"Guh..."
Kenshinnes's face turned pale, then green.
Just moments ago, the Lancer team had held a post-battle meeting to assign blame.
While Kenshinnes was doing everything he could to mock and ridicule Lancer--
His fiancée, Sola, suddenly barged into the room. She defended Lancer while criticizing Kenshinnes.
--"That's enough, Kenshinnes."
--"Lancer did everything he could last night. Your criticism is completely unreasonable.
His opponent was the famous Holy Sword Wielder. There's nothing shameful about losing to her.
The fact that Lancer managed to discover her true name alone was already an outstanding performance."
--"Lancer did everything he could. You, on the other hand... Kenshinnes, think about what you did last night."
Sola criticized her own fiancé from on high, mercilessly, like a Queen addressing a subject.
--"Why did you leave Saber's Master alone last night?
That woman from the Einzbern Family was standing there completely defenseless.
While Lancer was holding Saber back, you had every opportunity to attack her, didn't you?
But what were you doing then? You just hid in the shadows from beginning to end.
You were exactly as Rider said—a coward so utterly disgraceful..."
"Shut up!!!!!"
The failure of the previous night, combined with his fiancée's humiliation, pushed Kenshinnes's patience past its limit.
The Birth of the Demon
Sola Naizare Sophia-li.
She was the daughter of the prestigious Sophia-li Family, which governed the Spirit Evocation Department, one of the Clock Tower's twelve disciplines. Her father, Lou-Fei-Le-Wu-Si, was Kenshinnes's mentor.
But that was absolutely no reason for Kenshinnes to tolerate her insolence.
There was only one reason the Lord of the Clock Tower remained silent, his face flushed red, despite Sola humiliating him to the fullest extent:
He loved his fiancée far too much.
From the very first moment Kenshinnes laid eyes on her, this prodigy of the Clock Tower had already become Sola's captive.
From that moment onward, their relationship was no longer equal.
Under normal circumstances, Kenshinnes would probably have endured it to the very end.
But yesterday, the Heaven's Favored Son of the Clock Tower had suffered the first failure of his life, and his pride had taken a severe blow.
In such a situation, Sola not only failed to comfort him, but instead attributed every reason for Lancer's defeat by Saber to him--
Even Kenshinnes, who had always obeyed Sola without question, finally exploded.
"Shut up!!!!!"
Sola first turned deathly pale with fright, then her expression twisted viciously.
"Kenshinnes, how dare you speak to me like that? Who do you think has been advising you all this time?
Hah, after losing on the battlefield, you come home and take your anger out on a woman?
So this is your true face at last! You hypocrite!"
Sola roared and lunged at Kenshinnes.
But Kenshinnes merely raised one finger, sending her into a baby-like sleep.
Afterward, Kenshinnes ordered Lancer to carry his fiancée to an empty room and keep her confined there until the Holy Grail War ended.
Once his fiancée had been settled, Kenshinnes took Lancer to another room.
As he walked there, both his legs felt weak and weightless.
I'm... I'm screwed...!!
Although it had only been a moment of blind rage, he had actually shouted at Sola and even confined her.
With Sola's fierce and headstrong personality, she would definitely keep her word after returning home and break up with me... Guh!
Kenshinnes's shoulders began to tremble.
There was no turning back now.
No matter what, he had to obtain the Holy Grail and make Sola see him in a new light.
No, that alone wouldn't be enough.
I'll make her understand just how outstanding a magus her husband is!
I'll make sure she never again rudely interrupts me while I'm speaking!
I'll use this opportunity to establish, once and for all, who stands above whom between us!
Since arriving in Japan, Kenshinnes Archibald had, for the first time, burned with stirring determination.
Even if it meant staking the family's honor--he absolutely had to win this Holy Grail War.
With that thought in mind, he pushed open the door to the room.
"..."
Shirou stared intently at Kenshinnes and Lancer as they entered the room, while concealing his presence as much as possible.
"My lord... what is this?"
When Lancer saw the Triple Magic Furnace displayed in the room, his face filled with astonishment.
Even if time were turned back to the Age of Gods and the land of the Celts, something like this probably existed only in the most distant realm of fantasy.
"This is the Archibald Family's treasured heirloom, passed down through the generations--the former Supreme Spiritron Dress of the El-Melloi School, the Triple Magic Furnace.
Several centuries ago, my ancestor modified the highest-grade phantasmal material excavated from the Spirit Tomb Albion. This is the finished product."
"Spirit Tomb Albion."
Shirou silently memorized the name of the place, planning to ask Mage A-li about it after returning.
Kenshinnes continued explaining, "It continuously extracts enough magical energy to transform an entire building into an alternate dimension for several weeks. Through the interaction of the three complete components, it ultimately takes the perfect form of an inexhaustible magic furnace."
Its output alone is enough to overwhelm everything. Precisely because it comes from the El-Melloi School, which extols omnipotence, it reflects the ultimate principle that 'simple is best'--"
At this point, the man suddenly revealed an unmistakable look of distaste.
"--But it lacks beauty."
"What?"
Lancer asked in surprise. Kenshinnes looked toward the Mana Core, his gloomy face filled with contempt.
"Something that possesses only magical power lacks beauty. Thus, I rejected its reason for existence and created its replacement--
This is the Volumen hydrargyrum, the origin of the Supreme Spiritron Dress of the El-Melloi School."
There was no doubt that this had turned into Kenshinnes boasting about himself halfway through.
Nevertheless, anyone who heard this story would be awed by the genius of Lord El-Melloi.
As a magus born in the modern era, where mystery was fading away, Kenshinnes had casually created a Magic Crest comparable to the fantasies of the Age of Gods simply to satisfy his personal aesthetic preferences.
This man's intellect may already have surpassed the mediocre age to which he belonged.
"Lancer."
Kenshinnes spoke with a mocking expression.
"Regarding last night's battle, do you have anything else to say in your defense?"
"I have nothing to say. I was utterly defeated by Saber."
Lancer lowered his head respectfully as he replied.
"I swear on my honor as a knight that I fought with all my strength in last night's battle. Even so--the tip of my spear could not touch Saber in the slightest.
The King of Knights of Britain was a foe stronger than the legends, and one worthy of admiration.
I feel utterly ashamed from the bottom of my heart--
But not because I failed to defeat the King of Knights. Rather, I am deeply ashamed that I lacked the ability to obtain the Holy Grail for my lord."
"...Hmph!"
Kenshinnes gave a disdainful snort. Diarmuid did not show the slightest trace of resentment or unwillingness to accept the outcome, and that was what enraged him most.
Kenshinnes naturally understood how supreme King Arthur's parameters as a Heroic Spirit were.
If it had been Iskandar, whom he had obtained previously, that would have been another matter. Diarmuid could never have contended with that King of Knights.
"Because you are an ordinary and incompetent Servant, I will provide you with my full support from now on.
If you have even the slightest pride as a hero, then do your best to make up for your failure last night."
Lancer dropped to one knee and spoke solemnly.
"Yes, my lord."
In the past, when Kenshinnes had asked him what wish he had, he had replied:
"I don't need any Holy Grail."
Lancer needed no reward.
The foremost warrior of the Knights of the Fianna only wished to remain loyal to the lord who had summoned him and fulfill his honor as a knight.
This was his wish in this life, as well as the resentment he had carried from his previous one.
"I swear on my honor as a knight. So long as it is within my power...
So long as it can help you obtain the Holy Grail, I, Diarmuid O'Dyna, am willing to do anything."
"Since that is the case..."
Kenshinnes curled his lips into an evil smile as he looked down from above and raised his right hand, engraved with the Master's Command Seal.
A deep-red, eerie light illuminated the room.
"I command you with a Command Spell--
Lancer, abandon your code of chivalry."
"..."
Shirou silently watched the astonishing transformation with an expressionless face.
"Ahhh... ahhhhhhh! Stop... my lord!!!"
Lancer sprawled on the floor, his body twisting as he roared. His handsome face contorted with pain and resistance.
Command Spells possessed tremendous coercive power over Servants. However--that power had to be based on "a specific action."
If a Command Spell ordered a Servant to "come to my side," the Servant would be directly transported to the Master's side.
But if a Command Spell ordered a Servant to "win the Holy Grail," its effect would be extremely weak, providing only a slight enhancement.
Without a doubt, "abandon your code of chivalry" belonged to the latter category. After all, the proposition of "upholding knightly conduct during the Holy Grail War" was far too broad.
Unexpectedly, however, this absurd command was extremely effective against Lancer.
To him, chivalry was no longer a concept. It had become a concrete faith.
"Lancer, if your chivalry really is as noble as you claim, then try resisting my Command Spell."
Before you continue