Crack! A Sharp Slap. Despair?!

The winter wind howled, and the icy air seemed intent on freezing everything solid.

In this rarely visited park, Xia finally saw the person he had dreamed of day and night. That dazzling golden hair, those stubborn eyes that refused to give in, that exquisite, handsome face—everything about the person before him matched the cherished image sealed deep in his memories.

How many years had passed...? How many centuries had gone by...? The image before him had kept him moving forward, one step at a time! He had survived one seemingly fatal ending after another! All for the chance to see her again, to meet her just once more!

Now... his wish had come true.

They had truly met again. The person he had longed for day and night had appeared before him, alive and real!

I was overjoyed. I laughed. I was happy. I was entranced...

But just as I reached out to touch the face I had once been so reluctant to let go of, a flash of cold light swept past me. The instincts for danger honed through a thousand years of battles between life and death made my hand pause, sparing me the pain of having it severed.

But... compared to that little pain, I would much rather not suffer this pain now!

The figure before me was still the same valiant presence from my memories, with that noble, unyielding gaze. She had wielded the Holy Sword in both hands through twelve great battles without suffering a single defeat, her glory undimmed!

But that once-valiant figure now stood in a fully guarded stance! Her noble, unyielding eyes were fixed intently on me! The Holy Sword, which should have been raised against her enemies, was now pointed at me...

I stared at it all, dumbfounded...

Frozen with my hand outstretched, I looked at the Goddess before me in disbelief.

"Who... are you?! What are you?!" Her clear voice spoke words I could hardly believe. I stared wide-eyed at the utterly serious Saber before me.

The howling wind rose again, and the already bitterly cold air grew colder still...

Saber watched the man before her on high alert. The instant he appeared, her whole body had inexplicably grown excited! That intense excitement, along with a feeling of dependence as if she had found home, had nearly burned away her reason. She wanted to cry... to shout..., but she didn't know why she wanted to cry or shout.

Who was he? What was he? What did he want? What kind of enemy might he be? These questions arose in Saber's mind, yet deep down she somehow felt she knew the answers.

"My name is—, the man who will protect you forever and stay by your side!" Somewhere in the depths of her mind, there seemed to be a fragment of a memory like this... but... all she could remember were his words. She couldn't even make out his voice, let alone anything else.

Drawing on her experience from countless battles, Saber badly wanted to swing her sword again and slash at the man before her, but she couldn't...

Her mind had indeed issued the command to attack, but her body resisted—fiercely. The Holy Sword, which she had gripped tightly in both hands, had begun trembling slightly at some point, as if rejecting her.

The instant that man had reached out to her, tears had welled up in her eyes of their own accord, only to be forced back by her powerful will...

"Who are you, really?! Why do you know my true name? Answer me!" Her body's fierce resistance made Saber, who had never experienced anything like this, increasingly agitated. Her sharp cry seemed not only meant to warn the man across from her, but also to remind herself. The man before her was an enemy! A being she had to kill!

Crunch...

As if frightened by her words, the man's incredulous expression turned somewhat fearful, and he involuntarily took a step back.

Unable to understand, unable to comprehend, unable to read, unable to analyze, unable to recognize, unable to face it.

Hearing Artoria cry out again and seeing the blade pointed at me...

"Ugh...!" I took a fearful step backward and clutched my chest in pain.

The Artoria who always smiled at me in my memories, the Artoria who would only act spoiled with me, the Artoria who alone would confide in me. The memories of her showing me every side of herself without reservation—her happiness! Her sunny side! Her vulnerability! Her fear! Her strength! Were they all lies?! You've got to be kidding me!!!!

"Why... why are you doing this to me? Artoria! If it's because I left without saying goodbye that time... I had a reason! Artoria!!" I took another step toward my beloved and reached out once more, as if trying to grasp the happiness buried in my memories and hold on to it forever.

Artoria watched the man come toward her again and reach out once more. Without realizing it, she began to breathe harder, and a profound unease spread through her...

Something deep in her mind seemed to be roaring, desperate to be released. That maddening sensation flooded her thoughts. Her body leaned forward of its own accord..., and her hands loosened their grip on the Holy Sword, which she had never let go of in battle. Her emerald-green eyes watched the hand slowly reaching toward her. Deep in her heart, someone seemed to be whispering, their words ceaselessly tempting and persuading her...

This man would protect her. This man would always help her. This man would always watch over her. She wouldn't have to endure the bloodshed of the battlefield again, taste the pain of being betrayed by her own country, or bear the loneliness of the throne.

Happiness, laughter, playful bickering, anticipation, joy, dependence. Everything she had once possessed could return to her side! If only... if only she were together with—!

No!

That man was a traitor! The man who had betrayed her trust! Betrayed her dependence! He had pushed her onto this painful path! He had forced pain that should never have been hers upon her body and mind! He had given her hope without permission, then casually destroyed her expectations! He wanted only the woman in his heart! That perfect Goddess! The perfect Goddess he himself had described! She was merely a substitute! A test subject! Someone he could discard at any moment! That man knew perfectly well how much pain and bitterness she would endure if he pushed her down this path, how helpless and lonely she would feel! Yet he had done it without hesitation!!! The moment she had become the Knight King of his fantasies, he had left her without a word. A traitor!

He! Deserved to die! Kill him!

"Ugh...!!!" Artoria let go of the Holy Sword and clutched her head in agony. Two opposing convictions fought and roared inside her mind, each brimming with intense emotions and force.

It hurt. It hurt terribly. This was no longer pain her body could bear; the greater torment lay in her mind and heart. It was as though she were a prisoner on a stake, being burned alive by a blazing fire.

Xia continued to reach out cautiously, keeping his eyes fixed on Artoria, afraid of frightening or upsetting her again...

His hand drew nearer and nearer, slowly approaching Artoria.

Artoria stared blankly at the right hand reaching for her. The "good" conviction gaining the upper hand in her mind was slowly guiding her to take it.

Xia watched as Artoria finally began to reach out her left hand. His face, which had seemed utterly hopeless, at last broke into a faint smile—a smile of happiness, and a small comfort to his faith, which was on the verge of collapse.

"Don't touch me!!!"

Just as their hands were about to meet, Artoria suddenly swung her hand and slapped Xia's palm away.

The sharp crack echoed through the trees in the park. Xia stared in shock at Artoria, who had slapped his hand aside. The unease and fear in his heart erupted completely at that sharp sound and Artoria's disgusted cry. The little hope that had just begun to grow was extinguished entirely...

Whoosh~~~~~~. The cold wind swept through the park once more. The fallen leaves it stirred spiraled into the sky and drifted away with the wind...

The proxy MASTER and Servant who had been watching from the sidelines could no longer stand being ignored. One quickly ran to check on her Servant, while the other leapt between Xia and Artoria, forcibly separating the two who had drawn close.

Lancer stood provocatively before Xia, twin spears in hand.

Xia, his face ashen, paid no attention to the enemy before him, who could kill him at any moment. He only stared blankly at Saber, who was still clutching her head in pain...

{Did I mistake her for someone else? I did, right? Maybe I got it wrong... Hahaha... I must have mistaken her. I definitely got it wrong!} He kept denying it to himself, over and over. The words she had just spoken were absolutely not something the girl in his memories would say to him, but reality was cruel... It kept tormenting his fragile nerves, again and again.

Unlike Xia, whose heart was now in turmoil, Artoria suddenly felt the "good" conviction in her mind tremble violently after she shouted those words. It slammed into the other conviction with even greater ferocity! It attacked, tore, and grappled like a mad beast! As if it wanted to open something! Prove something! And then...

The conviction that had once been filled with kindness now gave voice to anguished cries, cries of remorse, cries of despair. The "evil" conviction, which should have been filled with the delight of revenge, the joy that came after getting even, felt none of what she had expected...

There was only dead silence.

But the clash between the two convictions did not stop. Instead, each collision grew more violent and more frenzied. Neither would admit defeat; neither would back down. Their fierce conflict made Artoria suffer more and more.

Artoria let out low, pained whimpers as she clutched her head tightly, enduring the agony. Alice could only watch helplessly as her Servant suffered. In her heart, she kept cursing that strange man. What kind of man was he?!

Just as Artoria was suffering terribly, a flash of green light suddenly emerged from the center of her brow. Its gentle radiance slowly bathed her whole body. Immersed in the green glow, Artoria's anguished, helpless expression gradually relaxed, as if she were enjoying the light's soothing comfort...

After about two seconds, the green light formed a strange rune in midair. The light flashed! The strange rune was firmly imprinted on Artoria's brow, then vanished in an instant...

"Th-the seal was reinforced?" Alice stared wide-eyed at the strange rune imprinted on Artoria's brow. This was black magic that had only become popular in the Middle Ages: Memory Fluid Magic. Because it was the best method for changing a person's memories or sealing them away, it had once enjoyed a brief vogue. But once people discovered that it only worked on those with weak wills, the magic gradually fell into disuse. The technique had since been lost.

Saber, who seemed to have recovered, lowered her head, her bangs hiding her expression. She stood up and bent down, as if picking something up.

She raised the invisible Holy Sword in both hands once more. Without a sound, Saber stood in eerie silence.

Saber shoved Lancer aside and stood before Xia, who looked utterly confused.

She opened her mouth and said, "..."

This chapter feels a little off somehow..., I think. If you have any suggestions after reading it, please post them in the reviews. Otherwise, it's hard for me to know what I should revise...

Sorry for the trouble!