Against the Son of the Sun God (l)

For a moment, El turned his head towards the Hydra that began to squirm, then entered the dimensional rift that was slowly closing behind him.

Now the two of them left the final boss of the maze, Oscar, a six-headed creature who began to sharpen his gaze on Yue and Hajime.

Setting foot in the place that became the test arena, El was greeted by a vast expanse of silent desert, painted by a twilight sky that burned in silence.

The air around him seemed to be frozen in time, while a gentle breeze blew softly, carrying with it golden dust.

Some of the dust blown by the language wind swept across the faces and bodies of the two figures standing facing each other, El and Karna, separated by a distance of ten meters.

The shadows of towering stone monoliths dotted the test field, sparse but enough to bear silent witness to the battle to come.

El sighed softly and looked down for a moment. His hand reached out, slowly pulling Shana from the sheath.

The white blade glistened faintly, reflecting the twilight and the gold dust that danced in the air.

"...Don't pout like that," El murmured softly to the blade, his voice almost a whisper.

"You know I wouldn't call you if it wasn't important. But this time... I'll make sure you dance with a worthy opponent." El said with a smile.

The sword trembled subtly, as if answering the owner's soft call.

El smiled faintly, half teasingly. "Heh... don't be too spoiled, Shana. I promise I'll lead you well."

Instantly, the air around El shook. A dense aura emanated from his body, reddish-purple Dou Qi enveloping his body like a magical cloak, followed by spiritual power that formed an invisible vortex, pulsating strongly yet restrained.

His Heavenly Flame, the Ash Mist Flame, exploded in the form of a white-hot blaze, not of heat, but of a piercing coldness that froze the air around him.

Shana's short blade now burned in the flames, lengthening slowly as the white embers enveloped the body, forming true form, an elegant longsword clad in icy luster and thin milky smoke.

Meanwhile, Karna stood quietly in his majesty. There was no flashy movement, just a light hand raised and the wind whistling as in his hand, a golden-red flame suddenly ignited.

It writhed like a dragon before condensing, elongating, and forming a legendary golden spear, radiating an unparalleled divine aura.

The silence was tense, like the universe was holding its breath.

Before the battle began, El's mind raced, retracing all the information he knew about the Karna figure before him, both from the system and from data circulating on the internet.

Karna was known as the "Hero of Charity", one of the most powerful entities in Indian mythology. Even the God of Thunder, Indra, had to devise an elaborate scheme just to remove him from the game of life.

A legendary figure from the epic Mahabharata, Karna was Arjuna's main rival and was known as a peerless invulnerable hero.

Although he is now known as a spear-user in the Lancer class, Karna was originally more of a chariot rider who specialized in archery.

Karna is a heroic figure who is praised as an archer and rider at the same time.

As a Hero Spirit, Karna has the qualifications to be summoned in the three main classes: Lancer, Archer, and Rider.

Looking at the weapons Karna was using, El suspected that Karna was adopting the Lancer class, although, he wasn't sure what would happen next.

As a Lancer, Karna boasts the strength of a "Special" A rank, making her one of the most formidable and capable of competing for the top spot among all Servants.

In some accounts, Karna was among the seven strongest Servants summoned by Moon Cell, and even Hakuno Kishinami recognized that he was an extraordinary hero, even by the standards of the legends themselves.

In fact, Karna is a top-tier Heroic Spirit who is often compared to Gilgamesh, the Heroic Spirit who holds the title as the King of Heroes.

Some of Karna's skills that El remembers include:

First, Divinity. As the son of the Sun God Surya, Karna inherited his father's brilliant authority during his lifetime. After his death and union with the god, Karna gained the highest level of Divine Spirit talent.

Second, Mana Burst (Flame). This is the ability to flow magic energy into a weapon.

In Karna's case, the energy manifests as flames that envelop and stay in the weapon he uses. This ability is always active, giving the effect of holy fire to all the weapons he wields.

Third, Discernment of the Poor. This is an extraordinary insight to read the character and attributes of the opponent. Karna is not easily fooled by reason or the deceitfulness of words.

This ability reflects his understanding of a person's true essence.

This ability Karna gained, as someone who had lived without relatives and understood people's lives deeply.

Lastly, it can be said that Karna's only weakness is himself, the Uncrowned Martial Arts.

This is a condition where extraordinary competence in using weapons is not recognized by the world for various reasons.

To the opponent, Karna's ability to use swords, spears, bows, riding skills, and Divinity will appear one level lower than reality.

However, this effect will disappear once his True Name is revealed, making it quite a significant drawback, as Karna's identity as a famous hero is very difficult to keep hidden.

In addition, although not a major part of the weakness, Karna's luck stat is low and interestingly, this information is revealed by Karna himself.

In short, Karna is a great hero with fate less than favorable to him.

However, out of all the information El remembers, the thing to watch out for the most is Karna's three Noble Phantasms: Kavacha & Kundala, Brahmastra Kundala, and Vasavi Shakti.

The first, Kavacha & Kundala, is an Anti-Unit (Self) type Noble Phantasm, a golden armor (Kavacha) and golden earrings (Kundala) integrated directly into Karna's body.

Both are divine heirlooms that emit sunlight, this protection is not only physical, but also conceptual. Even the gods had a hard time destroying them.

As large and imposing as it may seem, this protection is a symbol of invincibility. A manifestation of divine power that defies the laws of physics and logic of the ordinary world.

However, Kavacha & Kundala are not without their faults. The armor and earrings constantly drain large amounts of magic energy when used.

Also, while incredibly powerful, the defenses are not absolute: instead of negating attacks completely, they only reduce the damage taken to one-tenth of the original total.

In other words, an attack that is concentrated enough and full of magical power can still hurt Karna, as long as its power is able to break through the reduction limit.

Second: Brahmastra Kundala is a Noble Phantasm of the Anti-Army and Anti-Nation type, a weapon of mass destruction whose power is beyond human comprehension.

It was given to Karna by the god Brahma, and when enveloped with Karna's Mana Burst (Flame), Brahmastra, this Noble Phantasm transforms into a weapon far more terrifying than its original form.

When Karna is summoned in the Lancer Class, this Noble Phantasm takes the form of a different deadly projectile.

By invoking the name of the God of Creation, Brahma this weapon will launch, pursuing enemies with absolute precision, unable to be evaded or deflected.

However, there was an important limitation: due to an inherent curse, Kundala's Brahmastra could not be used on opponents with more power than Karna himself.

A double-edged sword, powerful but also limited by cosmic law.

Last but not least: Vasavi Shakti-an Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm. In short, it is a heavenly lightning spear, a weapon of destruction that can only be used once, yet has the absolute power to kill even gods.

The weakness of this Noble Phantasm is not only that it requires a large amount of Magic Energy and is used once, but Karna must also give up Kavacha & Kundala.

This is permanent, or maybe not? Given that there is a Hogyoku within Karna's body. An existence that can grant one's deepest desires.

"This is going to be a crazy battle..." El murmured softly, his eyes glued to the figure of Karna who stood calmly, like an immovable god of war.