Chapter Ninety-Four: Flash-Forward Omen

"Huh?"

At the high point of Ryuudou Temple, Irisviel stood somewhat bewildered beside Roland, gazing at the temple that had been bathed in a dreamlike, kaleidoscopic sheen beneath the moonlight.

Having been suddenly yanked from Einzbern Castle to a place like this caught Irisviel off guard, and she instinctively clung to Roland's arm.

But the moment she saw the scene within Ryuudou Temple, she understood everything.

"Lord Roland, has the time finally come for me to be used?"

The role of the Lesser Grail was to serve as the key to the Greater Grail—storing the souls of Servants when necessary, converting them into magical energy, and finally connecting to the Greater Grail to open a hole to the outside of the world.

Therefore, her sacrifice was necessary, and Irisviel had long since prepared herself for it.

After all, her wish had already been fulfilled. To truly live as a human being, to have a husband, to have a daughter, and to spend her days in such a happy family—though the time was brief, Irisviel already felt more than content.

"Yes. Afterwards, you will need to activate the Heaven's Dress and directly transfer the Servants' souls into the Greater Grail."

As he spoke, from the shadows beside them, a black-clad ninja carried out a cabinet and opened its doors.

What appeared before Irisviel's eyes was that pure-white-based garment, adorned with golden patterns and crimson silk, a holy vestment radiating grace and nobility.

This was the Einzbern's trump card—the ceremonial dress that controlled the core of the Greater Grail.

But to Irisviel, it looked more like a curse shaped into the form of a dress.

"Once the Greater Grail is summoned, all you need to do is operate its core at full capacity and ensure the Third Magic activates properly."

"You don't need to collect the souls of the other Servants... instead, you'll have the Grail summoned right beside you when the conditions are met, so that the one whose wish is granted is you?"

Irisviel blinked in confusion. But what answered her was Roland looking at her as if she were an idiot.

"Why would I sacrifice what's mine to make clothes for other people? There's clearly a better method, yet not taking it—that in itself is a form of negligence."

It was as nonsensical as the words he had spoken when they first met, but after their relationship had changed, Irisviel no longer possessed that same resolve. Instead, she blushed, lowered her head in shyness.

Roland glanced at Irisviel and said, "Besides, even if you wanted to sacrifice yourself, you couldn't do it anymore. Do you really think the Servants' souls are still inside your body?"

Irisviel was taken aback, then instinctively touched her abdomen and let out a startled gasp.

"Impossible—Berserker's soul was clearly—"

"That was indeed the case at the time. But shortly after, his soul was transferred into the Greater Grail. That is, after all, what you—as the Lesser Grail—are supposed to do, so it's no wonder you didn't notice."

"But the Greater Grail is a complex and complete system, without personhood. Precisely because of that, it requires a key like the Lesser Grail to confirm the initiation of its final functions. If something like this actually happened, it can only mean one thing..."

Irisviel instinctively covered her mouth to stifle her cry of surprise. But Roland merely gazed quietly at Mount Enzou below, his stare seemingly piercing through the mountain's obstruction, pointing straight at the Great Cavern beneath.

"The Greater Grail is not merely a tool—it has already acquired its own desires," Roland said in a calm tone, completing the rest of Irisviel's unfinished sentence.

"And it can no longer wait to truly live in this world."

Suddenly, Roland raised his head and looked toward the sky.

"But before that, I still need to lend it a hand—to make these troublesome Heroic Spirits obediently serve as fuel."

—

The barrier that Darnic had arranged around the perimeter of Ryuudou Temple was violently destroyed.

As if signaling the start of the final battle, a golden flying vessel—with emerald green as its primary hue, its shape resembling the wings of a fairy—transformed into a meteor and charged to the skies above Ryuudou Temple with tremendous momentum.

The barrier's automatic counterattack had not even reached the King of Heroes before being blocked by the vessel's shield. Had Gilgamesh wished it, Vimana, serving as his throne, could have easily leveled the summit of Mount Enzou.

But considering Enkidu's safety, Gilgamesh did not launch a counterattack, merely charging in with a trampling posture.

Unscathed, Gilgamesh swept his gaze across the temple with an urgency tinged with fear. Then, his eyes froze.

Enkidu spread his arms wide as if embracing the whole world, but his face did not bear his usual smile.

The magical energy within him rampaged like lightning, letting violent gales rage, letting life be sown upon the earth—this was the most primordial form of the planet itself. But both Enkidu and Darnic knew full well: this was merely a final flicker before the end.

"Enkidu, by my second Command Seal I command—merge with me!"

As the Command Seal vanished, Enkidu's green hair was blown by the wind, and then, like a beast, he sank his fangs into Darnic's neck!

"Being able to summon you is truly wonderful! Your soul is stirring as well, isn't it? You who call yourself a tool, yet possess such vivid emotions—"

Even though the next moment his life would fade, Darnic let out an excited laugh.

"By my third Command Seal I command! Enkidu, engrave my soul into this body!"

A clay doll originally forged as a weapon, who gained sentience after meeting the sacred harlot—Enkidu was perfectly suited to reenact this legend.

As if utterly unaware of Gilgamesh's arrival, Enkidu held Darnic tightly in his embrace, until the other's flesh and soul had seeped into his own body, and only then did he seem to regain his reason.

"Base mongrel... How dare you!"

Gilgamesh leaped down, his expression more serious than at any moment since being summoned, reaching out to touch Enkidu.

It could still be done—could still be undone... Even if their souls were entangled, as long as Enkidu's life had not yet faded, as long as this form had not yet crumbled, then by exhausting every treasure in his treasury, he could always find a way to suppress, even undo, this. After all, it was merely the work of a single magus.

Enkidu noticed Gilgamesh's movement. A strange light flickered in his eyes, as if he too wanted to reach out.

But in the end, another icy voice shattered Gilgamesh's motion.

"By my Command Seal, I command—"

Gilgamesh knew precisely whose voice this was—his new master, Kirei Kotomine.

The man whose heart harbored malignancy, who had been instigated by Gilgamesh himself, and who had betrayed Tokiomi Tohsaka.

It was precisely because of this that he knew exactly what Kirei Kotomine intended to do next.

As if fate were repeating itself, Gilgamesh—who had never been able to empathize with Tokiomi Tohsaka—now found himself feeling a strange kinship in this moment of true terror.

In a trembling voice he himself had not noticed, he tried to stop Kirei Kotomine.

"Kirei!—You must not... you must not do this, you must not!"

"Cease your actions, King of Heroes."

But Kirei Kotomine's voice continued, delivering the complete command. Though the voice was cold, though it was solemn, anyone could hear the pleasure contained within it.

—As if desperately trying to suppress laughter, yet failing utterly.

"By my second Command Seal I command... Archer, stay where you are, and quietly observe this scene!"

As if still not satisfied that it was secure, a second repeated command came, leaving Gilgamesh completely suspended in midair, stopping right in front of Enkidu.

—

Like sitting in the front row of a theater, able to fully enjoy the actors' laughter, sorrow, and... their struggles.

"Gil, don't blame yourself. You know... even without the Command Seal, you're already too late."

Using the last strength of his life, Enkidu did not lament his own fate, but instead comforted his friend. He seemed to want to say more, but in the end, Enkidu only showed Gilgamesh a regretful smile.

The next moment, his body shattered, crumbling into clay.

The life created by the gods had returned to the nothingness of the earth.

For the second time, he still could do nothing. Unlike the fury of being repeatedly humiliated by Roland and forced to flee in disgrace, for Gilgamesh, this moment was the true, ultimate humiliation—while his beloved friend, a mere clay doll, struggled in his final plight, Gilgamesh could only sit and watch this tragic spectacle reenact like a bitter mockery.

Overwhelming murderous intent and suffocating pressure erupted from Gilgamesh's body, instantly transforming the atmosphere.

It was as if all airflow halted and congealed at once. Yet no matter how much fury filled those crimson eyes, no matter how much killing intent they contained, in the end, he could only stand there like a child being punished, venting his emotions through a cruel voice that seemed about to bleed.

"Kirei Kotomine—! Killing you ten thousand times would not be enough!"

Gilgamesh's visage twisted into something as ferocious as a demon's. Boundless humiliation and anguish gnawed at his heart like insects.

But what answered him was Kirei Kotomine's merciless jeer.

"This is my honor, King of Heroes. 'Just go and pursue pleasure'—that's what you told me. To be bitten by the beast you yourself unleashed, to be betrayed by someone you never anticipated, to be powerless before your beloved's death—you, so vulgar, still presume to guide me?"

Kirei Kotomine's words struck like nails, each one hammering heavily into Gilgamesh's heart.

What finally finished Gilgamesh was that mocking rhetorical question.

"So, King of Heroes, how do you feel right now? How do you feel, I ask?"

The shorter the command, the more powerful it was. No matter how unwilling Gilgamesh was, he could only wait for the binding's effect to pass.

Once it was all over, golden ripples appeared beside Gilgamesh, but faster than his movement was Kirei Kotomine's voice.

"By my third Command Seal I command—take your own life, Archer."

And at that moment, a thunderclap accompanied by the sound of hooves shattered the silence. Violet lightning flashed at the edge of the sky, tearing open a long gash.

Along with it came a shout like rolling thunder.

"Lancer! I've come to avenge myself—prepare to face my never-ending conquest!... Archer? What are you doing here—"

Before Rider could finish his words, what unfolded before him turned the boisterous king into a statue of dumbstruck shock.

Gilgamesh, hovering in midair as if he had never heard him at all, drew a sharp dagger from the Gate of Babylon and, without a moment's hesitation, pierced his own heart!

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(End of chapter)