"...Do you understand now, Kirei?"
"So... that's what it means..."
For a moment, Kirei Kotomine was speechless.
This arrogance—born from omniscience, yet choosing to seal that very omniscience—was the embodiment of the King of Heroes' character.
No...
It was the embodiment of his divinity.
"Now then, Kirei."
Gilgamesh's crimson, slit-pupiled eyes fixed upon him like a great serpent stalking its prey—cold, merciless, and yet burning with anticipation.
"You've realized the true significance of the question I asked, haven't you?"
"…Yes."
Kirei nodded solemnly, meeting Gilgamesh's crimson gaze.
"Please tell me, Archer."
"What is the meaning behind imagining Kariya Matou as the victor?"
Like a diligent student seeking enlightenment from an unquestionable authority, Kirei wanted to hear the answer directly from Gilgamesh himself.
"Oh?"
Gilgamesh chuckled.
"You're finally starting to act like a proper Master."
Then he answered calmly.
"There is none."
"None whatsoever."
"I thought as much..."
Disappointment washed over Kirei.
Yet at the same time, he felt an odd sense of relief.
A person's life has no inherent meaning.
It was precisely because of that truth that, under Gilgamesh's guidance, he had begun desperately searching for delight.
"Hahaha... Don't look so disappointed."
Although he said so, Gilgamesh's own smile only grew wider.
"Think about it."
"The question itself is meaningless."
"And yet, until I pointed it out, you never realized that fact."
"Doesn't the very act of discovering that oversight carry a clear and undeniable meaning?"
"What do you mean?"
Kirei's thirst for knowledge was obvious.
Gilgamesh casually rearranged the golden chess pieces on the coffee table, each representing one of the seven Servants.
"If I had asked you to imagine any other Master surviving until the end, you would have immediately realized how pointless the exercise was."
"You would have dismissed the thought without hesitation."
As he spoke, he used the Berserker piece to knock over the Lancer, Assassin, and Caster pieces one after another.
"But you didn't do that with Kariya."
"You abandoned your usual habit of pursuing only meaningful thoughts."
"Instead, you immersed yourself in a pointless fantasy."
"You forgot what meaninglessness was."
"You stopped feeling frustrated by futility."
"There is only one explanation."
Gilgamesh tossed the Berserker piece toward Kirei.
"You were playing."
"You should be pleased, Kirei."
"You've finally taken the most important step on your journey toward delight."
"You've learned what entertainment truly is."
"Entertainment... is delight?"
Kirei stared blankly at the Berserker chess piece resting in his palm.
"Exactly."
Gilgamesh nodded, smiling like a devil slowly tempting another soul into the abyss.
"There is nothing in Kariya Matou's fate that should bring him joy."
"The longer he lives, the more suffering he will endure."
"The only thing awaiting him is an endless series of helpless sighs."
"In that case..."
"Wouldn't it be kinder for him to die sooner and find salvation that much earlier?"
That was Kirei's conclusion regarding Kariya Matou's tragic life.
He admitted that uncovering Kariya's secrets and learning about his past had indeed been enjoyable.
But that did not mean Kariya himself was someone who brought him delight.
Quite the opposite.
To Kirei, who despised wasting effort on anything meaningless, Kariya was simply a foolish and incompetent man.
As the eldest son of one of Fuyuki City's Three Founding Families, even if he lacked talent as a magus, he should still have been able to use the prestige and resources of the Matou Family to build a respectable life for himself.
Instead, he waited until he desperately needed power before crawling back like a loathsome insect, begging those who possessed it.
It was utter recklessness.
From the bottom of his heart, Kirei rejected Kariya Matou as a person.
In much the same way that he was obsessed with Kiritsugu Emiya.
As for Kiritsugu's background...
Kirei knew it so well that he scarcely needed to investigate at all.
The two men were almost like brothers who had never met.
Noticing the instinctive disgust on Kirei's face, Gilgamesh's lips curled into an amused smile.
"Kirei."
"Why do you insist on defining delight so narrowly?"
"What contradiction is there in finding delight within suffering and despair?"
He looked directly into Kirei's eyes.
"In this world, it is not only comedies and happy endings that move people."
"Many tragedies—and endings that seem imperfect—are far more unforgettable."
"The delight they create endures much longer."
"Sometimes, it remains engraved upon a person's entire lifetime, never to be forgotten."
As he spoke, the image of a graceful woman clad in white robes, with long emerald-green hair, flashed through Gilgamesh's mind.
To him...
She was the greatest proof of those words.
Only after losing something does one truly understand the joy of possessing it.
Only then can one gain a deeper appreciation for what delight truly means.
"I see..."
"So delight is not limited to comedies or perfect endings..."
Kirei felt his understanding deepen.
The contradictions that had plagued his heart disappeared almost instantly.
So... that, too, is a form of delight.
Because I refused to acknowledge it, it remained like a thorn buried deep within my heart, reminding me of its existence every moment.
"Kirei."
"The ways of seeking delight are never fixed."
"That is precisely why you have remained lost for so long."
"Do not imprison yourself within a single definition."
"There are countless ways to pursue delight."
"More than you could ever imagine."
"And that..."
Gilgamesh spread his arms with boundless arrogance.
"...is the true charm of my garden."
Strangely, Gilgamesh's grandiose declaration did not strike Kirei as absurd.
Instead, it felt perfectly natural.
A being who possessed the authority of omniscience...
A king who possessed the prototypes of every Noble Phantasm in existence...
Was he not, for all intents and purposes, an omnipotent god?
Once he obtained the Holy Grail...
Once he possessed limitless magical energy...
Kirei believed he would witness the awakening—
No.
The return—
Of a true god.
The mere thought of it made his entire body tremble with anticipation.
What incomparable delight...
After receiving Gilgamesh's guidance, Kirei found himself yearning for an entirely new form of pleasure.
"Kirei."
"I have high expectations for you."
"So go."
"Do what you most desire."
"Find that worm called Kariya Matou and drag him before me."
"Yes... King of Heroes."
Kirei bowed deeply in the manner of a loyal retainer.
The two silently met each other's gaze.
Beneath the dim golden lamplight, their profiles seemed almost like those of a god and a devil standing side by side.
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