She couldn't understand. If Kanjuro were simply evil, killing for the sake of killing, it might be easier to interpret.
But this behavior of meticulously weaving traps, enticing others to betray everything, cruelly crushing them after giving false hope, and peeling away the soul layer by layer until it's completely twisted... this ultimate manipulation of the 'human heart' itself was more terrifying than simple destruction.
Irisviel covered her mouth in horror, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably. The gaze she directed at Kanjuro was filled with unprecedented fear.
Although she had long known Kanjuro was a demon—the man who had forcibly possessed her eight years ago, leaving her with endless pain and Illya—it was only at this moment that she truly realized his terror far exceeded her worst imaginings.
He wasn't just powerful or ruthlessly bloodthirsty. He... seemed like a monster that fed on 'humanity.' He could precisely find the most fragile and yearning parts of everyone's heart, then twist and tear them apart in the cruelest way possible, drawing pleasure from it. To toy with a legendary king of conquerors, making him willingly kneel and beg for mercy, even transforming him into a butcher... this method of manipulating a human heart so thoroughly and shattering it so completely made her shiver with a soul-deep chill.
Facing Jeanne d'Arc's interrogation and Irisviel's fear, Kanjuro slowly turned around. The smile on his face remained gentle, but in those deep eyes, there flickered a hair-raising light akin to that of a'seeker of truth.'
'Why?' He softly repeated Jeanne d'Arc's question, as if finding it very amusing.
His gaze followed that golden stream of destructive light rushing toward Fuyuki City, and he said leisurely:
'Jeanne, don't you think... the "process" is far more interesting than the "result"?'
'Killing a hero is easy. But making a hero negate himself, making him destroy everything he cherishes with his own hands, making him voluntarily jump into hell for a false phantom... watching him fall step by step from the clouds, from a king to a beggar, from a hero to a butcher...'
Pleasure flickered in Kanjuro's eyes:
'In this "process," the complexity, fragility, and ugliness of humanity, along with that little bit of pathetic struggle... that is the most wonderful and "appreciable" drama in the world.'
'I break my word?' He sneered. 'A promise itself is the most useless shackle. I give hope and then personally snuff it out, not for the result, but to witness that... incomparable change in expression at the moment his hope shatters. As for whether he goes completely mad afterward or realizes the truth and ends his life in pain... regardless of the ending, isn't it a beautiful final act for this drama?'
He looked at Jeanne d'Arc, his tone carrying a twisted sense of 'instruction':
'So, Jeanne, do not be obsessed with "promises" or "results." Learn to appreciate this "process of falling" itself. This is... true "art."'
His words were like a cold wind from the abyss, blowing across the bloody mountaintop. He wasn't just committing atrocities; he was 'appreciating' and 'deconstructing' humanity itself with a coldness that transcended ordinary good and evil, reaching a near-philosophical level.
And at this moment, from the direction of Fuyuki City, the thunderous roar of the gordius wheel, symbolizing destruction, had already arrived, along with... the faint sounds of chaos and terrified clamor beginning to rise from the city.
The king of conquerors' massacre had begun. Kanjuro, like the most fastidious spectator, prepared to appreciate this ultimate tragedy he had personally directed, with the entire city as the stage and countless lives as the price.
A flash of insight struck Jeanne d'Arc's mind, as if a crucial piece had finally been added to a puzzle that had been shrouded in mist. She recalled the abnormality of the codex of rlyeh, the Cthulhu monster's abnormal craving for blood, and Kanjuro's various actions that seemed crazy yet were all interconnected... At almost the same time, in the crimson snake-like pupils of Gilgamesh, who was suspended in the air, a flash of realization and deeper disgust also passed. He no longer looked at the golden stream of light rushing toward Fuyuki City, but instead locked his cold gaze back onto Kanjuro, speaking with a condescending yet ironically admitting tone regarding the other's shrewd calculations:
'Hmph, it seems you understand that nauseating monster on the lake better than anyone. It has a natural greed and sensitivity toward blood, especially large-scale death and fear. You sent that already-insane mongrel Iskandar to massacre the citizens of Fuyuki City...'
A cold arc curled at the corner of the king of heroes' mouth:
'Your fundamental goal wasn't to fulfill your ridiculous "promise," but to use the blood and despair of the entire city to sacrifice to and feed that monster, wasn't it? To make it more violent, more powerful, or even... to completely complete some kind of "descent" or "metamorphosis"?'
Hearing this, the smile on Kanjuro's face paused slightly, then turned into a more hearty laugh, as if he had met a kindred spirit.
'Hahaha! Not bad, not bad! king of heroes, you are a bit smarter than I imagined!' He clapped his hands in praise, his gaze carrying unabashed playfulness. 'It seems that what's in your treasury isn't just weapons, but also a bit of a brain.'
Jeanne d'Arc now understood completely. Her cold voice rang out, carrying a chill that pierced through the truth:
'So, from beginning to end, all of this was within your meticulous calculations, Kanjuro. From inducing Caster to summon this monster, to using him to collect children as "keys" or initial sacrifices, to now driving Iskandar to conduct a large-scale blood sacrifice... every step was to strengthen it.'
Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, stabbing toward Kanjuro:
'And what concerns me most is the connection between this monster and you. Caster is dead; by all logic, the summon created by his magical energy should have dissipated. But this monster... not only lives, it's becoming more active. Kanjuro, what is the connection between you and it? Could it be that Caster's summoning was part of your plan from the start, and you are its true... "master" or "resonator"?'
Saber, who was fighting hard against the Cthulhu monster, also heard their conversation. Her heart tightened, and her sword stance faltered for a moment. If this monster was one with Kanjuro or under his control, then the true enemy they faced would be terrifying far beyond imagination!
Facing this questioning that pointed directly at the core, Kanjuro once again let out a hearty laugh, as if he greatly enjoyed the feeling of being gradually seen through yet still being in control of everything.
He didn't answer directly. Instead, he slowly bent down and, with two fingers, very flippantly picked up the codex of rlyeh from the ground—its cover was damaged, yet it still emitted an ominous fluctuation.
'Connection? master?' Kanjuro shook the human-skin grimoire, a very eerie smile appearing on his face. 'Your questions are all very interesting. But, look, how strange—'
As if discovering a new continent, he spoke in an exaggerated tone:
'Caster is dead, but his Noble Phantasm... this book, is still right here! By logic, when a master or Servant dies, the Noble Phantasm should also dissipate, right? But it hasn't! Isn't that strange? Isn't it worth researching?'
His gaze swept over Gilgamesh, then seemed to unintentionally glance at a certain shadowed corner (where the Assassin sent by Kirei Kotomine was lurking to spy). His tone was filled with temptation and traps:
'Do you want to... personally "examine" this book? To see what secrets it hides? Perhaps the answer is inside.'
This naked, almost provocative enticement carried a fatal attraction at this moment. Whether to uncover the truth or to seize this eerie Noble Phantasm, this book became the focus!
'Arrogant mongrel! This King shall see what tricks you are playing!' Gilgamesh snorted coldly. Although proud, he also realized the importance of this book. A golden ripple shimmered behind him, but instead of firing a Noble Phantasm, he extended a chain shimmering with runic light—Enkidu! This chain from the Age of Gods was not only effective against divine weapons but also had unique effects for capturing and analyzing mysterious things. The chain shot toward the codex of rlyeh in Kanjuro's hand like a spirit snake!
At the same time, the Assassin hidden in the shadows (likely a clone of the Hundred-Faced Hassan) also received Kirei Kotomine's order. Like a blurred ghost, he dashed out from another tricky angle, his goal being to directly snatch the grimoire!
However, at the very instant Gilgamesh's Enkidu was about to touch the book cover, and just as Assassin's fingers were only an inch away—
A sudden change occurred!
"Voom—!!!"
An indescribable, terrifying power originating from the deepest oceanic abyss, filled with madness and blasphemous will, suddenly erupted from the codex of rlyeh like the whispers of a sleeping ancient god! It wasn't a magical energy shock, but more like a pollution and rejection aimed at the soul and the essence of existence!
'What?!'
Gilgamesh's face changed drastically. He felt an unprecedented sense of resistance coming from his Enkidu. The runes shimmering on the chain instantly dimmed, and it even emitted a faint wail as if it were being corroded! A surge of nausea and dizziness hit his soul, forcing him to violently retract the chain. His body even retreated half a step due to the impact of that power, his face filled with shock, anger, and disbelief! The 'abnormality' contained in this book could actually shake his Enkidu!
And the Assassin clone who tried to snatch it met an even more miserable end!
The moment he touched the invisible force field that erupted, he didn't even have time to scream. His entire spiritual body began to violently twist and dissolve like a wax statue thrown into strong acid! The magical energy constituting his body was rapidly polluted and annihilated. In just an instant, that clone turned into a wisp of pitch-black smoke emitting an ominous aura and completely dissipated!
It could resist even a Noble Phantasm and 'pollute' a Servant to death in an instant!
This golden grimoire was simply a meticulously laid trap leading to a deeper level of madness!
Kanjuro looked at the empty-handed and slightly disheveled Gilgamesh, as well as the completely annihilated Assassin, and a bright, satisfied smile appeared on his face.
He gently stroked the slightly pulsating book cover as if stroking a lover's cheek, saying softly:
'See, I told you... it's very "strange."'
'Now, does anyone else want to "examine" it?' Kanjuro looked down, browsing through the codex of rlyeh in his hand with great interest as it emitted ominous fluctuations. The twisted words and blasphemous patterns on the pages, which didn't belong to any known human language, flooded into his mind like living things. In an instant, a vast and chaotic flood of Black Magic knowledge and summoning rituals belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos poured into his consciousness.
Relying on his immense magical energy and deep understanding of the nature of darkness, he understood the essence almost instantly. He could even feel that he could temporarily attach his own will, derived from the dark bible, onto this grimoire to try and influence or even control that Cthulhu sea monster summoned by Caster that was currently fighting Saber.
'Interesting... let me try.' A light of inquiry flashed in Kanjuro's eyes. He concentrated his mind, using the codex of rlyeh as a medium to throw a will mixed with his own magical energy and the aura of Nyarlathotep toward the massive sea monster waving its countless tentacles like an invisible rein.
However, just as his will was about to entwine around the sea monster's core—
"Voom—!"
A completely different repulsive force, filled with deep-sea slumber, ancient madness, and an independent will, suddenly erupted from the depths of the sea monster's core like a cold deep-sea undercurrent! Two different sources of Old God beliefs and power systems, which could even be considered 'hostile,' collided violently in the void!
Kanjuro groaned, feeling his will hit an ancient stone wall covered in slimy moss, being ruthlessly bounced back and dispersed. Nyarlathotep is the 'Crawling Chaos,' the messenger and avatar among the Outer Gods, whose power characteristics are deception, temptation, and chaos; whereas Cthulhu is a Great Old One, the nightmare sleeping in Rlyeh, whose power core is slumber, dreams, and ancient madness from the deep sea. Although both belong to the camp of supreme existences beyond human understanding, their natures are vastly different, and there even exists a certain level of competition or rejection in their hierarchy.
Kanjuro's attempt to use Nyarlathotep's contract to completely control a creation rooted in Cthulhu's power had clearly triggered some deeper level of rule restriction.
"Tsk." Kanjuro curled his lip and casually closed the Codex of R'lyeh, a look of disdain crossing his face, as if the previous failure was merely trying out a toy that didn't quite suit his taste. "A creation of chaos is inefficient and crude after all," he mocked in a low voice, seemingly to mask the momentary frustration of being thwarted.
In the brief interval during Kanjuro's failed attempt to control the monster, Saber (Artoria) seized the opportunity! Noticing that Gilgamesh's attention was temporarily diverted by Kanjuro and the grimoire, she immediately shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Archer! Go stop Iskandar! You can't let him keep slaughtering civilians!"
Gilgamesh's crimson snake-like pupils glanced down at Fuyuki City, where explosions and cries were already starting to drift up from the mountain's base, then looked back at Saber with a hint of absurd mockery in his tone:
"Even at a time like this, you still have the heart to care about the lives of those mongrels? They are neither your subjects nor your offspring. Is it worth it for a swarm of ants?"
Saber swung her sword to parry a tentacle that struck in the opening, a sneer that mixed exhaustion with unwavering determination appearing on her face:
"Guarding one's subjects is the duty of a King, but protecting the weak is the instinct of a Knight! I simply cannot stand by and watch someone... wantonly bully ordinary people who have no power to resist! It has nothing to do with whose subjects they are!"
As her words fell, she ignored Gilgamesh and concentrated all her spirit and will. Taking a deep breath, she forcibly suppressed the Black Magic power within her that was constantly eroding her due to the pseudo-avalon, even attempting a dangerous fusion and channeling of that foul magical energy with her own originally brilliant holy light energy!
Her body trembled slightly. Upon her silver-white armor, golden magical flows and ominous black patterns intertwined and flickered as if in battle, looking extremely unstable as if they might collapse at any moment. However, those emerald eyes of hers, under extreme pain and pressure, burst forth with an unprecedented, unwavering brilliance that seemed capable of piercing through all darkness!
"Ex——calibur!!!"
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