Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover-Chapter 331: [] Julian & Darius

Space rippled as the golden-haired woman supported the red-haired girl, step by step, toward a castle surrounded by birdsong and blooming flowers.

Who would have thought that amidst the ruins of Fuyuki’s city center lay a magus family’s paradise?

And Angelica and Beatrice were its guardians.

The one they protected now stood at the crossroads, his expression dark.

Angelica knew it wasn’t anger or fear that colored his face—this was simply how the young man had always been. Or perhaps, ever since he resolved to shoulder the duty of saving the world, he had lost the capacity to smile.

"Lord Julian..." Despite the suffocating pain in her chest, Beatrice’s eyes lit up with joy at the sight of him.

Julian Ainsworth.

The eldest son of the Ainsworth family, its current head. Once known as Julian Ichigi, he had served as student council president in high school, a friend to this world’s Shirou—until their bond shattered over Miyu. One sought to sacrifice her to save the world; the other chose to defy the world to protect his sister.

And now, that grudge between him and Emiya Shirou had extended to the present.

The black-haired, blue-eyed young man raised a hand, silencing Beatrice. He stepped forward, placing his palm against her abdomen before raising an eyebrow.

"Your wounds have mostly healed, but Thor’s Divine Core is on the verge of shattering. If this continues, Mjölnir will go berserk."

Few in the Ainsworth family knew that Beatrice Flowerchild was a Double Holder, possessing the dual powers of Thor and Magni. Her ability to wield Mjölnir relied on Thor’s Divine Core.

If it broke, she would be left with only Magni’s brute strength—unable to even control her own Noble Phantasm.

"You can’t keep fighting. Return and rest—and do not release your Install. If you do, the injuries suppressed by the Divine Core will erupt instantly."

As he spoke, Julian could no longer suppress the storm in his expression.

The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh—half-god, half-man.

The Son of Thunder, Magni—inheritor of Thor’s Divine Core and weapons.

These were the Ainsworths’ trump cards, obtained through countless Displacements, the foundation of Julian’s grand plan.

Yet before that returned man, Angelica had been repeatedly wounded, Beatrice brought to the brink of death with a single strike, her Divine Core fractured.

Even that monstrosity—the one who absorbed Heroic Spirits into himself—had been silenced within seconds, ruthlessly crushed.

That was no longer Emiya Shirou. It was something else.

Yet whoever wore that face now marched upon the Ainsworths with iron and fire, unwavering in his vengeance.

Why?

Why?

Why?

"Why must you deny my myth? Deny the ending that was always meant to be?"

His voice, though low, reverberated through Ainsworth Castle, growing louder—until, with a crack, the bounded field split apart!

That long-suppressed question burst forth, rushing through the fissure to strike the intruder’s ears—

And the white-haired young man looked up, his draconic pupils blazing gold!

"I will never hand Miyu over to you!"

The Ainsworths had placed their hopes of salvation upon the Holy Grail.

But in this world, the only Grail was Miyu.

And neither Shirou nor Sakatsuki would ever abandon her.

With those words, Sakatsuki made one thing clear—

There would be no reconciliation between them.

"Lord Julian, stay back!" Beatrice raised Mjölnir, its broad face blocking the storm of blades. Even knowing her Divine Core was damaged, she could not retreat. "You must not be harmed!"

"Do not underestimate me." Julian emotionlessly drew a card—one without an image, its surface instead covered in black, web-like patterns.

"Include: Nameless Shield."

A viscous, ink-like fluid spread, barely forming the shape of a shield—yet it held firm against the rain of swords.

The process of creating Class Cards was not without missteps. Failures piled up.

But even the "dregs" left behind by Displacement Magecraft, the "concepts" rejected by the Throne of Heroes, were not worthless.

Even these shapeless blades and spears were records of heroes past!

Clang—!

Amidst the shattering of metal, the black shield exploded. The young man, wielding a crimson demonic spear, shot forward like a meteor—

With a single thrust, Mjölnir was sent flying.

Then, the scarlet spear-light swept sideways—aimed straight for Julian’s head.

"Lord Julian!" Angelica moved to intercept, but a displacement field abruptly teleported her a hundred meters away!

The instinct of death screamed in Julian’s mind. Yet at this critical moment, he did not flee.

Instead, gritting his teeth, he drew another card.

But could his activation speed match Sakatsuki’s unstoppable thrust? freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Slash—!

A thick, muscular arm—still crackling with residual lightning—soared into the sky.

The mighty hammer of the Thunder God clattered to the ground.

"Lord... Julian..."

The red-haired girl gazed dazedly at her beloved—then collapsed, unconscious.

Her right arm had been severed at the shoulder.

The stone embedded in her forehead wept blood, staining the earth with hues of twilight.

Thor’s Divine Core had shattered completely.

Mjölnir dimmed, its radiance extinguished. Only the core of Magni remained, pulsing weakly like a dying heart.

Beatrice Flowerchild, the Double Holder—

—had lost an arm and one of her Divine Cores.

Even after witnessing the girl’s devotion, Sakatsuki did not stop.

Tossing aside the charred remains of Gáe Dearg, he raised the Grand Bow once more, aiming at the stunned Julian.

Any past bonds belonged to Shirou. Sakatsuki and Julian had never met—and now, only death remained between them.

But before he could loose the arrow, another voice rang out.

Timid, yet filled with a child’s resolve.

"S-Stop! Don’t hurt Julian-nii!"

A girl in a green school uniform and a frilly skirt—looking every bit the foreign noble’s daughter—suddenly rushed forward. Somehow, she had outpaced Sakatsuki’s draw, spreading her arms protectively in front of Julian.

Her eyes, wide and glistening with tears like a frightened fawn’s, locked onto the young man behind the bow—stilling his killing intent.

The rage in his heart dissipated. Or perhaps, it was merely buried deeper.

Not because of the girl’s sudden appearance.

But because behind her, Julian’s face melted away.

A disheveled man with wild hair and a turtleneck sweater stepped forward, smiling wryly at Sakatsuki.

"It seems Julian has reached his limit."

"Oh? I didn’t take him for the fragile type." Lowering his bow, Sakatsuki knew that with the appearance of the true head of the Ainsworths, killing anyone here would be difficult.

"Darius Ainsworth."

"Let’s talk," the man in flip-flops said, as if oblivious to Sakatsuki’s hostility and the carnage around them.

***

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