"It seems my perception was indeed correct, you truly are no ordinary person."
Cú Chulainn put away his smiling expression and looked at Caelus in front of him seriously, asking, "Then I will be blunt. Which side are you on? Foreigner, why are you using your own puppet to pretend to be Lancelot and fight us?"
"Although that Lancelot's body, as well as his mind and soul, were constructed by me, his emotions come from the real Lancelot. The decisions he makes now, and the judgments and principles he acts upon, are all choices that the real Lancelot would make. I have not exerted control over him, so in a sense, he is Lancelot."
"Moreover, I can be considered a person of Chaldea. If I really wanted to target Chaldea, your battle right now would not be this easy. You can ask King Arthur about this, what would happen if I were to intervene in the battle."
Cú Chulainn turned his gaze to King Arthur, who had been standing there like a statue without moving at all.
And this black-clad King did not look as overbearing or disdainful as expected, but instead said calmly.
"If Assassin were to join the battle, that red-haired little girl and that white-haired little girl would have died at the very beginning of the battle."
"Assassin?"
"I participated in a Holy Grail War before, and King Arthur was one of my enemies. In that war, I assassinated her Master, causing him to withdraw from that war."
"Tsk! The Throne of Heroes really has all kinds of monsters and freaks. What exactly is the Counter Force thinking? How could something of your monster-level caliber even ascend to the Throne of Heroes?"
"I kindly answered your question, so can you answer mine? Why, as a Norse God King, do you want to wear the skin of a Celtic hero who has absolutely no connection to you?"
"Because in this Holy Grail War, the only one I can be associated with is Cú Chulainn. Otherwise, why do you think this guy is a Caster? It is entirely because of me."
"I see. It was Rune magecraft that created a connection between you. But as a God King, why are you participating in this? I came because of the story, what are you here for?"
"As for that, heh! I'm not telling you."
"Cú Chulainn" revealed that somewhat wild smile again, looking extremely punchable. He said, "Right now, you are only facing Cú Chulainn. So, are you going to fight me, or obediently use a Command Spell to restrict Lancelot?"
Caelus looked over at Mash, whose stamina was already failing and who would be defeated by Lancelot if the struggle continued, and at Sasaki Kojiro, who had been responsible for attacking and had no defense, and was therefore also struggling with stamina.
The scales of battle had already tipped. Relying on a constitution that had no fatal weaknesses and could fight forever as long as he provided the void power, Lancelot could easily keep them occupied for an entire day.
Unless this Odin, who was disguised as Cú Chulainn, could use his true power.
Caelus shifted his gaze and asked King Arthur if she was willing to stop.
King Arthur nodded, she acknowledged this Lancelot, even if he was merely a puppet possessing Lancelot's emotions.
"Lancelot, let us end it here. The protagonists of this stage are not you and me. Go face your king, fulfill the obsession in your heart, and atone for your sins."
Hearing Caelus's voice, Lancelot stopped his attack, stepped back quickly, and disengaged from the battle.
When Lancelot stopped attacking, Mash collapsed to the ground as if she had lost all her strength, her breathing rhythm becoming extremely chaotic.
On the side, Sasaki Kojiro also let out a long sigh of relief. He looked at his sword, which had developed dull edges and cracks from the continuous hacking and slashing.
Lancelot looked at Mash, who was collapsed on the ground and drenched in sweat. His eyes held the affection of a father for a child, and he spoke in as gentle a tone as possible, completely devoid of the berserk and reckless demeanor he had shown during the battle.
"Child, you've worked hard. Since the Heroic Spirit residing within you has not told you his true name, I will not presume to reveal it. If you are willing to listen to the advice of a failure like me, then remember what I say. If you are not willing, then do not listen, just recover your strength properly and prepare for the final battle."
"The shield in your hand is not just for defense and protection, it can also be used as an offensive weapon. In battle, you must learn to find the gaps in the opponent's fighting style in order to counterattack. Blindly defending will not bring about any change, only by finding opportunities within your defense to counterattack can you break the deadlock."
"I can feel the doubt in your heart. You likely still have many things you do not understand or comprehend. I do not have a concrete solution for this, because I am an incompetent fellow myself. If your future journey continues, you will meet heroes from various eras, learn what you want to learn from those heroes."
"Those precious virtues are the reason they are called heroes."
After saying this, Lancelot turned around without any hesitation and walked toward King Arthur.
Mash felt that her emotions were particularly complex. She opened her mouth, wanting to call out to the receding figure, wanting to say something, but she felt that all words were stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.
Lancelot arrived before King Arthur, knelt on one knee, and lowered his head.
"My King, has your knight satisfied you in this final battle?"
"Sir Lancelot, I have indeed felt your loyalty to me. Although you are merely a fake puppet, the emotions taken from the real Lancelot are without any falsehood."
As she said this, King Arthur pulled out the longsword that had been stuck in the ground. This originally bright and brilliant Holy Sword of the Stars was now covered in dark crimson patterns.
"Let your sins and your pain end at this moment."
"Rest in peace, my knight."
The longsword struck down cleanly and decisively. Lancelot's head fell straight to the ground. There was no pain or ferocity on his face, nor a shred of regret, there was only the peace of having fulfilled his obsession.
The body kneeling on the ground swayed and fell, then, along with the head, turned into grayish-black dust and dissipated into this world.
Caelus closed his eyes, sensing the existence named Lancelot within his body. After the obsession in his heart was released, and after the power of memory was infused into that existence, this power of existence gained change and enhancement.
From now on, this existence completely became a part of Caelus. Even if Caelus wished, he could follow the causality of this existence to track down the main body of Lancelot located in the Throne of Heroes, devour the opponent's existence, and make every Lancelot in all records and in others' memories become himself.
The dark king, holding the pitch-black Holy Sword in one hand, walked slowly toward the group from Chaldea.
"Chaldea, you who claim to be saving human order and saving the world, I have no intention of distinguishing the rights and wrongs between us. But regardless, if you want to accomplish your goal, you must first defeat me."
Having said this, a pitch-black magical storm swept through the entire great cavern, and the terrifying pressure it brought almost caused Olga Marie and Fujimaru, the two ordinary people, to fall to the ground.
At this moment, what Chaldea was about to face was the guardian of human order.
(To be continued.)