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(Fate) Chapter 243: Judgment of the Pale Knight, Command Spell
🕑 Added 2024-12-30 16:17:29 +0000 UTCIn that moment, the queen of the underworld seemed to notice something unusual as she let out a soft, surprised hum and turned her gaze back to Promise.
After a brief pause, a knowing smile played across her lips, as if a thought had just occurred to her.
Then, she extended her hand, welcoming the one who yearned to be here.
Amidst the field of flowers that symbolized happiness and life, Enkidu, the weapon created by the gods in Mesopotamian mythology and the harmonious embodiment of the natural world, stepped onto the place, she should never have been able to reach.
The territory defined by death, pain, and disease, her antithesis.
Yet here she stood, amidst the beauty of Elysium.
Though she had only known Promise for about less than an hour, Enkidu had already come to recognize his true identity.
The Holy Grail War's knowledge, combined with Promise's lack of concealment, had revealed much.
But despite this understanding, Enkidu already regarded Promise as a rare and genuine friend, and the thought of him entering the domain of the Pale Rider alone had left her deeply concerned.
So Enkidu responded without hesitation and came here.
Standing amidst the vibrant flowers that had bloomed in defiance of this domain’s nature, Enkidu was momentarily taken aback as she gazed at the paradise of happiness and vitality, now spreading across the Underworld—a stark contrast to its former state of decay and despair.
It wasn’t until she felt Promise’s questioning gaze upon her that she regained her composure.
"I was a little worried about you,” Enkidu explained with a gentle smile, entirely unbothered by her uninvited arrival.
The Queen of the Underworld, who had been silently observing Enkidu with a curious gaze, sensed her time here drawing to an end.
So, she cast one last wistful look at Promise, as if reluctant to part from him, before vanishing from this world.
"How about that?"
Promise turned his attention to Tsubaki, who was still utterly stunned by the miraculous transformation of her surroundings, and tilted his head slightly, smiling and asking
"Pretty impressive magician, aren’t I?"
The latter blinked at him, her wide eyes filled with awe.
When she finally snapped out of her stupor, her face lit up with joy, and she nodded vigorously.
Without another word, she spun around and ran back into the house, eager to share her excitement with her beloved parents—even if those parents were merely constructs, fabricated by the Pale Rider’s power to grant her the semblance of the family she longed for.
As Tsubaki disappeared from view, Enkidu’s gaze turned to the Pale Rider, who stood apart, carefully avoiding the field of flowers.
Her eyes lingered on its shadowy form, her expression a bit confusing.
Enkidu had seen through the Rider’s true nature.
Yet what puzzled her was that the Pale Rider, despite its overwhelming power, made no attempt to dispel the flowers or the joy they brought.
The reason was simple: it couldn’t.
The paradise of Elysium was born from the Queen of the Underworld’s divine authority—a sanctuary of happiness birthed from death and pain.
Even a being like the Pale Rider could not undo it.
"Pale Rider, I swear to you, under the witness of the gods.
"I am willing to help that adorable girl find the happiness that rightfully belongs to her."
As Tsubaki vanished into the house, Promise turned to the Pale Rider and spoke resolutely.
"To be precise, even if there is no happiness in her life, and pain, death and disease are everything she is destined to experience, I will change that. I will rewrite her fate.”
At those words, Enkidu’s certainty about Promise’s identity solidified.
In the endless flow of history, among the countless radiant stars in the sky, there was only one existence capable of defying and "humiliating” fate with such bold conviction.
'Gil... I'm not sure why, but it seems you've landed yourself on his grudge list,'
Even in the presence of her mortal foe, death itself, the thought of Gilgamesh being the target of Promise's retribution was enough to bring an amusing smile on her face.
In that moment, Enkidu made a decision: she would not leave this Holy Grail War too quickly.
Not only did she feel compelled to protect her Master, but she also found herself genuinely curious—curious to see how Promise would enact his "revenge" on Gilgamesh.
After all, this was the kind of drama even the gods themselves would find entertaining!
The Pale Rider, meanwhile, offered no response to Promise’s declaration.
It was, after all, a being that should not have existed—a creation brought into this world by Tsubaki's innocent wish and the mechanisms of the Holy Grail War.
In essence, it was merely a program, devoid of true thought or will.
And yet, when it heard Promise’s words, something stirred within it; an emotion it had never known. It felt... peace.
If that was the case, then let tonight’s Holy Grail War continue!
But unlike the earlier clash between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, this battle would unfold in the unique confines of the Underworld’s Reality Marble, far from the eyes of spectators.
None of the Masters or Servants participating in the Holy Grail War, nor the Church overseers supervising it, were aware of what was about to transpire.
Only Enkidu remained as the sole witness.
Tonight, the second battle of the Holy Grail War began.
The combatants: Promise, a seeker of wisdom and fate, drawn to this place by destiny but yet to fully join the Holy Grail War, and the Pale Rider, the embodiment of calamity and disease—a presence whose very existence brought suffering to the world and whose removal was imperative for the world's survival.
In the original Holy Grail War, by the time the Masters and Servants finally figure out the true identity of the Pale Rider, countless lives had already been lost to its presence.
Even though the Rider itself harbored no deliberate intent to take lives, its very existence continually propagated disease and death.
This realization was precisely why Promise, upon discerning its true nature tonight, abandoned his initial plan to remain a spectator for the time being.
After all, no matter what, the scales of his morality, weighted heavily on the side of righteousness—had been tipped by none other than the goddess of justice, Themis, who had personally raised them high in his favor.
“Then let’s hold a trial,"
Promise declared with a smile, as a sword of judgment appeared in his hand.
At that moment, the sky roared with thunder, and Promise’s eyes turned a divine shade of gold, brimming with divinity.
Time and space froze at this moment as a pure white courtroom descended upon the world.
Its arrival instantly bound the Pale Rider and no matter how fiercely it struggled, the constraints held firm.
Even this embodiment of death and calamity was powerless against its bonds.
At this moment, Enkidu, the only spectator in this pure white court, could not help but be amazed after witnessing everything before him.
Witnessing all this, she understood that even she, facing this pure white court, could only wait for the final result of the trial.
For an immortal being like her, the judgment rendered here could dictate even her eternal future.
In fact, apart form Enkidu, the only physical presence within the courtroom, countless celestial eyes gazed upon it from afar.
Across the cosmos, stars seemed to burn brighter, as if striving to break free of their constraints to witness the trial firsthand.
Yet, limited by the current era and obstructed by a certain Counter Force—a formidable, loli entity, they could only observe from afar.
Nevertheless, their attention was fully focused on this moment.
Then, within the courtroom’s blinding purity, the Pale Rider revealed its true form.
Its essence was the amalgamation of calamities—the embodiment of the Black Death in the past, which had claimed 30 million lives, and the Spanish flu, which had taken 50 million.
It was the harbinger of countless plagues and disasters, a Rider whose very name invoked catastrophe.
It was Plague, the White Horseman of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The moment the Pale Rider’s true nature was revealed, it was as though the concentrated essence of all the world's evils had manifested.
Death, suffering, and the anguished cries of countless souls reverberated through the pure white courtroom.
The terrifying power unleashed in that instant, even surged directly toward Promise, who stood clad in pristine white, holding the sword of judgment.
The overwhelming force sought to engulf him, but before it could even touch him, it was purified and dissipated by the majestic power emanating from him.
Then, all fell silent.
The Pale Rider ceased its instinctive resistance and stood quietly where he was, as though surrendering to its fate.
For the first time, it raised its head, or gave the illusion of doing so—and met Promise’s radiant golden gaze.
“Take care of her for me,"
The Pale Rider spoke and that voice was like, a cacophony of disasters and calamities blended into one; which, should have been horrifying.
Yet, it carried a surprising warmth, a quiet plea that stirred the heart.
“I never break a promise,"
Promise replied softly and with those words, he raised the sword of judgment high.
In the pure white courtroom, he brought it down upon the Pale Rider.
In the next moment, dazzling white light and brilliant golden lightning filled Enkidu’s vision, blinding her completely as she instinctively, closed her eyes.
When she reopened them, the Pale Rider was gone.
As it left, the simulated underworld that existed because of it naturally dissipated.
The pure white courtroom faded as well, and when Enkidu’s surroundings returned to normal, she found herself back in the forest.
Her Master’s silver synthetic wolf was waiting patiently nearby, its keen gaze fixed on her.
At the same time, the night that had blanketed the land was replaced by the glow of dawn.
The light of daybreak touched the horizon, causing Enkidu to squint slightly as she instinctively looked toward it.
The dream had ended, its time to wake up.
In a bustling hospital far removed from the battlefield, Promise stood at the bedside of a girl stirring awake from her slumber.
He had brought light into her life and now gently fed her a golden apple, a treasure of the queen of the gods.
At the same time...
"I knew you wouldn’t let me off so easily,"
He raised his right hand and looked at the Command Seal that had been transferred from the girl's hand.
After taking a look, he tilted his head to look at the brightening sky and curled his lips into a wry smile.
