The night deepens.
There are small springs everywhere in the floating courtyard that moves in the air, and Karna has always been accustomed to bathing in such places.
There is no need for a Servant to do this, but it is still difficult to change the habits formed in life.
Looking at the incredible phenomenon of water flowing from below to above, Karna washed his body silently.
The man named Karna, contrary to his luxurious armor and colorful guns, prefers a simple life.
Originally, the armor and the gun were not what he wanted. The armor was obtained by his mother's prayer to God, and the gun was given to him as a replacement for the armor.
He was very grateful for this and considered it a great honor.
The reason why I was able to survive after being abandoned by my mother was entirely thanks to the power given by my father and the armor given by my mother.
He must survive without tarnishing his father's reputation.
This pointer has not changed even now that I have obtained a second life.
As a servant, he naturally has to obey the orders of his master. Karna firmly refuses any behavior that tarnishes his father's glory.
But if the Master has been controlled since before being summoned, then it is no longer a question of how one acts.
The Master was dreaming with empty eyes. Conversation was impossible, and communication of will was impossible. However, from his repeated sleep talk, it was clear that he mistakenly thought he had obtained the Holy Grail.
It was enough to know this. I wanted to obtain the Holy Grail and fulfill the Master's wish...
Of course, he knew very well that this was an extremely difficult task.
I'm afraid it won't get that far. Although the Holy Grail is right before his eyes, it's not so easy to take away. More importantly, his Master has been transformed into Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, who currently possesses the Holy Grail.
Although I have no other intentions, this is a fact that cannot be changed.
There is really nothing we can do.
However, this situation is also common to Karna, the "Hero of Giving". He neither resents the previous master nor hates the current master.
Do what you can within your ability.
Give as much as possible of what is asked of you.
Then seriously accept all the consequences of doing so.
—No, not all of them.
Karna remembered what he had been pursuing till now.
In this world, there is only one hero who keeps disturbing Karna's heart.
His name is Arjuna, a man who is loved by everyone and has various nicknames such as "Shining Crown", "Victor", and "Wealthy Man".
In exchange for his armor and spear, he took away everything from Karna.
It can be said that Arjuna was a man who got everything without paying any price.
Was the feeling that Karna had for Arjuna jealousy, or was it something else besides jealousy
Karna never figured this out until his death, because he had never felt jealous of any existence, and he could not give a specific name to this feeling that had always disturbed his heart.
At the beginning of this Holy Grail War, he had a chance to understand this feeling.
Black Saber - There seemed to be a shadow of Arjuna in him. When Karna heard his real name from Shirou later, he suddenly realized it.
Siegfried is a tragic hero who inherited royal blood, gained wealth, fame and everything else.
But unlike Arjuna, his end was extremely tragic - he didn't even have the time to swing the dragon-slaying sword, and was killed by the only weakness of his invincible body.
Karna believes that all the various Heroic Spirits participating in this Holy Grail War are rare existences. As friends, they should help each other, and as enemies, they are rare strong men. In this sense, Karna can be said to "understand" the existence of Heroic Spirits better than anyone else.
However, the only one that interested him was Saber of Black.
Even if there weren't many conversations exchanged between them, if their weapons had clashed hundreds or thousands of times, they would naturally be able to understand something.
Although he is a being very similar to Arjuna, he is a man who is always craving for something.
A man who has no regrets about his violent death but is pursuing something new.
No matter who you look at him from, he is a true hero.
It was he who wanted to fight me again, and regarded me as an enemy who must be defeated. As a warrior, this could be said to be the highest honor, and also a kind of joy.
For Karna, joy could only be found on the battlefield.
Although I am grateful for all the kindness and warm conversations, there is a long way to go from "selfish desires". There is no desire of my own in it, nor is there any joy that makes my blood boil.
Only on the battlefield, when he can concentrate all his existence on the gun, free himself from his origins and the intentions of the people on his side, and let his "real self" run wild without any worries, can his blood really boil.
That battle, that promise.
The sparks from the swords and spears were like twinkling stars. He was a good opponent who effortlessly counterattacked me while I was giving it my all, and at the same time urged me to give it my all.
It may sound a bit disrespectful, but it was enough to make me feel that "my life exists for that moment of joy."
Before long, I will experience this feeling again, and hopefully this time I can recognize its true nature.
The atmosphere in the air changed, which was a sign of impending storm.
"Are you here?"
Karna walked out of the pool, silently put on the golden armor, picked up the magic spear, and rushed to the battlefield of destiny.
◇◇◇
Almost at the same time, Semiramis opened his eyes on the throne.
"—Hmm, are you here, Master?"
"It's something I expected, but I don't know how they will approach it."
Shirou, who was wiping his sword, raised his head, and Semiramis then activated the spell to project the outside world onto the ceiling.
"This, this is - oh my, oh my, it actually caused such a big scene."
"Flying puppets, so many were created in just a few days... I can understand why you want Blackcaster to surrender."
It's not Shirou's fault. Semiramis sighed like this. The number of bird-shaped puppets was too amazing. They almost covered the entire screen. Under the cover of these puppets, the two had no idea where the enemy servants were hiding.
"Hmph, you're planning to win by numbers? I'll give you some credit for being able to do this, but - you can't get close to my garden with just this little trick."
Slender fingers weave spells and open and close their mouths to utter commands.
"Defense activated, counterattack ritual launched, 'Tiamtum Umu' activated! Watch carefully, master."
The mistress of the garden raised her head and looked at her master, as if showing off, and the latter looked back at her with a little surprise.
"... "
"Master? What's wrong?"
"You seem a little different, what happened?"
"No, nothing happened."
There was a flash of panic in Semiramis's eyes.
"real?"
"real!"
"Yes, yes, Master, do you want your 'Shadow Servant' to join me in the fight? Now that you are ready, you should come out and say hello. This will be a good way to protect my Black Coffin. Didn't you say that they have the ability to destroy the Black Coffin? I want to see how they do it."
"That's right. Let Shadow Archer and Shadow Caster attack. I'll go make the arrangements. Shadow Servants are good in every way except that they don't have good brains, so it's a little difficult to give them orders."
Shirou threw away the white cloth in his hand, sheathed the sword, and walked out of the king's room quickly.
After confirming that he had left, the empress on the throne let out a breath and concentrated on performing the counter-attack technique.
This scene was accidentally seen by someone sitting in the corner, which inspired a new desire for creation.
"The Assyrian queen would also have such an expression. It seems that a new part of the story has been added. Well, well, we must be careful not to be discovered. We must not die before completing the story."
Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most famous playwright in the world. The stories he wrote can even be sublimated into treasures, no matter how absurd or fantastic the story is. The only thing that can't be done is boring things. As long as he, as a writer, thinks it is interesting, his pen can push things forward and reverse cause and effect.
With great enthusiasm, he silently typed a line on the keyboard.
—The Empress has fallen in love, but what about the Saint, who has a different life trajectory but has also never experienced love