"Shh, just watch quietly."
Holding the shocked King with the ahoge, Hansen did not continue to explain.
Under the gaze of the Eye of Oracle, the construction of this holy sword held no more secrets in his eyes.
Energy flow, magic circuits, conceptual core... even the thirteen seals hidden deep within the blade.
"Holy Sword of the Planet, Thirteen Restraints... so this is the so-called Holy Sword of Salvation?" Hansen felt the pulse coming from his hand, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.
"Different from the scabbard constraints of the Proto-Saber... are the Thirteen Restraints directly engraved into the blade itself?"
Hansen easily parried Berserker's mountain-cleaving continuous slashes with one hand, a look of disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Why are there so many restraints? The other side is already attacking me; what good could they possibly be?"
Zzz—
Golden electricity jumped wildly across the blade.
"It can be released! I'll turn it to ashes!"
Although he said so, Hansen did not actually force the release of all Thirteen Restraints.
If he really split the Earth open with one swing, the two Counter Forces would probably go insane on the spot.
"Get lost!"
Hansen flicked his wrist, and an overwhelming force erupted along the blade.
Berserker was hit as if by a meteor, sent flying back dozens of meters along with his sword, his feet plowing two deep furrows in the earth.
"How is it possible... how can anyone block Berserker after his release?!"
In the distance, Kariya Matou's psychological defenses were on the verge of collapsing.
He could not accept that the power he had sacrificed everything for, even trading Berserker's sanity for, was so vulnerable before this man.
"I don't believe it! It's fake! It's all fake!"
Kariya clawed at his face frantically, blood dripping, "As long as I kill you... as long as I kill you, Sakura can..."
Creak—
Just then, a window on the second floor of the castle was gently pushed open.
This subtle sound seemed exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the battlefield.
"Um... did something happen outside?"
A timid yet vibrant voice rang out.
Kariya Matou's body suddenly froze.
Berserker's movement as he prepared to charge again also stalled in mid-air.
Kariya mechanically and slowly raised his head, looking toward the direction of the voice.
Behind that window.
Irisviel was gently supporting a little girl.
The girl wore an exquisite, well-fitting pink dress, her long purple hair washed clean and draped softly over her shoulders.
Her small face was rosy and glowing, completely devoid of her former deathly pallor.
Although there was still some fear of the loud noise in her eyes, anyone could see she was being well cared for.
So well... she looked like a real little princess.
That was Sakura.
Countless times more beautiful and healthy than when she was at the Matou Family, a living... Sakura.
Sakura looked blankly at the monster kneeling in the snow below, covered in rot with half his face twitching, a hint of confusion and fear flashing in her eyes.
But relying on the voice, she still tentatively called out:
"Uncle... Kariya?"
Boom—!!!!
This soft call was ten thousand times heavier for Kariya Matou than Hansen's kick earlier.
Like a pale bolt of lightning, it instantly shattered his self-constructed world of tragedy.
He stared blankly at the radiant girl upstairs.
Then he looked down at his own hands, rotting like withered branches, and at his own appearance—neither human nor ghost.
An unprecedented sense of shame, inferiority, and the emptiness of a collapsed belief instantly submerged him.
Sakura... isn't dead?
Not only is she not dead, but she's... living better than before?
Then I... all that I've done... turning myself into this state... what was it all for?
"Ah... ahh..."
Kariya opened his mouth but couldn't make a complete sound. Tears mixed with blood flowed into his mouth, so bitter it made him want to vomit.
It turned out that the one who needed saving wasn't Sakura.
It was always me... the one immersed in self-indulgent tragedy, trying to satisfy my self-esteem by playing the tragic hero.
"It seems the dream has ended."
Hansen still maintained the posture of holding Saber with one arm—though by now, the King with the ahoge had realized the situation and was so ashamed and angry she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
He looked at the man kneeling on the ground like a clown, his voice cold and cruel.
"Your self-indulgent sacrifice didn't bring her the slightest bit of happiness; instead, it almost ruined the life she has now."
Hansen raised the holy sword, pointing the tip at Berserker, who was still in chaos due to his master's mental breakdown.
"True salvation is never about gaining sympathy by making yourself miserable."
"It is..."
The platinum divine fire in Hansen's eyes surged.
"Possessing the power to crush all tragedy!"
"Ex—calibur!!!!"
It seemed like a True Name Release, but it was just a basic attack from Hansen, fueled by pure divine power poured into the blade.
But even so.
Boom—!!!!
A massive golden stream of light spread out in a fan shape, sweeping across like a tsunami!
The terrifying sword pressure directly sent Berserker and Kariya flying, and they disappeared at the end of Miyama Town along with the mountain-cleaving golden sword light.
The originally messy battlefield was forcibly purified into a smooth path leading into the distance under this golden radiance.
Having done all this, Hansen casually flourished the sword, reversed it, and handed it to Saber, who was completely dazed in his arms.
"The sword is not bad. Here, take it back."
Hansen looked at Saber's close-up face, which was full of shock and bashfulness, and a mischievous smile curved his lips.
"So, let's count... including the time I just saved you, it seems you owe me two favors now, My King."
Saber: "..."
Sakura upstairs showed a happy smile: "Wow... Big Brother is so amazing!"
A faint smile also appeared on Irisviel's lips: "Ara, it seems Saber has lost quite thoroughly."
Saber: "..."
...The wind and snow subsided slightly, and the Einzbern forest returned to silence.
Only the broken fir trees and charred craters remained, silently recounting the brief and violent skirmish that had just occurred.
Inside the castle, the birch wood in the fireplace crackled.
The orange firelight reflected brilliantly off the gilded picture frames, completely dispelling the coldness unique to Fuyuki City.
"Big Brother, is this... for me?"
Sakura stood timidly on the thick, soft Persian carpet, her small hands nervously holding an exquisitely crafted snowflake-shaped silver hairpin.
It was a treasure Irisviel had just found in her jewelry box, its tiny diamonds sparkling with a dreamlike light in the firelight.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"