"What!?"
Gilgamesh's eyes flew wide.
Right before his eyes, Shirou drew a cylindrical primordial sword from the void.
The black and crimson spiral blade began to turn slowly, pulling in the surrounding air and tearing apart the spacetime that had already fallen into chaos.
The only Noble Phantasm capable of opposing "Enuma Elish, The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth" was "Enuma Elish, The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth" itself.
Shirou had realized that long ago, and every part of his strategy had been built around that fact.
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, had unleashed Ea within the Fairy Domain "Unlimited Blade Works." In the act of destroying the "world," he had also allowed that "world" to read its information.
The so-called Inner Sea of the Planet was the place where the planet's memories were stored.
Even a supreme Noble Phantasm beyond human understanding could be analyzed and reproduced through the planet's own calculations.
And now, Ea had become part of Shirou's collection and could be used as one of his Noble Phantasms.
"Uoooooooooh! Damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you! You actually resorted to such a petty trick!!!"
The handsome face of the King of Heroes twisted in fury as he roared in uncontrollable rage.
The Ea in his hand was still continuing its destruction.
The storm erupting from the cylinder of the primordial sword formed spatial faults, relentlessly tearing apart everything around it.
But the strongest Noble Phantasm could never reach Shirou.
Gilgamesh's defeat was not because Ea had been copied after being used inside "Unlimited Blade Works," but because he had failed to choose Shirou himself as the target.
If he had simply brought destruction down upon the boy's body with Ea, he would probably have already won.
But true to the arrogance of a king to the very end, he had tried to crush Shirou on a spiritual level and deny his "world." That was the cause of his defeat.
In a way, Shirou was grateful.
He had known that if it were the King of Heroes, he would do exactly that.
Praising the King of Heroes as the proudest warrior of all, Shirou raised "the other Ea" high overhead.
He could feel the Mana in his body rapidly dispersing, a sign that the "Dead Count Shapeshifter's Command Seal" had already ended.
Back in his child form, Shirou frowned.
Tch... Did I waste too much time in that aerial battle?
But it did not matter. The King of Heroes himself had already shown Shirou the way forward.
Fully activating Ea consumed almost no Mana at all.
Despite possessing absurdly overwhelming firepower, its cost was among the lowest possible. As a Noble Phantasm, it was flawless to an almost ridiculous degree.
And now, that overly perfect performance of the King of Heroes and Ea had become the cause of his death.
"..."
Gilgamesh's crimson pupils trembled.
Those eyes that could see through the future had indeed seen death.
It was too late now.
He could not stop Ea from turning, nor could he evade what was coming.
But he would not simply wait for death.
"Shirou Amamiya!!!!!!!!"
Archer had actually opened a thousand gates of Noble Phantasms while unleashing Ea. What a monster... but it meant nothing.
"Farewell, King of Heroes. I'll take good care of her, Ea."
Amid the King of Heroes' furious cry, Shirou swung down the primordial sword of creation with an easy expression.
"Enuma Elish!!!"
With the boy's low shout, a beam of black and crimson light burst forth from the supreme Noble Phantasm.
It was completely different from the Ea in Gilgamesh's hand, the one that ravaged all things and destroyed everything.
This was the "Enuma Elish" that belonged to Amamiya Shirou alone, something only a swordsman who had honed his skill to the absolute peak could unleash.
By fusing swordsmanship into it, what he produced was exactly what it appeared to be.
A slash that split the world in two.
One second later, the scenery of the Inner Sea of the Planet melted away like a bursting bubble and vanished.
At the same time, the spatial faults released by the King of Heroes' Ea also disappeared, leaving only the golden Archer standing on the mountain path in the depths of night.
"..."
The King of Heroes' golden armor remained spotless, but on closer inspection, there was a hair thin cut running from his shoulder down to his side.
The reason Archer had not been split cleanly in half was because Shirou's slash had been too perfect, the cut too smooth.
Under the effect of Independent Action, the King of Heroes did not vanish at once.
"Hah... You sly little brat. To think you actually tricked me.
Such disrespect deserves death a thousand times over, and yet... a king who let himself be deceived so easily is also at fault."
Archer accepted his defeat with surprising ease.
Dragging his heavy legs behind him, Shirou climbed the mountain path one step at a time.
Just like last time, he still did not feel any side effects from the "Dead Count Shapeshifter."
The reason his body felt as heavy as lead was because, as a human, he had forced open a "domain."
Unlike human techniques, Magecraft, a Fairy Domain was a great mystery that only high ranking fairies could wield.
In Proper Human History, that kind of power was also called "Authority" or "Principle."
Fairies, Divine Spirits, Dead Apostles. Whatever the case, this was not something humans were meant to do.
Through magical experiments meant to prolong his life, Shirou had remodeled his body into one capable of opening a Fairy Domain.
Because of that, he had gained the immensely powerful "Unlimited Blade Works," but the cost and side effects were equally immense.
If possible, I really want to learn that technique called a Reality Marble someday...
But can a third rate Magus like me really master such an incredible great Magecraft?
That is honestly a little worrying, Morgan-sensei.
"Go on through, Faker... you win."
Frustration and regret could be heard in Gilgamesh's voice, yet there was also a strange sense of satisfaction in it.
In the end, Archer had not lost because he was weaker, nor because he had made a tactical mistake, but because he had enjoyed the battle too much.
In his fight with Shirou, the king had felt a thrill unlike anything he had ever known.
For someone as powerful as the King of Heroes, a battle that demanded everything from him was simply too rare.
But Shirou was different.
He had not been born powerful like the demigod Gilgamesh. He had risen step by step from a weak human boy into a king who conquered another world.
He had long since lost count of how many times he had fought battles with his life on the line, battles where he had to give everything he had.
In the end, Gilgamesh's defeat had come from an overwhelming lack of experience.
And yet... surprisingly, he did not dislike this kind of defeat.
Shirou, on the other hand, did not feel much sense of victory.
He had defeated the King of Heroes, but he had still failed to achieve his original goal.
At first, Shirou had intended to subdue Archer without killing him, but that had simply been too difficult.
In the end, he had still allowed the King of Heroes' soul to return to the Greater Grail, bringing the awakening of the world destroying monster one step closer.
Archer spoke with a grave expression.
"Boy, you are the one who defeated me. That means you are not allowed to lose to anyone else.
Go defeat Saber as well. If you cannot do even that, then I will kill you myself."
"Isn't that asking a bit much?" Shirou said with a dry laugh.
"Do not play dumb. Haven't you overcome situations a hundred times worse than this?"
As he spoke, the void beside the King of Heroes began to warp, and a small vial filled with translucent liquid dropped into his hand.
"Catch. This is the Elixir of Rejuvenation."
He tossed the vial to Shirou.
"Even if you drink it in the body of a child, it will not make any visible difference.
Still, it can at least heal your body and restore your Mana... so accept it with gratitude."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to hand something that valuable to an enemy?"
Shirou asked curiously, and Gilgamesh let out a scornful snort.
"If you want to blame someone, blame that Saber for having the nerve to spout such nonsense in front of me."
It sounded like something had happened between the two of them in private.
Thinking that, Shirou pulled the stopper and drank it down in one gulp without hesitation.
The Elixir of Rejuvenation.
One of the treasures stored within the Gate of Babylon, said to restore the body to youth in an instant.
It was the spirit herb the King of Heroes had picked up on his journey to the Underworld in search of immortality, so naturally it could also function as a healing medicine.
The moment it passed down his throat, Shirou felt his limbs grow lighter, and the Mana within him began flowing faster again.
"Thanks, Arch..."
The red haired boy looked up to thank him, only to find that the King of Heroes had already quietly disappeared.
...
...
"A Lesser Grail should behave like a Lesser Grail... and quietly accept the souls."
Kirei Kotomine silently looked down at Irisviel, now devoid of breath.
When he had crushed the Homunculus's heart, Kirei Kotomine had taken special care to apply Magecraft as well.
Though her body had died completely, her function as the Lesser Grail would remain unchanged.
Compared to a Homunculus whose movements could not be controlled, this way was much easier to manage. That was the order he had been given.
With a blank expression, Kirei Kotomine approached Irisviel's corpse.
For the dead Irisviel to continue serving as the Lesser Grail, there were still several more magical procedures to perform.
The young man crouched and reached a hand toward the body, but then.
The supposedly dead Irisviel suddenly snapped her eyes open.
"Kirei Kotomine!!!!"
The silver haired, red eyed Homunculus produced a dagger from nowhere and lunged forward, driving it into Kirei Kotomine's chest.
"Ugh...!?"
The young Executor cried out and sent the Homunculus flying with a single punch as she tried to throw herself on him.
Kirei Kotomine stared in disbelief.
"How is this possible..."
He had confirmed it himself just moments ago. Irisviel had definitely died... so why...
"!"
Was it because of Archer?
Hard as it was to believe, Archer had been defeated by Shirou.
The exact moment of that defeat had coincided with the instant Kirei Kotomine pierced Irisviel.
Archer's soul had entered the Lesser Grail and struck Irisviel's body, creating the illusion that she had died.
But Irisviel had quickly adapted to the fifth soul, and then revived.
Even so, that still did not explain how she could remain alive after having her heart destroyed.
Then Kirei Kotomine noticed a golden light shining from Irisviel's blood soaked chest.
It was the King of Knights' scabbard that had saved her.
Avalon, The Everdistant Utopia, was operating at full power, continuously healing Irisviel's injuries.
That bastard Amamiya Shirou... he actually left the scabbard with this woman!?
This was Kirei Kotomine's miscalculation.
What kind of lunatic would head into battle against the King of Heroes and the King of Knights without bringing along the strongest defensive relic? He had to be insane.
Kirei Kotomine staggered backward.
He looked down at the dagger buried in his chest.
As expected, this too was a Noble Phantasm projected by Shirou. Otherwise, there was no way a Homunculus could have pierced Kirei Kotomine's steel like body with raw strength alone.
But...
This time, Kirei Kotomine's luck seemed to be holding.
The dagger had not gone in very deep. It had stopped roughly two centimeters short of his heart.
If the tip had gone just a little farther, Kirei Kotomine would have died on the spot. No matter how strong he was, he was still only an ordinary human.
At that thought, Kirei Kotomine could not help but curl his lips into a cold smile.
"What a pity, Homunculus. Even God is on my side."
For a fighter like Kirei Kotomine, a surprise attack only ever worked once. He would never allow his enemy to touch him again.
While ordering the Shadow Servants to pin Irisviel and Assassin to the ground, Kirei Kotomine reached for the dagger in his chest.
"Bang!"
A heavy, crisp gunshot rang through the dark underground cavern.
What was that sound...?
Irisviel frowned.
That was...
Assassin's eyes flew wide open.
No one knew that cold, deadly gunshot better than she did.
After all, she herself had nearly died to that sound once before.
"...?"
Kirei Kotomine stared at the dagger in his chest in disbelief.
His trembling hand froze in midair.
There was no longer any need to pull the dagger out.
Together with that gunshot, a bullet fired from the darkness had struck the base of the hilt, driving the blade straight into the Executor's heart.
"Ugh...!"
Kirei Kotomine coughed up a mouthful of blood, then lifted his head and scanned the underground cavern around him.
"Who is it... where are you... come out... come out!"
In the final moments of his life, the Executor widened his eyes and searched madly for the sniper.
But that man, Emiya, was never going to show himself so easily.
He had only accepted Shirou's request. The boy had asked him to secretly protect Irisviel and Assassin.
Now that the mission was complete, there was naturally no need for him to answer anyone's call.
After raging in frustration for a long while, Kirei Kotomine finally exhausted the last of his strength, and his body collapsed limply to the ground.
"...Mission accomplished."
As Heroic Spirit Emiya folded up his sniper rifle and put it away, his figure slipped back into the darkness.
"The rest is up to you, Shirou.
Let me see how you're going to save the world."
...
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