190 King Louis XVI
Louis XVI pressed his hands onto the black mud monster's belly and then pushed hard, sinking in as if falling into a swamp. He was enveloped by the moist, soft mud and slowly submerged—first his palms, then his arms, then his body, and his legs followed, inching inward.
The inherent properties of the black mud allowed him to easily enter. The black mud curse continuously corroded his body, attempting to destroy his mind and alter his Spirit Origin.
Only a thin, golden shimmer, too faint to stop a mosquito bite and the same color as the light emanating from the heavily damaged Palace of Versailles, appeared on his skin, keeping the encroaching black mud at bay.
Before he was crowned Louis the Sixteenth, he married Marie as the Dauphine. Despite his dull, honest, and introverted nature contrasting with Marie's eccentric and outgoing personality, they were considerate of each other and lived their lives together.
He would give Marie the mechanical locks he created and receive her genuine admiration. When Marie playfully asked him for things, he could never refuse to pay for her extravagant requests.
When his grandfather, Louis XV, died, he became the ruler of a nation. Initially, he had intended to govern diligently and change France's plight, but nothing went as smoothly as he had imagined.
In his youth, he also attempted reforms to save the terminally ill France, but neither the old powers represented by the aristocracy nor the emerging forces represented by the merchants stood with him.
Both sides, like hungry ghosts scrambling for food, only fought for immediate interests and rejected all measures that would benefit the country in the long run.
Even when he appointed truly capable ministers, they were squeezed out and suppressed by all sides. As a result, disillusioned, he gradually abandoned the idea of reform.
He simply disliked the tedious but useless political affairs.
He felt it would be more beneficial to the people to study his beloved mechanical devices, to invent and create.
He simply disliked conflict, but he was not stupid. It was merely a matter of circumstance, or perhaps, the destiny of a monarch whose power was waning.
The revolutionaries wanted him dead, and the royalists, who wanted to enthrone his brother, also wished for his death.
In the days leading up to his death, he figured out many things. Things that Marie, even as a Servant, had yet to fully grasp, he had understood from the very beginning.
Inside the black mud monster's belly, Louis XVI continuously peeled away the mud and the residue within the monster's body, finally reaching the central area, which was a giant, human-sized cocoon.
"Ah, I finally found you, my dearest wife," Louis XVI reached out and peeled back the top of the giant cocoon, revealing half of Marie's beautiful face inside.
"Your Majesty..." Marie looked at the man who had come for her, speaking weakly.
Inside the black mud monster, she had desperately tried to break free but was completely immobilized, forced to serve as the core, watching helplessly as the black mud monster destroyed the palace where she had lived for over a decade.
"It's alright, Marie. I'll save you now," Louis XVI said, peeling back the cocoon while comforting his wife.
After tearing open the giant cocoon, he saw Marie's back pierced by the black mud Heroic Spirit's attack, the wound now fixed in place by long black nails the thickness of tree branches, driven in like stakes.
Black barbed wire was wrapped around the nails. Unlike the previous giant cocoon, these were extremely hard and could not be sawed through even with a power saw.
"It's no use... Your Majesty, I was summoned by this monster; I can't resist her at all," Marie said regretfully. "Just kill me here. At least that way, our home won't be destroyed anymore."
"It's alright. I will save you," Louis XVI said gently, comforting Marie.
"There's no way, Your Majesty. It's so ironic. I originally wanted to use those people, but I ended up being used myself," Marie said with annoyance and grief.
"I said I would save you, and this time, I will save you!" Louis XVI said firmly. He grabbed the black iron nails, allowing his palms to be sliced open by the hooks, holding the nails tightly, and pulled upward.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing? Let go, your hands are bleeding!" Marie cried out in alarm.
"It will hurt a lot when I pull it out, Marie. Please grit your teeth and endure it," Louis XVI looked at his wife and smiled gently.
His hands were already a bloody mess. Every time he pulled with force, the hooks on the nails sliced into his skin like razor blades.
"Let go! You idiot! Let go quickly! You're not even a Servant. What are you doing here? You didn't approve of me taking revenge on the French people in the first place! I should just stay here! Let those traitors and the monster kill me together!" Marie shouted angrily.
"Because... whether it was selling antiques and jewels to help the household, holding banquets for you, or making clothes, I simply couldn't bear to refuse your requests. Consider
this an apology for leaving you both behind when I died," Louis XVI said with a soft smile, looking at his wife.
"Idiot... you idiot..." Marie cursed, tears welling up in her eyes.
Yes, this was the husband she entrusted her life to: a devout Christian, a husband who loved his family faithfully, loyal to his love for her, and who never consorted with other women throughout his life.
It was precisely because of this that she chose to stay during the national crisis, always by her husband's side.
"Relax, Marie, leave everything to me! It will be over soon!" Louis XVI smiled and pulled again with force. The iron hook sliced through his palm. The deep cut finally plunged into the pink, bloody flesh, like a fishhook hanging from a fish's mouth.
"Good! This way, my hand won't slip!" Louis XVI said with a smile.
He looked toward the palace outside and made his final resolve at this moment.
Louis XVI, the King of France, the last Bourbon monarch who remained in France from birth to death, uttered his final vow, just as he had delivered his speech before the guillotine.
"I die innocent; I forgive those who brought me to the scaffold, and I pray that my blood may appease God's wrath and consolidate the happiness of all French people!"
Louis XVI shouted out, activating his unique Noble Phantasm.
The Palace of Versailles, where he had lived from the moment he was born until he was captured before his death, emitted a dazzling golden light.
The walls and marble pillars that had been destroyed by the black mud monster were instantly restored.
The Palace of Versailles manifested the most beautiful moment of the scenery Louis XVI saw as a child, sitting on the grass, gazing at the palace. The sun shone on the palace, reflecting a golden light.
This light shot up into the sky, forming a golden Versailles Palace magnified several times in the air, enveloping the black mud monster and all life around it in its radiance.
"What is that...?" Shirou and the others, who were rushing toward the palace in the race car, wondered.
"Wow, it looks even more spectacular than Princess Himeji Castle," Osakabehime exclaimed, looking up at the sky.
"That sparkling thing might look good as a concert backdrop," Elisabeth said, her eyes lighting up.
"In that case, maybe they can resolve it even without me rushing over," the Flower Magus said, looking at the sky, and gradually faded away.
This radiance was not a type that caused harm but a blessing, granting the blessing of happiness even to the enemy. It was the materialization of the King's spirit of universal love as a Noble Phantasm. The words of a dying man are good. Because Louis XVI's speech before his death was a blessing to France, praying for the happiness of his countrymen, it was arguably the most sincere blessing of all kings, capable of lifting all negative status effects.
"Waaah-aah-aah!!!" The black mud monster was frozen in place.
The light of the Blessed Noble Phantasm entered the black mud monster's body, purifying all the negative emotions inside and clearing out the black mud. The scissors and saws attached to the tentacles turned into clean, pretty toys, and white teddy bears, tied with long colorful ribbons, danced in the air like kites.
Even the black mud monster itself shrank to less than 1.5 meters long, taking on a cute, chibi-like appearance.
Finally, the pure, beautiful girl emerged from the now-transparent black mud surface, carried in Emperor Louis's arms, and walked out.
"Your Majesty..." Marie looked at the man before her with complicated emotions. Because of the blessing, the wound on her abdomen was instantly healed. Even the fire and resentment in her heart were largely calmed by this radiance.
She recalled many beautiful things she had experienced in this country and the lovely people she had met. Yes, apart from the liars, rioters, and bandits, the majority of this country's people were indeed simple and kind.
But on the other hand, she could not forget the cruel treatment her family had suffered.
"Marie, what I want most to see in this world is for you to be happy now," Louis XVI said, looking lovingly at his wife, slowly setting her down on the ground.
"Queen!"
"Marie!"
D'Éon and Mozart happily ran up to them.
But Louis XVI's body was slowly becoming transparent.
Yes, Louis XVI, the King of France, had achieved a miracle. Although he did not descend here as a Servant, he accomplished something that even the combined efforts of many Servants could not.
However, all this came at the cost of his disappearance.
This Noble Phantasm was, after all, his final blessing, activated at the catalyst of his death.
The entire Palace of Versailles also began to fade in shimmering patches, gradually returning to its original, largely ruined state.
"Emperor, are you leaving the stage just like that? Then, I'll be the one to stay by Marie's side and be with her," Mozart asked with a mocking smile.
"Shut up, you music idiot! Human trash! This is an important moment for His Majesty and me to part!" Marie glared at Mozart and said.
"Hmph, stay away from my wife, musician," Louis XVI snorted, then smiled at Marie and said, "I swear I will definitely come to find you, so Marie, please let me see your happy smile."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I look forward to meeting you again," Marie said, agreeing with a radiant smile.
"What's wrong? This double sense of anxiety is surprisingly quite nice," Mozart muttered to himself.
"It's better if you leave the stage first, or perhaps go back to Vienna. Don't come to France again!" D'Éon, standing nearby, raised his sword and said coldly.
"Waaah-aah-aah!!!" The shrunken black mud monster let out a shriek at this moment!
As Louis XVI's Noble Phantasm gradually faded, the black mud monster recovered. It made a retching sound and spat out a black book. Black mud tentacles continuously burrowed into the large black hole that was exposed in the middle.
Finally, the black book transformed into a little girl in a black Western-style dress, who was now looking at everyone with hateful eyes.
"Countess! No, it's the Black Mud Heroic Spirit!" D'Éon and Sanson brandished their weapons, shielding Marie and Emperor Louis.
"Compared to the monster before, this appearance is quite cute," Mozart said with a smile.
"Unforgivable, unforgivable! I was about to become a 'god.' Why did you interfere! I promised I would help you fulfill your wish, so why did you escape!" the Black Mud Heroic Spirit shrieked like a little girl.
"How dare you say that! My revenge must be carried out by me! You betrayed me!" Black Queen Marie glared at the little girl and roared.
"I can't accept this! I can't accept this! I was so close to getting one step closer to that person. If I became a god, I might be able to meet Emiya Shirou," the Black Mud Heroic Spirit yelled in fury, then looked up at the stars in the sky, clearly deranged.
"Hey, Shirou? That guy is calling your name. Has her brain really been filled with nothing but black mud?" the silver-haired girl said with a wry smile.
"Black Mud Heroic Spirits come in all types, but they are destined to be enemies. They don't value human life, so we can't get along," Shirou knew.
The opponent was a Black Mud Heroic Spirit. Even if she looked like a little girl, he couldn't hold back. His relationship with the Black Mud Heroic Spirit was likely that of mortal enemies, where one of them had to completely disappear.
"Master is so popular! But one pet is enough for meow~!" Tamamo Cat said, waving her hands.
"No, the person she's talking about doesn't look like me," Shirou said, frowning.
"Boo-hoo, my fun toy suddenly broke," Astolfo was still upset about what had happened earlier.
The Ferrari that Astolfo was driving suddenly stopped and started smoking right under the palace. So, the three people and one cat who walked up were talking and arrived just in time to hear the Black Mud Heroic Spirit's scream.
When the Black Mud Heroic Spirit saw the young man, her eyes lit up. She let out a fierce shout, and her aura became even more terrifying. Like a beast whose desire had been ignited, she once again displayed her primal instinct.
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