Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

This was indeed a heavy fate worthy of being called shackles.

There isn't now.

When summoned as a Servant, all that is expected of one is absolute power.

This was a miraculous moment that had never occurred in my life, and probably never will again.

This is the first time that Karna, a great hero who has carried heavy shackles all his life, has been able to disregard the consequences and unleash his full power.

Fate, justice, faith, hatred...

These are all footnotes added by people to whitewash the battle.

For Karna, none of that matters—the battle itself is the greatest meaning.

"Brahma, curse my body (Brahmastra Kundala)"

This is Karna's hidden trump card, and also his strongest Noble Phantasm at this stage.

The heat effect, which is Karna's attribute, is applied to "Brahmastra" and launched.

This further expands the already wide-ranging range of the anti-military and anti-national treasure "Undying Blade" and significantly increases its power, making its performance comparable to a nuclear weapon.

In the initial plan of the "Red" faction, Semiramis had hoped to use this move to destroy the World Tree's fortress.

Karna was cursed during his lifetime.

Occasionally, they forget how to use the Brahmastra at crucial moments, and they also become unable to use it when facing "opponents stronger than themselves".

He is now in this situation—is the cause the former or the latter?

The handsome man, bathed in the scorching vortex, smiled.

It is undoubtedly the latter.

This red-haired boy is, in the literal sense, an unprecedented and unparalleled enemy.

He had never encountered, and probably never will encounter, a stronger opponent than him.

However, even the divine spear capable of instantly vaporizing a thousand-year-old, unyielding fortress could not be used against him—

No, even if we could use it, we probably wouldn't be able to defeat him.

The trembling throughout my body was telling the truth.

We can only use "that".

"Hey... Lancer! What are you planning to do? Don't do anything reckless!"

Atalanta frowned; she had already sensed the huntress's wild nature.

"Huh? What? What?"

Astolfo, however, was completely unaware of the impending destruction that awaited him.

"Even if I poured all my power into the 'Brahmastra,' it probably wouldn't be enough to defeat you."

Karna spoke calmly.

"Therefore, I need a decisive blow that can completely crush you."

Shirou remained unfazed by what he said, and replied with a fearless smile.

"Alright, just take it out, hero Karna..."

I will take responsibility to witness the brilliance of the sun, a brilliance that no one else has ever witnessed.

The night before the decisive battle, Shirou had already undergone a intensive study of the knowledge of "Red" faction Servants at Corles's place.

The most important one, of course, is the enemy ace (Lancer) that Shirou is prepared to deal with.

Karna, the great hero in Hindu mythology, did not originally carry a gun.

Originally, he was a charioteer who could drive a chariot and draw a bow and arrow—in other words, he was a warrior who was praised for his skills as both an archer and a cavalryman. Of course, this does not mean that he did not know how to use a spear or a sword.

So why was Karna summoned as a spearman?

Before the final battle with the five Pandita brothers, also known as Arjuna, a Brahmin monk came to Karna, the commander-in-chief of the army of Duryodhana at the time.

The monks asked Karna, who was bathing, for the golden armor.

The monks had no need to ask for the golden armor, but Karna had sworn that he must donate whatever the Brahmin monks asked for while he was bathing.

Knowing of this oath, Indra, the father of the five Pandavas and the king of the gods, disguised himself as a monk and demanded the golden armor from Karna.

The god-king, understanding how powerful Karna was, was unwilling to take any risk that would lead to Arjuna's death.

Karna knew all this beforehand—yet he still tore off the golden armor that had merged with his own body and gave it to Indra.

Indra, feeling ashamed of Karna's noble conduct, took out a gun.

What was obtained at the cost of golden armor was said to be the strongest spear, capable of killing gods with a single swing.

Karna, wielding this spear, thus became the strongest spearman.

then--

Now is the time for Karna to reveal the true form of his strongest spear.

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Volume 5, Chapter 235: Meryl: Hey hey hey, got a job?

"what is this?"

Astolfo hid behind Shirou, sweating profusely and staring wide-eyed.

Karna was enveloped in the radiance of the sun, and his presence had been steadily increasing since the beginning.

The highest purity and density of magic, also known as divine energy—

That is the pure magic that only demigods like Karna, Heracles, Achilles, and Gilgamesh can refine, and it is the essence that distinguishes them from other heroes.

Shirou narrowed his eyes: This guy... if we only consider the level of "divinity", is he even higher than the oldest Hero King?

Unlike King Gilgamesh, who abhorred the blood of the gods, the warrior Karna readily accepted his divine essence (destiny) and swallowed both the blessings and curses from the gods.

As divine energy continued to flow into his body, the "Red" spearman began to change, and a part of his golden armor peeled off his flesh.

Occasionally, glimpses of blood could be seen, along with the look of pain on Karna's face.

But more than anything else, the gun that appeared out of thin air in his hand attracted their attention.

The sacred aura emanating from the gun before him made one feel that the Brahma artifact (the indestructible blade) he had previously held was nothing more than a toy.

That was clearly the embodiment of thunder, which the ancients believed to be the wrath of the sky.

—"The God-Slaying Spear obtained at the cost of voluntarily giving up the Golden Armor".

The flames flowed around the "Red" spearman like countless snakes.

Karna, unleashing his full power for the first time in his life, drew the Lightning Spear, a weapon even the Gate of Babylon did not possess in its original form—

"........."

Astolfo gasped.

Even after a life of great adventure as a knight, and even a legendary journey to the moon, he had never seen a Noble Phantasm of this scale.

That was the resolve of the great hero Karna, who completely abandoned his defenses in exchange for a true one-hit kill...!

That firepower is far superior to the combined ultimate attack of the twelve warriors (Joyeuse Ordre)...!

"Saber!"

Astolfo grabbed Shirou's wrist.

Even if he was slow to realize things, he knew something was wrong.

That kind of thing is impossible to win against; the very idea of ​​confronting it head-on is wrong!

It's getting late, but now I have no choice but to run away—I'll use my beloved horse!

The reason Astolfo manifested in the world as a Rider was because of his mount, the hawk.

The offspring born from a mare that was originally meant to be prey for the magical griffin will be called a swift eagle, a monster with the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a horse.

However, this was originally an impossible species. As long as griffins continue to prey on horses, the two cannot produce offspring; the eagle simply exists as a philosophical symbol in oral tradition.

However, in "Orlando Madness," which features Astolfo and others, the eagle still appears because the author intended that "since the eagle has appeared, it is not surprising that no matter how absurd or bizarre things happen."

The Hippogriff, a phantom horse not found in this world, is as its name suggests; its existence is so vague that it is unclear whether it even truly exists.

It is inferior in rank to the griffin, which is a beast of the divine age, and cannot be compared with the Pegasus. Its crushing attack caused by its charge is comparable to a physical attack of rank A.

However, its true value lies not in its ability to advance against the enemy, but in its hidden ability called "Dimensional Jump".

After revealing its true name, the hawk will exhibit the characteristic of "non-physical existence," specifically by switching into a blurry form and disappearing without a trace, escaping all forms of observation in the world, and even reappearing in other places.

Even an attack that is powerful enough to destroy gods and Buddhas would not be able to hurt a single hair on its body.

—That is, a super-degraded version of "Avalon".

The probability of the hawk perfectly dodging the God-Slaying Spear is probably less than 30%, but even so it is better than facing that Noble Phantasm head-on—the chance of winning in that case is practically zero!

"Saber, hurry..."

Shirou calmly shook his head: "No, Rider, you escape alone."

"Huh? Why!?"

Astolfo was so anxious he was about to cry.

“Karna’s target is me. If you escape alone, your chances of success will be much higher.”

"Huh? Don't talk nonsense. How could I possibly abandon you? I still owe you a lot of favors!"

"Alright, let's run away. Besides, I never intended to lose to him in the first place."

"Saber..."

Astolfo was stunned.

　The unwavering light in Shirou's eyes reminded him of his master (the King) whom he had served as a knight in his previous life.

Astolfo suddenly realized how foolish it had been to persuade him to run away.

The "Black" Swordsman is also a Heroic Spirit who manifests in the world as a king, and he would never evade a warrior's fair and square challenge.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh! I know, I know! I don't care anymore! Do whatever you want!"

Astolfo clutched his head.

He shouted, "Don't die so easily! If you die, I won't let you off easily!" as he mounted the summoned eagle.

Karna did not stop Rider's escape.

To be precise, Shirou was all he could see.

The spear that slays gods is about to be fired.

"........."

If it were Shirou in his normal state, he would tend to adopt a more "efficient" fighting style—

While pretending to raise the holy sword to fight, he also liberates the "distant ideal land (Avalon)" that Aika has given him.

Using that will guarantee that you can avoid Karna's strongest attack.

But this time, he did not intend to use the scabbard.

Karna's fighting spirit was so strong.

Shirou was also moved by the glory of the great hero who sacrificed everything and risked his honor, and felt that he had to respond properly to this person.

Not only that.

"The Nameless King"

This seems to be the title that "King Arthur of this world" once possessed, and for some reason it happens to be the same title that Shirou received in the Fairy Kingdom.

However, according to legend, "King Arthur of this world" is different from Shirou, who rules the fairies of Britain through violence and fear...

She was a queen who was more noble and more perfect than anyone else.

Shirou thought that the king probably wouldn't resort to such despicable means...