"Hmph."
High above the city, the Vimana hovered silently in the night sky.
Seated majestically upon his throne, Gilgamesh rested his chin on one hand, a disdainful smile playing across his lips.
Below, along the riverbank—
The moonlit surface of the water suddenly rippled with an eerie violet-black hue.
A grotesque familiar, its body covered in writhing tentacles like something straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare, slowly emerged from beneath the water.
Bracing itself against the shore, it opened its maw and spat out two figures—
A battered Caster...
And Ryunosuke Uryū, whose fate was hanging by a thread.
Seeing the pair in such filthy, pathetic condition, Gilgamesh felt nothing but disgust.
Even though he could kill them instantly...
He had no desire to dirty his hands.
"Filth like this is unworthy of my treasures."
The King of Heroes had no intention of allowing such vermin to stain the Gate of Babylon.
The ones worth killing...
Were those who would come to dispose of this garbage.
"Ryunosuke! Are you all right?!"
Gilles de Rais hurried over, lifting the young man into his arms.
Ryunosuke's left arm and left leg were gone.
His body was horribly burned, so badly that he was barely recognizable as human.
"Old man..."
"I guess this is as far as I go."
Using his only remaining hand, Ryunosuke tightly clutched the sleeve of Gilles' dark violet robes.
His eyelids had already begun turning black.
"Our dream..."
"Our future..."
"I'm leaving everything to you, Caster."
"This is the last thing I can do for you..."
He slowly raised his burned right hand.
Even through the charred flesh, the three crimson Command Seals remained clearly visible.
He intended to expend all three at once, strengthening Caster so he could fulfill their unfinished ambitions.
Bang!
Before he could finish speaking—
A single rifle shot shattered the silence.
The bullet struck Ryunosuke squarely in the head.
His skull exploded instantly.
Blood and brain matter splattered across Gilles de Rais' face.
The mad knight froze.
He stared blankly at the headless corpse.
At that instant—
The connection between Master and Servant was severed.
Ryunosuke Uryū was dead.
"Kitsugu."
"Caster's Master has been confirmed dead."
"Should we press the attack?"
"We can call Saber over immediately..."
Maiya Hisau's voice came through the radio.
Over a kilometer away, Kiritsugu Emiya slowly lowered his eye from the rifle scope.
He let out a quiet breath.
His expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever.
"No."
"There are no suitable spiritual anchors nearby."
"Without a Master..."
"And lacking the Independent Manifestation skill..."
"Caster will disappear on his own before long."
"There's no reason to expose one of our trump cards."
A faint smile appeared on Kiritsugu's face.
One rarely seen.
"Maiya..."
"This time..."
"Lady Luck was on our side."
"Indeed."
Maiya nodded in agreement.
Neither of them had expected it.
They had simply chosen the location they felt Caster was most likely to flee toward.
The moment the rifle was in position—
Their target had appeared.
"Notify Leon and the others."
"It's time to wrap this up."
"Understood."
High above—
"Hahahahahaha!"
Watching the pathetic struggle below—
And witnessing such an unexpected performance—
Gilgamesh burst into delighted laughter.
This was far more entertaining than fighting personally.
Every player in this war...
Was proving infinitely more amusing than Tohsaka Tokiomi .
"What a pity..."
"Kiritsugu Emiya seems to be someone Kirei finds particularly interesting."
"It's unfortunate..."
"He wasn't here to witness this spectacle."
Yet even that small regret became another source of amusement.
Gilgamesh's grin widened further and further.
Until—
His Independent Action (Rank A) suddenly alerted him.
He instinctively turned toward the direction of the Tohsaka Mansion.
The delighted smile vanished.
In its place appeared something far more savage.
"...Kirei."
"So you've finally done it."
Whoosh!
The Vimana shot through the night sky like a golden meteor.
Kiritsugu suddenly looked up.
He caught only a fleeting glimpse of a streak of golden light disappearing across the heavens.
"Kitsugu?"
Maiya asked over the radio.
"What happened?"
"...Nothing."
"Probably just my imagination."
Kiritsugu calmly returned his eye to the sniper scope.
Tohsaka Mansion
Tohsaka Tokiomi 's body lay abandoned in a pool of blood.
His eyes remained wide open.
Even in death...
They were filled with bewilderment.
His blood had already begun turning dark.
Standing before the same window where Tokiomi had once stood—
Kirei Kotomine quietly gazed into the night.
A golden figure passed effortlessly through the wall in Spirit Form before materializing beside him.
"Kirei."
Gilgamesh's voice was perfectly calm.
"This is a rather serious matter."
"You've killed my Master."
"As his Servant..."
"I would be fully justified in executing you here and now."
"So."
"Give me a reason not to."
Golden ripples spread behind him.
One after another—
Swords...
Spears...
Axes...
Countless Noble Phantasms emerged from the Gate of Babylon, each aimed squarely at Kirei.
Whether they would be fired...
Depended entirely upon his answer.
"Gilgamesh."
"As you wished..."
"I will no longer obey Master Tokiomi's orders."
"From this point onward..."
"I shall participate in the Holy Grail War according to my own will."
Kirei spoke without the slightest fear.
The emptiness that had once filled his eyes had been replaced by something entirely new.
Delight.
"...Not enough."
Gilgamesh smiled faintly and shook his head.
"That alone isn't sufficient."
"If you want to live..."
"You'll have to show me something more interesting."
The Noble Phantasms drifted closer.
Their tips nearly touched Kirei's body.
"I see."
Kirei glanced around at the countless weapons surrounding him.
"As expected of the King of Heroes..."
"So even this isn't enough to entertain you."
"Then..."
"What about these?"
He rolled up his right sleeve to the elbow.
In addition to the three Command Seals marking his contract with Assassin—
Over a dozen more crimson Command Seals covered his forearm.
They were the reserve Command Seals that had once been entrusted to Risei Kotomine, the overseer of the Holy Grail War.
Their scarlet glow was almost hypnotic.
"My father..."
"And Master Tokiomi..."
"Were exactly alike."
"They both died..."
"Without ever understanding the kind of man I truly was."
He spoke as though discussing complete strangers.
"...Hahaha..."
Gilgamesh covered his face and laughed.
Then—
The laughter abruptly ceased.
He stared directly into Kirei's eyes.
"Kirei."
"You've passed."
"I never imagined your growth would be so rapid."
"And to discover delight through betrayal itself..."
"...How fascinating."
"Truly fascinating!"
His laughter echoed throughout the Tohsaka Mansion.
Yet only Kirei could hear it.
"Kirei."
"I no longer have any reason to kill you."
"So..."
"What more delight can you offer me?"
"Here."
"Now."
Kirei nodded.
"Then allow me..."
"...to reveal the truth of the Holy Grail War."
"The truth known only to the Three Founding Families of Fuyuki."
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Go on."
"The Holy Grail Ritual conducted here in Fuyuki..."
"...was originally designed to gather the souls of seven Heroic Spirits as sacrifices."
"Those souls are absorbed into the Lesser Grail."
"Using the power released when they return to the Throne of Heroes, a hole is opened in the fabric of the world."
"The enormous mana accumulated within the Greater Grail anchors that opening..."
"...creating a path to the Root."
"In other words..."
"The Greater Grail cannot activate until all seven Servants have been slain."
"Every last one."
"You understand now..."
"Why Master Tokiomi was so reluctant to use his Command Seals."
"Once the war ended..."
"He intended to force his own Servant to commit suicide."
"For beings whose strength far surpasses that of modern magi..."
"Only the absolute authority of the Command Seals could accomplish such a thing."
"Heh."
A trace of displeasure crossed Gilgamesh's face.
"So..."
"All the loyalty Tokiomi displayed toward me..."
"...was nothing more than an act?"
"Yes."
Kirei nodded.
"In the end..."
"Master Tokiomi was, above all else..."
"A magus."
"No matter how much he admired Heroic Spirits..."
"He never confused admiration with devotion."
"He would never place blind faith in an idol."
"...Tokiomi."
Gilgamesh turned toward the corpse.
His expression was hidden beneath shadow.
His emotions impossible to read.
"So..."
"In the end..."
"You did possess one redeeming quality."
"At last..."
"That unbearably dull man has managed to entertain me."
To Gilgamesh—
Who had witnessed the Age of Gods...
Who had stood beside gods and heroes alike...
Who possessed knowledge surpassing every modern magus—
Tohsaka Tokiomi had always been unbearably ordinary.
Had Tokiomi revealed even a trace of rebellion earlier...
Perhaps Gilgamesh might have respected him.
But had he done so—
He never would have survived long enough to die by Kirei's hand.
That...
Had always been the fate awaiting Tohsaka Tokiomi .
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