The bounded field began to tear apart at an almost immeasurable speed, and the others did everything they could to prevent it from collapsing. It only took one of them to give way for it to fall completely, and Rin was already in her final moments.
Blood trickled from her nose, her eyes were red, and she was consumed by a headache and body ache; the overload on her magic circuits was leaving her in a horrific state.
Meanwhile, Alice sat with her eyes closed, focused, ignoring the pain. Touko was still, as if nothing mattered to her, but she was visibly trembling and spasming. Finally, Aoko, cheating by using the fifth magic to delay the effects on her body, didn't prevent them, but she did postpone them; surely, when she released the magic, everything would hit her at once.
The Enuma Elish swept through with a devastating force, destroying everything in its path.
Gilgamesh watched as Dante charged forward with his most powerful attack and smiled, hoping that with this he would kill the trash who had dared to challenge him, stolen his relics, and mocked him.
But seconds after the attack, a hand emerged from the Enuma Elish to grasp the rotating cylinders of Ea.
The King of Heroes was shocked by this sight and could not prevent the hand from directing the rest of the attack skyward.
A transformed Dante, unscathed, opened his hand, which had reached the SBP, returning to its original size, thus avoiding all the damage from Gilgamesh's attack.
"Don't get too cocky, king of the mediocre," Dante declared, and with a single swing of his scythe, he destroyed Gilgamesh's Ea, causing him to take a step back.
Gilgamesh watched all this, unsure what to do; for the first time in his life, he was speechless, unable to respond.
Dante watched him, and the moment he took the first step to kill the King of Heroes, the enclosed field shattered.
On the edge of the forest, Rin Tohaska lay bleeding on the ground, unconscious from the pain. The moment just one of them left the formation, the whole thing crumbled; it's like if one side of a house of cards falls, the rest will too.
Alice threw herself to the ground roughly, cradling herself in the cold earth that now felt incredibly comfortable.
Touko felt she could finally breathe and sat down to gaze at the starry night sky, searching for a cigarette.
Aoko collapsed to the ground in excruciating pain, as she had only slowed the pain and damage to her body by overtaxing her magic circuits. For the others, the damage was gradual and slow, but for her, it was different—sudden and direct.
Dante's transformation vanished, and all the damage he had sustained in the brief battle was reflected back at him. Consequently, his spell on Gilgamesh disappeared.
Half of his body had been destroyed by the Enuma Elish; one of his arms was destroyed, half of his face unrecognizable, and the other half riddled with wounds, missing an eye.
He fell to his knees, staring at the mirror and vomiting a large amount of blood onto the ground.
If it weren't for the third spell, Dante might not have been able to fight anymore, but that wasn't the only thing that saved him; there were two important factors.
First, Dante, being a "son" of Chaos, tends to be more resistant to its effects; whether it be Void, Destruction, or Chaos, he isn't immune, but he can withstand this type of damage more effectively.
Second, in a way, his power depends on his wielder and the Gate of Babylon to be as strong as possible; In this instance, Dante had returned several treasures to him, including Enkidu from the king's treasury, so the Enuma Elish could not manifest with its full initial power.
(Note: I'm going to quote verbatim: "It can be further increased by absorbing the energy of the Noble Phantasms summoned from the Gate of Babylon," so Ea's maximum power wasn't used in this case for the aforementioned reason. But to summarize, if the Gate of Babylon doesn't have a Noble Phantasm, then it can't increase its power.)
Gilgamesh stared at the being who had left him in this state, clenching his fists and feeling a mixture of rage and satisfaction at seeing him like this.
"Don't think that just because I'm in this state, I don't have the power to kill you; I no longer have your most reliable weapons. Do you think you can still defeat me?" Dante said, sounding confident despite his condition.
The king of heroes took several steps back, creating distance.
"A filthy dog like you can only bark, but with your damaged fangs, you won't be able to do anything to me," he replied arrogantly, opening several golden portals.
"Let's see if that's true," Dante declared, holding the SPB with one hand.
"Insolent dog, I won't rest until I kill you and everyone around you." With that, thousands of weapons poured out of the portals.
Dante, with seemingly impossible speed, leaped forward, using his scythe to deflect most of the weapons, and before Gilgamesh could react, he slipped behind him.
Gilgamesh's arms flew off in less than a second, while Gilgamesh stared straight ahead, motionless.
They both turned, and with a single slash, all was silent.
Gilgamesh's eyes vanished, his pupils falling to the ground: "Dead," but the truth was that his wing was no longer with him but rather in the SBP (Spiritual Battle Point).
With this, Dante Manmayer is declared the victor of this battle.
[Congratulations, you have defeated the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. You have obtained 1,999,999,999,999 LP].
"Heh, one LP less than Saber," Dante chuckled, then collapsed, unconscious.
...
Shirou summoned several Calibur swords and fired them, creating a series of explosions from which a Kieri burst at full speed toward him.
The black key with the dual blades clashed in unison, creating sparks and sending pieces of metal flying everywhere.
Kirii moved in such a way that he managed to get to Shirou's side and attempted to slice him into three pieces, but his opponent was able to react and move, avoiding the fatal attack.
Leaping to the wall, Shirou created a red spear and launched himself at the priest, kicking him and creating some distance.
"Gae Bolt," Shirou announced, and a burst of magical energy shot from the spear, distorting space and piercing where Kirei's heart should be.
"If you think this will stop me, you're sorely mistaken," he said, launching several powerful magical bullets.
Once the smoke cleared, a shield with special characteristics was revealed; This was Galahad's shield of the Round Table, and behind it, Shirou knelt.
He was already tired; no matter how much damage he inflicted, Kirei simply regenerated, and that was it. Conceptual weapons did little to him. At this rate, he would lose, and if he continued summoning weapons other than swords, it would only get worse.
Throwing the shield aside, he looked at his opponent and assumed a fighting stance, but this was a spatial one, as he had no weapons, only his fists.
Seeing this, Kirei simply smiled maniacally and, releasing the black keys, launched an attack.
Shirou, using Haki, anticipated the trajectory of his enemy's movements, managing to dodge the punch and, with a single blow, sent him crashing to the ground, shattering a large section of it. Only to receive a kick to the face that sent him flying several meters backward.
"Being able to possess this kind of strength is something to be admired; be proud of that, Emiya Shirou," Kirei said.
"You're still trying to pretend to be a priest; I've cut the game short, it gives me the creeps to listen to you," Shirou complained, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Hmm, you may be right, but it comes naturally to me; I can't help it, but I can't help feeling happy since I can finally have the pleasure of fulfilling my wish, and I can't even try to be eloquent," he replied.
"I don't understand what you're trying to achieve with all this, why are you doing this?" Shirou asked, getting into a fighting stance.
"I have one wish, and that is that everyone can fulfill their wish with the Holy Grail. I like the idea of seeing people make their wishes and then seeing them destroyed, seeing them suffer because of their desires, seeing them corrupted; it fills me with joy and euphoria, and if the world has to be destroyed, I don't care, because I can leave in peace knowing that I managed to see the greatest work of art in the world," Kirei confessed, revealing his twisted feelings in the heat of the moment.
Shirou was visibly enraged upon hearing that; he had always believed in justice, in helping everyone no matter what happened to him.
Kirei and Shirou shared the same determination to achieve their goals, however different those desires might be, which was something that made them similar.
Thinking about it, Shirou felt disgusted.
"Unfortunately for you, your wish will never be granted, as I will stop you; that is my duty as the hero of justice I aspire to be," he declared, launching himself into hand-to-hand combat.
Both fists collided simultaneously, creating a shockwave. Haki enhanced against a body modified with infinite mana, and they began to strike each other at full speed.
Shirou managed to dodge a punch to close the distance and kick Kirei in the face, but Kirei grabbed his foot and slammed it into the ground, causing the other foot to strike Shirou's hands, forcing him to release it.
They both launched themselves simultaneously, throwing punches, dodging blows, and creating blocks with almost superhuman speed.
The only problem was that for every bit of damage Shirou inflicted, Kirei regenerated, while Shirou couldn't do the same. He possessed a body far more resilient than an advanced mage, even on par with a Servant, but he couldn't compare to the qualities his enemy possessed right now.
Kirei managed to pierce his enemy's defenses and landed a parry on his ribs, forcing him to vomit blood and sending him flying a few meters.
"Relax, I'll kill you slowly, so we'll have plenty of time for this," Kirei remarked with a smile.
"You'll regret that decision," Shirou retorted, charging at him.
Not far away, Rider could be seen watching all of this, slowly rising and approaching without the priest noticing, as his entire focus was on inflicting as much damage as possible on Shirou.
Blows flew back and forth; Shirou looked increasingly battered. At his base level, Shirou was stronger than Kirei, but Kirei, using mana, could amplify his attacks to a level beyond the norm.
Shirou, clenching his fist tightly, slammed it into his opponent's chest, piercing through his body.
"Heh," Kirei sneered, catching Shirou's arm.
A flurry of consecutive blows rained down on the white-haired man. He could only defend himself with sorcery and Haki, trying to avoid as much damage as possible.
Suddenly, Kirei released Shirou and, with a single punch to the stomach, forced him to his knees and to vomit more blood.
This was somewhat expected; however strong Shirou and Rider were, Kirei was currently on another level. If it could be categorized somehow, the priest currently bordered on a pseudo-beat, but he wasn't quite there, only close enough.
Kirei grabbed Shirou by the neck and lifted him up.
"A hero of justice needs a villain to defeat, but in this case, the hero was unable to win. I believe the only wish that won't be granted this time will be yours, young man," Kirei gloated, looking down with superiority at a half-destroyed Shirou.
But at that very moment, a katana pierced the priest's chest, nearly splitting him in two, forcing him to release Shirou.
"You…" Kirei exclaimed, but a blast of divine power sent him crashing into the wall.
"Nothing can defeat the god of war and fortune," Rider declared, his Noble Phantasm activated, launching himself at the priest once more. "Now, Shirou!!!"
Shirou, ignoring the sharp pain in his neck, nodded, and as he touched the ground, thousands of katanas formed around him.
"Trance on," he announced. "Essence, understood. Foundation, convergence. Forging techniques, threshold reached. Admire them all as your ticket to hell!" The white-haired man began chanting while Rider momentarily distracted Kirei.
"This is my…" Shirou said, standing and extending his hand. All the katanas distorted and shifted in his hand, creating a golden-red katana that he launched at Kirei.
The priest realized this and multiple red lines attacked from all directions, but due to Rider's onslaught, he couldn't aim properly, allowing Shirou to dodge everything and land in front of Kirei.
"Tsumukari Muramasa!" With that declaration, Shirou sliced Kirei open, tearing his body apart.
"AAAARGh," Kirei screamed in pain and was overwhelmed by what was happening. Tsumukari Muramasa is the Heroic Treasure of Senji Muramasa.
Since this being possessed Shirou's body to become a pseudo-Servant, Dante was able to use the all-seeing Eyes of God to view the timeline and how he used this weapon, revealing everything this Servant had experienced, including Shimosa's unique characteristics. However, this was enough for him to attempt to recreate his Heroic Treasure.
In this case, the sword should be capable of many things, but to unleash its power and achieve its use, Shirou only asked it to do one thing: sever the bond. In this case, he severed the link between Kirei and the rest of the Holy Grail. But this did not negate the effects of its use.
"AAAAAAH!!!" Shirou roared in pain, collapsing to the ground as the maico circuits in his dominant arm exploded.
Rider, ignoring Shirou, reached out and swiftly extracted the remains of Kirei's Holy Grail, removing the source and battery of its power, and destroyed it with divine fire. There was no longer any way to establish a connection with the Holy Grail.
Kirei fell to the ground on his back, half his body ripped open. His blood dripped onto the floor; he had nothing left, he was empty, and he would soon die. He simply stared at the cave ceiling and closed his eyes, only for Rider to sever his head, sparing him a "peaceful" death from the time he had left.
Seeing that the fight was over, his divine power vanished, and he reverted to being a normal Servant, but with a consequence.
The Rider's body began to slowly disappear. Overusing his Heroic Treasures and the "Bishamonten Tenrin—Avatar of the War God" repeatedly damaged his Saint Graph, forcing him to return to the Throne of Heroes.
"I see that's all for now; my master is too far away to prevent my return. I only wished I could have said goodbye," he said, sounding distraught.
Shirou wanted to say something, but the pain he felt prevented him from thinking clearly; he could only watch as Rider vanished, leaving him alone with Kirei's lifeless body on the ground.
Since Rider was the last Servant to return to the Throne of Heroes, Dante Manmayer will be considered the winner of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
...
Touko carried an unconscious Rin while Alice dragged a passed-out Aoko. At first, she tried to carry her, but she lacked the magical energy and strength to do so, so she had no choice but to do this, and her sister preferred to watch rather than help.
As they walked, they saw that the entire place was as if it had been swallowed up; there were no trees, no grass, no castle—it was all empty.
When they reached the center of the place, they could glimpse something that wasn't just bare earth.
"I see I can do it," Touko announced, looking at Dante, whose body was almost completely destroyed but who was still alive, his head resting on Kiss-shot's lap as she stroked what remained of his hair, since his head had been cut and torn apart by weapons and the Enuma Elish.
Kiss-shot had never seen Dante so destroyed; she had come running as soon as the fight ended since she knew the state of her husband's body; It was because his soul wasn't dependent on his body that he didn't die after defeating Gilgamesh, and he did wonder about him. His body wasn't far from the two of them.
"So what now?" Alice asked.
"Nothing now; we'd better go home before daybreak," Kiss-shot declared.
"Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on Shirou and Dante?" she tried to argue, since that was supposedly the plan, but she was here.
"They're fine; we'd better go back. I can't be in the sun," she said, carrying her husband like a princess, and headed to where she had rented her temporary base.
Touko and Alice exchanged a glance and followed her.
...
"You're an idiot! How could you do something like that? Look, half of your magic circuits are damaged beyond repair," Rin scolded Shirou while Touko tried to see if she could do anything for the white-haired boy.
"Don't be like that, Tohsaka; I had to do it; otherwise, there would have been no way to defeat that man," and it was true.
Shirou had planned this from the moment he decided to fight him.
If we could analyze the two fights that day, Shirou's victory could be considered planned and well thought out, while Dante's was pure luck.
Rin sat down in an armchair, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks, unable to refute Shirou, since what he said was true.
At that moment, Aoko came out of a room with a bucket of water and several towels.
"How is Dante?" Touko asked her sister.
"His body temperature has dropped, but I don't think he'll wake up today," she explained regarding Dante's situation.
She and Kiss.shot have been caring for him and healing his wounds, but he simply won't wake up; it's as if his brain is in suspension and his soul at rest, waiting for his entire body to be completely healed and in good shape.
"We just have to wait, because without him we can't take the next step," Alice declared, playing a Sudoku puzzle to pass the time.
Before they went to fight, they considered what to do if they won, since they couldn't leave the Holy Grail there still corrupted, as the Holy Grail War would surely be repeated in a few years if nothing were done.
So Dante decided on a plan, which was to cleanse the Holy Grail of its corruption and fulfill the wish as a way to return the ritual to its initial cycle without having to dismantle it.
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Good people, I hope you liked the chapter; I have three things to tell you:
First, I have a reason for keeping the Holy Grail system active, and it has to do with what's next in the arc. I'm going to revisit concepts and ideas I'd left unresolved so that everything makes sense.
Second, as you can probably guess, Medusa and Kenshin have to return, since they're both part of the harem. The next chapter will explain how this will be done; however, the way I'll do it might not please everyone, but I just want to say that sometimes happy endings aren't a bad thing, even if they're temporary.
Third and last, I'm going to take a week off. This means that the next chapter of this fic will be on the 14th or 15th of this month. This is because I realized I'm a bit behind on my university work, and I need to catch up. I hope you understand this decision (though I do have to write the next chapter of my other fic to let you know about this as well). However, if I see that I'm caught up ahead of schedule, I might come back sooner, but those days would be the maximum amount of time I'll take off.
That's all; I appreciate all the support you give me, directly or indirectly, whether through comments or simply by continuing to read the fic. I hope you're all well. See you.