In the light curtain's barrage, Tristan's words inevitably filled the viewers across the infinite multiverse with a profound sense of disgust.
It couldn't be helped; Tristan was different from the other Knights of the Round Table.
Because of Agravain's identity as Morgan's son, and the underlying issues involving Lancelot, even if Agravain did something wicked, the audience outside the screen would feel it was somewhat expected.
And there was no need to even mention Mordred. As the designated villain of the Arthurian epics, without her, Camelot wouldn't have fallen so quickly, and King Arthur wouldn't have died.
As for Gawain and Lancelot, anyone could see that they were unwilling to slaughter civilians; their actions carried a heavy sense of being forced by circumstance.
Even though they still committed cruel acts, the audience's level of tolerance for them was inevitably much higher.
But... Tristan was different. The sheer indifference, coldness, and overwhelming hypocrisy he displayed while massacring civilians was far too thick.
It was as if he were simply enjoying the sensation of slaughtering commoners.
After all, if he truly was forced by circumstance, how could he constantly keep the word "sorrow" on his lips?
The Tristan of the Arthurian epics indeed gave off a melancholic and pitiful vibe, possessing a strong sense of empathy, which was why he associated himself so closely with the word "sorrow."
But this Tristan, serving under the Lion King, slaughtered civilians while speaking of sorrow. Not only was he being incredibly passive-aggressive and hypocritical, but he also constantly stomped right on the boiling point of any normal person's rage.
This hypocritical behavior directly ignited the fury of the audience outside the screen.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "I can't stand it! Tristan is the complete opposite of his legendary self. How can he slaughter civilians and still say things like that? Forget about chivalry, does he have no sense of shame at all?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "The other Knights of the Round Table are somewhat bearable, even if they aren't doing human things, but none of them have lost their minds like Tristan has. He keeps spouting lines about sorrow, but I'm afraid his actual level of sorrow isn't even half of what the rest of the Round Table feels."
King Arthur: "...Sir Tristan, he wasn't like this before, but..."
In the Type-Moon universe, King Arthur fell silent as she watched the simultaneously familiar and foreign Tristan on the screen.
To be honest, she didn't want to believe that the compassionate Tristan would turn into this. But... the facts were right in front of her. Forget the people in the video; right now, even Artoria herself couldn't help but want to reach through the screen and chop that hypocritical Tristan into eight pieces.
Bishop of Schicksal: "Tristan... Although I don't know what happened to him, one thing is certain... this man is completely broken. His faith has collapsed, his emotions are destroyed. Perhaps... sending him back to the Throne of Heroes is the best salvation for him."
Tristan of Sorrow: "...You are right. Although it is very sorrowful, I cannot forgive that version of myself on the light curtain. If given the choice, I would... like to kill that butcher on the screen with my own hands."
Heroic Spirit EMIYA: "Kill yourself with your own hands, huh... Hmph, you really can be ruthless. But if I ever turned into a monstrosity that was neither human nor ghost like that, I would make the exact same choice."
---o---
[On the light curtain, Tristan sensed danger. He turned and plucked a string on his Failnaught. As the crisp sound of the harp rang out, a blade of air formed by magical energy shot forth, colliding with the incoming arrow.]
Instantly, a massive boom echoed as the two ranged attacks representing the Archer class collided and detonated. The violent surge of magical energy whipped up a gale that blew out a large swath of the surrounding flames.
Of course, this extinguishment was only temporary, as the flames would soon spread back to continue incinerating the village.
Then, under these circumstances, the person who had just fired the arrow was also revealed through the light curtain.
Arash. He held his longbow, his face filled with exhaustion and pain, yet he still glared coldly at Tristan.
Clearly, he was injured, and heavily so. But even then, he had still managed to unleash those magical arrows just now.
"Ah, how sorrowful... too sorrowful..."
"Your Spirit Origin is already on the verge of shattering. Even so, even with your body covered in wounds, you still wish to protect these refugees? How truly sorrowful."
Tristan spoke, his cold face displaying nothing but absolute sorrow.
This mythological archer, the very origin of the word "Archer," was unmatched in guerrilla warfare; normally, no one would be able to even scratch him.
Even with double the number of Purified Knights, or a few more Knights of the Round Table, he could have easily escaped using the terrain to his advantage.
Yet, to protect these refugees, he actually...
Tristan sighed, the melancholic aura around him growing even denser.
"It's a pity. Even as an outstanding warrior, you still cannot change this fallen destiny. The King's will cannot be altered."
As Tristan's voice faded, Arash merely panted, his expression unchanged. Instead, he looked at the red-haired knight before him with a gaze of pity.
"The pitiful one... is actually you, Sir Tristan."
"Oh?" Arash's words made Tristan pause, and the aura of sorrow seemed to recede just a fraction.
"As a noble knight, you once held your chivalry in such high regard. Yet now, because of the King's command, you have fallen to this state."
"This feeling must be unbearable, right? No... for the current you, you probably don't have any feelings left to feel."
Arash gritted his teeth and spoke in a deep voice toward Tristan, ignoring his own crumbling body.
No feelings. No emotions. Only a machine that knew how to slaughter. This was completely different from all the other Knights of the Round Table, but this was precisely Tristan's current state.
This was Tristan's blessing. The cruel blessing given to this red-haired knight... "Reversal."
Perhaps it wasn't that the Lion King didn't understand human hearts, but rather that she understood Tristan far too well, which was why she bestowed such a cruel blessing upon him.
This sorrowful knight, this deeply emotional knight who empathized so easily, was turned into the butcher before them precisely because of this blessing.
---o---
Light Curtain Commentary—
Knowing the reason why Tristan had become so cruel, the audience outside the screen couldn't help but fall into silence.
To be honest, this reason was very forced. Even if it was because of the "Reversal" blessing, Tristan's acceptance of this blessing was entirely voluntary.
In other words, this couldn't absolve Tristan of his actions.
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Just because of this, it's okay to slaughter civilians? Regardless of what kind of person he was before, the current Tristan is only good dead."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "A fanatic is a fanatic. No matter what caused him to lose his mind, it doesn't change the fact that he's committing evil."
Emilia: "Sigh... right now... Mr. Tristan himself must be very sorrowful too. I hope he can be freed from this as soon as possible."
Detective Conan: "With Lancelot and Li Sushang there, it definitely won't be difficult. Let's just see if any accidents happen..."
...
[On the light curtain, despite knowing the reason Tristan had become like this, Arash still would not forgive him. If possible, he wanted to unleash his Noble Phantasm now and send this butcher who turned the mountain people's home into hell straight to the underworld.]
"My Spirit Origin... has almost reached its absolute limit..."
Feeling the changes in his body, Arash's expression was indifferent as he drew back his longbow.
But at that moment, the familiar voice of a brash tomboy rang out beside him.
"Yo! We meet again, bow-player. Well... you don't look so good right now."
This sudden voice also attracted the attention of Ritsuka Fujimaru and his group.
Arash drew his bow to a full moon, his face serious. "Although I'd really like to continue our chat from last time, your actions truly leave one with absolutely no desire to converse!"
Twang!
He released the bowstring, firing not his powerful Noble Phantasm, but another ordinary magical arrow.
Hearing this, the smile faded from Mordred's face. She raised her hand, her power erupting to shatter the magical arrow. "Tch, looks like we can't talk then?"
Arash: "You who have absolutely no sense of honor left, what else is there to talk about? Talking about how to kill us?"
Mordred clicked her tongue: "Tch, hey, hey, don't be like that. I've just been watching from the sidelines the whole time, okay? We're at a disadvantage right now, you have to at least vouch for me on that."
As Mordred spoke, her eyes drifted toward the gloomy-looking Li Sushang and Ritsuka Fujimaru's group nearby.
Although Xuanzang, Da Vinci, and the Hassans had gone ahead to evacuate the civilians and clear out the Purified Knights, even with only Li Sushang left, Mordred's side was still the weaker party.
And right now, Li Sushang, angered by Tristan's earlier massacre, had an extremely dark expression and incredibly unfriendly eyes. She looked ready to drop a Blade Eminence at any moment.
"Mordred, even if it's you, we will never let you off for committing such acts!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others gradually surrounded Tristan and Mordred, moving in time to rescue Arash.
Looking at this knight who had once helped them in the Fourth Singularity, Ritsuka Fujimaru had a stern face. One thing was one thing, and another was another. Because of the mountain people, the Mordred before them was absolutely an enemy to be eliminated without mistake.
"Ah, man, that's why I said I don't know you guys." Mordred was a bit speechless. She never carried over memories from past summons, but she didn't know why Ritsuka's group always acted so familiar with her.
"But, to be fair, I really was just watching from the sidelines just now. If you're going to group me in and eliminate me with Sir Tristan just because I didn't step in to stop him, I'd be very hurt."
Mordred's words made Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash, who were standing to the side, exchange a bewildered glance.
Something was wrong with Mordred's state. Based on her personality, even if she couldn't win a fight, she would never try to buddy up like this. Could it be...
Recalling what Mordred had said in the Fourth Singularity—that she would stand on their side next time—Ritsuka Fujimaru couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Good heavens, if even Mordred defected, the Holy City really wouldn't have anything left.
Aside from the Lion King, there were hardly any threats remaining. If that were the case, wouldn't recovering the Holy Grail be as easy as flipping a hand?
But right at this moment, Tristan's voice, tinged with sorrow and dissatisfaction, suddenly rang out: "Sir Mordred... As the Knight of Treachery, are you thinking of following in the footsteps of the Knight of the Lake?"
Clearly, Tristan had also sensed something amiss with Mordred, which in turn reminded him of her mission.
Agravain had ordered her to eliminate Li Sushang and Chaldea's group, but Mordred completely ignored Agravain's directive to head to the military fortress and instead came here with him.
And now, Lancelot had defected, Li Sushang and Ritsuka Fujimaru weren't dead, and the only two hostages, Sushang and Hassan of Serenity, had been rescued.
No matter how you looked at it, this situation was exceptionally bad. Before Li Sushang and the others arrived, the Holy City had held the absolute advantage, but now...
Thinking of this, Tristan couldn't help but grip his harp tightly. Given the current situation, was he going to fall here too?
One wrong move, and the entire board is lost...
"What does it matter, Sir Tristan? As the Eastern saying goes, 'A wise man submits to circumstances.' Given this situation, do you really want to throw your life away for nothing?"
"Aren't we all here to save this doomed land? What's the point of fighting and killing each other?"
Beautifully said!
Mordred's words were like clearing the clouds to see the sun, bringing sudden enlightenment.
Indeed, whether it was Chaldea, the people of the mountain, or even the Sun King's pyramid and the Holy City, their ultimate goal was to protect humanity and allow Human Order to continue normally.
Since that was the case, why did everyone have to fight to the death? Did a clash of ideals really require a life-and-death struggle?
"This is sophistry. People cannot truly understand one another. Sir Mordred, the greatness of the Lion King is not something they can acknowledge."
Hearing Mordred's words, Tristan couldn't help but shake his head sorrowfully. It seemed... Sir Mordred had truly crossed over to stand against the King, just like the others.
Though... for this Knight of Treachery, such rebellion was actually the norm. If she had managed to follow the Lion King to the very end, that would have been surprising.
"Now... there is only one last resort," Tristan thought to himself, his fingers resting on his harp strings.
"If I detonate my Spirit Origin under the Lion King's blessing, the resulting explosion should level the entire territory of the mountain people."
Tristan thought in his heart. This was the last thing he could do for the King. As for the rest, he could only leave it to Agravain and Gawain.
However... just as Tristan was about to detonate his own Spirit Origin, standing silently by Lancelot's side with a somewhat melancholic expression, Guinaifen suddenly spoke up.
"People... can understand one another."
Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
And so, the eyes of everyone present shifted to focus on Guinaifen.