The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

With a "plop," the sound of a sharp object piercing flesh rang out.

Gilgamesh looked at Diarmuid, who was pierced by countless Noble Phantasms, with a hint of regret on his face.

"You are an exceptionally skilled warrior, it's just a pity you met me..."

"Is it a pity?"

Upon hearing Gilgamesh's words, Diarmuid barely managed to lift his still-functioning head, looking at the legendary oldest king before him with a bitter smile.

"You haven't lost your mind?"

Once again, Gilgamesh surprised the man before him.

"The obsession with revenge once blinded me, but the code of chivalry ultimately awakened me from the abyss of madness..."

Diarmuid lowered his head again and muttered to himself.

As expected, even after being betrayed once, he still couldn't bring himself to deliver the vengeful thrust to his Master...

But this is for the best...

Turning his head to look at the ruins beside him, Dirumdo breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps because of the dark aura surrounding him, Kenneth's fiancée, Sora, did not fall in love with him because of the mole on his face, but instead accepted her engagement to Kenneth without hesitation.

"I'll go back and get married after the Holy Grail War is over!"

More than once, Diarmuid, who was secretly guarding Kenneth's side, heard his Master say this in secret.

The thought of his serious-looking Master speaking those words like an innocent young boy brought a smile to Diarmuid's lips.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

With his core destroyed, Diarmuid's body could no longer sustain itself and began to collapse.

As Gilgamesh watched the unknown warrior's serene expression before his death, a smile from the deepest part of his memory flashed through his mind.

For some inexplicable reason, he asked Diarmuid about his last wish before he left.

"No, my wish has already been fulfilled."

This time, he truly fulfilled the code of chivalry until his death, and in doing so, he broke free from his original tragic fate.

Satisfied, Diarmuid smiled and shook his head, then turned into magical powder and disappeared into the night wind.

Chapter 242 The Magic Powerhouse, Sun Wheel Armor

“Berserker........”

After his final struggle with the second Command Spell proved futile, Kenneth stood there blankly, staring at his Servant.

He didn't come to his senses until Diarmuid's connection with him completely disappeared.

Gazing at Gilgamesh, who seemed to be lost in thought not far away, he took a deep breath, summoned the Moon Spirit Essence, and prepared for a final, futile struggle.

However, Gilgamesh merely glanced up at him, uttered the words "You have a good knight," and then vanished from his sight.

Unexpectedly, Gilgamesh spared his Kenneth, who collapsed to the ground the moment Gilgamesh left.

Although they only exchanged a glance, the majesty of the oldest king was deeply imprinted on the depths of his soul!

.............

Nine o'clock at night, in the ruins of downtown Fuyuki City.

Karna and Artoria stood several meters apart, weapons in hand, facing each other.

Not far away, Hachiman Hikigaya, along with Sakura and Kiritsugu Emiya, watched from a distance of about ten meters.

"Get ready, start!"

With a command from Hachiman Hikigaya, who was acting as the temporary referee, the two Heroic Spirits who had been standing quietly collided instantly.

"Wind King's barrier!"

After the first exchange, Artoria deactivated the invisibility effect of her weapon and released the condensed air as a projectile towards Karna.

Karna did not choose to dodge Artoria's attack. He stood still and exposed his body to take Artoria's air blast head-on.

The air bullet accurately hit its target, kicking up a cloud of smoke that enveloped the area.

However, Karna immediately sliced ​​through the smoke and dust with his spear, appearing perfectly unharmed in everyone's sight.

"Such amazing defensive capabilities..."

Seeing that her attack had failed, Artoria's heart sank instantly. Then, with a solemn expression, she continued to swing her sword and charge towards Karna.

"........."

Hachiman Hikigaya watched the two's spectacular duel from a distance in silence.

He had to admit that Karna did look really cool taking Artoria's attack head-on.

However, if possible, Hachiman Hikigaya would prefer that Karna could simply dodge it.

After all, in order to withstand that air blast, one-fifth of his magic power was directly reduced!

Fortunately, aside from his initial attempt to remind Artoria of the high defensive capabilities of his armor, Karna did not actively take any of Artoria's attacks, which relieved Hachiman Hikigaya somewhat.

After all, he really didn't want to go through that experience again, when he almost got sucked dry while trying to eliminate Caster.

Now that she no longer had to worry about affecting ordinary people nearby, Artoria's attacks became much more unrestrained.

Every time she clashed with Karna, the aftershocks would cause the nearby ruins to tremble.

Hachiman Hikigaya watched helplessly as a giant rock standing between the two men first split in two, then was torn into several smaller pieces, and finally pulverized in the aftershocks of a fight.

Unlike Hachiman Hikigaya, who focused on the battle between Servants, Kiritsugu Emiya, standing to the side, had been pondering what he could do since the duel began.

Suddenly, the wounds on his body that were previously unable to heal on their own began to slowly heal.

Upon realizing that his injuries were healing, Kiritsugu Emiya instantly understood that this must have been caused by Diarmuid's departure from the field.

"Two Servants were eliminated in one night?"

Kiritsugu Emiya stared at Hachiman Hikigaya, who was not far away beside him, with a somewhat unpleasant expression.

To be honest, he didn't think Artoria could win this match.

This is not a personal opinion, but a conclusion drawn from an objective perspective.

After all, Avalon, Artoria's healing weapon, hadn't been removed from Irisviel's body due to time constraints, so it's probably unrealistic to think that one can defeat Lancer with just one anti-city Noble Phantasm.

Moreover, he is currently unarmed, and given Hachiman Hikigaya's strength, if he were to suddenly launch an attack, he would likely have no chance of survival.

Should we use a Command Spell?

With his left hand slightly raised, Kiritsugu Emiya hesitated.

If the outcome were decided by a single Noble Phantasm attack, the Command Seals might be able to secure the victory.

But after using one Command Seal to summon Artoria, he only had two Command Seals left.

Even if he defeats Lancer with the minimal cost of consuming one Command Seal, he would still have to face Rider and the unfathomably powerful Archer while Saber is low on mana and has only one Command Seal left...

"Saber, I command you with a Command Spell: Use your Noble Phantasm to defeat Lancer..."

After hesitating for less than a second, Kiritsugu Emiya made up his mind.

As for how to defeat Rider and the even more powerful Archer, that can only be done after he defeats Hachiman Hikigaya!

Artoria, who was fighting Karna, suddenly lifted her body up uncontrollably.

"what?"

Before Artoria could react, the immense magical power required for her Noble Phantasm was instantly gathered, and she slashed down fiercely at Karna.

"!"

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from him, Karna raised his head and frowned deeply.

The impending attack left him no time to figure out why Artoria would suddenly unleash her Noble Phantasm.

With its magic fully unleashed, the golden armor, formed from sunlight, emitted a radiance as bright as the sun itself. It collided instantly with the beam of light released by the golden sword, triggering a massive shockwave.

Hachiman Hikigaya turned around and held Sakura protectively in his arms. Karna had drained all the magic power from his body in that instant, so he could only protect Sakura with his physical body.

On the other side, Kiritsugu Emiya was also suffering from the shockwave generated by the collision of the two beams of light.

He was thrown out by the shockwave and rolled several times in the ruins filled with sharp rocks before finally coming to a stop.

"Ahem, hopefully Saber will win..."

Covered in dust and with his clothes tattered, Kiritsugu Emiya used his left hand to support himself as he staggered to his feet.

However, the situation in the very center of the field left him extremely disappointed.

Even with the Command Seals activated, Excalibur, at its full power, only managed to barely pierce Karna's Sunplate, inflicting only minor injuries...

"That guy..."

Hachiman Hikigaya glared at Kiritsugu Emiya, whose face was filled with disappointment.

If he hadn't suddenly intervened in Karna and Artoria's duel, Karna wouldn't have instantly drained all the magic power from his body in order to protect himself!

Thinking of the soreness that ran through his meridians when his magic was depleted, Hachiman Hikigaya summoned his Demon Slayer Sword.

Next, after Artoria unleashed her Noble Phantasm, she engaged Karna in battle again, while Hachiman Hikigaya walked towards Kiritsugu Emiya.

However, before he could make a move, three more whooshing sounds came from the air.

Chapter 243 The Art-Loving Assassin

Three daggers spun through the night sky, flying toward Hachiman Hikigaya, Kiritsugu Emiya, and Sakura respectively.

"assassin?"

Upon hearing the sound, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately turned around and used his demon-slaying sword to knock away the two flying daggers.

The next second, several dark figures jumped down from above the pit and surrounded him and Sakura.

Without the slightest hesitation, the assassins pulled out all sorts of hidden weapons and rushed towards the two people surrounded in the middle, while on the other side, Kiritsugu Emiya, who used his time multiplier to dodge the sneak attack, was also targeted by the three assassins.

"Beheading?"