Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

The mirage of the abyssal city of R'lyeh hovering in the sky resembled the very gate of hell, while the pitch-black ring exuded a sinister ominousness.

As Shirou's group walked openly and directly toward the Millennium Fortress, many ordinary townspeople had stopped to gape at the strange sight in the sky.

He was quite certain that the Yggdmillennia clan, with their level of vigilance about the Holy Grail War, must already have noticed his approach. Yet there was no obstruction or attack impeding their progress. What was the clan playing at – had they set an ambush, or did they have other considerations?

Shirou narrowed his eyes.

As Mash was about to stride right in, he pressed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"What's wrong, Mr. Fujimaru?"

"Barging in without greeting is rude behavior."

"Greeting?"

He smiled and nodded. Then he projected Caliburn and blasted a pillar of light straight into the corner of the Millennium Fortress.

"Boom!"

The shining pillar pierced clean through the magnificent structure, leaving a gaping hole. Through the breach, the gloomy sky was visible. Rubble collapsed as part of the formerly pristine castle now looked battered.

Mash and Jeanne stared, dumbfounded.

"Is...is this a greeting, Mr. Fujimaru?" Mash looked at him dumbly.

Jeanne asked speechlessly, "Assassin, are you really here to seek help?"

He nodded with a smile. "Of course. Don't worry, Lancer's greeting will come soon."

Sure enough, the next moment, spikes erupted from the roiling Millennium Fortress, filling the sky like rain as they shot toward Shirou's group - a manifestation of Vlad's fury.

Seeing this, Shirou smiled at his companions. "Look, Lancer's greeting is here."

"What kind of greeting is this?!" Mash exclaimed.

Shirou just kept smiling. His consciousness stirred as he summoned forth dozens of legendary shields he had copied in advance from his Unlimited Blade Works. He placed them before the spikes.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The shields shattered under the spikes raining from above. At the last moment, he used the black mud to wrap up his group so no one was harmed.

Jeanne sighed. "You don't seem like someone seeking help at all, Assassin."

"Screech——"

A shrill cry rang out as a hippogriff emerged from the Fortress, taking to the sky. The gates groaned open, and Vlad rode out slowly on horseback, spear in hand, his forces behind him.

Vlad pulled his steed to a halt some distance from Shirou and his group. His gaze swept over Jeanne, Mash, Kiara, and finally stared tightly at Shirou as he questioned, "Assassin, are you trying to invade my territory?"

"Of course not," Shirou shook his head.

Vlad frowned, "Then why have you come here?"

Shirou earnestly said, "Naturally, it's to assist the King of Romania in resisting unjust invasion."

Mash looked at him strangely. Weren't they here to seek help from the Black Faction?

How come it sounded like the Black Faction was seeking help from them instead?

Isn't this deliberately lying?

"Unjust invasion?" Vlad sneered, "Other than those rebel insurgents, and you who betrayed us, where are these supposed invaders you speak of?"

Unruffled, Shirou simply smiled and pointed to the sky.

Vlad glanced up at the mirage of abyssal R'lyeh hovering above. He scowled.

Before Shirou arrived, they had been discussing the mirage of R'lyeh and the connection point information brought by Gray.

Saber had returned with Gray and informed Vlad about the strange connection point. She also wanted to investigate the Grail's potential ties to it.

Vlad did not reject the request and kept the connection point in mind.

Seeing Vlad's scowl, Shirou remarked, "As I understand it, this phenomenon was caused by Red Faction Heroic Spirits, aiming to destroy Romania and summon an evil god. I've come to offer my assistance against them."

"Stop spouting lies, Assassin," Vlad snapped, staring hard at him. "You have come to ask for help, haven't you?"

Shirou feigned surprise. "How did you know?" he asked innocently.

"Saber brought Chaldea's guests here. I've learned of these connection points too. You likely want to pull us in due to ties between them and the Red Faction."

Hearing this, Shirou showed an admiring expression and said, "As expected of the King of Romania, deducing the truth from a little information is truly admirable. You have my utmost admiration!"

Mash looked at Shirou in a daze. The connection points had caused no issues yet that she knew of. When had they become linked with the Red Faction?

"King of Romania, since you already know about the connection points, you must also understand the harm they could cause. As anomalies connecting parallel worlds, they disrupt the progress of human history. As Heroic Spirits, we cannot stand idly by."

Vlad shook his head. "I descended to fight for the Holy Grail War. Perhaps another time."

After a pause, Vlad's gaze hardened. "Assassin, you too came here as a Servant for the Grail War. Since you have come, then fulfill your destiny!"

Killing intent emanated from his eyes.

In the crowd, Heracles let out an earth-shattering roar, his every move making the ground tremble. Mash and Jeanne gripped their weapons, while Kiara watched the standoff with an odd look.

Murderous intent poured from the Black Faction. No doubt, they wanted Shirou dead first.

Seeing his enemies encircling him, Shirou laughed loudly.

Vlad stared coldly as Arjuna watched calmly from the side, cutting off his escape.

Hovering overhead, Astolfo lowered his altitude. "What's so funny in this situation, Shirou?"

"I'm laughing because the King of Romania is in serious trouble, but he doesn't know it."

Vlad's expression remained impassive, but Astolfo couldn't help but blurt out in surprise, "In this situation, aren't you the one in big trouble? How can you still say Lancer is the one in trouble?"

He laughed again. "Because he wants to kill me."

"Why does Lancer want to kill you mak..."

Before Astolfo could finish asking, Vlad slightly raised his hand and hundreds of spikes combined into a spear that he hurled at him.

Astolfo hurriedly maneuvered his hippogriff to dodge, looking angry and puzzled as he shouted at Vlad, "Lancer, why did you attack me? I didn't betray you!"

"You shut up! No talking!" Vlad said coldly.

Astolfo looked aggrieved.

What had he done wrong?

Seeing Astolfo attacked by Vlad, Shirou quickly spoke up, "The Third Beast likely already descended. Yet we Heroic Spirits remain divided! Does this make sense?"

Mash had been vigilantly observing her surroundings. But when he uttered those words, she noticed everyone, including Jeanne, turned to stare at him with eyes wide in surprise.

She was perplexed.

"Beast..." Vlad frowned.

"That's right," Shirou nodded and said, "The third Beast, the Beast that holds the authority of 'Lust', is very likely to have descended upon this world already. You should understand. As a Heroic Spirit, you cannot be unaware of the meaning of 'Beasts'. Whether it's to win or to maintain the order of this Holy Grail War, the 'Beasts' are obstacles to you. Are you sure you want to kill me now?"

"Um...I'm the one to maintain order here..." Jeanne said faintly.

"Hush now, Ruler," Shirou whispered.

"Oh..." she nodded meekly.

Vlad's frown deepened. Not only him, even composed Arjuna and the usually carefree Astolfo now wore troubled expressions. Only Mash remained utterly confused, unable to make heads or tails of it.

Behind them, Darnick and the others observing this conflict were also puzzled. Why did Vlad stop at just one remark from Assassin?

Shirou looked around at the gathered heroes. "Assembled here are champions and kings from various myths and legends. The feats of every one command utmost admiration. When I read your exploits, I cannot help but think 'true hero!' But those were deeds of life. Now here stand dead Heroic Spirits - heroic souls. Can it be you insist on enforcing your views at humanity's expense?"

Arjuna said calmly, "If the third Beast has truly descended, you must have realized you were no match for it, so you came here instead, am I right?"

"Indeed, you are absolutely right," he nodded. "I admit I am not her match. I lack the strength to oppose her. That's why I came here."

Vlad questioned, "What is the source of this information?"

"It was passed to me at the risk of his life by Lancer of Red - Karna."

"The Red camp?" Vlad frowned.

Arjuna also frowned. "Is Karna dead?"

"No, he's not dead. Just under someone's control. In fact, it seems all the Red camp's Heroic Spirits have already been taken control of. And this monstrous mirage in the sky was conjured by the controlled Red camp Heroic Spirits."

"Not dead? Hmph. What a pity," Arjuna said coldly.

"How can you guarantee the information's credibility?" Vlad asked. "I've no doubts about Karna's capabilities, but since you said he was controlled, how can you confirm what he told you wasn't while compromised?"

"I cannot guarantee it. I can only believe. However, I stake my true name to vouch for Karna's word, and pledge to relinquish my claim on the Grail."

"To stake his true name to vouch for that guy's information..." Even Arjuna was impressed.

Jeanne too seemed visibly moved. To vouch with his true name for information from one not in control of themselves...such trust in another...

No wonder this king had achieved such glorious feats. As Jeanne regarded him in a new light, she thought to herself that the Eternal King she once admired was more than just cunning and schemes.