"That's an extremely dangerous idea."
The system warned Satsuki. "This world's Counter Force already regards you as a primary threat. Up to now, the one taking action has mainly been Alaya, the aspect formed from human consciousness. Gaia, on the other hand, is still observing from the sidelines."
"So, what you're saying is—the Counter Force isn't entirely united?"
From the system's words, Satsuki caught a hint of exploitable information.
"Of course not. Though both [Alaya] and [Gaia] exist to preserve the current world, their priorities differ greatly."
"[Gaia] seeks the planet's survival—humanity's fate is secondary, so long as the world remains intact. Conversely, [Alaya] would rather erode the planet itself if it meant ensuring humanity's continuation."
Hearing this, Satsuki casually waved her hand, dismissing the projected image before sitting upon a black mandala that materialized beneath her in midair.
"It seems those two aspects of the Counter Force could potentially be turned against each other."
The system shook slightly. "Not that simple. Their operational logic is… complicated. To date, according to this world's Akasha Records, no one has ever successfully pitted them against each other."
"It doesn't matter," Satsuki replied. "I don't necessarily have to manipulate them. Overwhelming force is another option."
Their mental exchange ended there.
Satsuki opened her eyes in the real world once more—and immediately turned her gaze toward the window.
Outside, what should have been a cold winter's day was instead undergoing an unprecedented transformation.
That day would later be remembered vividly by the people of Fuyuki City as one of the strangest natural phenomena in living memory.
The frigid northern winds ceased as if in a dream. The heavy, murky air evaporated beneath a searing sun that seemed to twist time and space itself.
Meteorologists were unable to explain the sudden burst of hot, humid weather localized entirely around Fuyuki City. Unease spread quickly among its citizens.
Urban guerrilla attacks, brutal murder cases, and a string of child abductions had only just been resolved, yet public suspicion remained that an innocent scapegoat had been framed for the crimes.
Just days earlier, a flood of toxic wastewater had erupted from the sewers of the Mion River—the aftermath of Caster's workshop's destruction.
One bizarre event after another pushed the city's fragile nerves to the breaking point.
To the exhausted populace, this unnatural climate felt like an omen—heralding an even greater catastrophe to come.
Most could do nothing but endure, unable to grasp what was truly happening around them.
Meanwhile, Satsuki looked past the horizon, her eyes fixed far beyond the stars.
"The future awaiting this planet is… rather intriguing. But it's unfortunate—the time left for this Holy Grail War is running out."
Originally, the true purpose of the Grail was to summon seven powerful souls through its power—souls drawn from Alaya's custody—and then absorb them, fully awakening the Grail's latent might.
The 'wish' of the summoner merely served as a convenient pretext, masking the descent of the Grail's own formless will upon the world.
Once that entity manifested in reality, it would automatically attain the level of a [Magician].
For it was, in essence, the embodiment of the Third Magic—[Materialization of the Soul].
However, those magi who sought the Root through the Holy Grail would only find their pursuit in vain.
Because the Counter Force would never permit anyone to reach the Root.
The Einzbern family, a lineage of magi spanning over two millennia, had long ceased to rely on combat strength. Yet in their quest to commune with the origin of all things, they had taken a critical step forward.
The Holy Grail was that first step—an instrument designed to engage directly with the Counter Force. Thus, even setting aside whether it was possible, the very act of attempting to reach the Root through the Grail was tantamount to a thief breaking into a police station.
The problem was that the Einzberns—whether intentionally or not—never revealed this truth to outsiders. As a result, each Holy Grail War attracted numerous magi eager to participate in this supposed ritual of transcendence.
Had they studied history more carefully, they would have realized that no magus had ever reached the Root through the Holy Grail. And yet, their arrogance ensured they would always believe the failure lay not in the ritual itself, but in the unworthiness of its previous victors.
Due to her interference, the entire progression of this Holy Grail War had changed dramatically.
She slowly extended her hand, and within her palm, three souls floated in orbit—those of the Demon God King Goetia, Super Karna, and the deified Arjuna (in partial fragments).
Having defeated them, Satsuki had not allowed these souls to return to the Grail. After all, this was one of her main reasons for joining the Holy Grail War in the first place.
And as the victor, she naturally held the right to claim the spoils of the battlefield. Anyone who dared to object was free to try their luck—and die for it.
Of course, the original wills of those heroes had already returned to their proper places; what now lingered before her was merely the remaining etheric essence of their souls.
"With the [Three Divine Kings' Sacred Wheel] and all the knowledge I've gathered so far, it's about time to begin constructing my own [Black Domain Buddhakṣetra]."
With that thought, Satsuki's body began to radiate waves of black light. Under the constraints of the Dead Line Boundary, the lights twisted through the air like living entities, weaving themselves into intricate, fixed shapes.
Gradually, they formed a cocoon of darkness around her.
Within this self-contained [Black Domain], Satsuki began to draw upon the information contained within the three souls, integrating it to perfect and stabilize this isolated realm.
"After all this preparation, it's finally time to see some results."
As she spoke, the golden brilliance of the [Three Divine Kings' Sacred Wheel] flashed in her hand.
It was the light of the Brahma Creation Wheel.
Then, a sacred incantation—the true name of a Noble Phantasm—rose unbidden in her mind.
Satsuki began to chant softly:
"Under the amala consciousness of Prajñā, awaken and return through the boundless cycles of calamity…
Twist humanity's endless samsara, deliver its echoes unto the Root…
Welcome with gratitude the collapse of the Demon Buddha's boundaries…
—Be extinguished, Wheel of Void Genesis!!"
With the completion of her chant, a surge of immense golden authority illuminated the surrounding void.
The three soul fragments merged seamlessly into the space around her.
What followed was a sequence of computations and manipulations beyond mortal comprehension—precise, recursive, and infinite in complexity.
Even with the data from three divine souls serving as a reference, completing this step demanded tremendous mental effort from Satsuki.
Yet, within the Dead Line Boundary—where neither time nor space existed—everything appeared to occur in an instant.
A sound beyond the threshold of hearing—thoom—echoed faintly.
Satsuki felt a long-forgotten sense of satisfaction stirring within her.
"It seems it worked."
She opened her eyes and lifted her left hand.
In her slender palm swirled a small, misty vortex—like the cosmos at the dawn of creation.
When she immersed her consciousness within it, she saw no trace of the original world. Instead, her vision was filled entirely with layers upon layers of shimmering, glass-like realms bathed in faint golden light.
Endless waves of sacred illumination stretched upward and downward without end, while countless twisting Sanskrit inscriptions flowed along the outer walls of this vast cosmic domain.
The entire space was suffused with grayish, distorted radiance—a ceaseless dance of Buddha-light and scripture.
Within this domain, Satsuki's "reality" and "existence" transcended all worldly definitions.
Everything else appeared insignificant—mere illusions, images painted by her will. If she so desired, she could reshape, move, or erase them at any moment.
Here, even distance and spatial boundaries had lost all meaning.
This was the supreme divine art—Buddha Kingdom in the Palm.
In her grand design, completing this step marked the beginning of the final battle.
...
Trials always seem to come too soon for those unprepared.
The sudden declaration of a final battle from Saver sent a ripple of unease through the hearts of the remaining Servants and Heroic Spirits.
These were not naïve warriors untested by war. Among them stood Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, who once ruled half the known world; the King of Knights, who achieved twelve flawless victories; and the King of Uruk, who had stood against the gods themselves to preserve humanity's flame even as his kingdom crumbled.
Yet even they could not dispel the tension gnawing at their hearts.
Their upcoming opponent was one who transcended all imagination.
The Three Kings sat together in silence around the garden's flowerbed, just as they had that night of their fateful banquet.
That evening, they had shared their ideals, each expressing their vision of kingship—their "path" as sovereigns. Though their motivations differed, it was undeniable that each path possessed a unique brilliance… and equally undeniable limitations.
But today, they had not gathered to debate their philosophies.
Because, as Satsuki once said:
"In my eyes, if you lack the strength to defeat me, then your so-called path of kingship is nothing more than a joke. Conversely, if you do win, then and only then will your path be worthy of being called just."
For the Three Kings, Satsuki represented the ultimate trial upon their respective paths—a challenge that no true ruler could ever avoid.
Golden ripples expanded through the air.
With Gilgamesh's characteristic flair, a set of exquisite goblets appeared in their hands. The same legendary wine they once shared shimmered before them once more.
True to his boisterous nature, Iskandar was the first to act. He poured for Artoria first, then for Gilgamesh, and finally for himself.
Only after they each took a sip did the atmosphere lighten slightly.
"Ha~! To drink such fine wine once more on this journey—aye, even if I die in battle, it'll be worth it! Hahahaha!"
Iskandar's booming laughter was as bold and boundless as ever. Though the crystal-clear liquor carried a potent aroma and strength, it hardly fazed him.
"Hmph. Naturally. Every treasure in my vault is peerless," Gilgamesh remarked proudly.
After forging his contract with Ritsuka Fujimaru, his mana supply—linked through Mash's shield to Chaldea in another world—had greatly improved.
This development pleased him immensely, but more importantly, it significantly enhanced his combat potential.
As for the only woman among them—the King of Knights—she sat upright with perfect composure, her every movement dignified and graceful. Even as she drank, her posture embodied discipline and resolve.
Yet deep within each of their eyes, a shared unease lingered.
"...You've all received Saver's message, haven't you?"
With that rhetorical question, Iskandar broke the silence. "If I could avoid facing such an enemy, I'd gladly do so."
"Hmph. If the King of Conquerors would shrink before such adversity, I might start to doubt whether the lands you 'conquered' ever existed beyond your imagination."
Gilgamesh took another sip, the faint chime of his golden earrings ringing softly as his crimson eyes shifted toward the silent King of Knights.
"Saber. Tell me—when you face a battle with almost no hope of victory, what do you do?"
"I fight with everything I have."
The answer was simple and direct—just like her swordsmanship.
Armed with the star-forged holy blade Excalibur and the unreachable paradise of Avalon, the King of Knights was undeniably the strongest of the Three Kings in raw combat power.
Moreover, in her last battle, she had released the second seal of Excalibur, achieving the most perfect balance of offense and defense in her entire life.
Her only limitation had been mana supply—but now, with Gilgamesh's [Gate of Babylon] providing each Master with vast reserves of magical energy, even that weakness had been erased.
At this moment, the King of Knights rightfully stood as the mightiest among all Heroic Spirits. Within the minds of the Three Kings, none could even imagine what kind of enemy could possibly defeat her in this state.
"However," Iskandar said gravely, "I don't believe that merely giving our all will guarantee victory. After all, there's already been a Heroic Spirit far stronger than us who tried and failed…"
He was referring to Lancer—Karna, the son of the Sun God from Indian mythology, who had visited Chaldea a few days prior.
It was undeniable that the strength of his Spirit Core and the scale of his Saint Graph far exceeded anything they could comprehend.
In fact, to gauge the difference between them, the Three Kings had personally challenged him.
Under the condition that neither side would use their Noble Phantasms, that Lancer had defeated them within three breaths.
It wasn't to say that their power after releasing their Noble Phantasms would necessarily be inferior—but as a baseline comparison, the result was shocking enough.
To defeat the Three Kings in merely three breaths—that was beyond extraordinary.
And yet, even such a formidable Lancer had fallen before that mysterious Saver.
The outcome had been one that no one truly expected, but when it happened before their very eyes, silence and dread were all that followed.
"Neither pure strength nor magecraft seems to have much effect on her…"
The King of Heroes, usually the very embodiment of arrogance and confidence, now found his pride dampened by one setback after another.
"Hey, Golden Boy," Iskandar said with a smirk, "don't you have some kind of overpowered Noble Phantasm—one of those 'instant win' treasures lying around in that endless vault of yours?"
He spoke casually, but there was no malice in his tone. Despite being a Rider with power unmatched in most Holy Grail Wars, in this current alliance, Iskandar had to admit—he ranked last among the Three Kings.
No shame in that, though. The other two were simply too absurd.
"Hmph. This King possesses no such trinket. And even if I did, I would cast it aside."
Gilgamesh took another sip of his wine. As he did, a gentle radiance, like the shimmer of countless stars, began to descend from above, illuminating the entire garden.
"However," he continued, a faint smirk curving his lips, "if there's anything that could possibly grant us even a sliver of hope in this battle… it would be my [Omniscient and Omnipotent Star]—Sha Naqba Imuru."