Chapter 241 – The Knight's Exit
Under the bombardment of countless Noble Phantasms, the building behind them was instantly reduced to rubble.
"Sola…" Kayneth, taken to a safe position by Diarmuid, watched the collapsing building, his pupils shrinking in shock.
Before he could even worry about his fiancée, the second wave of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms hit him.
This time, Diarmuid did not retreat with Kayneth. Swinging his twin guns, he deftly deflected every incoming Noble Phantasm.
"Oh?" Gilgamesh, initially expecting an easy massacre, was surprised to see Diarmuid intercepting his casually thrown attacks. A faint interest appeared on his face.
"Then how about this?" A wall of light appeared again. Eight Noble Phantasms materialized before Diarmuid!
With a swing of Gilgamesh's arm, all eight flew toward Diarmuid nearly simultaneously.
His right-hand spear spun midair, deflecting the first three Noble Phantasms, while his left-hand short spear deflected the fourth. Crossing both guns in front of him, Diarmuid barely held off the fifth.
By now, the effort of deflecting five Noble Phantasms had exhausted him. He dodged the next two in midair, and just before he could catch his breath, the last spear-like Noble Phantasm lunged straight at his face.
Shhh… Diarmuid tilted his head just in time, but his cheek was still cut. He lifted his gaze to see Gilgamesh, twenty meters away, faintly smiling as he charged forward.
"Can you dodge all eight at once?" Having gauged Diarmuid's limits, Gilgamesh watched the charging warrior with admiration.
Then, the wall of light doubled in size. Sixteen top-tier Noble Phantasms came into view!
"Are you kidding me?" Although Kayneth already knew Archer could summon and throw Noble Phantasms at will, seeing sixteen before him left him incredulous.
"Berserker, by Command Spell, you must achieve victory in this battle!" Without hesitation, Kayneth used a Command Spell to temporarily enhance Diarmuid's power upon realizing the disparity between his Servant and Gilgamesh.
"Ah!!!!" Black mana surged from Diarmuid's body. He let out a roar, his movement speed skyrocketing, and in an instant, he crossed the distance to Gilgamesh and thrust his spear forward!
Clang! His hopeful strike was blocked by a suddenly appearing shield. The shield then fragmented into countless others, forming a wall between Diarmuid and Gilgamesh.
"How about trying to break my shield with your spear?" Gilgamesh mocked Diarmuid, who stood momentarily stunned by the sudden appearance of shields.
"…." Clenching his twin guns, Diarmuid said nothing. He gritted his teeth and thrust his red spear forward with all his strength.
Bang! A sudden explosion of shattering shields echoed through the air. To Gilgamesh's astonishment, Diarmuid had actually broken through the defense, appearing before him.
"Underestimated you, did I?" Gilgamesh, recovering from his brief distraction, looked at the Servant who had shattered the shield, his expression a rare mixture of respect and contemplation.
"To appear before me after breaking my shield, you are already worthy of being remembered. What is your name?" But then he recalled that this was Berserker, a Servant without reason.
"In that case… what a pity…" A wall of light appeared around them again, dozens of Noble Phantasms peeking out, all aimed at Diarmuid.
"Berserker, kill him!" With Diarmuid already before Gilgamesh, Kayneth again used a Command Spell to enhance him.
Under the forced Command Spell, Diarmuid raised his previously immobile hands, spear aimed straight at Gilgamesh.
Puchi! The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh rang out. Gilgamesh looked on with slight regret as Diarmuid was pierced by countless Noble Phantasms.
"You are an excellent warrior. It is a pity you met me…"
"Pity?" Diarmuid, struggling to lift his head, gave a bitter smile to the legendary ancient king.
"You have not lost reason?" Once again, Gilgamesh astonished him.
"The obsession with revenge once blinded me, but the code of a knight ultimately pulled me from the abyss of madness…" Diarmuid murmured, head lowered once more. Even after being betrayed once, he could not strike his Master in vengeance.
Yet that was fine… Looking toward the ruins, he exhaled in relief. Perhaps due to the lingering black energy, Kayneth's fiancée, Sola, did not fall for the black mark on his face but accepted their engagement calmly.
"After the Holy Grail War, we'll get married!" Diarmuid had heard his Master mutter this more than once while invisibly guarding Kayneth. He couldn't help but smile at how serious Kayneth looked while saying something so innocent.
"Anything else you wish to say?" Diarmuid's body could no longer sustain itself after his core was destroyed. Looking at the warrior who would vanish soon, Gilgamesh caught a fleeting smile in his memory. Compelled by fate, he asked Diarmuid's final wish.
"No. My wish has been fulfilled." Until his last breath, Diarmuid had upheld the code of a knight, breaking the tragic fate he once faced. Content, he shook his head with a smile, dissolving into a shimmer of magical particles in the night wind.
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