Fate: How About a New Savior?

That might be true, but the Mad King had already taken that into account. He used a replacement spell to take Scáthach's place and endure the Noble Phantasm "Curruid Coinchenn" himself.

Whether for a human or a Master, it was an utterly reckless act.

Yet despite also being afflicted by the curse, Shiomi had already returned to the battlefield ahead of him.

"So, what do you think's going on?" Shiomi flexed his hands and once again charged forward, twin spears blazing.

This time, he was on the offensive. The Mad King was forced back several steps under the onslaught before he could steady himself and block the twin spears.

"So the curse doesn't affect you, huh, boy," Cú Chulainn growled.

"Who knows? Why don't you try unleashing your Noble Phantasm again?" Shiomi taunted. Heat surged from his twin spears, forcing the Mad King to lean back, avoiding the searing edges.

"Purgatory Fire!"

In an instant, the twin spears ignited. Flames erupted across the battlefield in a violent blaze, engulfing Cú Chulainn. The fire's intensity far exceeded ordinary flame, throwing off the Mad King's rhythm.

Shiomi yanked his spears back and followed with a spinning kick, landing it square in the Mad King's gut and sending him flying more than ten meters.

Cú Chulainn rolled through the flames and came up on his feet, lifting his own red spear—also wreathed in fire.

"Gae Bolg."

The red spear's original function—as an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm—when thrown, triggered a massive explosion.

But something felt different.

Shiomi instantly realized the spear was locked onto him. Dodging would only give the Mad King another opening to attack.

Which meant there was only one response.

"Gae Bolg Alternative!"

The two spears shot through the air like missiles, colliding mid-flight with precision.

But Cú Chulainn's spear overwhelmed Shiomi's, slowly forcing it back.

Shiomi's gaze snapped to the Mad King, who shook off the last traces of flame. His body bore not just burns but deep fissures, signs of the physical breakdown from hurling the spear at full power.

So that's it!

It clicked.

He'd thrown the spear with everything he had, disregarding the damage to his own body, and used all his Rune Magecraft to hold himself together.

The real agony came from enduring that kind of self-inflicted destruction—pain that no normal person could bear.

"There's still the second one!"

And that was the true gap between them.

At the start, Cú Chulainn had only been granted a single red spear. But Shiomi had two.

He hurled the second spear—not to clash with the Mad King's Noble Phantasm, but aimed straight at the unarmed Cú Chulainn.

As expected, the Mad King, caught mid-repair with Rune Magecraft, let out a fearless, frenzied laugh. Crossing his arms, he braced to take the blow head-on.

Twin explosions erupted at once from both sides.

Smoke and dust engulfed the battlefield, obscuring everything after the spears struck.

The very next instant, two figures burst from the haze.

The Mad King grinned, wild with exhilaration. Shiomi gritted his teeth. Their fists collided, slamming into each other's bodies.

Same weapons. Same techniques. Same relentless assault.

The curse, the red spears—none of it mattered anymore in the clash between them.

"Smart move—figured out weapons alone won't cut it, huh?" Cú Chulainn growled, glaring at Shiomi. But before he could finish, he was sent flying backward.

"You've still got time. I'll let you reinforce your body with Magecraft." Shiomi raised his fist, Rune characters glowing along his knuckles.

"No need for that!" The Mad King twisted midair and landed on his feet, then lunged forward again.

He spun and brought his heavy tail crashing down on Shiomi's head—a blow strong enough to crush a human skull. Shiomi merely shifted slightly.

"Oh yeah? Then brace yourself!" Shiomi grabbed the tail without hesitation and hurled the Mad King across the field. "Mad King!"

Cú Chulainn slammed into a rock wall. Before he could fully open his eyes, Shiomi was already in front of him.

A relentless barrage of strikes followed, forcing Cú Chulainn to cross his arms to block.

"Ferocious, aren't you? Is all this rage really just for fixing a Singularity?" the Mad King snarled, staring into Shiomi's black irises that burned like dark fire.

"Of course I'm angry—because I used to envy you. Envy you, the first disciple of our master." Shiomi smashed his fist down again. "But what I envied was Cú Chulainn, the Child of Light—the man I once fought against! Not you, who's fallen into this twisted mockery of a king!"

The sight of Cú Chulainn reduced to nothing more than a butcher filled Shiomi with nothing but bitter disappointment and fury.

"A mere human like you thinks he can talk about what makes a king?" Cú Chulainn caught Shiomi's fist and drove a knee into his stomach.

Shiomi clenched his teeth and grinned through the pain, delivering a sharp uppercut to Cú Chulainn's jaw.

"I've seen many kings—King of Knights, King of Conquerors, King of Heroes, King of Magecraft…"

And of course… the two queens who loved him—and whom he loved in return.

"Each king is different. Some ruled for ideals, some for ambition, others for pleasure, or duty." Mana swirled around Shiomi's hands as his next spell completed. "But every king had something they stood for. Something they fought for!"

A wave of frost surged forth. In an instant, Cú Chulainn was frozen in solid ice as Shiomi shouted:

"So what about you?! What do you fight for?!"

But the Mad King held no ideals, no ambitions, no dreams.

Only destruction. A king who knew nothing but slaughter. One who would destroy everything, leaving behind a barren wasteland, alone and unchallenged—king in name only.

If the brother he once envied had fallen this low, then even Shiomi's own past feelings seemed like a joke.

It was unforgivable. Not because of the Singularity. But because of his own personal resentment.

"You're right. Even if Medb died right in front of me. Even when faced with your accusations… I feel nothing."

The voice came from within the ice, slow and emotionless.

"You talk like that because you've seen those kings etched into human history, huh?"

Spiritrons began drifting out from Cú Chulainn's body, gradually forming a golden double-cone in front of his chest.

The Holy Grail.

Medb had said she entrusted it to the Mad King long ago.

Realizing something terrible was about to happen, Shiomi immediately activated Magecraft to seize the Holy Grail from him—but it didn't budge.

"Had you said this to a different version of me, maybe it would've stirred something. But now? I feel nothing. So yeah, maybe I don't fit your definition of a king. But if you think that's enough to reject me—you're not even close."