Perhaps the struggle and all the pain I suffered at the hands of the King of Heroes merely to fulfil my selfish desire to do so was meant to make me have some great realisation. A realisation that caused growth, and greater understanding of the world around me.
Wasn't that what typically happened?
Some growth, a hollow feeling, an anticlimactic conclusion to all that transpired.
"Hm, nah."
Being reduced to a state where I couldn't even walk without help was nothing but exhilarating. Oh, how I loved the struggle, the excitement from fighting an opponent that came so close to ending my life.
Beating his face in, getting torn to shreds, decimating the city around me... It was... It was just so much fun!
Verily, the only regret that welled up within my heart there, trudging through ruins of my own making with only Rin to support me, was that little else was ever going to come close to such an incredible high. I knew that to be the truth in my heart of hearts.
"Why are you making such a strange face?" Rin said, holding my arm over her shoulder. "And, how long do I have to carry you?"
"Eh~ Is it really that bad? You wanted to give me your last name a couple moments ago."
"S-Shut up! I-It was the only choice-... Forget that happened!"
I laughed softly, "What a flippant person."
She wanted to throw me away, but she wasn't going to risk me getting hurt. How adorable. I found myself laughing again. Rin lowered her head and silence descended once again.
I took that time to look around.
Then, against Gilgamesh, I had been laser-focused on him and him alone, unconcerned about the property damage I was causing since the city was already empty.
"Rin."
"Hm?"
"I really didn't pay attention to anything other than him, huh?" I stared at the remains of an apartment complex that had collapsed into the main road. What remained standing was marked by deep gashes, as if some wild animal had run rampant. "Thank God this place was empty."
Rin huffed, "You should see the Shinto District. Most of it is just gone because of those first few spells of yours. And they'd only just rebuilt it after the last Holy Grail War."
"Yeah," I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. This place is your territory."
She huffed again, "It's not that bad so don't beat yourself up too much. The government will re-build this place using funds for natural disasters."
"Still feel a bit bad though."
"It's the land that's important, and the leylines under it. Everything else can be re-built."
I stared at the remains of the great bridge connecting the two parts of the city and could not help but purse my lips. Massive steel beams diverted the flow of the river, and other smaller bits had ended up washing ashore on the riverbed.
The park I often visited during my stay was marked by massive craters and cuts.
Actually... if I looked straight ahead, those mountains that had always been visible in the distance were no longer there. They'd been reduced to halves, even less, by stray slashes.
Even if there were no civilian casualties, our conflict had decimated homes and businesses, robbing people of their livelihoods, even that which had been built up over generations. The mansions in the Shinto District were possibly centuries old-
"Is your home also gone?"
Rin paused a moment, "...Yeah."
"I'm sorry."
"I planned on moving to London anyway."
"Still-"
"I said it's fine."
Seeing her reluctance, I quieted down again.
We walked in silence, past torn earth, great plots of land that had become naught but barren earth, the remains of malls and apartment complexes and high-rise skyscrapers. At least, the destruction I'd unleashed became no longer as apparent when we finally rounded the road onto the path leading up to Kirei's church.
Nobunaga awaited us there, sat atop a flying matchlock rifle.
"What took you so long?"
I only deadpanned, gesturing to the wounds all over my body.
"Oh come off it," She waved her hand in dismissal, "You'll be just fine."
"Why couldn't you just carry me that way too, you shitty servant?"
"And deprive you of the chance to witness you grand work? Bah, you disappoint me with your lack of trust, my master." She shook her head from side to side with an exaggerated sigh, hands raised. "Besides, it was fun seeing you all thoughtful."
Pursing my lips, I pushed myself off a startled Rin.
"Do you have one of those gems of yours?"
Wordlessly, Rin rummaged through her pockets, retrieving a bright red ruby from one of the pockets inside her coat. She curiously held it out to me, not a thought behind her eyes.
Of course, her face soured as though someone had punched her in the gut when all the mana in the precious stone was sapped away in the blink of an eye.
"That had years worth of mana in it!"
"And I put it to a good cause!" I shouted back, "You stingy woman."
"Wait, why couldn't you do that against-"
I tried my best to hold back the laughter that welled up from within the depths of my being.
"Gahahahahahaha!" Nobunaga made no such effort.
When I heard her, my willpower shattered, "Hahahahahaha...!"
I laughed with my hands over my stomach as the mortal wounds on my body were knit together by blood that seemed to have a life of its own. The dried blood became fresh, and retreated back to where it rightly belonged.
Wiping a tear from my eye, I leaned back, cracking my back. "That was just about enough."
"If you could just-" Rin suddenly punched me in the chest, "W-Why did you have to worry me? I thought-"
"Sorry, sorry, I was just too moved by what you were doing that I kind of got caught up in the moment." I brought my hands together apologetically, "And... and, I'm not back at 100% just yet, that'll take a while."
"Whatever! I don't care!"
Rin stomped off.
Nobunaga jumped off her rifle to stand beside me. She crossed her arms, "She's a lot like that blonde woman."
"I'd buy it if someone told me they were sisters. But, Rin's not all that cultured."
"Yeah, think I remember seeing her struggle with a TV remote. What a pitiful creature, to not be acquainted with the incredible marvels of this age."
Both of us shrugged simultaneously. Then, Nobunaga put a hand on my shoulder.
"This was a war, my master. A city or two getting destroyed is something everyone expects. Why I-" She stopped herself, "-I suppose that wouldn't be interesting for you. Anyway, the best part is yet to come. You won."
"I did."
"And now you get to wring wealth from everyone else for it! What are they going to do? Say no, and risk destruction?" She put both hands on her waist, and laughed.
"A display of power like this will make everyone want to be friends. Call it paying tribute! No, no, we'll use a modern term. Call it investing! Then act like you don't know what they're talking about when it's time for a return."
Her words held merit. The Mage's Association messed up badly when they sent people to kill me, then taken back those orders. Honestly, they probably thought I wouldn't notice that that was a kill team if they were quick enough.
"I feel like you've done this before."
"Well, I am a Demon King."
"That you are." I shook my head with a laugh.
-
We found Kirei waiting at the doors of his Church, an open Bible in one hand, and the other one behind his back. Medusa stepped out of the shadows as soon as we neared the compound, and lowered her head.
"Congratulations, Master. I am glad I was wrong."
I furrowed my brows, confused.
"She couldn't bear to watch after your defense fell apart." Nobunaga whispered in my ear.
"Aww, that's adorable."
The Gorgon let out a strange hiss. Her pale face grew tinted.
"I am glad I was wrong." She repeated.
I smiled softly, feeling the gentle breeze against my skin.
"I don't blame you."
Honestly, there was some decent potential in teasing her but, for now, I decided against that and approached Kirei instead, grinning from ear to ear. He kept his gaze on his book until I was only a few steps away. That was when he finally met my eyes.
"Congratulations on your victory, young man."
I offered no words, and only held out a hand, "The Lesser Grail."
"That is useless-"
"I know. I caught a glimpse of it when Gil ripped it out of Illyasviel. That thing's just a container for energy, a key. I also know that he had more than enough in him for it to count towards the completion of the ritual."
All of the servants were not dead. Technically, the war wasn't yet decided. However, Gilgamesh had also been absorbed into the Lesser Grail when he died, he more than made up the difference. As a magic ritual, the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki was complete the moment he died. And that, really was its truth.
There was no wish-granting cup, it was just a ritual towards an end.
And... with so much energy gathered, I didn't need to be a genius to figure out what that 'end' was. The goal of all magi was the same, after all. That was, the Root of all Creation.
"Where's the Greater Grail? Tell me and you'll get to live."
Kirei stared at me in silence. For the first time, I could no longer spot that calm indifference he always treated me with. No, the creepy priest was finally being forced to rack his brain.
Sighing, Nobunaga raised an arm.
The air burned, and Kirei was suddenly staring down the barrels of a dozen rifles.
"I have your word?"
I only narrowed my eyes.
"Underneath the Ryuudou Temple, though it can also be evoked from here."
The rifles around him burned away. However, the moment I felt his gaze relax, I flicked my wrist. An invisible slash tore across his stomach. The air whistled, and his head was no longer attached to his body.
"Yeah, I was never stupid enough to be a man of my word when it comes to scum like you, Kirei."
-
Despite Rin's insistence towards the contrary, I entered the cavern beneath the mountain temple alone. Darkness stretched all around me, but that was of little issue. Instead of removing my aviators, I turned on the flashlight on my phone.
There was no monster lurking beneath, no surprise awaited me. When I was deep enough, my suspicions were confirmed. The Grail of Fuyuki was... a grand ritual, carved into a massive rock over fifty metres in size.
"What a surprise." I drawled, reaching for my aviators.
Surely, at some point, I would have had trouble when my brain was suddenly bombarded by an excess of information. My eyes did not care at all for my willingness when it came to analyzing mystery, after all.
But, I had faced humanity's oldest hero. I had understood his noble phantasm. I had triumphed against him. I had faced the Witch of Colchis, the son of God-King Zeus, the Once-And-Future King who drew the sword from the stone, and the Hound of Ulster whose father was the Great God Lugh.
Against the trouble that gave me, a two century old circuit simply did not measure up.
I understood the method of summoning, the connection to that vaunted place that recorded all of humanity's greatest delusions, and I understood that I was right.
While the energy gathered through the deaths of the heroic spirits was indeed capable of granting most worldly wishes by virtue of sheer magnitude, its true purpose was to burn a hole to the Root, to tread along the path the Third Magician had taken, and acquire it once more.
Something I could do right now, if I wanted.
"Pshhhh, if he was so great... Why he dead?"
I snapped my fingers.
"Like I need some old fuck's help to get magic."
Besides, it was corrupted.
The entire space collapsed into itself. The ritual was dismantled and fell apart. I held my finger against my thumb, and pointed it at the bare rock. At that, I felt some unknown force reach out to me.
"Shut the fuck up, mate. Nine Ropes. Polarized Light. Crow and Declaration. Between Front and Back."
Something tried to escape.
"Hollow Purple."
An impossible mass erased the Holy Grail of Fuyuki from existence, along with everything in its general direction for miles upon miles.
"If things do get bad enough that I need the Third... I'll just reproduce the ritual, but better."
I shook my head, putting on my aviators once more.
One day, I'd find my own route to the Swirl of Creation... just to make a point, because I was me, and even the world wasn't allowed to disagree.
For now though, I was going to stick around here for a while longer. I had to do something about the city I'd destroyed.
-
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