The battle between the two Lancers was still going on neck-and-neck.
While they were both Lancers, their fighting styles were completely different. Lancer of Black stabbed stakes at his enemy just by directing them with a single finger, while Lancer of Red aimed to directly smash his enemy with the spear he held in his hands.
Lancer of Black would throw stakes while maintaining his distance, and Lancer of Red would close the distance between them while breaking every one of those stakes. The battle was a repetition of this sequence.
Mysteries are negated by stronger mysteries. In that regard, Lancer of Red greatly exceeded Lancer of Black. Based on his strength in life, the great hero Karna was truly exceptional.
In order to send him to his grave, the thunder god Indra had no other choice but to devise an intricate scheme. Karna was the best and proudest spearman who hadn't fallen to the ground even after being betrayed by all his allies.
—However, even against such a hero, Lancer of Black didn't fall before his attacks.
Unlike Lancer of Red, whose existence in actual history was unclear, Lancer of Black—Vlad III was a hero who had actually existed in this world.
He was a patriotic hero who had been feared by all surrounding countries, and even though he was equally feared by his own citizens—he still received great respect and worship from them.
Without him, their country wouldn't have existed. The hero who had carved this into the world's history had been brought back to life in that very same country. His fame and popularity was equal to that of a great in this country.
His Noble Phantasm Kaziklu Bey: Lord of Execution possessed uncommon power as a result as well.
True, they were only ordinary stakes. But—the problem was that these stakes could be freely summoned forth according to Lancer of Black's command.
Though, even when faced with an enemy with a Noble Phantasm of that level, Lancer of Red was still easily a match for a thousand of them. Without paying any care to the stakes that stabbed countless times all over his body from his feet to his right shoulder to his left flank to his elbow, neither his movements nor his strength changed at all. Right now, his Noble Phantasm Kavacha and Kundala: O Surya, Become Armor was negating 90% of the damage from the stakes. They were reduced to mere scratches that he could heal while fighting.
However...
"—Magnificent. You've broken one thousand stakes with that spear, burned eight hundred with those flames covering your body and stopped two thousand with that golden armor. Lancer of Red, you are without a doubt worthy of being a hero. With that armor, even a battering ram would have no effect, let alone my stakes."
Karna accepted Lancer of Black's praise with a solemn attitude.
"Thank you for your words, lord of this land."
"If you weren't a pagan, I would allow you to surrender. That alone is regrettable, that you believe in a fake god."
"Hmm, how do you know that my god is a fake?"
"Of course I know. God is a pure and untouched absolute. If not, who would believe in him? Who would rely on him? A god who mingles with people and has intercourse with them is merely a hideous monster."
"Now, I wonder about that. It's only natural that any religious faith undergoes innumerable changes depending on the land. If it is a land where floods occur, then one who rules over water is the God there. If my gods and their gods are monsters, then the God you believe is also merely a monster upon whom the ideal of being [absolute] was pressed upon."
