Jobless Reincarnation: Emiya the Great Hero Must Show His True Skills

At the level of Philip and Pilemon, they are clearly no longer qualified to be fence-sitters. The outcome of Shirou's battle with the Water God will directly determine their success or failure.

Ariel and Gravel need no further explanation.

Who will become king will be determined by the outcome of this battle.

The losing side will not only lose the right to become king, but may even be deprived of their personal freedom and unable to live freely in this world anymore.

This is also the tragedy of royalty.

"Shirou..."

Compared to Gravel, who was completely focused on whether he could ascend the throne, Ariel's attitude was not as purely naive.

In Ariel's eyes, becoming king was important, but what she cared about even more was Shirou's safety.

For her, if Shirou could live, she would be perfectly willing to accept not becoming the Queen of the Asura Kingdom.

That's why Ariel stayed here, even though her body was trembling from the aftermath of the battle, and even though her spirit was like a bowstring stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment. She refused to run away and kept watching the battlefield in the distance until the very last moment!

As everyone expected, the terrifying oppressive atmosphere that had enveloped the entire execution ground suddenly dissipated with the loud bang.

Everything became completely silent, as if nothing had happened.

Everyone immediately realized that the battle between Shirou and the Water God had reached its final conclusion, and everyone eagerly looked towards the execution ground, wanting to know the final outcome.

It's unclear who took the first step, but the nobles began to surge into the execution ground.

Ariel, Paul, and the others rushed into the scene without a moment's hesitation.

The first thing that catches the eye is the execution platform, which has been completely destroyed, leaving not a trace.

The execution ground looked as if it had been struck by a meteorite falling from the sky; not a single intact object could be seen, and it had become a complete mess.

In the center of the desolate battlefield, two figures stood back to back, namely Shirou and the Water God.

Both men were covered in numerous wounds, and their clothes were soaked with blood.

Under the tense gazes of everyone, Shirou and the Water God remained relatively still.

But gradually, the two of them started to make their own moves.

First was Shirou, who appeared to be completely exhausted. He knelt down with difficulty, looking so tired that he seemed about to collapse at any moment.

This scene caused everyone in Ariel's faction to show expressions of panic, with Paul even so frightened that he wanted to rush to Shirou's side.

But soon, Paul's movements suddenly stopped.

He discovered that, compared to Shirou who was merely exhausted, the Water God was in much worse condition. A large, clearly visible wound had appeared on the Water God's chest, from which blood was constantly gushing.

When she reached her limit, the elderly woman closed her eyes wearily, then fell backward and collapsed to the ground, never to rise again.

"Snapped……"

Seeing the Water God's extremely weakened state, almost everyone present looked at each other in dismay.

In an instant, the nobles of Ariel's faction showed excited expressions and even cheered in celebration.

The nobles of Gravel's faction and Gravel himself were all ashen-faced and silent.

Clearly, at this point, everyone can see what the final outcome of Shirou's battle with the water god will be.

The victor of this battle is beyond doubt.

It's Shirou's victory!

Chapter 364 The Dragon God Appears! Orsteed Wants to Kill the Water God?

When Shirou's victory was announced, the high-ranking nobles of the entire Asura Kingdom displayed completely different expressions.

The nobles of Ariel's faction cheered and celebrated.

The nobles of the Gravel faction were devastated.

The lower and middle-ranking nobles exchanged glances, then immediately offered their congratulations to Ariel...

The myriad aspects of human nature were clearly reflected on the faces of the nobles, which was enough to show just how ugly the so-called politicians really were.

Paul remained indifferent in the face of all this. It was precisely because he despised these so-called nobles and such hypocritical interpersonal relationships that he decisively gave up everything, relinquished his inheritance of the Nothos family, and left the capital.

Therefore, he paid no attention to the expressions of the nobles around him, and he didn't even glance at his younger brother Pierremont, who looked desperate and seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.

Among the many nobles, Paul stood out like a crane among chickens.

At the same time, compared to Paul's frank and righteous demeanor, Ariel, as a princess, would obviously not show her emotions so directly, and would certainly not reject the nobles around her.

However, she still had her subordinates hold off the other nobles while she focused intently on Shirou in the center of the battlefield.

If it weren't for her status as a princess, she probably would have rushed to Shirou's side immediately to check on his condition and injuries.

Although Ariel didn't do that, Alice rushed to Shirou's side immediately.

The red-haired girl anxiously wanted to check on Shirou's condition, but Shirou politely declined. He calmly shook his head and comforted her, "I'm fine, just a little exhausted."

"How can you be alright? We need to see a doctor right away!"

Alice wanted to force Shirou to receive treatment.

But Shirou stubbornly shook his head and silently released Alice's hand.

On the other side, the many nobles present looked at the water goddess Leda lying on the ground, barely alive, and all showed complicated expressions. After all, no matter what the water goddess had done, she was the guardian deity of the Asura Kingdom, the strongest person in the country, and the one who upheld the pride and dignity of the Asura Kingdom.

Most people would not resent such a water god, but because the god protected Darius, it would be difficult to forgive his sins.

All eyes turned to Ariel, awaiting the princess's final decision regarding the water goddess Leda.

Ariel herself seemed to be having a hard time deciding the fate of the Water God. She silently looked at Shirou, seemingly wanting Shirou, who had personally defeated the Water God, to decide the Water God's ultimate fate.

Shirou was somewhat surprised by this sudden assignment, but he quickly showed an understanding expression as he looked at Reda, the water goddess lying on the ground in front of him.

He did not announce the conclusion directly, but instead slowly spoke to the old woman lying on the ground:

"You've lost, water god."

"Yes, I've lost..."

"Even now, do you still not regret everything you've done? You should know that under your protection, Darius has caused the deaths of so many innocent people."

"I have no regrets."

Even in his final moments, the Water God remained unmoved by Shirou's New Year's resolution. He hesitated before speaking, "I don't think you're a bad person, Water God, but I can't see any sense of justice in you either. I can now understand that different people have completely different views on justice, and justice itself is not an objective and unchanging concept. But I still can't understand what justice means to you."

"You've certainly brought up an interesting topic, Shirou..."

The dying old woman coughed up blood as she smiled and said, "Justice? When I first held a sword, I also had that kind of fantasy, imagining that I could use my sword to protect every weak person and eliminate all sources of evil. But in reality, that was just a naive fantasy. After growing up a bit, most people will understand the falseness of such a fantasy. After all, most of the time there is no true justice in this world, only different stances."

"..."

Shirou fell silent in response to the water god's words.

After all, he was well aware of the consequences of this naive idea.

Even after growing into an adult, Emiya, the Heroic Spirit, never abandoned his dream of becoming a champion of justice, leading this twisted path to its end, but at a great cost.

Of course, he also disagreed with the water god's view that there are only positions in the world, not justice.

Although the concept of justice may change with circumstances, objective justice still exists in this world.

Otherwise, human civilization would have no basis for existence.

As Shirou continued to delve deeper into the concept of justice, the Water God seemed to begin reminiscing about the past as if on a revolving lantern.

"However, I abandoned my ideals of justice and became a pragmatist a little earlier than most people. That was when I was a young girl. Back then, I was praised as a genius because of my talent in swordsmanship. As a result, I became arrogant and conceited. I even beat the noble boys of my age in the dojo to a pulp because I was so confident and conceited about my abilities..."

"Such actions naturally provoked retaliation. That noble youth hired a group of thugs who surrounded me, who was alone, in the alley. Although I was very talented in swordsmanship, at that time I was only an ordinary intermediate level of the Water God Style. Outnumbered, I was beaten half to death in just a few moves."

"The noble youth was very jealous of my talent and planned to have his men cut off my hands, which were my lifeblood as a swordsman. Just then, someone came to my rescue. It was a noble youth of higher status than that noble. Heh, I think you all know who that person is. It was Darius."

"Although he looks disgusting now, Darius back then was not ugly at all. He was just plain-looking. He even had a stronger sense of justice than most people. I was very grateful after being rescued, but because of the difference in our social status, we were never able to meet again."

"Later, I learned my lesson and stopped fighting with others. I devoted myself to swordsmanship and constantly broke through the bottlenecks in swordsmanship. I successfully became the Water King. It was at that time that I was promoted to swordsmanship instructor of the Knights of the Kingdom of Asura. My status was equivalent to that of a high-ranking nobleman, and I also had the opportunity to meet Darius."

"When we met, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank him for what happened back then, but he had turned into a fat raccoon like he is now. Not only had his personality become twisted, but he didn't even remember me. I was really disappointed at that time. After all, I became so strong partly because I wanted to rekindle my relationship with that guy. If I could meet that person again, I would... I even thought about such girlish things."

"It can be said that almost in that instant, I lost the emotions that ordinary people should have and became the old and frail person I am today. After all, what Darius ended was not only the girl's first love, but also the firm and righteous heart that should have existed."

“In the end, a person needs a belief to live. My belief was brought to me by Darius, who saved me. He was my role model back then, but the way he became later destroyed my belief and cooled down my once burning heart of justice.”

The water god's words resonated with Shirou.

After all, Shirou once regarded Kiritsugu Emiya as his role model. It wasn't until he faced the same choice that he realized what kind of obsession the other was caught up in, and only then did he emerge from his confusion.

The water god was influenced by Darius, but failed to receive the corresponding salvation, so he was trapped in a cycle of suffering.

But Shirou did not accept the water god's explanation. Instead, he continued to question, "You chose to side with Darius because your sense of justice has cooled? I still don't think that reason is sufficient."

"Not enough? You're quite perceptive, Shirou."

Lydia gave a bitter smile. "Indeed, as you said, even if I am heartbroken, I still have the same sense of right and wrong as a normal person. I cannot stand by and watch Darius do such a heinous thing. So when I learned that Darius had become like this, I originally wanted to completely cut ties with him and never have any contact with him again, let alone protect his safety."

"But when I was almost halfway through my life, one day in a dream, I suddenly dreamed of a special deity who called himself a god and said he would give me revelation and guidance. Haha, this sounds unbelievable, like a joke, but I did believe that dream, believed this joke, because I had a strong intuition that it was indeed a god, not just a water god or a sword god, but a real deity."

"That god told me that he examined my life from a divine perspective and found that I had done many things right and many things wrong. My life was basically a result of neither merit nor demerit. Even if I died on the spot, I could go to heaven without regret. However, there is still a stain on my life. I made a huge mistake, which was to forget a very important point - I did not repay Darius's kindness."

“The gods say that everything in this world has cause and effect, and everyone has their own karma. If it weren’t for Darius’s actions back then, I wouldn’t have become the water god. I would have had my hands taken away in that dark alley, losing my qualification to become a swordsman and even becoming a slave. This is the kindness Darius has shown me, an indelible karma.”

"Since the karma has already existed, it must be repaid accordingly. Otherwise, there would be no reason in the world, and it would be difficult for people to maintain their connections. Although it sounds like mere preaching, when I heard it, I suddenly understood. After carefully reflecting on my past, setting aside my romantic relationship, and thinking about it with a completely new mindset, I realized that I had indeed never repaid such an important debt of gratitude."

"To enjoy pure benefits without repaying the important karma is indeed contrary to the nature of a human being. Based on this point alone, I believe that the being who made such a suggestion to me is truly a god, a god of humankind. Therefore, I returned to the Kingdom of Asura, where I serve as the water god, training the younger generation and protecting Darius's safety, using these last moments to repay the karma of my youth."

"..."

The water goddess silently recounted everything, and in the end, she revealed the whole truth.

Upon hearing the water god's words, everyone present fell silent.

Most people were confused because they didn't understand the existence of gods and men, but they did understand to some extent why the water god protected Darius.

Only Shirou, the moment he heard the water god utter the term "human god," suddenly realized something.

A chill ran down his spine almost instantly, as if some kind of extreme terror was spreading little by little, yet he had no idea what that terrifying thing was.

As he pondered, the water god slowly sat up from the ground.

She seemed prepared to face some kind of awakening, slowly raising her head and gazing in a distant direction.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the far end of the horizon.

Seeing the figure slowly approaching, the water goddess Leda revealed an expression of resignation to her fate, murmuring, "...Looks like they've come."

"They're here? Who is it?"

No one present could understand the water god's words.

Shirou couldn't understand it either.

But instinctively, he immediately looked in the direction the water god was looking, and with his clairvoyance, he saw the figure approaching from afar faster than anyone else.

It was a figure clad in knight's armor, completely enveloped in it, walking slowly toward the execution ground. Though seemingly slow, it covered the vast distance in the blink of an eye, arriving at the execution platform almost instantly.

Faced with this unfamiliar entity, most people expressed confusion.

Only the water god, with a knowing expression, silently spoke: "It's been a long time. Have you come to guide this old woman, who doesn't have much time left, to the afterlife?"

"That's right, because you are an apostle of God and man."

The armored figure spoke silently; it was a deep, male voice that Shirou recognized instantly, yet he couldn't immediately make the connection.

"Apostle... Is it because I wasn't an apostle when we fought last time that you let me escape?"

"Yes, back then you only fought me to prove your strength, but now you have completely become a lackey of the gods."

"Hehe, I wouldn't call them henchmen or anything like that; I just followed that person's advice."

"The gods do not give correct advice; all their advice is only to satisfy their own purposes."

As the armored man spoke, he slowly approached the water goddess Leda.

Faced with this unexpectedly appearing man, the nobles present were all extremely confused, and some knights, belatedly realizing what was happening, immediately stepped forward to stop him.

But these knights barely managed to complete their mission; they were instantly defeated by the armored man before they even got close.

The armored man walked step by step, easily reaching the water goddess Leda, and slowly raised his hand, intending to end the old woman's life.

"stop!"

Just as the water god was about to perish, Izuru suddenly rushed out. She couldn't bear to watch her master and grandmother be killed, so she desperately unleashed the full power of the water king!

"boom!"