MM Racing Chapter 123 The King's Judgment
Chapter 123 The King's Judgment
The nights in Fuyuki City are so dark that they seem to devour everything.
With Kiritsugu Emiya's order, the temporary allied forces of the Einzbern and Kenneth launched a general attack on the Tohsaka residence in Fukayama-cho under the cover of night.
To prevent an ambush by Tohsaka's forces, Kiritsugu arranged for Artoria to guard Irisviel on the right flank of the formation.
Lancer Diarmuid, under Kenneth's orders, led the way as the vanguard.
As the group stepped onto the long uphill path leading to the Tohsaka residence, the surrounding air suddenly felt as heavy as lead.
Under the dim light of the streetlights, a hunched, thin figure, exuding an extremely ominous aura, stood in the middle of the road.
It was nighttime for Kaguya Matou.
He was breathing heavily.
The dark magic power, belonging to the unowned Command Seals of past generations, forcibly injected into his body, was scraping his magic circuits like a knife.
His eyes were even bloodshot, but his gaze was surprisingly calm and resolute.
"Here it is, Berserker."
Yan Ye raised his head, his gaze passing over Lancer in front of him and locking onto the blonde female knight at the rear of the formation.
"Since this is King Arthur's entrustment, since this is your long-cherished wish..."
Kariya slowly raised the back of his hand, which was engraved with Command Seals, and poured all the icy, bone-chilling magic power in his body into the void without reservation.
"Go, Lancelot! Sever your past!"
"boom!!!"
Accompanied by Yan Ye's howl, extremely dense black mist exploded on the slope like a volcanic eruption.
A piercing roar tore through the night sky.
Berserker emerged from the black mist, his body, encased in jet-black armor, trembling violently from extreme berserk rage.
A terrifying killing intent, almost tearing space apart, erupted from the narrow, scarlet slit of the helmet.
"Arthur...!!!"
Faced with this sudden attack, Diarmuid immediately lowered his center of gravity, gripped the two magic spears, one red and one yellow, tightly in his hands, and prepared to fight back.
"Step back, Lancer."
A calm, cool, yet undeniably authoritative voice came from behind.
Artoria strode forward.
She did not use the Wind King Barrier to hide her sword as usual.
Instead, it directly broke the seal, allowing the "Excalibur," which shone with holy golden light, to fully reveal itself in the night.
In those emerald green eyes, there was no confusion, only a profound realization, heavy as a mountain, born from a long period of mental preparation.
"Saber..." Diarmuid paused for a moment.
"He's not your enemy; he's after me."
Artoria stared directly at the black beast in front of her, which was letting out a mournful roar. A deep sorrow was in her eyes, but her hands holding the sword remained as steady as a rock.
"Lancer, Irisviel, you proceed. Leave this to me."
"But Saber, if we disperse our forces during the final assault..." Irisviel cried out with some concern.
"This is my request." Artoria's voice suddenly rose, and golden magic surged on her armor.
"This is also... a legacy I, as the King of Britain, must personally resolve!"
"I'll catch up as soon as possible!"
As Diarmuid watched Artoria's resolute back, he, as a knight, instantly understood the kind of determination that came with it.
He sheathed his spear and gave Artoria a standard knightly salute.
"I understand, King Knight. I wish you good luck in your military campaigns."
Having said that, Diarmuid escorted Irisviel around the battlefield and continued speeding towards the Tohsaka Mansion on the mountaintop.
On the slope, only Artoria and Berserker remained.
No longer needing any pretense, Berserker let out an extremely painful roar the moment Artoria's familiar golden magic erupted.
He stretched out his hands, which were bound by black magic, and suddenly reached for the street lamp beside him.
As black and red magical patterns climbed upwards, the street lamp was suddenly pulled out by Berserker.
"...Sir Lancelot."
As Artoria gazed upon the Knight of the Lake, the most dazzling of the former Knights of the Round Table, her heart ached as if it were being stabbed.
"You've always craved my punishment, longed for the king to inflict it upon you, to cleanse your conscience of guilt, haven't you?"
Artoria raised the holy sword high in her hand, its blade pointing directly at the black beast.
The night breeze ruffled her golden hair, and she seemed to have returned to the walls of Camelot, becoming that perfect monarch who was absolutely rational and absolutely just.
"I'm sorry, Lord Lancelot."
"In my lifetime, I failed to perceive your suffering, and I was unable to pronounce judgment on your crimes as king, which led to you falling to the Throne of Heroes with such heavy resentment."
Artoria took a deep breath, channeled her immense magical power into the holy sword, and issued her final declaration:
"Now, I am here."
"As King of Britain, I will wield this Star Sword to sever all your regrets and sins! Bring it on, my proudest knight!"
"Hooray!!!"
In response to her was Lancelot's furious, plaintive roar.
The black and red streetlights and the golden holy sword collided violently in the night sky of Fuyuki City!
Meanwhile, in the dimly lit underground magic workshop of the Tohsaka residence.
Tokiomi Tohsaka frowned slightly as he looked at the two terrifying sword energies that suddenly erupted on the mountainside on the magic detector.
"It seems they learned of our hero's departure and seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack?"
But strangely, the enemy Saber was being held back halfway up the mountain? Was it Assassin's doing?
"No, it's that berserker from the Matou family."
Arthur, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa with his eyes closed, slowly opened his clear, emerald-green eyes.
In the instant the two magical forces clashed, he had already discerned everything that was happening down the mountain.
"The Matou family?" Tokiomi asked, somewhat surprised. "Wasn't Matou Kariya already crippled? Why would he help us intercept Saber?"
"...He was fulfilling the last wish of that fallen knight."
Arthur stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the ever-exploding golden and black magical light on the mountainside.
"King Arthur, should we take this opportunity to attack Saber from both sides? If we can eliminate her..." Tokiomi immediately calculated the tactical benefits in his mind.
"Don't interfere."
Arthur interrupted Tokiomi directly.
He looked out the window at the night, as if he could see through the darkness and see the blonde girl wielding a sword.
"This is her own trial. If she can't even face the mistakes she made in the past, if she doesn't even have the resolve to bury her former subjects herself..."
Arthur placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze turning cold and expectant.
"Then she is not qualified to stand before me at the end of this war."