Chapter 119: The Final Command


    <span>"You useless fool! Nothing but a worthless braggart!"


    <span>Facing the harsh verbal assault, Lancer could only lower his head and silently endure.


    <span>"With such a limited<span>amount of<span>time, you couldn''t even protect a single woman. Hmph! How dare you shamelessly speak of chivalry!"


    <span>Keh''s furious words<span>were apanied<span>by spit flying, butpared to Lancer, who felt ashamed of his failure,<span>Keh''s heart was filled<span>with more anxiety and anger. He had been proud of obtaining new Command Spells, but reality<span>once<span>again plunged him into a cold abyss.<span>S had disappeared, and only Lancer returned<span>to his side<span>with a gloomy expression.


    <span>"Although she was only a temporary recement, S is still your<span>Master<span>! If you can''t even protect your<span>Master<span>, what use are you as a Servant? And yet you dare toe back alone, with a thick-skinned face!"


    <span>"...I am<span>truly ashamed<span>."


    <span>Lancer weakly shook his head. His naturally beautiful face was distorted by grief, expressing his deep remorse for allowing the situation to turn into such regret.


    <span>"I apologize, my Lord... S and I do not have a formal contract, so we cannot sense each other''s presence..."


    <span>"That''s exactly why you should be more careful."


    <span>Keh ruthlessly shouted, cutting off the Servant''s defense.


    <span>Under normal circumstances, a Master and Servant would<span>be connected<span>through a contract, and if one of them<span>was<span>in danger, the other would sense it through their magical connection.


    <span>But in this case, Lancer and S had not formed a formal contract ording to the rules of contract magic and had directly engaged in battle. Lancer''s unwavering loyalty to Keh had harmed him.


    <span>By the time Lancer finished the battle and returned to the Fuyuki City Center Building, S was already gone.<span>The only thing he could confirm was<span>that S was still alive, as her magical energy sustained Lancer''s manifestation and activity, continuously flowing into his body.


    <span>If it were another Servant, they might be able to sense her general location through the supply of magical energy. Unfortunately, Lancer''s contract was a special one that separated the contractor from the supplier of magical<span>energy<span>, resulting in a weak connection to the<span>energy<span>supplier. Even though he could specte that S was still alive, Lancer had no idea where the magical energy was<span>being supplied<span><span>from<span>. Searching for her in Fuyuki City without any clues would be futile, so in the end, he had to return alone.


    <span>"Ah, S... I shouldn''t have entrusted her with the Command Spells<span>...<span>Magicalbat is just too difficult for her..."


    <span>"I also bear some responsibility for not thoroughly advising her.<span>However,<span>the reason<span>S made such a decision<span>was<span>because she hoped for youreback, Lord Keh.<span>In any case, please, no matter what, you must—"


    <span>Keh looked at Lancer with a murky gaze filled with jealousy.


    <span>"You still have the nerve to say such things. Don''t y dumb, Lancer. You must have instigated S from the sidelines, right?"


    <span>"What... I would never do such a thing..."


    <span>"Truly living up to the legends, even seducing your lord''s fiancee, unable to resist the temptation."


    <span>Lancer, kneeling with his head lowered, trembled violently.


    <span>"My Lord, please take back those words..."


    <span>"Hmph, did I hit the mark? Can''t stand the anger, huh?<span>So you''re nning to show me your true vicious nature<span>, huh<span>?"


    <span>Keh continued to mock the restrained and agitated Heroic Spirit.


    <span>"You finally showed your true colors.<span>You swear loyalty and selflessness, but<span>in reality,<span>you''re just a beast driven by desire.<span>What''s the point of pretending to be proud of chivalry? Do you think you can deceive my eyes?"


    <span>"Lord Keh... Why, why don''t you understand?"


    <span>Lancer''s pleading voice<span>was choked<span>with emotion.


    <span>"I just... just wanted to defend my honor! I just wanted to fight a glorious war with you! My Lord, why can''t you understand the heart of a knight!?"


    <span>"Don''t act like it''s true, Servant!"


    <span>Keh coldly rebuked Lancer, ignoring his plea. His suspicion and dissatisfaction with Lancer had finally reached the breaking point.


    <span>"Servant, know your ce! You are nothing more than a shadow manifested through magic! Your so-called honor and dignity are<span>nothing but<span>the ramblings of a lost soul. How dare you lecture your<span>master<span>with such audacity!"


    <span>"!!!"


    <span>Lancer, humiliated and silent, hung his head. His slumped shoulders and vacant eyes staring at the ground no longer possessed the<span>valor<span>to wield twin spears and challenge numerous heroes.


    <span>As Keh reveled in his sadistic pleasure, Lancer''s spirit crushed, and a sigh suddenly echoed in the empty factory.


    <span>"Ah, I can''t bear to watch anymore. Lancer, if I were you, I would stab this guy with a single shot."


    <span>Keh''s expression changed abruptly, and Lancer instinctively materialized his twin spears, ready to protect his<span>Master<span>. But before he could stand up, he noticed a purple de<span>appearing<span>around his<span>Master''s<span>neck.


    <span>The ruler of shadows, the Queen of the Underworld, stood next to Keh with the knife in her hand. Her<span>Master<span><span>was leisurely sitting<span>on the windowsill, smiling at Lancer and Keh.


    <span>Lancer tightly gripped his twin spears but dared not make any rash moves. He only asked, "Assassin, what do you mean by this?"


    <span>"Nothing much, just a little regret. Regret that I saved your<span>Master<span>in the Einzbern Castle." Scathach''s cold gaze sent shivers down Keh''s spine. "If I had known what kind of person he is, I should have killed him with a single blow."


    <span>"It''s my fault." Shinji sheepishly rubbed his nose and jumped down from the windowsill, slowly approaching. "I naively assumed<span>that he<span>still had the grace and conduct befitting a traditional noble. I didn''t expect him to be such a waste after being struck by reality. Truly, appearances can be deceiving. Sensei, if I were to say such things to you, would you stab me with a single shot?"


    <span>"No, I won''t. I''ll<span>just<span><span>make sure<span>you can''t get out of bed for half a year."


    <span>Scathach''s response put Shinji in the same state as Keh.


    <span>"Uh, then you might as well just stab me. Hey, Lancer, how about I settle this right here and help you find some relief?"


    <span>"No, please, Assassin''s Master." Lancer lowered his spear and pleaded, "He is my Lord, the one I am loyal to in Diarmuid''s name. No matter what happens, I will only serve him as my Lord in this lifetime. If you want to do this, I will consider you<span>as<span>my enemy."


    <span>"Don''t be so rigid." Shinji measured his "God Spear Bow de" and rubbed the magical de against Keh''s face. "After experiencing what happened in your past life, you should have awakened, right?<span>In China,<span>there is an ancient saying<span>, ''A good bird chooses its tree to perch on.''<span>As someone like you, you should follow a wiser Lord. How about Saber? You are a noble knight, and she is a noble King of Knights. Wouldn''t that be a good master-servant rtionship?"


    <span>"Stop it, Assassin''s Master. That is an insult to me!"


    <span>Lancer remained firm and unwavering.


    <span>"A master can be wrong, and a servant can advise and be saddened, but they will never betray their master."


    <span>"Even if Fionn plotted against you, you wouldn''t regret it?"


    <span>"No regrets!"


    <span>"Even if your current master orders you tomit suicide?"


    <span>"This..." Lancer gritted his teeth and<span>still uttered two words<span>, "No regrets!"


    <span>"Foolish, utterly foolish."


    <span>Shinji felt a surge of frustration. He had even used his ultimate move, so why was it still like this? Did he have to sink to that level before he could feel regret?


    <span>"This is true knighthood<span>, this<span>is what it means to be a true knight." Scathach nced at Shinji, her eyes signaling him.<span>She didn''t say the second half of her sentence - it''s because of this that they are admirable, and<span>it''s because of this that<span>I don''t want to see that kind of ending.


    <span>"Knight, chivalry..." Shinji understood and sighed, taking Scathach''s ce. "Although I can<span>understand to some extent<span>, times have changed, Lancer. People nowadays don''t speak of chivalry. That''s the biggest difference between you and your<span>master<span>. His understanding of your loyalty isplete obedience to him, without question. And you, you hold your<span>master<span>to the standards of a knight.<span>If<span>you had made it clear from the beginning<span>, perhaps it would have been better<span>.<span>No, that''s not it<span>either<span>. With Lord El-Melloi''s arrogant and stubborn personality, he wouldn''t have listened to you, right, Mr. Keh?"


    <span>In the end, Shinji tilted his de, cutting Keh''s skin, and startled, Keh repeatedly said, "Yes, yes! That''s what I think."


    <span>"Let me ask you, Mr. Keh, have you ever wondered why there are only three Command Seals? If, ording to your thinking, why not use more Command Seals to erase the subjectivity of the Servants and turn them intoplete puppets?<span>I think<span>many magi like you, proud and arrogant, have the same idea."


    <span>"This..." Keh had<span>certainly<span>thought about it but had no answer.


    <span>"Let me tell you.<span>The so-called Heroic Spirits, regardless of whether they were good or evil in their lifetime<span>, regardless of<span>how they<span>are judged<span>inter generations,<span>they<span>were all heroes in their own right.<span>Their caliber, their souls, are far superior to ordinary people.<span>Such beings,<span>even if they be Servants, cannot be molded and manipted as you please.<span>They are not puppets! They arerades who fight alongside their Masters!<span>In history<span>, every<span>Master<span>who tried to treat Heroic Spirits as puppets had a bad ending.<span>From the moment<span>you treat them as tools, your failure<span>is already predetermined<span>."


    <span>Shinji''s words made Keh''s face pale. It was unclear whether he was truly moved or just frightened. But Shinji didn''t care about Keh''s reaction. He hade here tonight only to fulfill his promise with Scathach and give Diarmuid a rtively satisfactory conclusion.


    <span>"I might as well tell you that your fiancée, S, was abducted by my people from the top floor of the Central Building. Of course, it was after Caster''s death. I do keep my promises. By the way, when Assassin saved you, he left a mark on you, so we know<span>exactly<span>what you''ve been up to these past few days. I can assure you that Lancer has no inappropriate thoughts about Miss S, whether you believe it or not."


    <span>"Assassin''s Master, you..." Lancer hesitated, unsure whether to feel grateful or resentful.


    <span>"It''s pointless to talk about it now. Keh, I''ll give you two choices. Either I kill you right now and order my men to kill Miss S, ending thispletely, or you use your Command Seals to order Lancer to fight my Assassin. If Lancer wins, I''ll let them go. You have ten seconds to decide. After ten seconds with no answer, I''ll assume you chose the first option—"


    <span>Before Shinji could start counting, Keh immediately gave his<span>answer,<span>with no room for hesitation.


    <span>"I... I choose, I choose the second option, but if you go back on your word—"


    <span>"Are you stupid?" Shinji looked at Keh with disdain. "This battle is destined to have only one survivor. If Assassin survives, you have no future. If Lancer survives, do you think I can defeat a Servant? Stop talking nonsense and give the order—"


    <span>Holding onto hisst glimmer of hope, Keh sadly caressed the Command Seals he had just acquired, and as the Master of Lancer, he exerted his final authority.


    <span>"By the power of the Command Seals, Lancer, kill Assassin!"


    <span>"Yes, my Master!"


    <span>For the first time, summoned for the first time, Lancer wholeheartedly epted this Command Seal with his own will.


    <span>The red and yellow twin spears cut through the night sky like lightning.


    <span>====


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