Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

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.

Even Vlad was astonished. For Shirou to stake his very true name and honor—things Heroic Spirits valued most highly—to vouch for another...it was unthinkable. Vlad would not even extend such trust to his most loyal subordinates.

By the standards of ordinary men, pledging one's true name seemed trivial. But those gathered here were no ordinary men. They were kings and heroes. For them, a true name embodied glory itself.

To wager such a prize on a captive's information... It bespoke immense trust in that hero's strength of will. Trust that they could resist any control or coercion.

Vlad's expression turned solemn as he imagined himself in Shirou's place. Would he have the courage? No. How could he? Vlad hated the reputation of Count Dracula. So much so that undoing it had become his dying wish—the reason he had answered the Grail's call.

By comparison, Vlad perceived the gap between himself and Shirou.

There was still a gap...in mental strength!

"You want us to join forces and attack the Red camp in return for relinquishing your claim on the Holy Grail, smoothing our path against them for free. This is truly a great deal for us, Assassin. We stand to gain tremendously without any loss on our part. It's just a great pity that..." Vlad looked at Shirou and said, "I refuse!"

"But why..." Mash began to ask, but Shirou reached out to stop her.

She turned to look at him, noticing he had an expected look on his face.

Glancing around, Mash realized that besides herself, none of the Heroic Spirits found Vlad's refusal strange. Why was that? She was utterly baffled.

Heracles let out a roar and strode forward, but Vlad reached out to stop him as well.

"Roar?" Heracles grunted in confusion, scratching his head.

"I'm a king too, so I understand how you think, Lancer. Let's decide it all in one go."

"You want to fight us alone?" Vlad questioned.

"That was my intention, but unfortunately I lack the ability," Shirou smiled. He patted Mash's shoulder and said, "I'll go with my Master."

"Very well," Vlad nodded.

Shirou then pointed at Astolfo, "Astolfo shouldn't join. He's useless, will only slow you down. And I don't want to risk injuring him."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, Shirou?" Astolfo said angrily.

Vlad nodded again in agreement, "Alright then."

"Lancer!" Astolfo cried out in protest.

Arjuna scoffed, "You really are useless, Rider."

"I hate you the most, Archer!"

Astolfo ran off in tears.

Mash was utterly confused by what had just transpired.

Why were they going to fight now after Vlad had just refused? She didn't understand what was happening.

Furthermore, why had her Master specifically called for her to take the field?

Things were escalating too quickly and Mash felt lost trying to keep up.

Most importantly...why had Vlad refused such generous terms in the first place?

When she asked, Shirou just smiled and replied, "Because he's a king. Sovereignty means everything to him."

"I don't understand!" she said, still puzzled. "It was such a good offer. And...and isn't it the right thing to help solve the connection point? As Heroic Spirits, aren't they summoned to answer mankind's hopes? So why refuse?"

He looked into her eyes earnestly. "Mash, never judge others by your own logic. By doing so, while you don't blind them, you blind yourself."

Mash frowned, extremely bothered and confused. She realized that even with her limited interactions outside Chaldea, there were already far too many things she did not—could not—comprehend within those confined walls.

"Don't let it trouble you," he said gently. "These are just growing pains. In time, you'll understand naturally. For now, what we have to do is subdue them!" he flexed his wrists with a smile.

It wasn't that Vlad was unaffected by Shirou's tempting offer. Rather, the key issue was that all the information was held solely in Shirou's hands. To believe it blindly would be problematic.

Moreover, Vlad was still a king. For a ruler to lack a questioning spirit and blindly trust another's words—that would make him either a foolish king or a puppet manipulated by his subordinates.

Yet the matter of the [Beasts] was hugely important, practically the common nemesis of all Heroic Spirits. Vlad was no exception. Hence why he accepted Shirou's challenge.

When trust was impossible, yet both sides wanted the advantage, fruitless talk was useless. Only fist could reveal the truth.

The Black camp intended to field Saber, Heracles, Arjuna and Vlad. Avicebron was unsuitable for combat while Astolfo had been intentionally squeezed out by Shirou.

Of the Black camp, the one Shirou most wary of was not Arjuna or even Vlad, but rather the seemingly weak-looking Astolfo!

Was Astolfo actually weak? Frankly, yes, incredibly so in straight combat.

But there were no weak Heroic Spirits, only Masters who did not know how to utilize them properly.

Shirou was certain that if allowed to participate, Astolfo had an 80% chance of capsizing his ship to the gutter. So his first move was to kick Astolfo out.

On Shirou's side, he intended to fight four opponents with just himself and Mash.

Jeanne worried about this. Mash was also extremely nervous, her palms sweating. Kiara kept reassuring her gently.

Jeanne pulled him aside and asked softly, "Assassin, are you certain you want Mash on the field with you?"

He nodded.

"But she's your Master, and she's still alive!" Jeanne protested.

"She's more resilient than you know," he said calmly. "Don't underestimate her just because she's young, Jeanne. Don't forget, she fought Caster with us."

He turned and left. Jeanne watched his retreating back with a deep frown. She didn't understand his thinking at all. If he wanted a guardian, weren't there better options available?

Moreover, why insist it be two versus four? Why not include her too?

She sighed, "He must be considering that as the overseer of this Holy Grail War, I cannot interfere too much or it would violate my principles. He's really considerate of me."

Laeticia whispered, "I think Assassin has other plans."

On the other side, Darnic looked at Vlad and asked, "My king, why agree to this folly? You said Assassin is a Grand Servant - why not kill him where he stands?"

Vlad looked at Darnic and shook his head. "You must see the bigger picture. If Assassin's claims about the Beasts are true, what will you do once we Heroic Spirits are gone?"

"Beasts...what exactly are they?"

"Great calamities rejected by human history. Their mere existence threatens all human history. I don't know the specifics, but think what Chaldea's earlier visitor described regarding the connection points."

Darnic fell silent, recalling the disaster of the connection points. That was why he had allowed Gray to investigate the Grail.

"All I can do is ascertain if there is any truth to Assassin's claims. If true, I will fight this Beast. If false, I will kill the Assassin. Nothing more."

After a pause, Vlad added, "Pay attention to the dungeon holding Red Berserker. Those rats hiding underground may soon come to steal from us."

"I understand the Beasts, but my king, why not execute him straight away?!"

"He still has his uses," Vlad said, turning to leave.

Darnic gritted his teeth tightly.

Eternal King, connection points, Beasts - this whole war was a joke!

"A huge joke!" he yelled softly. "The same as Fuyuki's grail war sixty years ago!"

...

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