Trump Card: Shared Fate

You consumed Karma Points *1 and activated Omen of the Evil God.

You used the ability: Gaze of Arrogance.

You used the ability: Heart of Slaanesh.

You activated the Noble Phantasm: Vortex of the Heart, and invoked the Petrification Demonic Eye.

With just a single exchanged glance, the speeding Medusa clutched her head and staggered two steps, her body swaying slightly.

The ability Heart of Slaanesh seemed to have had a considerable effect on her.

Compared to his Strength and Constitution, which had already crossed the threshold of 50, Bai Cangshu’s Spirit attribute was nothing remarkable. Medusa, after all, was a Heroic Spirit from the Age of Gods. Bai Cangshu did not believe his Spirit attribute held any advantage over a witch like her.

So this reaction naturally meant that she was poorly suited to an ability like Heart of Slaanesh.

It was probably related to some of her experiences after being summoned.

"Lord Souichirou!"

Medea’s agonized shriek rang out. Bai Cangshu turned and saw Heracles’s berserk blow send Souichirou Kuzuki flying with its aftermath. He vomited blood in midair, his chest caved in. He had clearly suffered a fatal wound.

Medea had already pulled some distance away.

Against a Servant like Heracles, for Souichirou Kuzuki, a "normal person," to leave behind an intact corpse would already have been a decent ending.

But Medea clearly could not accept that outcome. Her expression twisted, and the next moment, a blazing white shockwave slammed into the space before her.

At some point, Medusa’s body had begun glowing with the light of a Command Spell once more. The Command Spell directly freed her from the effects of Heart of Slaanesh and the Petrification Demonic Eye, and she seemed to hear that pitiful girl’s cold voice by her ear.

"Kill Caster!"

For the first time, Medusa sensed an unyielding coldness and forcefulness from Sakura Matou, completely unlike any command the girl she had known before could have given.

But ever since Sakura had turned into that puddle of orange fluid right in front of her and then recovered again, her temperament seemed to have changed completely.

Medusa charged straight at Medea with her Noble Phantasm unleashed. There was none of the same determination in her eyes that she had shown when trying to kill Mercenary Tao, but Medea had no chance to react to Medusa’s Noble Phantasm release and was struck squarely in the chest.

The sound of her breastbone collapsing came with blood that was about to spray out.

Medea’s eyes were filled with hatred, but in the next instant—

Buzz!

Golden qi shot out like a laser, scarcely slower than Pegasus, piercing straight through Medea’s brow.

Pfft!

Medea’s eyes widened in astonishment as she was instantly flung away like a kite with its string cut.

You defeated Servant Medea.

You absorbed a new soul: Heroic Spirit Medea.

Medusa came to a stop, panting, utterly unable to understand why Mercenary Tao had gone so far.

Bai Cangshu wagged a finger, clicking his tongue continuously. His face held nothing but mockery and provocation.

"What did you see during the completion process that made you so extreme? Tsk, is this what they call a maiden’s heart…?"

Hearing Mercenary Tao’s words, Medusa felt a bad premonition. Sure enough, in the next moment, she saw him raise his hand toward the distance as golden beams shot out one after another.

Buzz!

Buzz!

Buzz!

Illya frowned, her mana draining rapidly, yet Bai Cangshu fought with increasing exhilaration. This unique "mana supply" system and the Command Spell enhancement allowed him to fire Dodon Rays with unprecedented freedom.

He had already begun to show a hint of the fighting style of a truly powerful Martial Artist from the Dragon Ball World.

The golden Dodon Rays traced all kinds of arcs, crossing several thousand meters with Mantra’s lock-on and shooting into the enormous crater blasted out by the Thunder Arrow of Destiny.

There, the purple-haired girl stood with cold eyes, black shadows seeming to coil beneath her feet.

Sensing the attack, Sakura Matou’s heart tightened. Her clothes were incomplete, and bluish-black burns from the lightning remained on her skin. Yet that miraculous lightning strike had not killed her. Instead, it had destroyed the remnant soul within her.

Pfft! Pfft!

The golden beams punched straight through the deep rock layers. Sakura Matou instinctively tried to dodge, but she was simply too slow.

But a figure suddenly shoved her aside and was pierced by the golden beams instead. With a muffled groan, she fell, scarlet blood quickly spreading out.

Buzz!

Medusa rushed over, picked up Sakura Matou, and turned to flee beyond Fuyuki City. Sakura Matou stared blankly at Rin Tohsaka lying in a pool of blood.

"Why…"

Bai Cangshu pinched the invisible blade between two fingers. His intention to continue attacking and kill Sakura Matou was blocked by the petite blonde king.

And the red-haired Shōnen, his face filled with rage, stood behind her, gripping a crude sword in both hands.

"This ends here, Mercenary Tao. I will not let you slaughter people as you please anymore."

Artoria’s expression was solemn, as though she were making a sacred vow. In response, Bai Cangshu felt the blade between his fingers tremble slightly as an intense sharpness began to emerge.

He had no choice but to release the blade with his right hand.

Looking down from above at the Knight King, Bai Cangshu continued to mock her deliberately.

"Heh, so you’re saying that when I killed those people earlier, you were indulging me?"

"You also wanted me to clear away the Holy Grail War’s opponents for you and this boy…"

Shirou Emiya’s chest heaved as he grew even angrier. He took two steps forward, moving past Saber instead, until he stood less than two meters away from Mercenary Tao.

At this distance, he could clearly sense the chilling killing intent that naturally radiated from the other man. Merely approaching him made his whole body tremble.

But Shirou was filled with fury. Images flashed through his mind: his adoptive father having his brain pierced by a finger, and Rin and Sakura being struck by lightning.

"Shut up! We never thought of doing anything so despicable. It was clearly you…"

"You bastard, can’t you really understand how precious life is?!"

The more he spoke, the angrier Shirou Emiya became. He raised the crude sword in his hands high, mana surging ceaselessly through the Magic Circuits within him. It was as though inspiration suddenly struck him in that instant.

The crude sword in his hand began to change once more.

Clang!

The sound of metal crashing exploded abruptly. A powerful shockwave sent Shirou Emiya flying in an instant. Saber, who had met Bai Cangshu’s black arm head-on with her sword, reacted with incredible speed. She shifted her grip, holding her sword in one hand while catching Shirou Emiya in midair with the other.

At that moment, Saber displayed the power of a first-rate Servant. She had almost instantly detected Bai Cangshu’s intention to attack, and the moment his hand blade slashed toward Shirou Emiya, she moved from behind him to stand in front of him and met his strike with her sword.

"Shirou, calm down. He is deliberately provoking you."

Sabers’s voice was calm now. Mercenary Tao’s words had not angered her at all, because something she would never do could not possibly sow discord in her heart.

Bai Cangshu tested Saber’s strength and found it inferior to his own, though the gap was not as large as he had expected. The most troublesome thing was still that sword—the Holy Sword of the Stars, Excalibur.

"Because someone you like was hurt, you became angry. Because you were angry, you lost your reason and attacked me…"

Bai Cangshu looked at Shirou Emiya and continued trying to mock him.

But a chilling presence had already spread from Saber, expanding outward like an invisible field.

"I said it before, Mercenary Tao. I will not let you act recklessly as you please again."

The girl’s voice was proud and resolute. In an instant, powerful mana swept away Mercenary Tao’s terrifying aura.

It allowed Shirou Emiya to catch his breath and recover.

Saber continued speaking. She did not accept Mercenary Tao’s "nonsense."

"Facing someone like you, Shirou’s fear is born from a creature’s instinct. But his courage to draw his sword against you surpasses that instinct. It is a Zange of courage."

"Mercenary Tao, tell me—have you ever seen the eyes of soldiers who charge forward even knowing they will die…?"

Sabers’s voice rose ever higher as specks of golden light began to radiate from between her hands.

Invisible Air could no longer conceal the radiance of the Holy Sword of the Stars. Golden light began to bloom.

A terrifying sense of presence swelled in an instant.

Bai Cangshu lowered his head and saw that Omen of the Evil God covering his body had nearly been pressed against his skin, turning into a thin scarlet film.

It was proof that her presence was beginning to crush his own.

He raised his head and saw the thunderclouds in the sky swept away in an instant. Like a massive torch, like a brilliant beacon, Artoria raised Excalibur high.

"So this is Excalibur…"

At that moment, his eyes seemed to turn silver-white, while transparent vortex-like tentacles behind him pierced into every corner of the air.

Vast amounts of information poured into him.

It was as if countless people’s shouts, despair, fervor, and grandeur flooded in. Bai Cangshu’s perspective rose higher and higher, and Fuyuki City seemed to shrink further and further away. In the next instant, his vision changed, as though he had arrived beyond the planet.

From the black universe, he looked down upon that dim blue planet. With the holy sword raised high, countless cries seemed to rise alongside it.

Win!

Victory!

Triumph!

Humanity, this short-lived species, seemed capable of going mad enough to cast aside even their lives as long as victory awaited them.

In the next instant, an incomparably brilliant sword descended, and Bai Cangshu’s vision abruptly fell back.

In that instant, light flashed in his hand. An item he had placed in his Backpack long ago was taken out.

Ghost Disc: Shared Fate!

Watching the Knight King shout the name "Excalibur" as she swung her sword at him, he crushed the disc and locked onto her at the same time.