Zouken's Demise

"Now's not the time to dwell on this."

Seeing the askance faces of Cu Chulainn and Iskandar, Arkhan spoke calmly with a calm tone.

"Even though you say that, I can't help but feel a bit jealous, y'know. Whoever becomes your enemy probably won't sleep well at night." Iskandar shook his head with a sigh, abruptly snapping his chariot's reins, propelling it forward. "But I'll leave the rest to you, Lancer, Saber!"

Facing the oncoming Iskandar, the giant sea demon seemed to realize something. Soon, numerous tentacles instantly shot out, attempting to intercept him, but it was all in vain before a seasoned driver like him.

"Guhahaha—witness this king's conquest!"

"Ionioi Hetairoi!"

A dazzling magical radiance quickly burst forth.

In the next moment, Iskandar and the giant sea demon vanished, only leaving behind the shattered mansion of Matou.

With time pressing, Arkhan and Artoria wasted no time and positioned themselves for optimal output of their Noble Phantasms.

However, at that moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of a corpse lying amidst the ruins of the mansion.

'Is that Matou Byakuya?'

Deep weed-like blue hair and an adult's body—it had to be the eldest son of the Matou family.

Byakuya's lifeless eyes stared into nothingness. His body was ravaged as if mauled by a wild beast, yet his hands clutched onto something as if it held great significance.

What could be so valuable?

Arkhan squinted his eyes slightly.

Behind him, a golden spear with a trailing chain darted out, wrapping around Byakuya's body, and bringing him closer.

Opening Byakuya's palm, Arkhan found a note with English characters, and a name was written on it.

Paracelsus von Hohenheim.

'Isn't he the alchemist friend of Zouken from his younger days? Why does Byakuya have a note with his name?' Arkhan furrowed his brow, confused. But before he could ponder further, a mysterious magical fluctuation permeated the air.

'Rider's Reality Marble is about to end. Better think about it later.' Arkhan shook his head, stood up, and raised Abyss Flower in his hand.

"I am the darkness that consumes all, I am the light that nurtures all."

"I existed before the dawn of creation and will remain after the annihilation."

"Abyss Flower, First Power - Banish Bloom!"

The sacred lily pattern on the lance instantly bloomed with a bright white light, dispelling the surrounding black fog. Simultaneously, Artoria, positioned diagonally opposite him, also unleashed her Noble Phantasm.

"Vortigern, Hammer of the Vile King, reverse the rising sun."

"Swallow the light—Excalibur Morgan!"

The moment both released their Noble Phantasms, Ionioi Hetairoi had just ended, and the colossal body of the giant sea demon reappeared.

*BOOOOOM—!!!*

The pure white beam and the purplish-black beam, resembling enraged dragons, tore through the air, roaring as they engulfed the massive body of the sea demon. They merged into a pillar of light that towered over the sky.

Several minutes later, the pillar of light slowly receded and soon vanished.

The giant sea demon was dead, thoroughly dead. Under the bombardment of two Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms, no trace of it remained.

In the place where the giant sea demon vanished, two things lay there—a peculiar and eerie book with a pale yellow cover depicting the agonized face of a masked child, surrounded by eyes that were half-open and half-closed, exuding an indescribable eerie and malevolent aura.

The other was a palm-sized worm covered in bizarre black patterns as if undergoing some indescribable pain, its ugly body contorting wildly.

As Arkhan and the others approached, the worm seemed to notice them. A sporadic, elderly voice soon resounded from it.

"Your Majesty... save... me..."

"Huh? This bug can talk?" Iskandar's face showed a hint of surprise.

Arkhan also looked slightly astonished. He hadn't expected that after being corrupted by the Prelati's Spellbook, Zouken could still maintain a certain level of clarity.

After pondering for a moment, Arkhan asked.

"Tell me how you got hold of Prelati's Spellbook."

"Your... Majesty... save... me..."

Zouken didn't answer his question but kept repeating those four words. Most of his consciousness was used to suppress the madness of his mind, now only capable of giving simple responses, unable to engage in complex thinking.

Arkhan furrowed his brow slightly. With a flick of his hand, a crimson feather fell from the void, merging into Zouken's mind.

After sensing and seeing what was inside Zouken's mind, Arkhan shook his head. This old man was beyond salvation.

In the first place, his soul had already deteriorated to an irreparable degree even before coming in contact with Prelati's Spellbook. With the added corruption from Prelati's Spellbook, it was akin to the combined effects of pouring salt on a rotting wound. Not even Arkhan in his true form could save him in this situation.

Even he couldn't explore Zouken's memories because his mind had completely collapsed into chaos. There was no valuable information to be found.

Severing the connection with Fenghuang Down, Arkhan looked at the crazily contorting worm and silently shook his head. Ironically, Zouken, who was once a great figure pursuing justice, had ended up like this, but fate was truly unpredictable.

Considering the deeds of Zouken over the past two hundred years, one could argue that he got what he deserved.

Just as Arkhan was about to give Zouken a piece of his mind, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He pondered for a moment before asking.

"Do you remember someone named Paracelsus von Hohenheim?"

The moment that name was mentioned, the worm's body stiffened for a moment. Immediately, Zouken's voice, full of resentment and anger, rang out.

"Liar! Liar!"

After yelling 'liar' twice, his voice suddenly lowered, as if murmuring in a dream.

"It's him... not him... it's him... not him..."

"What's this thing blabbering about? Who's he talking about anyway?" Iskandar scratched his head in confusion.

Arkhan furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"I don't know either. Maybe it's because he's been corrupted too deeply, so he's starting to talk nonsense."

Upon hearing the name of Paracelsus von Hohenheim, Zouken seemed visibly excited, leading to a complete breakdown of his already fragile mental defenses, heading down a path of madness.

The eerie black patterns grew like vines, covering almost three-quarters of Zouken's worm body. The areas occupied by the black patterns soon cracked open, revealing eyeballs with dark tentacles, greedily and malevolently staring at everyone.

*Splat!*

A black sword suddenly fell, and its sharp tip instantly pierced through the worm.

"I hate these things staring at me." Artoria said with a disgusted look on her face.

Arkhan shook his head helplessly; indeed, Artoria, after being blackened, was quite savage and impulsive.