Arthur, still floating in the sky above the devastated Mount Enzou, slowly lowered his gaze toward his own hands.
"Seriously? Ruler...?" he murmured, clearly confused.
His voice carried genuine bewilderment.
"This is the class most suited for me? How is that even possible?"
Gilgamesh could hardly believe the scene before his eyes.
The crimson eyes of the King of Heroes were wide open in pure shock.
His face, usually filled with arrogance and disdain, now carried something rare:
Disbelief.
"How the hell are you still alive?!" Gilgamesh roared.
"I could ask you the same thing, Goldie," Arthur replied calmly.
"Artie's attack clearly killed you."
Gilgamesh's brows twitched violently.
Before he could respond, the black mud formed from "all the evil in this world" violently exploded from within the Holy Grail.
The cursed mass roared like a living creature.
Everything seemed condensed within that pulsating corruption.
But Arthur merely raised his hand slightly in a casual gesture.
Like someone brushing away dust.
Inside the black mud, the dark soul of the Avenger Angra Mainyu wailed in resentment and pure despair.
He had waited so long to return to the world.
Growing within the depths of the Holy Grail.
He had been only one step away from being fully born into that world.
But before Arthur, all of it was meaningless.
No matter how much Angra Mainyu struggled.
No matter how much he tried to break free.
No matter how loudly he screamed in hatred.
Arthur's hand seemed to grasp his very existence.
"Disappear."
Arthur snapped his fingers, and in the same instant, all the black mud vanished.
The silence that followed was even more terrifying.
After dealing with "all the evil in this world," Arthur turned his gaze toward the Root Vortex.
It was slowly closing.
If Kayneth, who had already returned to England, discovered this, he would probably go insane with rage.
The opportunity to witness the Root Vortex firsthand had been completely lost.
Even if he could not enter it, even if he could only observe it from the outside, it would still have been the greatest honor possible for a magus.
The ultimate vision.
The absolute dream of those who devoted their lives to the pursuit of the Root.
And ironically, the only person present there to witness it was Kiritsugu Emiya.
A man who, deep down, could no longer even be called a magus.
He had never pursued the Root, never desired to reach Akasha.
He had never cared about that supreme goal of magi.
And yet, it was he who witnessed it before countless magi who had driven themselves mad chasing that dream.
Perhaps it was simply another cruel joke of fate.
But at that moment, Kiritsugu could no longer feel anything.
Everything he had pursued throughout his entire life had completely lost its meaning.
Under fate's relentless blows, the man known as Kiritsugu Emiya had become an empty puppet.
Without purpose.
Without dreams.
Without strength.
"Arthur..." Kiritsugu spoke with deep bitterness.
The same bitterness of someone who had made countless wrong choices and realized it far too late.
"Kiritsugu."
Arthur instantly appeared before him.
"Hey, you bastard! Are you ignoring me?!"
Gilgamesh roared furiously in the background.
His composure had completely shattered.
"You only realized that now?" Arthur replied while finally turning his eyes toward him.
"You damned bastard!!!"
Gilgamesh roared.
But before he could do anything—
SCHLK!
A sword pierced through his chest.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened as he felt the sudden impalement.
Then another sword appeared and pierced his side.
And another.
And another.
Golden blades began piercing his body one after another.
"As strange as it feels to do this..." Arthur spoke calmly while walking toward him. "...I'm going to kill you again, Goldie."
More swords pierced through the King of Heroes' body.
Blood slowly flowed from his lips.
Even so, Gilgamesh still smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, this was his fate, and he had accepted it.
"If our younger selves knew we'd end up like this..." Arthur commented while holding the final sword. "...they probably would've killed themselves."
CRACK.
The final blade pierced Gilgamesh's heart.
The light in the King of Heroes' eyes slowly began fading.
And then, his body started dissolving into golden particles.
"Ku... hahaha... Farewell..."
Even while disappearing, he was still laughing.
As though he had found something absurdly amusing in the end.
With Gilgamesh's departure, the Root Vortex finally closed completely.
The sky returned to normal.
On the devastated Mount Enzou, only Arthur and Kiritsugu remained.
"Kiritsugu, our alliance is over." Arthur stared at him silently before continuing: "So... is there anything you want to say or do?"
"There should still be enough power left in the Holy Grail to grant a wish."
"I..." Kiritsugu lowered his gaze.
His eyes were completely empty.
Long ago, he had already abandoned the ideal of becoming a "Hero of Justice."
His dream of world peace had also completely lost its meaning.
There is no eternal peace for humanity.
As long as human beings possess an "ego," conflicts will continue to arise.
Small sparks will inevitably become fires.
And countless fires will become war.
So why...
Why can't I choose something for myself, just this once?
At that moment, the voice of a boy echoed through Kiritsugu's mind.
He slowly turned his head.
And saw his younger self smiling at him, eyes shining with hope, dreams, and expectations for the future.
Yes...
Why can't I make a choice for myself this time?
A faint glimmer of light returned to Kiritsugu's dark eyes.
His lips slowly moved.
And then, he finally revealed his wish.
A small and simple wish.
A wish that truly belonged to "Kiritsugu Emiya."
"...I see."
Arthur listened silently.
"So that's your wish?"
He let out a faint chuckle and shook his head.
"I truly can't understand you, Kiritsugu. You abandoned Iri and your own daughter for your childish ideal... and only now do you realize the value of what you threw away?"
There was no mockery in his voice. He was merely stating facts.
"Very well. Your wish shall be granted."
Arthur then turned his gaze toward the Holy Grail.
RUMBLE!
The devastated Mount Enzou began trembling as the ruins started reconstructing themselves.
Stones returned to their original places.
Burned trees reverted to normal.
It was as though time itself were flowing backward.
A golden light appeared before them.
And then, a body began taking shape.
Kiritsugu's wish was simple:
Restore Mount Enzou and bring back the innocent people who died because of the Holy Grail War.
Kiritsugu slowly extended his arms and held that figure.
"Kiritsugu...?"
"...Maiya!"
His eyes widened as Maiya reopened her eyes.
Her gaze was blurry and confused.
The last memory she possessed was disobeying Kiritsugu's orders.
Entering the middle of his battle against Kirei to save him and dying at Kirei's hands.
Kiritsugu began crying as he tightly embraced Maiya, as though afraid of losing her again.
After that night, the trauma suffered by Fuyuki City seemed as though it had never happened.
Most of the innocent victims of the Holy Grail War were brought back to life.
It is believed to be "most" because, after losing its physical body, a soul eventually decomposes into spiritual particles.
The time varies depending on the person's willpower and beliefs.
But generally, the limit is seven days.
If someone remains dead for too long, not even Arthur could bring them back.
Therefore, the Holy Grail War, which lasted seven days, still left behind orphans without parents and parents without children.
To try to atone for their sins, Kiritsugu and Maiya adopted a boy named Shirou from an orphanage.
And they decided to entrust to him everything they had never managed to achieve:
The past.
The present.
And the future.
Shirou then followed Kiritsugu and Maiya back to the Japanese mansion where Arthur, Artoria, and Irisviel were temporarily staying.
And from that moment onward, they would spend the rest of their lives there.
(End of Chapter)