The Eve of the Decisive Battle

Then, King Ozymandias, your forces will march in from the west of the Holy City.

We will be arriving at the Holy City four days from now, in the morning.

We'll march through the night until we get to the wastelands near the Holy City, then march in at the break of dawn. Remember, whatever you do...

Relax. My Divine Beast Corps will arrive on time. Leave the castle's west wall diversion to me.

I'll send our beast trainers along with you. Discuss the particulars of the plan with them along the way.

Thank you. ...As expected, you are well-practiced in battle.

No need for praise. I'm sick of it. Focus on hurrying back home. Even with swift horses, it will be difficult to reach the mountainous region in only three days.

Yes. Thank you, King Ozymandias. You take care, too.

Humph... I'm lending you my precious divine beasts. Don't let them go to waste, will you?

And that's how we could get back to the eastern village in such a short time. Looks like we just got back in time for the last battle.

Welcome home, we were waiting for you. You must be exhausted, Fujimaru.

Requesting King Ozymandias's cooperation... We heard it all went well.

When I first heard you were going to talk to the king, I couldn't believe it, but...

It's fortunate that you were able to get the king's cooperation. We have some good news for you, too.

Glad to have you back, everyone. As you can see, our preparations are almost complete.

？！

Yes. All the village representatives are gathered here at the moment.

We're all collaborating on the capture of the Holy City. We've gathered seven thousand...

...Since then, two thousand people from within the Holy City have risen up behind the scenes to endorse our revolt as well.

We haven't reached our goal of ten thousand and we're nowhere near an ideal twenty thousand, but...

we should be able to make that up with Lancelot and Ozymandias' forces, thanks to you.

Everything went pretty smoothly for us... Oh, who am I kidding, haha.

Actually, it was nonstop chaos. Who would've thought it'd be this bad?

？！

You mean, you ran into unexpected events? You all look pretty happy, considering...

...Humph. Didn't I tell you we have faced two thousand battles?

I'd given up on strengthening our troops, that it was a dream within a dream.

But, day by day, little by little, the heads of the villagers who'd visit our village came forth.

Ten people turned to thirty. Thirty turned to sixty. They kept doubling like that.

Even though nothing we said could ever convince them before.

It was, "Someone helped me at the Wailing Wall," "Someone helped us escape from the Holy City,"

and in the end, "At the entrance of the desert, someone reminded me I was human."

...

？！

Fou, foooou!

It wasn't like, "If those guys are here, we wouldn't mind joining them." It just made them change their minds, apparently.

Honestly...this is why I will never understand the human mind.

It's obvious for us Old Men of the Mountain to help the mountain people. That's why no one even questions it.

But those rescued by outsiders must've all wondered about the same thing.

"Why didn't those outsiders give upon us, they're not obligated."

I see. That thought wouldn't have occurred to me. We're neither the strongest nor the kindest, but we don't give up on little things.

...Romani believed that humans... Masters like that were necessary.

Ahhhh! Welcome home! Fujimaru, Mash!

Rushd! Yes, we're back! How's everything!?

Good! All the houses that burned down need to be rebuilt, so that's been keeping me busy!

That's great.

But, you can't charge at people like that anymore. Someone might register that as an offensive action called tackle.

Okay, fiiine. ...Hm? Where's Arash? Wasn't he with you?

...

...Arash has gone ahead to the wastelands. To keep an eye on the Holy City's developments, he said.

...I see... Then, we'll see him again sometime, huh!

...He ran off toward the fields. Rushd is a very perceptive child, so...

He pretends, for our sake. I see. Well, I think I'll get something going in the kitchen!

There's nothing like a good meal to cheer you up! I'll say an extra prayer to the Dragon God tonight!

Wait, I'm coming too! Disciples shouldn't act without permission!

Imagine if a half-naked man suddenly walked in! You'd scare everyone if it was just you, Touta!

Fofouuu!

...Ah, I've missed this endearing ruckus. Can you believe it's only been for a few days?

？！

Yes, that's strong. I must learn from you.

...All right, Fujimaru. Let's go over the plan one more time.

We'll head into the wastelands, assemble the forces scattered there, and head toward the Holy City.

I will lead the way. The terrain in the wastelands has blind spots that will not be noticed by patrols.

But that is only until we get to the city itself. There are no hiding places in the wastelands surrounding the Holy City.

Aye. Therefore, we will take our final rest further out, then aim for the Holy City under the cover of night.

I hope we reach the city while it's still dark, but we have an army of nearly ten thousand, and few horses.

It will likely be dawn by the time we're close enough to see the city. And they will then be able to see us.

The Lion King's forces will notice our advance, and strengthen their defenses. We will break through this, and force our way into the Holy City grounds.

With our allied forces, we will gain control over the Holy City, and take down the king's castle. After that, I want you to take over, Fujimaru.

...Killing the Lion King will be our role?

Aye. The Lion King is a Servant. We cannot compete with him, no matter how many soldiers we use.

Even if we Old Men of the Mountain gather together, our blades will not reach the Lion King's throat.

The only countermeasure we have left is you. ...Will you agree to it?

？！

In that case, assume your positions, Fujimaru. Mash. Sir Bedivere.

We Old Men of the Mountain challenge you to a fight.

Why? I don't understand the reason we're fighting!

It's our way of compromising. As for me, I'm still opposed to trusting outsiders.

Please don't mind him, Fujimaru. Hundred Personas is only saying that to show off.

I told you this will be our compromise! If they're stronger, I'll have no choice but to let them do it!

Indeed, it's as Hundred Personas says. Please go along with it, Fujimaru.

Can we place our people's fate in your hands? Do your skills measure up or not... This will be the last time we let our fists do the talking!

Lalalaaa... gaaateee... lalaaa... paaaraaagaateeee!♪

Happyyy... parasomegateeeee... bodhi svahaaaaa!♪

？！

Oh my, right back at you. Where's Mash? Are you out for a walk without her?

I'm doing my daily writing. I'm making note of what happened today in a scroll.

One day this will be "Monk Sanzang's Tortuous Travels," the hundred-volume set, stored in Chalde...no, the temple.

Huh? R-Really? You think they'll be? I hope they'll be, of course, but... Teeheehee.

What, you've gone on a scripture-collecting journey before? Tell me next time, it must've been fun.

？！

Here, come on. Sit next to me. It's a bit scary, but the view from this cliff is beautiful.

...

...

...

...

Argh, gosh, just say something! I can't take the silence!

？！

My hopes for tomorrow? Ah, like my fighting spirit?! Leave it to me. I'm roarin' and ready to go!

...Yeah, that's right. Come to think of it, Mash and I had this sort of discussion once, too.

Back then, I didn't know much about the Lion King or King Ozymandias.

So I couldn't decide whose side to take, which side was correct.

That's why I decided to take your guys' side. Because you were the easiest to understand, Fujimaru.

？！

Now I know for sure. I'm still on your side, Fujimaru, but...

I will fight the Lion King, for my own principles. I'll be sure to destroy the sacred lance, you watch.

Hey, Fujimaru?

People aren't all equal, but they all have a path to the Buddha. They all have possibility.

Like the lotus that blooms in the mud. Like those who nurture a beautiful heart, unrecognized by others.

I won't approve a way of life that plucks off those blossoms.

Because, if they say there's no need for me because I keep screwing up, I'll never become a Buddha!

？！

Yeah, so leave it to me! I've got some special Buddhist punishments up my sleeve to make sure the Lion King sees the light!

And... and also... if we save this era, er...

As a reward... can I also... in Chaldea...

？！

...No, nothing. I'll save the fun stuff for later.

Good night, then, Fujimaru.

When it's all over, I'll let you be my disciple, so you'd better look forward to it, okay!?

So this is where you all were. How is the night watch going?

Ah, Lady Mash. So you've finished putting Rushd to bed.

Thank you. I'm afraid he doesn't really listen to what I say...

He won't be a child forever, but he's grown up rather wild. I wonder who he takes after?

It's a good thing he didn't turn out like you. Rushd is a smart kid. That's his way of trying not to worry us.

...Humph. Easy on the liquor, Hundred Personas.

What, I'm just getting started! It's all Touta's fault. He's got some good stuff!

Hahaha. Hundred Personas is a chatty drinker, isn't she? On the other hand, Serenity is...

Ah... Master Fujimaru... No, you mustn't... I have my duties as an Old Man of the Mountain...

But... oh well, I suppose we can slip under the covers for a while...

As you can see, she's completely immersed in her own hallucination! Hmm... I'm sure she didn't have that much to drink, but...?

...

Ah. Looks like something good has happened. You look as calm as ever.

...Yes. I witnessed a wonderful thing just now. It's as if I've gained another treasure.

Oh? That sounds very interesting indeed. Would you mind sharing with me, too?

...

Good night, Rushd. See you tomorrow.

It's alright, Mash. Don't worry about me. You're all going to the Holy City in the morning, right?

Uh... ...That's right. I'm sorry for lying to you.

But, to tell you the truth, we were afraid you'd insist on coming along...

"Fighting is dangerous. It's too early for a child." That's what you were going to say, right? Yeah. Even I know that.

This is where we say goodbye, right? With you, and with Fujimaru...

...That's why I wanted to thank you properly. Thank you for saving my mom and I back then.

Thanks to you, Mom and I are here.

...Rushd. Your mom is...

It's okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. But I want you to know, Mash.

I will go to the Holy City one day for sure. I have to say goodbye to Mom.

But until then, I'll go on living with all my strength. I've got to first become an adult quickly.

...You knew, didn't you. And... your mother's last words?

Yeah. Mom said...that I was her life.

Then, I need to live as long as I can.

Because as long as I'm alive, my mother will continue to live, too.

That's what I can do now, no, what I can keep on doing. It's our most important fight.

That was my farewell with Rushd.

I may not be able to understand his feelings, but my heart is so filled with warmth right now.

It seems like sad things are all that happen in Singularities... but maybe good things happen too.

...I see. Salia's son said such a thing...

...Um, Hassan? You're an Old Man of the Mountain of this era, right?

Then, were you perhaps...

Huh? It was so long ago, I'm afraid I can't recall.

Either way, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the me who's assumed this mask.

...Nothing, to a man who threw away everything, to become an Old Man of the Mountain out of his selfish desires.

...

But, I am the Hassan-i Sabbah of this era. When we cut down the Lion King and the Holy Land is returned to normal...

The other Hassans will probably leave this world, but I will be left in this era.

In that case, I won't have anything else to do. I'll look after the mountain people's lives for a while.

...Yes! I'm sure that'll be best, Hassan!

Oh! Where is the beauty? Where is the passion? It's our last night, and we're spending it in this stuffy tactical meeting!

I am afraid you must overlook that. Someone needs to be aware of the overall movements of each unit.

I was looking forward to Touta's dinner as well. But please, you must give it up.

Fine, fine. I do owe you for helping me out before. Da Vinci will keep Sir Lancelot company.

By the way, how are we getting through the main gates? Wanna blast it with my Noble Phantasm?

...That is the problem. Camelot's main gates cannot be broken so easily.

Those gates render ill-intentioned attacks and evil powers ineffective. Even a sacred sword with the highest firepower would not make a dent.

Dear me. Then, should we ignore the main gates?

We will build a scaffold and climb over the walls into the castle. That is the most realistic plan. King Ozymandias' divine beasts will be attacking from the western side of the Holy City as well.

Even if we cannot break through the front gates, it will be ideal to knock down a portion of the wall...

If the Holy City is the Lion King's sacred lance itself, even knocking down the castle wall won't go so easily, I'd think...

Yes, I wonder what the Raider Knights will do? What about Mordred's units?

My units will handle that. Mordred's knights are not so proficient.

Attacking head-on once or twice should clean them up. Then we will also assist in scaling the wall.

Hm... that seems best.

Fujimaru and I will wait near the castle wall. We'll wait for your arrival while protecting the allied forces.

Once we get inside, we'll head straight for the king's castle. There'll be nothing left to fear, except maybe the Knights of the Round Table.

Those still stuck in the Holy City are Sir Tristan and Sir Agravain. It'll be battle after battle, but we'll just have to manage.

...Agravain, hm? That man for certain will be aware of what we are up to.

The allied forces of the mountain, desert, and Holy Land peoples have grown exponentially. It is not something we can keep hidden.

Agravain is the kind of man to already have caught on to us.

Yet, there has been no developments by the Holy City. He has not told the Lion King about the existence of the allied forces.

...Most likely. He must be planning to use us to weaken the Lion King's power.

The Lion King's objectives and his objectives are separate things. Agravain is only acting out of his own self-interest.

He manipulated King Arthur from the shadows. He controlled the government both here and in Britain.

...The one I should put to death is that man. Without that man, the Lion King would not have gone insane!

Hmm. I'm not sure you're right about that.

What!?

If Agravain was really only acting out of his own self-interest, I don't think it would've come to this.

The Holy City would've become an over-compartmentalized bureaucracy, full of useless functions that we could've used to our advantage.

But there are no such holes in the Holy City. There are no power-hungry members. And because it's such an unbelievable city, it can't ever be brought down from the inside.

I see Consul Agravain's deep-seated hatred in this. He's, how would I call it...

Remaining close to the Lion King with a terrible anger and spite. That's the sense I get.

Spite... In that man as cold as anger, who's disinterested in everything?

Oh, Bedivere. Were you resting here?

Sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Senpai? I heard Senpai was by the rocky mountains...

Uu...gh... Aaaaaahhhhh!

Um? (Was he...crying just now?)

Ugh...

W-What is it? Fujimaru isn't here.

I guess not, sorry. Um, I'll try looking over there, so...

I haven't seen anything, so...!

...No. Sorry that you had to see me like this. Forgive me, milady?

I'm afraid I will only be adding shame to shame, but... won't you sit down? I had something I wanted to ask you.

...Sure. Then, please allow me to join you, Sir Bedivere.

...Everything is tomorrow, is it not? Are you all right, milady?

...Yes, we're fully prepared. Are you, Sir Bedivere...

Er, does your body ache? Was that from pain, just now?

No. I have been allowed plenty of rest, so my body is in good health.

...I am used to physical pain. Besides, it has been years since I lost sensation in my body.

(It's...been years?)

...I was crying out of fear just now. I am not very strong mentally, you understand.

I was scared, so scared... that I couldn't muster the courage to raise my face...

So I was purging my fear here, where no one would see.

...You're...scared? I wouldn't have thought so. I'm afraid of combat too, but...

You're so used to it, Sir Bedivere. I didn't think you had any fear.

...No. I do not fear combat. I am...

...Just afraid of my own actions.

Whether I am doing what is right, or not. Perhaps I am doing wrong.

...That is what frightens me unbearably. I am scared out of my wits about my own decision.

...Sir Bedivere, you're... scared of meeting the Lion King, aren't you?

...Yes. That's exactly it. I came here and became terrified of the Lion King.

Milady, you are also a Knight of the Round Table. Do you not also have doubts within your body?

Are you not, like me... terrified of confronting King Arthur?

...Yes. To be honest, I'm also scared of facing the Lion King.

Will I be able to fight... Will I be able to come to Senpai's aid?

Will I mess up, and ruin everything for everyone...?

...

But, even more than that, I want to believe in that trust. I want to cherish that miracle.

Milady? A miracle?

...Well. I died once.

There was a terrible explosion, and rubble came falling down... and I lost all feeling in the lower half of my body.

I knew I wouldn't last another two minutes. I could calculate it exactly. ...To be honest, it was terrifying.

Because when I thought about what I could do with the little time I had left, I knew there was nothing.

...But.

I had someone who held my hand. Inside those flames, I had someone who helped me.

...Of course, it was impossible to save me. That person was clearly aware of that, too.

Unlike me, that person was someone who valued their own life. Afraid of dying, that person's knees were trembling.

Yet, that person thought of me. Because of me, that person would end up dying, too...

So that I wouldn't feel that way, that person smiled and held my hand.

...That person couldn't change the fact that I would die before their eyes.

Then, until that final moment, that person believed that comforting me was the best thing to do.

...I still remember the warmth of their hand then. And that is what brought forth Galahad.

I know now. The person Heroic Spirit Galahad approved of wasn't only me.

He trusted that Senpai and I... He believed in the goodness of humans, that could do such acts.

I wasn't rescued. Something was entrusted to me. That I should live for people like that.

...That is why I fight, even if I'm afraid. For that beautiful moment I witnessed, I fight...

For thanks to that wonderful miracle, I am still alive.

...So that's what happened.

I apologize from the bottom of my heart, milady. What a terrible insult, to say that you and I are the same.

N-No, it's not an insult or anything... I, too, struggle to be like you, Bedivere...

I'm still... scared of combat, and...

No. That's not it.

When I heard you were a Demi-Servant, I thought you were the same as me.

That you and I were both a "counterfeit." That we both felt scarcely allowed to breathe.

...But you were different. Even if your path to becoming a Heroic Spirit was irregular, your conduct as one is the real thing.

A counterfeit? You?

Well, no, it's just a metaphor. Because my Noble Phantasm is an imitation, a fake.

I am without a doubt Bedivere, Knight of the Round Table. Even if I sometimes wish I weren't.

I...

I committed a crime. An unforgiveable crime, at that.

To atone for that, I came all this way. I have sacrificed many things for that.

...That is what happened this time as well. I left Fujimaru in the desert.

It was more important for me to head for the Holy City than to bother with your distressed circumstances.

And I did the same thing at the gates of the Holy City. To meet the king, I hid my face with my robe, and continued to look down.

...When the Holy Selection began, and many people were being killed, I did not raise my face.

I wasn't trembling from anger at the violence.

All I was thinking of at that time was how to invade the Holy City.

...It was then, that I heard the sounds of battle.

An unknown mage and a girl knight broke through the knights' enclosure to let the people escape.

That was something I should have done. At least, the old me would have done the same.

Ah... What am I doing? After all this traveling, how pitiful have I become?

Irritated by such thoughts, I blindly swung my sword. I need not remind you what happened next.

I joined you and the unknown mage, Fujimaru.

Figuring that would be the fastest way to my destination.

I didn't cooperate with you for your sakes. I only used you, for my own purposes.

There's no way that I can call myself the same as you.

...

...I'm afraid...of this journey ending.

That is what I have been living for all this time. Yet now, near the end, I am afraid of death.

It has been a difficult journey...

But because it has been difficult, what if the salvation does not measure up to it when it is over?

...When I thought about that, I was so afraid I couldn't stand. I am terrified of a meaningless ending...

It won't be meaningless. There's no way.

Milady...?

I say so. My body says so.

There's no way the ending of this journey you sought will be meaningless, Sir Bedivere.

Because you... must've been able to end it whenever you liked.

But you didn't. No matter how difficult and terrifying it was, you've come this far.

And it's because it wasn't a journey for yourself, it was a journey for others.

Even if you were scared, you weren't a coward.

That's why... I'm sure there'll be a meaning to the end of this journey. A final salvation that measures up to the long path you've walked.

...Yes. I hope so. No, if you believe so...

Then I will do my best to make it so. I cannot lose to a younger knight, after all.

Er...no, I just meant, um... I got all fired up, and...

Sorry... pretending like I know better. I haven't even mastered my Noble Phantasm...

Haha, that is true. Then here is a bit of advice from me, as your senior.

Mash. Your Noble Phantasm's true nature is to protect people. But are you not mistaking it as one that "blocks attacks"?

Focus your mind on the people you should be protecting, rather than repelling the enemy's attacks.

That is your shield's, no, a Knight of the Round Table's true nature. That is the path, not to the fake Camelot built on that Holy Land,

But the path to the real pure white castle that will never crumble.

...The path to the white castle...

Yes. You already possess the qualifications. Your kind heart that saved me just now is proof above all.