Chapter 427: The Ultra-Evil Plan
Shirou covered his face, not wanting to speak to this guy anymore. The tall, cold, and beautiful woman also turned her gaze toward Moriarty, who remained as relaxed as ever, standing above and watching the show. Neither seemed to want to acknowledge the Caster of Flowers.
"Hey, hey~! The dignified and handsome lady over there~! Great King~! Don't you see me?" Merlin, via the holographic projection, waved his hands and lifted his staff, but after working at it for a while, he still received no response.
Merlin rested his chin in his hand and muttered to himself, "How strange? Did I bite my tongue while casting the spell, and now the magecraft is malfunctioning?"
The cold Artoria remained indifferent. If she were the King of Destiny who fought to bear the weight of all Britain in her usual state, then the corrupted, transformed version of her now was a "Cao Cao" archetype—someone who would rather betray the world than let the world betray her—a true hegemon.
"Right, how about we talk about what's been happening around Shirou lately?" Merlin drawled.
"Hmph, so you're here too, Merlin." Only then did Artoria turn her head in disgust, glancing at Merlin in the hologram.
"Long time no see, Artoria. No, in this state, I suppose it's better to address you as my beautiful and powerful King," Merlin said with a slight bow.
"A meaningless title, not worth bothering about. You were certainly good at hiding, keeping it from the Knights of the Round Table and only showing yourself to me now?" Artoria asked, her face icy, her voice devoid of fluctuation.
"Considering your current state, the knights I summoned here, aside from Kay and Gawain, are all die-hard traditionalists. If I brought them to see you, you might start fighting before even seeing the enemy," Merlin said, shrugging helplessly.
"How could that be? We are all companions; surely it wouldn't come to that!" Shirou interjected.
Merlin didn't argue with Shirou, instead looking at the woman and asking, "Then, a question, O King: if one of the Knights of the Round Table opposed you, what would you do?"
"No need for words. As long as they block my path, whether friend or foe, I will suppress them all," Artoria replied without hesitation, her eyes carrying an irresistible dominance and determination.
"..." Shirou looked at the woman, knowing that trying to persuade her here was useless. It wasn't impossible for a King no longer supported by the knights to reunite them—after all, the Round Table Knights held absolute respect for the King—but the cost would be far too great.
In the Singularity, when faced with the Lion King's orders, Tristan made a painful choice: he turned against the other knights, gouged out his own eyes, accepted the inversion, and became a cold-blooded killer opposite his true nature, serving as a terrifying obstacle for Gudako and the others. If they were to face a tyrant who chose war to the end and mercilessly suppressed everything, and without the righteous cause of the "Lion King," Tristan might turn and leave just as he would have in life.
If a conflict erupted, Lancelot would likely be the first to charge—after all, he eventually chose to rebel even against the white Lion King. His knightly creed wouldn't allow this, and if he were killed, it would at least reduce the guilt in his heart.
Bedivere was the type who would sternly admonish the King if he saw her doing wrong; if words failed, he wouldn't hesitate to use force. The remaining two were the gentle faction that obeyed the King, but they had their own issues. Kay was a sister-complex who unconditionally sided with the King, albeit a sarcastic, tsundere one. Gawain was upright and loyal, the perfect gentleman to women—yet in reality, he was a hentai gentleman who obsessed over youthful-looking women with large breasts.
That was why Merlin hadn't let anyone else come. It was fortunate that the idiot Mordred hadn't been summoned; otherwise, the situation would have been unmanageable. She would have bounded up to beg for favor, only to be rejected and cast aside, eventually flying into a rage, swinging her great sword, and launching a rebellion against her "magnificent Father" to die together.
As for Merlin himself... if the King wasn't looking at him like a pig right now, he might still be able to maintain some mysterious confidence.
"Ahaha, must be my imagination," Merlin said with a dry laugh.
However, as Merlin said before, there were some things only Shirou could do. One could say that if Shirou weren't here, they would likely fall into infighting before the final battle with Moriarty and lose outright. Only with Shirou here could they avoid the fate of clashing blades.
That was why Merlin had gone to such lengths to pull Shirou from space, training him as diligently as he once trained the King, pouring all his techniques into him. That was how Shirou had become who he was today.
Now that Shirou was here, everything was different. Only Shirou could stabilize Artoria, allowing Merlin to find a way to persuade the Knights of the Round Table to cooperate.
Although he was annoyed at being manipulated by Merlin, Shirou agreed that this was the best result. After all, he couldn't bring himself to harm Artoria—the person who had been his superior and whom he had spent years with day and night.
At that moment, the enemy watching the scene broke their conversation. With a clatter, the billboard was kicked to the ground, broken steel beams scraping against the wall to create sparks before slamming onto the pavement.
"Well then... your reunion can end now. Although we are old friends, it's about time to get to the point." Moriarty, who had stepped onto the edge of the high-rise, leaned forward, his mischievous grin vanishing to reveal the face of a wicked arch-villain.
"You really haven't changed at all!" Shirou glared across at him.
Moriarty waved a hand and asked, "No, I am undoubtedly a gentle gentleman now; it is just that you happen to be standing in my path. Of course, we don't necessarily have to fight, but even if I asked you to surrender, you would resist to the end, right, Shirou-kun?"
"That goes without saying! Never mind your methods for ruling the underworld—what is the meaning of that underground arsenal?! The law explicitly states that Japan does not allow the private development of offensive weapons!" Shirou glared.
"That is why I said there is no need to worry about unnecessary things. Honestly, Shirou-kun, don't be so serious about such trifles. I am an expert in breaking the law." Moriarty shook his head as if helpfully explaining: "Laws are always imperfect. There are always people who want others to follow the rules while they themselves exploit loopholes to get ahead. Laws are just the least-bad method people can find to maintain order. People want to use laws to protect their rights, but they don't realize that the law exists precisely to keep this 'game' that smart people play to take advantage of others from collapsing."
"Besides, how could the technology of this world compare to the techniques I obtained from Babbage? If anything, this country should be begging for it! Because only by possessing my research results can this country regain its international status, and the world's technological capabilities will see a tremendous leap forward," Moriarty argued vehemently.
"Cut the crap with all this nonsensical babble! It's useless! If you dare provoke me, then die! You bug!" The Storm King Artoria grew impatient, lifting her black Holy Spear. The spiraling aura erupted, and a black pillar of light shot toward the rooftop where Moriarty stood.
"Oho, I didn't intend to go head-to-head with you," Moriarty pivoted on his tiptoes with the grace of a dancer, dodging the blast, and snapped his fingers.
Footsteps echoed from all directions as an army emerged, surrounding the food processing plant and closing in.
"Look, I wasn't wrong from the start. A villain like you, even now, still wants to kill everyone who opposes you," Antonio said with a sneer, leading the mechanical soldiers forward.
"You've said your piece—do it!!!" Moriarty commanded.
"Understood." Antonio, with his usual tortured expression, said with disgust. He raised his hands, and his body was covered in a layer of ritual armor resembling a Masked Rider's, though sleeker and longer. The style was similar to Mozart's, but the colors were a striking red and black. Unlike Mozart's vibrant purple, his armor covered him completely, as if trying to isolate himself from the world. He drew a rapier and raised it like a conductor's baton.
Meanwhile, Shirou looked at the surrounding mechanical soldiers. Compared to the mercenaries in the Demonic Realm, their gear was a grade higher; each soldier had half their body modified into a grey-silver mechanical frame. Beyond the hardness of steel and immense strength, they were outfitted with various firearms, and their magazines were loaded with magic-infused ammunition.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Merlin cut the projection and retreated. "Shirou, hold them off here! Everyone is on their way."
"Positions! Form up!" Antonio ordered with a wave.
A row of helmeted soldiers raised machine guns, their expressions unreadable, moving with the synchronized precision of twins. Behind them, another row of mechanical soldiers raised their robotic arms; dual grenade launchers emerged, locking onto Shirou and his group via auto-aiming infrared dots.
Music began to play. Bright, glowing notes covered the entire area. Shirou and Artoria felt the "magic sound" piercing their ears, causing blinding headaches that made effective counter-attacks impossible. Their magical energy began to wane, and their defenses against physical damage were weakened by 30%.
The rows of mechanical soldiers seized the opportunity and opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Machine guns spat fire while grenade launchers bombarded them.
"Damn it..." Shirou gritted his teeth, projecting a shield. Seven rotating cherry blossoms materialized before him, protecting him and the woman behind him. But every time the music swelled, a layer of the cherry blossom shield shattered, the flowers losing their color before being pulverized by magic rounds.
Attack after attack pounded them; they were reaching their limit.
Just then! At the most critical moment, the Knights of the Round Table arrived.
"King! We have arrived!"
Tristan unleashed invisible wind blades, severing the arms of the mechanical soldiers in the front row. Lancelot surged forward, raising Arondight; with a flicker of sword light, mechanical soldiers were cut in half one by one—their reinforced steel armor failed to stop the blade of the Holy Sword.
Gawain swung his great sword, sweeping the soldiers crouching on the ground and aiming their fire into the air.
As Antonio continued to play his "music," Kay let out a shout and charged forward behind his massive blue shield! Following closely was a flash of golden light as Bedivere's Silver Arm struck out.
Antonio was forced to stop his "performance," leaping back quickly to Moriarty's side.
"Well, now that my plan has failed, I know I can't beat you with just these forces," Moriarty shrugged, speaking unhurriedly. A vortex appeared on his chest, from which he pulled out a golden Holy Grail.
The light of the Grail resonated with the spire-like skyscraper in the center of Shinjuku. Golden light erupted into the sky, the smaller pillar merging with the larger one and soaring into the heights.
"You! Are you trying to destroy Shinjuku again?" Shirou frowned as he looked at Moriarty.
"No, no~! After all, I didn't even bring Gudako here this time, and it isn't for revenge." Moriarty shook his head, smiling deeply and darkly: "Hehehe, I've changed my mind. What I want to do this time isn't to defeat Holmes, but to create a supreme paradise here!"
"Paradise? A criminal's paradise?" Shirou looked at him incredulously.
"No, a true paradise! By using homunculus technology, I can infinitely manufacture cute daughters who love me and call me 'Daddy'~! The first batch is tentatively set at 20,000!" Moriarty raised the Holy Grail high.
"Dau... Daughters?!" Lancelot, busy battling the soldiers, screamed in shock.
"Daughters? What on earth are you talking about?" Shirou looked at the Professor in bewilderment. But then he remembered: during the swimsuit event, this guy really had made the pure-hearted Frankenstein call him 'Father', hadn't he?
"Just push a button, 180,000 yen, and you can create a considerate and cute daughter! If a world like this isn't Heaven, what is?! Fuhahahaha!! Subarashii (Magnificent)!!! " Moriarty laughed maniacally.
"A place with you is Hell," Antonio chimed in from the side. As a misanthrope, he didn't believe in any paradise—everything was just Hell.
"No! It is a paradise of love! For me, it is paradise! Obedient, cute, and filial daughters—this is the paradise every father wants! I'll have 20,000 at once! Of course, I must provide a venue for my cute daughters to laugh and be happy." Moriarty spread his arms, full of pride.
Moriarty suddenly thought of something. He spread his arms wide, excitedly saying: "Right! Once I occupy Tokyo, my daughters will need to go to school and meet new friends. I'll use all the greatest resources to found a school for cultivating scientific talent. Hmm... how about 'Academy City'? Antonio Salieri-kun, you shall be the Board Chairman!"
"You want me to teach classical music?" Antonio asked coldly.
"No, leave the teaching to other professionals. You can be suspended in a tank filled with nutrient solution, monitoring the city and orchestrating everything from behind the scenes," Moriarty smiled.
"Don't joke around! I won't let you run wild!" Shirou declared.
"That is why I will deal with you lot as well! Right, and I must send the video of you cross-dressing to Chaldea. When that happens, Illya and Chloe will be devastated, and I'll step in to comfort them. Eventually, they'll forget all about you, calling out, 'My Daddy is the best~!' Subarashii!!!" Moriarty was clearly shocked by his own genius.
"Kiritsugu... he is not someone a criminal like you can replace... And," Shirou's face darkened as he silently projected the demon blade Muramasa. He unsheathed it, charged forward, and shouted: "Get away from my sister! Heaven's Punishment!"
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