"Master!"
Despite receiving Roland's order, Saber still held his breath. From his perspective, Roland hadn't even resisted. He simply stood there, calm, as if accepting death.
Even from afar, Saber could feel it clearly: what Archer had fired was no mere weapon, but a genuine Noble Phantasm with cursed attributes, backed with overflowing amount of immense magical power.
Even without their special properties as a cursed attribute Noble Phantasms , such a projection alone would cause a devastating explosion. No ordinary human could possibly withstand that, it would blow them to pieces instantly.
Saber had no doubt that Roland was the strongest Master in this Holy Grail War. He could effortlessly calculate multiple factions at once, seize everything he wanted with frightening ease. Yet he knew, in front of the power of Servants, human strength was utterly insignificant.
But the scene that unfolded next was something Saber could not comprehend at all.
Roland stood there quietly, completely unharmed.
The scarlet spear had simply vanished mid-flight, erased as if by an invisible hand.
"Impossible!"
For the first time, Gilgamesh's expression changed, not because his attack had failed, but because he couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
He possessed the wisdom to see through all things [Clairvoyance] . No matter the situation, he could always grasp the truth instantly.
But this was different. This wasn't magecraft, nor a Noble Phantasm nor anything comparable. It was something wholly beyond comprehension.
Resistance, deflection, even polluting and changing ownership of his Noble Phantasm the way that rabid dog Berserker had done earlier… such possibilities, though enraging, at least belonged to the spectrum of reality.
Yet what had just occurred did not exist within possibility at all. It was as if the spear had never been fired.
"So? Didn't I already say it?" Roland smiled playfully at the speechless Hero King. "The rules of battle and my path to victory have already been decided."
Then, tilting his head, he added mockingly:
"Still, since you went out of your way to let me test my new ability, it'd feel like bullying a child if I didn't show some mercy."
Roland lifted a finger to his chin in mock thought, then widened his grin.
"How about this…" His voice dropped, darker, laced with malice and unrestrained delight.
"As long as you run away like a stray dog, I'll let you live."
"You Mongrel! What nonsense are you spouting!"
The blatant mockery and disdain made Gilgamesh explode with fury. He swept his arm violently, golden ripples spreading behind him like a lake, painting the night sky with dazzling brilliance.
One after another, treasures gleamed into view, polished to perfection, radiant with priceless luster and power, all aimed directly at Roland.
But they didn't fire.
Because Gilgamesh's gaze had shifted.
He turned stiffly, face frozen, staring at the sight before him.
In the nearest golden ripple, a scarlet spear quietly emerged, as though it had never been fired at all.
The Gate of Babylon contained treasures as numerous as the stars. Gilgamesh himself couldn't possibly recall them all; most of the time, he simply made the request and let the treasury supply the appropriate treasure.
But this one, this spear, he had just hand-picked moments ago for a fatal strike. There was no mistaking it.
Gilgamesh looked at the restored weapon in disbelief. Once confirmed as authentic, his eyes turned grave. Slowly, he fixed his gaze on Roland.
"Who… are you?"
His loss of composure was too exciting for the Master of castor. Roland's grin widened as he snapped his fingers.
"Before asking questions, you should first learn respect. Who gave you the right to look down on me, mongrel? Get down!"
At Roland's command, Gilgamesh's body plummeted like a stone, crashing into the earth with a thunderous impact. White shockwaves rippled outward as he struck, leaving a massive crater.
Saber's pupils contracted in shock.
Gilgamesh had slammed into the ground face-first without even registering an attack, and yet a wound gaped across his back, as though pierced by an unseen blade.
One inexplicable phenomenon after another finally shattered his composure, igniting his wrath.
"How dare you humiliate me on such a farce of a stage, forcing me to stand on the same ground as you clowns! No matter what trick you used, I'll end your future here and now!"
In an instant, the atmosphere detonated. Dozens of treasures erupted, golden light tearing the sky apart, shockwaves rippling violently outward.
Spears, swords, axes, hammers, one after another they launched forth, a storm of Noble Phantasms accompanied by the roar of clashing metal.
Roland didn't move. His expression was indifferent, unmoved.
And just as the weapons reached him, they vanished again.
"It's useless. No matter how many times you try, the result will never change."
Killer Queen floated silently beside him, pacing forward in step with its master.
Roland looked down at the bloodied Hero King, his voice calm, almost pitying.
"Perhaps you haven't realized it yet, but you're trapped in the past. You've been caught in a powerless cycle. Every attack you unleash is real. Every Noble Phantasm you fire does what it was meant to.
But you will never touch me, because you can never reach the future."
Roland's voice sharpened, absolute:
"The instant you became hostile to me, the outcome was sealed. Every so-called result you achieve only spawns a new loop.
This isn't the reversal of the entire world. It is the cycle of the individual. No matter how strong the foe, no matter how desperate the means, once I deny it, it becomes nothing more than a reality that never occurred in the flow of time."
He raised his hand and slowly clenched his fist.
"This is my Stand, Killer Queen, the Fourth Bomb: The Power of Egoism."
This was no Requiem, no heavenly sublimation. It was the growth of his soul, his will, his very essence, and with it, the evolution of Killer Queen.
The door to heaven that could reshape all things was now but one step away.
The individual soul alone was not enough. It also required opportunity, a ritual, a catalyst to truly command the world.
Even without Dio, Roland understood: he had already reached one of the key conditions to ascend.
The prerequisite for the path to Heaven, his Stand, Killer Queen.
[T/N: Hey everyone, this is the Fifth chapter of my promised nine, Its not that I don't want to fulfill my promise but Patreon has F*cked me over and my collection seems to have been deleted, but no worries, I can start over again and deliver you all the chapters I promised and more.
BTW, please tell me if there is any other app where I can stock up on chapters and post them according to schedule]