Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"None of that matters. What matters is that 'you' are standing here now."

Richard looked puzzled upon hearing this, while Novia sighed and smiled, saying, "Although I have never been to Purgatory, I should be able to give Saladin the coordinates, given my abilities as an adjudicator."

In fact, Novia could sense Richard's passion; it was as if he had no intention of giving up the fight, even when facing her.

However, he didn't particularly dislike it. In fact, even if Richard's spiritual origin hadn't been distorted, he would have made the same choice, because the so-called Lionheart was an existence that combined the piety of believers with the fearlessness that even gods could not be feared.

Richard revered and believed in God, but at the same time, he was fearless in the face of God.

He merely wanted atonement, to atone for the sins he had committed—'God, let this body be scorched by the fires of purgatory until the end of this world.'

“Great You, I understand once again how incredibly loving you are.”

As if proposing a reunion to someone who wasn't present, the Lionheart sang of his own idea, his eyes and voice brimming with hope: "One day, I will take 'your' empire! If you don't wish to, then come find me in Purgatory! But remember to bring some fruit! I will spare your life!"

During the Crusades, Richard's warhorse fell off. Saladin sent Richard two fine horses, and Richard, naturally, did not disappoint Saladin's kindness. He was deeply moved and accepted the horses, then personally led the vanguard into battle, ultimately achieving a glorious victory.

After the Battle of Jaffa, both Richard and Saladin fell ill. Saladin once again sent fruit to Richard and asked a doctor to treat him. For the two men, each was the other's greatest nemesis, yet they also respected each other.

After the Eastern Expedition ended, Richard wrote to Saladin saying that he would return to conquer the Holy Land in three years. Saladin agreed and then wrote back saying that he could not think of any monarch more likely to take his empire than Richard.

"In that case, Lionheart, show me your lionheart, for you are not going to back down now."

Richard, as he appears, is a Rider, a Spirit Origin that will not shy away from any evil deeds in order to achieve victory. He will transform into a tyrant who will ruthlessly and decisively throw everything he possesses into the war.

Even if someone is an enemy of the god he believes in, he will challenge them with reverence, even with their ever-changing tyranny.

"With great pleasure."

As the name suggests, Richard, in his black lion form, had a cheerful and optimistic expression.

"I declare to Lord Lancelot, Lord Tristan, Lord Gareth, and Lord Mordred, not as a king but as a knight—"

Behind that cheerful smile, Richard's eyes gleamed with a sinister light.

Besides, this is Novia, losing to him is not shameful at all! On the contrary, it is an unparalleled glory!

"The kingship and honor of the Round Table gave you your birth! It was tragedy and destruction that tempered your souls! As long as the prosperity of mankind and the glory of knighthood never fade, many will surely offer praises to the departed Round Table!"

Richard's words implied that the people at the Round Table should contribute their strength to him so that he could better demonstrate his 'Lionheart' in front of Novia. The so-called Lionheart is someone who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. That is why Richard did not invite Percival.

Because the Knights of the Round Table he called upon were all those who were willing to give everything for King Arthur at this moment, and to offer their blessings to his beliefs.

In a normal Sixth Singularity, Percival would have resisted the Lion King's orders and died in the Round Table civil war. Even Gareth, tormented by her inner turmoil, would have ultimately chosen to sacrifice herself to bind the Devil Richard, both for victory and for liberation.

The Knight of the Round Table, summoned by Richard, gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Although you and we have already lost our right, Lionheart."

Thus, Richard's Noble Phantasm was activated with a full enhancement.

"O lions that devour me from within myself, lions that crush the world with my consciousness."

The original gray earth of the valley turned into a crimson land, and at its edge, the infernal fire, fueled by Richard's will and permitted by Novia, surged forth.

The magical power and Noble Phantasms from Tristan, Lancelot, and Gareth made the three large lion shadows behind Richard, who was in his black beast form, even larger and more substantial. As for Mordred, she had long been annoyed by Richard's nagging and therefore chose to refuse.

"Your self-imposed bondage and blessings, I will reveal with the fires of purgatory. Greed, prayer, decay, and destruction will be inscribed on our path with a roar at the end of the narrow crevice!"

Legend has it that a strange and passionate priest once said:

King Lionheart had three daughters: pride, greed, and lust; if he did not keep them away, only destruction awaited him.

The Lionheart replied: "Then let pride be married to the Knights, greed to the monastic order, and lust to the Church."

This wasn't because his daughters were getting in the way of his tyrannical path, nor did he intend to corrupt the Knights or the Church; it was simply that the Lionheart found it very amusing.

Pride and loyalty, greed and compassion, lust and purity... all these are manifestations of human nature. Isn't it interesting to accept sin and virtue as family? Isn't it fascinating that sin and virtue attract each other after intense conflict?

Do the daughters, branded with the accusation of grave sin, truly exist? Or are they merely three shadows within the heart?

Regardless, the three lions engulfed in infernal fire behind Lionheart were thus revealed at that moment.

"Roar, lion! Sing the praises of that blazing inferno!"

The fires of purgatory gather, and the lion comes from purgatory.

at the same time.

The light of salvation gathers.

The Spear of Longinus was first held in Novia's hands.

Percival was not unfamiliar with the radiance emanating from the Holy Lance Longinus, but this was the first time he had witnessed it radiating light as if it were a celestial river carrying the Milky Way and countless stars, enveloping the entire sky.

He even felt that only in this man's hands could the Holy Lance Longinus be considered a 'weapon'.

In fact, the Holy Lance that is known to the world to have pierced the Son of God can never be called a 'weapon'. The Church says: the Holy Lance is not a worldly weapon; if it is not wielded for justice and faith, it is tantamount to blasphemy and will be punished.

In fact, there have been many people who have wielded the Spear of Longinus over the past two thousand years. Besides the most famous Lucius Longinus and Percival of King Arthur, there are many other legends about people who have possessed it. For example, Charlemagne himself, who is currently known, Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor, one of the 'Three Kings' in the Christian tradition during the Third Crusade, or Melora, the daughter of King Arthur in the Irish version of the Arthurian legend.

But in whose legends it is, the Holy Lance is mostly used as a talisman to cure the 'misfortune' that is about to happen after everything is over.

It is not a weapon, not an armed force for killing, but a compassionate salvation from heaven that descends upon the earth for judgment and redemption.

The short gun barrel looked as if it carried the galaxy and countless starlight as Novia slowly lifted it.

The colors of the universe permeate everything in this small valley.

But the burning infernal fires ceased, as if time had stopped flowing. In fact, perhaps time truly did not flow here.

For at that moment, Percival seemed to hear a whisper echoing in his ears.

That was a distance that shouldn't have reached both ears—

"Lord, have mercy on this body."

This is the simplest and most commonly used chant in the church, yet when spoken by Novia, it seems to remain deeply within the planet and permeate human reason. Hope is beauty, hope is the fundamental hope.

The primates of the Age of Gods were gods; only the primates of later generations were human.

The first century AD served as a dividing line for most regions, marking a significant moment for the Church's faith as it emerged from the ancient and decaying past and became a marker of humanity once again, for the magical power in the atmosphere would return to zero by the year AD after Solomon's death.

The foundation woven by the first pope of the first century to define the new primates of the stars surged here, a colossal spell created far beyond the conventional concept of a planet—a spell so vast it would have evaporated even the gods themselves, a feat far exceeding any conventional understanding of planetary existence.

That was one of the earliest depictions of humanity as the planet's primates, replacing God.

As long as humanity does not come to an end, this foundation will continue forever—the largest faith in human history.

"To witness your lionheart..."

The next moment, the Spear of Longinus itself released its magic, and the heat inside surged out completely.

"I will bring an end to purgatory."

The pure white light, carrying the colors of the universe, devoured everything.

……

At the same time, in a mountain village on the other side, Cursed Arm and some Hassans looked at each other.

That was an aura that couldn't be mistaken, because the aura emanating from there was undoubtedly incredibly close to the aura of the valley where the Venerable One resided. Whether they were cursed wrists in the present era or Hassans who were summoned there, their destinies were all ended by the Old Man of the Mountain, and they sensed an aura like that sword from there.

Did the Venerable One personally appear to save the people of the mountain?

Such thoughts swirled in Cursed Wrist's mind, causing him to subconsciously look towards the direction of the shrine.

"This is the aura of Lady Novia. I sensed it during that Holy Grail War, there's no way I could be wrong."

Just then, Kyoko spoke up to explain.

Although she didn't know how Novia had gotten there so quickly, the aura was unmistakable; it was indeed Lady Novia.

"If that's the case, why did Your Excellency detain this gentleman for five days...?"

To this, Kyoko could only shake her head slightly. After all, she didn't know anything about the relationship between the Venerable and Lord Novia; she could only sense their presence... Could it be that they hadn't seen each other for a long time and were chatting?

"Let's go take a look—"

Instantly, all the Hassans, including the madman himself, trembled from the surrounding aura of death, and tears welled up in their eyes. This was an instinctive reaction for them; fear, joy, and worry were all natural reactions. Therefore, they all subconsciously looked towards the direction of the shrine.

Hassan and his followers had no room for doubt, nor any need to exclaim "How is this possible?" Every member of the Mountain Order clearly understood what it was. Whether amidst endless curses or in sacred shrines, the "Holy One" remained the "Holy One"—

The Primordial Elder, Hassan-i Sabah, will appear.

However, unlike the other Hassans, Kyoko sensed something subtle and amiss.

The air was thick with the scent of death, yet something was missing.

Then a rebellious thought came to mind.

Is the Venerable One in the mausoleum truly the Venerable One?

In some respects, she was perhaps more gifted than all the Hassans except for King Hassan. She lived at the end of an extraordinary period of asceticism, and her body and mind were rebuilt, completely different from when she was born.

After all, to learn the eighteen unique skills possessed by the Hassans throughout history, one must first sacrifice everything, offer up pain, the past and the future, and lose most of one's emotions, even one's own name, original intention and prayers, because even the original reason has been forgotten.

Because she couldn't explain why she went up the 'mountain,' she was able to notice subtle anomalies more effectively than the other Hassans.

Therefore, Kyōnobu's mind was made up.

If the being before her, who might not be the Venerable One, had previously deceived Lord Novia within the shrine, then she would not hesitate to fall into the depths of darkness, even if it meant attacking the Venerable One who might actually be the true 'Venerable One,' just to… What was this? There was no reason; she simply wanted to…

Immediately following, at this moment of extreme tension for the Hassans, the doors of the Azrael Mausoleum, which showed no magical reaction, no servant reaction, no sound, and no sign of life, were opened, revealing what appeared to be symbols of death—

A skull mask.

"Ah."

Although the mountain village was two days' journey from the Azrael Mausoleum, the Hassans still heard the sound.

The sound seemed to come from all directions, yet it came from only one direction.

Upon closer inspection, one could see shadows surrounding the skull mask as it slowly emerged from the temple, forming a human-shaped silhouette—

This petite girl must be the embodiment of some concept, whose very existence is uncertain, and who appears to be a deity.

"Hehe, only 5 days, there are still 36545 days to go."

Before the ancient and dark mausoleum, Kama slowly raised his index finger, making this declaration.

“This responsibility isn’t finished yet, Gavia.”

Kama could even vividly picture Novia with an awkward smile.

However, she felt no guilt, after all, it was her duty to love.

Besides, he often makes rather outrageous demands on himself, so we're all in the same boat.

The question is, how do we proceed with the next 36545 days?

The Hassans didn't know the reason for the voice, but it seemed to be something she was saying to someone who had just left.

Therefore, the Hassans, who were slow to realize the situation, were all confused.

No, who is this 'silver-haired woman' holding the Venerable One's mask?! How did she get out of the shrine that should be the Venerable One's residence? Venerable One, where are you? Where did you disappear to?

Chapter 458 The Best of the Year is Childhood Sweethearts?

The old man of the mountain, the old man of the mountain, the Hassan who killed Hassan.

When the old man of the mountain decays, falls into depravity, and strays from the path, King Hassan will appear before him—

To end its destiny.

His face represents Hassan's death, and his sword represents Hassan's execution. Many of the masks that Hassan saw at the moment of his death appear on Kama's forehead.

For the Hassans, the difference between the 2.2-meter-tall King Hassan of their memories and the petite height of the young girl they now knew was stark, like a grandfather and granddaughter... For some reason, this kind of rebellious thought surfaced in the minds of the Hassans.

However, because Kama emerged from the Azrael Mausoleum, the strong 'mountain' aura that Kama originally possessed due to the Mausoleum was rewritten. The quality and quantity of the aura remained unchanged, but the aura manifested as 'mountain' underwent a complete transformation.

If the previous 'mountain' was one where even the perceiver couldn't hear the breath, resulting in the perception of being deprived of hearing and the discovery that one's own existence would be trapped in the shadows, isolated from existence, as if one were to be instantly annihilated by nothingness and death.

The mountain now is a still, clear mirror. A blizzard rages around it, and hope is offered to it from its feet. It seems so distant and in opposition to the death that is everywhere. This is a kind of pillar of the world. Therefore, even if there are class distinctions, everyone is equal.

Whether we know each other or are complete strangers, we see each other as a community rooted in the same land, as members of the world.

The north wind howled, and the mountains and forests roared; such a direct and visual scene was constantly intertwined between the sky and the earth at this singularity.

Not the Old Man of Death who roams the secluded valleys and mountains, but one of the mistresses of the Himalayas, the highest mountain in the world, and Kama, one of the three goddesses of India.

In later Hindu doctrines, the order of the three goddesses of Gavia is generally Durga first, followed by Mosini, and then Kama last.

After all, Durga also has Kali as an aspect, as well as the Time Mother form, which is regarded by later believers as the highest existence and the origin of life.

Moses, as Vishnu's sister, is universally acknowledged as the most beautiful goddess, a beauty whose very concept could rewrite the rules of the world. As for Kama...