Nine Lives

Nine Lives: The Shooting Hundred Heads is the most trusted of all of Heracles' Noble Phantasms, but it is not utilized during Fate/stay night because he lacks the motor skills to use it while in the Berserker class. It originally had the form of the bow and arrows used to simultaneously exterminate the one hundred heads of the Hydra, an immortal nine-headed serpent, that would grow back no matter how many times they were cut down. Upon slaying the Hydra, he became able to utilize techniques that emulate the ability of the Noble Phantasm with other weapons, transforming it into an all-purpose Noble Phantasm capable of adapting and changing how it appears depending on the target and circumstances of its use.

No matter if it is delivered with a bow, large sword, shield, spear, or axe, the technique still boasts power on the level of Noble Phantasms. In essence, it is “a high speed attack consisting of nine consecutive strikes, as swift as if the attacks are overlapping.” It changes form depending on the target, such as the Anti-Unit Nine Lives Blade Works with a series of slashes and the anti-phantasm beast skill that discharges nine dragon-like homing lasers at the enemy. The skill can be called a style of its own that has a nature similar to Cú Chulainn's Gae Bolg: Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death, a technique that is part of Gae Bolg, as Heracles' technique shares name with the original Noble Phantasm. The ability would be best suited for the Saber class even though the Archer class is the most suitable to Heracles.

Shirou analyzes and projects Berserker's axe-sword and copies his monstrous strength, allowing Shirou to project a variation of the secret sword technique named Nine Lives Blade Works: The Shooting Hundred Heads to attack the corrupted Berserker with a pummeling, high speed series of eight strikes. He targets and slashes the upper arm, collarbone, windpipe, temple, diaphragm, rib, testicles, and thighs simultaneously at "godspeed" faster than the speed of sound. These eight strikes destroy eighty percent of Berserker's body, but that is still not enough to stop his charge. When Berserker is halted by Illya's presence, Shirou has time to perform a lance-like thrust through the heart, ending the battle that lasted merely an instant. Berserker, although unable to utilize it, displays a variation in Fate/unlimited codes where he performs a series of one hundred slashes that begins slowly and becomes blindingly fast as the final strike smashes the opponent into the ground.

The world of Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA features Fake Nine Lives: Fake-The Shooting Hundred Heads, bringing about only the Axe-sword without any other benefits. Kuro projects it to use it as a shield to charge at Illya. Illya Includes regular Nine Lives, also producing the Axe-sword, in the air to fall with it towards Gilgamesh. He destroys it by utilizing True Nine Lives: The Shooting Hundred Heads from the Gate of Babylon, a massive ballista-like weapon shoots nine beam-shots at the target.