The Black Mud Wants to Become a God

"It's no use... Your Majesty, I was summoned by this monster, there's no way I can fight back," Marie said regretfully. "Just kill me here, at least that way our home won't be destroyed anymore."

"It's alright, I'll save you," Louis XVI said gently, looking at Marie Antoinette.

"There's nothing we can do, Your Majesty. It's ironic. I wanted to use those people, but I've ended up being used myself," Marie said, filled with regret and indignation.

"I said I would rescue you, and this time I will definitely rescue you!" Louis XVI said firmly, grabbing the black iron nails with both hands, letting the iron hooks cut his palms, and pulling the nails upwards.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing? Let go! Your hand is bleeding!" Marie cried out in alarm.

"It will hurt a lot when you pull it out, Marie, just grit your teeth and bear with it," Louis XVI said to his wife with a gentle smile. His own hand was already a bloody mess, and every time he pulled it out, the hooks felt like blades cutting into it.

"Let go! Idiot! Let go! You're not even Servant, what are you doing here? You didn't approve of me taking revenge on the France in the first place! So I'll just stay here! Let those rebels and monsters kill me along with them!" Marie shouted.

"Because...whether it's selling antiques and jewelry to supplement the family income, throwing you a banquet, or making you clothes, I simply can't bear to refuse your requests. Consider this an apology for leaving you behind before my death," Louis XVI said with a light laugh, looking at his wife.

"Idiot... idiot..." Marie cursed, tears welling in her eyes.

Yes, this was the husband she entrusted her life to, a devout believer, a loyal and loving husband who was faithful to his love for her and never had any contact with other women in his life. It was precisely because of this that she chose to stay by her husband's side during the national crisis.

"Don't worry, Marie, leave everything to me! It'll be over soon!" Louis XVI smiled and pulled hard again, the iron hook slicing open his palm, the deep cut finally piercing into the pink, bloody flesh, like a fishhook hanging from a fish's mouth.

"That's good! That way my hand won't slip!" Louis XVI said with a smile.

He gazed at the palace outside, and at that moment, he made up his mind.

Louis XVI, as the king of France and the last monarch of the Bourbon dynasty who remained in France from birth to death, made his final vow before his death, just as he did in his speech before the guillotine.

"I will die innocent, I forgive my compatriots who sent me to the guillotine, and may my blood appease God's wrath and solidify the happiness of all the people of France!"

Louis XVI shouted loudly and activated his unique Noble Phantasm.

On this land, from the moment he was born until he was captured before his death, the Palace of Versailles, where he had lived, emitted a dazzling golden light. The walls and marble columns that had been destroyed by the Black Mud monster were restored to their original state at this moment.

The Palace of Versailles reveals the most beautiful view Louis XVI saw as a child, sitting on the grass and gazing at the palace, with the sun shining on it and casting a golden glow.

The light shot into the sky, forming a golden Palace of Versailles magnified several times in the air, enveloping the Black Mud monster and all life around it in its radiance.

"That's...?" Shirou and the others were riding in a racing car towards the palace.

"Wow, it looks even more magnificent than Princess Himeji Castle!" Hime no Toki exclaimed, gazing at the sky.

"Those Gil things might be great for a concert backdrop," Elizabeth said, her eyes lighting up.

"In that case, perhaps it can be resolved without me having to rush over." The Magus of Flowers gazed at the sky and gradually disappeared from sight.

This radiance is not a form of damage, but rather a blessing; it bestows upon enemies the wish for their happiness, making it Noble Phantasm embodying the benevolent spirit of a king.

A dying man's words are often the most sincere. Louis XVI's dying speech, in which he blessed France and prayed for the happiness of his people, was arguably the most heartfelt blessing of all kings, dispelling all negativity.

"Whoaaaaaah!!!" The Black Mud monster froze in place.

The radiance of the blessed Noble Phantasm entered the Black Mud monster's body, purifying all negative emotions and sweeping away the Black Mud inside. Items like scissors and saws connected to the tentacles transformed into clean and beautiful toys and pure white teddy bears, tied with long ribbons, dancing in the air like kites.

Even the Black Mud monster itself shrunk to less than 1.5 meters long, with a cute, cartoonish appearance.

Finally, the pure and beautiful girl emerged from the now clear Black Mud water, was held in Emperor Louis's arms, and walked outside.

"Your Majesty ..." Marie looked at the man before her with mixed feelings. The blessing had instantly healed the wound on her abdomen, and even the anger and resentment in her heart had subsided considerably under this light.

She recalled many wonderful things she had experienced in this country and the lovely people she had met. Yes, apart from the swindlers, thugs, and bandits, this country was indeed mostly populated by simple and kind-hearted people.

However, she could not forget the cruel treatment her family had suffered.

"Marie, what I most wanted to see when you came into this world was that you could be happy now." Louis XVI looked at his wife with deep affection and gently placed her on the ground.

"Empress!"

"Marie!"

Chevalier d'Eon and Mozart ran up happily.

Louis XVI's body gradually became transparent.

Yes, King Louis XVI of France accomplished a miracle. He did not arrive here as Servant, yet he did something that even a group of Servant combined could not achieve.

However, all of this will come at the cost of his disappearance; this Noble Phantasm as a final blessing activated upon his death.

The entire Palace of Versailles was also filled with fluorescent lights, gradually returning to its original appearance after most of it had been demolished.

"Emperor, you're leaving now? Then I'll stay by Marie's side and be with her from now on," Mozart asked with a mocking smile.

"Shut up, you musical idiot! Human trash! This is an important moment for me to part with His Your Majesty!" Marie glared at Mozart and said.

"Hmph, stay away from my wife, musician," Louis XVI snorted, then smiled at Marie and said, "I swear, I will definitely come for you, so Marie, please let me see your happy smile."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I look forward to seeing you again," Marie replied with a bright smile.

"What's going on? This double anxiety is surprisingly quite nice," Mozart muttered to himself.

"As expected, I'll let you leave first. Otherwise, go back to Vienna and never come to France again!" Chevalier d'Eon, standing beside him, raised his sword and said coldly.

"Waaaaaah!!!" The shrunken Black Mud monster let out a strange scream!

As Louis XVI's Noble Phantasm gradually faded, the Black Mud monster recovered, making gagging sounds and spitting out a black book. Its Black Mud tentacles continued to burrow into the large black hole that had appeared in the center.

Finally, the black book transformed into a little girl in a black dress, who now stared at everyone with hateful eyes.

"Countess! No, it's the black mud Heroic Spirit!" Chevalier d'Eon and Sanson raised their weapons and stood in front of Marie and Emperor Louis.

"Compared to the monsters before, this appearance is quite adorable," Mozart said with a smile.

"Unforgivable, unforgivable! I was almost a 'god', why did you have to interfere! I promised to help you fulfill your wish, why did you have to run away!" The black mud Heroic Spirit screamed like a little girl.

"How dare you say that! My revenge must be carried out by me! You betrayed me!" Black Queen Mary glared at the little girl and roared.

"I'm not reconciled! I'm not reconciled! I was so close to getting closer to that person. If I had become a god, I might have met Shirou Emiya!" The black mud Heroic Spirit shouted angrily, then looked up at the stars in the sky, completely deranged.

"Hey, Shirou? That girl is calling you. So, all she can think of is Black Mud now?" the silver-haired girl said with a grin.

"Black mud Heroic Spirit come in all shapes and sizes, but they are destined to be enemies. They don't value human life, so there's no way to get along with them." Shirou knew that his opponent was black mud Heroic Spirit, and even if she appeared as a little girl, he couldn't hold back. His relationship with the black mud Heroic Spirit was probably that of mortal enemies, one of whom had to be completely eliminated.

"Master, you're so popular, woof! But as long as the cat's around, that's enough for a pet~!" Tamamo Cat said, waving her paws.

"No, judging from how she's talking about someone, it's not me, is it?" Shirou said, frowning.

"Waaah, my fun toy is broken all of a sudden!" Astolfo was still upset about what had happened.

Astolfo's Ferrari suddenly stopped and started smoking when it reached the foot of the palace. So the three people and one cat who walked up were talking when they heard the black mud Heroic Spirit's shouts.

When the black mud Heroic Spirit saw the boy, its eyes lit up, and it let out a roar, its aura becoming even more terrifying, like a wild beast whose desires had been ignited, once again displaying its savage instincts.

Chapter 191 Black Mud Wants to Become a God

The still somewhat immature boy before her eyes overlapped with the dazzling image in her heart.

"Shirou Emiya --!!! Yes! I can't give up! Marie! Come back! Come back to my body! I'm not finished yet! As long as I absorb you all, I can start over! I can become a god again!" The Holy Grail within the black mud Heroic Spirit activated, and a vast amount of magical power gathered.

"What? A god? You can just be an idol, right? I'm the god of my fans!" Elizabeth, who had just arrived from the air and hadn't yet landed, put her index finger to her lips and said with a puzzled look.

"No, Princess, I think she's talking about two different things. Well... although gods really aren't anything special." Hime no Toki said, holding Elizabeth from behind.

The two of them flew over, suspended by origami bats on strings.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I'll leave you all here! I'll make you experience the most miserable dream!!" A black crack appeared behind the black mud Heroic Spirit, and a Black Mud tentacle lashed out at the dragon girl in the air.

"Whoa!!!" Elizabeth frantically waved her hands in mid-air.

"Wait! Your tail's up! Don't move!" Hime no Toki shouted from behind, holding Elizabeth. She let go, and the two of them fell down together. Elizabeth landed on the ground, while Hime no Toki lay on Elizabeth's back.

Fortunately, they escaped the attack.

Boom!!! The rampaging Black Mud monster unleashed its Black Mud tentacles and magic cannons, leaving everything around it, including the palace, in ruins.

"Damn it! I was summoned by her and am restricted from harming her, but you are different! Chevalier d'Eon, Sanson! Help me kill her, behead her!" Black Queen Mary said angrily.

"Yes! Anyone who harms the Queen is my mortal enemy!" Chevalier d'Eon charged forward, sword in hand.

"Hmph! If it were Servant's size, I'd be an expert at beheading them!" Sanson attacked from the other side, sword in hand.

"Amadeus, quick! Play that piece again, stop her!" Black Queen Mary commanded.

"That's asking too much, Marie. If I were to use that ability continuously, my Spirit Origin couldn't handle it; it would just disappear."

"You're supposed to be an actor who came into my world, and now you want to rebel against your gods?!" The black mud Heroic Spirit raised a black book and unleashed a massive black magic cannon, a single strike possessing the power of a great Magecraft spell.

Chevalier d'Eon and Sanson quickly dodged, and the black magic cannon swallowed the stone floor, blasting out a black ditch half a meter deep.

"Marie, come here! Come back into my belly!" the black mud Heroic Spirit commanded.

"Damn it!" Black Queen Mary struggled to stay upright, not taking a single step, but her body, which had been resisting, trembled uncontrollably, and she looked extremely distressed.

"If my Noble Phantasm can still be maintained, it can not only break her control over Marie, but also give you a boost. But it seems I'm about to disappear from you." Louis XVI looked at his hand, which had become transparent and disappeared. Now he couldn't even hold Marie anymore.

Louis XVI gazed at his compatriots fighting ahead and said with a sigh, "I really wish I could personally protect France to the very last moment!"

"Uncle Emperor! In that case, you shall stay! Continue to protect this place!" Shirou's hand gleamed with light as he placed it on Louis XVI's shoulder. His Magic Eye activated, connecting him to the Throne of Heroes, where Louis XVI resided, through their souls.

Before Louis XVI disappeared, he pulled the Servant this way! He merged with it, then transformed into a beam of white light, connecting with the boy whose hand was resting on Louis XVI's shoulder.

Enveloped in white light, the summoning is complete!

Rider class, Louis XVI, present world!

At this moment, Shirou appeared, dressed in a royal robe adorned with golden lilies and a gold-red crown inlaid with jewels and pearls, and charged directly to the front lines of the battle.

"Your Majesty?! Shirou!" Chevalier d'Eon exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the figure rushing towards him.

"My Your Majesty has merged with that boy?" Black Queen Mary seemed to be shocked, her mouth agape, unable to close it.

The Bourbon dynasty originated in the Bourbon region of central France and can be traced back to the early 13th century. This family ruled several countries intermittently, including France, Navarre, Italy, and Sicily. Even today, this family continues to rule as the royal family of Spain.

As one of the kings of this family, Louis XVI did not lose his dignity and prestige as a monarch even on his deathbed. At this moment, at the peak of his life, he was summoned to display the royal power that belonged to him and to the entire dynasty.

Unleashing Noble Phantasm with this palace as its Inherent Domain— [The radiance beloved by all will live on forever]!!!

This area has transformed into a domain of White Lily lilies and irises.

The golden Palace of Versailles, built from the time of Louis XIV to the early 17th century, served as the France royal court for over a century.

At this moment, it rose again under the golden light, its radiance like that of the sun, giving the comrades and allies here the greatest possible enhancement.

At the same time, the black mud Heroic Spirit were also restrained.

"Let's go, everyone!" Shirou raised his hand and shouted, waving his arm.

All the Servant activated their Noble Phantasm simultaneously.

"End it! You villains who dragged France into this! [Death is hope for tomorrow (La Mole Espoir)!]"

As the guillotine descended, the blade was about to cleave the head of the black mud Heroic Spirit when a massive Black Mud tentacle extended from behind, grabbed the black mud Heroic Spirit, and threw it away. Meanwhile, the tentacles that had emerged from the gaps in the black mud Heroic Spirit were completely severed by the blade, instantly killing it.

"I will protect the capital of the White Lily! [Fleur-de-Lys, the Dance of Scattered Lilies!]"

Unlike the deceptive Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, this is the first move of Chevalier d'Eon's exquisite Lily Sword Dance, a deadly continuous sword technique that combines mental and physical attacks.

Black Mud surged from the black mud Heroic Spirit's body, transforming into long whips of black scissors, saws, and knives, which lashed out at Chevalier d'Eon's face.

The sword dance unleashed several dazzling streaks of light, catching all the attacks and severing all of the Black Mud's tentacles.

"Get out of the France people's dreams! Even if they are the descendants of our enemies, all they need in their nightmares is me! -- [May glory reside in the crown of lilies (GUILLOTINE-BREAKER!!!)]" The Black Queen Mary activated her Noble Phantasm, launching a final attack on the black mud Heroic Spirit.

"Whoaaaaah!! It's not over yet!" The black mud Heroic Spirit picked up the book and fired a magic cannon in return, but due to the haste, it was blasted into the air by the explosion.

Shirou's eyes gleamed with amber light as he slashed at the black mud Heroic Spirit, who had nowhere to dodge in mid-air, with his twin swords of black and white.

"Waaaaah!!!" The black mud Heroic Spirit let out a mournful cry before finally being knocked to the ground.

The moment she was struck by the boy, she fell into a daze.

As far as she knew, Shirou Emiya was a mere guardian who, existing outside the timeline, constantly traveled between the past and the future, serving as a cleaner to eradicate humanity's mistakes.

Saving one group of people, then killing those saved for the sake of an even larger group, repeating this endlessly, without ever ending—that's what a guardian should be like.

As their natural enemy, she loathed them because of her Black Mud, yet she also felt sympathy for these guardians because of their similar stance.

But... Shirou Emiya is different. As a red-clad champion of justice, he repeatedly does the things he hates most, and perhaps there have been times when he was so desperate that he wanted to give up. But for some reason, he persevered.

Yes, he finally found an opportunity, broke through the limitations of the Counter Force, and usurped the authority. Yes, Shirou Emiya ascended from Servant to a god, and was no longer affected by any external force.

When she was assigned to the unconscious book as Black Mud, the Black Mud automatically developed consciousness and became who she is now.

Originally existing as a manifestation of evil, the Black Mud, after gaining consciousness, witnessed an incredible miracle when it felt disgusted with its destined life as mud.

So handsome, so incredibly handsome! Although she didn't understand what "handsome" meant at the time, her heart was pounding, and she felt she had never seen such a dazzling presence before.

Is it possible for humans to create such a wondrous species? Are dreams truly full of infinite possibilities?