"Wait! Kondou-san, Hijikata-san!"
"I can still… I can still fight—"
The Berserker knew that fool who pleaded from his back, despite a body too frail from illness to stand.
So, when summoned to this other world and learning it had its own Shinsengumi, Berserker felt both surprise and understanding. The flag of Makoto was raised, even in a different world. It wasn't entirely natural, but it wasn't strange either.
However, one thing stirred indescribable emotions: hearing that a man sharing that fool's name wore the asagi haori while raising a flag other than Makoto.
Thus, when Solomon asked if he had any wishes, Berserker replied that, even in another world, he couldn't let the flag of Makoto remain defiled.
"I knew you'd say that, Berserker. Wherever you are, you believe in the flag of Makoto, right? Then you can't forgive those who fell to Devils, can you?"
Berserker refuted, "That's not it."
Solomon didn't press further. No matter how strong, as a king, Solomon could never fully grasp the heart of a warrior who fought to his last breath.
So, as the one responsible for summoning him, Solomon gave a single order.
"Do as you please."
Immediately after Solomon's death, his Reality Marble dissolved.
The group returned to the ravaged room, torn apart by Kingu's charge. Undeterred, the white Devil lunged at the lion-helmed knight with a piercing strike.
"Ddraig…!"
The knight parried with her lance, sighing.
"How disappointing that this went so close to his plan. You're the only surprise, Albion. I'd love to prolong this, but our duel's on hold. I'm not exactly free, you see. Your divine punishment will wait."
Her lion helm, damaged from Vali's assault, became a hindrance. She removed it, revealing a beautiful woman's face—emotionless eyes, radiant blonde hair, and an aura of regal or divine authority.
"I am the Lion King, Artoria Pendragon. Devils bearing the names of Fallen Angels and Satans from the Bible, we shall meet again."
Without waiting for a response, the knight and her horse vanished.
"Ddraig!"
As the knight disappeared, the white Devil screamed like a starving child in a tantrum. Azazel, knowing it was futile, couldn't help but call out.
"Hey, Vali! It's you, right? You've changed in the short time I haven't seen you. What power did you tap into? What happened? Snap out of it!"
For a fleeting moment, the white Devil moved rationally, turning to his foster father.
"Sorry, I'm—"
"DdraigDdraigDdraigDdraigDdraigDdraig! Y Ddraig Goch!"
It was only a moment.
The Devil's arms crushed the air, and black lines appeared in empty space—an absurd feat, cracking the concept of space itself with a mere gesture.
"Wait, Vali!"
Ignoring Azazel's plea, Vali Lucifer dove into the rift he opened. The crack vanished instantly. He likely chased the knight, though whether he could track her or had any lead was uncertain.
"What happened to that Venusian remnant to make him like that?"
"Damn it, what's wrong with you, Vali?! That had Ophis' aura, but your team wasn't given Ophis' Snake. You'd never want it anyway."
"Calm down, Azazel. More importantly…"
Sirzechs removed a ring from Cruzelei's body, destroying it with his destructive magic. This ensured Solomon's revival via the ring was impossible.
"Still, where did Cruzelei get Solomon's ring…?"
Before coming to Kyoto, Michael had contacted them. Solomon's rings were indeed stored in a secure Heavenly vault. The issue was that all ten were accounted for, meaning Solomon outwitted Michael and God, hiding the real one and planting a fake. But which of the ten was genuine remained unclear, with the Seraphim working to identify the fakes.
"This makes it all for nothing. I need to contact Grayfia."
"If we're done, can I leave?"
He'd intruded mid-conflict, yet clearly knew more than anyone present.
"Wait, Kingu. I have questions. What did Solomon mean by this world? How much do you know about that Lion King?"
"I told you, I've nothing to say, Fallen Angel."
Yasaka stepping in front of Kingu, her hostility now overt compared to her earlier guarded demeanor.
"You knew of Solomon's revival, didn't you? From your words, his soul was sealed in the ring, and you hid that from us. Yet you demand we share everything?!"
"No, I'll talk."
The group froze at his abrupt words.
"Being hounded further is a hassle. If it were just me, fine, but dragging Yasaka into this changes things. I'm bound by a contract not to speak of the Demon God Pillars, but I'll promise to share everything else."
"Ugh, you could've said that from the start."
"Kingu! You owe them nothing! If it's about proving yourself, Takamagahara will suffice!"
"Calm down, Yasaka. I caused this mess. Let me handle it. I'll explain properly to Kyoto and Takamagahara."
"But…"
"It's fine, I'll manage. If possible, though… don't hate me for this, okay?"
"That's impossible! No matter your past, Kunou and I could never hate you."
"…Thank you."
Sirzechs, meanwhile, sensed his Knight's presence.
"Souji…?"
As a deeply caring Gremory Devil, he felt his peerage member's crisis.
Seeing the man Solomon teleported via magecraft, Okita Souji instantly sensed danger. Summoning him here meant he was Solomon's trump card—otherwise, why call him before the Fallen Angel leader and the strongest Satan? As a Knight, Okita vowed not to let a single finger touch his King, Sirzechs. He decided this in an instant.
"Okitaaaa!"
Unexpectedly, the man attacked Okita, roaring his name with unmistakable fury.
"Ngh!"
Okita drew his blade to block, but the man's superior strength sent him crashing through a window. Fleeing outside, the black-clad man pursued, leaping after him.
Landing on the street, Okita realized they were in public view. Sirzechs' agents would handle memory and information control later, but adding to their burden wasn't ideal. He moved to relocate, but the man attacked again. Did he assume Okita's side would handle the cover-up, or was fighting publicly his goal?
"Okita!"
"Guh…!"
Each strike was overwhelmingly heavy. Parrying took all his focus, leaving no room to plan an escape or guide the fight elsewhere.
The street outside the Kyoto Sirzechs Hotel, near Kyoto Station, was bustling. Two men dropping from the sky naturally shocked passersby. Their deadly swordplay, like a theatrical duel, drew every eye.
At a movie studio, it might've passed as filming. But this was a high-class hotel near the station—not a place for period drama shoots.
This Berserker was typically rational and strategic, with enough sense to avoid public battles. But now, consumed by uncontrollable rage and driven by Solomon's two Command Spells—"Do as you please"—his mind couldn't restrain him. He acted purely on desire.
His sole purpose: kill the man before him.
Onlookers froze before the surreal scene, their minds overwhelmed. Some recovered enough to film with phones or cameras, treating it like a spectacle.
The swordsmen had no time to care.
Okita Souji, surely among the Underworld's strongest Knights, was overwhelmed. It wasn't a matter of swordsmanship—the man's sheer intensity transcended species.
After clashing blades, Okita stepped back and summoned a Nue from his body.
Okita was a one-man Hyakki Yagyo. Before becoming a Devil under Sirzechs, he'd resorted to countless taboos for survival, allowing yokai to inhabit his body. The result: a lone Hyakki Yagyo, summoning creatures like the Nue.
"Who…?"
Despite knowing it was futile, Okita couldn't help but ask, overwhelmed by the man's killing intent.
"Who are you?!"
Why did seeing him remind Okita of that man—the one he could only watch leave for a deathly battle from his sickbed?
"Look closely…!"
Judging it too difficult to face multiple yokai alone, the man stepped back, fending them off with a rifle while raising a flag. That flag was his answer.
Seeing it, Okita raged.
"That's… our flag!"
As the flag rose, several figures appeared, resembling Shinsengumi warriors. The tense scene became a battlefield, with gunfire and cannons roaring.
"Draw, charge!"
The man's magical power surged with the command.
Unbeknownst to Okita, Solomon's final Command Spell—"The rest is up to you"—took effect. Though vague, it bolstered a Servant's strength momentarily. With Solomon's rule-breaking magical power, the enhancement was extraordinary.
Normally, a Master's death would cut a Servant's mana supply, causing them to fade. But Solomon, a strategist surpassing gods, anticipated this. All seven Servants he summoned, including Berserker, were pseudo-incarnated. With Command Spells' support, they needed no soul consumption to persist.
Cold sweat ran down Okita's spine, as if a grim reaper gripped his heart. He felt his past was coming to kill him. And he knew he would lose.
"I won't lose… I can't lose to this!"
He couldn't die here.
If he died, nothing would remain. The Shinsengumi, the flag of Makoto—it would end. The Shinsengumi couldn't end like this!
"The flag of Makoto is… immortal!"
Yes, Makoto was eternal. It had to be. For that, Okita Souji fought—for what? To keep Makoto eternal, what had he done? What was he doing?
The summoned warriors clashed with Okita's yokai, cutting, devouring, killing.
"Cut! Advance! Cut! Advance!"
Yes, he could only cut, only advance. Because—because he'd lived for this! As long as he existed, the Shinsengumi—
"Souji!"
A third voice—Okita's lord, Satan Sirzechs Lucifer.
Sirzechs, a skilled warrior, saw Okita's disadvantage instantly. He unleashed his destructive magic at Berserker and the warriors.
The power of destruction struck Berserker, but he pressed forward, slashing, driven solely to kill Okita. It was partly willpower, but also his Noble Phantasm's effect.
Anti-unit Noble Phantasm: Immortal Shinsengumi.
While active, it negated physical degradation from injuries, allowing relentless combat until the target was slain—a double-edged sword, as accumulated damage erupted when the effect ended.
Destruction couldn't stop this man's madness.
"Ah, ah—"
Sirzechs' aid backfired for Okita.
He remembered who he was, that he no longer fought as Shinsengumi. There was no Shinsengumi. He'd abandoned the word Makoto. Survival was a means, yet he'd forsaken his purpose for it. Carrying it? No, he'd discarded it long ago. His body held only the filth of falling to the supernatural.
Realizing what he meant to protect no longer existed, acknowledging what he'd avoided, Okita's heart—sustained by Makoto—broke.
"Ah, ah… I, I'm—!"
The deadly blade closed in.
Trying to react, seeing his foe, Okita imagined that man's face—the one he couldn't save, didn't try to. Picturing his death, Okita froze before an avoidable strike.
"I am the Shinsengumi!"
The blade cut deeply, sadly, through Okita Souji's body.
"Kondou-san… Hijikata-san… I'm sorry…"
Sirzechs Lucifer's sole Knight, Okita Souji, fell. As a Devil, his soul didn't go anywhere—it simply vanished, never to join the warriors under the same flag.
Simultaneously, Berserker's Noble Phantasm ended, and he grimaced in agony.
"I won't die…! As long as I exist, the Shinsengumi is immortal…!"
Pushing past his limits, he too faded as an etheric body.
Thus, among the Servants summoned from another world, Solomon's Berserker, Hijikata Toshizo, became the first to fall.
***
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