"Despicable..."
Relying on her powerful will, Hephaestion struggled to break free from the Command Spell's restraints. Her face twisted from the effort, and in the end, she managed to force out those two words.
Facing the hatred in Hephaestion's eyes, Higashino Kanade believed she wanted nothing more than to cut him into a thousand pieces. Yet he did not mock her helpless rage. He merely said calmly, "This is war, Hephaestion."
Hephaestion froze. The flames of hatred in her eyes dimmed considerably. Having followed the King of Conquerors through years of campaigns, she understood better than anyone how cruel and merciless war could be.
What justice could there possibly be in war?
This boy... did nothing wrong. Hephaestion gazed at Higashino Kanade with conflicted emotions. She understood why he had resorted to such despicable means. Because this was war.
"I... lost."
Hephaestion forced out the words, her eyes filled with resigned despair. Having understood Higashino Kanade's feelings, she only wanted to leave the stage as quickly as possible. She had no desire to cling to life.
Higashino Kanade said nothing. He simply placed his hand on her arm.
A Servant from the Boundary Record Belt contains the world's fundamental information and possesses the highest level of recovery value. Recover?
Recover it. Higashino Kanade murmured inwardly.
The next moment, Hephaestion vanished into thin air as though she had never existed at all. At the same time, the system's notifications began ringing without pause.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission "Recover a Servant." Reward: one Gold Treasure Chest. Open the reward?
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the main quest "World Information Gathering." The current reward has been upgraded to the highest-tier Diamond Treasure Chest. Open the reward?
Ding! The conditions for a system update have been met. Update the system immediately?