Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover
Chapter 275: [275] Leonidas, Darius III, Alexander

Chapter 275: [275] Leonidas, Darius III, Alexander

The crimson dusk bled across the sky as a general astride a white horse traversed the mountains and wilderness, his handsome face devoid of expression.

In his mind, the agonized wails of humans bound by the principles of corruption, unable to find salvation, still echoed. They screamed in torment, seeking to spread their despair to all living beings around them.

Without a doubt, even the soldiers of the United Empire had fallen victim to some entity, transformed into monstrous abominations neither human nor ghost.

To put it more bluntly, that "entity" was none other than the Beast—Beast.

Beasts were the Evils of Humanity, calamities rejected by human history.

Though they were evils, they could never be eradicated. As long as humanity existed, they would continue to emerge, and yet, humanity had to overcome them. The term "Evils of Humanity" referred not to "evils that destroy humanity" but to "evils born from humanity’s own annihilation."

The relationship between the "Evils of Humanity" and "Heroic Spirit Summoning" was akin to humanity’s self-destructive mechanism and its safety device—in other words, Chaldea, with its Heroic Spirit Summoning magecraft, had always stood in opposition to the Beasts.

Encountering an enemy on par with the Demon God King and Tiamat in the second Singularity—if Fujimaru knew about this, they’d probably burst into tears with a loud "Waaah."

The corners of Sakatsuki’s lips twitched, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

Such a scene, such an apocalypse, had once appeared on the land of Shenzhou over three hundred years ago... or perhaps, thousands of years ago.

The white-haired general closed his eyes. The writhing human figures, the demons smiling beside him, the "Beast" he had personally cast down, the crimson sky, the hell beneath his feet—all these memories flowed from his Spirit Origin into his soul.

"I see. I understand now why you have descended here... and I know what I must do next."

Opening his blood-red, ruby-like eyes, the man exuded an aura under the night sky that was utterly captivating, making it hard to tell whether he was human or demon.

Or perhaps, to defeat something inhuman, one must themselves become a dragon of evil.

Soon, the city ahead came into view. The white-haired general dismounted, and behind him, a blood-red aura took the form of a bird, its wings fluttering as it soared over the unmanned walls, heading straight for the quietest—and most dangerous—place.

***

The lights were sparse, the candle flames flickering timidly, fearfully outlining the figures in the room before vanishing intermittently.

If anyone from Chaldea were here, they wouldn’t believe their eyes.

For this was a scene no less shocking than a "Gathering of the Bare Kings"—aside from the pitch-black, muscular Darius III and the broad-chested, powerfully built Leonidas with his eight-pack abs, there was also a strikingly handsome red-haired youth with increasingly ferocious beastly features on his shoulders, sitting at the head of the table with a gloomy expression.

At this point, there was no need to conceal the youth’s True Name—he was none other than the younger form of the Conqueror, Iskandar, still possessing the skill "Rosy-cheeked Youth."

It was worth noting that Alexander the Great, the Conqueror, and Darius III, who had repeatedly stood in the path of his conquest, were bitter rivals—enemies who would fight to the death upon meeting.

Yet now, these three muscle-bound figures (including the future one) sat together in perfect order, all wearing troubled expressions as they stared at a certain object on the table.

It was a long-haired, bespectacled young man with a delicate appearance and blood staining the corner of his lips...

One could almost call him the Conqueror’s "consort" (chuckle).

"When will this thing be usable?" The way "Alexander" spoke made it sound as though he were referring to an object.

"Spirit Origin is normal. It seems his mind has suffered an impact," Darius III replied calmly.

Yes, you heard right—Darius III, who usually only roared "NAOOOOOH," was speaking!

"We cannot rule out the possibility that he is using this to avoid battle," Leonidas added.

It seemed like a peaceful scene... if one ignored the beastly head on Alexander’s shoulder, the sharp scales on Darius’s back, or the wriggling worms in Leonidas’s chest.

Clearly, it wasn’t just Alexander who had fallen under the Beast’s control. The Beast’s minions were able to communicate in human language precisely because they were borrowing the bodies of Servants.

It seemed the United Empire had completely fallen. Who knew how Fujimaru and Nero were faring... Sakatsuki, listening through his familiar, pondered deeply.

The conversation in the room continued.

"Where has Gula gone?"

"Gaul, the front lines. He’s interested in the Servant Caesar."

"Wait a little longer. Invidia is on his way. Once his body is taken over, this place will become our hunting ground."

"Tch. The magecraft foundation from that country is such a nuisance. It can protect itself. Back in our day—"

"Acedia."

"Tch, fine. Speaking of which, hasn’t that man arrived yet?"

"The ’Stone Sentinel Maze’ has been broken. He’s probably on his way."

"Good. When the time comes, we’ll reveal our true forms together. Even he won’t survive."

"This is no longer that man’s era. He’s no longer the Grand Commandant who commanded tens of thousands of troops—just a wandering ghost."

With that resolute declaration, the room fell silent. The blood-colored bird eavesdropping outside the window flapped its wings soundlessly, melting into the deep night before finally folding its wings and perching on the white-haired general’s shoulder.

On the hillside, the man stroked his steed, his crimson eyes gleaming.

"Just as I thought."

If they were truly the Beast’s minions, the current Sakatsuki stood no chance against them.

The Spirit Origin fused with him was that of a general, and a general’s strength lay in his soldiers. With the current number and quality of soldiers, even annihilating the controlled forces of the United Roman Empire would be a stretch, let alone facing the Beast’s minions head-on.

If it really came to a fight, it’d be like the Earth Defense Force battling the Chaos God Grimdark—a surefire way to get themselves killed.

Sakatsuki needed Servants to join him to pull out the "Ultraman" card, yet defeating the Beast’s minions was the only way to recruit new allies... Talk about a vicious cycle.

But if it were truly hopeless, would Sakatsuki have come here?

Formless, colorless magical energy flowed through their contract, gathering in the white-haired man’s hand and crystallizing.

"I’ll place my trust in you. Also... my apologies, my Master."

Apologizing to Nero, from whom he had drawn a significant amount of magical energy, Sakatsuki flicked his wrist. The bird on his shoulder took flight, swallowing the crimson-tinged crystal before vanishing once more into the night.

At the same time, the white-haired general mounted his horse without hesitation and turned to leave.

Tomorrow would bring a fierce battle.

***

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