A Person in Type-Moon, Possessing a Hero Simulator Chapter 5

Before long, a figure approached from afar. In the breeze, that small tuft of golden ahoge swayed with the wind.

The two siblings really did look alike.

Something seemed to occur to Fujimaru Kyoya, but for some reason, he ultimately still came to that conclusion.

"Were you waiting for me, Lloyd?"

"You spared me once, so I thought I should give you a chance. Artorius, are you really going to bring about the end of the Divine Era?"

Fujimaru Kyoya rose to his feet and looked at the person he considered his Arch-Nemesis. Did he not know what Britain would become after the Divine Era declined?

"This is the inevitable course of history."

"Artorius" sighed. He had not expected Vortigern to reveal even such a secret. And after learning that secret, this person had still joined Vortigern's camp. Someone like that could no longer be swayed by words.

Since words were useless, then they would use swords.

A knight was someone who spoke with a sword. If words could not persuade, then the sword would.

Golden and azure sword lights met in midair. One was broad and forceful, while the other flowed without end. The golden light belonging to a king was actually being suppressed by a traitor.

He had grown stronger. He had become even stronger.

"Artorius" could feel the crushing pressure through their blades. At first, this had merely been an enemy he could easily defeat, yet now he was being forced back step by step.

The convictions within their swords were conveyed to each other's hearts through the clash. Without speaking, the other's words echoed in their minds, but...

"Who the hell understands what you're saying?"

The momentum of the Flowing Water Sword had fully formed. Fujimaru Kyoya's sword came in endlessly, already beginning to suppress his opponent. Over these past days, he had gained quite a few talents under Vortigern, and with the improvement in his basic attributes, he was now able to suppress this Arch-Nemesis.

"Do you know? Once the Divine Era declines, our families and friends will all die. King Arthur, you were born to protect Britain, but in the end, what exactly did you protect?"

Fujimaru Kyoya could not understand why the person before him had chosen this path. He was absolutely not some obedient puppet; he clearly possessed a will of his own.

"But have you considered what will happen if the Divine Era continues?"

How could "Artorius" not understand what Britain would become after the Divine Era declined? It was simply that Merlin had told him what would happen to this world if the Divine Era continued.

"The gods will return to the earth and rule humanity once more. The damage the source suffered long ago can only be eased through the decline of the Divine Era. If the Divine Era returns, it will only hasten the world's destruction."

"And how many years will it take for the world to be destroyed?"

"This..."

"Artorius" did not know. Although the source had been damaged and was irreversibly heading toward destruction, no one knew how long that would take. Even Merlin could not say for certain.

"A thousand years? Ten thousand years? Or tens of millions of years? It doesn't matter. By then, we'll already be long dead. Leave what comes after to those who come after us."

Fujimaru Kyoya was clearly the sort of person who did not care if the floods reached the heavens. He did not know the people of later generations, so if he had to choose between a group of strangers and those he knew, then sorry... Fujimaru Kyoya had never been any kind of hero.

"Why are you so...?"

"This is what normal should be. Not everyone possesses noble sentiments, and not everyone has the will to sacrifice themselves. Artorius, you are the perfect king, but... you are not human."

Not human.

That was Fujimaru Kyoya's evaluation of King Arthur. He had always felt that there was something strange about Artorius, and now he finally understood the source of that strangeness.

It was the same kind of problem Emiya Shirou had. This guy did not value himself, either.

Putting others first was indeed a fine quality, but treating it as a matter of course to the point of harming oneself was already pathological.

That was not a quality humans should possess.

"I... am not human?"

That brief hesitation slowed "Artorius's" sword, and that instant of slowness meant that his strength and will had weakened like never before.

Fujimaru Kyoya would not let such an opening pass.

The sword momentum accumulated by the Flowing Water Sword erupted in that instant. Azure light slashed toward "Artorius's" shoulder. Though he had defended in time, could a sword with wavering resolve stop it?

It could not.

Clang~

Unlike the dull impacts from before, this strike was crisp and clean, as though it had cut through something.

"It broke?"

"Artorius" stared at the half of the broken sword in his hand in disbelief. Though it was merely a symbol of his status as King of Britain, breaking it was far from easy.

"Your resolve wavered, so naturally your sword was no longer firm. This time, I won."

Fujimaru Kyoya placed his sword against the other's shoulder, but he did not cut off the head of the person before him. Instead, he slowly withdrew his sword.

This was repayment for the favor of protecting his parents, so this time, he would not kill him.

"As for that other question of yours, even if the gods return to this world, it makes no difference to me."

"Why?"

"Artorius" did not understand.

He did not understand why he had lost, why the Sword in the Stone had broken, or why the person before him was indifferent to everything.

"Because people are like that by nature. They long for a powerful being to arrange the fate of everything for them. That being can be a king or a god; so long as it lets them live and work in peace, most of them are willing to offer up their own destinies."

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at "Artorius," the life Merlin had created.

"Aren't you the same? As powerful as you are, as noble as you are, as kind as you are—aren't you, in essence, a god?"

That was right. In Fujimaru Kyoya's eyes, the person before him was in fact evolving toward godhood.

Unmatched authority and power, coupled with a kind heart and noble character—wasn't the so-called Perfect King, in essence, a god among men?

That was why Fujimaru Kyoya had judged her as "not human."

"Rather than letting you become human first, he had you become a god. Did Merlin see you as a disposable tool?"

Fujimaru Kyoya left. Even though this was the best opportunity to kill King Arthur, he still did not strike.

[You defeated your Arch-Nemesis, Artorius. The status "Arch-Nemesis" has transformed into the talent "Dragon Slayer."]

[Talent "Dragon Slayer" unlocked: Deal special damage to dragon-type enemies. Whether they are Dragon Gods or those with dragon blood, you have a way to defeat them.]

[You severed the Sword in the Stone. The effects of the talent "Blade of Vortigern" have increased.]

"Lloyd, abandoning the greater good for personal selfishness is not the conduct of a knight."

"Artorius" had only one pale, final remark left. But could such words shake Fujimaru Kyoya's convictions?

They could not.

"The knights Artorius speaks of are merely people who exist to protect something. You protect everything in the future; I protect this small corner before me. Who is nobler, and who is baser?"

Fujimaru Kyoya understood that this question had no answer.

"I can't answer that question, nor do I expect you to answer it. But this is all I have."

Fujimaru Kyoya drew the Holy Sword in his hand. It was clear as a mountain stream, carrying nothing more than pure courage.

"If the people of the future hate me, then let them come. If I shrink back, I will have no right to walk my own path."

He left.

Beneath the setting sun, Fujimaru Kyoya's figure gradually faded away, leaving "Artorius" alone to stare at the broken sword before her, not knowing what to do with herself.

"Lily, it's only a broken sword. It's nothing important."

Merlin appeared beside "Artorius." Even if Fujimaru Kyoya had acted just now, there would have been no result.

"The sword breaking is indeed a minor matter. But Merlin... are there still so many people in this world who do not wish for the Divine Era to decline?"

"They are simply selfish."

As a nightmare, Merlin naturally did not understand human thought. As for Fujimaru Kyoya's reasoning, he merely called it "selfishness."

But could a selfish person truly wield such a pure sword?

"Merlin, before I become a king, can I become human?"

"..."

Merlin fell silent.

Asking a nightmare to teach someone else how to be human... was perhaps asking a little too much.

The update will be a little later tonight~

As the title says, it'll probably be around midnight. I most likely won't make the rankings, but at least it'll satisfy my procrastination.

Yay~ a great victory.

Filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler

[You defeated King Arthur and severed the Sword in the Stone, diminishing King Arthur's prestige and greatly boosting Vortigern's momentum.]

[Vortigern is very pleased with your choice. With the Vile King's trust and your military achievements, your status is second only to Vortigern himself.]

[Under your leadership, more than half of Britain's territory has fallen into Vortigern's hands.]

"What an interesting battle report."

Fujimaru Kyoya read the battle reports within the newly captured London City. Even he could not help but laugh at their contents.

"A monster raised by Vortigern has appeared in Edinburgh."

"An unspeakable man-eating Demon King is approaching York."

"A vile and shameless traitor has entered Sheffield."

"Lloyd has occupied Peterborough."

"General Lloyd is nearing Oxford."

"General Lloyd, His Majesty Vortigern's blade, arrived today in his loyal London."

Under Fujimaru Kyoya's leadership, Vortigern's army had fought all the way from Scotland in the north to present-day England, rapidly devouring Wales's territory as well.

Wherever they went, the common people might not have welcomed them wholeheartedly, but they were certainly despised by everyone.

Faced with such a scene of vigorous life and thriving creation, Fujimaru Kyoya was deeply gratified—and then... launched a great purge.

"Since you understand that you're no match for us, tell me everything you know now."

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the prisoner before him.

Occupying a city was no simple matter, especially when the people Vortigern had brought were foreigners. Although London had now fallen into Fujimaru Kyoya's hands, there were still quite a few resistance forces.

"Do not insult a knight's honor. Kill me if you want."

"That's quite the spirit. I hope you'll still be able to say that later."

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the knight before him. He was nothing more than a rough, burly man; there would be none of those delightfully familiar developments that happened when a female knight was captured.

There were ways to deal with women, and ways to deal with men... Heh heh, it was time to show them just how low Fujimaru Kyoya could go.

"Do not underestimate knights. The nobility of a knight is beyond the comprehension of a despicable man like you."

There was a trace of forced bravado in the captured knight's voice. Clearly, he too had heard of Fujimaru Kyoya's infamous scene of taking a share.

If he could be so cruel even to his own parents, how could he possibly show mercy to a stranger?

"Let's see what useful tools I have."

Fujimaru Kyoya ignored that feeble roar. Instead, he took out little items from his bag one by one, each of them making the knight's heart sink further.

"This one is too big. This one doesn't fit the hand. This one is too cliché..."

Branding irons, nails, hammers, whips... Every tool Fujimaru Kyoya picked up chilled the knight to the bone. Only after Fujimaru Kyoya put them down did he finally let out a long breath. Then, at the moment when the knight was most relaxed, Fujimaru Kyoya finally brought out his trump card.

"Ha ha, found it."

Fujimaru Kyoya had been listening to the knight's breathing all along. At last, when he was at his most off guard, he pulled out a huge pair of pliers.