*Splat!*
In just a minute, Tristan's body had already dissipated into motes of light, while Mordred's chest had been pierced by Zuke.
Although the armor Mordred wore had impressive defensive capabilities, rivaling that of a Noble Phantasm, in Zuke's hands, it might as well have been made of paper.
"Cough... damn, you're strong."
Mordred, who had been instantly defeated by Zuke, let out a pained cry of frustration—the agony of having her chest pierced by Zuke reminded her of the way her original self had died.
In her past life, she had been killed by King Arthur, who had pierced her chest with the holy spear. She never expected Zuke to finish her off in the same way.
She couldn't help but wonder if Zuke had done it on purpose.
"I told you you're no match for me. You forced me to do this."
In fact, Mordred wasn't wrong. Zuke had indeed deliberately pierced her chest, ensuring she died in the same manner as she had in her past life.
For a rebellious child who had always sought the approval of her "father," experiencing the same pain as when she was killed by her "father" was undoubtedly a form of retribution.
"Tch, what a twisted guy... But I still have one question."
Hearing Zuke's response, Mordred frowned, realizing that he had indeed killed her in this manner on purpose.
However, in her final moments, she still had a question she wanted to ask.
"You ate Gawain earlier... surely there was a reason, right? Am I not as good as Gawain? Why didn't you eat me?"
"...You're into that kind of thing?"
Zuke was momentarily stunned, not expecting Mordred's final question to be something so absurd.
However, Mordred wasn't wrong—she really wasn't as strong as Gawain. She didn't possess abilities like "Numeral of the Saint," which could multiply her strength, so eating her wouldn't provide much benefit.
But in Mordred's eyes, Zuke only eating Gawain and not her was a sign of disrespect.
It just goes to show that the thought process of a rebellious child is truly different from that of a normal person.
"Well, since you're offering, I won't hold back."
But since Mordred was practically offering herself up, Zuke wasn't going to refuse—even if she didn't have any special abilities, she was still a Servant.
"...Wait, I was just joking."
Seeing that Zuke seemed serious about eating her, Mordred's mouth twitched, and she suddenly felt a pang of regret.
Although she had felt slighted earlier when Zuke only ate Gawain and not her, now that she thought about it... Gawain's agonized screams when he was being eaten hadn't been fake.
If even a resolute Round Table Knight like Gawain had screamed so miserably, could she really endure it?
"Too late."
Zuke smirked, and "Blackbird Requiem" reached out from behind him, grabbing Mordred's arms and pulling her closer.
...
"It hurts... it hurts so much!"
Half a minute later, Mordred, now missing her lower half, screamed in pain as her body gradually dissolved into golden light.
Zuke had granted her wish, devouring the lower half of Mordred's body—after all, she was just a Servant. Devouring her felt more like absorbing magical energy than eating flesh.
And since it wasn't done with his mouth, but rather by having "Blackbird Requiem" absorb her into its shadowy form, it didn't give Zuke any strange sensations.
Seeing that Zuke was completely ignoring her complaints, Mordred gritted her teeth and shouted at him:
"Hey! At least tell me your name! You ate half of me, and you won't even sign your name?"
"Do you think this is some restaurant guestbook?"
Zuke gave her a look of disbelief but decided to humor her by giving his name—after all, Mordred wasn't some death god from a certain death note. Letting her know his name didn't matter.
"Zuke."
"Zuke, huh? I'll remember you. Next time we meet, I'm punching you in the face!"
Mordred stared at Zuke, as if trying to memorize his face, before finally squeezing out a tear from the pain.
As the light of a Servant's departure enveloped her, Mordred's body completely vanished.
Zuke didn't take Mordred's words seriously—every time a Servant is summoned, they are essentially a projection of the Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes.
In other words, the memories of Servants from different worlds aren't shared, except under special circumstances.
Who knows when he'll see Mordred again? As far as Zuke knows, Mordred only appears in a handful of Type-Moon works, most of which are quite obscure.
The chances of running into her again are slim.
After dealing with Mordred, Zuke turned his attention to the palace.
Earlier, he had seen Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others rush inside. With five Servants in their group, even excluding Da Vinci, who wasn't suited for combat, they still had four capable fighters.
Although Agravain was a Round Table Knight, facing off against four Servants without the Lion King's blessings... he was probably getting beaten to a pulp.
Zuke wasn't worried about Ritsuka Fujimaru being in danger either, as the "maid outfit" she wore was a Stand ability he had lent her. If she were injured, Zuke would be able to sense it.
"Well, I might as well clean up the rest for them."
Zuke focused his senses and quickly detected the presence of Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others in the palace.
Whether it was Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash, Da Vinci, Hassan of The Cursed Arm, Hassan of the Hundred Faces, Arash, or Bedivere, they were all in good condition. On the other hand, the presence of someone on the opposing side felt extremely weak.
Clearly, that was Agravain. He had been beaten to his knees by the Chaldea group and was no longer able to stop them from meeting the Lion King.
Agravain probably never expected that just a few minutes ago, the Holy City had been thriving, only to fall into such a dire state in mere moments.
According to Zuke's senses, Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others didn't pay any attention to Agravain, who had lost the ability to fight, and simply moved past him, heading toward the Lion King's throne.
After some thought, Zuke decided to follow them.
In the original storyline, after Bedivere returned the holy sword, the Lion King's mental state had weakened, allowing the Chaldea group to barely defeat her.
However, Zuke had accelerated the world's plot too much, and many of the original story's supporting elements hadn't come into play. There was no telling what kind of variables might arise.
So, to ensure the Lion King was finally defeated, Zuke decided it would be safer to step in himself, just in case the group ended up being overwhelmed by her.
To be continued…
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