Standing upon the verdant hills.
Taigong Wang squatted under the shade of a tree, fishing in the shadows, and gazed at the distant fortress city shrouded in eternal night. He couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Good heavens... this is already the prototype of a Greater Territory. A step further, and it would be a Grand Thaumaturgy of miracles—a Reality Marble that replaces reality with a mental landscape. His magical energy, even from this distance, makes my heart palpitate... Hassan, he is only one step away from becoming a Beast."
Recalling the various things he had witnessed over the past two months...
The fishing rod in Taigong Wang's hand swayed, and he let out a wistful sigh.
"When fortune turns, a hero is no longer free. How lamentable, how sorrowful, what a pity...
"—He wants the people of the island to survive as much as possible, yet the world rarely goes as one wishes. The Counter Force has pushed him into this situation today.
"No... he probably saw this coming long ago. He chose this path himself."
Beside the man, the towering assassin remained silent.
The deep blue flames flickered endlessly in his eye sockets. After a long while, a dull hum finally emerged.
"The evening bell... is weeping..."
They had been in this Singularity for two months.
While waiting for Chaldea to advance, the two Grand Servants had been gathering intelligence through various means.
By now, they naturally understood what had happened on this island.
The final Age of Gods was about to fade away completely.
The remaining prosperity and beauty of Britannia were but a fleeting afterglow.
This was a fortune for the countless humans of the future, but a tragedy for the few generations on this island.
In this Singularity, the Vile King Vortigern, as the final incarnation of Britain's will, was somehow succeeding in projecting the Holy Spear to bring back the Age of Gods.
This was a complete subversion of human history, a situation the Counter Force could never allow.
The Vortigern of Proper Human History never reached this point. The variable that led to this outcome was...
"—That variable is you, Son of the White Dragon..."
Gazing at the person atop the castle...
Taigong Wang murmured to himself.
Summoned to this Singularity as a Grand Caster, he possessed the skill Clairvoyance EX.
However...
"The strange thing is, my clairvoyance can't see him at all."
What Taigong Wang was using now was just basic Farsight, his naked eye's vision.
If he were to activate Clairvoyance EX and use its authority to observe everything in this world, that person's figure would simply vanish from his sight.
"Interesting... very interesting."
Taigong Wang swayed the fishing rod in his hand, the hook creating layers of ripples in the shadows.
"This is not something achievable through magical means like spiritron transfer or imaginary number submersion. It has nothing to do with Goetia or the Counter Force's summons either. He is not from this era... no, even that's not quite accurate."
Taigong Wang pondered for a moment.
"It should be said... he 'does not exist'.
"—He is a person who should not exist."
"Hmm..."
The towering assassin tilted his head.
"...Foreigner?"
"No... Hassan. Even a Foreigner has traces that can be followed. For an Outer God to descend upon this planet, it must attach itself to a host, and that host will be stained with this planet's aura."
Taigong Wang shook his head.
His voice was filled with keen interest.
"Even EX-rank Clairvoyance cannot see the essence of his soul. Perhaps... he is a product that has flowed out from the 'Great Path'."
The Great Path.
Also known as... the Root.
The God above gods, the vortex of chaos, the outside of the world, the cause of all things, both the Alpha and the Omega.
Different cultures have different names for the Root.
And according to the Old Man of the Mountain's understanding, it was...
"The Akashic Records."
The towering assassin pondered for a moment.
"That's right, you understand now, don't you, Hassan... Vortigern is not important at all. This person—Alwin Pendragon—is the reason our old bosses pushed us into working overtime."
Splash—
Taigong Wang lifted his fishing rod.
A piece of shadow was fished up by him from the fortress city ten thousand meters away.
He reached out, his fingertips gently pinching the wisp of shadow that was as thin as nothing.
It was a shadow, yet it flickered like a flame.
Just from this brief moment of contact...
Sssss...
A faint hissing sound came from Taigong Wang's fingertips.
The skin on his fingers began to slowly wither and dry up.
"Woah! This thing actually burns my soul—"
Poof...
A burst of deep violet flame erupted from Taigong Wang's palm, dispelling the shadow.
After snuffing out the flame...
He vigorously fanned his hands and sleeves, making sure the thing was completely gone before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
Sucking on his fingers, Taigong Wang showed a look of lingering fear.
King Hassan just watched him silently.
"How familiar. The scent of the Valley..."
"Tsk tsk~ That's right... that kid is one of your kind, Hassan."
Sucking on his fingers.
The skin on his fingertips finally plumped up again.
Taigong Wang then, contentedly, wiped his saliva on the assassin's armor.
"Not only has he touched the concept of Death, but his magical energy is now imbued with a soul-burning effect... You'd be fine, since you're half-dead anyway. But I particularly dislike troublesome things like this... In fact, for the two of us to deal with that person, these Spirit Origins are not enough. He is the final afterglow of the Age of Gods. Even with that team down there, it's going to be very tricky. New Grands, and Guardians... —To ensure a 100% correction rate, the Counter Force will definitely send more people. Good heavens... it's been a long time since we've had such a magnificent spectacle."
Anticipating what would happen next...
Taigong Wang's violet eyes opened a sliver, and he gazed with great interest at the King of Cinder standing atop Londinium, an enemy to the world.
"Alwin... who are you...
"—No, what are you?"
In a daze, as if sensing something.
The silver-haired young man slightly turned his head and looked directly back at them.
Taigong Wang immediately closed his eyes and grabbed Hassan's hand.
The two figures shattered like a rippling water mirror, instantly teleporting to a blind spot on the other side of the mountain.
"Oh my~"
Taigong Wang clutched his chest, smiling.
"We were almost discovered. What a terrifying fellow..."
"—And that's not even the most terrifying part, gentlemen. Be careful of that strange sword in his hand."
Crimson flower petals fell from the sky.
The figure of the nightmare magus appeared silently behind the Grand Servants.
Both of them turned as if sensing him.
As Grands or their candidates, they were all old acquaintances.
Seeing Merlin's face, his eyes closed and trickling blood...
The assassin let out a "Hmm," and fell silent.
A teasing expression, however, appeared on Taigong Wang's face.
"Merlin, how did you end up in such a sorry state?"
Hearing this, the nightmare just gave a bitter smile. "What do you think?"
"Hoh~ No wonder. I was thinking that Britannia in this era should be your home turf—why was I summoned as the Grand Caster instead, without even my Sibuxiang."
Taigong Wang immediately brightened up, letting out a burst of uncontrollable laughter.
"Yahahaha...
"—I see now, it's because you're blind!"
He knew this nightmare's personality.
He loved to treat others as a joke, but now, he himself had become the biggest joke of all.
A Merlin who had lost his Clairvoyance EX was no longer qualified to be summoned as a Grand Caster; he had effectively been kicked out of the Grand Servant group chat.
"Why mock me, Taigong?" the nightmare said with a smile. "I may have lost my clairvoyance, but if you're not careful, you could end up in the same tragic state."
"We are just Spirit Origins sent by the Counter Force. So what if we go blind?" Taigong Wang said with a grin, his tone dismissive.
That's right. For them, who had descended as summons, these bodies were just creations of the Counter Force.
Even a Grand Spirit Origin, when summoned as a Class, was itself a limitation on beings like them.
It was like scooping a basin of water from a pond; you couldn't use your full strength.
The so-called Grand Class was just a slightly larger basin.
Or rather, it was a basin specifically designed for dealing with Beasts.
Under normal circumstances, they would not descend with a Grand Spirit Origin.
However, while they couldn't use their full strength...
The advantage was that—since it was just an avatar, they wouldn't feel bad if it was destroyed.
"Heh..."
The nightmare couldn't help but sneer at Taigong Wang's reply.
He didn't actually want to come and warn these two, but he was worried they might be careless when subjugating Alwin and fail at the last moment.
"So what if it's a Spirit Origin projection? Go on, try it. That sword can directly attack the essence of your being on the Throne of Heroes."
The smile on Taigong Wang's lips froze for an instant.
The assassin's armor made a k-krak sound.
"...There can be no such weapon," Taigong Wang's tone became solemn. "To break through the Throne of Heroes is equivalent to penetrating the Wall of the World."
"How do you think I went blind?"
Although it was his own misfortune...
Hearing the other's incredulous tone, Merlin couldn't help but feel a little gratified.
"My illusionary clone... its eyes were pierced by his sword, which then damaged my true body in the Inner Sea of the Planet."
Such a thing is possible...
Taigong Wang and the Old Man of the Mountain exchanged a look.
That's right.
If that was the case, it was indeed possible to damage their true selves on the Throne of Heroes through a Spirit Origin avatar.
Good heavens, is this true damage that ignores temporary health and shields?
True damage is the truest damage in the world.
"What kind of sword is that? One of Britannia's holy swords?" Taigong Wang had noticed the strange spiral sword, but unable to identify it, he had assumed it was just another common British holy sword.
After all, Britannia had so many holy swords you couldn't count them on both hands and feet.
"Even the Holy Sword of the Planet, at full power, freed from its thirteen restraints and able to release the Breath of the Planet, could not do something like pierce the Throne of Heroes," Merlin shook his head, frowning. "I cannot identify that holy sword... no, it's not a holy sword at all. It's not even a sword that should exist in this world."
These words made the two Grand Servants present fall into deep thought.
Remembering that person's figure, Taigong Wang smiled slightly.
"A person who shouldn't exist, holding a sword that shouldn't exist... he's like a bug in the world. What an interesting fellow."
The assassin's armor creaked as he took a step, walking towards the fortress city down the mountain.
"A familiar presence. He is an assassin who has touched the domain of the Valley. Since that is the case... I shall go and meet this junior."
"Hoh~ I can't let you pluck the fruit, Hassan. Claiming kinship is useless. To the victor go the spoils."
The long-haired man and the towering assassin walked down the mountain step by step.
Though their steps seemed light, they crossed hundreds of meters in an instant.
Staring at the large patch of shadow in the center of his gray-white vision...
The smile remained frozen on Merlin's face, but it no longer held a trace of gentleness.
Instead, it looked somewhat chilling.
"Struggle, and then die. This is the unshakable end you will meet, Alwin Pendragon."
"Is it my imagination?"
He vaguely sensed someone was watching him.
However, when Su Shu looked in that direction, the mountains and wilds were empty.
"No... it's not my imagination. My intuition is never wrong."
These past few days...
That feeling of being watched had been growing stronger and more frequent.
Su Shu understood that more and more people were targeting him.
But so what if they watched? Let them look.
The spiral city under the eternal night was the King of Cinder's home turf.
Vaguely, as if sensing something...
Su Shu's pupils contracted slightly, and his entire being melted into the night, instantly appearing in the lightless great hall.
A burly, silver-haired old man sat peacefully on the throne, surrounded by clusters of blood-red crystals.
A knight in black stood before the throne, his iron-gray eyes slightly lowered, staring expressionlessly at the figure in black at the bottom of the steps, his face concealed by a skull mask.
The other person's presence was incredibly dormant.
If not for the fact that this eternal night was his home turf, where every shadow was his senses, Su Shu would have had a hard time detecting him.
An Assassin?
In the stranger's eye sockets, deep blue flames flickered and burned. His aura was like that of a phantom.
A heavy, solemn voice slowly sounded from beneath the skull mask, like the tolling of an evening bell.
"Son of the White Dragon... We have no intention of being your enemy. But your father goes against heaven's will. The Age of Gods cannot continue. The divine oracle has descended. I must take his life."
As the words fell...
The shadows in the great hall flowed and converged, rising like flames to envelop the entire throne where Vortigern sat.
This was Su Shu's response.
"I don't care who you are," the silver-haired young man said calmly. "Take one more step, and you die."
After a moment of silence...
The Old Man of the Mountain gently lifted his foot and stepped forward...
Shhh—
A torrent of dark sword light shot out from all directions, instantly piercing the assassin's body.
The stranger's figure wavered for a moment, then dispersed.
It was an afterimage.
"Good speed."
Clang—
The clash of annihilating sword light flashed in the great hall. In an instant, the two had already exchanged over a hundred blows.
Stillness.
Tranquility.
This was the feeling the opponent's sword gave Su Shu.
...Such a familiar feeling.
Though his presence was concealed like a lurking assassin, this strange man didn't fight like one at all.
He wielded a greatsword with wide, sweeping motions. Every slash and strike aimed directly for his vitals, always piercing his weakest point.
But... Su Shu knew he was indeed an assassin.
Because his sword was permeated with Death.
As a fellow assassin among knights, Su Shu was incredibly familiar with it. It was—the pinnacle of death.
The pinnacle of assassination.
Combined with that skull mask, the opponent's identity was obvious.
—This was the assassin of assassins, the king among assassins.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm, Hassan of the Hundred Personas, the Old Man of the Mountain?
Thinking of the Assassin class in the Holy Grail War, Su Shu instantly understood the other's identity.
This was definitely not someone born in Britannia.
So, to stop me, a mechanism like the Holy Grail War has been activated... Servants have been summoned to this era?
Good... then they can all die!
Boom—
An immense shadow burst forth from his body, covering the entire great hall.
In this home turf of eternal night, his magical energy was virtually limitless.
An assassin who uses a greatsword. It seems the First Hassan really knew his stuff.
What is an assassin?
Kill everyone who sees you, and you'll be the best assassin!
You can dodge, you can block, so I'll just launch an all-out critical strike. Let's see you dodge that!
"Clever. Extravagant."
Giving a precise evaluation...
The Old Man of the Mountain swung his sword, cleaving through the vast, spreading shadow as if splitting a surging tide.
However, the flickering, flame-like shadows clung slightly to his armor, immediately emitting a corrosive hissing sound.
He had no physical body and almost no vitals, that was true.
But Su Shu, wielding his spiral sword, now had magical energy that excelled at burning souls.
In their mutual attrition, the ghostly fire in the assassin's eye sockets seemed to waver, weakening slightly.
"Good junior. Thou hast understood the true meaning of assassination."
An assassination that kills is a good assassination.
A water-mirror-like ripple opened behind the Old Man of the Mountain, supporting his stumbling body.
A smiling man in a black cloak with auspicious clouds walked out of the ripple. He flicked his sleeve, and a circle of purple fire spread out, slightly dispelling the thick shadow in the great hall.
"...Alwin?"
Taigong Wang stared at the silver-haired young man's face, momentarily lost in thought.
At this distance, he could feel that captivating charm even more strongly.
It reminded Jiang Shang of that devastatingly beautiful fox spirit.
However... this situation of being an enemy to the world...
Was more like that tyrant who fought against all of heaven.
Ah...
Truly, the more brilliantly an evil flower blooms, the more beautiful it appears.
Feeling a sense of nostalgia as if meeting an old friend, Taigong Wang found the silver-haired young man before him more and more pleasing to the eye.
He thus offered a way out.
"Calm down. My name is Jiang Shang. Your actions are distorting the Human Order. We are Grand Servants sent by the Counter Force to repair this Singularity. Do you know, Alwin... —You are on the verge of falling and becoming a Beast. At that point, we will have no choice but to subjugate you. Even if you can stop us, more and more Servants will be summoned here. They will all want to kill you, and at that point, everything will be truly irreversible. Be rational. We don't actually need to be your enemy. As long as we kill Vortigern..."
BOOM—
A massive black beam of light, like a pillar connecting heaven and earth, shot out from the tip of the spiral sword, blasting towards the faces of the Old Man of the Mountain and Taigong Wang.
A bitter smile appeared on the fisherman's face.
He shook a command seal from his sleeve, held it between two fingers, and burned it. The violet fire of Tushita Palace surged from his body like it was free, slightly resisting the light-devouring breath.
"Let's go, Hassan. The worst-case scenario has arrived. His transformation into a Beast is now inevitable. This man's resolve is not something we can persuade."
The two figures disappeared into the rippling water.
BOOM—
The thick black beam shot out, silently annihilating the supporting pillars and castle walls, and directly blasted a thousand-meter-long hole through the buildings of the outer city.
Cracks began to spread.
The ceiling above tore apart inch by inch, caving in, collapsing, and disintegrating upwards without any sign of slowing down...
The entire castle came crashing down.
Staring at the massive, open city gate before them, as if welcoming the knights' arrival...
Pressure.
Standing before this gate of Londinium, everyone felt an intense pressure.
Inside the city, a dim twilight hung like a scene from hell, a completely different world from the bright, sunny outside.
One gate.
Separating the human world from hell.
That deathly color reminded everyone of just how dangerous Londinium was. The Celtic army halted before the city gate, and for a moment, no one dared to step forward.
...Except for her.
Artoria walked forward directly, without hesitation. She raised her hand with a slightly dazed expression and touched the shadow of the gate.
Her hand sank into the shadow.
Her body followed, melting into it.
This slightly cold sensation...
Was like his sword, so nostalgic.
Behind Artoria, the floating Scabbard of Avalon emitted a faint light, enveloping her entire body.
The defense of this utopia protected her from all corrosion from the darkness.
"Wait for me, Alwin."
Without looking back, she began to walk slowly towards the castle at the very center of the city.
"Lily, I'm with you."
Kay followed close behind.
The moment his body entered the shadow, the burning sensation made him grimace in discomfort, but Kay endured it.
The two figures grew more distant.
"Miss Artoria...!"
Mash reached out and called.
But she received no response.
The moment she saw this city, the other's condition seemed to have become strange.
That determined expression on her face...
—Like that of the dark king.
"This won't do, Senpai! We must follow them immediately!" Mash said anxiously. "This must be the most critical point! We have to find the source of King Arthur's inner conflict!"
Looking at the brand of the Silver Arm, faintly visible only to him on his arm...
Fujimaru Ritsuka gritted his teeth.
Sir Bedivere, I will not betray your righteousness...
"Let's go, Mash!"
"...Wait a moment, our two guests."
A low voice called from behind.
"As Knights of the Round Table, how can we let our guests lead the charge?"
A purple-haired Knight of the Round Table in exquisite armor stepped forward. It was Lancelot.
For some reason, ever since he first saw her two months ago, he had felt an unusual closeness to this purple-haired girl.
As a Demi-Servant, Mash of course knew that the Lancelot before her was Sir Galahad's father.
But how could she explain this complex relationship?
Sir Galahad had already returned to the Throne of Heroes. All that remained in her was his Spirit Origin and Noble Phantasm.
Their Chaldea was here to repair the Human Order, not to disturb it. The less interference with history, the better.
Among the Round Table knights here was also that Sir Bedivere.
But at this moment, they were just strangers. The knights didn't recognize the Chaldea party at all, only knowing them as the king's honored guests.
"We of the Round Table, how can we let our guests risk their lives? And how can we let our king go forward alone?"
Lancelot, though unruly, was second to none among the Round Table in his loyalty to the king.
He turned back and said.
"Commoners, stay here. This is not a place for you to die. Knights, if you fear death, you may remain where you are. The king has no extravagant expectations of you. But if you are willing to follow, if you are still a Knight of the Round Table, then charge with me! Let us subjugate that perverse demonic dragon!"
The unblemished holy sword in his hand suddenly bloomed with a deep blue light, slightly dispelling the vast, thick shadow that could not be dissolved.
Leading the increasingly spirited Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot resolutely launched the advance, charging in with his knights.
"Mash... let's go too."
Looking at his junior's increasingly resolute eyes...
The last Master of Chaldea stepped through the gate of this city of eternal night spiral.
In an instant.
His vision suddenly dimmed.
Then... a chill.
A chill slowly rose from the bottom of his heart.
Lancelot's holy sword, though it had slightly dispelled the soul-burning shadow, could not dispel the gloom that shrouded people's hearts.
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked up at the strange, swirling clouds in the dim sky.
This black cloud seemed to press down on one's heart.
At that moment...
His heart seemed to lighten.
The shadow that enveloped the entire city began to sway, then surged in large amounts towards the castle at the center of the eternal night spiral.
Clang—
A sharp, ear-splitting sound of metal clashing faintly echoed from the great hall.
Everyone looked at each other.
"Someone is... fighting the Son of the White Dragon?"
Everyone paused for a moment, then...
"Dangerous! Lily, don't get any closer!"
A sudden palpitation arose in his heart.
It was the instinctual fear of a living creature.
Kay reached out and suddenly grabbed the dazed, golden-haired girl who had already stepped onto the castle stairs.
The next instant.
BOOM—
A massive black beam of light, like the world-ending breath of a demonic dragon, suddenly erupted from the castle, blasting a thousand-meter-long empty corridor through the city's buildings.
The ground of that entire street rippled like a wave.
Wherever the breath passed, buildings collapsed, houses were torn apart.
Everything that stood in its way was completely pierced, ripped, and turned into fragmented debris.
Kay stared blankly at this scene.
The Chaldea party stared blankly at this scene.
All the knights also stared blankly at this scene.
Was this really... a monster they could fight?
The entire magnificent castle in the center of Londinium suddenly began to tremble, cracks spreading across its walls...
K-krak—
Huge chunks of the building began to tilt and roll down.
"Wait! Lily!"
Kay grabbed the golden-haired girl on the stairs, violently pulling her back, retreating continuously.
The entire castle tore apart and collapsed like an avalanche. Piles of debris crashed to the ground, creating an ear-splitting roar.
A towering cloud of dust, like a surging tsunami, rose up and spread in all directions.
In just a few short minutes...
The once magnificent castle was reduced to a pile of ruins amidst the dust.
In the silence...
The shadows began to flow.
The dust and haze that filled the sky were instantly swept clean by the surging, thick black shadow.
Swoosh—
The final battlefield was revealed.
It was the ruins of a great hall, with only broken walls remaining, and the throne where the silver-haired old man sat upon the dais.
Before the intact throne...
Stood a figure.
His armor was dyed completely black.
As if his entire body was shrouded in shadow.
He held a twisted, spiral longsword, his figure like a soul-capturing vortex.
Whether it was one's gaze, or the sunlight...
Any light that fell upon him seemed to be devoured.
Like a hole torn open in the world.
A chilling, inhuman fear spread out.
Time seemed to be frozen in amber.
Artoria stared blankly at him.
That person then raised his hand and slowly removed his black helmet.
Revealing a captivating face that could make one fall into obsession, a face that could steal one's heart and soul.
Like an oasis hidden in a barren desert.
All desire for beauty erupted, making one flock towards him in a crazed pilgrimage.
Alwin Pendragon.
But at this moment, there was no longer any smile.
The silver-haired young man spoke in a detached voice, yet his words echoed in the hearts of everyone present.
"You wish to kill my father."
He said, word by word.
"Then you will have to step over my dead body first."
The knight in black stood before the throne.
Though he was alone...
He was like the iron wall of Britain, like Vortigern's final, unshakable line of defense.
Below the steps of the great hall...
The hands of the Round Table knights gripping their swords began to tremble, and they began to retreat.
Artoria stared blankly at that person.
Though she was standing right in front of him, she couldn't seem to say anything.
They were so close.
Yet the distance between them kept growing.
—Because Kay was carrying her and running away.
The ancestral intuition of a knight made Kay feel...
Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed Mash's hand and began to retreat. As those most familiar with spiritron transfer, they also seemed to feel it.
This was not a battlefield they could participate in.
A massive, overwhelming pressure was descending—
"..."
The long-haired man and the towering assassin stood on the fortress city's wall, silently watching the scene below.
Suddenly.
Taigong Wang looked up at the increasingly gray clouds above.
Within the clouds, flashes of muffled lightning, like electric snakes, could be vaguely seen, and a glow like molten lava seemed to flow.
"It's coming."
The Old Man of the Mountain hummed.
Taigong Wang, too, showed a bitter smile.
"That's right. The Holy Spear is about to be projected. ...The Counter Force is about to go all out."
In a daze, as if sensing something.
Su Shu looked up towards the endless horizon.
That brilliant sunlight seemed to be constantly magnifying before his eyes.
Such a familiar scene.
Shhh—
Space seemed to be tearing, rippling with fine tremors.
That sun, so dazzling and brilliant in his vision, seemed to be transformed into a pure spear of light, annihilating everything in its path as it shot towards them, aiming straight for Vortigern's throne.
In that instant...
The tip of the spear suddenly stopped.
The knight in black raised his hand and grabbed the shaft of the spear of light.
The trembling spear tip was less than an inch from the old man's face.
Due to the scorching temperature, the silver-haired young man's entire arm was constantly disintegrating, only to be constantly repaired by the surging shadow.
This time, he couldn't throw it back.
Because the one who threw the spear was far more terrifying than Percival.
But...
"GET... AWAY!"
Unleashing his light-devouring power to its fullest, Su Shu pushed his arm, slowly deflecting the spear of light's attack.
BOOM—
The spear tip crashed to the ground, and a burst of intense light erupted, annihilating a section of Londinium's urban area.
"To be able to take my full-powered strike, you are worthy of me remembering your name."
Bathed in the brilliant sunlight that pierced through the dark clouds...
A blue-haired man slowly descended from the sky.
Behind him, a pair of wings that seemed to be made of gold suddenly unfurled, shining brilliantly under the dazzling sunlight.
"Romulus-Quirinus," the blue-haired man said expressionlessly. "My spear does not kill nameless souls. You may remember my name before you die."
The earth suddenly began to tremble.
A man as burly as a giant bear began to walk slowly from Londinium's city gate. With every step he took, a continuous tremor spread across the ground.
The strongest hunter who hunts all beasts under heaven looked up at the knight in black and let out a heavy sigh.
"Orion... better not to remember my name. Sorry."
Drip.
Drip, drip, drip—
The spiraling, gray sky suddenly began to drizzle.
A young boy with silver-blue gradient hair, at some unknown point, was sitting on the highest pillar of the ruins, gently swinging his legs.
He held a golden, oar-like weapon in his hand, a slight sadness in his light green eyes.
"God loves all people... Sorry, Alwin. I, too, must help the world cross this sea of suffering."
The Knights of the Round Table stared blankly at this scene that was like a divine descent, their bodies beginning to instinctively retreat.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash were dumbfounded. They had never seen such a lineup.
"The founding emperor of ancient Rome, the divine ancestor, Romulus-Quirinus..."
"Orion, the strongest hunter of Greece..."
"The Savior, the helmsman of the shining Ark, Noah..."
As Mash dazedly spoke each name, the expressions of the knights beside them froze a little more.
Lancelot glanced at the Arondight in his hand, a bitter smile on his face.
Knights of the Round Table...
We don't even have the right... to participate in this battle.
The man who descended from the heavens, clad in golden armor.
The hunter, as burly as a giant bear.
The boy with an oar, a sorrowful look on his face.
Three figures radiating divinity suddenly descended, and an immense pressure instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.
"My, my... the Counter Force is really bleeding for this one."
Behind the two watching on the city wall...
A man's slightly frivolous voice suddenly sounded.
A hand suddenly reached out and knocked on the Old Man of the Mountain's hollow-looking armor, making a thump-thump sound.
"Gentlemen, would you mind if I... watched from here as well?"
Hearing this, Taigong Wang turned his head with a bitter smile.
Did this guy even need his permission?
He looked at the strange, golden-haired man beside him, wearing a peculiar greatcoat and even sunglasses.
...He looked completely out of place on this intense battlefield.
In fact, with his strange attire, the golden-haired man looked more like a tourist on vacation.
However...
Taigong Wang knew better than anyone that this person before him was the most terrifying of all the summoned Grand Servants.
The chief god worshipped in South American civilization. The Grand Class was just a game to him.
"Tezcatlipoca..." Taigong Wang said with a bitter smile. "Even you were mobilized?"
"That's right. Because the Counter Force can't accurately measure, hmm, measure the threat level of that kid down there—he's a virus that doesn't exist in any human history. The usual precise countermeasures won't work. So, It gave us one hour to go all out and stop the return of the Age of Gods."
"Are you going to make a move too?" Taigong Wang shook his head and sighed. "If that's the case, this battle is indeed already decided."
Hearing this, the golden-haired man's expression broke.
"Move my ass. I'm sick of working for free. I'm just showing up to give It some face."
The golden-haired man sat down on the ground, cursing.
"Why do you think I'm wearing sunglasses? I was on vacation with my damn sister. She's going to chew me out again when I get back."
The golden-haired man slightly lifted his sunglasses with his middle finger and glanced at the knight in black in the battlefield.
"Hoh. This kid... I actually quite admire him. You know what my title is, right? This battlefield of eternal night really suits my tastes, but... tsk. This rotten world should just be destroyed already."
The golden-haired man chose to just slack off, popping a lollipop into his mouth and pulling out a comic book from his pocket, starting to read it on the spot.
That's right.
Not making a move was already the greatest goodwill he could express. The rest was up to the kid's own fortune.
Taigong Wang glanced at the assassin beside him.
The Old Man of the Mountain seemed to sigh from within his skull helmet and shook his head.
They didn't want to make a move either, but...
Pressure.
Pressure, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.
Since his birth, Su Shu had never felt such immense pressure.
These Servants who had suddenly appeared were not intentionally attacking him.
In fact, as if out of pity, their attacks were deliberately avoiding him.
All their attacks were aimed at the silver-haired old man on the throne.
They had to destroy Vortigern's physical body, and the return of the Age of Gods would naturally fail.
"Nine Lives Rome!"
The golden man threw his spear, and a rain of light shot towards the throne like falling meteors.
"Artemis Agnos!"
The hunter, already as burly as a giant bear, suddenly grew even taller, even more massive. The studded club in his hand, as large as a city gate, smashed towards Vortigern like a battering ram.
"Noah's Ark!"
A vast ocean seemed to spread from the void. A thunderstorm with lightning and thunder, mixed in a violent torrent, rushed fiercely towards the Vile King.
Shhh—
Su Shu plunged the Sword of Lingering Ember into the ground.
In that instant.
Everyone's vision seemed to dim for a moment, becoming so dark they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces.
"...Good kid."
The golden-haired man lifted his sunglasses, watching this scene with interest.
Whether it was eternal night, or flames...
All the light, all the darkness in the entire field instantly surged towards Su Shu.
He had unleashed his full power, without a single shred of reservation.
An endless, incredibly thick shadow poured out from the silver-haired young man's body, spreading out like an ocean.
It not only enveloped him, but also swallowed Vortigern's throne.
The falling starlight was devoured by him.
The city-destroying blow was entangled by him.
The boundless, vast thunderstorm melted into this even vaster, pitch-black ocean.
Su Shu took all the attacks.
He could not retreat a single step.
He himself could easily escape from here, but he was Vortigern's final line of defense.
The offensive from the Grands grew more and more fierce. One after another, mythological Noble Phantasms were activated.
Artoria stared blankly, watching that person's figure being submerged in countless violent attacks.
Powerlessness.
She knelt on the ground.
Though she had come right before him...
She... could do nothing.
Because she herself was also here to kill Vortigern...
The clouds in the sky seemed to tremble.
Taigong Wang looked up at the almost-formed spiral clouds. He couldn't sit still any longer.
"Sorry, Alwin..."
He pinched a talisman.
Beside him, the Old Man of the Mountain's figure melted into the shadows.
Only the golden-haired man with sunglasses remained, sitting alone on the city wall, holding a comic book to pass the time.
His fingertips were denting the paper slightly.
The entire world was doing its utmost, just to kill one person.
One person was giving his all, just to protect one person.
What a... sad scene.
"Damn it..."
If his true body were here, he could do much more. But he had also descended with a Grand Spirit Origin. He could do nothing.
Blood.
Thick, black, metallic blood welled up in his throat.
Clang—
Desperately parrying the heavy blow from the assassin aimed at the throne, Su Shu knelt on one knee, coughing up a mouthful of black blood.
Ugh...
The Grands all looked at the blood-soaked silver-haired young man with grim expressions.
Their own forms also looked a bit ragged. Being entangled by the shadow flames of that sword, their true bodies on the Throne of Heroes had actually sustained some damage.
What a tough... fellow.
The entire central district of Londinium had long since been bombarded into a hundred-meter-deep crater.
Only the great hall of the castle and a small foothold for the throne remained, standing like a lonely pillar at the very center of the spiral.
Su Shu coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The spiral of the Lingering Ember twisted continuously. The tens of thousands of souls stored in the sword were being consumed, burning, constantly repairing his injuries.
Seeking life through death.
Shadows burst forth from his body, taking the next wave of attacks.
His brain felt like it was freezing over.
His thoughts felt like they were getting stuck.
Only... the instinct to fight remained.
In his mind, only the duty named protection was left.
「Your shoulder has been pierced by a spear」
「Your right arm has been hit by a poisoned arrow」
「Your left foot has been submerged in a watery abyss」
「Your body has been covered in violet fire」
「Your spirit is being eroded by the concept of death」
"Why are you still holding on..."
His body was in tatters, but he was holding on.
Desperately blocking every single attack aimed at Vortigern.
He was his father's final line of defense.
"Cough... cough cough—"
Black blood pooled on the ground like a lake.
Injuries were constantly being inflicted, and constantly being repaired by the Sword of Lingering Ember.
The souls in the sword were dwindling.
He was numb.
It was as if he could no longer feel pain.
In the corners of his vision, system prompts flashed crazily.
「You have learned: Battle Continuation (A)」
「You have learned: Resistance to Death (A)」
「You have learned: Super High-Speed Regeneration (A)」
「You have learned: Unyielding Will (A)」
「You have learned: Curse of Parting (A)」
Blood.
Pain.
Destruction.
Torment.
His spirit was being trampled, his body was being tortured.
"Don't do this, Alwin..." a boy's sorrowful voice sounded before him. It was Noah, beginning to cry. Tears like liquid gold trickled down his oar. "Step aside... we only want to correct history. You are only one step away from becoming a Beast. Quick, stop! You will lose all your humanity. If that happens... there will be no turning back."
Becoming a Beast... huh?
Su Shu vaguely remembered that many people had said that to him.
What is a Beast?
This narrow world, this weak planet.
As if mocking the entire universe...
The blood-soaked silver-haired young man looked up and let out a hoarse, blood-flecked laugh at the heroes.
"To lose one's humanity is to lose much.
To lose one's bestiality is to lose everything."
A stir.
All the Grand Servants present instantly fell silent.
The rain began to fall harder.
Washing away the bloodstains on the ground.
The wind was bone-chilling, the raindrops icy cold.
A creature in a birdcage flapped its wings, but once it falls into a world of scorn and ridicule, it cannot escape the cage called the mind.
Romulus, the divine ancestor of Rome, slowly raised his spear.
"I admit, you are an incredibly respectable opponent, Alwin Pendragon. Next, I will use all my strength... to respect you. Per Aspera Ad Astra!"
BOOM—
The sun was falling.
The spear of incredibly intense light, launched at full power by the most destructive Grand Lancer, shot straight towards the throne on the ground.
Pshk—
This spear did not pierce Vortigern.
Everyone knew, they had known for a long time, this spear would only pierce that person's chest.
Grabbing the shaft of the spear of light with both hands, the silver-haired young man stood before the throne, vomiting a large mouthful of blood.
Blood that felt like he was vomiting up his internal organs.
Pain.
His nerves felt like they were being shredded.
As if stiffly, not understanding what had happened, he tilted his neck with a krak sound.
In the pouring rain...
Under the gaze of the multitude...
The sound of the falling raindrops was like a funeral procession, without drums or music.
The brilliant, radiant heroes slowly marched through the soul of the Demonic Dragon's son. The darkness was finally defeated, and so a shining banner was planted on his lowered head.
The will collapsed, the great edifice crumbled.
The system's words were overwritten with error messages.
The mask was taken off.
Beast... huh?
The silver-haired young man coughed, laughing hoarsely, with great effort.
Though blood seeped from his eye sockets...
He was laughing hoarsely.
There was no despair.
Only a howl like a realization, a howl from a beast.
To put everything of this body to the torch.
Just because he refused to be a slave to fate.
The heroes' opinions... didn't matter at all, did they?
After all, I am... the villain overflowing with evil—!
Su Shu lifted his gaze.
The face of the silver-haired young man beneath the black armor...
In the eyes of everyone present at this moment, was no longer anything resembling a complete human form.
Instead, it presented an incredibly bizarre, grotesque appearance.
His whole body was hands.
His whole body was eyes.
Hands still grew on the eyes.
Eyes still grew on the hands.
A hair-raising, horrifying—feeling of being watched.
Several people, dozens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...
They... were all watching.
Their gazes gathered, silent.
Chill.
A chill seemed to creep up the spine.
Malice.
Malice began to invade the mind.
The Grand Servants present watched this scene with immense sorrow.
Salvation, pity, sacrifice, love...
These "evils" of humanity, and that heart that just wanted to live in peace...
Had jointly forged the Beast of Continuance.
Its name—
"Beast: Remain. May you rest in the arms of the True God."
Noah made the sign of the cross on his chest, offering a mournful eulogy for a life lost.
The golden-haired man was silent.
He looked up at the spiraling night sky.
The sorrow of a person who has stared into the abyss for too long.
The tattered black armor finally shattered and fell away, revealing the silver-haired young man's incredibly grotesque form of a thousand hands and a hundred eyes.
As if all shackles had been removed.
He had never felt so free.
There was no mad joy of violently destroying all chains. There was only the deep tranquility of still water in an ancient well.
"I am... free."
The flesh was expanding.
The will was extending.
His spirit seemed to have risen to some great height, looking down on this island, surrounded by countless ethereal starlights.
Standing silently before the throne, the flesh of the silver-haired young man's thousand hands and hundred eyes split open inch by inch, and crimson blood flowed out.
Claws, teeth, dragon scales, wings, and countless grotesque golden vertical pupils began to grow on his body.
All the genes were vying to emerge.
It swallowed and enveloped Vortigern's throne within its own body, forming a twisted, grotesque union of countless phantasmal species' bloodlines. The souls of countless humans squirmed and wailed beneath its surface.
The final point of evolution, constantly adapting to survive any extreme environment.
—The ultimate lifeform, named Beast of Continuance.
Thought was being unshackled.
Bestiality was being liberated.
Want to eat.
Want to... fuck.
Want to... completely overturn this world.
Countless bleeding, golden eyes stared directly at the brilliant, radiant people floating in mid-air.
On the city wall, the golden-haired man who had witnessed everything crushed the sunglasses in his hand.
Evil of Humanity, Manifested.
As a Grand, he had to join the subjugation.
"Sorry, Alwin..."
The Grands raised their Noble Phantasms.
"Having fallen into a Beast, no one can save you now. No one can reverse this process. We must kill you with all our strength."
It could no longer understand their words.
It just needed to kill.
Nothing, no thing, could stop it... from living.
"Alwin..."
What?
"Alwin—!!!"
What are they saying?
"Lily! Don't go near it! That's... that's a complete monster now!!!"
"No! He is! He is my Alwin-senpai—!!!"
It seemed someone had thrown themselves onto its body, then was pushed away.
The grotesque monster's body had already swelled to be larger than the entire castle. Its vertical pupils all over its body began to brew countless black beams of annihilation and destruction, their magical energy terrifying to behold.
In its hazy consciousness...
The sky seemed to be suddenly torn open.
A silver-haired witch seemed to descend from the heavens, gently cupping its face.
It raised one of its eyeballs, staring blankly.
That tearful smile seemed so familiar.
The Grand Servants' expressions were dazed, almost frozen... they lowered their Noble Phantasms.
"This... is impossible," Romulus murmured.
Noah was shedding tears.
Orion was staring blankly.
Taigong Wang and the Old Man of the Mountain exchanged a look and let out a long sigh of relief.
Smoking Mirror, he suddenly stood up, a brilliant, joyous smile on his face.
Because—
The dragon scales were receding.
The wings were falling away.
The grotesque flesh and eyeballs all over his body were retreating back into his body.
Kneeling on the ground, the silver-haired young man, shrouded in black armor, dazedly lifted his gaze.
Looking at the crying, silver-haired woman.
"Alwin...
"I'm back."
mat 200 Chapter (Final)
Honkai 150 Chapter
Lobotomy 110 Chapter
MushokuTensei 40 Chapter
'Pure Evil' Simulator 88 Chapter
Crossover Fic Blue-Eyes 130 Chapter