Chapter 128: The Gradual Unveiling of Truth
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“……”
Without reading any further, Lancer merely glanced at the first page of the dossier before his entire body stiffened, utterly at a loss.
Although the two people before him—and the man he had just dealt with—had all come from the same place, the previous two had been nothing more than an overgrown delusional teenager and someone who had strayed onto the wrong path in pursuit of his dreams. Because they belonged to opposing factions, he had killed one of them, but he had never felt the urge to kill either of them like this.
“Have you never felt any regret?”
The dossier in Lancer’s hand had not even been fully read before it was carried away by the wind. Seeing that he had merely glanced at a document and then asked them such a strange question, the two women sneered.
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s no point hiding it anymore. We all came from the same place. How could you do something like that to people who are human, just like you…”
Lancer was no saint who pitied all living things, but they had come from the same place. To meet one another in another world was fate. They fought because they had different goals, but he could not understand why they would…
“Why? Ha-ha…”
After hearing Lancer’s words, the man burst into wild laughter, as though he had just heard the most amusing story in the world.
“How could we, the ones chosen by the gods, be the same as those insects? Ha-ha! That’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard.”
The man continued laughing heartily, failing to notice that Lancer’s expression was growing darker by the second. Besides, even if they knew the truth, what difference would it make? They were not some inexperienced rookie who had just been killed. That man had merely been assigned here at random.
“Insects? Then what were you before this?”
Lancer’s voice grew colder with every word.
“What are you wasting your time talking to him for? Hurry up and kill him.”
The woman who had been standing nearby with a whip suddenly spoke. Unlike the fool beside her, she was no idiot. Every one of Lancer’s questions was plainly designed to lead them somewhere. She herself did not care, but although the man beside her possessed considerable strength, his intelligence was his fatal weakness. She did not want anything unexpected to happen. At least, there was no room for accidents in her plans.
“Ah…”
With a heavy sigh, Lancer suddenly raised his head and shouted in a fervent voice:
“If that is how it is, then I shall pass judgment upon you here!”
* * *
After the battle ended, Lancer watched the man’s face slowly crumble into fragments. In the end, he had learned the truth: they came from another world ruled by someone who called himself a god, and they had been ordered to kill certain people. All the other slaughter had merely been an outlet for those who had been oppressed.
Lancer would never forgive him, but at least his resolve to seek answers from Lotus had grown stronger.
“You have a package~”
Just as Lancer fell silent, Lotus’s voice suddenly reached him.
“You should tell me now, shouldn’t you? Aside from this so-called collection of ‘fruits,’ what else is going on? They came from the same place as I did. Why…”
Perhaps influenced by Toria, even he, once so cold-blooded, had begun to dwell on certain matters.
“Ah…”
Lotus sighed before speaking.
“Where there is light, darkness must exist as well. They are beings born from darkness. As for why they became like this…”
Lotus spoke calmly.
“That was their own choice. Think about yourself. In the previous world alone, how many people did you kill?”
After saying that, she fell silent.
Lancer remained silent as well, but he soon recovered. After all, there were still other matters to attend to.
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“All right…”
After sighing, Lancer said, “What is this package you mentioned? I didn’t know deliveries could still reach me after I boarded this pirate ship.”
“It’s nothing. Do you remember what happened last time? I mean that unfinished business left over from history. Most of it was drawn out through you and sent away last time, but a little remains. This time, you’re going to deal with that.”
Lotus only needed to say a few words before Lancer understood what she meant. A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Fine by me. I can take the opportunity to see them. I wonder how Sakura and the others are doing.”
“Then let’s go. It’ll only be a few days there anyway.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she dissolved into golden light and vanished. The barrier Lotus had arranged disappeared as well.
“What happened here…?”
Suguha, whom Lancer had pushed aside, stared open-mouthed at the ground, which looked as though it had been run over by a motorcycle.
All that remained on the ground was a letter.
* * *
“I’ll hold off on giving you your reward for now. This world isn’t over yet, and besides, you’re mainly here on vacation, so…”
Before Lancer could react, he was kicked away.
“And remember to bring some more mapo tofu!”
That was the last thing Lancer heard.
* * *
“Long time no see~”
Inside the tunnel between worlds, Lancer stroked White Night, which had already been materialized. Although the previous world had been troublesome, in terms of combat difficulty it had undoubtedly been a vacation. With his strength, he had had no need to summon White Night to assist him.
At that moment, Tianyi, who had been concealed within the electronic signals all along, suddenly appeared before Lancer. But to his surprise, Tianyi’s first reaction was not an exclamation of wonder. Instead, she stared at her own hands in disappointment.
“I think I can guess what happened…”
Lancer said nothing. He had no intention of inviting trouble upon himself. All he could do was pray that his Master was wealthy enough to support his “pet.”
“I proclaim:
You shall heed my command. My life shall be joined with your sword.
Answer the call of the Holy Grail. If you would obey this will and this righteousness, then answer me.
Hereby I swear:
I shall accomplish every good deed in this world.
I shall destroy every evil deed in this world.
I am the one who holds its chains in hand.
You are the one bound by the three great words of command, the Seven Heavens, born from the Wheel of Restraint, guardian of the scales…”
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The familiar words once again reached Lancer’s ears. Though the incantation was not as violent as the last time, it remained just as familiar.
He had been planning to strike a suitably handsome pose as he left the tunnel when something unexpected happened.
“Bang!”
With a sound that left him utterly calm, he suddenly felt as though he had been struck hard on the head.
“What is going on?”
Lancer stood up while rubbing his head. As for his grand entrance?
That had obviously been ruined.
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