Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover
Chapter 337: [337] The Divine Core - Pandora and the Beast’s Metamorphosis

Chapter 337: [337] The Divine Core - Pandora and the Beast’s Metamorphosis

There had been resistance.

Pandora’s Box nurtured a darkness capable of annihilating the entire world—a sediment no less potent than the "All the World’s Evils," perhaps even surpassing it.

Swirling vortices of sin and malice churned endlessly within, amplifying, interlocking, and transforming into countless reefs and storms of corruption.

The maelstrom of cursed voices raged, and the moment it detected the presence of an intruder—an anomaly within its all-consuming negation—it mobilized every ounce of its power to eradicate him.

Drown his heart in despair.

Fill his will with murderous intent.

Pierce his flesh with greed.

The collective malice and temptation of the Age of Gods converged here, a corruption no great hero could resist. Precisely because they shone so brilliantly, because they stood so tall, the shadows they cast were all the more profound and inescapable.

And yet, no matter how much it eroded and corroded, one voice still sang a resounding affirmation.

!?

The myriad phenomena of the universe, the vastness of existence—evil and ugliness were everywhere. It should be impossible to remain sane, impossible to bear such crushing weight—

Indeed, this is how the world is. Why lament the inevitable? Why be surprised?

!!!

A breathtakingly beautiful clay doll, far too exquisite to be human, manifested in the lightless void that stripped away all senses. It posed a question.

"Why do you believe?"

"Who approves? Who permits? Who bears this evil?"

This was no automated interrogation by Pandora’s Box, but the cry of every twisted, fallen soul drowning in the limbo between life and death.

To this question of immense gravity, a clear, mocking laugh replied:

What kind of foolish talk is this?

What has nothing to do with me, I need not meddle in.

What concerns me, I will cut down without hesitation!

The young man never considered himself someone who should bear the burdens of the world and its people. But once involved, he would not hesitate to purge all obstacles with ruthless efficiency.

He was neither saint nor demon.

Just an ordinary man among countless others.

And yet, in this place where the very concept of an individual should have been denied, he forced Pandora’s Box to acknowledge his existence as another.

Thus, after weathering countless trials, after endless calamities rose and fell, a single, radiant thing was revealed.

A delicate core leaped forth, its crimson divine patterns like a robe, concealing boundless divine light within.

This was a story known to all—when all the sufferings within Pandora’s Box were unleashed, the hope hidden within by the Goddess of Wisdom would burst forth with a glimmer surpassing even disaster.

The darkness shattered, scattering black droplets. Even with all its malice, the Box could not fully digest this foreign entity. Left with no choice, it offered its most precious treasure to this absolute ego.

Divine Core·Pandora.

The white radiance that had endured for millennia merged toward the young man’s chest—only for him to seize it midair and rip it away.

"...Hmph."

A cold chuckle echoed from somewhere. With a squeeze of his hand, the core forged by the collective efforts of the gods shattered like a bubble.

A kaleidoscope of light bloomed and scattered, transforming into a sorrowful rain of fading embers. The burning fragments ignited, painting the darkness with crimson flames.

Gather.

Gather.

Gather.

This time, the young man accepted it entirely—by his own will.

As the Beast’s contractor, he embraced Pandora’s calamitous power—and rejected its salvation.

Tilting his head back, the young man transformed into a crimson dragon of calamity. His demonic wings, sharp as blades, tore through the blackened sky, casting a seven-headed, ten-horned shadow upon the earth.

BOOM—!!!

Deep within the Ainsworth stronghold, Darius was still laughing maniacally at the success of his scheme—when Pandora’s Box suddenly opened.

Disaster surged forth like a tidal wave, and the true demon crossed the sea of malice to arrive. His long, draconic tail swayed, his skeletal wings spreading wide enough to blot out the sun.

"Hello again, Mr. Darius."

Golden eyes now stained blood-red, his face marked with the same patterns as Draco’s, the handsome yet sinister young man bowed with mock courtesy—only to appear behind Darius in the next instant, his bestial claws piercing through the man’s chest!

"Guh—!"

The afterimage of his bow shattered. Darius’s eyes bulged as he vomited blood. Hexagonal displacement spaces flickered around him, only to be scorched and sealed by the bloody flames wreathing Sakatsuki’s body.

"H-How... How could you escape from that place...?"

"The inside of Pandora’s Box? The sea of calamity left behind by the gods?" Despite the bestial growl underlying his voice, Sakatsuki’s tone dripped with disdain and amusement.

"I’ve already been through something like that."

Compared to Pandora’s Box, how different was the corrupted Holy Grail tainted by the "All the World’s Evils"?

The Third Magic could purify even that. And with his contract with Draco protecting him, ordinary malice couldn’t affect Sakatsuki at all.

[Rejected ’Divine Core·Pandora.’ Acquired temporary skill: ’Beast’s Metamorphosis·Fall.’]

Beast’s Metamorphosis: EX

The pinnacle of shapeshifting, a miracle/disaster achieved through countless coincidences. Proof of a contract with original sin, allowing temporary mastery in human form.

Abnormal heat boiled within him, flowing through his limbs like molten lava with every breath. Borrowing the traits of Pandora’s Box, Sakatsuki had temporarily gained Draco’s power.

As he familiarized himself with this bizarre form, he severed Darius’s escape routes. Using his knowledge of displacement magecraft, he analyzed and pinpointed Darius’s true form—a spiritual concept hiding within Julian’s body.

Then, ignoring his pleas, he crushed him without hesitation.

"I understand your resolve, your obsession, your wish." Watching Julian—now reverted to his original form—collapse to his knees, screaming in agony, Sakatsuki calmly retracted his claws. The crimson patterns on his body began to recede like a tide.

"But I have no intention of helping you."

His reason for rejecting Pandora’s core was simple: if he took the "hope" from the Box, it would uncontrollably release its calamities—disasters this mana-deprived world could never withstand.

And Sakatsuki had not come here just to deal with the Ainsworths.

"Take me to the dungeon—the place I escaped from before."

Hoisting the unconscious Julian by the collar, Sakatsuki turned to Angelica, who had rushed over. His unspoken threat was clear.

"Oh, and prepare the materials for crafting a puppet."

"...Understood."

In the end, Angelica nodded.

Darius’s act of throwing Sakatsuki into Pandora’s Box had been the Ainsworths’ final gamble. With its failure, they no longer had any means to resist him.

Submission—ensuring the Ainsworth lineage’s survival—was the conclusion Angelica reached.

"One more thing. Hand over your Class Card—and Beryl Gut’s. I trust I don’t need to explain how?"

"...I understand."

With the cooperation of "Gil-chan," Sakatsuki’s takeover proceeded smoothly. Beryl, wholly devoted to Julian, surrendered his Class Card with little resistance. Angelica, after transferring control of the Ainsworths castle to Sakatsuki, retreated to her room with Pandora—or rather, Erika, who was gradually regaining her memories—and remained docile.

As for Sakatsuki, after securing everything the Ainsworths had, he secluded himself in the dungeon to complete his secret project—one he had kept hidden from Illya, Kuro, even Draco.

...

...

Under the glow of magecraft, the young man—now reverted from his Beast form—rose to his feet. He gazed at the puppet he had crafted, hesitation flickering in his eyes before he finally closed them.

"A puppet is better than nothing..."

With those whispered words, a wisp of light emerged from Sakatsuki’s forehead and merged into the puppet.

This was the quasi-personality formed from his wish upon the Holy Grail in the Second Singularity—a construct woven from data gathered through interactions with those he knew and the memories he had preserved.

The next moment, the puppet opened its amber eyes. Crimson hair, burning like flames, framed a face naturally marked with the scars of a life force in constant expenditure.

Sakatsuki and the puppet locked gazes, then nodded in unison.

Together, they stepped out of the cell—one turning left, the other right.

Each walking their own path.

***

Hey readers!

Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance Chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.

🔹/aarvan🔹

Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m