FGO Specter of Glass

Xiatian la Vue Ch16

"The ending is parfait. All we need to do to get there is to dispose of Chaldea, the Crypters, and the underworld," Zuriel said, closing his book.

"Are you not afraid of those three screwing up your plans?" Someone asked while pouring wine into the king's glass.

"Ne t'inquiète pas pour ça. I've had all this time to plan, why wouldn't it work out?"

"What do you mean, 'don't worry about it'? Chaldea has been a wild card since they set foot in Xiatian. The Crypters are changing their tactics, and with Alisha missing, her second-in-command has taken over. A person we've never seen. Frankly, you're not treating this with any form of seriousness."

"You worry too much," Zuriel sighed. He picked up the glass and swished the wine, thinking about the outcomes of his plan. "There will be no interruptions, no changes, and no one who can stop me. Do exactly what you're told and follow the guidelines, comprenez-vous??"

"What will you do if they move unpredictably?" The man's tone grew sour.

"My data on them isn't wrong. Chaldea will do what it can to save the people. The Crypters will move to protect them. And the underworld will use both as a decoy. All three will end up here, and I'll kill them by destroying Q'yth-Az's body."

"What did you just say?" The man looked at the king, who had no hesitation, and he realized what he was dealing with.

"Je n'ai pas bégayé, did I?" The king's glare only worsened when he narrowed his eyes.

"You didn't stutter... but doing so will destroy the city! Not to mention the damage it'll do to the entire realm! And what if you wake his holiness? The only reason you have power again is because he's sleeping!"

"Is that what you think happened?" Zuriel's tone shifted. For a moment, he dropped his comedic act and put on a face fitting for a king. "I led those idiots to their doom. Why else would I let them get so close to Chaldea and Vincent Van Gogh? If I killed them, the realm would turn on me instead of looking to me for help."

"I thought you were being lazy with your work."

"I was. But I also knew the ending of their story. Once your fate is written in stone, you can't change it! Even I am destined to die at the hands of someone weak and pathetic. I can't wait to see who it is." He looked back at the man. "Tout ira bien."

"Yeah, just fine..."

In just a few moments, Zuriel's demeanor had changed three times. From the jokester who never took his work seriously, to the serious mad with the eyes of a king, and when he spoke about his fate, he had a sinister smile on his face. It was as if he were excited about dying. He was truly a king of masks.

Daoloth's holy maiden clashed her swords with Joshua again, the two in a stalemate as they fought. No matter how many times she killed Joshua, he continued to revive. Carmen looked up as the ground rumbled and destroyed a house. If they weren't careful, they'd be crushed by the buildings above them as each one broke down and fell to the layer below. She had to stop them. She charged, her shield in hand, and she remembered that the shield could split. She twisted the handle, and the weapon separated, each half attaching to an arm.

Carmen slammed the shield right as the holy maiden and Joshua were about to unleash their noble phantasms. She held her own against the attacks, holding the two parts of the shield to block the noble phantasms. But she wasn't going to last long. She jumped out of the way once the enemies struck again and was surprised to see pillars of ice standing where she was. Galatea pierced the ground with her rod and froze the area to stop the fighting. She and Van Gogh stood in front of Carmen and held their weapons at the holy maiden and Joshua.