Zelretch of the Jewels stood there quietly and let out another sigh.
It was as if he were looking at a child who had gone astray and was ultimately beyond saving.
"Makiri, do you remember?"
Zelretch's voice was soft, yet it struck Zouken's soul like a heavy hammer.
"A century ago, on this land before it was tainted."
"You, Justeaze, and Nagato Tohsaka."
"The three of you stood before the Greater Grail's magic circle and, with me as your witness, made a vow together."
Zelretch raised his hand, his fingertip gently brushing against the stiffened Crest Worm.
"Do you remember?"
"Makiri Zolgen... I remember that it was to eliminate All the World's Evils, to free humanity from suffering, that you resolutely abandoned your family's glory and crossed the ocean to this land in the Far East."
"Back then, your eyes were so clear, so resolute."
"You said you wanted to become an ally of justice, that you would use the Third Magic to save all of humanity."
"But look at you now."
Zelretch shook his head, his tone brimming with disappointment.
"Look at what you have become."
"To survive, you turned into this nauseating insect."
"To survive, you trampled upon your past vows and defiled Justeaze's sacrifice."
"To survive, you would even go so far as to destroy this city and countless innocent lives."
"Makiri... where exactly did that Magus with such noble ideals die?"
"Shut up... shut up!!!"
The Crest Worm let out a shrill shriek, desperately trying to stop Zelretch of the Jewels from his incessant rambling.
He was terrified.
He wasn't afraid of death; at this point, that was a near certainty.
He was simply, suddenly afraid... of having his past brought up.
Afraid of the self known as Makiri subjecting him to a trial and interrogation from the very depths of his soul.
"What do you know?! You are a Magician sitting high above! You possess a near-infinite lifespan! How could you possibly understand a mortal's fear of death?!"
"As long as I become a Soul Reaper, become a god! I will naturally return to save this hopeless world! Unlike you, who only looks down on mortals!"
"Ideals? Can ideals put food on the table? Can that sort of thing keep me alive?!"
"As long as I can live... as long as I can reach the Root... so what if I become a worm? So what if I become a demon?!"
"As long as the result is right, the process doesn't matter!!"
Hearing his roars, Zelretch did not grow angry; the pity in his eyes only deepened.
"Is that so... It seems you have completely forgotten."
"Forgotten the look in Justeaze's eyes when she became the Holy Grail, forgotten the hope she entrusted to you."
Zelretch straightened his back, no longer looking at the worm.
He turned around, his gaze piercing through the thick rock layers to look at the outside world, at the night sky ravaged by the fires of war and magical storms.
"Originally, I had no intention of interfering with the World of the Living."
Zelretch spoke slowly, "If I were to intervene recklessly, it would cause shifts in the worldlines, sometimes inviting even greater trouble."
He stroked the beard on his chin, revealing a meaningful smile.
"This time, the situation is a bit special."
"I have observed countless worldlines: in some worlds, Fuyuki City is reduced to a sea of fire, and Kiritsugu Emiya desperately digs out a child named Shirou."
"In some worlds, the Holy Grail's corruption leads to the extinction of all humanity."
"In other worlds, not only did you manage to survive, but you also succeeded in torturing that poor little girl into madness, turning her into the incarnation of an evil god."
"But in this worldline alone..."
Zelretch reached out his hand, as if grasping something invisible in the void.
"Because a variable that does not belong to this dimension intruded, the gears of fate have undergone a miraculous shift."
"That man named Asuka... and that little girl who, despite being weak, struggles with all her might..."
"And the four-pupiled man traveling across various timelines..."
"They have created a worldline filled with hope that even I could not foresee."
Zelretch lowered his head, looking at Zouken once more.
"In this worldline, there is no absolute despair."
"So, Makiri, as an old friend, this is the final mercy I can offer you."
"Cease your stubborn delusions."
"Your path ends here."
With that said, Zelretch simply swung the jeweled cane in his hand, much like swinging a sword.
"Second Magic・Multi-Dimensional Refraction."
*Hum—*
In that instant, space seemed to fold in on itself through countless mirrors.
A prismatic light, so dazzling it was impossible to look at directly, bloomed from the tip of the cane.
It was the radiance from countless parallel worlds, a dimensional blade capable of severing karma and erasing existence itself.
"No—!!!"
Zouken let out a final, despairing scream.
He felt it.
It was an obliteration aimed directly at his very existence.
Under this light, whether it was his hiding places across the world, the fragments of himself parasitizing others, or all the Mystery and Magecraft he had accumulated over hundreds of years...
All of it was completely stripped from the timeline at the exact same moment.
"I don't want to die!! I haven't..."
"Justeaze... Nagato... You all lied to me!! You all lied to me!!!"
Even until the very last moment, the old worm showed absolutely no remorse.
He cursed the world, cursed fate, and cursed those two long-deceased old friends.
Within that prismatic radiance.
The ugly Crest Worm, along with the entire surrounding swarm, instantly dissolved into particles of nothingness.
As if they had never existed at all.
The light faded.
Zelretch retracted his cane, staring at the empty altar in long silence.
"Goodbye, old friend."
"May you... find yourself again on the shores of nothingness."
After speaking, the old man's figure began to fade.
Time began to flow once more.
"...flames!!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka suddenly snapped back to reality. He found himself still holding his casting posture, the incantation in his mouth only half-spoken.
But to his astonishment, he realized his target was gone.
Zouken Matou, who had just been frantically clamoring to detonate the Greater Grail, along with the overwhelming swarm of worms...
Had all vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Wh... what is going on?!"
Tokiomi froze, looking around in bewilderment.
The Great Cavern was dead silent; only the Magic Circuits on the distant rock walls still emitted a faint red glow.
The world-destroying pressure and suffocating malice from just moments ago had completely disappeared without a trace.
"Hey, old man."
Kaien Shiba also lowered the spear in his hands, scratching his head in utter confusion. "Where did that old monster go? Did he run away?"
"No... it's impossible for him to have run away that fast..."
Tokiomi walked up to the altar, staring at the empty ground.
There wasn't even the slightest trace of Worm Magecraft left behind; it was as clean as if it had been purified by a god.
"This feeling..."
Tokiomi keenly detected the faint, almost imperceptible dimensional fluctuations lingering in the air.
It was the aura of True Magic, something that stood above all Magecraft.
"Could it be..."
Tokiomi suddenly thought of the legendary figure from his family's lore.
The Magician who had once taught the Tohsaka ancestor.