind was preoccupied with talking with the 'Mother of her friends.'

"How unusual... for someone beloved by my children to be born at this age... "

Kei could feel the excitement of her friends as well as their sadness at the now awakened Mother "They... miss you," Kei replied.

"Yes… They are loud to me. I was s-...  sleeping." The unknown voice spoke slowly and calmly.

Kei listened to the voice patiently, waiting for her to continue.

"Kei was it? I decided. You will be the first to receive my blessing." The voice declared with a newfound strength, unlike her previous 'sleepy' state.

But despite the now cheerful voice, Kei had other thoughts about the so-called 'blessing' "Teacher and Ahm said that 'Blessings' are bad. Many Gods lie using them " 

"That's exactly what they do. My Blessing, on the other hand, cannot be refused." The voice makes a solemn remark.

However, it is similar to a mother scolding and teaching her child.

Now that the voice has been reassured, Kei has trusted allies who can cover her onnocence's weakness.

Of course, this caused Kei to frown, but the motherly voice laughed and said. "I swear to you, Child, I am not lying to you.

It's enough for me if you stay true to yourself and keep being their 'friend'.

Listen, I'm Mother Earth, the Mother Goddess of all life. 

The Primordial Goddess and Earth's personification.

Gaia!" Following the voice, Nature itself moved towards Kei trying to embrace her causing Poseidon to shout in deslief

"Impossible! You'll pay for this, Ga-" Only to be stopped by a slap from a hand made of mud, which sent him almost to the bottom of the lake.

"Don't threaten... Aunty." Kei glared at Poseidon as her shield filled with energy becoming the darkest and sturdiest it has ever been.

Poseidon tried to return the hit, but he couldn't because the Earth had formed an island for Kei to stand on.

Growing trees and vines to protect her.

Poseidon's eyes grew solemn as he watched the lake's edges shrink as the earth around it buried it slowly.

The voice reappeared for the final time. "Look after... them." Her previous vigor appears to have been a… myth.

To think there would be a day where she would be called 'Aunty'.

Now Kei was eager to finish this fight and discover why her friends were so excited about this new Blessing, while also distracting them from the departure of their Mother.

In reality, Gaia couldn't do much because she was still imprisoned in Tartarus.

All she did was give her children the ok for them to go out and play with Kei.

But that didn't stop it from helping her; everything she could do became lighter and wider, including friends of other Elements.

To end the fight, Kei decided to use the fruit of her own talent, study and strength, portrayed in her third skill in Arknights.

What would happen if your body is filled with all the Earth Energy it can fill and take, increasing its sturdiness and weight accordingly, while you yourself don't feel burdened by this new gained weight?

This is unique to 'Mudrock' due to her relationship with her 'friends', something that can't be replicated as easily as she does since it doesn't depend only on herself, but her teamwork with them

Something unique to herself, something that will be pass on in her history, her 'Bloodline'

[Skill 3: Bloodline of Desecrated Earth]

Mudrock did a spin, ending in an upward strike to reduce the damage done to the surroundings.

Poseidon had to evade feeling the weight behind the strike coming from her hammer.

That's all it took for the entire lake to be divided in two parts with the middle.

That's the answer to the question, an incredible strength brought by part of one of the most basic and crude physics, mass and speed.

********

End of the chapter

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Sorry for the delay.

It's been a busy week, and doggo decided to have her babies right before I was about to write, I had to keep an eye on her.

That's all Folks. Keep dreaming.

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