Chapter 585

[Primordial Rune activated.]

["Venus, Great Mother Goddess! Please grant power to this daughter of the father! By that thin, tiny fragment, cast down a crushing blessing upon my beloved!"]

[Even if I cannot save this world personally, even if I want to protect this land where the masses you saved, Sigurd, live...]

[I cannot do it!]

[I have already gone mad; there is no other way but to follow the world's guidance and kill Saber.]

[I have now been implanted with a circuit of madness.]

[That girl, I cannot oppose her.]

[Or perhaps, the potion Nigel let wander through my body has mutated by her hand.]

[I cannot defy the destiny that has been reset.]

[If I were to carry out the Rune to the end like this—everything in Tokyo would cease to exist.]

[Tonight, how many tens of thousands of people will lose their lives because of this fierce battle?]

["Come, Sigurd!"]

Rin Tohsaka: "!!!"

Rin Tohsaka: "What the hell! Is this going to blow up Tokyo again!"

Little Director: "Yo-you're joking, right? How could that be possible..."

Aoko Aozaki: "No, if it is the Primordial Rune, it is indeed possible."

Little Director: "..."

Caules: "This is the most intense Holy Grail War I have ever seen."

Feng Xi: "(What is this, you haven't seen a Holy Grail War where real gods fight yet.)"

["Must kill. Must kill. Everyone, everyone must be killed—"]

[Brynhildr’s tone suddenly changed, and she said strangely: "You know what must be done, Saber!"]

["..."]

[The next moment, the other party represented the answer with action.]

[A silent thrust pierced Brynhildr’s spirit core, and the stones of ten thousand deaths formed under the moon also turned into particles of magical energy and vanished without a trace.]

[The tens of thousands of lives resting in the Tokyo night were thus spared.]

Everyone: "???"

Rin Tohsaka: "Just like that... it's over?"

Jinako: "This is match-fixing, right!"

Brynhildr: "Unfortunately, it is not."

Brynhildr: "Have you not yet seen the potential of this man?"

["...Very well..."]

[This was by no means showing mercy, nor was it intentionally seeking death. Brynhildr declared war with the body of a fallen god, and then was defeated.]

[No matter what that omnipotent girl might say, it is impossible to stop this automatically functioning combat mechanism of mine.]

[I was merely letting you exert your full strength.]

[O strongest wielder of the holy sword!]

Zabiko: "Exert full strength? Could it be that King Arthur hasn't used his full power yet?"

Waver: "...No, it should be a restriction."

Waver: "Just like Brynhildr, the strength of this male King Arthur also surges under certain specific circumstances; that was the case just now."

Waver: "I didn't guess wrong, did I, Brynhildr?"

Brynhildr: "Hehe, you are indeed very smart."

Caules: "The situation just now... could it be, protection?"

Waver: "Hmm, there aren't many clues, so we can only guess like this for now, but the probability is very high."

Waver: "When King Arthur is determined to protect, he can unleash huge potential."

Flower Magician: "Oh my, Artoria, you've been surpassed; this male version of you seems to be quite a bit stronger than you."

Artoria: "..."

Kay: "Shut up, you strange cat-spirit, would it kill you to say less? If you can't keep that mouth shut, I can pull your tongue out for you."

Flower Magician: "Kay-chan, you are too extreme!"

["The thing... lurking... in the Greater Grail... must not... be allowed to, be born..."]

[Although her chest was pierced, Brynhildr still had to finish saying what needed to be said.]

[If it were you, you would certainly be willing to strike down any form of evil for the sake of the world, just like the Sigurd I love so dearly.]

["Don't let, the world..."]

[Don't let the world be destroyed like this, please, you must save it—]

[O illusory yet noble, hero—]

[Night ends, dawn breaks.]

Rin Tohsaka: "Cannot be released? Is it another problematic Grail!"

Jinako: "I feel like this Grail thing is just like Pandora's Box."

Seigiro Shishigo: "Hehe, it's not a feeling; the Grail is exactly that kind of thing."

No matter which world, and no matter if there is a problem with the Grail itself, humanity will fall into disputes of blood and fire around it.

[The next day, a cafe by the sea.]

[Manaka Sajyou is enjoying a peaceful afternoon tea here, and the one accompanying her opposite is naturally the Old Sword.]

[From the moment Lancer left the stage last night, the outcome of this Holy Grail War was already clear.]

[Manaka Sajyou won, and she won very easily.]

[Next is the question of how to make a wish to the Grail.]

["Why must it be the Grail? Bringing miracles, fulfilling wishes. If it is truly such a wonderful magic, don't you think the ritual it requires should also be more peaceful?"]

["..."]

[Manaka Sajyou is excitedly pouring her heart out to the Old Sword, but the other party is plunged into endless silence.]

["Saber?"]

["...Yes. The Grail should not be used to catch blood."]

[The Old Sword forces himself to perk up and agrees: "I have heard that the Grail was originally intended to accumulate unobservable miracles, to accumulate people's wishes. When the cup is filled, the glory of the Lord will also overflow."]

[Manaka Sajyou: "Hehe, it is exactly the opposite. If you don't fill it with wishes first, the Grail won't start... or something like that."]

[Old Sword: "..."]

Blonde Rin: "It seems he has already started to waver."

Waver: "Now that the other Masters have been eliminated, the remaining Servants are all Manaka Sajyou's; she is already the victor."

Waver: "Now, to stop her, we can only rely on King Arthur..."

[The Old Sword is very conflicted inside now; every time he closes his eyes, he thinks of those Servants who have already left the stage.]

[The Berserker who turned into dust in the dazzling radiance.]

[He reminds Saber of memories from past wars. The Questing Beast from British legend.]

[Possessing the head and neck of a snake, the body of a lion, and the feet of a deer, it is a twisted magical beast of the forest that roars out condensed hatred and malice.]

[Its way of existence is somewhat similar to Berserker.]

[Hatred, jealousy, a malicious anomaly that tries to bite through everything that enters its field of vision.]

[The only thing that can be certain is that he went mad by his own will.]

[Was it to win the Holy Grail War? Or to fulfill a wish?]

[Regardless, there is no doubt that there was a will behind that madness.]

[For the sake of a greater cause, willing to be slandered as evil—]

[This silent declaration, this gaze containing an iron will. He had seen it before.]

["Agravain. To think of you at this time, it is truly strange..."]

[Of course, Agravain did not have the appearance of a beast, nor was he a person who loved to use violence.]

[What was similar was just the way of existence.]

[The light of will hidden deep in the eyes looks somewhat similar—]

Artoria: "Agravain, is it..."