To become a king and a magician

10. Don't think about ending it all.

Flames burning in the darkness.

Frozen air permeated the light.

Tomoe Gozen and Natsukawa Torara were surrounded by two completely opposite things.

[■■The adult wants to kill himself]

Tomoe Gozen clearly realized this fact at this time.

But why?

Even though her mind had collapsed, Tomoe Gozen still firmly believed in this: she must fight alongside Lord ■■ to the very end and burn down everyone who stood in her way.

Therefore, only Lord ■■ will never betray me, and only Lord ■■ will always be with me!

But why?

"Whoosh—!"

The icy blue afterimage flashed through the field of vision, and Natsukawa Tora, bathed in light, instantly rushed in front of Tomoe Gozen. The daylight-like light expanded simultaneously, and the radiance shone on Tomoe Gozen once again.

Then—

"Crack!"

The naginata held in Tomoe's hands froze instantly. The chilling aura abruptly calmed Tomoe's thoughts, which had been consumed by fanaticism for Lord ■■, and she immediately leaped backward.

But this is impossible.

"Crack!"

Just as the naginata was frozen, the absolute zero freezing air released from Natsukawa Torato also froze Tomoe Gozen's hands and feet, leaving her an immobile ice sculpture.

Natsukawa Torama had no intention of wasting time with Tomoe Gozen. Since he was going to help her get out of this predicament, he couldn't let her stay in this state for even a second longer.

"Pfft—!"

An arm pierced through his chest, and blood and flames gushed out from behind Tomoe Gozen.

Targeting Tomoe Gozen's [Spirit Core (Heart)], Natsukawa Torara delivered a fatal blow in one strike.

"Crack!"

Crushing the frozen spirit core into a blister, Natsukawa Torama pulled his hand out of Tomoe Gozen's body and supported her as she collapsed, saying, "Is this alright, Tomoe?"

The key to a Servant's existence is their Spirit Core, even for Heroic Spirits. Even if a Servant has an immortal body that can be revived after its head is cut off, if the Spirit Core that sustains its existence is shattered, no matter how immortal it is, it will vanish into nothingness.

The karma of "All-Out Slaughter" buried within Tomoe Gozen's spirit core was also crushed by Natsukawa Torato at the same time the spirit core was shattered.

The bloodshot in his eyes faded like the receding tide, and he leaned weakly against Natsukawa Toramaru's chest. Tomoe Gozen looked up at the man who was holding him and asked, "You...you are...Torama...Lord?"

"Huh?" Natsukawa Torama was taken aback. "You...you remember me? Aba?"

"Um...because...I...am...Uruk..."

"Wait a minute! Don't speak yet!"

Hearing Tomoe Gozen's voice growing softer, Natsukawa Torama quickly stopped her, lifted the back of her head, and kissed her lips. Through the contact of their mucous membranes, a large amount of magic flowed from Natsukawa Torama's body into Tomoe Gozen's body. Along with it, the same [spirit's blessing] that Miyamoto Musashi possessed also entered Tomoe Gozen's body.

With the immense magical power and the protection of the spirits, Tomoe Gozen's chest, pierced by Natsukawa Torato, visibly began to recover, and her shattered spirit core miraculously began to rebuild itself bit by bit.

"Ugh... Haa..."

After injecting roughly half of his own magic power into Tomoe Gozen, Natsukawa Torara stopped the output and looked up: "That should be fine, Tomoe. Are you feeling better?"

"Ah... ooh... um..."

Tomoe Gozen, her cheeks completely flushed, could only nod babbling, clearly disoriented from a severe shock—although Natsukawa Torato was the lord she had sworn to give her life for in this world, she was still someone else's wife, and being forcibly kissed like this was simply...

(No, don't overthink it, Tomoe Gozen. Lord Torara only resorted to this desperate measure to save your life. You absolutely cannot judge Lord Torara's intentions with petty minds!)

Yes, that's right, that's exactly it.

After quickly calming herself down and comforting herself, Tomoe Gozen stood up from Natsukawa Toramaru's arms: "I'm sorry, Toramaru-sama, for making you give up too much magic power for Tomoe."

"Magic is nothing to me, as long as you survived." Natsukawa Torama waved his hand. "Then... you really are the Abba from the Seventh Singularity, the one I know?"

Tomoe Gozen nodded: "Yes, Lord Torata."

Servants do not carry memories of their previous existence, unless they do not return to the Throne of Heroes and continue to exist in the world, which is a different story, like Morgana, Mordred, Atalanta, and Artoria.

They are all Servants who remained in the mortal world after the Holy Grail War ended.

However, Tomoe Gozen's situation is not entirely the same.

"After the collapse of the Seventh Singularity, I did not return to the Throne of Heroes... To be precise, I thought I would return to the Throne of Heroes, but for some reason, when I came to my senses, Tomoe had already arrived in this somewhat unfamiliar Japan."

"Was it a resummon?" Natsukawa Torara speculated. "But a resummon is usually for the Heroic Spirit itself. Aba, your situation is like... accidentally being transported here—and then what happened?"

"I was attacked."

Tomoe Gozen said, "Shortly after I arrived here, I was attacked by a heroic swordsman. He was an incredibly powerful swordsman, and I was no match for him. Just when I thought I was about to be killed, a sorcerer appeared before me and implanted something into my spirit core, and then..."

"So you've become ArcherInferno, haven't you?"

"Yes."

Tomoe Gozen looked somewhat remorseful. Although she had been implanted with karma that caused her to become a demon, she remembered it—the many crimes she had committed, and the fact that she had turned the entire Hitachi Province into a land of the dead.

"Lord Tiger, could you... could you please let Tomoe die?" Tomoe pleaded. "I have committed an unforgivable sin, an unforgivable massacre. This is a sin that Tomoe cannot atone for, so—"

"Do you want to atone with your death?"

Xia Chuanhu frowned.

“Indeed, logically speaking, you should be killed to atone for the crimes you have committed—but how much do you think your life is worth? Do you think you can pay for the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Hitachi with your own life?”

"This...is not..."

"Then don't think about dying. It's pointless for you to die here. The dead won't come back to life because of your death, and the things that will happen in the future won't change because of your death. Instead of wasting time looking for death and committing suicide, you should use your time in this world to save as many people as possible."

Natsukawa Tora did not believe that killing someone meant paying with one's life.

If it's the kind of evil that kills someone and shows no remorse, then shooting them is indeed the best course of action, to prevent them from continuing to harm others and wreak havoc on the world.

But if it's someone like Tomoe Gozen...

She did not kill intentionally, but committed a great crime under the influence of someone or something. Therefore, she should not be allowed to die. She should be allowed to live and, while bearing the guilt, remorse, and self-blame, atone for her mistakes through her actions.

"Furthermore, to put it another way—it wasn't you who destroyed Hitachi, but ArcherInferno, who I just killed."

“That’s just your sophistry.” Tomoe Gozen shook his head. “But… what you said does make sense. If I were to just die like this, it would make it seem like I’m running away.”

This is also common in the military. Soldiers who have committed serious crimes are not beheaded, but are instead allowed to atone for their crimes through meritorious service.

Tomoe Gozen could understand Natsukawa Torato's decision to spare her life.

"I understand, Lord Tiger."

"Just like in Uruk, or rather, the promise I made to you then still stands. Until this present moment in Ba ends, I will do my utmost for you, and for the countless people who have died because of my mistakes, powerlessness, and weakness."

11. This is a must-have item for action-packed manga!

Just as Natsukawa Torara and Tomoe Gozen were re-establishing their cooperative relationship over there.

Miyamoto Musashi's side.

"Clang—!"

With a swift and powerful thrust, even though he had blocked it with his twin swords, Miyamoto Musashi was still sent flying backward by Hozoin Inshun's spear. He slid a long distance on the ground before coming to a stop.

"Phew... So strong... No wonder he's Yin Shun."

During his countless journeys across the world, Miyamoto Musashi had also heard of Hozoin Inshun's name.

The second-generation successor of the Hozoin-ryu spear technique left no record of fighting against others. He honed his spear skills to the level of gods and Buddhas simply to hone his skills and fight against those who were beyond human comprehension.

In terms of martial arts, his opponent's level far surpasses that of Miyamoto Musashi at present.

"Clearly, after using Tiger's sword, I should be stronger in terms of pure ability..."

The twin swords that Natsukawa Tora enhanced for Miyamoto Musashi are essentially equivalent to Noble Phantasms. Simply holding them grants her the blessing of a spirit, allowing her to sever anything she desires and kill anything that cannot be killed by ordinary means.

As long as these two swords are used as weapons, the final battle between Miyamoto Musashi and Hozoin Inshun will not be one-sided. The immortality of the heroic swordsmen will be rendered ineffective, and they will both die from a single fatal attack from the other, returning to the purest form of combat.

Despite Natsukawa Torato's enormous advantage over Miyamoto Musashi, Miyamoto Musashi was still at a disadvantage despite having such a significant advantage in weaponry.

(I'm the one who's dragging everyone down...)

It was precisely because Miyamoto Musashi was suppressed by Hozoin Inshun's spear technique in swordsmanship that he was unable to defeat his enemy.

(How embarrassing!)

"Clang—!"

Seeing the vertical slash coming from the sky, Miyamoto Musashi immediately raised his twin swords to meet it. He deflected the trajectory of the gunshot with the collision of the swords and quickly closed in on Hozoin Inshun, raising his twin swords from bottom to top!

"Sizzle—!"

A shallow cut appeared on the side of Hozoin Inshun's abdomen.

Miyamoto Musashi originally intended to make a hole in his stomach.

Miyamoto Musashi knew his skills were inferior to Hozoin Inshun's, and if he were to fight the original Hozoin Inshun, he would definitely lose.

But now she is not facing Hozoin Inshun. According to his own name, he is now the heroic swordsman Lancer Purgatorio, a demon burdened with the karma of "penetrating everything".

Even though it possesses the same spear skills as Hozoin Inshun, it is not him. Its skill will decline due to its frenzied state of mind, a deficiency that cannot be compensated for by improvements in strength and speed, especially in this kind of battle.

Miyamoto Musashi's sword was not incapable of touching Hozoin Inshun.

"Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang—!"

Guns and knives clashed again, sparks flying. The dazzling sword and spear dance gradually filled the space around them, the flashing blades and spears like a storm raging through the air, constantly tearing apart and shattering everything that invaded their surroundings.

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

The sounds of injuries echoed one after another as Miyamoto Musashi and Hozoin Inshun continued to sustain wounds. Both possessed the ability to kill with a single blow, yet they were equally wary of each other's deadly strike.

To avoid that fatal blow, and to be wary of that fatal blow, minor injuries are nothing to worry about.

With this in mind, the two continued to exchange wounds.