That's right.
Shinji had pierced Heracles' body—pierced his spirit core—using Brahmastra spear.
It was that simple.
There was no fierce battle, not even an exchange of blows to speak of. With just two uses of Kazikli Bey and a single thrust of his spear, the task was completed as naturally as expected.
What seemed like an effortless strike was the result of countless calculations, making full use of timing, terrain, and human factors.
Timing: Acht was forced into a corner. If he refused to surrender, his only option was to use a Command Spell to summon his Servant for protection.
Terrain: The enclosed space is reinforced by stakes. The Einzbern's temporary villa, built according to international building standards, had an average ceiling height of around 2.8 meters and a corridor width of about 1 meter.
For ordinary people, these dimensions were quite comfortable—not too narrow, nor too spacious. But for Heracles, standing at 2.53 meters tall, this space was extremely cramped, severely limiting his movements.
To make matters worse, once the villa was chosen as the base of operations, Acht reinforced it with alchemy, and after Shinji arrived, he further reinforced it with stakes, creating a natural prison. Even Heracles, the great demigod, couldn't break through it in a short amount of time.
Additionally, the specially prepared iron pillars further restricted Heracles, binding him in place and preventing him from even moving his limbs. His restrictions were far more severe than those imposed on the battle maids.
If Shinji couldn't hit such a stationary target, he might as well quit trying to survive in the Nasuverse and end his life to avoid shaming Scathach and Chiron.
Human Factors: This is easy to understand.
Opposing them was Heracles, a Berserker who had lost his reason, acting solely on instinct. He couldn't even use half of his true abilities.
On Shinji's side, there was Scathach, a Servant who would never be outclassed by any other and was practically omnipotent.
Acht, meanwhile, was short-sighted, thinking himself wise but an idiot.
Finally—and most crucially—Shinji was a true Type-Moon fan and a lore expert, having studied Heracles more deeply than anyone. This allowed him to successfully exploit the hero's weaknesses and avoid his strengths, resulting in this near-perfect execution.
Yes, near-perfect, but not truly perfect.
True perfection wouldn't have required such a complicated setup. One dose of Hydra poison would have been enough to kill Heracles, no matter how many lives he had. The faith-based boosts that Servants receive aren't always beneficial; for a hero with a well-known death like Heracles, as long as you can recreate the attack that killed him, no matter how strong he is, he will die.
Unfortunately, five years ago, Shinji hadn't been able to obtain Hydra poison from the Assyrian Empress. And in this timeline, while there was indeed Rocco Belfeban, he hadn't managed to acquire a precious Hydra specimen. Otherwise, Heracles would have been dead the last time they met.
Of course, the current outcome was still quite satisfactory.
After successfully landing the spear, Shinji stepped back two paces. Before Heracles could revive, Shinji first used Indra's Lightning to blast a hole straight through the roof, then summoned an even larger iron pillar, sending Heracles—along with the prison—into the sky.
Afterward, Shinji raised both hands high and declared loudly:
"Brahmastra, Maximum Output—Broken Phantasm!."
Boom!
The sun exploded.
Everyone who witnessed this scene had the same thought.
If it weren't for the building blocking the light, the blinding glare would have caused immediate blindness.
And that was just the prelude. The air, as though being drawn by something, rushed toward the center of the explosion at an abnormal speed. After a brief pause, it violently surged back with even greater force.
Boom!
It was as if a giant hammer had slammed into everyone's hearts. The intense rumble shook their eardrums. Even from more than twenty meters away, it left everyone feeling nauseous and stifled.
Following the sound, a force a hundred times stronger than the blood and flesh storm Heracles had unleashed descended upon them.
In the face of such terrifying destruction, even the three-story villa, which was said to be able to withstand a magnitude 7 earthquake and had been reinforced with alchemy, was utterly fragile. It didn't last more than a few seconds before the roof was torn off, and the destruction cascaded downward, even shattering the stakes embedded in the walls and floors.
This also confirmed to Shinji once again how wise he had been to move the battle maids underground. Otherwise, even if he had shown mercy earlier, the homunculi would have been killed by the shockwave from the explosion.
"You know how to put on a show, my disciple."
A striking red figure flashed by, and Scathach appeared by Shinji's side. No matter how dazzling the light in the sky or how magnificent the explosion was, none of it could diminish the majesty of the Queen of the Shadow Land.
"This isn't even the maximum output. I'll let you see the biggest fireworks sometime," Shinji stood at the bottom of the gaping hole, smiling as he faced the storm.
"You're not planning to use that to deal with me, are you?"
Scathach chuckled lightly.
"Of course not. Though I'm becoming more enamored with blowing things up, these large-scale explosions require preparation time and aren't practical against top-tier opponents. If Heracles had retained his reason, I wouldn't have had this chance. It was he who destroyed his last hope with his own hands."
As he spoke, Shinji cast a glance at Acht. The old man, already knocked to the ground by the shockwave, cowered in the corner. Hearing Shinji's taunt, his face grew even darker, completely devoid of the dignity of a family patriarch.
"If you have any more resistance left in you, use it now. Otherwise, this is truly the end."
"No, not yet."
Scathach placed her hand on Shinji's shoulder and guided him back a few steps.
The next second, a dark green figure smashed through the broken floor, landing right where the two had just been standing. It took up more space than the two of them combined. Who else could it be but the Heracles that had been sent into the sky by the stakes?
"Wait!!!"
Shinji's body trembled as an obvious expression of shock appeared on his face.
"How is he still alive? Was the explosion not strong enough?"
"Don't jump to conclusions."
Scathach moved her hand from Shinji's shoulder to his forehead, giving him a light tap.
"Look more closely."
At that moment, a deep, heavy, yet somewhat magnanimous male voice echoed through the air.
"I wouldn't exactly say I'm alive in this state. I'm merely holding on through sheer willpower. That explosion earlier… It was your doing, wasn't it? It was indeed terrifying. It shattered all of my Labors in one go."
"Heracles…"
The shock on Shinji's face deepened, as the one speaking was the man who had fallen from the sky.
Looking carefully, the giant was still the same, but the madness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a clear, calm gaze.
At this moment, he truly was the greatest hero of ancient Greece, the mightiest of all champions.