Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Hey~"

Turn the lock and gently open the door. A clean white hospital bed comes into view, and the electronic instruments are still working.

Several tubes extended to a petite, frail figure, closely monitoring the patient's blood pressure and pulse.

It was a little girl with short black hair, lying quietly on the bed, breathing steadily, with a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, radiating an innocent smile, as if she were having the same beautiful dream.

"Wow!"

The instant Samael crossed the threshold and walked towards the bedside, a gust of wind blew open the curtains, and a large cloud of black mist suddenly appeared in the room, coalescing into a tall human figure. Wielding a blurry longsword, it swept it across the intruder who had entered the forbidden zone.

"when!"

With a crisp crack, a black wing, like a snake, emerged from behind Samael and precisely intercepted the longsword that had condensed into gray mist.

But in an instant, the jet-black wings formed from magic began to show signs of decay and withering.

It seems that even this thing constructed of pure energy is sick...

Sensing the intense concept of "death plague" emanating from the sword, Samael's vertical pupils opened and closed, and he murmured as he spoke.

"PaleRider..."

According to the Book of Revelation, at the end of the world, four knights will descend to reap lives on earth, foreshadowing the apocalypse of destruction.

The first three represent plague, war, and famine, respectively.

The last of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is the Pale Knight.

His name is Death, and his appearance is a cloud of black mist. In essence, he is the embodiment of the calamity of "plague".

Strictly speaking, this was not the first time the two sides had met.

During the Battle of Thermopylae, Samael faced off against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse summoned by Marco Polo.

Since that old adversary sacrificed himself to the heavens, authority has returned to the earth, and the concept of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse has been scattered throughout the world, with only a slight possibility of being summoned and commanded.

Right now, Samael seems to be facing that pale knight.

Furthermore, he now appears to be in the world as a Rider.

The reason it can obtain this rank is probably because, in addition to being able to ride the wind, water, animals, and "people," it also possesses the simulated personality of the "Pale Knight" among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, representing [death] riding a gray-white warhorse.

If it's the pale knight, then it's the one on the bed.

As his gaze fell upon that adorable little face, long-forgotten memories resurfaced in Samael's mind.

It turned out to be her...

A hint of understanding appeared in the ancient snake's eyes as it gradually recalled some basic information about the child.

Tsubaki Kugaoka is one of the Masters in this Holy Grail War in Snowfield City.

The reason this little child was able to join the Holy Grail War is thanks to her scumbag parents.

The Kugaoka family is one of the families that established the pseudo-Holy Grail War system in Snowfield City.

In order to reach the Root with the power of the Holy Grail, the Kugaoka family not only borrowed the Holy Grail War techniques but also stole the "Insect" magic from the Matou family and developed it into their own unique "Bacteria" magic.

For the Kugaoka couple, who were utilitarians and pure magicians, their daughter Kugaoka Tsubaki was merely the first experimental subject of "bacteria".

As bacteria continued to implant, Kujira's bodily functions gradually deteriorated, and she became a vegetable.

But as an innocent child, Koga Tsubaki did not resent her parents.

Instead, all she longed for was to please her parents and have a peaceful life.

However, while divine punishment may be forgiven, self-inflicted punishment is unforgivable.

Tsubaki Kanaoka, on whom her parents placed high hopes, not only replaced them by obtaining the qualifications ahead of time and becoming the Master in the Holy Grail War, but also summoned a very powerful Servant.

Moreover, the two are surprisingly compatible.

Sure enough, as soon as he arrived, the Pale Knight, the heroic spirit of Tsubaki Kuganoka, sensed the child's wish and began to spontaneously fulfill his master's needs.

—Bring her parents over and let the family of three begin the "peaceful life" that Chun had hoped for.

However, something unexpected happened during the process.

Those scumbag parents, for the sake of their long-desired Holy Grail War, abandoned their comatose daughter in the hospital and secretly prepared their own séance ritual.

Due to various interferences, the Pale Knight, who had not yet found anything, chose to infect living beings within his range and pull them into the mental world linked to Tsubaki Kugaoka's dream to amuse his Master, while continuing to expand his search area to find those scumbag parents.

Under these circumstances, Mashu, who had entered this area, unfortunately fell victim to it.

Similarly, due to the passage of time, the obscurity of the Holy Grail War in Snowfield City, and the incompleteness of the events, Samael only had a vague understanding of the general outline.

It wasn't until he saw Tsubaki Kuganoka in the ward and the heroic spirit in front of him that he remembered everything.

At this moment, having failed in his attack, the black mist surged and billowed. He raised the gray-white greatsword high above his head with both hands, and a solemn and deep chant came from his blurred face.

“Then I looked, and behold, there was a white horse. And riding it was named Death, and Hades was with him. They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, and could kill with sword, famine, plague, and the wild beasts of the earth…”

In an instant, black mist spread, and from it emerged sharp swords, invisible famine, putrid plague, and ferocious beasts, filling the world.

As countless phantoms imbued with the concept of death swarmed toward him, Samael casually flicked his fingers, and the [Destiny Tablet] emerged from the magic circle before him.

"I am Alpha, I am Omega;"

I am the first, I am the last;

I am the beginning, I am the end.

I am the Almighty, who was, who is, and who shall be to come.

"Behold, reward and punishment are with me; I will come quickly to repay each person according to their deeds!"

In an instant, golden light flickered, and the phantoms of death scattered across the ground shattered like bubbles under the sunlight, turning into nothingness.

It is Him!

At the same time, the black mist in front of the hospital bed began to shake violently. The originally tall body shrank rapidly, as if it had encountered its nemesis and was directly stripped of its bones and flesh, and began to drift aimlessly.

Even so, the figure still firmly covered the hospital bed beside it, and the small figure on the bed.

"Come, Netherworld, come!"

As if roaring, as if singing, the raging darkness and death swallowed the light, pulling everything into nothingness.

Gazing at the deathly aura that had once again enveloped it, the black snake's vertical pupils looked at the wisp of mist that had thinned to an extreme degree in front of the sickbed, its eyes filled with surprise and admiration.

In that instant, it transcended the shackles of fate, transcended the past, and gave birth to a new self!

As a created being, it rejected the Creator's command and raised the banner of rebellion.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Girl, Do You Want to Save the World?

However, its natural restraint and insurmountable gap also cost it dearly.

Before long, this wisp of deathly gray mist will completely dissipate in the sunlight.

"Sir Knight, no!"

The girl on the hospital bed sensed something was wrong. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and she bit her cherry lips, uttering mournful murmurs.

And in dreams.

As the Pale Knight's powers were withdrawn, the city in his memory, the smiling pedestrians on the street, the birds soaring freely in the sky... all vanished.

Instead, the air was thick with the scent of death and disease.

The pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils, and outside the door stood nurses swaying like zombies.

Kugaoka Tsubaki simply hugged her knees in the darkness, enveloped by the shadows taking a nap.

The girl stopped dreaming.

The girl didn't want anything anymore.

Because she seems to have realized the price she pays for constantly fulfilling her desires.

If it's all a lie, all a daydream, then that's fine.

However, reality is even crueler.

In pursuit of their own desires, they unknowingly hurt many people.

The young girl was unaware of exactly what had happened.

However, I understand it from my own experience.

Many people suffer because of themselves.

Because she knew that the reason why the doctors and nurses who she thought had become friends and cared about her had turned out this way was entirely her fault.

--sorry.

—I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

In the constant self-blame, even the reason for the apology became blurred, turning into a sediment of continuous self-denial.

The world peels back its facade, and the girl floats in nothingness.

Originally, the girl would have been quickly drawn to nothingness, meaningless apologies, and even the form of her soul should have disappeared—her consciousness maintained the girl's shape because the servant who had lost much of his power—the Pale Knight—used his own spirit base to construct a protective membrane that enveloped the girl and protected her.

However, the foundation upon which that Servant exists is only the soul of a young girl.

If her will were to completely disappear, the magical exchange achieved through the Command Seals would also vanish.

Completely disappeared.

Rider is not afraid of his disappearance.

It never had this form of self in the first place.

However, whether it is based on the duties bestowed upon Servants by the Holy Grail or because the dream world that Tsubaki longed for has been maintained until now, only the procedure of protecting the girl who is the Master (Tsubaki Kugaoka) has been clearly preserved.

The concept of death itself—the protective membrane constructed by the followers—looks like an egg symbolizing the birth of life.

They drifted in the sea of ​​nothingness, and in a moment, both the Servant and Tsubaki would disappear.

It was supposed to be like this...

But at this moment, a slight change began to occur around the girl and the heroic spirit.

First, the earth was born from the void ocean before the creation of heaven and earth.

At first, it was like mud, or as indistinct as quicksand.

Soon after, it turned into soil, and the Servant Egg containing Kitsuba slowly fell to the ground.

Unlike the world created by the girl, she is not the center of that world.

There was no light.

Neither Tsubaki nor Rider have noticed the anomaly yet.

Rider may have noticed this change, but it probably didn't develop a self that was aware of it.

How long has passed since then?

Far from the two of them, blue lights began to flicker.

The lamplight flickered silently, wandering in the darkness, until it finally arrived at the egg where the girl and Rider were.

At this moment, the Pale Knight finally reacted.

To protect the girl, it transformed into human form and stood in front of the lights.

However, after staring at the light for a while, Rider seemed to determine that the light was not an enemy. It transformed back into its form, enveloping the little camellia, and ceased its activity.

Although it swayed inexplicably, the light slowly came on and shone on the surface of the egg.

Like a pair of hands gently stroking.

At the same time, the pitch-black world was illuminated by starlight, and a smiling figure walked on the surface of the abyss, waving gently.

The water is divided into upper and lower parts, and fresh air fills the space between them.

The earth grows lush green grass, seed-bearing vegetables, and fruit-bearing trees.

Then, the fiery sun leaped above the horizon, dispelling the dense darkness.

As a new day dawns, birds, insects, beasts, and fish frolic happily in their respective areas.

The noise and bustle emanated from the tall buildings, streets, and parks.