A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

First, several loud bangs from the collisions rang out, followed by several Noble Phantasms shooting in like cannonballs, directly slamming into Medusa's path and creating craters. The shockwaves from the explosions caused Medusa to lose her balance, but after tumbling several times, she managed to regain her footing.

"The King of Heroes?" At this moment, Diarmuid realized that such a domineering tone and attack style could only come from Gilgamesh. He just hadn't expected that he would be saved by Gilgamesh this time.

"You bastard who's been jumping around everywhere, it's time for you to go back to where you belong." Sure enough, a golden figure appeared on the scene. Behind Gilgamesh, the iconic Gate of Babylon appeared, and then, like a hail of bullets, it poured down on the area where Medusa and Euryale were.

"boom!"

In an instant, a series of explosions rang out, dust broke up, and a large amount of smoke billowed up. Diarmuid's expression hardened, and he stood ready against the smoke ahead, preventing the enemy from having any means to withstand Gilgamesh's bombardment and then use the smoke to launch a surprise attack.

However, after the smoke cleared, they found that apart from many huge craters on the ground, they could not see Medusa and Euryale at all.

"Were they destroyed? Or did they escape?" Diarmuid frowned, glancing left and right, but couldn't see Euryale or Medusa.

"Two rats, they escaped pretty fast." Gilgamesh glanced contemptuously at the spot where the Gorgon sisters had just been and said to himself. Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Diarmuid was relieved; it seemed the enemy had been repelled.

"Thank you for your assistance, King of Heroes," Diarmuid said, bowing slightly to Gilgamesh.

"Thank you? Heh... Hahahaha, are you sure you want to thank me?" At this moment, Gilgamesh's expression was very strange, and he looked at Diarmuid with a mocking gaze, as if he were looking at a clown.

"Wh...what?" Diarmuid didn't understand why Gilgamesh said that. But what happened next made him understand quickly.

"Ah—!!" A horrifying scream suddenly rang out from behind Diarmuid. Diarmuid was shocked and immediately looked behind him, only to see Sora, whom he was supposed to protect, suddenly being strangled by an unknown Servant, with a gleaming dagger held to Sora's neck.

"Mrs. Sola!"

The author says:

Author's Note: First of all, I'd like to thank reader Pei Qiuyu for the 12 "request for more chapters" votes. However, I'm truly unable to reach the 1-word goal today. Since we haven't achieved that goal, the 12 votes will be automatically returned. QAQ I'm currently short on drafts, and I have a very important event tomorrow, so I'm really at my wit's end. I can only guarantee the usual double update, and I can't add any extra chapters. Please understand.

Chapter 263 Hero King, why are you just watching?

"Mrs. Sora! You bastard—get your filthy hands off me!"

Diarmuid never expected that someone would bypass his senses and appear behind him to capture Sora alive. It seemed that they had sneaked up while he was focusing most of his attention on the smoke. But even so, only an Assassin could have done this—their innate ability to conceal their presence.

Upon realizing this, Diarmuid naturally assumed that the other party was the assassin who had appeared on the first night among the Otherworld Servants. She knew that the Masters of the normal Servants had already signed contracts, preventing them from harming each other tonight.

"You damned Another Servant, if you have the guts, release Lady Sora!" Diarmuid roared, preparing to attack with his gun.

"Don't move! Lancer. Do you want her to die? And you! If you dare to move again, I can't guarantee that the knife won't slit your throat!" The servant said coldly, the sharp blade had already cut through a layer of skin, and warm blood was already flowing down, which made the originally terrified Sora so scared that she dared not struggle or move at all.

"Lancer! Diarmuid! Save me! Waaah... I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" Sora burst into tears.

"Damn it!" Hearing Sora's cries of pain, Diarmuid was filled with self-reproach for his carelessness in failing to protect her. Pointing angrily at the Servant who had kidnapped Sora, Diarmuid demanded, "What are you trying to do?"

"What do we need...? It's simple. We need your help to kill someone. If you agree and complete the task, we'll release Sora," the servant said slowly.

“Wait… ‘we’?” Dilmud immediately noticed the other person’s choice of words.

“Indeed, it is us.” At that moment, another deep voice rang out, and three figures slowly emerged from the shadows. Diarmuid, recognizing the newcomers, widened his eyes in shock and exclaimed, “My lord!”

Kenneth lay unconscious in his wheelchair, his fate unknown. A pistol was pressed against his head, ready to be fired at the slightest sign of trouble from Diarmuid.

"Emiya Kiritsugu!!" Diarmuid clenched his fists tightly. Upon recognizing the person holding his lord hostage, a flicker of hatred flashed in Diarmuid's eyes. It was him again! Not only had he brought his lord to this terrible state, but now he was using his lord's life to force him to join him in his evil ways. This was even more infuriating than killing Diarmuid.

"I'll only say this once: obey my orders, or your lord and this Lady Sora will both die." Kiritsugu Emiya looked at Diarmuid coldly, as if he were assessing whether a tool was useful or not.

"Follow your orders? Do you think you'll release Lady Sora and my lord if I follow your orders?" Diarmuid clearly didn't believe Kiritsugu Emiya's words. He was only threatening him now because he saw him as someone of use. Once he met their demands and lost his usefulness, they would probably kill him and Kenneth immediately.

"You have no other choice, do you?" Kiritsugu Emiya said coldly.

"...Emiya Kiritsugu, have you forgotten that I'm not the only one here? You can threaten me with my lord, but do you think you can threaten the King of Heroes?" Diarmuid took a deep breath. In such a crisis, he was in a difficult position to act or make a choice. Therefore, he could only place his hopes on Gilgamesh, who was also a normal Servant.

But after Diarmuid finished speaking, the atmosphere fell eerily quiet. For a moment, Diarmuid sensed something was wrong. From the very beginning, Gilgamesh hadn't made a move, as if watching a good show without taking action. But weren't the Otherworldly Servants Gilgamesh wanted to kill? Why was Gilgamesh so indifferent?

Ahead, neither Kiritsugu Emiya, Maiya Hisau, nor the mysterious Servant showed any reaction after he uttered those words, as if they weren't worried at all that Gilgamesh would deal with them.

“The…King of Heroes?” Diarmuid turned around involuntarily, just in time to see that face that had been mocking and filled with pleasure. In an instant, a thunderbolt exploded in Diarmuid's heart.

“King of Heroes… why are you just watching? Could it be that you really…” Diarmuid couldn’t believe the thought that had crossed his mind.

"Tokiomi Tohsaka is dead," Kiritsugu Emiya said calmly.

"What..." Upon hearing these words, Diarmuid immediately understood the cause and effect. Tokiomi Tohsaka was already dead, but Gilgamesh, as Tokiomi Tohsaka's Servant, not only was he still alive, but he had never attacked Kiritsugu Emiya and the others. So the answer was obvious.

No wonder the assassin so conveniently managed to reach Sora and take her hostage immediately after Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm attack. No wonder Gilgamesh mocked him for thanking him...

"It's about time this boring farce ended. I was somewhat interested at first, but now I'm tired of this foolishness," Gilgamesh said calmly, glancing at Kiritsugu Emiya and the others.

"Dirmund, I'm asking you one last time. Obey me, or we'll die together," Kiritsugu Emiya said coldly.

"...What exactly do you want me to obey? You just said that you would spare Lady Sora and the Lord if you killed one person. Who is he?" Diarmuid took a deep breath, staring intently at Kiritsugu Emiya, and asked.

“There is only one person we need to kill, and that is Wang Chong, who has the dual identity of Caster and Master,” Kiritsugu Emiya said.

"Ha...kill Mr. Wang Chong?" Diarmuid gave a bitter laugh. Indeed, his entire life had been shattered by the choice of loyalty. In the past, he had betrayed his lord for the sake of his lover. Reborn, Diarmuid, filled with regret, only wished to serve one lord to the very end, hoping to fulfill his duty to him. This time, however, he could only betray his own principles for the sake of his regret.

“Our Masters have signed a contract, and they cannot harm each other. You’d better give up on the idea of ​​me dealing with him.” This was the last compromise Diarmuid could make. He could join Kiritsugu Emiya’s team, but he was unwilling to lay a hand on his ally.

"It's alright, of course I know about the contract you signed. What I need you to do is use the same rule to act as the best meat shield, making them hesitant to attack freely. Then, with the King of Heroes and him, we can take them all out." Kiritsugu Emiya pointed at the mysterious Servant and Gilgamesh, and said calmly.

Since Gilgamesh's original Master, Tokiomi Tohsaka, is dead, the contract binding Gilgamesh has become invalid. Gilgamesh can now attack any normal Master and Servant. Of course, others can also attack Gilgamesh in the same way.

In fact, Diarmuid could also be used in this way; by switching Masters, the original binding effect would be lost, and Diarmuid could also harm Wang Chong and others. However, firstly, Kiritsugu Emiya's magical abilities are simply insufficient to support him contracting two Servants. Secondly, naturally, a Diarmuid with binding power is more useful than one without.

"Using...using me as a human shield...Emiya Kiritsugu, you...what...what are you trying to humiliate me..."

"Emiya Kiritsugu, you despicable and shameless bastard, just how far do you intend to insult Lancer!"

Just as Diarmuid felt his fists were about to bleed and he was roaring in humiliation to vent his emotions, a familiar female voice came from behind him.

"Saber?" Diarmuid turned to look at the source of the voice. She saw that not only Artoria, but also Wang Chong, Jeanne d'Arc, Irisviel, and others were emerging from the entrance passage.

Chapter 264 A Complete Break

"Emiya Kiritsugu, just how far will you go to insult Lancer!"

Artoria was utterly disappointed. She thought she had already witnessed enough of her former Master's depravity. But she never expected, nor could she believe, that he could be this despicable!

As for why Wang Chong and the others happened to be here so coincidentally, the story begins more than ten minutes earlier.

A dozen minutes earlier, after Wang Chong and the others left the room where they had a romantic connection, they quickly arrived at the next room. But to their surprise, this room turned out to be a trap room that had already been solved.

"Repeated rooms? Looks like we're in luck. Maybe we'll encounter other Masters or Servants ahead. And judging from the size of the cuts on these magical beasts... they should be Diarmuid." Wang Chong said after examining the magical beasts' wounds.

“Dirmund? That’s good. If we can gather more people, we won’t have to worry about being surrounded by those enemy Servants,” Artoria nodded and said.

"However, that's not necessarily true. After all, we just learned that behind every door that opens, there's a possibility of spatial teleportation. There are two possibilities for the path we take next. The first is that we'll still be constantly teleported by Semiramis, and the next room might be a trap room. The second is that we'll keep going in the direction Diarmuid is heading, and there will be rooms that we can solve along the way, allowing us to speed up our rendezvous with them."

After Wang Chong finished speaking, he led the way and ran towards the exit, with the others quickly following. They soon arrived at the next room, which was also a mess, covered in blood and signs of battle. Wang Chong examined the corpses of magical beasts lying on the floor, confirmed the wounds, nodded, and said:

"The same traces. It's still Diarmuid... This proves something else. Semiramis's use of spatial teleportation must be limited, such as time, or the need for a specific room. Otherwise, she could have easily transferred us to another room again, preventing us from reuniting with Diarmuid and the others."

"If it's a time limit, does that mean that as long as we're fast enough, we can find Diarmuid and escape this underground labyrinth before she teleports us again?" Leticia realized and said.

“That’s right… In that case, we need to get to Diarmuid and the others as fast as we can to prevent being teleported away again before we meet them.” After Wang Chong finished speaking, he rushed to the next location without stopping, and the others followed immediately.

After passing through several rooms, Wang Chong and his group suddenly heard a voice coming from ahead. And the owner of that voice was none other than Diarmuid.

"It sounds like they're arguing," Artoria said, frowning as she listened to the somewhat heated voice.

"Let's sneak over there and see what's going on. Don't alert those ahead." Wang Chong stopped his hurried pace, blocking the group, and then slowly moved towards the source of the sound.

Soon, when they successfully reached the entrance to the room, they saw Kiritsugu Emiya threatening Diarmuid.

"How could this be...!" Artoria exclaimed, her face filled with disbelief after seeing and hearing what had happened.

"..." Upon seeing Kiritsugu Emiya again, Irisviel felt little emotional. She knew Kiritsugu well and was well aware of his ruthless methods to achieve his goals. Previously, she had been able to tolerate all of this, not only because of her deep love for him but also because she believed Kiritsugu could achieve his ideal of saving the world, and no matter how ugly it was, she would continue to support him.

But now, the burning passion in her heart has vanished, and the so-called ideal of saving all mankind is nothing but a castle in the air, arrogant and conceited. Therefore, the fact that Irisviel can not feel disgust upon seeing Kiritsugu Emiya's "despicable" actions is already enough to show their past affection.

"There is only one person we need to kill, and that is Wang Chong, who has the dual identity of Caster and Master." At this moment, Kiritsugu Emiya's voice came again.

Upon hearing this, all three women looked at Wang Chong, the person in charge. But Wang Chong simply shrugged and said, "It's alright, isn't it good to know their next target?"

"Kiritsugu Emiya wants to target Mr. Wang Chong... probably because Mr. Wang Chong has repeatedly thwarted his plans. So he wants to get rid of him as soon as possible," Artoria said.

"It's also possible that Mr. Wang Chong has a Noble Phantasm that can break contracts. After all, Saber's Command Seals were successfully terminated by Mr. Wang Chong, and the contract relationship was transferred to Mrs. Irisviel," Leticia added after thinking for a moment.

"No matter what... we will stop him." Irisviel also took a deep breath and stood firmly on Wang Chong's side.

"The focus now shouldn't be on me, but on Diarmuid... We must rescue the hostages, otherwise Diarmuid will remain under the control of Kiritsugu Emiya and his men." Wang Chong glanced at the target's distance, but unfortunately, the distance was too far to launch a successful sneak attack.

“No, neither Kenneth nor Sora are too far from the entrance. We can’t sneak over there to rescue them. And I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but Gilgamesh seemed to look in our direction several times just now. I’m afraid we’ve already been discovered by him.” After analyzing the situation, Wang Chong shook his head and said.

"Since that's the case... I've had enough too. Let's all attack together, Alice, Leticia, Mr. Wang Chong." Artoria drew her holy sword first and charged out without saying a word.

"Let's go, Leticia. Remember not to give us any openings. Let Joan of Arc have more time to recover; that way, she'll be able to recover more fully," Wang Chong instructed.

……

Now, Artoria and her group, having witnessed the heinous acts of Kiritsugu Emiya and his companions, stepped forward and blocked the entrance to prevent anyone from escaping.

"Saber... Irisviel, are you here to stop me too?" Seeing his former lover now standing in front of him with his former Servant, even though Kiritsugu Emiya had prepared himself mentally, he still felt a pang of pain in his heart.

"Is it because of my actions and methods that I disappointed you, Irisviel?" Kiritsugu Emiya looked at Irisviel, wanting to hear the answer for himself.

"Methods and methods are just one thing... Kiritsugu Emiya. My disappointment in you cannot be summed up in a single sentence. Including your ideals... I can no longer believe in the possibility of your ideals being realized," Irisviel said earnestly. This was the conclusion she had drawn from what she had seen and heard these past few days, based on her own feelings and reflections. The principles of salvation should never be defined by individuals or measured by their personal values.

“Emiya Kiritsugu… I’ve also heard about your ideals and ambitions from Irisviel. To be honest, I can’t believe that such grand aspirations could come from someone who would commit such a despicable act,” Artoria said coldly.

"But it is precisely because of this that you have gone to extremes because of such delusional thoughts. You are willing to pay any price to pursue the final result. But desires are a reflection of the heart. Your so-called vision of saving everyone has long been distorted by your prejudice and despicable behavior."

"Even if you win this Holy Grail War, your wish will not only fail to save humanity, but will also bring unpredictable disasters. This is not only my opinion, but also Alice's! So Alice and I will stop you! We will never let you become the victor of this Holy Grail War."

Upon hearing Artoria's reply, Kiritsugu Emiya was taken aback. He had initially thought that Irisviel's loss of trust was due to his own methods, coupled with being outmaneuvered and amplifying his negative influence.

But Kiritsugu Emiya hadn't anticipated that Irisviel had fundamentally denied herself. She denied her ideals, her desires. She believed that the path she had chosen was wrong, that it would not only fail to save humanity but would also bring disaster to everyone.

In the former case, Kiritsugu Emiya believed that Irisviel had been misled and that there was still a chance to salvage the situation. In the latter, however, Kiritsugu knew that Irisviel was no longer his ally; she had completely changed and would never accept him again.

"So that's how it is... Is this the truth?" Kiritsugu Emiya closed his eyes. He understood that this answer meant their true parting of ways. Those who walk different paths cannot work together. From this moment on, Irisviel would become an absolute obstacle in his way.

This means... Kiritsugu Emiya, he needs to eliminate Irisviel himself. To save all of humanity, Kiritsugu Emiya will mercilessly kill anyone who stands in his way. Even if it's his once beloved wife.

Chapter 265 I'm telling the truth

After the dialogue concluded, both sides fell into a brief silence. But the silence did not signify the end of the matter; the atmosphere only intensified.

The one who broke the silence was none other than Wang Chong. He looked at Gilgamesh first and said, "King of Heroes... I heard that Tokiomi Tohsaka is dead, and judging from our current relationship, you've actually become Kiritsugu Emiya's Servant? Since when did you become so indiscriminate in your selection of servants, King of Heroes?"

"Hehehe, Faker. My affairs are none of your concern. I'd rather see how long you're going to keep up this act." Gilgamesh, unusually, didn't get angry at Wang Chong's veiled words. Instead, he looked at Wang Chong with great interest.

"What do you mean?" Wang Chong asked, frowning.

"It means stop pretending. Wang Chong, the true Master of Semiramis." At this moment, the mysterious Servant who had been holding a knife to Sora's neck suddenly dropped a bombshell, presenting it to everyone.

For a moment, even Diarmuid, who had been concerned about her lord's condition, couldn't help but look at Wang Chong with disbelief. Not to mention the three women surrounding Wang Chong.

"What? Mr. Wang Chong is Semiramis's Master... How is that possible?" Artoria was first shocked, then her eyes were full of disbelief. She then pointed her sword at the mysterious Servant and said angrily, "Nonsense! If Mr. Wang Chong is Semiramis's Master, then he just... You bastards, you've already insulted Diarmuid, and now you want to insult me ​​too?! Everyone knows you're trying to smear Mr. Wang Chong."

For a moment, everyone except Leticia and Irisviel was confused. They understood throwing mud at Wang Chong. But how did it suddenly become an insult to Artoria?

However, the others were completely unaware of what had recently transpired involving Artoria, Leticia, and Irisviel. In their eyes, if Wang Chong truly was Semiramis's Master, then what were they? Foolish fools who had been sold out and were still helping to count the money?

"What if I could prove that Semiramis's Master is Wang Chong?" After saying this, the mysterious Servant looked at Leticia and said, "Ruler, don't forget your true mission in this world. Don't you really remember who you need to punish?"

"Huh?" Leticia was a little confused. How did she suddenly get dragged into this?

The mysterious servant, however, frowned upon seeing Leticia's expression. Why did Joan of Arc seem a little strange today?

“I’d like to see what kind of proof you can come up with,” Artoria said, taking two steps forward. “If you can’t produce anything decent, I’ll make you understand the consequences of insulting me and my friends!”

"..." The mysterious servant was speechless. He couldn't understand what had gotten into the Knight King today. He hadn't mentioned her at all. If you said he had insulted her companions, that was true. But if you said he had insulted the Knight King... exactly, in which sentence of his did he insult the Knight King?

"No proof needed." But suddenly, Wang Chong shook his head and stepped forward. Everyone immediately began to speculate about what Wang Chong intended to do. Even Gilgamesh, who had been somewhat losing interest, couldn't help but turn his head to see what kind of explanation Wang Chong would offer.

However, what Wang Chong said next shocked everyone even more than the earlier revelation that it could prove Wang Chong was Semiramis's Master.

“I am indeed the Master of Semiramis,” Wang Chong said, spreading his hands.

At this moment, not only Artoria and the others, but even Kiritsugu Emiya and the mysterious Servant were somewhat bewildered by Wang Chong's self-destructive act. It was like the Seer in Werewolf finally finding a kill card and was eager to make a powerful move to expose the werewolf. But before they could even make a move, the other side had already gone completely off the rails.

Only Gilgamesh's lips curved into an even wider smile, his entire body now facing Wang Chong, enjoying what was about to unfold.

"Wang Chong...sir, is what you said true?" Artoria, Irisviel, and Leticia all looked at each other with disbelief.

“Yes, absolutely.” Wang Chong turned around, his back to Kiritsugu Emiya and the others, and continued, “Actually, Artoria, Jeanne d'Arc, Irisviel, I have many things I’ve been hiding that I need to admit.”

"Wait... what do you mean?" Artoria couldn't help but ask.

"Actually, I am also the Master of the Gorgon sisters, Jeanne Alter, Atalanta, and Mordred, among other Outcast Servants who have appeared before," Wang Chong said seriously.