National Destiny: Starting with a gender-swapped role as Artoria

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On the other side of the forest, under a large tree, a man with a mutilated body and wearing a hood was coughing violently.

White hair, deathly pale skin, a disfigured face, and a left eye that has completely lost its sight.

Matou Kariya.

Berserker's Master.

In order to save Matou Sakura's fate, he participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Although Matou Kariya possessed certain magical circuits, they were not enough to enable him to summon Servants to join the Holy Grail War.

For this purpose, that disgusting Crest Worm was used.

The Crest Worms expanded Kariya Matou's magic circuits, acting as magic circuits that convert the recipient's life force into magical energy. However, it was precisely for this reason that Kariya only had a dozen days left to live on the eve of the Holy Grail War.

And it has turned into this horrible state, accompanied by unimaginable, excruciating pain as a side effect.

"—cough—2.0 cough—damn it…"

Matou Kariya coughed, covering his mouth. With each cough, several Crest Worms were expelled from his body, their disgusting fluids sloshing around on his hands.

Disdainfully, I threw it on the ground and stomped on it hard.

With a soft "plop," the Mark Bug was crushed, and white liquid splattered everywhere...

Kariya Matou had reasons why he absolutely had to win this Holy Grail War...

To save Sakura, to rescue her from the Matou family... to rescue her from that disgusting sea of ​​insects...

The guilt towards Aoi, the fear of her father and the inability to disobey him, and all the pain in her body...

Matou Kariya coughed with his head down...

But suddenly I realized something was wrong!

He looked up abruptly and found himself standing in front of an extremely beautiful blonde woman!

I was stunned for a moment! Then I immediately realized it was the one on the dock!

King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon!

"You bastard! You want to..."

"Calm down, Matou Kariya. I won't hurt you. In fact, I'll help you. Sigh, you look so pathetic right now."

Wu Yue interrupted Matou Kariya with a sigh, and at the same time extended his hand to Matou Kariya.

With a thought, a blue magic circle appeared.

"Divine purification."

Chapter 237 Knightly Glory is My Past, Betrayal for Love is My Choice

Wu Yue extended his hand towards Matou Kariya in front of him, and with a thought, a blue magic circle appeared.

The warm, colorful magical energy flowed into Kariya Matou's body.

Kariya Matou's eyes widened suddenly! His body went limp and he knelt on the ground! He began to howl in pain!

As they kept calling...

Suddenly the cries stopped, and a warm sensation washed over my body...

Kariya Matou's eyes widened as he could feel all the markings within his body disappearing, and the pain they had brought with them dissipating...

Slowly raising his head, he looked at the silver-white figure before him, King Arthur clad in holy armor…

"I... my body... is back to normal... You! You bastard! What did you do to me?!"

Kariya Matou's first reaction was not gratitude, but extreme anger.

Because of the Holy Purification Magic, all the Crest Worms in Kariya Matou's body have been purified, and her body has returned to normal. However, her Magic Circuits have also disappeared, making it impossible to continue supplying magic power to Berserker Lancelot...

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Inside the castle, under the combined attack of Saber Alter and Artoria, Lancelot was kicked hard into the ruins of the wall, howling as he tried to get up...

But at that moment, Lancelot was stunned when the mana supply for Matou Kariya was interrupted at 15...

The black mist around his body began to fade, unable to sustain his momentum for the next movement.

Lancelot's body was somewhat paralyzed, and he was about to fall. He instinctively used the black stick in his hand to support himself on the ground, which allowed him to kneel on one knee...

With their heads down, Artoria and Saber Alter couldn't see Lancelot's current situation.

Although they were somewhat puzzled by the current situation, neither of them let their guard down, preparing for a surprise attack.

The black mist surrounding Lancelot finally disappeared completely, revealing the full extent of his black armor.

Hei Dai watched, his eyes widening in disbelief...

"Lance...Lotte?"

Lancelot's helmet loosened and slowly fell to the ground with a thud, revealing his true appearance.

Due to the berserk skill, Lancelot's face became extremely ferocious, with disheveled hair, enlarged eyes, and sharp teeth in his mouth, resembling a wild beast.

But Blackie recognized the man at first glance—his most trusted subordinate—and the weapon he was gripping began to loosen...

Lancelot of the Knights of the Round Table...

[Note: In this parallel universe, Saber Alter is the true King Arthur of Britain, as is Lancelot, while Artoria is from another parallel universe.]

Seeing the situation before her, Artoria knew that Wu Yue had found Lancelot's Master and successfully purified him.

Although he knew this wasn't Lancelot from his own world, and although they looked the same, they weren't the same person at heart, it was still hard not to be moved by the sight of an old friend...

Starting from his legs, Lancelot began to gradually disappear. Artoria watched quietly, her grip on the weapon in her hand loosening.

Unlike other class Servants, Berserker requires an extremely high amount of mana. If the mana supply is interrupted, he will not be able to survive in the mortal world and will immediately disappear and return to the Throne of Heroes at the end of the world.

“I…my king…”

With the Berserk buff gone, Lancelot's thinking ability gradually returned; he was able to distinguish things in front of him... and speak normally again...

"Lancelot!"

Black Saber immediately materialized the Excalibur in her hand, ran over and half-squatted in front of Lancelot, looking at his face.

The two looked at each other, and memories returned.

The memory of facing off against Hei Dai made Lancelot give a wry smile.

"Wait for me! I will obtain the Holy Grail once I move! I will save you! Save our country! Save our people! Save our..."

"—cough—cough—that's not how it is...my king..."

Lancelot coughed, interrupting Blackie, who immediately shouted anxiously!

"Lancelot! Enough... There's nothing more to say. It's all my fault, all my fault as the king... for not protecting him..."

"Listen to me... My King... Listen to what I've always wanted to tell you."

Lancelot used his last bit of strength to look up at Black Saber.

“My King…you have been misunderstanding something all along…No one, no one in Britain, no Knights of the Round Table, no one hates you…”

"What...what did you say...what nonsense are you talking about..."

Upon hearing this, Blackie was stunned...

Before inheriting the throne, Blackbeard already knew the fate of Britain.

She gave up the happiness of being a girl to become a male king, froze her heart and lost all human emotions, and amassed countless innocent lives by sword for the survival of the kingdom. All of this was so that her kingdom could continue as long as possible, and even if the kingdom were destroyed, the people of Britain could be incorporated into other countries or nations and continue their lineage.

However, when all her efforts and sacrifices came to naught, and the fact that Britain had perished tragically in the civil war and its people had been killed or wounded was laid bare before her, she simply could not accept such an ending. She even misinterpreted the meaning, mistaking the destruction of Britain for the people's hatred towards her.

It was because of everyone's hatred that Britain perished.

On her deathbed, she made a pact with "the world," Alaya, agreeing to receive the Holy Grail and wish to "return to the chosen day," even at the cost of eternal reincarnation.

“I…I’m sorry…Because of my betrayal, regret, and escape, all of this has burdened you with pressure and responsibility that you shouldn’t have to bear…My King…the responsibility for the destruction of Britain does not lie with you…You have done what you should have done…You have done very well…”

"Knightly glory is my past, betrayal for love was my choice, and my repentance and redemption for you is a burden I can never exhaust in my life. This is not hatred, nor is it pressure on you..."

"Neither I nor anyone else has ever harbored hatred towards you... Don't force yourself... Don't force yourself to seek something that doesn't exist in this world... —cough—cough—"

Blackie listened silently, his emotions a complex mix of feelings. He clenched his fists and supported Lancelot in front of him.

how so……

The destruction of my own country... the death of my own people... isn't the responsibility mine?

I am the King of Britain… I am the King of all… I bear the inescapable responsibility for the destruction of Britain…

　853 This is my own fault... I am the one who caused the destruction to Britain...

Lancelot... why would you think that...?

What I've always been pursuing... is the idea of ​​obtaining the Holy Grail to revive the nation... the idea of ​​saving you all...

Isn't it just a kind of shackle... a shackle that forcibly binds you to Britain...

how come……

Why is this happening...