After being in a trance, the scenery in front of Shirou Emiya changed again.
It's still a cemetery, but it's different.
Annuo and Merlin were still standing behind the same person, but the person in front of them was no longer the tall and withered King Uther.
It was a girl who looked like she was only in her teens.
The girl was dressed simply and stood in front of the sword.
Emiya Shirou's eyes widened.
"Lea, are you ready?"
Merlin raised his head, looked at the girl, and asked with a smile.
The girl turned her back to everyone, not only Annuo and Merlin, but also the knight named Ranmarok, and many others.
Many people gathered in the cemetery, maybe to see the birth of the new king, or maybe just to watch the joke.
An Nuo looked at the girl and the sword.
"When you pull it out, it means that you are no longer related to the girl Artoria."
"You will become a king, rule a country, and govern a country."
His tone was normal, without any unnecessary emotion.
"There is still a chance to regret now." When Merlin said this, his eyes were looking in the direction of Annuo.
Annuo didn't even shift her gaze, she just looked at the cup with hope, placing high hopes on the girl who would eventually take on the responsibility of a country.
"I will not regret it, this is my destiny!"
Artoria stepped forward and grasped the hilt of the golden sword of victory.
Then--
The sword was just pulled out.
Everyone was in an uproar.
But Emiya Shirou didn't feel any happy.
Not at all.
Even if we don’t mention the ordinary people who have died due to chaos and met a tragic fate in the past year without power - putting such a heavy thing on the shoulders of a girl...
Is it worth it?
Emiya Shirou did not get this answer.
The scene in front of him changed again.
Or a cemetery.
Annuo is already old.
His hair and beard all turned white.
There was no one else behind him, and he was left alone.
In front of him, there was no longer any king, but... a tombstone.
Maybe it's not wrong to say that the king is in front of him, because this tombstone... belongs to Uther.
"You are still here, Annuoqing."
"Why don't you go back to your castle?"
Time flies, and the boy who was once has turned into a dying old man, but the so-called flower magician still looks young.
"Merlin...I was seventeen when we first met..."
"At that time, was this what you were like?"
Annuo looked up at the sky, and the voice came from the beard covering his mouth.
"Yes, you will be sixty years old soon."
Merlin smiled and sat next to Annuo.
"You are very strong, so strong that only time can defeat you."
"As long as you are still here and can fight, many things will not happen at all."
There seemed to be something intentional in his words.
"Forty-three years... In the blink of an eye, it has been such a long time..."
Annuo's voice was full of emotion.
Yes, it has been forty-three years, and he has left the round table for several years.
He has finally aged to the point where he can no longer move and can no longer fight.
"Merlin...what do you see in your eyes..."
Annuo asked Merlin.
"It's better not to speak out about this issue now."
"Perhaps you will come to me again in a few days to talk about this matter."
There was a hint of sadness in Merlin's eyes, but it was only fleeting.
"......Yeah."
Huhuhu——————
Emiya Shirou was stunned.
because--
When he came to his senses...
An Nuo's body was already stained with blood.
He lost an arm and his body had withered to an unimaginable degree.
He's like this——
Kneel down to Arthur, kneel down beside your king.
war.
It's not a war between man and man, but...a war between man and dragon.
King Arthur's last battle...the war that completely declared the separation of mankind and mystery.
"Uncle Annuo..."
I don't know how many years have passed, but King Arthur still has the face of that girl - the moment she pulled out the Sword of the King's Choice, she was forever young, and when she held the Holy Sword of the Star of Life, she would never die.
So, she still looks like this.
Her vision was blurred, and she looked up at her courtier.
"I'm here, Liya...I'm here..."
Annuo trembled.
He finally knew what Merlin meant by what Merlin said to him a few days ago, before the human-dragon war broke out.
He was wrong——
He was wrong.
Why - why should such a young girl bear such a heavy and terrifying responsibility?
You - why don't you pull out that sword?
"I'm very tired, Uncle Annuo."
Arturia smiled and said to Anno.
Even though half of her body was close to being carbonized, and she was already in the agony of life and death, Artoria still smiled as she faced her courtier, uncle.
Her smile was like a sharp sword, piercing deeply into An Nuo's heart.
"That's it...that's it..."
An Nuo looked up to the sky and sighed. The smile on his face could not be explained clearly, and it could no longer be seen.
This is——
It's the ending you've destined for yourself.
loyalty?
What is the use of loyalty?
Without loyalty, all you can do is to act casually.
and......
How can I be loyal?
Abandoning the people, giving up his men, letting the country be in turmoil, and letting the knights die tragically, just to let Arthur inherit the throne.
An unimaginably huge responsibility was thrown onto the young girl's shoulders.
I can sit in the knight cemetery every day after leaving the Round Table, then... what about Artoria?
He harmed Artoria and ruined the life of this knight king.
Obviously, Artoria had the opportunity to not have to bear such a life, such responsibilities, such... everything. It was him, Anno, who personally put such a life on Artoria's shoulders.
superior.
Now, it is even more important to end her life with my own hands.
Because this is the only way to redeem her.
Annuo had only this method left to atone for his sins.
Ha ha.
yes.
Atonement.
Carrying the Sword of Victory, Annuo came to the shore of the Holy Lake where he was from the beginning, and threw the source of Arthur's immortality into the lake.
Merlin - just across the lake.
But the two of them could no longer touch each other.
The mystery has faded.
Annuo sat by the lake and sighed.
Loyalty, dignity, strength...
oops......
In the end, I actually——
Is there no such thing as "loyalty" at all?
The so-called dignity is even more ridiculous...
Merlin, you are wrong, you are a complete bastard.