Chapter 664

"Since the victims have spoken…," Archer had no reason to refuse, "Ranger lady, please escort this… little bird back to reunite with Saber and the others. We'll try to finish quickly, find the remaining Zhigengniao and my unreliable Master."

"Ribbit! I'll prove my justice to you with action, ribbit!" Justice Si Ke Te made a "yeah" hand gesture.

The group kept moving, stopped at the outer rim of a maze, and saw a line of subtitles appear in midair, the speaker being called "Clockmaster."

"Silence, silence so complete that only the gears of the clock can be heard, the breath of a delighted evil spirit."

"Tick—, you did come after all. You want to take the last Zhigengniao, right? But you will never succeed; all Zhigengniao are already in my grasp."

"Gather all the Zhigengniao, and I can summon the God of Zhigengniao, allowing me to devour all of Pinokangni and become the Nightmare King."

——

Maze meal.

"What the heck is the God of Zhigengniao!!"

Ma Lusi'er was at a loss for how to roast it—does the Zhigengniao know it has become a god?

Moreover, from their tone, the Zhigengniao has already become a fragmentary ritual item that both the righteous and the evil are vying for.

"It's better to call it a fairy tale than a nightmare for easier understanding," Qi Er Cha Ke sat by the campfire, "sizzling" meat skewers, and said lightly, "I really don't know what expression the Clock kid would have when seeing someone rewrite its story."

"The problem is, if Assassin really used his Noble Phantasm to 'create' an even more evil Clockmaster, would it adjust others' emotions? You should all remember how formidable that ability is, right?"

"Uh…"

Qi Er Cha Ke fell silent. The ability to freely manipulate others' emotions—no matter how you look at it, it's extremely perverse. If it caused Bo Ti Ou, Xing, Archer and the others to collectively fall into sad, negative emotions, that would be a major weakening of combat effectiveness.

"Actually I think it's fine; as long as that monster has a physical form, Xing and the others won't fear having their emotions adjusted," Lai Osi wiped soup from his mouth, "Think about it, Archer doesn't need to fight side‑by‑side with everyone. Isn't he an archer? When that Clockmaster appears, he can just stay back and fire hidden arrows, right?"

"…but have you ever seen Archer wield a bow?" Qi Er Cha Ke suddenly asked.

"No, I don't even know what his bow looks like." Ma Lusi'er sighed deeply, "Among so many Servants, Archer and Caster are the most unusual, right? One is an archer yet wields twin blades, the other clearly fights with magic yet insists on close‑quarter combat…"

——

"There are too many new settings; I don't know where to start roasting…"

Xing and the others passed through the maze, and at its end saw a clock monster, with six broken, repair‑needing clocks behind it, blocking the group.

However, its gaze quickly fell on the extremely conspicuous presence in the crowd—Si Ke Te—snorting derisively, "Before judging you, there's a disobedient pawn that must be dealt with first—Si Ke Te, such a despicable you, actually standing on their side. Do you think you want to be a partner of justice?"

Archer's expression instantly stiffened: "Hiss, I suddenly feel a chill down my body."

"Why waste words on it? One shot and it's dead, problem solved."

Clockmaster chuckled, "Tick—, you think I'd obediently play hero games with you? Mr. Greedy gave me a guaranteed‑hit cheat bullet; as soon as I pull the trigger, the Master with the most dialogue in this play will be instantly eliminated."

After speaking, Clockmaster moved the hands on his body, and a bullet flashed out in an instant, shooting straight toward Xing.

"Bang—!"

At the crucial moment, it was Si Ke Te! He shielded Xing from the lethal strike.

Justice Si Ke Te immediately glitched out, lying on the ground, his tone sorrowful, "Everyone, it seems I can't continue with you! But I'm glad—I died for justice, for protecting others, ribbit."

"Si Ke Te, are you playing seriously?"

"Pass on to Keshmi that the night I broke up with her, I lied to her, actually… actually…"

Si Ke Te's increasingly low tone suddenly shifted, his snarling face reappearing on the TV screen.

"—In fact, there is no such thing as Justice Si Ke Te!"

"What we call justice is merely part of a name. How about that? This is a shocking fact just announced now, ribbit!"

——

Fate/Uesugi family's meal.

"Hahahahahaha—!!"

Rin Tohsaka covered her stomach, laughing uproariously, tears nearly spilling.

She laughed wildly while vigorously slapping the shoulder of Shirou, who was already petrified, his entire face and ear roots flushed red.

"Hey! Shirou! Still believe him? Still believe? Hahaha—! That 'I believe this Si Ke Te' expression you just made was just brilliant! Hahaha!"

Shirou, mortified, clutched his face with both hands, a weak voice squeezing out from between his fingers: "Stop it, Rin…"

"But to put it another way, if Justice Si Ke Te himself is a counterfeit, doesn't that mean Si Ke Te's heart truly has no trace of justice?" Mediya frowned in confusion.

She's seen many good people, and many bad ones, but she's never seen someone so utterly evil.

He's simply a born seed of evil.

"So!" Rin Tohsaka finally managed to curb her laughter, wiping tears from the corner of her eye, "It was Bo Ti Ou who had foresight! He never believed this guy's nonsense from the start! That's the experience of a veteran wandering sea‑ranger, right? He's spot‑on at judging people!"

——

"Director, heal me quickly! I finally lured them into the trap, what's with the shot you fired at my backside?!"

Greedy was about to explode with anger.

"*Pinokangni prison‑era profanity*, if it weren't for you uselessly stealing the scene and blocking the bullet, Clockmaster would have already dealt with Xing, and you still dare to claim credit?!"

"I let you infiltrate the enemy, give them a head‑on blow at the climax. Look at what you actually did—no basic narrative structure, even a fool can see you're just acting!"

Greedy grew increasingly angry, gritting his teeth: "…Since your desire to perform is so strong, congratulations, Mr. Si Ke Te, you have now been demoted from actor to a stage prop!"