Throughout history, legends of heroes have always been accompanied by various mysterious epic prophecies. The tragic end of heroes was always foretold long ago, and in the end, all of them came true. This undoubtedly shrouded various myths and legends in a layer of mystery.
Rin's words, however, completely negated the meaning of this so-called prophecy, and at the same time, disparaged all the legendary heroes who met their end according to prophecy.
So-called prophecies are complete nonsense! You die only because you are too weak! I'm not targeting anyone, I'm saying everyone written in stories is trash! Scum.
That's it. That's what Rin wanted to express. To put it bluntly, it was blasphemous, a disdain for the historical legends of all humanity.
Saber, the king of knights, who took protecting her people as her duty, naturally could not agree with Rin's power-first philosophy of life. But the other two were famous tyrants throughout history—
"Ah hahahaha…! As expected, Tokiomi's daughter, you truly continue to surprise this King! Compared to those bastards groveling on the ground, this kind of ignorant foolishness is indeed more worthy of this King's appreciation!"
Gilgamesh burst into hearty laughter, clearly in a very good mood.
"Blasphemous fool, who dares to use this King as a stepping stone, climb as high as possible, treading on all things that can serve as a foothold. This King will wait for your challenge in that heaven."
Hearing this, Rin calmly took a slow sip from the wine glass in her hand, a slight smile on her face as she said:
"Compared to stepping on things to reach heaven, I prefer to find a rope and pull down the target sitting in heaven. Be prepared, Archer, a fool who vows to reach the highest point knows no bottom line. Don't be too surprised when you fall to the ground."
"This King awaits you."
And the King of Conquerors still looked at Rin with his usual hearty smile.
"Ah hahahaha! It seems my first formidable enemy in conquering this era will be you. It was indeed the right decision to invite you to drink this wine!"
The King of Conquerors and Gilgamesh's praise and recognition of Rin's pure power-first belief sounded incredibly grating and unbearable in Saber's ears.
Archer's words were simply unreasonable, and Rider's wish could only be seen as a tyrant's selfish ambition to plunge the entire world into war. As for Rin's belief, it was merely a one-sided perception from her own standpoint, a prejudice that power equals everything. Moreover, these were all just the beginnings of human desires. Compared to their wishes, Saber firmly believed that the wish in her heart was more noble.
"This should not be what a King says."
Saber quietly closed her eyes in composure and spoke, expressing her disagreement. The King of Conquerors did not get angry, remaining calm and at ease. His broad palm swirled the beautiful wine in the ornate goblet as he smiled at Saber.
"Oh— If that's the case, Saber, let this King hear your inner thoughts. king of knights, tell us, what kind of kingly path do you, whom the world has praised for a thousand years, truly possess?"
"My kingly path is my pride."
Saber looked up resolutely, gazing directly at everyone present. No matter when, the wish in her heart had never wavered.
"I want to use the Holy Grail to return to the era I lived in, to save my homeland. I want to change the fate of my country, Britain, from being destroyed."
"…"
"…"
"…"
After Saber finished speaking resolutely, the scene fell into a brief silence.
The first to feel confused in the silence was Saber herself. Even if her words were full of momentum, those present were not people who would easily bow their heads. Even if her words were unexpected, they were still very easy to understand.
Clear and concise, with nothing strange about them. This was her kingly path. Whether it was praise or rebuttal, someone should have spoken up immediately.
But no one spoke… This is bad!
Rin thought to herself. Rin suddenly realized that Saber's words should not have been heard by a certain person present, but it was already too late to think about it now. Rin instantly realized something was wrong—
Boom!!!
"Wuwuwu—!!!"
Howling like a wounded mad tiger, the black, ferocious armor of the Berserker suddenly erupted from behind Rin like a shadow of a hellish demon, spreading dark negative fluctuations like a volcanic eruption, plunging the entire castle into a pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own hand.
His rational gaze had been completely replaced by a furious, blood-red madness. At this moment, the dormant madness erupted even more violently than during his previous battle with Gilgamesh!
Lancelot, just like in the original story when he lost his sanity upon seeing Saber, fell into uncontrollable madness. The roaring sound of furious madness from the deepest part of his soul echoed in Rin's consciousness through their contract.
"Ah ah ah ah ah…!!!"
Sensing the sudden surge of murderous intent, Saber immediately stood up, materialized her Invisible Air, and said with full vigilance:
"Berserker! What do you want to do?"
"Berserker…"
"Mad dog, are you looking for death?"
Just as Lancelot was about to erupt in madness, and the vigilant Servants were drawing their swords, a slender left hand wearing fingerless gloves was raised.
"By the name of the command spells, I order you, calm down, Berserker."
Under the mandatory effect of the command spells, which directly linked to the Heroic Spirit's soul, Lancelot ceased his madness. The berserker factor was forcibly suppressed, and the azure light of reason returned.
Realizing his lapse, Lancelot knelt on one knee in a knight's salute towards Rin, who stood watching him, apologizing for his uncontrolled madness. Rin fully understood Lancelot's feelings, her sympathetic gaze falling upon the Black Knight, who knelt with his head bowed to the ground. An infinitely sorrowful wail echoed in Rin's heart.
"O King, we once shared the same dream, both dedicating our lives to saving the nation. If our ambitions were not different, then why do you conceal your hatred? Do you regret it?!"
Indeed, what Rin saw was this scene: the mad beast crying out, the knight within him sobbing.
In the shadows unseen by anyone, a clear tear slid down Rin's cheek, falling onto the Black Knight's armor and transforming into a fleeting splash of pure water.
Tears are an outpouring of inner emotion, unrelated to weakness. This was the first time Rin had ever shed tears for another. As Master and Servant, their thoughts were connected by the 047 contract, and Rin could deeply empathize with the profound sorrow in Lancelot's heart.
Everything he was had been denied by the King he cherished until death… "Berserker, wait for me outside the castle gate."
The Black Knight, still kneeling, accepted the command and departed as a spirit, and everything returned to how it was. Rin resumed her normal demeanor and sat back in her seat.
"Apologies, my Berserker seems a bit agitated. I've asked him to leave for now. Let's continue."
Saber frowned, somewhat perplexed, and put away her Holy Sword. After all, Berserker's outburst was rather ill-timed. Gilgamesh, meanwhile, looked towards the castle gate with disgust.
"It seems your dog isn't very obedient."
However, the King of Conquerors clearly didn't want to dwell on the matter.
"Alright, alright, Archer, let's drop the Berserker matter. His Master has already sacrificed a command spells for it; there's no point in dwelling further."
"Hmph, how could this King stoop to bickering with a mad dog that bites indiscriminately?"
The incident was now considered over. Compared to the suddenly berserk Berserker, the King of Conquerors was clearly more interested in what Saber had just said. After Gilgamesh settled down, he immediately brought the conversation back to the previous topic, addressing Saber who had reseated herself:
"king of knights, what you said earlier… I didn't mishear you, did I?" The King of Conquerors' face showed an incredulous look of doubt. "You mean you want to change fate, that is, to overturn history?"
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