บท 293: Heartfelt Words
Closing his eyes in silence for a moment, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada felt the red Command Seals on his arm—those binding him in contract to the 'Red' Caster, Shakespeare—dissipate, and slowly exhaled.
"I can sense it. Caster Shakespeare has indeed exited the stage."
Although Amakusa Shirou's authority as the Ruler of the Third Fuyuki Holy Grail War had been rescinded by the Greater Grail once that war ended, and his inherent skill God's Resolution had been nullified…
Amakusa retained some abilities from his time as a Servant. Aside from True Name Discernment, he could still sense when a Servant retired and gauge the Greater Grail's current power.
By using three Command Seals simultaneously, Amakusa ensured there were no oversights, planning Shakespeare's demise with meticulous detail.
So long as Shakespeare's contract remained, he would have no means of survival.
Cutting off Shakespeare's mana supply removed his foundation; severing the Master-Servant bond disabled his skill Self-Preservation; and the self-destruct command was the final deathblow.
"It seems that after Black Rider captured him, she only restricted his movements. Had she forcibly changed his Servant contract, it would have complicated things…"
"But realistically… why would she?" Amakusa chuckled, somewhat amused by his own thoughts.
"It makes perfect sense. Considering Caster's character and that silver tongue of his, it would take a god who revered the arts to tolerate him. Gods are proud, noble beings—what god would accept him?"
Both he and Semiramis had endured no small amount of frustration from Shakespeare's antics.
And given the destruction and chaos Black Rider had wrought, her divinity was clearly associated with war, calamity, or something similar. She would never tolerate a literary eccentric like Shakespeare.
Were it not for Shakespeare's Self-Preservation skill, he would likely have been killed long ago.
"It has come to this… Indeed, there's no turning back now."
"Caster's exit means that only two more need to fall for the Greater Grail to activate…" Red Archer Atalanta murmured to herself.
"Then… with me gone, Priest, only one more Servant will be needed. I leave everything to you."
Thump!
Clenching her fist, Atalanta struck her own Spirit Core, immediately coughing up blood as her spirit form fractured. Her entire body began to glow faintly, slowly dissipating.
Amakusa didn't need to tell her who would be next to fall; Atalanta already knew that it would be her.
Without any objections, Atalanta accepted Amakusa's plan with complete resolve.
"Mm." Amakusa nodded gently, his usual smile replaced by a solemn expression. "Archer—no, Atalanta—I promise I will fulfill the wish you entrusted to me."
"Whether they be children or adults, the poor or the privileged, this will be salvation for all of humankind."
"Yes, I leave it to you. Farewell, everyone. It was my honor to be a part of this Holy Grail War." With those words, Atalanta slowly closed her eyes.
Watching as her form faded, Amakusa clenched his right fist over his chest with growing fervor.
"…Then, Priest, allow me to be the seventh and final Servant to activate the Greater Grail."
As the burns across his face gradually healed, Red Lancer Karna spoke, his voice clear and powerful, a rare smile on the face of the Sun God's son.
"Lancer, you…?!" Seated on a fragment of the Aerial Garden's wreckage, Red Assassin Semiramis turned to Karna, her surprise evident.
With the destruction of her Hanging Garden, Semiramis had been rendered nearly powerless after leaving the garden.
Initially, Semiramis had thought that she herself should be the last sacrifice on Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's path to achieving his wish, whether because of her own state or for… other reasons.
Catching the hint of confusion in Semiramis's voice, Karna paused and then nodded with a gentle smile.
"Priest, I can sense the strength of your resolve. As for my wish, it has always been to fulfill my Master's every command."
As the Hero of Charity, deceit held no value to Karna. He could see that Amakusa's words were sincere, which was why he had willingly followed his orders until now.
"My Master may have been powerless to realize his wishes, and victory is now beyond reach. But at this point, my only wish is for my Master's survival—a modest one, yet enough."
Amakusa walked to the center of the Aerial Garden's main hall, now a heap of ruins. "Understood, Karna. I shall carry out everything as we agreed. Preparation for the Greater Grail transfer ritual begins now…"
But at that moment, just as he bent down to touch the remnants of the spatial transfer array, Amakusa's expression shifted. "Is it Ruler? How tenacious of her."
…
Traversing the desolate forest, the Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, finally stepped onto the rubble-strewn grounds of the main hall and immediately spotted the white-haired, tan-skinned man standing at its center.
"Welcome, Ruler, Saint Jeanne d'Arc," Amakusa Shirou Tokisada greeted her with a raised hand and a warm smile.
"Yes, that would be me. And you must be the Red Master—Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, or perhaps Shirou Amakusa, Masuda Tokisada… or is it Amakusa Tokisada?"
Jeanne gazed intently into the amethyst-colored eyes of the young man, naming him by the various names he had borne throughout his life.
"Seeing you, the mystery is finally solved. So, you are the reason for the anomaly in this Holy Grail War! The former Ruler of the Third Fuyuki Holy Grail War!"
As she made her way to the center of the ruins, Jeanne's voice grew louder, her tone sharper. "I see now. This explains why I was summoned in this form."
The existence known as Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was the greatest threat in this Holy Grail War, the very reason Jeanne had been summoned not as a Servant, but as a pseudo-Servant through a host.
Her expression grew cold, radiating killing intent as she raised her white iris flag, aiming it at Amakusa, ready to strike.
"Then tell me, after obtaining a new body, why did you return to the Holy Grail War? What is your true objective, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?"
In response, Amakusa's youthful face broke into a wry smile as he replied calmly, "Why, for the salvation of all humankind, of course."
"What?" Jeanne halted, taken aback. "Salvation for all humankind?"
"Is there an issue with that, Saint Jeanne? Now that you're here, there's something I'd like to borrow from you—"
In the brief instant that Jeanne's battle spirit wavered, Amakusa turned swiftly, three black keys appearing between his fingers, which he threw toward the stunned Jeanne.
"Attack!!"
Crash!
Without hesitation, Jeanne swung her flag, striking the black keys mid-air and shattering them in half, though the exchange had cost her the chance to close the gap with Amakusa.
Whoosh!
With a swipe sharp enough to split the air, Karna swung his sun-blessed spear like a thunderbolt, aiming straight for Jeanne's head.
"Red Lancer Karna!" Jeanne frowned, stepping back into a defensive stance, her flag raised high.
Boom!
The force traveled through Jeanne's legs and into the ground, sending dust flying as the ground beneath her trembled. Flames crackled as they scorched the earth.
"You again! I still owe you for what you did on the road!"
Fueled by anger, Jeanne, using her EX-ranked Magic Resistance, withstood the blazing flames. She parried Karna's strike with her flag, sending him flying backward.
Tumbling through the air, Karna twisted gracefully mid-flight, landing on his spear with a violent cough.
"What is this…? Why are your flames, speed, and strength so diminished?"
This question troubled Jeanne as well; Karna, the Sun God's son, seemed inexplicably weakened.
Upon closer inspection, Jeanne noticed that Karna's condition was far worse than it had been when she first encountered him.
While his facial burns had partially healed, there were still faint traces of purplish-red spots across his skin. His neck and chest exposed raw muscle, some injuries even reaching the bone.
The destructive, corrosive energy emanating from him instantly reminded Jeanne of a certain silver-haired, red-eyed individual—this was unmistakably her handiwork.
For some reason, Jeanne felt a hint of satisfaction—justice for blowing up her luggage, perhaps?
But she shook her head quickly. Laeticia, that's wrong. We shouldn't feel schadenfreude over someone else's misfortune.
"Synchronization, supply, reinforcement!"
As he poured everything he'd learned over the past sixty years into restoring Karna's strength, Amakusa couldn't help but ponder.
It seemed that after battling Black Rider, all Servants were tormented by this unique, corrosive energy that eroded both body and mana.
Saber Mordred and Archer Atalanta had been cleansed of it, yet for Lancer Karna, the energy clung to him like poison—it must be related to his Noble Phantasm.
Back in the Aerial Garden, he could suppress it with the garden's unlimited mana, but now…
Even Jeanne could easily counter Karna's attacks, a testament to how deeply the purple-red energy had affected him.
Understanding that this would ultimately lead nowhere, and that Karna was likely close to defeat, Amakusa made his decision without hesitation.
"I hereby command, with my final Command Seal, to enhance Lancer's stats in every aspect!"
"But why?" Watching the Command Seal remain unresponsive, Amakusa's eyes widened in confusion. "Command Seal… why isn't it working?"
"Priest Amakusa, your heart seems unsettled."
Suddenly, amidst the crackling and sizzling of the ruined garden, a cold, haughty voice emerged, echoing from all directions, seemingly both near and far.
"Who goes there?!"
Amakusa's heart raced as he searched frantically for the source, but saw no one in sight.
All he could see was the eerie purple-red glow, spreading across the burning forest and crumbling palace ruins, casting an ominous light over everything.
A foreboding sense of dread filled Amakusa, and in his desperation, he attempted an immediate spatial shift.
But he was a step too late. Purple-red tendrils of mana surged from the ground, entwining around him, and paralyzing his entire body.
"Done playing," the frigid voice spoke with calm indifference. "This Holy Grail War is over. It's time to grant the rewards promised to the Yggdmillennia family."
"Black Rider, is that you?" Looking around, Amakusa fought to maintain his composure. "I'd like to propose a deal…"
"A deal?" Amakusa heard a voice, tinged with a hint of amusement, from behind him. "You're in no position to bargain with me!"
In the next instant—
Hum—Bang!
Boom! Splurt!
"Master! Lancer! Be careful!" Leaning weakly against a chunk of rubble, Semiramis cried out, but her strength was so depleted that she could hardly move a finger.
A deafening explosion sounded from behind Karna, where Jeanne had been fighting. A colossal black-and-white spear had pinned Karna into the ground.
Centered around Karna's body, the impact created a ten-meter-wide crater, scattering debris with a chorus of clattering sounds.
Simultaneously, Amakusa felt a strange warmth surge through his chest as he looked down.
"A defeat this complete…?"
A slender, armored hand, clad in delicate silver armor, had pierced through Amakusa's chest, gripping his heart, which throbbed steadily in her grasp.
The armor was crafted with exquisite precision, its intricate design untarnished by his blood.
"Black Rider… who are you? When did you arrive?" Amakusa's voice trembled, blood and fragments of bone filling his mouth.
"When?"
With a thoughtful look, Selene withdrew her hand from his chest.
"Oh, just now. I had my Master use a Command Seal to teleport me here. After all, spatial manipulation is something of a specialty of mine…"
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