The black sword of promised victory hovering in the air moved.
Kanjuro didn't even make a slashing motion; he just stood there quietly, that cruel and pleasant smile on his lips, as he softly spat out a single word:
"Annihilate."
There was no world-shaking explosion, no brilliant light effects.
Only an absolute 'darkness' started from that black sword, spreading silently yet irresistibly like a drop of ink in clear water.
Wherever that darkness passed, the galloping horses, the charging warriors, the swinging blades, and even the golden sand beneath their feet... all matter, all energy, all concepts of 'existence' were decomposed and dissipated silently the moment they touched that darkness, like pencil marks erased by an eraser, returning to the most primitive nothingness.
There were no screams, no resistance, and not even a trace of having ever existed was left behind.
The vast torrent of the Army of the King was being 'erased' at a speed visible to the naked eye before that expanding 'darkness of annihilation,' like ice and snow under the sun.
Iskandar stood frozen on the spot, his pupils dilated to the limit, watching this scene that surpassed his understanding in disbelief. The army he was proud of, the proof of his hegemony, the symbol of the bond between him and his subjects... was being easily and thoroughly erased before his eyes by an absolute power, as if wiping away dust.
Standing in the center of the spreading darkness like a god in charge of the end, Kanjuro looked at the king of conquerors' completely dazed face with a smile:
"Now, do you still think... your 'truth' is beyond doubt?" Iskandar's spirit trembled violently as if struck hard by an invisible giant hammer. He watched helplessly as his proud Army of the King, symbolizing his lifelong glory and bonds, disintegrated and dissipated silently like a sandcastle before that absolute, all-erasing darkness, without leaving a single trace. This was not a defeat; it was a more thorough negation of the meaning of existence.
Kanjuro accurately captured the momentary emptiness and wavering in his eyes. Like the most cunning venomous snake, he sent his low and bewitching voice, like the whispers of a nightmare, directly into the king of conquerors' chaotic heart:
"See that, Iskandar?" Kanjuro's voice carried a merciful cruelty. "This is your so-called 'power of conquest'? So fragile. I really doubt how you managed to trample over various nations and build that vast empire back then with this level of power. Did you conquer nothing but a group of useless trash even more fragile than this phantom army?"
He tilted his head slightly, revealing a smile that seemed confused but was actually malicious:
"Or... were those magnificent expeditions in the history books, those miracles of winning with few against many, simply lies carefully woven by later generations to shape the myth of a 'Great Conqueror'? And you... are you actually just an ambitious and boastful fake who allowed or even encouraged such false propaganda?"
"Kanjuro! Kill me or cut me as you please! But I will not allow you to slander my kingly way like this! To slander the glory of me and my subjects!!" Iskandar forcibly suppressed the stormy waves in his heart and let out a roar, trying to use anger to cover the growing and spreading self-doubt.
"Exactly! You demon! Scum! You are not allowed to insult Rider!!" Although Waver was trembling all over with fear, he still mustered the courage to stand in front of his king and rebuke Kanjuro with a shrill voice.
However, Kanjuro only responded to the angry rebukes of these two with a contemptuous laugh. It was as if their resistance was nothing more than the meaningless cry of ants before death.
But immediately afterward, Kanjuro changed his tone and said something completely unexpected to Iskandar, yet it made his blood feel as if it had frozen instantly. Kanjuro's voice was not high, but it clearly penetrated the clamor of the battlefield, carrying a temptation and coldness like a devil's deal:
"Iskandar..."
Kanjuro gazed at him, those deep eyes seeming to see through the deepest fears and desires of his soul.
"Do you... want to... live on?"
These words exploded in Iskandar's mind like a thunderclap!
"Live on"?
For a Servant who had long since passed away and manifested in this world, this was itself an absurd and taboo phrase. According to the rules of the Holy Grail War, Servants are destined to be passing travelers of the era, tools to fight for their master's wishes, and their final destination is nothing more than dissipation after victory or exit after defeat.
"Live on"—it meant transcending this war, meant existing... in some form.
For a king who pursued an infinite journey and longed for a physical body to continue witnessing the world and conquering the sea of stars, how great and how fatal a temptation this was!
But at the same time, this also meant... surrendering. Surrendering to the demon before him who had trampled on all his glory and negated the meaning of his existence.
Iskandar's stalwart body trembled violently, uncontrolled, due to this soul-piercing interrogation. He stared intently at Kanjuro, his lips twitching, yet he found himself unable to make any sound. Refuse? That meant he might vanish completely at this moment, taking with him a kingly way and glory that had been utterly denied. Accept? That would be equivalent to admitting Kanjuro's doubts, betraying everything he stood for, and becoming this demon's... what?
A puppet? A plaything? Or... another form of "conquest"?
Kanjuro watched the king of conquerors's agonized expression, the smile on his face growing deeper and more delighted. He had successfully planted a most poisonous seed in the heart of this overbearing king. It was easy to destroy the body, but to destroy a king's conviction and then entice him to betray that conviction for the sake of "existence"—that was the ultimate corruption and control.
Saber, in the distance, seemed to sense the eerie atmosphere. She forced back a tentacle with a swing of her sword and shouted anxiously, "Iskandar! Hold fast to your heart! Do not be deluded by his words! Your kingly way needs no proof to anyone!!"
However, this reminder sounded so pale and powerless to Iskandar at this moment. Because what Kanjuro proposed was not a proposition that needed proof, but an ultimate choice that pointed directly to the heart, concerning "survival" or "destruction."
The golden desert was receding. The backlash from the forced breaking of the Army of the King began to manifest, and Iskandar's saint graph became unstable. Standing on the edge of the spreading void, he looked at Kanjuro with his demonic smile. For the first time, beyond his endless desire for conquest, he felt another more primitive and intense impulse—
The desire to live.
And this desire was dragging him toward an unknown and dangerous abyss. Kanjuro waited patiently, like a hunter waiting for his prey to walk into a trap. Jeanne's frozen heart-lake also rippled violently because of Kanjuro's temptation that struck at the core of her essence. "Do you want to live?"
To live... as a Heroic Spirit?
What a lethal and taboo attraction this short question held for all Servants who answered the call and knew well that their presence in this world was only temporary! Who does not long to continue existing? Who does not long to transcend that destined end of returning to the Throne? Especially for a king like Iskandar, who was filled with an infinite desire to conquer the world and longed to embrace the unknown with a physical body, the words "to live" were simply a poison tailor-made for him!
"What on earth do you want?!" Iskandar's voice was no longer filled with overbearing roars as before, but carried a hint of hard-to-conceal hesitation and struggle. Kanjuro had not thrown out a question, but an abyss, and he was standing on the edge, looking down.
"Don't worry about that anymore! Rider! Go save those children first!!" Waver pulled hard on Iskandar's cloak with a crying voice, his fingers trembling as he pointed nearby. There, Uryu Ryunosuke was still frantically massacring children, every shrill scream whipping everyone's nerves.
The cries of the children, the pleas of his master, and Kanjuro's demonic whispers clashed violently in Iskandar's mind. His expression changed unpredictably, and for the first time, such an obvious and strange distortion appeared on that rough and heroic face. Glory, conviction, the bonds with his subjects... in the face of the temptation of "existence," everything seemed to begin to blur.
Then, under the unbelievable gaze of everyone, Conqueror King Iskandar, the king known for his heroism and dominance, spat out words that seemed to freeze the entire battlefield instantly in a tone as stiff as grinding metal:
"I... want to live. What do you want me to do?"
"Don't fall for it!!" Saber's sharp cry exploded like thunder. Ignoring the pressure of her fierce battle with the monster, she shouted anxiously, "He is lying to you! You are a true hero! A great king of conquerors! If you yield to him now and do something that violates your kingly way, he will never let you go after it's done! He will only treat you as a disposable tool! Wake up, Iskandar!!"
However, at this moment, Iskandar seemed to have blocked out all external admonitions. In his eyes, there was only Kanjuro's face with that deep smile, only the possibility of "living." He ignored Saber and didn't even look at Waver, whose face had instantly turned pale beside him. He just stubbornly asked Kanjuro again, as if seeking guidance:
"I want to live! Tell me, what should I do!"
The smile on Kanjuro's face became extremely brilliant and extremely cold at this moment. He seemed to have expected all of this long ago, like an elegant director who had finally waited for the actor to recite the most crucial line according to the script he had written.
He did not answer immediately, but slowly, with a sense of cruel ritual, he raised a finger. That finger did not point at the rampaging monster, nor at the mad killer, nor at any enemy.
His fingertip pointed accurately and indisputably at the small boy huddled close to Iskandar, who was currently filled with fear because of the king's abnormality—Waver Velvet!
Kanjuro's voice was calm and steady, yet more destructive than any roar, echoing clearly in the remnants of the dead golden desert:
"Prove it to me first."
"Kill your master, Waver Velvet."
"Use the life of your master, who is most important to you and symbolizes your 'bonds with the present world,' as your... pledge of loyalty for your desire to 'live'."
... 0 Ask for Flowers 0 --- As soon as these words were spoken, all sounds fell silent.
Waver snapped his head up, looking at the king he trusted and admired so much in disbelief. His small body trembled violently due to extreme fear and a sense of betrayal. Tears gushed out instantly, but he could not make a sound.
Jeanne gasped. Even she was shocked by Kanjuro's extremely ruthless and frighteningly accurate methods. This was not just about making the king of conquerors betray his kingly way, but also about personally severing his deepest connection with the present world and destroying his most basic integrity as a person (even as a Heroic Spirit)! This was to thoroughly turn a king into a monster loyal only to the desire for survival from the very roots!
Saber's eyes were nearly bursting with rage. She wanted to rush over but was pinned down by the Cthulhu monster's violent attacks, only able to let out an angry and powerless shout.
All eyes were focused on Iskandar's violently heaving chest and his constantly changing face.
Survival, or destruction?
The kingly way, or betrayal?
The laughter and loyalty of subjects, or a vague "future"?
Conqueror King Iskandar stood at the most cruel crossroads of his life—no, of his career as a Heroic Spirit. Kanjuro waited patiently, admiring how this once-heroic king would eventually go under the tearing of desire and conviction. Iskandar's stalwart body was now trembling violently like a candle in the wind. That large hand, which had once brandished a sword to conquer territories and heroically slapped the shoulders of his subjects, was now rising uncontrollably, its target being the neck of his youngest and most trusted master—Waver Velvet.
Waver felt that gradually tightening, cold, and familiar touch, and his whole being felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar. But he still held a final sliver of hope, forcing out a smile that looked worse than crying, his voice trembling as he tried to wake the king in his heart:
..."Don't... don't worry, Rider... how could you... be deluded by this kind of demonic talk, right!!" He grabbed Iskandar's arm with force, trying to break free, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. "You... you told me! To live a life in this world grandly and without regrets! That is your kingly way!!"
However, the king of conquerors did not speak. There was no heroic laughter, no thunderous rebuttal, only a dead silence and that hand that was still slowly applying force.
Waver's heart sank bit by bit, his brow filled with incomprehension and spreading fear. "What's wrong?! Do you... do you not want me to be your subject anymore?! Iskandar!!" He almost screamed the name.
What responded to him was that large hand suddenly tightening!
"Ugh—!" Waver's breath was instantly choked off. His small face quickly turned red due to lack of oxygen, and his feet kicked at the air in vain.
"What...?!" Saber, who was struggling against the Cthulhu monster, caught a glimpse of this scene and was so shocked that her soul nearly left her body. Regardless of her own danger, she suddenly forced back the attacking tentacles with a sword strike, wanting to rush over to stop it, but was pinned down by more writhing limbs, only able to let out an angry and powerless roar: "Iskandar! Stop!! Look at what you are doing!!"
As for Kanjuro, he was as if he had seen the most ridiculous and interesting play in the world. He clutched his stomach and laughed so hard that he was doubled over, almost unable to catch his breath:
"Haha... Hahahaha!! So fun! So fun!! king of conquerors! Yes! Just like that!!" His laughter was sharp and piercing, filled with morbid pleasure. "Strangle this trash! This waste! This deadweight who only knows how to hide behind you and rely on your power! You actually think so in your heart too, right?! Admit it! He is not worthy of being your master, Iskandar! He is weak, cowardly, and will only become a stumbling block to your hegemony!"
Kanjuro's poisonous words were like venomous daggers, not only stabbing at Waver but also searching for a "rational" excuse, a "reason" for betrayal, for Iskandar.
"Do you... also... think so?" Waver was almost suffocated. Tears and sweat mixed together. He used his last strength to squeeze out a broken question from his throat. Those eyes that were originally full of longing now held only unbelievable despair, staring fixedly at Iskandar's distorted face.
Iskandar avoided his gaze. Those eyes that once burned with the flames of conquest were now occupied by confusion, struggle, and a kind of self-abandoning madness. His low voice was like rusty gears grinding, carrying a self-abandoning hoarseness as he spoke the words that completely shattered all of Waver's illusions and made everyone present shudder:
"Sorry... Waver..." His arm bulged with veins due to the force. "I... want to live... because..."
He suddenly looked up, as if he had used all his strength, and let out a deafening yet incredibly hollow "confession" to Kanjuro, and also seemingly to his own collapsing conviction:
"Because from the very beginning... I was just a king who fabricated false history and was fond of grandiosity!! The lands I conquered were nowhere near as vast as recorded in history books!! My achievements were full of exaggeration and lies!! I simply... do not deserve the title of 'king of conquerors'!!".
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