Fate/Grand Order - Monkey King

[Altair Miller]

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my two adorable Servants charging toward Jeanne Alter's allies. I couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing to see them working together—even if only barely.

However, the small smile that escaped me vanished instantly. A flag and a blade sliced through the air, aimed directly at me. By pure reflex, I raised the Ruyi Jingu, blocking the strike.

"Hateful… absolutely hateful!" Jeanne snarled, pressing both weapons against my stone staff. She leaned forward, her incandescent gaze locked on mine.

I didn't need to be a telepath to know she wanted to reduce me to ashes.

"Don't look at me like that—I get embarrassed easily." I spun the staff in the air as my [Fiery Golden Eyes] ignited.

Activating them allowed me to see it all—the malice, the resentment festering inside her. It was like a massive black haze manifested before my eyes.

As her banner and saber scraped against my staff, I twisted the Ruyi Jingu precisely, delivering a sharp strike to her waist that sent our little Black Saint flying through the air.

While she was midair, my [Fiery Golden Eyes] analyzed her stats.

Parameters:

Strength: A

Endurance: C

Agility: A

Mana: A+

Luck: E

NP: A+

Her Strength matched mine when I wasn't using the Monkey King's Robe, but her Endurance was significantly lower. However, her Mana output was absurd—far greater than mine.

As I pondered that, she twisted in midair, landing with fluid grace before unleashing a whirlwind of magical energy.

"Your path ends here," she roared, raising her sword. Instantly, dozens of flaming stakes materialized above my head, crackling with rage. "Die! Die! DIE!" Her scream echoed as her sword slashed downward, sending a rain of blazing stakes toward me like a firestorm.

Seeing the flow of her magic, I simply raised the staff over my head. "Expand." The moment I spoke, the staff grew explosively, blocking the entire barrage.

With one hand holding the staff steady, I used the other to pluck a few strands of hair.

Beneath the Ruyi Jingu, I heard Jeanne click her tongue—clearly displeased that I blocked her attack so easily.

Gripping her saber tightly, she stepped forward. But the moment she advanced, four clones burst out from under the staff, each wielding a copy of the Ruyi Jingu.

"Hello!" one of the clones greeted with a smug grin, launching himself into the air and swinging the staff toward her.

Jeanne blinked rapidly, sidestepping the blow with almost disdainful ease.

"Grow!" a voice echoed as one of the stone staffs shot up from the ground, violently extending toward her.

With nimble movement, she pushed off the rising staff, balancing atop it. In the blink of an eye, her saber arced through the air, and dozens of fiery stakes materialized above the clone, impaling it before it could react, reducing it to smoke.

"One less for our little dance, kitten..." another clone muttered.

But Jeanne simply swung her flame-wreathed saber, slicing through the last traces of the dissipating clone.

Of the original five, only three remained...

Her eyes narrowed in a mix of rage and confusion as she realized that instead of three, there were now five clones again.

"Sorry to ruin your math," I said, circling her with lazy steps, "but I can make as many as I want."

"You disgust me!" she spat, raising her hand toward me with trembling fingers.

"I've heard that so many times I've lost count." I shrugged, my defiant grin unshaken.

"Why the hell are you helping that mediocre woman?" Jeanne growled, her eyes burning with fury. "She's nothing but a naive little saint-a virgin idiot who refuses to see the filth of this world! Clinging to that pathetic optimism only fools worship! Why stand by that foolish girl playing hero in a world that devours innocents?"

Her hatred poured from every syllable—not just directed at me, but also at the counterpart fighting the Berserkers in the distance. Her voice rose to a raw, hateful scream.

"You're right," I said, folding my arms as my clones fell silent.

She froze, clearly not expecting that response.

"Then why?!"

"Where you see ugliness... I see beauty. That girl—she'll always go out of her way to save others, whether she wants to or not. Even if the world throws stones at her, she'll simply smile back. She doesn't care if she's insulted, trampled, broken, or even burned—she'll keep moving forward, faithful to what she believes in. Honestly... I wouldn't change a single thing about her. In a world like ours, that quality surpasses any kind of charm."

I laid bare my honest feelings to the Black Jeanne. With every word, her expression grew darker, though a faint glimmer of understanding flickered in her eyes. Her gaze no longer carried the same contempt as before.

But instead of stopping, I stepped closer. I looked directly into her eyes—which trembled, flickering away for the briefest instant.

"What I said... was about her. But now, about you... I want you to listen to me." Standing in front of all the clones, I faced her head-on.

She said nothing. Just stared in silence.

"You know, don't you? Living consumed by hatred isn't living at all."

"What do you know about it?" she snapped. "I wasn't consumed by hatred—I was born from it. You'll never understand..."

"Oh, but I do." My hands trembled slightly as I looked down at them. "I'm the son of a prostitute—the only one who survived after six abortions. My mother had me just to chain my father down. But children like me... aren't made to be loved."

A bitter smile twisted my lips. "The first thing my father ever showed me was hatred. The second... disgust. And when her plan failed, my mother abandoned me in an orphanage. I learned very young that being small and unwanted is an open invitation to daily pain." My fists clenched, knuckles turning white.

"Until one day, as a kid, I had a revelation: if the world hates me, wouldn't it be fair to hate it back? To live for myself alone?" I raised my head, locking my gaze into hers. She didn't look away.

"From that day on, I embraced violence. I answered pain with more pain. Blow for blow. Hatred for hatred. And I can swear to you, Jeanne..." My voice dropped to a rough whisper. "Not a single second of that existence was happy. Hatred doesn't build anything—it only consumes. Walking the path of hatred won't lead you to happiness. That darkness inside you... only makes you feel less real."

"..."

In the silence, her lips parted.

"You're right—I'm not happy." Her fingers tightened around her sword. "But hatred doesn't just disappear. It only buries itself deeper. All that resentment you carry... it's still there. Beating underneath that fake good-guy mask. You've just learned to hide it better."

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "And you weren't wrong back then. Hatred for hatred is the only language this world understands. That's why I don't get it..." Her voice lost some of its strength. "I know the darkness inside you. I thought... if anyone could understand me, it would be you. Maybe... even stand beside me."

The tip of her sword trembled as she pointed into the distance. "But you chose her. As long as that hypocritical saint exists... there will never be understanding between us. She represents everything I despise."

She raised her sword, flames erupting around her.

The flames surged, forming a massive pillar that engulfed her completely.

With that chant, a colossal pillar of fire shot skyward. Then, pointing her sword at me, she unleashed it—like a dragon's breath, flames roared toward me, obliterating all my clones along the way.

I leapt back, trying to escape the attack, but, midair, a black stake erupted from the ground, piercing through my right leg. And it didn't stop there. More spikes followed, impaling my arms, my right shoulder, and the side of my abdomen. The flames engulfed me, consuming my body in searing agony.

Seeing that her attack had landed, Jeanne halted. The fires faded, as did the stakes buried in my flesh. With nothing holding me up, I collapsed to the ground.

Blood poured from the gaping wounds in my body, staining the dirt beneath me. But even as I lay broken, my magical energy kicked into overdrive, struggling to regenerate my injuries and burns. Thanks to the Monkey King's Mantle, the piercings hadn't been fatal.

"Hahaha! All bark. I'm going to take your head now." She strode toward me, her voice dripping with mockery. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Her steps stopped just in front of me. I raised my gaze, watching her through strands of hair falling over my face.

Bracing my hand against my leg, I forced my broken body upright. Weak as I was, I stood. Blood dripped to the ground as my long hair completely veiled my face.

"You're like a cockroach, aren't you?" Jeanne sneered, clearly disgusted that I could still stand.

"..."

Amid the silence, as my flesh slowly regenerated... I felt something I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Ha... Haha... Hahaha..." Laughter escaped my lips, causing Jeanne to frown.

"That... was perfect. I think... I might just fall in love with you."

From beneath the curtain of black hair, my pupils locked onto hers. And an inevitable, twisted grin stretched across my face.

••• ••• •••

Don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me.

A/N: Sorry for publishing an empty chapter. I had a dentist appointment today, so I decided to use Scheduled Publishing and set it to post automatically at 1:00. Unfortunately, for some reason, the platform published a blank chapter. Once again, I apologize.