Type-Moon: Upgrade Trait, Join Chat Group at Start Chapter 15

Although the laws of the Celestial Realm in his memory forbade gods from casually using Resurrection Spells, a certain blue-haired goddess had no qualms about breaking that rule to grant her teammates infinite revivals.

As for Su Luo, there was no need to even mention him.

Here, there were no Celestial Realm rules to bind him; as long as he didn't abuse them, the Counter Force wouldn't bother him either.

Coincidentally, these two abilities could be used to win over Irisviel.

With the Third Magic in hand, Ahad would do everything in his power to keep him in the Einzbern family, and by then, the entire Einzbern family would be his for the taking.

At the same time, he could use these two abilities to save Irisviel, who served as the Lesser Grail.

In terms of practicality, these two abilities were even more powerful than Excalibur and Avalon.

After all, he wasn't lacking in powerful Noble Phantasms.

The moment he acquired the Trait.

Su Luo felt his soul undergo a transformation.

An endless stream of magical energy surged forth from his soul, flowing freely through his body, nourishing every part of him.

Chapter 21: The Holy Grail War's First Battle

Soon, the changes brought by the Third Magic to Su Luo came to an end.

Su Luo let out a long breath, feeling as though his entire being had become refreshed and invigorated.

His mind was turning much faster than before, and magical energy was continuously welling up from within his soul.

"Hm?"

Just then, Su Luo sensed a powerful surge of magical energy.

That magical energy was extremely violent, completely undisguised, as if it were inviting its own kind to come to this place.

Su Luo raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"Let me see who's starting things off this time."

With that, Su Luo used Clairvoyance to look in the direction from which the magical energy had come.

The Lancer class had already been taken by the King of Lions; if Kayneth were to summon a Servant, he likely wouldn't be able to summon Diarmuid.

And Matou Kariya hadn't participated in the Holy Grail War either; the remaining Masters were almost exactly the same as before, with no changes.

Su Luo's gaze pierced through countless obstacles, landing on a dock in Fuyuki City.

"Lancelot, huh. I didn't expect Kayneth to summon the Berserker-class Lancelot in place of Matou Kariya. That's a bit surprising."

"But they've already started fighting, and judging by Saber's expression, she's already recognized Lancelot."

"Tch, during the day she told me not to underestimate them, but with her like this, how am I supposed to believe they have the strength to claim the Holy Grail?" Su Luo sighed inwardly as he watched Saber, who was already at a disadvantage.

Then he stood up, walked to the window of the hotel, and summoned Vimana outside.

Melly and the King of Lions had already arrived at Su Luo's side.

"Master." Melly and the King of Lions were ready, awaiting Su Luo's orders.

"Melly, you stay and watch over Sakura. Lya, you come with me to meet them." Su Luo gave his instructions before boarding Vimana with the King of Lions.

Melly nodded lightly.

Although she was somewhat reluctant, Matou Sakura still needed someone to look after her.

What if some despicable Magus tried to sneak an attack on their base and kidnap Matou Sakura to threaten Su Luo? That would be even worse.

On the other side, at the docks.

Artoria was locked in battle with Lancelot.

Their weapons clashed, producing crisp, ringing sounds of metal.

Sparks flew everywhere, and a powerful shockwave radiated outward from the point of impact.

Sharp sword qi left deep, startling gashes across the ground and the surrounding shipping containers.

At a spot relatively far from the two combatants, Irisviel stood, watching Artoria with a worried expression.

At first, Artoria's fight had been proceeding normally, and she had even held a slight advantage.

But halfway through the battle, Artoria seemed to recognize the Servant before her, clad in pitch-black armor and shrouded in black mist.

For some reason, Artoria's attacks were no longer as fierce and swift, and she began to fall into a disadvantage.

This made Irisviel, watching from the sidelines, feel extremely anxious.

"Saber..." Irisviel silently prayed in her heart.

Although Artoria was not the Servant she had summoned, at this moment, she sincerely hoped that Artoria would get through this battle safely.

Just then, a slightly teasing voice sounded in Irisviel's ear.

"Oh, we meet again."

"Eek!" Irisviel was startled.

Turning around, she found that Su Luo and the King of Lions had somehow appeared beside her.

Irisviel immediately shot Su Luo a coquettish glare. "You startled me! Why don't you make any sound when you walk?"

Su Luo smiled without answering Irisviel's question, instead watching Artoria's bitter struggle and teasing, "She seems to be in a tough spot. Need me to help?"

"...No need. Saber hasn't lost yet."

Even so, whenever Irisviel's gaze drifted toward Artoria, she couldn't help but show a worried expression.

Su Luo chuckled softly at the sight. After mentally having the system bind Lancelot, he said, "Lily, go do what you want to do."

"As you command, Master." The King of Lions gave a slight bow.

Then she summoned her mount, gripped the Holy Lance, and charged straight at Artoria and Lancelot!

"Huh? What are you doing?!" Irisviel was startled.

"Didn't you hear what I said? I told her to do what she wants."

"That Servant shrouded in black mist is named Lancelot—one of King Arthur's twelve Knights of the Round Table."

"Right now, he wishes to receive punishment from King Arthur, but that king who cannot understand the human heart can't see his thoughts and holds back in every attack."

"My Artoria here sees what Lancelot wants. As a king, she naturally goes to answer her knight's hopes." Su Luo explained calmly.

Because his own actions had led to a series of tragedies, Lancelot's heart was filled with self-blame and regret.

And when he was maddened by the Berserker class, that emotion directly transformed into hatred for Artoria.

Hearing Su Luo's words, Irisviel stood frozen in place.

She had never imagined that the Servant fighting Artoria was actually one of Artoria's former knights.

And watching Lancelot swing his sword at Artoria like a madman, Irisviel somehow found herself believing what Su Luo had said.

Meanwhile, the King of Lions charged at Artoria and the others with unstoppable momentum, naturally drawing their attention.

Artoria sidestepped, dodging the King of Lions' charge.

But Lancelot neither dodged nor evaded—he raised the Knight of Owner and slashed at the King of Lions.

Boom!

Boom!!

In an instant, Lancelot was sent flying backward, tumbling dozens of meters before crashing into a shipping container and lying still for a long time.

The King of Lions dismounted calmly, Holy Lance in hand, and walked toward Lancelot.

That blow hadn't killed Lancelot outright—it had only robbed him of his ability to move.

After all, what Lancelot wanted was punishment. If she killed him in one strike, he wouldn't even know how he died or who killed him—how could that count as punishment?

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Artoria saw what the King of Lions intended and raised Excalibur to block her path in front of Lancelot.

"Can't you see? I'm answering my knight's hopes." The King of Lions said flatly.

She didn't stop walking. The Holy Lance in her hand dissipated, replaced by an Excalibur identical to Artoria's.

Seeing that the King of Lions seemed to be holding something, yet her eyes couldn't perceive what it was, Artoria's heart tightened instantly.

How could she not know what the King of Lions held in that situation?

Clearly, it was an Excalibur just like her own.

But at this moment, she wasn't focused on that.

Instead, she was deeply troubled by what the King of Lions had said.

"What do you mean by 'answering your knight's hopes'? Does he want to be killed?!" Artoria pointed her sword at the King of Lions and demanded harshly.

"Of course. Can't your eyes see the expectations in your own knight's heart? You king who cannot understand the human heart!" The King of Lions spoke in a stern tone for the first time.

As if she were scolding her own younger, ignorant self.

Chapter 22: Punishment for Lancelot

Looking at this younger version of herself, the King of Lions knew that the Artoria before her couldn't see the expectations in her knight's heart.

Because she had been the same way.

Only later, her path had taken a detour.

After experiencing the battle of rebellion, because Bedivere failed to return the Sacred Sword, she was eroded by the Holy Lance and eventually became the King of Lions in this Singularity.

In that process, her heart had grown.

Even after regaining her humanity, she had already become a King Arthur who understood the human heart.

But the somewhat immature Artoria before her was different.

According to normal development, Artoria would return the Sacred Sword before her death.

Eventually becoming one of the heroes in the Hall of Heroes.

And the Artoria summoned as a Saber-class Servant—

She was the one whose physical growth had been stunted by the Sacred Sword, and whose heart's growth had also been affected.

Thinking of this, the King of Lions sighed faintly in her heart.

Yet her steps still did not stop.

"Don't get in my way," the King of Lions said flatly, then fell silent.

If Artoria insisted on standing before her, she would not hesitate to send her back to the Hall of Heroes with the Sacred Sword in hand.

As for Artoria, upon hearing those words—'a king who does not understand the human heart'—she was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

Scenes and voices of her knights and subjects' evaluations and gossip about her kept surfacing in her mind.

Her head drooped slightly, her body trembling faintly.

She did not even notice when the King of Lions walked past her.

Perhaps if someone else had said such words, Artoria might have retorted.

But the one who spoke them was herself from a parallel world.

This made Artoria begin to doubt herself.

The King of Lions paid no heed to Artoria; she strode straight to Lancelot, her expression cold and stern, exuding authority without anger.

Seeing the King of Lions' face and the imposing knightly aura she carried, At this moment, Lancelot briefly regained his reason.

"My king... please punish me..." Lancelot spoke in a hoarse, low voice, slowly.

Gazing at the fallen Lancelot, a flicker of reminiscence passed through the King of Lions' eyes.