Agrius Metamorphosis: Boar of Divine Punishment
Rank: B+
Type: Anti-Personnel (Self) Noble Phantasm
Range: 0
Maximum Target: 1 person
The pelt and head of the Calydonian Boar, a monster sent to Earth by the moon goddess Artemis. At first glance, it looks like a boar, but that's only because it once took the form of a boar by chance.
The Calydonian Boar had a massive body like a mountain and was ferocious, capable of consuming all the harvest of the city-state of Calydon. The power gained through this Noble Phantasm is equivalent to that terrifying beast which, despite summoning heroes from all over Greece, still caused numerous casualties.
When worn, it seals the Phoebus Catastrophe, increases all abilities except luck, grants A-rank "Mad Enhancement" and "Transformation," and allows the wearer to recover an equivalent amount of life force by dealing damage to enemies. As a result, the wearer is no longer a Servant and cannot be observed or have their information detected.
In this state, the bow's name changes to Tauropolos. The arrows generated by magical energy can be rapidly fired and all possess Noble Phantasm-level power.
As a cost, the wearer's mind is controlled by the boar, their rationality disappears, and depending on the situation, they may not even recognize their own Master, knowing only to kill and destroy until they die.
In a sense, using this Noble Phantasm is almost equivalent to self-destruction.
Shinji wasn't afraid of this Noble Phantasm itself. At worst, he could use his Feathered Shoes to fly away. More extremely, he could lure the berserk Atalanta towards Spartacus, letting the two berserkers tear each other apart until Spartacus finishes her off, which would also avenge Atalanta for luring Spartacus to attack Jeanne.
Rationally, this was the best ending. If Atalanta donned the boar's pelt, Shinji would do this.
But emotionally, he didn't want things to reach this point. He wanted Atalanta to live well, to continue living in this world, and to save more children.
Thus, he would never let Atalanta wear the boar's pelt!
Releasing the buoyancy of the Feathered Shoes, applying maximum reverse thrust!
Mana Burst is at its limit!
Combined with gravitational acceleration, Shinji's speed reached a new height. Even a hero like Atalanta, proud of her speed, couldn't react in time and was knocked down to the ground unprepared.
"Kemonomimi, stop right there!"
Determined, Shinji roared, pressing down on Atalanta's hands to prevent her from using the Agrius Metamorphosis.
"Let go, let go of me!"
Atalanta struggled desperately, but her strength was only D-rank, while Shinji's was B-rank, two ranks higher. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free from Shinji's grasp and put the boar's head on her head.
"I won't let go, I will never let go. Letting you go would mean your end, your Holy Grail War journey, your wish—all gone!"
"My wish..."
Atalanta's body trembled.
Feeling the force on her hands weaken, Shinji saw hope and continued to persuade her: "Yes, your wish. Is it okay to exit like this? Are you truly willing?"
"No, I'm not willing, but I can never forgive you, you desecrator of the moon goddess, never!"
"But everything I said is true, without a single lie. If there's any falsehood, you can do with me as you wish!"
Shinji was swearing while silently praying in his heart.
"Type-Moon, you guys better not mess up the settings and plot you've written. If anything goes wrong, I'm done for."
"Still saying such things!"
Atalanta remained unconvinced. In her heart, Artemis was the epitome of perfection, and she would not tolerate Shinji's blasphemy.
The struggle that had just subsided began to intensify again. Not only were her hands and feet in action, but even her teeth joined the fray, biting down on Shinji's right hand like a crazed big cat.
Shinji felt the pain but couldn't let go because of it; he had to endure. Fortunately, his pain tolerance was unusually high, so a bite was nothing to him.
Bite away, bite away. As long as you can calm down and don't put on the boar skin, bite however you want.
I'm a fool for revealing the true face of the Moon Goddess.
At this moment, Shinji realized where he had gone wrong. Atalanta had worshipped the Moon Goddess her whole life. Compared to her deep-rooted faith, Shinji's words were completely untrustworthy and would only anger her.
Moreover, Shinji had misunderstood something. Atalanta wasn't a devout believer but a fanatic. To defend her god, she would do anything—when pushed to the limit, she could become another Spartacus.
The only difference was that Spartacus turned into a monster, while Atalanta became a demon. Spartacus could explode, but Atalanta could not.
All these mistakes led to the current awkward situation, where Shinji could neither advance nor retreat and had to remain pressed against Atalanta, in a deadlock.
The position might seem advantageous, but Shinji had no thoughts in that direction.
It wasn't because the girl beneath him wasn't beautiful. Atalanta's beauty was famous in Greek history. If not for her looks, she wouldn't have had so many suitors, so many willing to sacrifice their lives, seek divine help, or use tricks to win her.
Nor was it because of her figure. Although Atalanta's figure wasn't as voluptuous as traditional Western women's, she was petite, slender, and curvaceous, with the added allure of her beast ears and tail, and a unique wild charm that was highly lethal.
But no matter how pretty or alluring a girl was, she couldn't compare to the cursed and disastrous boar skin. Most of Shinji's attention was on the boar skin, with the remaining bit sensing the changes in the magical energy in the air.
At this moment, he eagerly awaited Spartacus's self-destruction. Only then could he seize the opportunity to escape.
Fortunately, Spartacus didn't keep Shinji waiting for long.
A few minutes later, a wave of magical energy that made everyone uneasy swept across the battlefield. It was a sign that Spartacus could no longer control the ever-growing magical power.
Shinji's eyes lit up, and he exerted strength with both his hands and feet. The magic power he had been preparing surged through his body and was released in an instant.
The sudden burst of power shook Atalanta's teeth loose and numbed her entire body.
Using the recoil, Shinji leaped high, his feet kicking in mid-air. With the help of his feathered Shoes, he flew into the sky, reaching a height Atalanta couldn't touch, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Spartacus is about to self-destruct over there. You should run as far as you can to avoid getting blown up. We'll talk next time. Hopefully, next time you won't be so agitated and give me a chance to speak calmly."
With that, Shinji's feathered shoes trembled, and he swiftly flew toward the source of the magical disturbance. Alongside him, a green streak of light cut through the sky.
Atalanta lay on the ground, staring blankly in the direction Shinji had left, her expression dazed, lost in thought.
After a while, she got up, put away the Agrius Metamorphosis with one hand, and touched the blood at the corner of her mouth with the other. She sniffed it at her nose and murmured through clenched teeth.
"Why does it have a familiar taste?"
PS: Kemonomimi-Anime girl with animal ears.