"Chak!"
Splashing blood entered her vision. Jalter heard the sound of a blade piercing flesh. With some surprise, she looked down at the golden blade piercing through her heart.
Just by seeing the blade piercing through the wound, she knew who the culprit was. Even Jalter, who had always relentlessly mocked and struck at Saber, hadn't expected that the champion of chivalry, the leader of the Knights of the Round Table, the King Arthur renowned through the ages, would actually launch a sneak attack from behind!
The attacker, who had successfully ambushed with the weapon in hand, seemed to react only at this moment. Saber's face instantly showed an expression of shock.
"No! This is..."
"It's a command spell, isn't it..."
Jalter took two steps forward into the lake, detaching the blade of the Holy Sword of the Star, which had pierced through her heart, from her body. She turned to look at Saber, who seemed to be scared by herself, her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the trembling, blood-stained blade.
All the black magical flames burning on Jalter's body were extinguished by this one sword strike. Her body swayed, and she barely managed to stand by propping herself up with the battle flag in her right hand against the lakebed. Saber's Holy Sword was a Holy Sword forged by the spirits of the stars, not by humans. It crystallized within the planet, using people's faith as raw material, becoming one of the ultimate divine weapons, the "Strongest Phantasm." It was completely opposite to Jalter, who was almost an aggregation of all negativity, a manifestation of revenge and hatred.
Being pierced through the heart by such a righteous and sacred sword, not dying on the spot was already a testament to Jalter's exceptionally powerful strength.
Saber's hand was trembling. She seemed to be desperately trying to suppress and control her sword, as if it were acting on its own. This sort of thing was completely a joke for a Sword Heroic Spirit. The only explanation was a command spell!
Under the name of a command spell, Saber was ordered to ambush and kill her from behind!
Saber only clearly realized this command transmitted through the consciousness link at that moment, but before she could react, her body had already executed the order.
"Kiritsugu Emiya!!!"
Saber's roar went unanswered. She would rather die than launch a sneak attack like this, but under the compulsory command of the command spell, her body no longer obeyed her own will.
The command was to kill Jalter, but Jalter was not yet dead, so the command had not been fully carried out. Saber was currently resisting the command spell with her A+ rank Magic Resistance.
Jalter scoffed, looking towards the trees.
"I discovered your Master a long time ago. It's just that my Master decided to give you the Holy Grail, so I didn't pay attention to him. It seems I was careless. Little Knight King, it's truly pitiful that you were summoned by such a cowardly Master."
Saber was now too ashamed to respond. She could only clench her teeth and wholeheartedly control her body, which wanted to act on its own. Fortunately, her A+ rank Magic Resistance was enough to stalemate the command spell's order. The Holy Sword of the Star, having violated justice and belief, no longer shone with its usual brilliant radiance; stained with Jalter's blood, its light was dim and unclear.
"By the name of the command spell, Saber, kill her with all your might!"
Another command spells! Saber received another order from her Master.
With two command spells stacked, her A+ Magic Resistance could no longer suppress them. Saber's body moved uncontrollably on its own, her hands gripping her sword and swinging it at the heavily injured Jalter. Jalter, who was supporting herself with the battle standard in her right hand, could only use her left hand to parry with the sword of saint catherine. However, heavily injured and lacking strength, the weakened Jalter's power was less than one-tenth of her peak. She barely parried the blow and was sent flying.
Without the ability to control water, Jalter dared not fall into the lake. She guided the direction of the impact and flew to the shore.
Carried by the inertia of the impact, she rolled several times on the ground before stopping. Jalter propped herself up, raising a hand to wipe away the blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth. Saber's expression was incredibly pained at this moment, her gaze towards Jalter filled with both sorrow and shame. Her will, resisting the command with all its might, suppressed her uncontrollable body's actions, making her movements stumble. She barely managed to fight the heavily injured Jalter to a stalemate.
"Kiritsugu Emiya! Get out here! Why do you defile the path of a knight like this!"
A nearly resolute and calm decision, "I can only kill her," began to gradually rise in Saber's heart. The effect of the command spells was starting to influence her thoughts, and Saber's sword-swinging actions became increasingly fluid.
Rin had already decided to offer the Holy Grail to you and me, so why do this?!
Saber's eyes were filled with suppressed tears of shame. Nothing made Saber feel more sorrowful than this moment. If an opponent she once could not challenge were to fall by her sword in this manner, Saber would never be able to wield her Holy Sword again, because she would not be worthy... "Get out here!!!"
Boom!
A heavy blow, accompanied by Mana Burst, was barely dodged by Jalter and landed heavily on the ground. Immediately, the earth cracked and mud and stones flew. Saber's sorrowful and angry cry, mixed with the roar of the magical explosion, echoed throughout Mount Enzou.
Saber, with unprecedented willpower, used the inertia of her body to plunge her Holy Sword and her entire arm into the ground, regaining control of her body. Jalter, meanwhile, was blown by the explosive airflow to the distant lakeside.
Kiritsugu Emiya finally emerged from the woods surrounding the lake in the distance. With a calm expression, he did not look at his Servant, but instead said to Jalter:
"Where is Tohsaka Rin?"
"Bastard! Rin has already agreed to give you and me the Holy Grail! Why are you still using such dirty and superfluous methods! Answer me, Kiritsugu Emiya?"
Kiritsugu Emiya did not look at Saber, who was in an undignified posture at the moment. He responded calmly and without changing his expression:
"To minimize all possible accidents and risks, it is absolutely foolish to completely hand over the initiative to the enemy."
"Cough cough..." Jalter took advantage of Saber's momentary suppression of herself to support her body and stand up, her left hand covering the fatal wound near her heart, her cold eyes narrowed as she looked at the appearing Kiritsugu Emiya.
"In other words, you don't believe what my Master said."
"Of course, to hand over a miracle that can grant all wishes once it's within reach is impossible unless one is devoid of desires, like mud and bricks. As long as a living being has desires, it's impossible for them to be indifferent to the Holy Grail."
"So you just silently ordered Saber to ambush me?"
"No need. For executioners who are elated by things like glory and honor, anything I say is like casting pearls before swine."
"Are you insulting the spirit of chivalry in front of me? Demon!"
Even when faced with the king of knights' angry roar, Kiritsugu Emiya remained unmoved.
"Knights cannot save the world. They always say that war has good and evil, always act as if there is something noble on the battlefield. From ancient times to the present, how many young people have been deceived by bravery and honor, ultimately losing their lives, in this grand fantasy drama performed by generations of heroes?"
"That is absolutely not a fantasy! Even if it concerns life, as long as it is human action, there must be inviolable laws and principles. We must never lose righteousness! Otherwise, every war will be a recreation of hell!"
Kiritsugu Emiya not only showed no reaction to Saber's words but instead let out a slightly mocking snort.
"Alright, that's it. Will the battlefield be better than hell? What a joke! No matter what era, the battlefield is hell, plain and simple! There is no hope on the battlefield, only endless despair. And the sin called victory, which can only be built upon the despair of the losers. But humanity has never noticed this truth. No matter the era, brave and resolute heroes only deceive the world with glorious legends, yet refuse to admit that this is bloody evil. The essence of humanity has not progressed since the Stone Age!"
Hearing this, Jalter, who had been ambushed by Kiritsugu Emiya's command spells, instead laughed:
"Heh heh, I see. So you deliberately insult knights because you hate Heroic Spirits?"
"How could that be? I don't harbor such personal feelings. I want to win the Holy Grail and save the world. I am merely employing the most suitable methods in the process of fighting for that."
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha...!"
To Kiritsugu Emiya's calm and indifferent reply, Jalter suddenly covered her forehead with her hand and burst into laughter, like a mad witch from a fairy tale.
"Very good, very good! I never understood, but now I finally know why you can summon this Little Knight King... So you used to be an ally of justice! Although I don't know what kind of betrayal you suffered in the past, or what caused your despair, such anger and lamentation are undoubtedly things that only someone who once pursued justice would possess. The former you must have wanted to become a 'Hero of Justice,' right? You must have believed more than anyone, wanted to become the hero who saves the world! Isn't that right!?"
Stung by Jalter's blatant mockery, his inner weakness exposed, the cold Magus Killer finally showed emotions other than his usual demeanor for the first time. Kiritsugu Emiya's expression instantly turned to anger.
"Saber, kill her!"
The effect of the command spells took hold again. Saber once more lost control of her body and swung her sword, attacking Jalter.
"Ha, you make it sound like I'm just a lamb for you to slaughter. When you're the villain, don't talk so much, understand?!"
Jalter, who had stood upright at some unknown point, drew her battle standard with her right hand and, with a fierce blow, sent the charging Saber flying!
"Fools, you chose the worst possible place to fight me. The area around your so-called Holy Grail is my domain!"
Jalter lowered her left hand, which had been covering her wound. The chilling wound, previously torn open by the Holy Grail, had healed at some unknown point! It had completely vanished without a trace. The water in the lake had turned black at some point, emanating a scorching heat like magma...
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