A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 1168 The endless curse called ‘ideal’

He can still recall it clearly. Even today, when I have fallen into evil ways and done all kinds of evil things, the memory of that day has not faded at all and is still deeply engraved in my heart.

Even if the ending is full of humiliation and hatred, and is spurned by thousands of people - no one can deny the glory of the past, no one can subvert it, and it is still hidden deep in one's chest.

Be it God or fate, it is something that cannot be taken away or tarnished...

A line of clear tears ran down his cheek, and Gil de Rey felt a little dazed.

What are you confused about, and what have you missed?

Just look back and admit your mistakes - isn't that enough?

"I, in the end..."

Before this whisper without an audience could be uttered, the white light took everything to another world.

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Archer, who stood on the high bridge and looked at everything, couldn't help but smile on his face after seeing the light of destruction that burned everything.

"Did you see it, King of Conquerors? This is the glory of Saber."

Archer greeted the void beside him. There, Rider, who had just experienced a fierce fight, was keeping the sacred bull chariot stationary in the air, staring blankly at the aurora emitted by the "Sword of Contract Victory".

"Aren't you going to acknowledge her after witnessing that light?"

Rider snorted and scoffed at Archer's question. But what was written on his face was not contempt, but solemnity, as if he was looking at something tragic.

"It is precisely because she has carried the hopes of the people of the entire era that she can exert such power - precisely because it is so dazzling, it is heartbreaking. Who would have thought that a person who carries such a heavy thing is just a person who likes Where is the fantasy girl?”

On the river where the two of them looked down, Saber's slender body was panting in pain from the fierce fight to the death that had just ended. Rider only found out through last night's Q\u0026A what a heavy load she carried on her young shoulders. For him, who has an upright personality, this "way of survival" is absolutely unforgivable.

"This kind of little girl is the final result of giving up on butterflies and flowers, giving up on love, and falling into the endless curse called 'ideal'. It's really heartbreaking and I can't bear to watch it anymore."

"That's what's so cute about her, isn't it?"

Contrary to the melancholy expression of the Conquering King, the golden Servant's smile was infinitely lewd, making no attempt to conceal his dirty desires.

"The too lofty ideals in her chest will eventually burn her up. The tears she cried before her death...if she could taste them, they would surely be very sweet."

Archer was content to let his imagination run free. Rider's eyes flashed and he cast a hostile look at him.

"...I really don't care about you, the Hero King of Babylon."

"Oh? Didn't you realize it until now?"

This title made the golden heroic spirit smile.

"What are you going to do, Rider? Are you going to vent your anger with force on the spot?"

"Although it would be a pleasure to do this, if the opponent is you, I may not be able to do what I want tonight."

After Rider spoke frankly without any bluff, he glanced at Archer again and said contemptuously.

"Of course, if you don't want to miss the opportunity and insist on having a fight with me, I will always accompany you."

"It doesn't matter. I allow you to escape, King of Conquerors. If I don't defeat you while you are in perfect condition, I will be unwilling to do so."

After hearing Archer's calm declaration, Rider raised his eyebrows mischievously and said.

"Huh? Haha. Having said that, it's actually because you're still injured from being shot down by that nigger, right?"

"...Anyone who provokes me will be punished with death!"

Seeing the other party's puzzled humor and red eyes full of murderous intent, Rider smiled and tightened the reins of the sacred bull, and distanced himself from the other party.

"Let's decide the winner next time, King of Heroes. The result of our duel will definitely be the ownership of the Holy Grail."

Only heroic spirits of the "King" level are eligible to obtain the Holy Grail. That is, the choice between the King of Conquerors and the King of Heroes. Rider himself must still be convinced of this. The heroic spirit Iskandar smiled fearlessly, left the top of the bridge, and galloped towards the river bank where his Master was.

"What will happen?... I have not yet decided whether you are the only one who is qualified to receive the treasure from me. Rider."

Archer, who was talking to himself, had another heroic spirit in his heart. In terms of level of concern, the Hero King's interest was entirely focused on her.

Tonight, the unparalleled brilliance that I witnessed with my own eyes led the thoughts of the original heroic spirit back to the distant past.

——Once upon a time, there was a man.

He was a ridiculously stupid guy who wanted to be on par with the Son of God even though his body was made of clay.

His unreasonable arrogance certainly offended the gods in heaven, and the man was punished by the gods and lost his life.

The King of Heroes can never forget the look of him dying with tears streaming down his face.

Why are you crying, the King of Heroes asked at that time. Do you regret standing on my side now?

not like this--

He replied.

"After I die, who else can understand you? Who else can go forward with you? My friend... I can't help but shed tears when I think of you living alone in the future..."

In this way, when he saw the man take his last breath, the self-centered king understood that the way of life of this man who was a human but wanted to be more than human was more precious and dazzling than all the treasures he collected.

"Reach out your hand to the fool who does not belong to the human realm... There is only one person in the world who is qualified to appreciate your destruction, and no one else but me, Gilgamesh.

You dazzling and unreal person, throw yourself into my arms. That's my decision. "

The golden majesty disappeared into the night fog, leaving only the evil laughter echoing for a long time.

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On the other side of the night fog, the huge sea demon was swallowed up by the dazzling white light and gradually disappeared. Sora watched all this from the rooftop of the distant new city center building.

It was impossible to see clearly in the center of the night fog, let alone from such a long distance, it was impossible to observe the progress of the war with the naked eye. There is no reconnaissance familiar prepared for this situation. She could only worry while looking at the scene of huge sea demons and fighter jets dancing around opposite her.

In any case, the battle has come to an end, and the Command Seal in his right hand has not disappeared. This means that Lancer won and survived the battle.

"That's great……"

Sora endured the raging wind blowing from high places, and finally could calm down for a while. Maybe Lancer will bring back the news of victory soon. If this victory is achieved through fighting with other Servants, Masters other than Sora will also receive additional Command Spells as a reward.

These are all insignificant little things. She was just happy now that the Command Seals that connected her and the Servant were about to return to their three complete forms.

If it weren't for the loud noise of the wind, Sora might have noticed the scent of the attacker quietly approaching from behind earlier. Since he focused all his energy on the battlefield on the opposite side, he relaxed his vigilance to the surroundings. But this can't be blamed on her, because this pampered young lady doesn't even know the most basic common sense of self-protection, let alone combat training.

He suddenly stumbled under his feet, then fell on his back and rolled a few times on the concrete floor. Even then she didn't understand what was going on. The right hand that was stretched out due to a conditioned reflex was roughly grasped by someone. There is no doubt that this person had no intention of helping Sora up when she fell, but instead gave her an even heavier blow on her right hand.

"ah--!"

As if a faucet had not been turned off, blood gurgled out from the section of the slender and graceful wrist. Sora stared at all this in disbelief.

The right hand is gone.

With just one blow, the right hand was easily severed. The fingers and nails that he had always cared for and taken pride in, and the Command Seal on the back of his hand that was more important than anything else, all disappeared from Sora's right wrist.

Taken away.

Compared to the chill caused by the pain and blood loss, the despair of losing the most important thing plunged Sola's mind into darkness.

"Ah, ah, ah! Ahhhhhhhh!!"

Sora let out a scream in a state of confusion, struggling and groping on the ground, trying to find his missing right hand.

no. Absolutely nothing without that thing. Without that thing, Diarmuid cannot be summoned, and Diarmuid's help cannot be sought.

The time was almost ripe, so he used up all his command spells to command Diarmuid to "please protect me" so that he could be bound and taken as his own. Therefore, it is really troublesome to not have the Command Seal on the right hand. No matter what happens, even if it costs your life, you must retrieve that Command Seal. If not...

But no matter how much he searched for it on the cold concrete floor, there was only blood spattering everywhere—and a pair of boots-clad feet standing motionless in front of him.

Due to severe blood loss, his vision gradually blurred. Sora looked up while still lying on the ground. There stood a strange dark-haired woman. There was no trace of pity on his face, there was no expression at all. The woman looked down at the dying Sora expressionlessly.

"Hand...my hand..."

He grabbed the woman's boot with his surviving left hand - Sora passed out.

Kuu Maiya used a survival knife to chop off the female magician's right hand, and then threw the hand away without any regret. The command spell engraved on the back of that hand can probably be retrieved if a certain method is used. But Maiya doesn't know this method, so this hand has no use value to her.

He quickly bandaged the section of his right wrist to prevent further blood loss. Maiya carried the unconscious prey on her shoulder and called Kiritsugu on her cell phone with her free hand.

"—How's it going, Maiya?"

"Sora Nazere Sophiari has been captured in the new capital. The right hand with the Command Seal engraved on it was completely severed, but her life is not in danger."

"Good job. Retreat immediately. Lancer should be back soon."

"clear."

After explaining the matter clearly in the most concise words, Maiya hung up the phone. Run quickly down the stairs.

The artificial (Homunculus) ribs transplanted by Irisviel's hands have not yet completely integrated with the body, and there will still be rejection reactions, and sometimes you will feel a dull pain. But this did not cause any obstacles to daily activities. Therefore, today Kuu Maiya was able to follow Lancer and his Master as flexibly as before he was injured, and took advantage of the Servant's absence to seize the good opportunity to capture Sora.

Kiritsugu's judgment that Lancer's Master was two different people was correct, but he still listed Kayneth, who had lost his Master rights, as a target to be eliminated. Once a human is selected and becomes a Master, he still needs to be vigilant even if he loses the Command Seal. This is Kiritsugu's consistent policy.

He orders Maiya not to kill Sora but to capture her alive. Kiritsugu's real intention was to find out from this woman where Kayneth was hiding. This interrogation must have been a painful and cruel process for Sora, but even so, Maiya did not show any sympathy or mercy.

Cruelty is not an uncommon thing in situations where people fight against each other. Not to mention Kiritsugu, even Maiya understood and accepted this simple truth calmly.

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The night in Xindu has completely lost the quietness that should be expected in the middle of the night. Ambulances and patrol cars rush back and forth non-stop. Even these people who were running on the road with the red light on did not actually understand the reason why they were running on the road in the middle of the night. They did not know the full picture of the situation, and probably they would not know it even in the future.

A tall figure wearing monk's robes was walking on the road in the middle of the night. Under normal circumstances, he would definitely be listed as a suspicious person for interrogation. But tonight, the police officers were so busy due to the constant requests for rescue and blockade orders that they had no time to pay attention to a mere passerby. Several patrol cars passed by Kotomine Kirei, but none of them noticed his presence.

Kirei, who was walking silently on the road back to Fuyuki Church, was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the chaotic state of the streets that had not yet calmed down from the turmoil.

Kirei has always worked hard to be loyal to orders, obedient to obligations, and strict with ethics and morals. Therefore, his words and deeds are always carefully considered, and the choices he makes are always beyond doubt.

Because of this - this is the first time that I have doubts about my actions.

At first, it was for the purpose of supporting Tohsaka Tokiomi that Kirei came to the battlefield where the teacher personally participated. However, when he found out that Tokiomi's opponent was Matou Kariya, Kirei did not help, but instead acted like a lazy observer by observing in secret.

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