Artoria didn't hold back against the frenzied knight. She swung her holy lance, smashing it down on Lancelot's head with a resounding thunk.
Lancelot's skull caved inward, blood trickling down his face.
Morpheus couldn't help but give Artoria a thumbs-up. She knew how to hit hard, treating Lancelot like a punching bag.
He suspected that if Lancelot's head weren't so sturdy, that strike would've sent him straight to the afterlife.
The blow left Lancelot dazed, the excruciating pain tugging at every nerve.
For a fleeting moment, it even restored a shred of sanity to his maddened mind.
"My King!"
With a groan, Lancelot tried to rise and kneel before Artoria.
But the agony in his legs reminded him he couldn't even crawl, let alone kneel.
In that moment, he had no doubt his king had gone all out against him.
Yet this was exactly what he wanted. A faint glimmer of satisfaction crossed his pain-stricken face.
Not because he was a masochist, but because he had committed an unforgivable sin.
Only a harsh punishment from his king could ease his guilt.
"Please forgive my wretched state, my King."
Lancelot fought the pain coursing through his body while struggling against his returning madness.
He was, after all, a Berserker under Mad Enhancement. Even if a twist of fate had briefly restored his sanity, it was temporary.
As time passed, his rationality would fade, and madness would reclaim him.
So he spoke quickly, condensing his thoughts into one final plea.
"Please punish me harshly for my irredeemable mistake, my King."
"You don't need to tell me—I was going to anyway."
Artoria looked down at Lancelot, once again lost to Mad Enhancement, and raised her holy lance, bringing it down hard on his head.
This time, she held nothing back.
With a muffled thud, Lancelot's head shattered like a watermelon dropped from a height, splattering across the ground.
Thus, Lancelot, who sought death, found his release.
And Artoria, who wanted to teach him a lesson, let out a long breath.
In a way, the two had met each other halfway.
With Lancelot dealt with, Morpheus snapped his fingers, dispelling the domain. The group returned from the Blazing Inferno to the Matou residence.
But unlike before, only one person remained in the household.
Sakura Matou.
Everyone else was dead beyond dead.
With this, Sakura was eliminated from the Holy Grail War.
After handling the Matou family, Morpheus and his group left, heading to their next destination.
The Tohsaka residence.
Since Morpheus had promised Void Shiki to deal with All the World's Evil, he wouldn't slack off. He decided to bulldoze through the Holy Grail War that very night.
If Emiya could do it, so could he.
Fuyuki City's night grew colder, the moonlight spilling like liquid silver across the land, seeping into every crevice.
Under this radiant moonlight, Morpheus and his group soon reached the Tohsaka residence.
They had scouted the place earlier that day, so they knew it well.
Before long, they arrived at the upscale mansion.
Though the Tohsaka family were local to Fuyuki, they studied under the Wizard Marshal, learning Western magecraft and embracing Western education. Even their home was a Western-style manor, distinct from the surrounding single-family houses.
Upon arriving, Morpheus did as he had at the Matou residence, immediately unleashing his power.
Domain Expansion: Radiant Arena.
This time, Morpheus conjured the Radiant Arena again.
Inside the vast arena stood two bewildered figures—a man and a woman.
The woman was, of course, Rin Tohsaka.
The man was Rin's father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, which surprised Morpheus.
This was the Fifth Holy Grail War, yet Tokiomi was still alive. Talk about luck.
But on second thought, Morpheus hadn't found any memory in Kirei Kotomine's mind of him killing Tokiomi.
In fact, in this world, Kirei wasn't even Tokiomi's disciple.
This strange twist had allowed Tokiomi to escape his original fate and live safely to this point.
As Morpheus marveled at the world's unpredictable changes, Lancer Artoria's gaze fell on Rin.
This woman seemed odd. She appeared to be an ordinary high school girl, yet she exuded a dangerous aura.
"Who are you people?" Rin asked boldly, seemingly unfazed by the sudden shift.
In contrast, Tokiomi, standing beside her, trembled slightly, his face full of disbelief. "Could this be… an inherent bounded field?"
At the same time, Morpheus noticed something unusual about Rin, detecting a peculiar presence emanating from her.
"This woman is a Demi-Servant," Scáthach declared, cutting through the mystery. A Demi-Servant was a human possessed by a Heroic Spirit, typically dominated by the spirit's will.
"And the possessing spirit isn't just anyone—it's a goddess."
As a god-slayer, Scáthach was all too familiar with divine auras.
Morpheus's eyes lit up with realization. No wonder Rin seemed off—she was possessed by a Heroic Spirit.
"A goddess? Are you Ishtar or Ereshkigal?"
In Morpheus's memory, only these two goddesses were known to possess Rin.
At his question, Rin—or rather, the entity within her—shouted, "Hah! Are you blind? Why would you mistake me for that gloomy Ereshkigal?"
Morpheus nodded. "Judging by that tone, it's definitely Ishtar."
"Exactly! I am the goddess herself." Ishtar, in Rin's body, raised her chin proudly. "I must say, you've got a good eye for recognizing me."
"Now, I'll give you a chance. Offer up all your treasures, and I might overlook your disrespect. Otherwise, don't blame me for getting serious. Got it?"
Scáthach let out a derisive chuckle. "The goddess of Venus from Mesopotamian mythology? Not a bad opponent. Can I take this one, Master?"
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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