The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Sensing someone approaching, Iskandar closed his eyes.

"Rider, I command you by Command Spell: Stand up immediately!"

Suddenly, Weber's voice came to my ears.

Immediately afterwards, Iskandar felt his injuries begin to heal rapidly, and a few seconds later, he staggered to his feet on the sand.

"Kid, are you just going to waste a Command Seal like this?"

Iskandar looked at Weber beside him with a complicated expression.

His defeat was already a fact, and he had accepted it calmly, but unexpectedly, Waver suddenly made his move...

"You said you were going to win!"

For the first time, Weber raised his head and looked directly into Iskandar's eyes without flinching.

"........Hahaha! That's right, I always keep my word!"

After staring at Webber for a few seconds, Iskandar suddenly burst into laughter.

Finally, he suddenly stopped laughing, looked at Weber with a serious expression, and asked:

"Though this question may seem abrupt, Weber Velvet, would you be willing to become my subject?"

"...Of course! I am willing to serve you and be loyal to you..."

Upon hearing Iskandar's question, Weber seemed to have foreseen something; he nodded in response while sobbing.

"Very well! Then fulfilling the wishes of your subjects is also a responsibility of a king!"

Weber's answer made Iskandar grin from ear to ear.

He voluntarily dispelled the inherent barrier, allowing the four of them to return to the bridge.

"No matter what the outcome, I hope you, Waver, will live to witness everything that happened tonight, and tell future generations what a magnificent king you truly are!"

With that, Iskandar charged toward Artoria without looking back.

"The final Command Seal..."

Watching Iskandar's receding figure, Weber raised his right hand while tears streamed down his face.

While running, Iskandar suddenly felt another surge of immense magical power flowing into his body.

He instantly understood what was going on, and without turning around, he just laughed loudly and then approached Artoria at an even faster speed!

A few seconds later, a golden beam of light flashed across the bridge again, and then the bridge fell completely silent...

Chapter 256 The Beginning of the Final Battle

"Well!"

Far away at Ryudong Temple, Irisviel suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed to the ground.

Just a moment ago, she felt something filling up inside her.

Her body began to heat up, and her consciousness gradually became blurred...

“lancer...”

Sakura, who was sitting quietly under the eaves waiting for Hachiman Hikigaya to return safely, immediately noticed Irisviel's unusual behavior and hurriedly called out to Karna into the air.

Upon hearing Sakura's call, Karna, who had been guarding the mountain gate, suddenly appeared in front of the two of them.

Upon seeing Irisviel lying unconscious on the ground, Karna instantly understood what had happened.

He picked Irisviel up by the waist and, following Hachiman Hikigaya's instructions before leaving, placed her to the right of the magic circle that had been drawn in advance in the center of the temple grounds.

On the left side of the magic circle, the Crest Worm, possessed by Zouken Matou's soul, was bound by several golden chains and unable to move.

"After inserting it, do I just need to input magic power?"

Remembering what Hachiman Hikigaya had told him, Karna poured his magical energy into the mercury in front of him.

Instantly, a gentle golden magic gradually permeated the mercury.

As the magic circle slowly activated, a cup-shaped phantom appeared on the surface of the Crest Worms containing Irisviel and Zouken Matou.

The difference is that the phantom above Irisviel's body is more solid, while Zouken Matou's is just a phantom projection from Karna's perspective.

Suddenly, countless black lines flowed out from Irisviel's heart and snaked through the magic circle toward Zouken Matou.

"What is this?!"

Zouken Matou, who had lived for hundreds of years, suddenly had his long-forgotten fear awakened the moment he saw the black lines.

He controlled the Crest Bug, making it twist and struggle violently.

However, how could a mere insect possibly break free from the chains formed by the power of the Inari deity?

In Zouken Matou's despairing gaze, black lines gradually engulfed the entire Crest Worm, eventually forming a jet-black sphere that completely swallowed the cup-like phantom above it...

As the black lines continued to flow from Irisviel's heart, the complexion of Irisviel improved at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After an unknown amount of time, the seemingly endless black lines finally drained from Irisviel's body.

Seeing this, Karna immediately brought out the Irisviel version and placed it on the rooftop corridor that Sakura had previously built to rest.

Finally, he turned back to gaze at the only living thing in the magic circle at that moment—Zoken Matou.

No, at this moment, Zouken Matou can no longer be described as a living being.

Karna frowned as he stared at the dark, spherical object before him, a sight that defied description.

"Is this the Holy Grail? Why does it exude such an ominous aura?"

Just looking at the spherical object stirred in Karna an urge to destroy it.

However, due to his status as a Servant, Karna ultimately decided to let Hachiman Hikigaya decide the necessity of the thing in front of him.

After confirming that the magic array was operating smoothly, Karna returned to the mountain gate to guard it.

About twenty minutes later, seemingly drawn by the magical energy emanating from the formation of the Holy Grail, a golden aircraft was rapidly approaching Ryudouji Temple in the distance...

"I didn't expect Rider to have already been killed by Saber."

Gilgamesh sat on his throne, listening to Kirei Kotomine's report, a hint of regret on his face.

After all, Iskandar was one of the few individuals in this Holy Grail War who piqued my interest in taking action, but I never expected him to be eliminated so quickly...

"Compared to the Rider situation, the current situation is very bad for us."

Kirei Kotomine stood to Gilgamesh's right. As an agent of the Church, he easily noticed Karna, who was guarding the entrance to Ryudou Temple.

"They've left Lancer behind to guard the outpost? That's troublesome..."

Without a doubt, after dealing with Rider, Hachiman Hikigaya is heading back with Saber.

At this moment, the ritual to summon the Holy Grail has begun again at Ryudong Temple.

If Gilgamesh and his team cannot break through Karna's defenses before Hachiman Hikigaya and Saber return to reinforce them, they will lose this battle!

"Kiri, relax a little."

Compared to the somewhat worried Kirei Kotomine, Gilgamesh seemed oblivious to the trouble he was facing, taking out a bottle of specially brewed red wine from his treasure and tasting it.

"With the Command Seals we seized from Tokiomi and your father, even if Lancer is very strong, he can't stop our attack at all."

"That makes sense..."

Upon hearing Gilgamesh mention Tokiomi Tohsaka and his father, Kirei Kotomine, Kirei rolled up the sleeve of his right hand, looked at the densely packed curse marks on it, and couldn't help but smile.

Because they were trusted acquaintances/close relatives, the two people were completely unprepared for Kirei Kotomine's sneak attack from behind.

Thinking of the complex emotions—astonishment, shock, confusion, and bewilderment—on the faces of the two people before their deaths, Kirei Kotomine raised his hands and covered his own face.

"This is really bad... Just recalling that scene makes my heart pound with glee. This is not good for the upcoming battle..."

"No, Kirei. Isn't it precisely because you've witnessed those things that are so wonderful for you that your fighting spirit is even higher?"

Vimana had already reached the skies above Ryudong Temple.

An invisible force was resisting Vimana, preventing it from continuing to fly up the mountain.

Having immediately discerned that Ryudoji Temple could only be attacked from the main gate, Gilgamesh rose from his throne and looked down at Karna, who was guarding the mountain gate.

Noticing Gilgamesh's gaze, Karna also raised his head and met his eyes without the slightest fear.

"interesting....."

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Gilgamesh was the first to look away.

He turned to look at Kirei Kotomine behind him and casually said:

"I'll be held up by that guy for a while, so the Holy Grail is yours."

Having said that, Gilgamesh leaped from Vimana onto the steps in front of Karna.

"Enough with the nonsense. Since you are a god, let the war of the gods continue!"

Gilgamesh stretched his body casually, feeling somewhat frustrated that he hadn't managed to defeat Rider, and didn't give Karna time to reply before opening the Gate of Babylon.

In an instant, four top-tier Noble Phantasms were hurled from the golden wall behind him, crashing fiercely into Karna!

Faced with the attack flying towards him, Karna merely glanced up, his calm face showing no emotion whatsoever.

He casually raised the spear in his right hand and swung it twice. The four Noble Phantasms were sent flying and returned to Gilgamesh's treasury.

"Oh?"

When Gilgamesh first directly experienced Karna's strength, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

Judging from how easily Karna deflected the Noble Phantasm just now, it's clear that the opponent didn't use their full strength.

"Interesting... In that case, how about this?"

The wall of light expanded further, and a full sixteen of the most powerful and diverse magical artifacts slowly emerged from it.

"........."

Looking at the Noble Phantasm within the light wall behind Gilgamesh, Karna frowned slightly and began to mobilize the magical power within his body.

At the same time, Hachiman Hikigaya, who felt his magical energy being drained from his body, instantly learned of the attack on Ryudouji Temple.

"Saber, you go ahead first."