Fuyuki City, Miyama Town.
The dark night enveloped this old Western-style mansion.
The Matou Residence, usually eerie and deathly silent, was filled tonight with a nauseating smell of burning—the scent of rotting flesh and insect corpses burning in holy fire.
The underground insect pit.
This place should have been a living hell, a demonic den where countless Crest Worms crawled.
But at this moment, a dazzling golden radiance dispelled all the gloom.
“Aaaah!!
Impossible…
This power…
Who…
are you…” Along with a final, shrill, withered scream, that monster who had lived for hundreds of years—Matou Zouken—was completely turned to ashes in the golden holy light.
Even his parasitic host worm was directly crushed into powder by that domineering magical energy.
[Ding!] [Congratulations to the host for killing the key plot character ‘Matou Zouken’ (Fate/Zero), significantly altering the timeline!] [Dimensional Points obtained: 5000 points!] [Current Template: Arthur Pendragon (Old Saber).] [Fusion progress increased to: 15% (Skills unlocked: Instinct B, Mana Burst A, Noble Phantasm: Excalibur (Sealed))] A cold system prompt sounded in his mind.
Arthur slowly withdrew his palm, which was emitting terrifying heat.
He was wearing slightly damaged modern casual clothes, but his upright posture and the faint golden glow surrounding him made him look like a king traveling incognito.
Although the fusion progress was only 15%, it was enough to deal with an old bug whose body had long since rotted and who had no Servant protection.
Arthur exhaled a breath of turbid air and ignored the system rewards, turning instead to look at the small figure trembling in the corner.
It was a little girl with short purple hair.
Due to excessive shock and the “insect magecraft modification” that hadn’t had time to be fully implemented, her eyes, which should have been full of spirit, were now hollow and lifeless.
Matou Sakura, or rather, Sakura Tohsaka.
If Arthur had arrived a step later, this girl’s life would have fallen into endless darkness tonight.
“…” Sakura looked up, staring blankly at the glowing man in front of her.
This is hell, why is there light?
Arthur crouched down, trying his best to restrain the pressure belonging to the “King of Knights” and revealed a warm smile.
This was the charm inherent in the [Arthur Pendragon] template—a “Prince Charming” attribute enough to make thousands of girls fall for him.
“It’s okay now.” Arthur reached out and gently rubbed Sakura’s somewhat messy short purple hair, his voice gentle: “Those bugs, that bad old man, they’re all gone.” Sakura’s body trembled violently.
She looked at the hand Arthur extended toward her and subconsciously wanted to hide, but the warm heat coming from that hand made her feel the breath of being “alive” for the first time in this cold cellar.
“Big brother…
are you an angel?” Sakura’s voice was hoarse, with a slight, unbelievable tremor.
“No, I’m just a passing…
Knight.” Arthur gently picked Sakura up from the cold floor and wrapped her small body in his coat.
“The Tohsaka family abandoned you, and the Matou Family wanted to destroy you.
So, from today on, do you want to come with me?” Sakura’s pupils focused slightly, and her small hands tightly gripped Arthur’s lapel as if catching the only life-saving straw.
“Do I have a home…
to go back to?” “Of course.” Arthur held her and strode toward the basement exit, with the blazing fire of purification behind him.
“Since no one wants you, I’ll raise you.
From now on, you are my, Arthur’s, family.” [Ding!
Detected that the key character ‘Matou Sakura’ has developed high dependence on the host; conquest progress initiated.] [Additional reward obtained: Random Catalyst Chest *1.] …After settling Sakura into the only clean guest room on the second floor of the Matou Residence to sleep, Arthur went to the mansion’s courtyard.
Although killing the old bug felt great, the Holy Grail War’s mechanism had already started.
Matou Zouken was dead, but the command spells system he left behind remained.
Arthur glanced at the back of his right hand, where the command spells that originally belonged to the Matou Family appeared— Because he had brute-forced the Matou Family’s magical foundation, coupled with the system’s assistance, these three command spells now belonged to him.
“Since I’ve come to the Type-Moon world, wouldn’t it be a waste not to participate in a Holy Grail War?” Arthur stood before the drawn summoning circle.
This was on the eve of the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Aside from that pleasure-seeker Kotomine Kirei and the scapegoat Tohsaka Tokiomi, the other masters should also be preparing for summoning.
“System, open the Random Catalyst Chest.” [Ding!
Successfully opened.] [Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Catalyst: Blood-stained Black Crown (An item that does not exist in Pan-human History).] [Item Description: From a certain Lostbelt, an item belonging to the Queen who ruled the Fae Britain.] Arthur raised an eyebrow.
Fae Britain?
Queen?
Knowing the plot well, he immediately realized what this was.
“It’s actually that woman’s thing…” Arthur rubbed his chin, a playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.
“I am King Arthur; if she’s the one summoned…
this will be quite interesting.” But, it suits me perfectly!
Only a sufficiently powerful Servant can dominate in this Fourth War.
He placed the black crown, which emitted a cold aura of curse, into the center of the summoning circle.
Taking a deep breath, Arthur mobilized the Red Dragon magic factors within his body.
This massive magical energy instantly activated the summoning circle, and a silvery brilliance shot into the sky, illuminating the night!
“Declare—” “Thy body shall be under my command; my fate shall be at thy sword.” “Responding to the call of the Holy Grail, if thou wilt obey this will and reason, then answer me!” A sudden gale rose, and all the glass in the Matou Residence shattered at this moment!
“I hereby swear.” “I am the one who shall accomplish all good in the world.” “I am the one who shall lay out all evil in the world.” Arthur’s incantation did not pause, but he did not add the “Mad Enhancement” chant that would make the Servant lose their sanity.
However, the spirit origin reaction in the summoning circle showed an extremely violent state!
“Thou, seven heavens clad in the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of the Scales—!” Boom!!
A bolt of black lightning struck the center of the courtyard.
As the dust settled, a suffocatingly cold pressure swept through the area.
That was no ordinary Heroic Spirit.
That was an existence that transcended conventional Servants, possessing a God-class spirit origin!
The smoke cleared.
A tall figure emerged.
She wore a magnificent black and blue dress and held a long spear emitting an ominous aura.
Her long silver-white hair danced in the wind, and a black veil covered half of her face, yet it could not hide those eyes as cold as frost, seemingly capable of freezing the soul.
Berserker, Morgan le Fay.
Not the witch from Pan-human History, but the Winter Queen who ruled the Lostbelt Britain for two thousand years!
She slowly opened her eyes, and those eyes, filled with pride and tyranny, scanned the surroundings before finally settling on Arthur.
Originally, she should have arrogantly questioned the summoner.
But at the moment she saw Arthur’s face and felt the familiar “Arthur” aura deep within his soul, Her Majesty’s pupils contracted sharply.
The air seemed to freeze.
Arthur looked at the stunningly beautiful Queen before him, calmly raised his right hand with the command spells, and smiled: “Nice to meet you, Berserker.
I am your master.” “And also…
the only King Arthur in this world.” Morgan stared intently at Arthur, the magic spear in her hand buzzing as if suppressing a mad urge to pierce the person before her while also wanting to claim him as her own.
After a long time.
Her cold red lips parted slightly, uttering the name that made all of Britain tremble, her tone carrying a hint of playful danger and possessiveness: “…Arthur?” “Heh, is this a joke of Pan-human History?
To have me, the Queen who has already destroyed Britain, serve the so-called King of Knights?” Morgan suddenly took a step forward, the tip of her spear pointing directly at Arthur’s throat, but a twisted flame burned in her eyes: “Fine, I acknowledge your summoning.” “But listen well, my Liege (husband)…” “This is not submission, but the beginning of dominion.”