"Hmph~"
A golden and emerald ark hovered majestically in the night sky. Seated upon his throne, one leg casually crossed and his chin resting on his palm, Gilgamesh observed everything with a disdainful smile, as if watching a play far too vulgar for his presence—yet still mildly entertaining.
The coastline below.
Dark-purple ripples began to spread across the once calm surface of the water. Soon after, a creature covered in pulsating, slimy tentacles slowly emerged.
The creature crawled toward the shore and, as if expelling something repulsive, vomited out the disheveled body of Caster—and that of Ryuunosuke, or what remained of him.
At the sight of their filthy and grotesque appearance, Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes in obvious disgust. His nose wrinkled slightly, and for a brief moment, even the air itself seemed unworthy of being breathed.
Despite having the power to eliminate them instantly with a mere thought, he didn't even consider lifting a finger.
They were trash.
And trash did not deserve even the effort of being discarded.
"I don't understand why he left this scum alive…" he muttered, his voice laced with boredom and a hint of irritation.
From the very beginning, he had been observing Arthur's actions, watching every move carefully. He had clearly seen the moment when Arthur could have ended everything… and chose not to.
That bothered him.
More than that—it was incomprehensible.
To Gilgamesh, letting such pathetic enemies live was not mercy.
It was waste.
---xXx---
"Ryuunosuke, are you alright?!"
Gilles, in a deplorable state, rushed to Ryuunosuke and helped him up. The young man's body was barely recognizable as human.
With his left arm and leg gone, the exposed flesh was partially charred—blackened and cracked like burnt wood. In some places, remnants of tissue still hung loosely, while blood flowed irregularly, mixed with dark, viscous fluids.
Each breath he took seemed to tear his throat from the inside.
"Caster… it seems this is all I can do…"
Ryuunosuke tightly grasped the edge of Gilles' cloak with his only remaining hand. His fingers trembled—not only from pain, but from the inevitable approach of death. His eyelids grew heavy, slowly closing, as if the world itself were fading away before him.
"Our dreams… our future… everything is in your hands now, Caster… This is the last thing I can do for you…"
Bang!
A dry gunshot echoed along the coast—abrupt and final.
Before he could finish his sentence, Ryuunosuke's head exploded.
There was no time to react.
Fragments of bone, blood, and brain matter scattered violently, splattering Gilles' face in a grotesque, warm red.
Ryuunosuke's body collapsed, lifeless, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
His final expression… frozen somewhere between devotion and ecstasy.
Gilles remained motionless.
His empty eyes stared at the corpse before him.
At that moment, the bond between Master and Servant was brutally severed.
Ryuunosuke was dead.
Completely dead.
---xXx---
{Kiritsugu, the death of Caster's Master has been confirmed. Should we take advantage of this and call Lancer, who is nearby…?}
Maiya's voice came through the radio, steady but carrying a faint trace of tension.
A kilometer away, hidden in the shadows, Kiritsugu slowly pulled his eye away from the sniper scope. He let out a restrained, almost imperceptible sigh.
His face remained completely expressionless.
"There's no suitable medium nearby. With the Master already dead, Caster will soon disappear. There's no need to reveal our trump card for this."
His voice was calm, cold, pragmatic.
As if he had simply eliminated a variable in an equation.
"Maiya, luck is on our side this time."
{"Yes."}
Maiya responded promptly, though deep down she knew this could hardly be called "luck."
She would have never imagined that, relying purely on intuition, they would locate Caster's escape point so precisely… and be positioned at the exact right moment.
---xXx---
"Hahahaha!"
From above, watching everything like a divine spectator, Gilgamesh couldn't hold back his laughter, which echoed across the sky.
Indifferent to the death below, he watched the scene as one might enjoy a vulgar—but strangely entertaining—spectacle.
"This is far more interesting than participating in the battle myself."
His crimson eyes gleamed faintly.
Both… the man who fired the shot and the one who watched the death unfold… were far more interesting than Tokiomi.
"What a pity…"
His voice softened, almost contemplative.
"It seems Kiritsugu is someone Kirei takes a particular interest in. It's a shame he couldn't witness this performance."
But as he indulged in the spectacle, he suddenly felt his connection with Tokiomi severed.
His gaze slowly shifted from the coast toward the Tohsaka residence.
And in that instant, his faint smile vanished.
"Kirei… you bastard…" he murmured, his voice filled with intense curiosity.
Without hesitation, he moved the Vimana.
The golden ark sliced through the sky like lightning, vanishing toward the Tohsaka mansion.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Kiritsugu frowned slightly.
Something… had passed by.
He looked up.
And saw a golden shooting star streak across the night sky at incredible speed, disappearing beyond the horizon before he could fully process it.
{"What is it, Kiritsugu?"}
Maiya's voice came again through the communicator, this time tinged with concern.
Kiritsugu remained silent for a moment.
Then, he looked away.
"It's nothing… just my imagination."
---xXx---
Tohsaka Residence.
Tokiomi lay on the floor, his lifeless body sinking into a pool of blood that slowly spread across the polished surface, reflecting the cold moonlight filtering through the window in a distorted glow.
The metallic scent of blood filled the room.
Kirei stood near the window, perfectly still, in the same position Tokiomi used to occupy—as if he had silently and naturally taken the place that once belonged to his master.
His expression was serene.
As if the act of murder he had just committed carried no weight at all.
A few seconds later, the space beside him rippled slightly.
A figure clad in golden armor appeared.
"I assume you have a proper explanation for murdering Tokiomi, Kirei Kotomine," Gilgamesh said.
But contrary to his words, his tone was light, devoid of anger or displeasure.
"I decided to no longer follow the Professor's orders. Furthermore, I now intend to participate in the Holy Grail War of my own will," Kirei replied.
"That explanation is insufficient."
Gilgamesh let out a brief chuckle, as if he had just heard something too shallow to be worth serious consideration.
"That alone is not enough for me to let you go. You need to show me something more interesting."
"I see."
Kirei cast a brief glance at the golden ripples beginning to form around Gilgamesh.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"As expected of the King of Heroes—even this does not satisfy you… But what about these?"
Unhurriedly, Kirei rolled up the sleeve of his right arm to the elbow.
In addition to the three Command Seals he normally possessed, more than a dozen additional seals were engraved there.
"My father and my teacher are alike; they never understood me until they died."
Kirei's tone was completely calm.
As if he were speaking about strangers.
"That is truly… Hahahaha!"
Gilgamesh partially covered his face with his hand, laughing—a genuine laugh filled with both surprise and delight.
But as suddenly as it began, it stopped.
His eyes locked onto Kirei.
"Kirei, you pass."
A wide smile spread across his face.
"I didn't expect you to improve so quickly… and to find pleasure in it in such an immoral way… Hahahaha!"
"Interesting, very interesting! Kirei, I no longer have any reason to kill you, do I? What will you do now?"
"Hm."
Kirei tilted his head slightly, maintaining his faint smile.
"King Gilgamesh, allow me to tell you the truth about the Holy Grail War—something only the three families of Fuyuki know."
"Oh?"
Gilgamesh's interest was immediate.
His eyes gleamed faintly.
"Tell me."
Kirei Kotomine spoke without hesitation:
"The true purpose of the ritual is to use the combined magical energy of seven fallen Servants to open a hole in reality… a gateway to reach the Root."
"You understand, don't you? The reason the Professor was so reluctant to use Command Seals was because of this consideration."
"Because after all the battles, he would need to make his own Servant—the seventh and final one—commit suicide… to complete the ritual."
"Heh!"
Gilgamesh's eyes gleamed—not with surprise, but with displeasure.
A faint scoff escaped his lips.
"So the loyalty Tokiomi showed me was merely a façade?"
"Hm."
Kirei nodded.
"In the end, the Professor was a mage through and through. No matter how much he admired Heroic Spirits, he would never allow that admiration to obstruct his path."
"Tokiomi…"
Gilgamesh slowly turned his gaze toward the corpse lying on the floor.
His face was partially hidden in shadow.
If there was any emotion there, it was not visible.
"In the end, you did have some redeeming qualities, after all."
"Ah, now I can finally enjoy myself with that fraud."
The monotony Tokiomi represented had vanished along with his life.
If Tokiomi had shown this side earlier—rebellion, selfish ambition—perhaps he would have been more interesting.
But then he wouldn't have survived this long.
Such was the predetermined fate of Tokiomi Tohsaka.
"So, what are your plans moving forward, King Gilgamesh?" Kirei asked.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze back to him, a slow smile forming.
"I can't wait to see that fraud's expression when he learns the truth about the Holy Grail War… and is betrayed by his own Master."
His eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"That scene will be hilarious, hahaha!"
"Kirei, you already know what to do… don't make me wait too long."
His voice carried a natural, unquestionable authority.
An absolute command.
Even though the ability of Independent Action was not enough to sustain him indefinitely after his Master's death, he still acted as if the entire world were his domain.
Ultimately,
This body was merely a temporary construct—a clay puppet shaped by the Holy Grail through magecraft.
An unavoidable limitation.
And yet, even that did nothing to diminish his arrogance.
The same could be said for Arthur.
"Yes, King Gilgamesh."
Kirei bowed respectfully before him.
---
(End of Chapter)