Chapter 126. What? Saber is a fake version of Raku Sou?
[The tide shifted, the moon further shattered, hanging in the sky with countless craters and cracks.]
[That blood-stained crimson gown gently swayed in the wind, her graceful figure standing still, gazing straight at the world, seeing through life and death, piercing through the horizon — deep golden eyes, delicate lip contours… breathtakingly beautiful, yet bringing unimaginable despair to the surviving Heroic Spirits.]
[She performed a grand ritual at the celestial level, manipulating the planet, devouring Gaia and Alaya...]
[Causing countless massive earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions...]
[Tearing through the Heroic Spirits' defense lines, shaking the entire moon.]
[In the end, she killed across the vast space-time, with no opponents left between heaven and earth!]
[Faced with her will to plunge all of humanity into reincarnation, who could stop her?]
[No one could stop her.]
[What was left for humanity, was nothing but bottomless despair!]
[This is the Evil of Humanity, this is the being that devours all hope!]
[Beast... is truly magnificent!]
[Beast... is truly powerful!]
...
"This... is Beast."
The audience on Earth was dumbfounded, staring at that chilling image, as if their very souls were frozen to the core, completely linking the impression of "Beast" with planetary destruction, engraving it deep into their genes, becoming part of a new DNA sequence for the next generation.
This lesson… was the survival rule of humanity since ancient times.
Remember the natural enemy that instills fear, and pass that fear down to the next generation.
And then...
Run for your life!!!
...
[Right after, Kaguya calmly gazed at Earth's corpse, slowly extending her snow-white hand. Along with the light of the EX-rank Noble Phantasm『Immaculate Womb Realm Corridor』, a gray wheel of reincarnation gradually enveloped the world.]
[Slowly eroding America, eroding the Eurasian continent...]
[In an instant, the souls of countless people screaming were dragged into it!]
[Space-time seemed to freeze, all beings trembled, the shadow buried deep in the hearts of all humanity and Heroic Spirits, like a dense black cloud covering the sky, would not dissipate.]
["The End is coming…"]
[One surviving person gave a miserable laugh, full of resentment, but tears streamed down their face.]
[The end, humanity's conclusion, wasn't the Land of Steel as imagined, but rather being displayed in Beast's trophy case? How ridiculous…]
[They couldn't even manage a final resistance or a glorious death…]
[That person gave a dry laugh, stopped resisting, their whole body slackening as they were sucked into reincarnation.]
[The remaining Heroic Spirits were silent.]
[As all the Heroic Spirits, shining with legendary brilliance, fell into despair before the overwhelming grandeur, the gray wheel of heavenly reincarnation that was gradually enveloping the world suddenly halted. Kaguya tilted her head, and within her calm gaze, a flicker of disturbance appeared.]
[Even she — the one who could devour the world without hesitation — showed mental turbulence.]
[As if… she was seeing someone she deeply cared about.]
[Who is it?!]
[The Heroic Spirits looked at each other, astonished.]
[No one expected that just a faint trace of a clue would be enough to make that terrifying Evil of Humanity come to a stop.]
[And then…]
...
"Raku Sou, you're finally not afk anymore!!"
Everyone was still somewhat tense, until a silver-white light gradually appeared. That familiar, blood-soaked figure returned. Somehow, everyone felt an immense joy, as if teasing an old friend.
However… when they clearly saw the full form of that person, everyone was stunned.
Raku Sou's stance in the Celestial Curtain had completely changed.
Just like Kaguya in Beast form, it was as if ten years of time had condensed into a single moment.
His body also became taller and more handsome, upper torso bare, a perfect physique no different from the sun god Apollo, as if divinity had been born from him. The armor had been shattered, only the armor on the left arm remained, radiating an overwhelming aura.
Holy silver patterns spread out from the heart, like a silver sun reaching to the right shoulder.
Long silver hair cascaded like a waterfall, making the crystal pattern between his brows glow even more brilliantly.
Many people suddenly fell silent — that strange posture, as if bursting forth from an ancient myth, was utterly stunning and beyond words!
Clearly, he too was injured, like the defensive line of the Heroic Spirits that had been torn apart.
Yet somehow, many people felt a strange sense of reassurance rise within their hearts.
Like a jungler farming deep in the woods all game, finally ready to gank!
Kaguya, you are already dead!
...
Under the expectations of countless surviving Heroic Spirits,
He, covered in blood, with the corner of his eye torn open, remained calm as ever, stepping forward one step at a time. The Jewel Sword in his hand had already shattered, yet he showed no panic.
[At that very moment, Kaguya withdrew her calm expression, looking straight at Raku Sou: "In the end, the one who can stand before me… is still you…"]
["Onii-chan, or perhaps I should say—Eternal King—Sou Ganathion."]
As her words fell, silence descended both inside and outside the Celestial Curtain.
[Eternal... King?]
[Gawain, leaning against a rock, his chest completely destroyed, widened his eyes in disbelief.]
...
["Eternal King?!"]
[At the edge of the battlefield, Nero had been beheaded, her eye wide open, her head rolling across the ground leaving a smeared trail of blood, took in a deep breath.]
...
[Leaning against a shattered Sphinx statue, only half a body remaining, Ramesses II murmured: "How can this be… That person truly exists?"]
...
Meanwhile, those in the real world were completely baffled.
France.
Paris.
At the Élysée Palace, in the parliamentary meeting room, silence hung like a suffocating fog.
After a long while, a high-ranking official hesitantly spoke: "I remember Eternal King refers to Arthur, that is, Saber, right?"
That's right…
Others nodded in agreement.
They either had never heard of the name Eternal King, or if they had, assumed it referred to Arthur.
However, after some thought, the advisory group turned to the high-level officials and said: "That's right, Eternal King is Arthur — or more accurately, the original Arthur. But Arthur isn't just that Saber."
"That Saber, to be precise, should be called… the King of Knights."
"In Ancient Britain, there's an old legend."
"It is said that the Holy King who ended the Age of Gods and buried the deities is sleeping in a distant land — Avalon, homeland of the fairies."
"Conquered dragons, buried Old Gods, ended an era."
"If Gilgamesh is the King who bid farewell to the gods, then he is the King who buried the divine age!"
"Also called the King of Ideals, believed to have taken the earth from the hands of the gods and opened the holy land of ancient Europe."
"Of course, it's just a little-known legend."
Everyone looked at each other, their eyes full of doubt.
Looking at the current situation… it's clearly not just a legend anymore...
...
Russia.
At the Kremlin, tycoons holding endless resources and wealth were all shocked.
"Raku Sou is actually the Eternal King?"
An elderly figure fell into thought, then suddenly froze, staring at the enormous world map hanging on the wall — his gaze fixed toward Japan.
So… this person, in the real world, is actually…
He sucked in a breath of cold air, as if having uncovered a terrifying secret, and suddenly wasn't surprised anymore that after the Black Rift Phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, Merlin had thrown the Sword in the Stone into Japan.
So the King was in the far East!
Other than him, perhaps no one in this world could wield that colossal sword reaching into the clouds!
...
[On the battlefield, Gawain's eyes turned hazy as he recalled a legend sung long ago in Ancient Britain.]
[It was a myth, but also a myth that belonged to a King.]
[Also called the King of Ideals, the King of the Age of the Gods.]
[Waged war against the gods alone, annihilated the Titans, the very first King of the Holy Sword.]
[The true master of the Star Sword — none other than Arthur Pendragon!]
[Legend holds that the King of Knights we know today is merely a reflected image of him, created by King Uther based on his mold.]
[Arthur Pendragon, also known as King Arthur, is the legendary king of Ancient Britain, one of the greatest figures surrounded by countless tales.]
[Information about him mainly comes from Celtic legends and medieval historical records.]
[He is believed to be the leader of the Round Table Knights, a nearly divine mythical figure, known as "The Once and Future King."]
[At some point, the image of Arthur Pendragon in legends became merged with the image of Artoria Pendragon…]
[The two gradually became confused with one another.]
Inside the Celestial Curtain, Raku Sou calmly rebutted:
["Eternal King is me, but I am not the Eternal King."]
"What the hell?!"
The viewers on Earth, who thought they had uncovered the truth, were now bewildered once more, uncertain.
...
["No matter who you are, even if you were that King at his peak, so what?"]
["In the end, you're still just a mortal."]
["Onii-chan, I no longer have any enemies left now."]
[A corner of the crimson gown fluttered in the wind across the battlefield, Kaguya's gaze toward Raku Sou was distant and hazy, as if she were sighing — sighing because her own mortal self had already faded away.]
[Sighing because in this arrogant sky, she was the only one left.]
[Sighing because there was no one left worthy to behold the image of the world alongside her.]
[In her world, the structure of existence, the shape of reality had far surpassed mortal comprehension — like 0 and 1 in mathematics, being and non-being — it was no longer merely distortion… it was a chasm beyond any abyss.]
[Immediately after, Kaguya raised her hand, as if it were just a casual touch.]
[Her slender finger only needed… a gentle tap.]
Crack!!
[At that moment, the "thread" connecting all things seemed to suddenly and eerily snap.]
[Everyone present was mentally shaken — they could clearly hear the cracking sound.]
...
"WTF, they're… disappearing…!!"
Someone screamed in horror.
Many instantly turned their heads, pupils constricting violently, each one gasping sharply in cold fear.
[The Heroic Spirits stood stunned as their bodies turned into points of light and vanished.]
[Even some among them who had nearly reached their peak.]
[It was useless.]
["To my eyes, the connection between you and the Throne is like a glaringly bright, concrete concept."]
[Her voice was incomparably calm.]
[But everyone understood — she was telling the truth.]
[And that also meant...]
[Power, and the number of Heroic Spirits — to someone who could sever their link at any time, like her — were utterly meaningless.]
[Only one answer remained.]
...
"Just toying with them?"
In reality, Kirigaya Kazuto watched in despair as the Heroic Spirits struggled in vain, only to become nothingness — then what were all those fierce battles before for?
"No… maybe, among the countless fragments of Kaguya's remaining personality, there still lingers a shred of hope to witness the courage of humanity. The courage to rise up and challenge the Beast, the courage to fight for one's homeland, steadfast and unyielding, rather die than retreat…"
"The epic of mankind… is the epic of courage itself!"
The friend beside him sighed and gently responded.
Of course, that was only his speculation — perhaps Beast Kaguya never thought that way at all.
But having witnessed the Heroic Spirits offer themselves one after another in sacrifice, even many viewers on Earth were deeply shaken by that courage.
...
["The annoying ants have retreated, now it's your turn, Onii-chan."]
[Kaguya stared straight ahead, the vertical eye in the center of her forehead gleaming with strange blood-red light, mixed with a hint of divine golden radiance. A myriad of calamitous auras surrounded her body. She raised her hand, as if preparing to unleash the Authority of the Planet!]
["That's right… it's our turn, Kaguya."]
[Raku Sou smiled faintly, then turned toward the Earth's corpse, which still retained a bit of lingering instinct, "Alaya, give me back what's mine."]
Everyone was stunned.
What… thing?
["BOOM!!"]
[In the western lands of Britain, the earth cracked and trembled, radiant beams of light oozed from beneath the ground, instantly transforming into a meteor shower of blue light shooting up into the sky, piercing through the void.]
[In an instant, it broke through the stratosphere, entered outer space, streaked across the skies of many nations — and then descended from the heavens!]
It arrived!
Everyone held their breath, watching the Silver Holy King calmly reach out his right hand and naturally receive it — a dazzling, translucent crystal sword, its blade inscribed with golden divine runes like soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes, radiating an eternal, undying aura.
[Inside Kaguya's body, among the Heroic Spirits who could threaten the "Beast," Saber looked at him with complicated eyes, emotions in turmoil.]
[If the man before her was truly the original, then she was just a replica created out of admiration for the Eternal King.]
[If it's him… surely he can save Britannia!]
[It was with that longing that she was born.]
[The reason Saber always wanted to return to the past, always hesitated to draw the sword from the stone…]
[Partly, it was because she felt she had stained the glory of the Eternal King — bearing the name Arthur, yet only able to hopelessly witness the fall of Holy City Camelot, turning the name Arthur into a symbol of failure.]
["Fall back, this place — I alone am enough."]
[Raku Sou, calm and composed, walked slowly toward Kaguya, each step gently dispelling the remaining Heroic Spirits.]
[Each footfall released a soft golden light, nourishing the land, making the earth beneath suitable for cultivation; the wind gently formed, no longer resisting, instead easing his steps.]
[Where he met water, it parted; where he met fire, it extinguished; thunder made no sound, and darkness turned to light…]
[As though the entire world owed him, giving him all its grace, protecting him!]
[In this moment, all Heroic Spirits of Europe felt it natural — none looked at him without reverence, and simultaneously they knelt on one knee, right hand placed over their hearts, heads bowed as they softly said: "At your command, My King."]
[For the Eternal King is the rightful king of all nobility — the sovereign of the world!]
[Moreover, in legend, he never died.]
["You still want to face me, Onii-chan? Right now I have already…"]
[Kaguya's body, cloaked in black and red, slowly floated upward. She stood high above in the heavens, looking down.]
["…become invincible!"]
[Heaven and earth changed color, turbulent storm clouds surged beneath her feet, massive bolts of purple lightning dozens of kilometers long twisted and struck down, countless thunders roared, gathering around her like a god, like a demon — as though she were the ruler of all!]
[There was no response.]
[The Eternal King simply raised his longsword, holding it upright before him.]
[Come then — let us battle…]
[There is no victory or defeat…]
[Only life and death!]