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"What do different versions of King Arthur look like?"
As she had descended in her true form, and not as a Heroic Spirit who entered the Throne of Heroes after death to reappear in the Holy Grail War, Saber had never seen other versions of King Arthur.
In Saber's life, the only monarch of Britain was her.
Regarding the King Arthur that Esdeath spoke of, one who was far more oppressive than herself, Saber could no longer contain her feelings and was eager to know everything about her.
She wanted to know… if the Britain under her rule shared the same fate as her own.
She wanted to know… if a different version of herself could save a collapsing nation, or rather, if it were another King Arthur, would the nation still perish?
In response to Saber's anticipation, Esdeath spread her hands and stated directly, "Don't ask me about that King Arthur; I don't know, because she stabbed me to death with one spear."
As she spoke, Esdeath's mood shifted somewhat; such a battle was too humiliating, and she herself was too weak.
Recalling this unpleasant memory, Esdeath cracked her knuckles.
"Did she ride a white horse?" Kisaragi Rin asked Esdeath after a moment of thought.
Given her superior physique compared to Saber and the feat of piercing Esdeath with a single spear, it was clear without a doubt that she was a Lancer-class King Arthur.
The question Kisaragi Rin was pondering was whether that was a normal Lancer-class King Arthur or the Lion King from an alternate timeline.
The former simply meant King Arthur did not wield the destined holy sword but chose the holy spear, which was normal and essentially the same as Saber.
As for the Lion King from the alternate timeline, she and King Arthur were not beings from the same world; she was unable to die due to Bedivere's hesitation, and when Bedivere finally resolved to return the holy sword, she picked up the holy spear and embarked on the path to godhood.
The two looked almost identical, but distinguishing them was quite simple: the Lancer-class King Arthur would usually appear riding her mount, Dun Stallion.
Esdeath looked at Kisaragi Rin in surprise; Kisaragi Rin had arrived in the Fate World even more recently than she had, yet this Master seemed to understand this world quite well.
"I didn't see any white horse at all."
Esdeath answered Kisaragi Rin's question, and the identity of that King Arthur was largely confirmed.
Saber glanced at Kisaragi Rin, realizing he knew a great deal about these matters, and suppressed her eagerness, planning to ask Kisaragi Rin privately later.
"Are Saber of different classes so strong?" Yukinoshita Yukino asked somewhat curiously.
The existence of Medea and Medea Lily was right before her; she was also curious about the King Arthur Esdeath spoke of, especially since Esdeath's strength was not fake, and her time-stopping ability alone was enough for Esdeath to tear countless powerful enemies apart.
Just like when they fought the Hydra Captain, no one expected an Esdeath capable of stopping time to appear nearby.
From such a distance, the time stop instantly froze the battlefield, subjecting space to Esdeath's dominion.
Relying on Berserker's terrifying attributes and the Concealment of non-Fate World native Heroic Spirits' information, seven seconds of time stop could completely make Esdeath a bug in a Holy Grail War; ordinary Heroic Spirits would face a perfect assassination upon encounter, not even knowing their cause of death.
This was the false Berserker, the true Assassin.
Such was Esdeath, and Yukinoshita Yukino heard from her tone that she was completely unable to defeat the opponent.
"The existence of that King Arthur isn't about being strong or not; it's an indescribable feeling." Saying this, Esdeath looked at Kisaragi Rin, showing no hesitation, and quite freely began to talk about her experiences before becoming a Berserker.
"I was originally a player's follower."
When this sentence was spoken, the entire room was calm, especially the Master's unchanging expression, which made Esdeath somewhat unsure of their reaction.
Esdeath picked Lily out of Kisaragi Rin's arms and placed her aside, then looked at Kisaragi and earnestly repeated, "I was originally a player's follower!"
Lily looked at Kisaragi Rin with a hint of grievance. Kisaragi Rin picked her up again and placed her back in Medea's arms, explaining to Esdeath, "I am very concerned about Esdeath's matters, but I already know about this, and everyone else knows too."
"Already known?"
Esdeath stared at Kisaragi Rin in disbelief. Yukinoshita Yukino reluctantly began to explain the special nature of this game, how the rules of the Paradise had already hinted at her existence.
Esdeath, who had been quite crazy before, didn't understand what this game was about. After listening to Yukinoshita Yukino's explanation, another question arose: Kisaragi Rin's punch didn't seem like her Skill had been sealed!
However, Esdeath didn't dwell on it. Instead, she brought her beautiful face close to Kisaragi, exhaling fragrant cold air onto Kisaragi's nostrils.
"I want to tell you, the player who took me away was a woman."
Because the prerequisite for becoming a follower and being taken away was reaching 90 affection, Esdeath felt an unprovoked urge to explain her existence.
"I understand." Kisaragi Rin took off her hat and ruffled Esdeath's hair.
Esdeath felt the warmth on her head, tilted her face up to rub against Kisaragi Rin's palm, and continued, "She was a lunatic. She joined my military by being decisive in killing, rose to the position of my deputy, and always acted in a way that suited my taste…"
"Then one day, she asked me if I was willing to leave my world and go to other worlds to gain more powerful strength."
"Naturally, I agreed. Anyway, there was nothing in my original world worth caring about."
As Esdeath recounted, Kisaragi Rin posed his question: "Then what was your Heaven's Mandate mission?"
In Kisaragi Rin's speculation, Esdeath's Heaven's Mandate mission was likely similar to Kanroji Mitsuri's, such as finding true love.
"Do you really want to know?" Esdeath leaned in and kissed Kisaragi Rin, her ice-blue eyes gleaming. "According to her, there were two: either let me gain more powerful strength, or let me fall in love."
"At first, she did try to bend me, but I had no interest in such a vulgar woman. Later, she reluctantly took out something called the Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow."
Esdeath licked her lips, unsure if she was recalling the taste of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow or the taste of kissing Kisaragi Rin, and said with a hint of disdain, "It sounds famous, but its effect was actually very poor. It only increased my original three seconds of time stop to six seconds, but that was enough to take me away."
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