Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

Without any hesitation, Old Sword drew the Holy Sword directly.

No longer concealed by the Wind King's Barrier, the golden blade of the sword shone brilliantly in the dark cave.

"Get out of my way!"

[Dad: "Okay. But before that, there are a few questions I need you to answer."]

"Now, are you still going to make a vow to save the knight-king who has lost his kingdom?"

Without hesitation, Old Sword replied, "No."

[Dad: "Still can't let go of the past? A clown dancing bound by the Holy Grail?"]

[Old Sword: "No."]

【"I see."】

[Dad nodded slowly, like a teacher listening to the best answer from their most satisfying student, quietly feeling proud of them.]

Househusband: "Very simple, decisive, without any hesitation."

Knights of the Round Table: "..."

Seeing that the king of the other world had completely let go, they didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Artoria's feelings were also somewhat complicated.

After seeing so many developments, she had actually begun to waver.

Perhaps, like the old sword, I should put it down.

What's past is past; don't dwell on it anymore.

The future belongs to the present.

[This is the moment I once longed for.]

[Only a few days have actually passed, but it feels like centuries have gone by.]

[Departing from all righteous paths and falling into evil, each day spent harming others and submitting to the world slows to an unnatural degree.]

Every minute, every second, was tormented by that intense, real sensation.

[Like swimming through a sea of ​​red coal, constantly swallowing filth and grime—the real feeling of living as evil.]

Those were humiliating days, not of my own volition—it's easy to say that.

But Dad wouldn't offer such an explanation.

【why? 】

Because it is the way of life to submit to an absolute being that is more powerful than oneself.

It was far too sweet, far too blissful.

[They cast aside their individual self and dignity, drifting aimlessly in the torrent of immense power.]

Thus, there is no anxiety or hardship.

There, only peace and pleasure exist.

Rin Tohsaka: "So this guy is the kind of person who likes to live in his own world and does whatever others tell him to do."

Fuyuki no Tora: "Isn't that just being a corporate slave?"

Koles: "The term 'corporate slave' is a bit..."

Blonde Rin: "I'm not even as good as a corporate slave."

Koles: "..."

"The Holy Grail War. In the days when you confronted your own propositions, I constantly savored the extreme depravity of the Dharma. Even if I were thrown into the Greater Grail and devoured, my soul probably wouldn't be any more corrupted. Because it has already been stained so black..."

[Dad smiled and raised his treasure.]

His sword-wielding posture was so clumsy that a skilled swordsman would likely laugh. Yet, it also carried an indescribable aura of danger.

"However, I rejoice that this moment has arrived. If it were you, you would have killed me, wouldn't you?"

"Want to be killed, Caster?"

"No, no."

[Dad said calmly, "Hehe, it'll be very bothersome for you to misunderstand me like this, Saber."]

"Having committed heinous crimes and knowing my own evil, I am now nothing more than a monster that greedily devours and destroys precious things. Do you willingly offer your head for me to slay?"

"How could that be? I simply don't understand. As a modern-day Holy Sword Wielder, why haven't you severed my head yet—"

The demonic sword began to emit a faint glow.

Koles: "Is this... a death wish...?"

Zabiko: "It feels a bit like confiding in someone."

Karna: "Yes, it's like something that's been suppressed for a long time."

Zhang Jiao: "What a pathetic life you've lived, alchemist."

Dad: "Yes..."

[Dad: "I'm the enemy of heroes!"]

"To acknowledge a contemporary magician as a friend is tantamount to my murder. To acknowledge a friend's beloved young daughter is tantamount to being cursed by me."

"Just as I declared back then, I have poured countless lives from the Far East into the Greater Grail!"

[Preparation complete. The magic circuits and magic crest within my body are synchronized and connected to the Noble Phantasm.]

The patterns of light raced across the body's surface, as excruciating pain caused by overload swept through the entire body.

"So what?"

"Now, now, now... at the end of this road, you will see it too!"

"I saw girls whose will had been taken away, whose intellect had been bound, and who had been reduced to automatons offering their souls! The people I loved more than my own life, I slaughtered with high efficiency! Hahaha!"

Something was dripping down her cheek; it had nothing to do with her Noble Phantasm.

[Old Sword: "...Why are you crying, Caster?"]

[Dad: "No, how could there be tears? A demon that devours human dignity cannot shed tears!"]

The tears of blood never cease.

"At this very moment, I am none other than a demon under the Princess's command!"

Have they gone completely mad?

No. His actions were incredibly precise. His Noble Phantasm was already ready to be unleashed in a way that guaranteed victory.

However, the same applies to the old sword.

Chapter 524 - Dad's Departure

[With the Wind King's sword sheath removed, even a simple sweeping attack can unleash dozens of times its usual power. If combined with True Name Release, it could surely recreate the glorious feat achieved in the decisive battle at the Tokyo Bay Temple, destroying the Starlight of All Things.]

"Caster!"

The knight's eyes were fixed intently on his opponent.

"This is my final question: 'The self-proclaimed evil alchemist.'"

"Why do you pursue the Holy Grail?"

"A foolish question! I want to reach the root of all things, grasp the truth of the world, and save—"

[As he spoke, Bean's father froze.]

I want to save—the countless children scattered across the earth, who deserve love and compassion...

In that instant, Dad was overwhelmed by a profound and overwhelming shock.

"...Really? I..."

The demonic sword was raised high, and the crystals of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—rose slowly.

"The origin and...the brilliance of the Holy Grail, have they already blinded me...?"

[“Waiting to be judged by justice, while professing love, I…I am Paracelsus…”]

[Magic convergence, convergence.]

"It's so ugly! I must have been mistaken..."

[True Name Unleashed - "The Elementalist's Demon Sword!"]

The etheric light, piercing the darkness, filled the entire underground passage.

[Daddy's Noble Phantasm, the prototype of the Azoth Sword, is capable of unleashing a short-term power comparable to an anti-castle Noble Phantasm when the extremely high-density magical crystal "Philosopher's Stone," which forms the blade, is perfectly synchronized with the four elements.]

Kenneth: "Wow! This is the power of the legendary Azoth sword!"

Weber: "If you are careless for a moment, you might really stumble."

[The sheer power of this magic is so great that, theoretically, even a third-tier Servant would be destroyed by magic that has been transformed into light.]

[Of course, this applies to situations where the target is directly hit.]