Another Nuclear Night (Part 2)

It was already late at night.

The battle is drawing to a close.

Some people have found redemption.

Some people made a choice.

Some people have resolved their inner conflicts.

Some people found satisfaction.

Some people have found liberation.

Some people, however, began the final battle with unwavering faith.

"Hoo, the smell of the final battle... it's really hard to suppress the excitement..."

After a slight sigh, Rovey reached out and covered his body with several Rune for enhancement. Then he tore off the white ribbon Merlin had given him and stacked various buffs on his body.

[Hero Creation]

[Dreamlike Charisma]

[Primordial Runes]

But that wasn't all. He then raised his finger and put on another layer of protection that he had created himself, to prevent the opponent from seizing the opportunity to kill him instantly.

Guardian Angel

Gilgamesh, witnessing this, did not launch a sneak attack or stop it. He remained with his arms crossed, coldly observing the petty tricks used by Rovey.

Although he knew that the master-servant pair before him was completely different from any master-servant pair he had fought before, and that they were special beings who were truly capable of killing him, he still did not set aside his kingly pride to ambush a Magus merely possessed a divine artifact in order to ensure final victory.

Not only that, he also wanted to directly defeat the power that Rovey was most proud of, kill his Servant, and completely conquer this kid with power and the way of the king, so that he would be convinced and obediently become his new collection.

"Oh? Is your little trick over?"

Gilgamesh crossed his arms and looked at Rovey, who already had at least a dozen special buffs on him, and said, "Although these random buffs are indeed effective, they are undeniably effective."

At least that quantity, along with the chaotic magical light, made Gilgamesh's brows twitch wildly.

But that's how it should be...

When facing me, the king, you have to put on this kind of imposing presence to look respectable!

However, just as he raised his arm and unfolded several golden light gates behind him in retaliation, Rovey suddenly raised his palm.

"Wait a mininute..."

"Um?"

Gilgamesh frowned, and said somewhat impatiently, "What's wrong with you now?"

However, his movements did not actually stop because of Rovey's call to halt. Countless golden ripples continued to emanate from behind him, and hundreds of golden light gates appeared behind him.

"It's nothing, just getting used to the situation."

Rovey sighed deeply, then slowly raised his right hand. "I issue this enhancement in the name of the Three Command Seal, Scáthach, fight with all your might! Kill the King of Heroes!"

"Yes, sir, or rather, I've been eagerly waiting for this moment."

Scáthach smiled slightly and responded. Then, with the blessing of the Command Seal, the magical power around her body surged out like a storm, and a scarlet light flickered from her crimson eyes and the top of her spear.

Even the special state of Caster's Spirit Origin being forcibly adjusted to Lancer using Rune was now completed.

Because its original Spirit Origin is Caster, even if it is adjusted to Lancer using Rune, it is still not as strong as a Lancer Spirit Origin that is actually summoned.

Therefore, in the previous battles, Scáthach only displayed martial arts skills and abilities that were somewhat weakened, which made her fight very unsatisfying.

However, at this moment, under the enhanced effect of the three-stroke Command Seal, she was finally able to comfortably unleash her full power.

"Hmph, so you used up your trump card, the Command Seal, right from the start?"

Gilgamesh scoffed, "But that's good. At least in your current state, as a dying woman clinging to life, your last struggle is barely acceptable. You old woman who has survived since the Age of Gods, this should be your strongest power now, right? Now, use your supposedly unparalleled martial arts to please this king!!"

"Ah, that's because..."

Faced with Gilgamesh's boastful words, Rovey simply smiled, then rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms covered in bright red Command Seal. "After all, with so many Command Seal, it would be a waste not to use them lavishly, wouldn't it?"

"You bastard!"

Gilgamesh's eyebrows twitched violently.

"Do you think that a few Command Seal plus that old woman next to you can change anything?"

"I don't know whether anything can be changed or not, but... King of Heroes, I still want to advise you to watch your words, because you have really angered your Scathach..."

"Huh? What did you say..."

Upon hearing Rovey's reminder, Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, about to say something, but then he heard...

--call out!!

This was an incredibly piercing sound as it cut through the air.

"—The Gáe Bolg Alternative (Gáe Bolg Alternative)!!"

Without any grand pronouncements or warning, just as Gilgamesh was about to continue mocking Rovey's naivety, a crimson light shot out directly from Scáthach's palm without warning.

The Crimson Magic Spear flew out of his hand without any warning. Its terrifying speed and near-certainty of impact reached Gilgamesh's chest in an instant. This terrifying, god-slaying spear was undoubtedly aimed directly at his heart.

In that instant, Gilgamesh actually vaguely sensed a threat called death rapidly approaching him.

—Boom!!

A violent explosion suddenly erupted, Crimson Magic Spear struck Gilgamesh's body directly. The terrifying impact that followed unsurprisingly exploded in front of him, sending his body, along with the floor tiles beneath his feet, flying dozens of meters away before crashing into the center of the main hall of Ryūdō Temple behind him.

"Call..."

Scáthach let out a long breath. Looking at the mess created by Gilgamesh being sent flying, her anger, which had almost exploded, was somewhat calmed by this shot.

"Although I remain silent, it doesn't mean I have no complaints about you, King of Heroes."

"Even the King of Heroes doesn't give you the right to be arrogant in front of me. Don't forget that even you, who once boasted of being invincible, ultimately fell to death along with your closest friend. And I, as the immortal queen who rules the realm of death, the Land of Shadows, am your nemesis!"

Scáthach stared coldly at the crumbling Mahavira Hall and said.

"And... calling her 'old woman' all the time, you impolite thing! Don't you know that directly addressing a woman by her age is a major taboo?!"

A chilling killing intent emanated from her.

The aura that had been strengthened by the Command Seal became even colder at this moment, clearly indicating that Gilgamesh had truly angered him.

That's why Scáthach unleashed her Noble Phantasm on Gilgamesh without warning as punishment.

Normally, at that distance, if a Servant were to take the full force of a Noble Phantasm enhanced by Command Seal head-on, most Heroic Spirit would perish. Without Instinct prediction like King Arthur's, even top-tier Servant like Iskandar and Lancelot would have difficulty reacting in time.

However, although Scáthach was extremely confident in the power of her Noble Phantasm, which was the result of her martial arts skills, she was not so arrogant as to think that a single unexpected attack could directly eliminate Gilgamesh, the most powerful King of Heroes in this Holy Grail War.

If things were really that simple, my Master wouldn't have made such thorough preparations.

And things indeed turned out exactly as she expected...

Splash, splash...

The sound of sand grains pattering in my ears.

Then, from beneath the ruins of the collapsed Great Buddha Hall, a hand suddenly reached out, followed by a loud "BOOM!" explosion. Just as Scáthach had predicted, the figure of the King of Heroes Gilgamesh reappeared amidst the ruins.

[Rho Aias A]

[The Golden Fleece A]

[Shield of the Gods - Aegis A+]

"... A sneak attack! That damned old woman actually tried to pull this trick on me. But if you think you can eliminate me with just this little trick, you're being far too naive!"

As Scáthach had anticipated Golden King, who had just suffered a great loss and was covered in dust, strode out from the dust he had raised, threw his shattered shield under his feet and trampled it over, then suddenly raised his hand and ripped off the iron lion skin that only existed in mythology.

"Hehe, King of Heroes, don't make that face. You were spouting nonsense, but because of your carelessness, you've come back here looking disheveled and trying to act all tough. You look like a kid who was showing off something, but after being exposed, you're still trying to pretend to be calm. It looks really pathetic, you know?"

Scáthach sneered, still retorting with sharp words without any mercy.

"You mere bastard who only managed to gain this slight advantage through a sneak attack, what makes you so arrogant in front of me?!"

At this moment, Gilgamesh's face no longer held the domineering aura and kingly arrogance he had displayed when he first appeared. He looked at Scáthach, who had ambushed him and left him looking disheveled, and his eyes burned with undisguised fury.

With his raised arm and shout, the number of golden light gates that were originally hundreds doubled again, and even the entire night sky above Ryūdō Temple was completely swallowed up by golden ripples.

A golden light illuminated the entire night sky, a magnificent sight far more dazzling than when Vimana appeared. Even residents of Fuyuki City, a thousand meters away, could clearly see the golden sun rising above Ryūdō Temple, as bright as day.

Even Kirei Kotomine, who had specifically suggested splitting up with Gilgamesh to search for Emiya Kiritsugu below the Fuyuki City Gymnasium alone, knew that Gilgamesh was thoroughly enraged when he saw this horrifying scene.

Originally, according to common sense...

Seeing the high and Gilgamesh enraged and behaving so irritably, he should have felt a sense of pleasure...

But for some reason, he found it difficult to entertain such evil thoughts at this moment.

The memories of the past, and the words his father had once spoken, began to echo in his ears again.

' Kirei, only by earnestly seeking your own meaning and doing what you believe is right can you truly redeem yourself...'

"Should we do what we want to do, and do what we believe is right?"

Kirei Kotomine kept repeating this sentence in his mind, then his eyes gradually became unfocused, and he couldn't help but think about something.

So what kind of things and choices are right for me?

Killing Mr. Tokiomi would give him pleasure, but it was undoubtedly an evil act, a twisted emotion, and according to his father's views, it was by no means redemption.

Originally, someone who chases after evil and explores malice should have felt the same pleasure upon seeing such a chaotic scene, but...

He can't be happy right now.

Kirei Kotomine recalled his father's words during the revolving lantern display, as well as Gilgamesh's guidance, and his heart was filled with immense contradictions and struggles.

Pleasure and redemption...

The two are contradictory, and there must be something wrong with one of them. So what is the right thing to do for oneself?

He was once again lost in confusion and desperately craved answers.

Thinking this, Kirei Kotomine immediately withdrew his confused gaze from the direction of Ryūdō Temple and shifted his focus back to the correct spot where the Greater Grail was about to descend: below the Fuyuki City Gymnasium. He took a step forward and began to move towards that spot with all his might.

For some reason, his intuition told him that perhaps this time he could find the real answer there.

With this thought in mind, Kirei Kotomine, who was yearning for the answer in his heart, stopped and sprinted towards the stadium with all his might, wanting to find the true answer in his heart there.

His steps quickened, and his figure gradually disappeared into the distance. Then, not long after he left,

A middle-aged man in a red suit, with a goatee and a cane, also caught up with them.

He stared intently at Kirei Kotomine's retreating figure as he walked towards the stadium, clenching his fist so tightly that the mercury sword stained with his own blood hummed in his hand.

"I've finally found you... you damned traitor!!"

Tokiomi Tohsaka cursed under his breath, his former refined and amiable demeanor completely gone. At this moment, his eyes were as dark and sinister as a wild beast, searching for its target and ready to devour it.

He then followed the direction Kirei Kotomine had gone and ran at full speed toward the Fuyuki City gymnasium.

At this moment, the world has once again completed a closed loop.

Meanwhile, inside Ryūdō Temple.

It was light, a blinding golden light that illuminated the entire world, swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks. Countless weapons poured down from the golden portals of light at near-sonic speed, like golden waves.

Completely enraged and utterly devoid of interest in continuing the game, Gilgamesh hovered in mid-air, riding a golden torrent composed of endless divine weapons as it poured down upon Scáthach below.

"Come on! Queen of the Land of Shadows, no... you damned old hag! Show me what you've got! Perform with your cunning Master and me, and give me a little pleasure!!"

"You dare to speak so boldly, Gilgamesh! Are you prepared to pay the price for your words and actions once again?!"

Scáthach spun her magic spear, and terrifying magic power overflowed, echoing through the night sky. The entire mountain of Ryūdō Temple trembled violently because of the terrifying magic power she unleashed at that moment.

"Master!"

"I understand. In the name of the Command Seal, Scáthach unleashes her Noble Phantasm."

She looked up to face the golden king in the sky, then ignored the rain of magical Noble Phantasm falling from the sky, and swung her spear again.

"—The Gáe Bolg Alternative (Gáe Bolg Alternative)!!"

"Damn bastard, is that all you know how to do?!"

Seeing the purple light attacking him again, Gilgamesh's brow twitched violently. He then summoned Vimana and ascended into the sky at lightning speed once more. He waved his hand, and the golden ripples in the sky doubled in size. While dodging the purple light, he also locked onto the target with the golden portal. The next moment, hundreds of Noble Phantasm from the treasury unleashed a saturation-like devastation on Scáthach below at supersonic speed. Facing the Queen of the Land of Shadows, whom he was incompatible with but whose strength was not to be underestimated, Gilgamesh used terrifying firepower capable of leveling half of Fuyuki City.