Chapter 3: The Goddess of the Holy Spear
Ding——
An unexpected sound rang out; the sound blade was blocked by an outstretched hand.
The red-haired youth standing before him caused Tristan to reveal an expression of astonishment.
After blocking that invisible blade, Shirou curiously scrutinized this "Child of Sorrow."
Tristan, who loved music and singing throughout his life, was known as the sentimental knight, a knight with a beauty that even fairies were captivated by.
He was the child of King Rivalen of Lyonesse and Blanchefleur, sister of King Mark of Cornwall. Because the queen gave birth to him while dying in childbirth, he was named Tristan.
His uncle, King Mark, raised Tristan as his own. Living up to expectations, Tristan became an exceptional knight and one of the Round Table knights who followed King Arthur.
In legend, Tristan possessed martial arts skills no less than Lancelot, the greatest knight of the Round Table, but he ultimately chose to leave because he could no longer understand King Arthur.
Half a year ago, the Lion King summoned the knights of the Round Table—except for Galahad, who did not respond to the summons, and Bedivere, who was not summoned at all. She informed them of her purpose and commanded them to choose their allegiance: whether to obey the King's order or to rebel against the King for the sake of morality.
Upon learning of the Lion King's intentions, Tristan gouged out his own eyes, unable to bear the sight of his Round Table brothers killing one another.
Regretting his decision to leave the Round Table during his lifetime, he chose to fulfill his uncompleted loyalty by fighting for the Lion King this time.
After the Round Table civil war ended, the Lion King bestowed "blessings" upon the knights who had stained their hands with the blood of their brethren.
Tristan admitted that due to the sorrow of killing his fellows, his ten fingers could no longer move perfectly. To ensure that he, a sentimental man, could carry out the King's orders without hesitation, he chose the "Inversion" blessing, becoming a cold-blooded beast that discarded its heart solely to fight for the Lion King.
Tristan, having obtained the "Inversion" blessing, saw his traits reversed, including his personality becoming cruel and gaining total immunity to the poisons he was vulnerable to in life.
Now, in this Singularity, he finally had a chance to make up for his past mistakes; no matter what the King had become, Tristan was willing to be used by her.
The Knights of the Round Table were the paradigm of chivalry.
However, no one is perfect. Most heroes are beautified by later generations; after all, success and fame are often accompanied by blood and death.
Looking at the magnificent heroic deeds and epics, who would have thought of the misery hidden within?
"I am very sorrowful... but someone must do these things... even if it means dirtying my own hands, I must protect the King's honor!"
Tristan gritted his teeth, his hand placed once again upon the bowstring.
As Tristan gently plucked the strings, crimson invisible blades were sent toward Shirou.
Ding——
How the invisible sound blades were blocked by a mere mortal body was something even Tristan could not comprehend.
These phenomena were simply challenging the limits of his cognition.
"Who exactly are you...?"
Tristan stared intently at Shirou, his handsome face showing slight agitation from being unable to find an answer.
"My name is Orihara Shirou, though I suppose you wouldn't have a clue even if I told you."
Shirou smiled slightly, as if finding it uninteresting. His pale golden eyes shifted slightly, looking at the Knights of Resolution following behind Tristan.
Slash——
The sound of blades cutting through flesh and spraying blood accompanied the screams of the knights as they reached Tristan's ears.
Turning back, Tristan saw the sight of several weapons that had appeared from nowhere, piercing the armor of the Knights of Resolution.
Those were all Noble Phantasms, and of quite high quality.
"This is...!?"
Tristan's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately plucked the strings in anger, releasing sound blades in succession.
Ding, ding, ding——
This time, it was clearer.
Those sound blades were not blocked by any weapon; rather, they collided with a layer of golden barrier the moment they touched the red-haired youth's body.
To be precise, the youth's body was releasing a brilliance like the sun, shocking Tristan's soul as if he were a god.
"Retreat!"
Tristan issued the order to the remaining Knights of Resolution.
Since the enemy's strength was not something that could be easily dealt with, there was no need to stay here any longer. He had to take this intelligence back as quickly as possible.
Shirou watched the retreating knights and shook his head gently.
"Knights of the Round Table, huh..."
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According to the intelligence Shirou possessed, the Artoria of this Singularity had been eroded by the divinity of the god-forged weapon, the Holy Spear, and had become the Goddess Rhongomyniad.
The reason she became this way was because of Bedivere, one of the Knights of the Round Table.
Bedivere bore the final mission entrusted to him by King Arthur—to return the Holy Sword to the Lady of the Lake.
Bedivere knew clearly that returning the sword to the Lady of the Lake meant King Arthur would thoroughly die. Carrying out this order was like killing King Arthur with his own hands.
In the legends, he failed to return the sword the first two times, his lies about returning it seen through by King Arthur. On the third time, he finally made up his mind and returned the sword.
But in this Singularity, he could not bring himself to return the Holy Sword even on the third time.
King Arthur, who did not die completely, picked up the Holy Spear while having lost all her memories, becoming a wandering King of the dead.
Over a thousand years, she assimilated with the goddess's soul within the Holy Spear, embodying the Lion King and losing all human heart.
A cold, callous god understands how to give time to civilization, but not how to give civilization to time.
Faced with history nearing its end, Rhongomyniad chose to engrave the human souls worth saving into the City of White Chalk to preserve them.
In the past where Shirou originally was, the vanished Saber might have also come to this Singularity; whether this had any connection to the Lion King remained unknown.
As of now, no one other than Shirou knew this, not even the Knights of the Round Table.
From the moment the Lion King in this Singularity summoned the Knights of the Round Table, they had been troubled by the conflict between their chivalric ideals and their loyalty to the King, splitting into two factions.
One faction agreed to assist the Lion King, while the other wanted to stop the Lion King's inhuman actions.
Although the establishment of the City of Camelot, which the Knights of the Round Table yearned for, was a good thing worth rejoicing over, when ideals became shackles, it became an agony for the knights.
Of course, the most important point was... their King had changed. The King who was bold and passionate on the battlefield and dignified and righteous in the kingdom had now become a cold, heartless deity.
A portion of the knights who could not bear it issued a challenge.
"Knight King, do you truly intend to completely extinguish humanity?"
"The power of a King lies in restraint and accommodation, and the virtue of a knight lies in adhering to principles. My King, we have done so—have you?"
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