Chapter 140: Return!
"Beast of Sodom?!"
Ethan shouted in shock.
"Why are you here?!"
"This king is a Beast who has traversed countless worlds, just by smelling your scent I was able to trace it all the way to Chaldea, don't underestimate me."
The blonde-haired girl looked proudly at Ethan.
"But for you to come alone to a history that has already been judged like this, I really am quite interested."
"This feeling?!"
Galahad immediately became alert, raising his Shield toward the small blonde-haired girl in front of him.
"Is it the Evils of Humanity!!!"
"Oh? Looking closely, you also have a Saint Graph similar to that girl from Chaldea... No, turns out you're the original."
Beast of Sodom observed Galahad with great interest.
"——————!!!"
Galahad suddenly swung his Shield forward, directly smashing it towards the unarmed blonde-haired girl before him.
"BONG——————————!!!"
The blonde-haired girl raised her hand to block the attack.
Dragon scales gradually appeared on her right hand.
"You're quite hot-tempered, Master of this king, why don't you just stand there obediently."
As she spoke, Beast of Sodom swung her arm strongly, immediately flinging Galahad dozens of meters away.
"Wait, when did I become your Master?!"
Ethan hurriedly protested.
"Oh? So you don't want to go back?"
Beast of Sodom turned her head nonchalantly to look at Ethan.
"Currently you are in the rift of the world, the only way to return is to form a contract with me. If you don't want to return, then I'll simply laugh loudly and enjoy the destruction of the Human Order."
"Whoash————————!!!"
A shield flew straight over!!!
Beast of Sodom once again used her fully dragonized right arm to block the attack, and right after that, Galahad leapt high, drawing his sword to slash down!!!
"Pttt!!!"
A blazing red dragon tail suddenly pierced through Galahad's body, then flung him outward!
"Oh? Even at the final moment you could still block this king's attack and dodge the vital spot, you really are quite formidable."
Beast of Sodom looked toward Galahad, who was struggling to stand up far away, a wound appearing on his left shoulder.
"So Chaldea has now colluded with a Beast?"
Galahad stared firmly at Ethan.
"Wait, it's not like that!"
Ethan hastily waved his hand!
I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!!!
Kouhai-kun, listen to me explain!!!
"That's right, as long as you get involved with a Beast, the ending is always like this."
Beast of Sodom licked her lips.
"Beasts are born from human society, they are the embodiment of humanity's ugly desires! So what's wrong with that!!!"
"Sorry, I can't let you return."
Galahad held his left shoulder, struggling to stretch his right hand forward.
The silver shield appeared once again!!!
"I will stand on the seat of catastrophe."
A silver fortress wall immediately appeared in front of Galahad!!!
"That which heals all wounds and grudges, our glorious homeland. Manifest yourself! Castle of Distant Ideals—Lord Camelot!!!"
Beast of Sodom contemptuously extended her hand forward.
A pitch-black aura began to spread under her feet, quickly corroding the ground as it advanced.
The tall silver wall suddenly started flashing continuously, as if being disrupted, and the blackness gradually spread, until it finally disappeared without a trace.
"——————————?!"
Galahad stood on the pitch-black ground, maintaining his shield-holding stance, the hostility in his eyes growing ever stronger.
"Protective power is useless against me. Even though this Saint Graph I'm using cannot compare to my original self, it's still not something a Heroic Spirit of humanity can oppose."
Beast of Sodom stepped toward Galahad one step at a time.
"Give up, Knight of the Grail. You cannot defeat me."
"Even so, I absolutely cannot yield!!!"
Galahad demonstrated his knightly spirit, and even though he had lost his protective power, he fearlessly charged straight at Beast of Sodom!
"Choang————————!!!"
Beast of Sodom only needed to raise her hand to directly knock Galahad flying, then her dragon tail immediately chased after him.
"Ugh!!!"
This time, it pierced Galahad's leg, and dark red blood splattered everywhere.
"Ha a!!!"
Galahad swung his shield backward to strike.
But it was easily blocked by Beast of Sodom.
"Beast of Sodom!!!"
Seeing Galahad being completely overwhelmed, Ethan immediately called out to Beast of Sodom.
"Oh? Could it be that you intend to beg me to spare this knight? The cause of this era's distortion lies precisely in the Holy Grail in his hands. If we don't take the Holy Grail, not only you, even I won't be able to leave this place. Do you want to be trapped here forever?"
"..."
Ethan thought for a moment, then turned to look at Galahad.
"Galahad, that's enough, isn't it? Hand over the Holy Grail, we'll leave on our own."
"Let you go? And then let this Beast continue to devour other worlds???"
Galahad clearly no longer believed Ethan's words.
"I can't do that, and I won't do that!!!"
"Oh? Well said, but now that you're weak like this, what can you possibly do???"
Beast of Sodom smiled wickedly and pressed her hand down forcefully.
Galahad, having lost his strength, had both legs sink deep into the ground, with black mud beginning to spread upward from his feet.
"Come now, let's see how long you can resist!!!"
Looking at Beast of Sodom laughing loudly in front of him, and Galahad showing clear pain, Ethan no longer knew who the real villain was.
Wait a second, could the villain actually be me?!
Suddenly, golden light burst forth from the shield that had lost its radiance!
A powerful force blasted Beast of Sodom away!!!
"——————?!"
Beast of Sodom looked at Galahad, who was gripping the shield shining with golden light and had revived his spirit, and smiled.
"To think you would have such a deep connection with my Holy Grail."
"I once returned the Holy Grail I found to Heaven; that glory lives on within my ideals!!!"
Galahad adjusted his stance once again, looking straight at Beast of Sodom.
Was it the Holy Grail and Galahad's Saint Graph reacting to each other?
"The Holy Grail is my possession, you are nothing but thieves."
Beast of Sodom waved her hand, and a shadowy familiar rose from the ground, opening its mouth to fire a light beam straight at Galahad!!!
"Choang————————!!!"
Galahad raised his shield to block, but he was still pushed backward by the tremendous force.
"Ugh..."
Even with the Holy Grail's blessing, it was still difficult for Galahad to withstand Beast of Sodom's power.
Just when Galahad was nearly unable to hold on anymore, a pair of hands pressed onto the shield.
"——————?!"
Galahad turned his head in shock.
He found that Ethan was helping him withstand the impact?!
"Stop it! There's absolutely no reason for you to be fighting!!!"
Seeing Ethan run over to the enemy's side, Beast of Sodom gritted her teeth in frustration, then canceled her attack.
"Why..."
Galahad, bracing both hands against the shield, struggled not to collapse, looking at Ethan in confusion.
"Because you were never our enemy to begin with, and moreover..."
Ethan reached out to help Galahad up.
"Thank you for saving Mash back then. As her Senpai, let me thank you in her place."
Facing Ethan's gratitude, Galahad hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, what I did wasn't to receive any return..."
"And Beast of Sodom, you've made enough of a scene, haven't you?"
Ethan looked toward the other side.
"Hmph, even now you think you can order me around?"
Beast of Sodom crossed her arms, looking arrogantly at Ethan.
"Didn't you want to join Chaldea? After we return, I'll explain everything clearly to the doctor and everyone."
"Join Chaldea? Don't be ridiculous!!! I only want to witness your destruction firsthand!!!"
"Yes yes yes, say whatever you want."
Ethan sighed, then turned again to look at Galahad beside him.
"Sorry, but I have to leave here, because our world is still waiting to be saved."
Right now they had only just cleared the second Singularity; there was still a long journey ahead.
"Moreover, I've thought it through very carefully: I don't agree with the so-called 'save point' for the Human Order that you mentioned."
Ethan looked toward the burning Fuyuki Bridge in the distance.
"I believe that even if we truly restore the Human Order starting from here, beginning from a mistaken history cannot give rise to a correct history. Our journey has been a one-way path from the very start, and that's why we must give it our all."
"..."
Galahad stayed silent for a while, then fixed his eyes on Ethan.
"Even if you use the power of a Beast, can you still claim it's for the future of mankind?"
"Ah, well... how should I put it..."
Ethan was immediately thrown into confusion by Galahad's question.
He himself hadn't expected to end up being clung to so persistently by Beast of Sodom.
Damn it, this time it's really hard to explain!!!
"Haizz…"
Seeing Ethan scratching his head in frustration, Galahad sighed, then took out the golden Grail from within his shield and handed it over.
"————?!"
Ethan was stunned.
"This is..."
"Don't want it?"
Galahad asked.
"Of course I want it, it's just... why are you handing it over so easily?"
Ethan looked doubtful.
Weren't they just fighting to the death a moment ago? Why was Galahad suddenly offering the Holy Grail so willingly?
"Maybe what I'm doing now is a mistake, but more than anything else, I believe in you—the one who rushed into the sea of flames to save that girl."
"Me?"
Ethan looked at Galahad in astonishment.
"I was able to become a Round Table Knight not because of talent or strength, but simply because the king acknowledged my heart. And when I entrusted the Saint Graph and Noble Phantasm to that girl, it was only because I saw within you the existence of something called 'goodwill.'"
Galahad placed the Holy Grail into Ethan's hands.
"Now, I choose to trust my own judgment—that your 'goodwill' can reclaim a future for humanity, Master of Chaldea, the last Master of mankind."
"Thank you. I promise you, I will strive to reclaim the future for humanity."
Ethan held the Holy Grail, speaking solemnly to Galahad.
Suddenly, a hand shot out and snatched the Holy Grail from Ethan.
"Although it's not as good as my own Holy Grail, it's not bad to use it for the time being. Oh? There's already a bit of 'desire' inside, but still not enough, only this much."
Beast of Sodom held the Holy Grail, fiddling with it as she smiled.
"Haa, so can we return now?"
Ethan stepped toward Beast of Sodom, who was absorbed in examining the Holy Grail.
"Hmph, mind your tone, you're begging me right now! But fine, now that I have this substitute Holy Grail, this king will begrudgingly accept bringing you back to Chaldea."
As she spoke, Beast of Sodom raised the Holy Grail with her left hand, from which thick black smoke poured out, wrapping around both Ethan and herself.
"Wait, is this really okay?"
Seeing the black smoke swirling around, Ethan couldn't help but worry.
After all, under normal circumstances, nothing good ever flowed out of a Holy Grail.
"You really do worry about pointless things. If I had any bad intentions, I wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to come all the way here to find you."
Hearing Beast of Sodom say that, Ethan felt somewhat reassured.
"Galahad!"
Before the black smoke could completely engulf him, Ethan turned toward Galahad and shouted.
"Thank you for protecting me in this world."
With that, Beast of Sodom and Ethan were swallowed by the black smoke and disappeared from Galahad's sight.
"Crack crack crack crack crack————————!!!"
The ground began to shake violently, and giant cracks tore through the land.
With the Holy Grail that caused the distortion now gone, and without its sustaining power, the disrupted flow of time could no longer stabilize and began to collapse.
The burning Fuyuki Bridge collapsed with a thunderous roar, and even the sky started to shatter.
Galahad looked at his hands, which were gradually disintegrating.
"At last... this place is about to disappear..."
Having drifted to this place, Galahad had waited far too long in this land.
The era the king struggled to protect had finally crumbled.
"From a mistaken history, a correct future cannot be born, huh..."
As the ground broke apart, Galahad looked in the direction where Ethan had disappeared.
"But you all, the ones from Chaldea... the history of humanity, no... our history, no longer has a path leading to the future..."
...
"Senpai, Senpai!!!"
Ethan suddenly felt someone shaking him and calling out urgently.
"Senpai, please wake up!!!"
It sounded like Mash was calling him...
Holding his head, which felt like it was splitting apart, Ethan struggled to open his eyes.
"Mash...?"
In that moment, Mash's face, filled with joy, came into view.
"Please wait, I'll take you to the medical room right away. The doctor is waiting for you."
Saying that, Mash helped Ethan up.
"Senpai, where exactly did you go? Chaldea was searching everywhere for you!"
"Sorry... let's talk about the details later..."
Right now, Ethan's mind was still in total chaos.
"Yo, you finally woke up, my Master ~~~"
At the end of the hallway ahead, Beast of Sodom was standing with the Holy Grail in her hand, smiling as she approached.