I'm Shenji, what are you doing?

The night is getting darker.

There are small springs everywhere in the floating courtyard that moves in the air, and Karna has always been used to bathing in such places.

There is no need for Servants to do this, but it is still difficult to change the habits in life.

Looking at the incredible phenomenon of water flowing from bottom to top, Karna silently washed his body.

Contrary to his luxurious armor and colorful guns, the man named Karna likes a simple life.

Originally, armor and guns were not what he wanted. The armor was obtained by her mother's petition to God, and the gun was given as a substitute for the armor.

He was very grateful for this and considered it a great honor.

The reason why I survived after being abandoned by my mother was entirely thanks to the strength given by my father and the set of armor given by my mother.

He must survive without tarnishing his father's glory.

This pointer has not changed even now that I have obtained Second Life.

As a servant, he must obey his master's orders, and Karna resolutely refused any behavior that tarnished his father's majesty.

But if the Master has been controlled from before the summons, it is no longer a matter of how he acts.

The Master is having a sweet dream with empty eyes. Dialogue cannot be established, nor can communication of will be achieved. However, it can be known from his repeated sleep talk that he mistakenly thought he had obtained the Holy Grail.

It is enough to know this. I want to get the Holy Grail and realize the Master's wish...

Of course, he knew very well that this was extremely difficult.

I'm afraid it's impossible to get to that point. Although the Holy Grail is right in front of him, it is not something that can be taken away so easily. What's more important is that his master has now been changed into Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who currently owns the Holy Grail.

Although I have no objections, this is an irresistible fact.

I am really helpless.

However, this kind of situation is also common for Karna, the "Hero of Giving". He will neither resent his previous master nor his current master.

Do what you can within your capabilities.

Give as much as possible of what is asked for.

Then seriously accept the full consequences of doing so.

——No, not all.

Karna remembered what he had been pursuing so far.

In this world, there is only one hero who constantly disturbs Karna's heart.

His name is Arjuna. He is a man who has various aliases such as "Shining Crown", "Victor", "Rich Man", etc. and is loved by everyone.

The man who took away everything from Karna in exchange for the armor and gun.

It can be said that Arjuna is a man who got everything without paying any price.

Could it be that Karna's feelings for Arjuna were jealousy? Or is it some other emotion besides jealousy?

Karna did not understand this until his death. Because he had never felt jealous of any existence, he could not give a specific name to this feeling that had been troubling his heart.

At the beginning of this Holy Grail War, he had a chance to understand this feeling.

Black Saber——Arjuna's face seems to exist on his body. When Karna later heard his real name from Shirou's mouth, it suddenly dawned on him.

The tragic hero who inherited the blood of the royal family and gained wealth, fame and everything else - Siegfried.

But unlike Arjuna, his end was extremely tragic - he didn't even have time to wield the dragon-slaying sword, and was killed by a sniper attack on the only weakness of his invincible body.

Regarding the various heroic spirits participating in this Holy Grail War, Karna believed that they were all rare beings. As members of one's own family, it is a message that we should help each other, and as an enemy, we are a rare strong person. In this sense, Karna can be said to "understand" the existence of heroic spirits better than anyone else.

However, the only one that interested him was the Black Saber.

Even if they don't exchange much dialogue, if each other's weapons have crossed hundreds or thousands of times, they will naturally be able to understand something.

Although he is a being very similar to Arjuna, he is a man who has always longed for something.

A man who has no regrets about the fact that he died unexpectedly, but is pursuing something new.

No matter who thinks he is, he is a true hero.

It's that kind of him who hopes to have another battle with himself and regards himself as an enemy that must be defeated. As a warrior, this is arguably the highest honor and also a joy.

For Karna, joy can only be encountered on the battlefield.

Although I am grateful for all kinds of kindness and warm conversations, there is a long distance between that and "selfish desires". There is no desire of his own in it, nor is there any joy that makes his blood boil.

Only on the battlefield. The brief moment when he concentrates all his existence on the gun, frees himself from his origin and the intentions of the people in his own camp, and lets his "real self" run freely without any worries, will make him truly passionate.

That battle, that agreement.

The sparks from swords, spears, and halberds were like twinkling stars. A good opponent who effortlessly counterattacks his own full-strength self and at the same time urges himself to use his full strength.

Although it is a bit embarrassing, it is really enough to make me feel that "my life exists for that moment of joy."

Soon, I will experience such feelings again, hoping that this time I can recognize its true nature.

The atmosphere in the air has changed, a sign that a storm is coming.

"come yet?"

Karna walked out of the pool, silently put on his golden armor, picked up his divine spear, and rushed to the battlefield of destiny.

◇◇◇

Almost at the same time, Semiramis opened her eyes on the throne.

"——Well, are you here? Master."

"It's expected. I just don't know how they will approach."

Shirou, who was wiping his sword, raised his head, and Semiramis then activated the technique to project the outside world onto the ceiling.

"This, this is - oh, oh, this is such a big scene."

"Flying puppets, so many have been produced in just a few days... I kind of understand why you want the Black Caster to surrender."

It’s not Shirou’s fault, Semiramis lamented, the number of bird-shaped puppets was so staggering that they almost covered the entire screen. Under the cover of these puppets, the two of them had no idea where the enemy servants were hiding.

"Hmph, are you planning to win with numbers? I'll give you my compliments for being able to do this, but - this little trick alone isn't enough to get close to my garden."

The slender fingers weave spells, and the mouth opens and closes to spit out instructions.

"The defense function is activated, the counterattack technique is deployed, and the 'Black Coffin of Ten and One (Tiamtum Umu)' is activated! Watch carefully, Master."

The mistress of the garden looked at her master with her head held high, as if she was showing off, and the latter looked back at her with some surprise.

"..."

"Master? What's wrong?"

"You seem to be different. What happened?"

"No, no, nothing happened."

There was panic in Semiramis's eyes.

"real?"

"real!"

"Yes, that's right, Master, do you want your 'Shadow Servant' to join me in the attack? Now that you are ready, you should come out and say hello. It will be a safeguard for my black coffin. Didn't you say Do they have the ability to destroy the black coffin? I want to see how they do it."

"That's right, let the Shadow Archer and Shadow Caster attack, and I'll make arrangements. Shadow Servants are good at everything, but their brains are not good enough, and it's a little difficult to give orders."

Shirou threw away the white cloth in his hand, put the sword back into its sheath, and quickly walked out of the king's room.

After confirming that he had left, the empress on the throne quietly exhaled and concentrated on operating the counterattack technique.

This scene was accidentally watched by someone sitting in the corner, which inspired a new desire for creation.

"The empress of Assyria would also have such an expression. It seems that a story has been added - um, um, we must be careful not to be discovered. We must not die before completing the story."

Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most famous playwright in the world. The stories he writes can even be sublimated into Noble Phantasms, no matter how absurd or unimaginable the story is. The only thing that cannot be done is boring things. As long as he, as a writer, thinks it is interesting, his pen can promote things and reverse the cause and effect.

With strong enthusiasm, he silently typed a line of words on the keyboard.

——The empress has fallen in love, but what will happen to the saint who has the opposite life path but has also never experienced the taste of love?