Tia let out a breath of relief. Gilgamesh's sudden words scattered all the doubts King Arthur had just been struggling with. At the same time, using Merlin as a scapegoat helped King Arthur forget about his wish for now and shifted everyone's criticism onto Merlin.
Still, she hadn't had the chance to lay out the truth about the Holy Grail War all at once, since it felt rude to suddenly cut into a discussion about kingship with that topic.
So now, Tia really wanted to come up with a way to bring it up naturally and slip in the truth about the Holy Grail War. Or maybe she could just shout, "I know the truth about the Holy Grail War…" No, that would be way too embarrassing.
And just now, Waver was suddenly attacked by Hundred-Faced Hassan, right when Alexander the Great said the Holy Grail was tainted. Thinking about it now, maybe they didn't want the truth about the Holy Grail War to be revealed, so they planned to kill Waver directly and force Alexander the Great out of the war since he would lose his Master.
Tia even suspected that Tohsaka Tokiomi might have already known that the Greater Holy Grail was corrupted by Angra Mainyu. After all, the old worm had long known, and the head of the Einzbern family also knew, since Angra Mainyu from the Third Holy Grail War was summoned by the current head of the Einzbern family. As the head of the Tohsaka family, there's no way he wouldn't know that the Greater Holy Grail connected to his family's leyline had already turned into a black Holy Grail.
Just then, a powerful Servant's presence suddenly came from outside Einzbern Castle.
"This is… Lancer's aura? But it suddenly got so strong!" King Arthur turned to look outside, frowning, then unconsciously glanced at her right hand. But then the corner of her lips curved upward, and her aura burst out, "Hmph! Good! In that case, I'll use this chance to defeat you completely!"
With that, King Arthur leapt out first.
Seeing this, everyone else quickly followed.
At this moment, the original Lancer, Diarmuid, was no longer Lancer, but Saber. In his hands were two swords—one a large red sword, the other a short yellow one. His aura was far stronger than it had been when he was Lancer.
"Saber, go! Show me your strength. This is the fair duel I give you! Defeat King Arthur head-on!" Kayneth's voice rang out, "Don't waste the two Command Seals I used on you! I learned this way of using Command Seals from the Master of the Knight of the Lake!"
"Yes!" Diarmuid answered, then leapt high into the air. His very first move was a downward strike like a Noble Phantasm, slashing straight toward King Arthur.
"Hahaha! Master of the Knight of the Lake! I should thank you for bringing that Matou Kariya along. The book he gave me about Command Seals—I haven't even finished reading it yet, but with my genius mind, I already figured out how to double their effect and extend their duration! So just watch, King Arthur will soon be defeated by my Saber! Your Knight of the Lake will crumble under the power of my double Command Seals as well! Conqueror King, King of Heroes—none of them can stand before the might of my Command Seals! Only my Saber is the strongest!" Kayneth was still as arrogant as ever, so arrogant that he was already drunk on his own pride.
Saying something like that is basically asking for death, isn't it? He didn't even realize it. Truly worthy of Professor Kayneth, the proud noble Magus from the Clock Tower, who never saw Servants as anything more than controllable familiars.
Even so, Tia had to admit Kayneth really was a genius. She herself almost wanted his help to boost the power of her remaining two Command Seals.
But when Kayneth said that, everyone was shocked. Except for Waver and Alexander, the others couldn't believe something like that had happened.
"Truly worthy of being a teacher… you just got the Matou family's Command Seal book this afternoon, and by night you already have results," Waver sighed. "I'll never be able to match you…" He felt a bit inferior at that moment.
But Alexander the Great patted Waver's head. "Kid, you've got your strengths. You restored the Tia brat's family magic crest, which had been damaged in an accident so badly that only one magic circuit was left from what he inherited from his parents. Now he can use them all again, and even awakened his Origin, the Sword. And all this was thanks to the spell you created."
"Oh? King of Conquerors… are you an idiot? How could a proper Origin of a smith from the Age of Gods be something as simple as 'Sword'? Do you even know where that lousy exorcist spear on his back came from?" Gilgamesh sneered coldly after hearing Alexander's words.
What?
Tia immediately turned his head when he heard Gilgamesh's words.
"What, does this sound unbelievable to you? Smith, your Origin is called Forging. Your ancestors must have been smiths for generations, probably even famous in history. It's just that by your generation no one knew anymore," Gilgamesh continued to Tia.
A smith… famous in history… Emiya Shirou…
I… I had it all wrong!
I'll never become Archer, and I'll never turn into any version of Emiya Shirou from the three routes of Fate/stay night. My future is to become a pseudo-Servant possessed by Senji Muramasa!
Because Senji Muramasa came from a family of smiths passed down for generations, famous throughout history, leaving behind the legend of the cursed blade Muramasa.
And in one timeline, after Emiya Shirou grew old, Senji Muramasa's Saint Graph fused with him. As that, Emiya Shirou became a Servant, summoned by the will of the world to Shimosa, to stop Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who was about to become a threat to the world.
So in this timeline, my path is completely different from all the other Emiya Shirous. Even this Fourth War is different. My Origin, once thought to be Sword, is revealed as Forging—so it can match with Senji Muramasa.
Speaking of which, Amakusa Shirou has always had a deep obsession with the Holy Grail, always trying to use it to turn all of humanity into Servants, to achieve collective ascension for mankind.
But in Shimosa, that Amakusa Shirou carried countless vengeful spirits, crossed countless worlds, and was recognized by the will of the world as its enemy.
(End of The Chapter)
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