Tristan
It Begins with Loss
Narration: These are the things I let go of...the things I lost.
Narration: I reach out, but the distance is infinite, which only compounds my melancholy.
Narration: And so I surrender, I stop my vain efforts, and return to my own tasks.
Narration: Ah...that is probably the beginning of my mistakes. This hand is, truly...
Mash: Is that a harp...? It must be Tristan.
Fujimaru 1: Somehow sounds even more sad than usual.
Fujimaru 2: He's playing something different, isn't he?
Mash: Yes.
Mash: The music that he usually plays combines both cold vibrations and warm rhythms. But this...
Mash: I can sense a heavy sadness, like someone is lost at the bottom of the sea all alone...
Bedivere: Oh? It appears Sir Tristan is thinking of something sad.
Mash: Bedivere...
Fujimaru 1: Something sad?
Bedivere: The music that the knight plays usually reflects his present mood.
Bedivere: If he's happy, he plays a happy tune. When he's sad, a sad song. He can express even the most complex of emotions with his harp.
Mordred: Aww, Bird Boy is sad again? That's a switch.
Mash: Mordred!
Bedivere: Mordred, do you have any idea why Sir Tristan is so melancholy today?
Mordred: 'Course not. ...Ehh...maaaybe...
Mordred: If that dork, a guy so dense he could sleep through a parade, is sad...
Mordred: It's gotta be because of our king or some girl.
Mordred: Either one of those'll set him off real fast.
Bedivere: That's true...
Fujimaru 1: He slept through a parade?
Bedivere: Yes...
Bedivere: After a victorious expedition, we returned home in triumph with our king.
Bedivere: We received a joyous reception from the citizenry.
Bedivere: But...while we were riding through the fanfare... Sir Tristan was asleep on his horse.
Bedivere: Sir Lancelot obvious reprimanded him, but he may even have been sleeping through the lecture.
Mordred: Eh, looking at that guy you can't hardly tell if he's asleep or awake anyway!
Mordred: Unless something is REALLY serious, he's always got his eyes closed. Somehow he's still aware of his surroundings, though.
Bedivere: I read somewhere that animals like bats and whales possess an ability called echolocation.
Bedivere: Perhaps Sir Tristan is like that.
Mash: That is...certainly a theory.
Mordred: Well then, he's got to be a bat! We're already not sure whether he's a bird or a human anyway!
Bedivere: Well, that is quite rude, Sir Mordred. But Sir Tristan's nerves are truly mystifying.
Bedivere: He possesses sensitivity, impudence, transience, and incorrigibility...
Bedivere: An animal that is tranquil, unreadable, but is said to shed tears at times...indeed, I suppose comparing him to a whale is appropriate.
Tristan: ...Sir Bedivere. Sir Mordred.
Mordred: Ack!
Mash: Oh, Tristan.
Tristan: I have come, Master.
Tristan: I've heard my name bandied about with some unkind words.
Fujimaru 1: It's those two.
Fujimaru 2: Something about a bat or whale...
Tristan: That is...hmmm. A bat is out of the question because they are lacking in eloquence, but I suppose a whale isn't so bad.
Mordred: Eh? Seriously!?
Bedivere: See what I mean? That's what this whale-man is like.
Mordred: What the heck!? Bats fly and they suck blood! They are SO much cooler than whales! They're freakin' badass!
Tristan: ...Ah, I am suddenly stricken with sadness. So, a bad man is what you see as beautiful...
Tristan: As knights, I believe we must change that perspective. The same goes for the heartless Sir Bedivere.
Tristan: Haha...my fingers are itching to play music. It's been a while, but shall I play some battle songs?
Mordred: Um...it's time for my training! See ya!
Bedivere: And I remembered I need to return the books I borrowed from the library. I'm thrice overdue, so I must be sure to return them today!
Tristan: ...(Sigh)
Mash: Tristan, are you mad?
Tristan: No, not at all.
Tristan: It's hardly news that Mordred is so...lively, nor that Bedivere is so strict with me.
Tristan: But I am not known as Tristan, the Child of Sadness for nothing.
Tristan: The sadness that I bear in my heart does not simply disappear so easily.
Tristan: So during our next battle simulation, I shall stand against him and focus my attention on my target!
Mash: (He's so angry!)
Tristan: Though I have to admit...I am at least a little angry after hearing that conversation.
Tristan: (Sigh)... Sir Bedivere really knows how to push my buttons...
Fujimaru 1: By the way, that harp...
Tristan: Ah, I see you've noticed. ...I was remembering the past.
Fujimaru 2: Did something sad happen?
Tristan: How direct of you. Yes...I was remembering something very sad from very long ago.
Tristan: I was thinking of Iseult.
Mash: Isn't Iseult your...
Tristan: There were, in fact, two Iseults in my lifetime.
Tristan: One was the Iseult I loved. The other was the Iseult with white hands who loved me.
Tristan: ...Most people get the wrong idea about this story if I tell it.
Tristan: They think of it as a story of an immoral two-timer, figuring that makes sense for a handsome man like me.
Fujimaru 1: Well...
Tristan: It's fine. No need to sugarcoat your words.
Fujimaru 2: Didn't you love them both?
Tristan: Yes. And that is the problem.
Tristan: Ultimately, did I really love someone?
Mash: Eh...!?
Tristan: According to legend, my falling in love was the work of a love potion.
Tristan: That mad, passionate feeling...I never once felt it with the Iseult with the white hands.
Tristan: But that was just the effects of the potion. Could it have been a mistake...a fleeting dream one night?
Tristan: Yes. And all this seems to come from the fact that I was never loved once, not from the moment I was born.
Tristan: As I never knew love during my childhood, perhaps I never learned to love others.
Tristan: Thinking on such things immediately drags me down, and the next thing I knew, I was playing this music.
Mash: No, I don't think that is true.
Mash: Tristan, you're the sort who would never think twice about sacrificing his life for others.
Tristan: Ah, that is simply how a knight should be.
But...ah, however...
Tristan: As Sir Bedivere mentioned, maybe I do fail as a human being?
Tristan: As a melancholy dragon who never knew love, I can't help but to think I may well end up crushed under Martha's foot!
Fujimaru 1: STOP!
Tristan: But I'm not moving.
Fujimaru 2: Calm down!!!
Tristan: I am calm. My heart is beating at a normal rate.
Tristan: I can check my pulse if you would like.
Gawain: Haha, Tristan's up to his old tricks. Once he gets started on a self-loathing rant, there's really no stopping him. He'll be at this for a while.
Mash: Gawain!
Tristan: Sir Gawain...
Tristan: But...I'm sure even you would not understand my suffering.
Gawain: Of course I wouldn't understand. Not so much your sadness as WHY you are always getting so sad.
Gawain: Nobody can best you when it comes to loving someone...at least that's what I think.
Gawain: Love is a shapeless thing to begin with. Even loyalty is a type of love, wouldn't you agree?
Gawain: It has nothing to do with physical lust. The intensity of passion is also meaningless.
Gawain: For example, let's say that there is a man who was weak and mild-mannered. He then took a woman to be his wife...
Gawain: But then, a powerful entity threatened his life, unless he would trade it for his wife. And the man, sadly, complied.
Gawain: Would you say that he did not love his wife?
Gawain: Who are we, who are much better able to fight such a being, to say that such a man did not love his wife?
Tristan: Well...
Gawain: Love is not just about not wanting to let go. It's not that you don't know love...
Tristan: I...
Gawain: ...My apologies. I may have overstepped my bounds... I got too aggressive, just as I do in battle.
Gawain: Master. Please do not trouble yourself about Tristan's lamentations.
Gawain: This cloud of sadness can simply be blown away by force. Working up a sweat in the simulator should distract him.
Fujimaru 1: You're right.
Fujimaru 2: Care to try, Tristan?
Tristan: ...I suppose.
Tristan: It feels a touch impulsive and perhaps even brutish, but I suppose I should try Sir Gawain's idea.
Tristan: Very well, then, Master, please give me your orders.
Tristan: In my present wavering state, it's best if I ask you to make the decisions here.
Gawain: Then use a simulation of me for his opponent. Please make him as strong as possible.
Gawain: After all, the intention here is to distract Sir Tristan from his perpetual melancholy.
Gawain: His opponent should be a knight with all the force and power of the sun!
Fujimaru 1: A full-power Gawain!?
Mash: ...I'm having trauma flashbacks, too, Senpai!
Mash: For Tristan's sake, let's give him all our support!
Fujimaru 2: Good luck Tristan!
Tristan: Yes, I am well aware of how terrifying a full-powered Sir Gawain can be.
Tristan: I shall set aside my inner anguish for now and concentrate on fighting!
--BATTLE--:
Mash: Good work, Senpai.
Mash: ...He was strong.
Tristan: What a brute. So much so that I nearly lost the melody that has been in my head this whole time.
Tristan: Fortunately, that let me concentrate on the battle.
Tristan: Still, I can hardly believe the pain that even a Servant can feel!
Tristan: No wonder others call this a second life.
Fujimaru 1: Don't get too hung up on it.
Tristan: I will try.
Tristan: I cannot forget that if I become a burden to my Master, I am a failure as a knight.
Tristan: I shall set my sadness aside.
Fujimaru 2: If you want to talk...
Tristan: Yes, I know I can come to you, Master. I have no intention of keeping secrets from you.
Tristan: My song has a certain bounce to it now. It seems tonight I will be playing a pleasant tune.
Tristan: Good night, Master. May we both have pleasant dreams.
Narration: ...I dreamt I became a bird and flew through the air.
Narration: I've always felt that dreams of this sort are philosophical in a way.
Narration: Something about seeking freedom. Or something like a bird is dreaming about you.
Narration: But that is not possible.
Narration: My name is Tristan. A Knight of the Round Table... No, I am a Heroic Spirit. A Servant. An Archer.
Narration: I open my eyes with conviction. I know Master is before me.
Narration: Master does not look bewildered. [♂ He /♀️ She} looks straight at me.
Narration: [♂ He /♀️ She} is not strict like my king, but also not gentle like a saint.
Narration: I was captivated by those intensely human eyes.
Narration: Master, am I dreaming?
Narration: In response, [♂ he /♀️ she} nodded.
Tristan: I see. So we're in my dream.
Fujimaru 1: That's how this usually goes, yeah...
Tristan: I see.
Tristan: In brief, this is more the inside of a Servant's mental world than it is a dream.
Tristan: I had no idea that you fought for any purpose other than restoring humanity, whether in or outside Servants' dreams.
Tristan: You work so much, Master. So hard and so tirelessly.
Fujimaru 1: Not really.
Tristan: Is that so?
Tristan: But when you do awaken, please use me as you would a manservant.
Fujimaru 2: This is actually fun.
Tristan: ...What? Your mental fortitude is enough to cause even me to open my eyes in shock.
Tristan: No...could it be that after so many harsh battles, you are simply always mentally prepared for more?
Tristan: That is impressive all on its own. I should like to be so strong, but that is a difficult thing to be...
Tristan: So this grassy plain is my mental world? It's peaceful, but boring.
Tristan: ...No, I'm being too harsh.
Tristan: If there is some entity lurking in my psyche, then danger is sure to be nearby.
Tristan: We must cautious, even of something so small as a rabbit. After all, even a tiny, innocent rabbit may turn out to be the dreaded vorpal bunny.
Tristan: Its got sharp...well, it bites HARD! Even the eleventh of our number, Sir Bors, was decapitated by a single attack from the dreaded vorpal bunny.
Tristan: Under the light of the sun, Sir Gawain was forced to use all his strength to hold the rabbit down while Sir Lancelot beat it with Arondight!
Tristan: And then Sir Mordred darted in and kicked it viciously! And Merlin just...kept talking about the king like a broken record.
Tristan: And, finally, we defeated this greatest of foes!
Fujimaru 1: That's...really a thing?
Tristan: ...
Tristan: My apologies, Master. I may have embellished a bit. I was just trying to lighten the mood.
Fujimaru 1: Keep your day job, Tristan.
Tristan: How odd... Sir Bedivere always found that story hilarious.
Tristan: Could it be...that he was faking it?
Fujimaru 2: I-is that so...?
Tristan: During our next Round Table discussion, I will definitely try to make Master laugh.
Tristan: Ah, it seems the real beast has come upon us while we were japing.
Tristan: Is that a beast within my heart, or is it my malicious thoughts given form?
Tristan: Either way, Master. Let's fight together.
--BATTLE--:
Tristan: They were not so tough.
Tristan: If that is the evil that dwells in my heart, it is...unimpressive.
Tristan: But I thought all would be resolved when we defeated those enemies...
Fujimaru 1: We're not waking up, though...
Tristan: I'm terribly sorry. It's almost nightfall.
Tristan: How odd for night to come even in my dreams.
Tristan: You must be tired. Let's find an inn so you can rest.
Narration: But to be honest, I'm not sure where we are in the first place.
Narration: We have no choice but to wander aimlessly. Aside from the beast we encountered, we haven't come across a single living being.
Narration: Troubling.
Narration: I asked Master whether a ritual of some sort was needed to wake us up, but [♂ he /♀️ she} did not have a definitive answer.
Narration: Rather, [♂ he /♀️ she} asked if anything rang a bell to me.
Narration: I was asked, so I thought. Something necessary to wake up...
Narration: I thought of two options. First was suicide.
Narration: In other words, if I slit my own throat, I would probably wake up. However, I doubt that was the answer to our troubles.
Narration: If this was, by chance, an illusion established by the enemy, I would be a fool who abandoned my master.
Narration: The second option: find my true enemy.
Narration: It was hard to believe that that beast was the enemy who dwelled within my heart. There must be an entity...a source...that had given life to that beast.
Tristan: ...Hm?
Fujimaru 1: Is that...a city?
Tristan: Let's check it out, Master. That may at least spare us having to camp outside for the night.
Tristan: It's...empty... And this city is...
Narration: A faint memory seems to be stirring...
Narration: My instincts were screaming, warning me not to set foot in this place.
Tristan: Master. Let's get out of here immediately. This city is dangerous.
Fujimaru 1: But...
Tristan: You are right in thinking this place is deserted, but that is precisely why it is so dangerous.
Fujimaru 1: Isn't this Camelot?
Tristan: ...!!!
Tristan: How...do you know the name of this city? No, I guess it's obvious.
Tristan: We are in the Singularity...Camelot. It should have been restored already...
Tristan: ...But that person is not here!
Tristan: Even if they were here, I would...
Fujimaru 1: Choose.
Tristan: ...Master?
Narration: It is surprising how much can be learned from the sound of breathing alone.
Narration: It can tell us whether someone is calm, angry, or sad...whether they are lying, happy, or even waiting for a chance to strike and kill.
Narration: But the breath that you, Master, just drew when you spoke, was not that of a human being.
Tristan: You are not Master. If you are not Master...
Tristan: YOU were the one who was dwelling within me!
Gawain?: Hahaha. You, sir, get overeager and make a terrible mistake at the crucial moment.
Tristan: !?
Gawain?: See, this is what happens when you abandon your attack to simply wait and see what happens.
Gawain?: You wouldn't be in this mess had you already taken down the unknown entity disguised as Master.
Tristan: You are...no, not Sir Gawain.
Tristan: To take his form disgraces us all. You must disappear immediately.
Lancelot?: Ah, Sir Tristan. What led you to that conclusion?
Lancelot?: You have no basis for saying so. We are mere Servants who are not even Heroic Spirits.
Lancelot?: We are degraded imitations that manage to establish our existence with Master acting as an anchor.
Enforcement Knight?: ...But that is not the case for you.
Enforcement Knight?: You are the Knight of the Round Table himself. You have sworn your loyalty to a certain individual.
Tristan: Shut up.
Bedivere?: No, I will not.
Bedivere?: The more you wish to silence us, the more we must speak.
Tristan: ...Nnngh!
Tristan: Do not talk of our brotherhood! Do not slander our loyalty!
Tristan: Every time you change forms, you besmirch the honor of the Knights of the Round Table!
Agravain?: Then tell us your name.
Tristan: Tristan. Tristan of Sadness. What of it?
Mordred?: Yeah, that's right. But you're missing something, dumbass. You're a Knight of the Round Table.
Tristan: That's right. A Knight of the Round Table. Though in the end, I relinquished that seat...
???: And by relinquishing that seat, you must have renewed that vow of yours. Vowed that you would offer your everything to THAT person...
Tristan: That's...
Narration: It was like opening up an old wound.
Narration: Every accusations they throw at me reminded me I was back in that Singularity.
Enforcement Knight?: Why do you quarrel, sir? Didn't that massacre feel good to you?
Tristan: Quiet!
Gawain?: “Nightless.”
Lancelot?: “Fierce.”
Mordred?: “Rampage.”
Narration: I'm dizzy. I feel like throwing up.
Narration: Don't remember...remember... You should have forgotten. No, a partial image must still be burned into your mind.
Narration: “Reversal.”
Narration: Irrevocable massacre. Devastation beyond hope of repair. Crime beyond hope of redemption...
F：???: You want to have another taste of it. Look, you're laughing.
Tristan: ...!
Narration: I unconsciously covered my mouth after hearing those words. And at that moment, I was crushed by a darkness of great pressure and intensity.
Tristan: ...ter...
Tristan: ...ster...
Tristan: ...Master...
Tristan: How many times...must...I commit this...mistake...? How can I...atone...for these...sins...?
--BATTLE--:
Gawain: We heard this was an emergency, so we came as fast as we could!
Lancelot: Hm, I'm second? Lancelot, reporting for duty.
Bedivere: Did you call for us, Master? ...This is...
Mordred: Hey, what's going on? Did you call the whole Round Table?
Mash: Okay, let me explain the situation!
Mash: Tristan...Rayshifted somewhere and has disappeared.
Mordred: Huh? Without Master!?
Gawain: Wait, we can Rayshift without permission?
Gawain: I thought we could only Rayshift when accompanied by Master?
Da Vinci: Well, there are few tricks you can pull, but nothing like whatever's been done here.
Da Vinci: It was as if he was kidnapped... Tristan's Spirit Origin just disappeared...
Da Vinci: And next thing we know, there's a weird new Singularity.
Da Vinci: Well, it's not exactly a Singularity. It would hardly show up as even a tiny stain on the tapestry of history.
Da Vinci: It's more like a little piece of lint. Even the faintest breeze would blow it off of the fabric of history.
Da Vinci: On the flip side...
Da Vinci: It means that Tristan is in the most dire of all situations because he's in a place that could disappear at any moment.
Everyone: ...
Fujimaru 1: Want to come with me?
Gawain: Obviously.
Lancelot: Leave it to us, Master.
Bedivere: I'll accompany you.
Mordred: ...
Mordred: Pass. You've got plenty of help. Should be fine.
Gawain: Mordred...I see...you're not quite in top form because you...ate something strange...
Gawain: No matter how wild and strange of an animal you may be, you are still a member of the nobility...and so I can understand why you've responded as you have.
Lancelot: By God!
Lancelot: Sir Mordred. Are you not feeling well? Did you eat too much ice cream this summer?
Bedivere: Or are you still angry at Sir Tristan for accidently shooting you the other day?
Bedivere: That was an unfortunate accident. You know Tristan makes foolish mistakes like that sometimes.
Mordred: You're all wrong! Shut-up, tri-fold-man!
Mordred: And Bedivere! Is THAT what happened the other day!?
Mordred: I knew something was funky when I felt like something was cutting into my back...
Mash: So she didn't even notice...
Bedivere: (Ack, I put my foot in my mouth...!)
Mordred: Actually, I have a bad feeling about this.
Gawain: Hm. Sir Mordred's animalistic instinct has never led us astray...which means this will be difficult.
Gawain: Remember how you were lucky enough to run into me while I was in terrible shape because I hadn't fully healed after Lancelot?
Gawain: I'd normally beat you without even breaking a sweat, even at night. That defeat was due entirely to my own bad luck.
Mash: ...!
Mordred: That wasn't bad luck. You're just a freakin' idiot. You were the one who let the king go without even arguing the point.
Mordred: If you had two brain cells to rub together under all that muscle, I might not've had such an easy time defeating you.
Gawain: Oh?
Gawain: Oh, so you say that might've made it harder, hm? Tell me this: Would you have a harder time fighting me without your head!?
Mash: U-um...excuse me...!
Mordred: ...Calm down, Mash.
Mordred: We're not gonna fight... We're all just messing around! Round Table jests!
Fujimaru 1: Jokes at the Round Table are not for the faint of heart...
Da Vinci: Yeah, fighting and holding grudges doesn't work so well for a team dynamic.
Da Vinci: Just accept them as jokes that KILL.
Mordred: Anyway, I'm still giving this one a pass.
Mordred: I got this feeling that I need to stay right where I am.
Gawain: ...I see.
Lancelot: Then we three shall go...
Bedivere: Yes.
Bedivere: We shall save Sir Tristan and remove this piece of lint from history!
Da Vinci: The lint thing is just a metaphor!
Fujimaru 1: Anyway, let's go.
Mordred: Yeah, have fun everyone! I'll be by to pick up your corpses later!
Da Vinci: If Fujimaru ends up dead, the world will be in real trouble.
Da Vinci: Anyway, get in your Coffins. The Knights of the Round Table, go rescue Tristan!
Fujimaru 2: Let's go save Tristan.
Da Vinci: ...I knew you'd say that. I went ahead and prepared the Rayshift for you.
Lancelot: You're amazing, Miss Da Vinci.
Da Vinci: It's all good as long as I can still do whatever the heck I want! Okay, time to head out!
Gawain: This is...!
Bedivere: ...
Lancelot: Yes...it's Camelot, the holy city. But it's empty.
Mash: I'm not detecting any enemies nearby.
Mash: I am getting a Servant reading up ahead, though.
Gawain: Wouldn't that be Sir Tristan?
Mash: Actually, the Spirit Origin values are fluctuating. Whatever it is, it's not stable.
Mash: Please be careful, everyone. You too, Master.
Lancelot: No point standing around. Let's go see if we can talk to him.
Lancelot: Let's go...!
Gawain: !?
Lancelot: Ugh...!
Bedivere: What!?
Tristan: ...I have been waiting for you all.
Mash: Tristan...!
Fujimaru 1: This aura...
Fujimaru 2: Something's...different about him.
Tristan: Master. I...I'm no longer just.
Tristan: The moment I deemed that killing innocent citizens was fine, I should have ceased to exist as a Heroic Spirit.
Tristan: The gift of Inversion is simply an excuse.
Mash: Tristan, are you saying that your memories from the Sixth Singularity have...!?
Fujimaru 1: That wasn't you!
Tristan: No, THAT was the real me!
Fujimaru 2: But you were reversed!
Tristan: What of it if I was reversed!?
Tristan: It was still me!
Bedivere: I don't quite understand the situation...
Bedivere: But Sir Tristan, open your eyes. No matter how terrible your actions, there is no sin that cannot be redeemed.
Bedivere: So long as you are truly remorseful...even if you are never forgiven, you still have a chance at atonement.
Tristan: Sir Bedivere, my comrade. You do not know.
Tristan: Moments ago, I experienced the reversed version of myself.
Lancelot: ...!
Gawain: What!?
Tristan: I now understand why I know nothing of love.
Tristan: A monster so evil as me should never be loved.
Tristan: I should be killed. Please, destroy me!
Tristan: A fool like me deserves no more than having his comrades lop his head off.
Gawain: That is absolute nonsense, Sir Tristan! That is no reason for us to draw our swords against you!
Tristan: Then I shall kill Master.
All Three: !!!
Tristan: There's no cause for surprise here.
Tristan: As I said before... The inverted me is my true self. It is only natural that I should drown myself in malice.
Lancelot: ...!
Lancelot: Master.
Lancelot: I don't understand what's happened, but we need to stop Tristan first!
Gawain: That's right. Sir Tristan, we may be at least partially the cause of your madness...
Bedivere: Honestly...
Bedivere: Master, please get behind us. This...may turn into an astonishingly violent battle.
Bedivere: My Airgetlám knows no mercy. I shall destroy that sinister harp's sadness at its source!
--BATTLE--:
Lancelot: Ungh!
Gawain: Even after the beating we've given you, you're still standing! Where are you getting this endurance?
Tristan: In addition to my Gift of Inversion, I have also been given the Gifts of Nightless and Rampage.
Mash: Who gave them to you!?
Mash: It certainly shouldn't be the Lion King. She should already have disappeared!
Tristan: I do not know myself. It must be some cruel and unfathomable being.
Tristan: But even that bit of ridiculousness made me realize something: I am truly a monster.
Tristan: And I never even realized it, all while I lamented over my own origin, crying about my own inability to understand human emotion!
Tristan: That's why...I could never be loved.
Mash: That's not true! Tristan, you're...
Fujimaru 1: Mash, it's no use.
Mash: ...Tristan, I believe in you.
Fujimaru 2: You're wrong, Tristan.
Tristan: Then in order to prove my villainy...
Tristan: I shall...I shall lop your head off...Master!!!
Bedivere: Tristan!!!
Mordred: What the hell are you whinging about, Bird Boy?
Tristan: !?
Mash: Mordred!?
Mordred: Yo, Tristan.
Tristan: I see you did not come with the party. How unlike you, wild dog that you are, to cower in fear.
Mordred: Okay, everyone, STOP CALLING ME A DOG!
Mordred: Ugh. Fine. If I'm a dog, what's that make you? A little bug?
Mordred: A tiny bug buzzing about... A pissant that doesn't know what love is?
Tristan: As ever, your provocations are the most grating of insults.
Mordred: Oh, I got plenty more for you when you get back.
Mordred: You're given all those gifts, then you bitch and bitch and bitch, then fall into some desperate madness!? What a damn wimp! Pathetic!
Tristan: What would you know?
Mordred: Hell if I know.
Mordred: But now I know the reason why I didn't tag along.
Tristan: ...?
Mordred: The real expert in self-flagellation is the damn king.
Mordred: Your quibbling and all that whining would REALLY piss her off!
Mordred: And if SHE's going to put in an appearance, all I could do is stay the hell away, or we might all end up killing each other.
Tristan: What are you saying... No...impossible...
Tristan: It can't be!!!
F：???: I have come in answer to a call from afar.
F：???: Sir, I see you are lost.
Tristan: ...King of the sacred lance!
Tristan: Even for you, I will not compromise!
Altria: Then as your king, I will have your submission, even if I must beat it into you.
Altria: I am a king, but also a member of the Knights of the Round Table.
Altria: Should my knights disagree, I am fully prepared to handle their quarrel.
Altria: Sir Tristan, show me your bow and its infinite arrows. With my sacred lance, I shall annihilate the source of your melancholy.
Tristan: ...Very well.
Tristan: Sing, my Failnaught. Sound the melody of my lament!
Altria: Sacred lance, removing restraints.
Altria: Master of Chaldea, I ask of you: please take temporary command.
Altria: I need to give this thickheaded knight a moment of silence and reflection.
Fujimaru 1: Of course!
Altria: I appreciate your willingness to help.
Altria: ...Let's go!
Fujimaru 2: Thanks!
Altria: No need to thank me.
Altria: After all, this is my duty. Now, let's go!
--BATTLE--:
B：Tristan: Ungh! My King! You do not understand me!
Altria: No, it is you who does not understand yourself.
Altria: No... It's not that you don't understand, but that you refuse to.
Altria: The light of Rhongomyniad will pierce through your blessings. And then...
Altria: Master will destroy your hesitation.
Altria: Master of Chaldea. Do you know of Tristan's legend?
Altria: While he did learn what love is, deep in his heart, he averted his gaze from it.
Fujimaru 1: Tristan...
B：Tristan: I...
Fujimaru 1: Love and guilt are two different things.
Fujimaru 2: Didn't you want to love?
B：Tristan: !
B：Tristan: I...I...
???: It's a black sail, Sir Tristan.
Narration: Even as my eyes grew dim from poison, my hearing did not fail me.
Narration: I heard a trembling voice, a whisper like one confessing their crimes.
Narration: Regret, sorrow, hatred. And yet another pure emotion remained, untainted by them.
B：Tristan: Ah, I see. It was inevitable.
Narration: I was truly very sorry.
Narration: I must have hurt her so much...enough that it compelled her to say those words.
Narration: Iseult. My Iseult with the white hands...the one who was by my side as I died.
Narration: As my wife, you were loyal even while I was not. And now the only thing I can do is believe.
Narration: Yes. The black sail must have come.
Narration: There was gratitude. There was compassion.
Narration: There was atonement. Was there...ever love?
Narration: My thoughts grow calmer. Is an inconstant man like me truly worthy and able to love such a good woman?
Narration: No. I realized that at the moment of my death.
Narration: That wild, passionate love I felt was the product of a love potion, not something within me.
Narration: But I believed that was love. I believed it, and so continued to betray my Iseult of the white hands.
Narration: I am truly a monster that does not know love.
Narration: I was only ever loved by others, never able to love another myself.
B：Tristan: ...No. That can't be true. I remember. At the time, I was thinking...
B：Tristan: “It would be my greatest regret if I died right here...”
B：Tristan: “While leaving the most gentle woman I know to be so lonely and sad. I want to apologize to her...to talk to her...to tell her...”
B：Tristan: “And I want to ask her: 'May I love you?'”
Narration: And without having a chance to ask that myself, I made her tell me those words.
B：Tristan: That's right...I...
B：Tristan: I should have asked my question. Even if the only answer would have been a curse or insult.
B：Tristan: Even had it led to me losing my love, I would have accepted that as just...
Altria: (...The evil Gift has disappeared. But...the fairy princess, my older sister...does this mean she has manifested somewhere...?)
Altria: Sir Tristan. I ask of you: Do you still think you have never loved anyone?
Tristan: ...No.
Tristan: What I lacked in life was not love, but courage.
Tristan: I was constantly fearful of losing love, and therefore could not allow myself to love anything.
Tristan: I loved two women. And that is fine. And I will not discuss what that led to.
Tristan: Thank you, Master. And my king.
Tristan: I can finally awaken from my dream.
Altria: Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan...and...
Altria: You must continue to dedicate yourselves to restoring humanity. Never forget to be proud of being Knights of the Round Table!
Mordred: Oh, good, she's gone. Okay, Tristan. I'm gonna give it to you straight:
Mordred: Iseult of white hands and blondie Iseult? I'm pretty sure they'd have kicked a two-timing ass like you to the curb given half a chance.
Mordred: Before you died of that poison, you should've gotten a big damn smack to the face!
Tristan: Ha... I never imagined you of all people would be the one to point out the truth.
Tristan: It's quite vexing, so remember this one thing when we get back:
Tristan: I shall rain limitless arrows upon your unnecessary and demeaning personal attacks!
Mordred: Yeah, firing off a buncha arrows while running away like a bitch is pretty much the definitive Archer move.
Lancelot: Heh. Hold it right there, Sir Mordred. There's still one last thing that Sir Tristan needs to do.
Lancelot: Yes, a very important thing.
Mordred: Huh? What're you...
Tristan: ...?
Gawain: Haha, yes, indeed, hahaha.
Gawain: He was beyond confused...only able to snap to his senses after our king attacked him...he even attacked us with his Gift.
Lancelot: And even the King was so focused on lecturing Sir Tristan, she only glanced toward us at the very end.
Lancelot: No, no... It's not that that made us jealous.
Tristan: Sirs? I mean, guys?
Tristan: Are you...super pissed?
Tristan: Well, okay, this did get out of hand enough that everyone had to get involved...
Tristan: But at least...at least the conclusion was heartwarming, right...?
Fujimaru 1: I understand how they feel...
Bedivere: Indeed. All sins can be atoned for, Tristan. Whether you will be forgiven is another matter.
Tristan: ...
Tristan: Master.
Fujimaru 1: Yeah.
Tristan: Please...see to my funeral...
Fujimaru 1: Is that another Round Table joke!?
Tristan: Not a joke...!
All Three: Brace yourself!
Mordred: Sorry I took over.
Mash: Oh, I don't mind. But do you think Tristan and the others are all right?
Mordred: What do you mean, all right? They're all set to come back whenever.
Mash: Um, I mean...is anyone holding a grudge?
Mordred: Grudge? 'Course not.
Mordred: It'd be different if we went after each other all serious and stuff.
Mordred: But they're just bickering with each other. Just playing around.
Mash: Playing around? Really?
Mordred: Yeah. Wanna bet on it?
Mordred: By tomorrow night, the four of them will be rolling around on the floor like a bunch of morons laughing like this was the funniest damn thing ever.
Mordred: Honestly, the Knights of the Round Table are all complete nutjobs!