Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover-Chapter 607

Chapter 607: Special Rules - Hunting Competition

Having concluded his time accompanying Rin and struck a deal with Alice, Sakatsuki now needed to escort Nero back.

"Today has been... quite busy."

Hearing Sakatsuki’s murmur, Nero turned her head, her hands clasped behind her back.

Outside the corridor window, the eternal moonlight cast its silvery glow, outlining the young man’s sharp jawline, handsome features, and leisurely expression. Even his simple steps exuded an elegance befitting a divine messenger.

Not a trace of fatigue could be found in his demeanor—instead, his every movement radiated satisfaction.

How strange...

What could bring someone like Sakatsuki such joy?

On such an overwhelmingly busy day, what exactly had captivated this young man?

She wanted to understand him more—to delve deeper into who he was.

"Watch your step, Your Majesty."

A gentle force from the arm resting on her shoulder prevented Nero from colliding with the wall. Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up and was immediately ensnared by the fox-like amusement in the young man’s eyes.

"Thinking about me?"

"N-no... Of course not!" The directness of his teasing flustered Nero. Even knowing Sakatsuki was joking, she couldn’t help but deflect. "I was merely wondering if it was wise to leave Hakuno alone with Alice and the others." Shifting to business, Nero quickly composed herself. "After all, they are our opponents in the third round. They must know that if Hakuno dies, they get to live."

Sakatsuki chuckled but didn’t respond. Interpreting his silence as indifference, Nero’s expression turned serious. "Don’t underestimate them just because they’re children, Sakatsuki. It’s children who can tear off butterfly wings with innocent smiles. We mustn’t let our guard down."

"Mm, I know. Thanks for the warning, Your Majesty."

"...You know?"

"Of course. In a few days, I’ll find an excuse to deal with them."

Sakatsuki cast a meaningful glance at Nero, unsurprised to see a flicker of conflict cross the Roman emperor’s face.

The glorious empire sung by innocent girls... Clearly, Nero had a soft spot for children.

Even if logic dictated that Alice was an enemy, emotionally, how could she remain unaffected by Sakatsuki’s cold words?

"Innocent goodwill might just be the flip side of cruelty. There’s no need to pity unconscious killers." Sakatsuki continued, "Alice’s psyche is already abnormal. If the first round was born from hatred and hostility, and the second was a battle of duty and honor... then this third round is a fight in response to goodwill."

A response to Alice’s twisted ’goodwill’—one that would inevitably lead to the complete annihilation of one side.

Hmm, the real Emiya Shirou would probably relate to this sort of thing.

Amused by his own thoughts, Sakatsuki suddenly noticed Nero staring at him thoughtfully. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What is it?"

"I was just suddenly thinking, you wouldn’t have deliberately made Hakuno lose her memory, would you?" Nero’s gaze was profound. "For her, this type of battle must be quite troublesome. Rather than letting her struggle, it’d be better to let her rest during this round and have you handle everything..."

"Hmm, the more I think about it, the more reasonable it seems. You’re totally capable of doing something like this."

"What kind of image do you have of me in your mind?" Sakatsuki responded with a wry smile. "I didn’t expect the protective charm’s energy to run out at that exact moment either."

Though after understanding the situation, he did choose to go along with it...

"Who knows how cunning you can be," Nero muttered, inexplicably a bit sulky. "And you even secretly formed a Master-Servant contract while I was... that... Seriously, you didn’t even ask for my consent."

"If I had told you directly, would you have agreed?"

"Of course not!"

Instant reply.

Sakatsuki spread his hands with a smile: "See? That’s exactly why. Even though you were struggling during the second round, your pride wouldn’t let you agree to draw magical power from Hakuno, even though she’s your Master."

"Even so, acting on your own like that is really unpleasant," Nero grumbled. "If you keep this up, you’ll regret it someday."

"Someone’s already told me that before," Sakatsuki replied nonchalantly. "But sorry, this is just how I am—helpful yet rude."

"Male mom."

"Huh?"

"Ne~ver~mind~"

As she spoke, Nero had already reached her room’s doorway. After a moment’s hesitation, she suddenly turned to Sakatsuki: "So, want to come in and rest for a bit?"

"Does your cat do backflips too?" Sakatsuki asked reflexively.

Nero tilted her head in confusion: "Cat? Backflips? What’s that?"

"Never mind..." Sakatsuki’s mouth twitched—he knew exactly who was hiding inside that room. "I’ll pass this time. Got other things to attend to."

"Oh." Nero studied Sakatsuki’s expression again, finding his usual polite smile unchanged. Pouting, she pushed the door open. "Then I’m off, bye-bye!"

The moment the light from outside crossed the threshold, it was chased away by a golden-red figure, leaving only a breeze to slip in. Turning around, Nero saw a flowing crimson dress and Draco curled up in the corner, hugging her knees.

She’d been maintaining that position for quite some time.

"You... really won’t go out for a walk?"

"I’ve told you before—the Moon Cell mustn’t detect me in my current state."

Without looking up, the blonde girl’s muffled voice emerged from between her knees: "More importantly, you lingered at the door for a while."

"Mmm, you noticed that?" Nero scratched her cheek with an embarrassed laugh. "I wanted to invite someone over, but he brushed me off."

As she spoke, the young emperor’s cheeks flushed beautifully. After indulging in her own emotions for a moment, she suddenly had an idea and turned to Draco:

"Hey, can you do backflips?"

As if sensing Nero’s expectant gaze, Draco’s eye twitched: "Piss off."

"Okay." Undeterred, Nero hummed a tune and went off to bathe by herself.

Draco raised her head, those rose-red eyes reflecting Nero’s blissful expression.

I see... you two.

No matter where, no matter the circumstances, you inevitably end up drawn to each other.

But what about me?

Where should I be?

A sudden warmth touched the depths of her soul. Draco’s eyes widened sharply, surprise, complexity, and nostalgia flashing through them as she instinctively reached out—only to grasp empty, cold wind.

Her lips parted.

Then she closed her eyes in resignation.

Just beyond the wall, Sakatsuki pressed his palm against the surface, a pale golden light swirling around it. On the other side, Draco leaned against the wall, knees drawn to her chest, forehead resting gently against them.

Asleep.

"Wait for me, Draco..." The young man’s whisper went unheard. "It won’t be long."

He turned and vanished into the silver moonlight.

————

The next morning, all Masters were startled awake by an alert.

Opening their phone-like communication devices, a message flickered across the screens.

"This is..."

Curiously tapping the screen, Hakuno and Alice exchanged glances—one with no memories, not even remembering who she was, the other naturally naive and clueless. They stared blankly at each other.

Finally, they turned their pleading eyes to Sakatsuki.

"Mad Hatter big brother, help..." Alice trustingly handed her Master’s device to Sakatsuki, who glanced at it before calmly standing. "Let’s go to the gymnasium."

"Let’s see what nonsense Kirei is up to now, summoning us like this."

—The message sent by the Moon Spirit Crystal to all Masters was a summons issued by Kirei Kotomine, the overseer.

By the time Sakatsuki, Hakuno, Alice, and Nursery Rhyme arrived, the gymnasium’s stands were already packed with Masters. Yet upon seeing the white-haired, red-robed young man, they instinctively cleared a path.

No one wanted to recklessly challenge the man who had killed his opponent early in the second round and captured his enemy alive at the start of the third.

Reaching the front, Sakatsuki’s expression shifted slightly as he observed the two figures confronting each other at the center.

"Oh, this is..."

On the left stood the overseer NPC who had summoned all the Masters—Kirei Kotomine, clad in black priest robes.

On the right was a woman dressed as a clown, with curly orange short hair, bangs covering her right eye of the same color. Her face was hidden behind a white smiling clown mask, adorned with green eyeshadow, her frame gaunt.

To most, she was an unfamiliar Master. But when Sakatsuki and a few others noticed the fearsome warrior standing beside her, memories of that bloody past resurfaced.

—The one who had stormed into the preliminary rounds as a finalist, unleashing indiscriminate slaughter.

The Servant Sakatsuki called the Impaler, who had once led the Black Faction in a great war of another world, now manifesting a different aspect within the Moon Spirit Crystal.

His name was Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, appearing here in the guise of a ’Warlord’—a warrior forged in battle, not the lofty Vampire Lord.

"So, this clown-suited woman must be the Lan Lujun Kirei mentioned yesterday."

Rin emerged from the crowd and joined Sakatsuki. As witnesses to the murder, they understood Kirei Kotomine’s reason for gathering everyone better than the others: "Looks like punishment is coming. Who knows what this twisted priest has in mind."

"All Masters should have assembled by now."

At that moment, Father Kirei clasped his hands behind his back, lifted his head, and began a sermon-like speech.

"To avoid wasting time, I’ll be direct—the rules of the Holy Grail War, which could fulfill your deepest wishes, have been repeatedly trampled by this Master pair. She and her Servant have disregarded the greater purpose of the war, using the power granted by the Moon Cell for their shallow desires."

Pointing at Blue Road, Kirei Kotomine continued without concern for his heart being exposed to Vlad III’s spear:

"These two have ignored warnings time and again since the preliminaries, engaging in continuous acts of destruction. For the sake of punishment, and as an entertaining diversion to liven up this war, I’ve prepared something special outside the main event."

"That is, to gather all Masters for a [Hunt]."