Aśvatthāman

That's my line.

But what's this? Well whadda ya know!

I can't believe the quarry that got away from me came back of her own accord! I'm so happy, it's actually pissing me off!

I appreciate you reacting exactly how I thought you would.

You must have known the Chaldeans were hot on your tail, yet you couldn't ignore my aura and couldn't resist waiting around for me to show up...

I'm so glad you're as simpleminded as you look. Now, let's get to our grudge match, shall we?

Oh, but do be warned: you'll be facing Fujimaru and his team this time around, and they're veeery tough cookies.

You see, they do this ungodly annoying thing where they get stronger and stronger each time they do battle.

Ha! I never could tell whose side you were really on, woman.

Let me ask you this, Aśvatthāman: Would you be willing to tell us your whole story?

What was that?

I am a generous king, and I can tell what others are truly thinking. I promise I will neither laugh at you, nor look down on you. What do you say?

...Ugh, every one of you just makes me so friggin' furious! I don't even know what you're talking about!

What are you doing, Ramie!? I thought you said you could handle him!

I thought I could, but it seems this problem is not as easily solved with words as I had hoped.

We'll just have to pin him down and have him cool off more naturally.

So we're gonna have to fight him after all!?

I will help you, but what I said before still holds true: do not rely on me too much.

There is no telling when my poor luck could result in a fatal error.

But you can control it at least a little, right? Like you did when you got all Tell's arrows to hit you?

...A little, yes. But there are some areas that are still out of my control.

(Not to mention that the recoil from that time is probably)

Oh, Aśvatthāman. You really are an awkward boy, aren't you?

Ha! You mean like the opposite of how you strut around in those fancy clothes of yours, ex-Master!?

Well, I'm certainly less awkward than you. I keep my life nice and simple by doing whatever it takes to stay alive.

Of course, that still leaves the question of what I want to do with my life once I keep it. It's not easy being human, you know? We always want more.

Hmph. Guess you really must be adroit if you can say that sort of thing with a smile. Maybe I am kind of awkward by comparison.

All I've got going for me is my anger. So it's only natural that anger would become my entire life.

Living my life makes me angry, and my anger gives me a reason to live. Yeah, I know it doesn't make any sense.

Just like I know that the moment my anger dies out, I won't be me anymore!

So as long as I'm still kicking, I've got no choice but to keep my fury burning...to keep burning my whole damn life!

Ghh...!

We did it! But

Dammit, I knew he was just gonna heal himself again! Is he seriously immortal or something!?

Is that all you've got? I can keep this up Khh, rrgh...!

Hm? Is it just me, or is there something else mixed in there?

It's not just the pain of regeneration. It seems as though there's something deeper eating away at him...

I knew it. It's just as I thought, Aśvatthāman.

You're cursed, aren't you?

？！

That's right. Of course, there are many different kinds of curses, but for this, I believe I know what is at work.

Even as we speak, this curse is tormenting Aśvatthāman...

...or rather, his Servant Spirit Origin, relentlessly.

This curse must be so powerful that not even a great warrior like him can remove it.

I expect it is directly rooted in his destiny...

A curse so deeply tied to his heroics that it is inevitable he would fall prey to it.

Oh man... I know what it is. That's Krishna's curse, isn't it!?

...!

I'm sorry to, as they say, burst your bubble, but you won't find any professors here.

Both Da Vinci and I would be happy to share what we know about India from books, but in this case, I believe Captain would be the most knowledgeable.

？！

...It's something that happened towards the end of the great war depicted in the Mahabharata.

Aśvatthāman was overcome with anger at his father's murder, and in a cowardly act of retribution, he snuck into the enemy camp and killed them all in their sleep.

Afterwards, he fired an arrow at the stomach of the pregnant mother of what would have been the last child of the Kuru...

...but Krishna protected the baby and placed a dreadful curse upon Aśvatthāman's head in retaliation.

One interpretation says that the curse would last for three thousand years, during which he would be forced to endure all manner of pain and suffering.

I would definitely have noticed if he'd been cursed like that when I first summoned him.

So Arjuna must have put the curse on him AFTER he stole my Master contract from me.

It would be well within his power, since he also possesses Krishna's Divinity.

Aha. Now it all adds up.

Aśvatthāman, your immortality comes from being born with Yama and Shiva's power, and the curse you're dealing with now is too strong for you to remove on your own.

So you're trapped in a prison of endless suffering, and death offers no escape.

!

Then...does that mean you have to do what Arjuna says, or he won't undo the curse?

That IS pretty rough.

...Shut up.

At the very least, I can imagine that curse going away once Arjuna finally has his so-called perfect world.

Though either way, I guess that doesn't leave you much choice but to cooperate with him...

Shut uuuuuup!

I'm so goddamn pissed I can't stand it! I'm mad at myself for being a slave to my anger! For getting myself cursed!

I'm mad at how goddamn weak I am, so weak that I have to obey Arjuna, my mortal goddamn enemy, just to escape this endless pain! All I can do is just keep getting angrier and angrier!

Aśvatthāman is getting madder than we've ever seen him! Be careful, Master!

...You really are an odd bird, aren't you?

You actually chose to keep losing to Arjuna and his curse just so you could continue to be yourself.

Exactly. And thanks to that, he's done for, since there's no possible way to save him.

...Yes, I'm sure there isn't.

Khh... Ugh, this goddamn pisses me off. So what're you gonna do now, huh?

You gonna tear me to shreds with that sword of evil's bane? Sounds great. Do it. Come on, do it!

Even if I did tear you to shreds, your body would simply regenerate.

I suspect it's your connection to Arjuna's nigh-infinite supply of magical energy that forces it to do so.

Then, once your body is cursed again, it is subjected to endless torment for all of eternity...

Hehe. But, fortunately for you, I know of a way to do something about that curse.

What'd you just say?

Why thank you, Master. Take a moment to drink in my regal glory if you like.

My brother and Sita would often look at me like that...

Hey! You were supposed to gaze at me in awe and admiration there!

What are youDon't you pat my head! I'm a king! I deserve far more respect than that!

？！

Ha. You and your damn nonsense are pissing me off. What the hell can you even do about this curse?

This.

...Ngh. This is...quite something, isn't it...

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did you just do!? Don't tell me you

Huh!?

(Cough) Krishna and I...are both avatars of Vishnu...basically beings of the same nature.

So if your curse comes from Krishna's power, I should be more than capable of affecting it.

While I can't completely destroy it, of course, I can at least transfer it from your body to mine...

Ghh, nnngh! Ow ow ow ow!

...I am an invincible king. I'm not about to complain about the pain from a little curse like this. If you thought you just heard otherwise, then I suggest you have your ears checked.

...

Y-you're out of your mind!

Ugh, I can't stand that sort of simpering self-sacrificing nonsense. If you subject me to any more of this, I'm going to start demanding compensation.

Whoa, whoa, what the hell? Are you stupid or something? Dammit, this pisses me off. I'm still just as angry as ever.

If I don't have to worry about being held hostage to my damn curse anymore... If there's nothing holding me back...

Arjuna was always my mortal enemy, even before he made himself into some kind of god! There's no way in hell I'm not gonna revolt against him!

!!!

But what's the damn point of me being free of my curse if you just end up cursed in my place!?

All you're doing is gaining one guy and losing another! It's simple math, dammit! Ugh, you frickin' piss me off!

Don't be ridiculous. Of course I've thought of that.

As an avatar of Vishnu, Krishna's curse shouldn't affect me as much as it affected you.

Let's say it brings me down to half my normal strength.

But in exchange for that strength, we get Aśvatthāman, the hero of the Kauravas.

A man who is not only an exceptionally skilled warrior, but a tactician clever enough to serve as commander in chief.

That is to say, you are a Servant who can fulfill more than just one role.

So while we may have lost half a warrior, we effectively gain two to make up for it! That's a net gain of one and a half warriors!

...

？！

You. This guy's your Servant, right? ...Does that mean I should be angry at you?

？！

A-at any rate! Can I please ask you something just to be sure, Aśvatthāman!?

Now that you're not cursed anymore, you no longer have a reason to obey Arjuna.

So...does that mean you're willing to help us now?

Tch. What'd you go and ask that for? You went and reminded me of how completely pathetic I've been.

Hmm. I never expected Rama to take on the curse himself, but the benefits of this trade-off may well outweigh the drawbacks.

Having Arjuna's last Lōkapāla come over to our side would be quite the boon indeed.

Fo fou, fooou!

...

What's that look supposed to mean, ex-Master? If you want to laugh at me, go ahead. It'll give me another reason to be angry.

Oh, it's not that. I was just thinking how you really are just how you appear through my Tashintsu. You wear your heart on your sleeve...so to speak.

So that thing rooted deep inside you is anger. That's what drove you to the Pandavas in the middle of the night.

Hey, I just have to ask: Haven't you ever wished you could just let all your anger go?

Why? 'Cause it's the whole reason I ended up like this?

Yeah, yeah. I know my anger is what ended up getting me cursed by Krishna while I was alive.

But you might eventually be able to let go of it if you'd stayed with Arjuna, right?

I doubt he'd want any "defective emotions" in his perfect world, after all.

Aha, now I get it.

You think I regret giving up that chance to get rid of this anger, don't you?

Haha. Hahaha. Don't be an idiot. Why the hell would I ever regret that?

It's true, Da Vinci. You've got it backwards. Anger is everything to him right now.

In fact, I think he made sure his anger would be the one part of him to stick around by constantly proving that he was useful with it.

(They were only Master and Servant for a short time, and they're absolutely nothing alike.)

(And yet, in spite of that, Pepe and Aśvatthāman really seem to click.)

(Maybe this is what they call chemistry...?)

Yeah. Right now, anger and me are one and the same. It was the one way I had to avenge my father and friend's humiliation.

If we were back in Kurukshetra when that war was still going on, and they'd been humiliated again...

...I'd do the same damn thing without hesitating. Every time.

I'd have used my anger as a weapon to avenge my father and friend, even if I ended up cursed every damn time!

Got it. I knew you were awkward and simpleminded...but I also know that's why I can trust you.

Okay then, why don't we find somewhere we can relax and figure out our next course of action? You're a tactician too, right? Can't wait to see what you come up with.

All right, let'sGhh!

Hah! You look like an old man who just threw out his back.

I'm fine, you hear me!? My body just, uh, hasn't quite adjusted to this curse yet.

J-just give me a moment. I'll be up and about in no time...

You know we don't have time to wait around. Guess I'll just have to give you a piggyback ride.

A-all right. This is degrading, but I do get the feeling I've had something similar happen to me before.

...Perhaps it is just part of my destiny to suffer piggyback rides now and then...