"You are an incompetent person! You are just a big talker!"
Facing the scolding, Lancer could only lower his head and endure it silently.
"With such a short time, you can't even protect a woman. Humph, you still have the audacity to talk about chivalry!"
Kayneth cursed with spit flying everywhere, but he was more anxious and angry than Lancer who was ashamed of his own loss of composure. He was very proud of getting the new Command Seals, but the reality once again threw him into a cold abyss. Sora disappeared, and only Lancer returned to his side with a sad face.
"Even though he's just a temporary replacement, Sora is still your Master! If you can't even protect your Master, what's the point of having a Servant like you? How dare you come back here alone!"
"... I am really ashamed."
Lancer shook his head weakly. His natural beauty was distorted by grief, telling that he also regretted that things had turned out to be so regretful.
"Excuse me, my Lord... Madam Sora and I do not have a formal contractual relationship and cannot sense each other's aura..."
"That's why we should be more cautious."
Kayneth shouted mercilessly, interrupting the servant's defense.
Under normal circumstances, the Master and the Servant are connected by a contract, and as long as one of them is in danger, the other will sense it through their breath.
However, in this case, Lancer and Sora did not sign a formal contract according to the rules of contract magic, and went into battle directly. Lancer's obsession with loyalty to Kayneth hurt him instead.
When Lancer finished the battle and returned to Fuyuki Center Building, Sora was gone. The only thing that was certain was that Sora was still alive, and the magic power that supported Lancer's manifestation and activities was still flowing into his body.
If it was another Servant, they might be able to sense her approximate location through the supply of magic power. Unfortunately, the contract Lancer signed was a special contract that separated the contractor from the magic power supplier, and the connection with the magic power supplier was very weak. Even if it could be inferred that Sora was still alive, Lancer didn't know where the magic power came from. Searching in the new capital without any clues was futile, and in the end, he had to come back alone.
"Ah, Sora... I really shouldn't have given her the Command Seals... Magical combat is too difficult for her..."
"I, Diarmuid, am also responsible for not advising you thoroughly. But Lady Sora made that decision because she hoped that you, Lord Kayneth, would be able to make a comeback. In that case, please do it no matter what—"
Kenneth looked at Lancer with eyes clouded by jealousy.
"How dare you say such things? Don't act stupid, Lancer. You must have been the one who instigated Sora, right?"
"What... I would never do that..."
"It's just like the legend says. Even on the lord's fiancée, I couldn't help but use charm."
Lancer knelt on the ground with his head lowered, his shoulders shaking violently.
"—My Lord, please take that back—"
"Hmph, did I get it right? Can't you hold back your anger? So you're planning on showing me your true evil face?"
Kayneth continued to mock the Heroic Spirit who was suppressing his excitement.
"You finally showed your true colors. You said you swore allegiance and didn't ask for anything in return, but you are just a beast driven by lust. You put on a proud face and talked about chivalry, but did you think you could fool me, Kayneth?"
"Master Kenneth...why, why don't you understand?"
Lancer's voice was almost choked with sobs as he defended himself.
"I just want to defend my honor! I just want to fight a glorious war with you! My Lord, why don't you understand the heart of a knight!?"
"Don't make it sound like it's real, Servant!"
Kenneth ruthlessly scolded Lancer and ignored his confession. His suspicion and dissatisfaction with Lancer finally exceeded the critical point at this time.
"Servant, recognize your own identity! You are just a shadow that appears with the help of magic! Your so-called honor and dignity are just the ravings of the dead. How dare you preach to your master without knowing your own limitations!"
"!!!"
The silence of the Heroic Spirit who was humiliated made Kayneth feel the joy of sadism. The magician deliberately pushed the Command Seals he had obtained again in front of Lancer and mocked him loudly.
"If you feel unwilling, then use the glory you have always boasted about to resist my Command Spell. Humph, you can't do it, right? Because Servants are just puppets."
"... Kenneth... Sir..."
Facing the laughing Kenneth, Lancer said nothing but kept his head down. His drooped shoulders and empty eyes staring at the ground had lost the heroic spirit of wielding his two guns and fighting against all the heroes.
Just as Kenneth was enjoying the joy of perversion (harmony) and Lancer was disheartened, a sigh suddenly sounded in the empty factory.
"Ah, I can't bear to watch this anymore, Lancer. If I were you, I would definitely shoot this guy."
Kenneth's face suddenly changed, and Lancer subconsciously materialized two guns and was about to protect the master. But before he could stand up, he found that there was a purple sword on his master's neck.
The ruler of shadows, the queen of the demonic realm, appeared beside Kayneth with a knife in her hand. Her master was sitting leisurely on the windowsill, smiling at Lancer and Kayneth.
Lancer held his guns tightly, but did not dare to act rashly. He just asked: "Assassin, what do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just feel a little regretful. I regret saving your Master in the Einzbern Castle." Scathach's cold gaze made Kenneth feel creepy. "If I had known he was such a person, I should have killed him with one blow."
"It's my fault." Shinji touched his nose in embarrassment, jumped down from the windowsill, and walked closer step by step. "I took it for granted that he still had the demeanor and character of a traditional noble. I didn't expect that he would be reduced to such a waste after being hit by reality. It's really a rotten rag inside. Your Majesty, if I said that to you, would you stab me to death?"
"No. I'll just keep you bedridden for half a year."
Scathach's answer put Shinji into the same state as Kenneth.
"Well, you better stab me. Now, Lancer, how about I just kill this guy right here and help you out?"
"No, don't do that, Master Assassin." Lancer put down his gun and pleaded, "He is the master that I, Diarmuid, am loyal to. No matter what happens, I will only be loyal to him in this life. If you really want to do this, I will regard you as my enemy."
"Don't be so rigid." Shinji took out the "God's Spear Bow Sword", and the blade condensed with magic rubbed back and forth on Kenneth's face, "After what happened in your life, you should wake up - there is an old Chinese saying that 'good birds choose trees to roost'; people like you should follow a more wise master. What do you think of Saber? You are a noble knight, and she is a noble knight king. Aren't they a good master and minister?"
"Stop talking like that, Master Assassin, that's an insult to me!"
Lancer's will was firm and unwavering.
"If the lord makes a mistake, the minister can advise and grieve, but he will never betray the lord."
"Even if Finn plotted against you, you wouldn't regret it?"
"No regrets!"
"Even if your current Master orders you to commit suicide?"
"This..." Lancer gritted his teeth and still spat out two words, "No regrets!"
"Stupid, stupid beyond belief."
Shinji felt mad. He had even used his ultimate move, but why was he still like this? Would he really regret it only if he fell into that situation
"This is true chivalry, this is a true knight." Scathach winked at Shinji, and she didn't say the second half of the sentence - it is because of this that they are admirable, and it is because of this that I don't want to see such an ending.
"Knight, chivalry..." Shinji understood and took over Scathach's position with a sigh, "Although I understand, times have changed, Lancer. People nowadays don't talk about chivalry. This is the biggest difference between you and your Master. He understands your loyalty as obeying his orders completely and not disobeying them. You, on the other hand, require your Master to follow the standards of a Knight Lord. If you could make it clear at the beginning, it might be better - no, that's not it. With Lord El-Melloi's conceited and paranoid personality, he won't listen to you, right, Director Ken!"
At the end, Shinji's knife was bent and cut Kenneth's skin, frightening Kenneth and saying "Yes, yes! That's what I thought."
"I say, Director Ken, have you ever thought about why there are only three Command Seals? If it is according to your idea, why not use more Command Seals to erase the subjectivity of the Servants and turn them into puppets completely? I think many arrogant magicians like you have the same idea."
"This..." Kenneth certainly thought about it, but he didn't get an answer.
"Let me tell you. The so-called Heroic Spirits, no matter whether they were good or evil in their lives, no matter how they are evaluated by the future generations, they were heroes in their lives. Their temperament and their souls are much higher than ordinary people. Such beings, even if they become servants, are not at your mercy. They are not puppets! They are comrades who fight side by side with the Master! In history, every Master who tried to use Heroic Spirits as puppets did not have a good ending. From the moment you treat them as tools, you are doomed to fail."
Shinji's words made Kayneth pale, and he didn't know whether he was really touched or frightened. But Shinji didn't care about Kayneth's attitude. He came here tonight just to fulfill his promise with Scathach and give Diarmuid a relatively satisfactory ending.
"I might as well tell you that I sent someone to kidnap your fiancée Sora from the rooftop of the New City Center. Of course, that was after Caster's death. I have a strong sense of contract. By the way, Assassin left a mark on your body when he rescued you. We know exactly what you have been doing these days. I can say responsibly that Lancer has no improper thoughts about Miss Sora, whether you believe it or not."
"Master Assassin, you..." Lancer hesitated to speak. He didn't know whether to be grateful or resentful.
"It's useless to say this now, Kayneth. I'll give you two choices. Either I kill you now and then order my men to kill Miss Sora and make you completely out of the game. Alternatively, you use your Command Seal to order Lancer to fight my Assassin. As long as Lancer wins, I'll let him go. I'll give you ten seconds to choose. If you don't have an answer after ten seconds, I'll assume you chose the first choice—"
Without waiting for Shinji to count down, Kenneth immediately gave the answer. There was no choice from the beginning.
"I, I choose, I choose the second one, but if you change your mind—"
"Are you stupid?" Shinji looked at Kayneth with contempt. "In this battle, only one person is destined to survive. If Assassin survives, you will be dead. If Lancer survives, do you think I can defeat the Servant? Stop talking nonsense and give the order-"
Holding onto the last glimmer of hope, Kayneth regretfully stroked the Command Seals that he had acquired only a few hours ago, and activated his authority for the last time as the Lord of Lancer.
"Use the Command Seal, Lancer, to kill Assassin!"
"As you command, my Lord!"
For the first time, the first time he was summoned, Lancer accepted the Command Seal completely with his own will.
The red and yellow guns cut through the night sky like two bolts of lightning.