Einzbern Castle
"What happened?" Saber (Artoria Pendragon) suddenly woke from her meditation, her emerald eyes looking sharply toward Fuyuki City—more accurately, toward Mount Enzou (Ryudoji Temple). A massive and foul surge of dark magical energy rose into the sky like signal fire. Even from a distance, it caused an uncomfortable throb in the magical energy within her.
"Is it Kanjuro's magical aura?" Emiya Kiritsugu put down the sniper rifle he was cleaning, his voice low and wary. Beside him, Maiya Hisau immediately entered a combat-ready state.
"No, it's not him." Saber concentrated her senses and shook her head, her brow furrowed. "While the aura of this Black Magic is similar to Kanjuro's power in some traits—both originating from deep darkness—it is... completely different. It lacks Kanjuro's almost primordial, pure, and cold 'darkness.' Instead, it seems... more distorted, frenzied, and full of... profanity and despair." She had been working hard lately to adapt to and suppress the Black Magic erosion brought by the swapped pseudo-avalon in her body, making her exceptionally sensitive to such an aura.
Hearing this, the king of conquerors Iskandar (Rider), who was drinking with Waver in the castle hall, took a heroic gulp of wine and slammed the goblet onto the table with a loud thud.
"Regardless of whether that kid Kanjuro is behind it!" He spoke with a voice like a great bell, carrying unquestionable decisiveness. "Making such a huge commotion and gathering such 'pure' (referring to concentration) Black Magic certainly bodes no good! This King does not believe that in this small Fuyuki City, there is a second person besides Kanjuro who can tinker with darkness approaching the 'Root'! We must go and see!"
Waver was startled by him but still gripped his cloak tightly, his small face full of tension yet also showing the determination to follow his King.
Saber and Irisviel exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.
"We are going there as well." Saber stood up, her silver-white armor clanking. Although her body had not fully recovered from the effects of her last clash with Kanjuro, her sense of duty as a knight drove her forward.
"Alright." Irisviel nodded without hesitation, trusting Saber's judgment.
Emiya Kiritsugu didn't speak, only silently and swiftly loading a special Origin Bullet into his Contender pistol. His eyes were cold as iron, and he had already made up his mind: whoever was on the mountain, as long as they were related to Kanjuro or presented a similar threat, they had to be eliminated at all costs. He looked at Saber, his voice flat but carrying an unquestionable command:
"Saber, if necessary, use your Noble Phantasm. At all costs, wipe out the threat completely."
Saber met his gaze and nodded heavily, her eyes burning with firm will and a hint of resolve: "I understand. Even at the cost of my life, I will never let Kanjuro, or any villain imitating his deeds, continue to cause harm!"
Fuyuki Church
Kirei Kotomine stood in the dim church, his face wearing an indescribable, almost pleasurable calm. He spoke toward the void, as if talking to himself or confiding in a certain King:
"It seems the culprit who killed Tohsaka Tokiomi eight years ago was indeed Kanjuro. And this time, the one who caused the disappearance of children across the city and used Black Magic on such a scale... even if it wasn't his own doing, it must be related to him." His tone carried a hint of inquiry. "king of heroes, how do you... intend to respond to such a madman who desecrates order and tramples on life?"
Golden spiritual particles slowly condensed as Gilgamesh (Archer) appeared on the front pew of the church. Cold fury burned in his crimson snake-like pupils; the humiliation of being easily repelled by Kanjuro last time surged in his heart again.
"Hmph, mongrel..." His low voice contained a storm. "Whoever dares to act so recklessly in this King's garden deserves to die ten thousand deaths! Moreover, if it really is that bastard Kanjuro..." He didn't continue, but the killing intent radiating from him almost solidified the air. With a cold snort, his figure turned back into spiritual particles, racing toward the source of that nauseating dark magical energy on Mount Enzou.
Outside Ryudoji Temple, Mount Enzou
Saber and Irisviel drove to the foot of the mountain and immediately felt the suffocating pressure of the barrier. A translucent dark barrier covering the entire mountainside was like an inverted bowl, blurring the scene at the summit and radiating an aura of rejection and filth.
"An evil barrier..." Saber's eyes sharpened as she unhesitatingly released the Wind King Barrier (Invisible Air) wrapped around the sword of promised victory. Compressed, frenzied air currents turned into invisible blades, slamming hard against the dark barrier!
"BOOM—!"
The barrier fluctuated violently and was forcibly torn open, revealing a huge gap. The scene at the summit instantly became clear—the massive magical cage, and within it, the dense crowd of tiny figures with hollow or fear-filled eyes, stung the eyes of every newcomer.
On the altar at the summit, Caster's (Gilles de Rais) ritual was interrupted, and he let out a roar of extreme rage:
"Dammit! Who is it?! Who dares to disturb this sacred moment! I was just about to succeed! I will soon collect enough power to trade for Jeanne d'Arc's freedom! How could I fall here!!"
He waved his arms crazily, and the codex of rlyeh behind him shone brilliantly. Inside that massive cage, over a thousand children aged five to ten huddled together. They looked at the mad, demon-like Caster—resembling the legendary "Bluebeard"—their eyes filled with the most primitive fear and despair. The children's crying and sobbing were suppressed by the residual power of the barrier, forming a heartbreakingly low background sound.
The various factions, due to Caster's mad and cruel actions, were finally about to face an unavoidable and fierce conflict here at the summit of Mount Enzou. Meanwhile, the instigator of it all, Kanjuro, remained in the distant hotel, quietly watching everything like a spectator at a play. Jeanne d'Arc leaned against the hotel's cold glass window, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the hilt of her holy sword. Dark red flames flowed quietly on the blade, reflecting the bottomless struggle in her ice-blue eyes. Kanjuro's words echoed in her mind like a curse.
"Not ready yet?" Kanjuro's lazy voice came from behind. He gently swirled his wine glass, the crimson liquid shifting under the light, while his other hand tenderly combed the hair of Rin in his lap; the girl had fallen into a peaceful nap. "If you hesitate any longer, Caster will strike the final blow against those children. Or... he will be 'dealt with' by Saber and the others who arrive in time. Then, you won't even have the chance to 'send off' your old friend."
Jeanne d'Arc closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could almost smell the scent of blood and murky magical energy coming from the distant mountain peak. When she opened her eyes again, her tone carried the exhaustion and irony of someone who had seen through everything:
"Isn't this exactly what you want me to think? If I don't act, Saber and the others will naturally deal with Caster, and you can use that to exhaust their strength—killing two birds with one stone." She turned around, looking sharply at Kanjuro. "You've calculated that I won't stand by and watch Gilles die, especially when he keeps saying it's for me, even if it's an extremely distorted path."
Hearing this, Kanjuro was not annoyed but instead nodded appreciatively, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth: "Speaking with smart people is indeed effortless. So, rather than watching your close friend die at the hands of others, it's better for you to personally put an end to this absurd obsession of his, isn't it? This might... also be a form of mercy."
"Mercy..." Jeanne d'Arc chewed on the word, an extremely bitter smile appearing on her face. She glanced at Rin, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, and finally made up her mind.
"Let's go, Kanjuro." Her voice regained its coldness but carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "If you don't follow me, how can we watch this 'excitement' that you orchestrated?"
Kanjuro laughed out loud, as if he had heard an interesting suggestion. He gently settled Rin, ensuring she fell into a deeper sleep, and then rose elegantly.
"Then, as you wish." His tone was light, as if agreeing to a perfectly ordinary date.
The figures of the two blurred instantly, and in the next moment, they appeared like ghosts at the edge of the battlefield on the summit of Mount Enzou, where the cold wind howled and magical energy surged. They chose a hidden position overlooking the entire scene, like spectators standing aloof. At the top of Mount Enzou, the wind roared, and the thick dark magical energy almost solidified, making the air heavy. As soon as Saber stepped into this area, her expression changed. The source of magical energy in her body, eroded by pseudo-avalon and subtly connected to Black Magic, involuntarily resonated with the surrounding evil aura. A hidden sense of comfort, as if originating from darkness itself, quietly gnawed at her will like a venomous snake. She forced down this discomfort and locked her gaze on Caster on the altar.
At this moment, Caster (Gilles de Rais) was at the peak of madness. He spread his arms as if to embrace the entire dark sky, and the codex of rlyeh behind him emitted a dim light that swallowed all light. Inside the massive magical cage, children around five years old were packed together in terror, their cries and pleas merging into a symphony of despair.
"It's complete! Hahahaha! Do you see, Jeanne d'Arc? All the 'keys' of this age in Fuyuki City are gathered here!" Caster danced and gesticulated, his withered face overflowing with distorted joy. "As long as I complete the final ritual and absorb their life source, I can break the contract! You will be free soon! My Saint!"
However, his ecstasy instantly turned into offended rage when he caught sight of the battle-ready Saber.
"You!" His sharp nails pointed at Saber, his murky eyes staring fixedly at her. "You do... indeed look a bit like her, like my Jeanne d'Arc! But a fake is a fake after all! Don't even think about obstructing me from saving the true Saint! If you dare get in the way, I'll kill you! I'll use your blood to add a touch of color to the ritual!"
Saber gripped her holy sword, suppressing the strange agitation of magical energy in her body, and shouted sternly: "Madman! Stop your atrocities immediately! Release these innocent children!"
She could see the pure fear in the children's eyes—the most instinctive resistance to their lives being taken away. This sight caused the sense of justice in her heart to overwhelm that strange "comfort."
In a hidden corner in the distance, Jeanne d'Arc took all of this in.
Her heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by a cold hand, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe. On one side were hundreds of innocent children crying out in tender despair, their small lives like candles in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment; on the other side was the close friend who had once fought alongside her, sharing ideals and glory, but who had now completely fallen into the abyss for a distorted obsession about her, committing unforgivable sins.
She could not bear to see children suffer; they were the existence she had once sworn to protect.
She also couldn't bear to see Caster fall so low; it was a cruel trampling of all the beautiful memories of their past.
Kanjuro stood beside her like a master drama critic, whispering softly in her ear with a cruel sense of pleasure: "Look, Jeanne d'Arc. This is the extreme of what 'love' and 'devotion' can achieve. Such... magnificent madness. What are you still hesitating for? Are you waiting for him to complete the ritual and pave your so-called 'road to freedom' with a mountain of children's corpses and a sea of their blood? Or are you waiting for Saber's holy sword to sever this painful bond for you?"
Every word he spoke pricked Jeanne d'Arc's heart like a needle.
Just then, Caster seemed to sense something and snapped his head around, his gaze piercing through the chaotic mana field to land precisely where Jeanne d'Arc was hiding. The frantic rage on his face melted away instantly, replaced by an extreme, humble longing:
"Jeanne d'Arc! You've come! Have you finally come to witness this with your own eyes?!" he cried hoarsely, as if a dying man had seen his only glimmer of hope. Caster's cry, filled with ecstasy and expectation, pierced through Jeanne d'Arc's mental defenses like a sharp sword. She could no longer hide, nor could she hesitate. The silver-armored Saint stepped out from her hiding place, standing under the halo where moonlight and dark mana intertwined, her figure reflected clearly in the eyes of Caster and everyone present.
"Gilles de Rais." Jeanne d'Arc's voice carried a heavy weariness but was exceptionally clear. "Stop this. Look around you, look at these children! This isn't salvation, this is slaughter! It is a sin that can never be washed away! If the 'freedom' you seek is built upon the corpses of these innocents, then I would rather be bound by the contract for all eternity!"
Her gaze was locked onto Caster, trying to find a trace of her old comrade's sanity within that murky madness.
However, the response she received was Caster's even more frantic laughter.
"Hahaha... Stop? No! Jeanne d'Arc, you don't understand! Having come this far, how could I possibly stop!" He turned his head sharply, his gaze bypassing Jeanne d'Arc to fixate on the leisurely Kanjuro behind her, shouting hoarsely: "Kanjuro! You promised me! As long as I completed your commission, collected enough 'keys', and opened the ritual, you would return Jeanne d'Arc's freedom! You won't break your word, right?!"
These words were like a massive boulder thrown into a calm lake!
"What?!"
Saber and Iskandar, who had just landed with his gordius wheel, cried out almost simultaneously, their gazes turning toward Kanjuro in horror. Especially Saber, whose emerald eyes were filled with disbelief and towering rage. She had always thought Caster was an independent threat, but she never expected that the true mastermind behind these tragic child disappearances and this evil ritual was actually Kanjuro!
Irisviel's body swayed slightly, her face turning even paler. Looking at Kanjuro's handsome yet devilish profile, that terrifying night eight years ago when she was forcibly violated and Illya was conceived resurfaced vividly in her mind. This man was indeed as cruel as ever; for his own goals, he could carelessly push countless people into the abyss!
Facing the focused gazes of everyone—filled with shock, anger, and hatred—Kanjuro didn't show the slightest guilt or panic. Instead, as if he had heard some interesting praise, he burst into laughter, his voice echoing piercingly across the grim mountaintop.
"That's right! That's right! Exactly, it was me!" He spread his hands in a gesture of frank admission, his tone as light as if he were discussing the moonlight tonight. "I know you all wish you could hack me into a thousand pieces right now. If looks could kill, I'd probably have died countless times already. But—"
His tone shifted as the corners of his mouth curled into an extremely wicked arc, and he pointed toward the fanatical Caster on the altar and the massive cage of children:
"—it's useless, everyone. Your most urgent opponent right now isn't me. It's this Mister Caster, who is about to finish his preparations. Look at this pervasive Black Magic, this converging life energy... Tsk tsk, it's truly spectacular."
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