And as the Servants died one after another.
The light of this Pseudo-Holy Grail would undoubtedly grow ever brighter, until it was fully completed and became a wish-granting device.
No one knew that just as this Holy Grail entered its final countdown, a winged "centipede" burrowed through the earth beside it and transformed into Zouken Matou.
"Hehehe... little monster of the Tohsaka Family, you never imagined this old man had another card up his sleeve... soon, very soon, this old man will be able to fulfill his wish..."
Above the Miyou River.
As more and more Demon Pillars gathered, both the Demon Pillars and Solomon grew stronger without cease.
Master and Servant naturally complemented one another. Gilgamesh, who had activated the Star of Revelation, knew full well that if he continued allowing Demon Pillar Mongrels into his garden, he would eventually have to face Solomon in his complete form.
With a boom, the Demon God beams, ever increasing in power and density, finally broke through the interception net forged from King Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon and the Star of Revelation.
One wing of the Ship of Heaven was shattered by a beam fired by a Demon Pillar.
Gilgamesh's expression grew increasingly grim. He leaped down from the Ship of Heaven in fury, then unleashed it.
A golden point of light fell toward Solomon below.
As if sensing danger, the bodies of countless Demon Pillars rapidly swelled as the golden point descended. They stretched out their enlarged, massive, sturdy forms, blocking its path.
"Hmph~ foolish Mongrels."
No one knew what Noble Phantasm Gilgamesh had used. As Gilgamesh stood in the sky with a livid face and fury written across it, arms folded over his chest, continuously unleashing all manner of Noble Phantasms from the Gate of Babylon while staring intently at Solomon, who was also watching him, that golden point of light passed directly through several Demon Pillars that had tried to stop it with their bodies, as though it did not exist.
With a boom, flames burst everywhere, and the city filled with the scent of roasted flesh.
The Ancient Nuclear Bomb, equivalent to a small tactical nuclear warhead, exploded above Solomon's head, in the center of more than a dozen Demon Pillars.
Facing the blinding radiance of the Ancient Nuclear Bomb's explosion, Artoria, who had been standing silently on the river channel at the edge of the battlefield, gathering intelligence and waiting for her chance.
Relied on her extraordinary intuition to seize this fleeting opportunity that could decide victory or defeat.
She raised her holy sword once more, and the light of victory illuminated her again.
Within the nuclear blaze, the inconspicuous Artoria began frantically draining Kirei Kotomine's mana as well, swinging her holy sword with all her strength.
A sacred torrent of light surged forth.
Perhaps to others, Artoria's actions seemed like a desecration of that sacred light...
But Artoria, who was herself a "Holy King" and a "saint," did not see it that way. This was not desecration... because this was Artoria's light!
Solomon raised one hand and erected a magecraft barrier, using it to isolate the nuclear explosion. Then, with surprise, he suddenly turned his head and swiftly raised his other hand.
Boom... The torrent of light thundered past, and the Demon Pillars struck along its path began to howl in agony.
Compared to the Ancient Nuclear Bomb, the sacred light unleashed by Artoria appeared to be far more destructive to the Demon Pillars.
"Gilgamesh!"
Dragging her battered body, she gritted her teeth and maintained the Noble Phantasm's full release.
This was undoubtedly the best chance. Solomon had to resist the Ancient Nuclear Bomb's blast while defending against Excalibur. There was no way he could defend against Gilgamesh's trump card at this moment.
And yet... Gilgamesh abandoned this perfect opportunity.
He shot Artoria a disgusted glare. Gilgamesh of this era was still quite willful, and although he did not do anything excessively irrational just because Artoria had interfered in his battle.
He still completely ignored the opportunity before him.
"King of Knights, this is this King's battle!"
"Bastard... do you know what you're saying?!"
Artoria glared at Gilgamesh in rage. If they just defeated Solomon, the Holy Grail would be within reach.
But...
Gilgamesh remained unmoved. No matter how furious Artoria became, he remained unmoved.
Anger, disappointment, frustration...
As victory, once within reach, was about to slip away, Artoria shot Gilgamesh a vicious glare and withdrew Excalibur. Watching the Demon Pillars gradually recover amid the nuclear blast's aftershock, she swiftly withdrew from the river channel before their counterattack arrived.
On one side of the blazing riverbank.
Marisbury touched the bloody scratch on his cheek. Holding a meteorite that constantly writhed like a crystal sea urchin, he smiled and shoved aside Berserker, whose battle blade was about to fall upon his head.
"Just an illegally summoned Servant whose combat strength cannot be fully unleashed... and yet you forced me to use that..."
He turned to glance at Kirei Kotomine, whose body was riddled with bloody holes and whose Command Seals were almost gone.
Marisbury had defeated Kirei Kotomine and Berserker alone with the strange meteorite in his hand. He swallowed the words in his mouth, then quietly put away that peculiar meteorite, which seemed almost alive.
After putting away the meteorite, Marisbury did not hurry to deal with Kirei Kotomine, who had completely lost his fighting ability. Instead, while watching the battle on the river, he used magecraft to heal the insignificant wound on his cheek.
"Why didn't you kill me..."
"There is no particular reason. I simply found you interesting while observing you... and my Servant also wishes to have one final, satisfying battle to bid farewell to the past..."
Epilogue... The Victor...
One, two...
A full seventy-two Demon Pillars had finally been completely summoned by Solomon from his Reality Marble into this world.
Although most of them had been carved into a battered mess and blasted to pieces by Gilgamesh.
As long as Solomon was unharmed, these Demon Pillars could not be completely killed. Even if Gilgamesh killed the Demon Pillars in this world, Solomon could quickly revive and summon them again from his Reality Marble—the Temple of Solomon.
Thus, rather than making Solomon waste even a little effort summoning intact Demon Pillars.
Gilgamesh preferred to leave them half-dead and let them recover slowly.
Gilgamesh turned to glance at the battlefield near the bridgehead, immediately taking in the sight of Kirei Kotomine lying miserably on the ground.
"How incompetent, Kirei... Still, for a clown this King created on a whim, this is enough for this King to forgive your offense."
After saying that calmly, Gilgamesh, whose face no longer held anger or impatience, smiled.
Gilgamesh then raised his hand and took a jug of fine wine and two gleaming golden cups from the Gate of Babylon.
Then, utterly unconcerned, he passed through the grotesque, ferocious Demon Pillars that stood like mountains and radiated overwhelming pressure, stepping through the air until he reached Solomon.
Gilgamesh stood slightly higher than him.
Solomon, who had ordered the Demon Pillars to stop attacking, also smiled and rose from his throne before walking over to Gilgamesh.
"One last drink?"
"Of course. After all, you have the finest wine here."
Solomon took the cup and wine jug Gilgamesh offered him.
Solomon understood Gilgamesh's little gesture of pride and smiled knowingly. He took the initiative to fill Gilgamesh's cup before filling his own.
The two drained their cups in a single gulp, then smiled at one another.
Amid the lingering taste of wine brewed by the gods, the two seemed to sense each other's intentions.
"This King has lost, defeated by the lackey of a mongrel like you. This King will give you that insignificant cup as well."
"Gilgamesh, you were only restricted by your Saint Graph and Master... after all, you have not even used your trump cards!"
"What unpleasant eyes... Solomon, defeat is defeat. This King will never deny this King's loss... if this King could not even accept a mere defeat... then Enkidu... Never mind. Why is this King telling you any of this? Come!"
As he spoke, Gilgamesh flung off his armor, revealing a lean, powerful upper body that was both well-built and beautiful.
Seeing Gilgamesh's actions, Solomon threw off his own coat as well.
Beneath it was a simple, neat outfit and the solid muscles on his arms.
Fist against fist, foot against foot.
These were two Kings who acknowledged one another, enjoying the purest battle in the most primal way.
Enemies could be found anywhere, after all. But opponents who could acknowledge each other... were far too rare.
Punch after punch, each one landing solidly.
Gilgamesh and Solomon seemed not to have experienced such a satisfying, pure battle in a very long time.
Though both had been beaten until their faces were covered in blood, identical delighted smiles bloomed across their faces.
Just as these two ancient Kings traded punch after punch, striking each other and enjoying the most manly of battles.
On the burning riverbank.
At some unknown moment, a holy sword had been placed against Marisbury's neck.
"Give it to me... give me the Holy Grail..."
Faced with Artoria's holy sword at his throat, Marisbury showed not the slightest fear. Instead, he boldly met Artoria's emerald green eyes, whose expression was on the verge of collapse.
He slowly raised his hand and gently pushed the sword at his neck aside. Smiling, Marisbury stared into Artoria's eyes and spoke with complete sincerity.
"No problem. I can give you the Holy Grail... but not now!"
"Are you toying with me?!"
Artoria pressed the holy sword back into place against Marisbury's neck.
Just now, she had been so close, just one step away from obtaining the Holy Grail. Artoria nearly went mad as she roared at Marisbury.
"Give me the Holy Grail... I cannot let their sacrifices be in vain... I can still do better, I can do better... yes, I can..."
"My sincerest apologies, King Arthur, but I cannot agree to give you the Holy Grail now. However, twenty years from now, another Holy Grail War will be held in this city... I can help you remain in the present world, allow you to participate in that Holy Grail War, and guarantee that you will obtain victory!"
Artoria bit down hard on her lip, and her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
In the end, she slowly lowered her holy sword.
"The price... what price do you want me to pay?"
"For the next twenty years, you will need to serve me and cooperate with my research..."
"I accept. A contract—you must sign a contract with me!"
Her alliance with Gilgamesh, and the reality of being forced to watch the Holy Grail slip through her fingers, naturally meant that Artoria would no longer trust verbal promises.
"No problem. I can sign a contract with you..."
Marisbury walked to Kirei Kotomine's side, raised his hand, and removed the five remaining Command Seals from Kirei Kotomine's hand. He then tore a piece of cloth from Kirei Kotomine's clothes.
He took out a Command Seal and reached into Kirei Kotomine's wound, smearing blood onto it.
Using the mana within the Command Seal as a foundation, Marisbury wrote a Self-Imposed Contract on the spot.
Without hesitation, he signed his name and handed the Self-Imposed Contract to Artoria.
Artoria swept her eyes over its terms. Though she remained unwilling, knowing there was no other path if she wanted the Holy Grail, she signed her own name on the Self-Imposed Contract...
Much later.
By the Miyou River, with night about to end, Marisbury, the victor of the Holy Grail War, stood with Solomon and Artoria, gazing into the distance...
The fires caused by the battle still burned fiercely. From the riverbank at the center of the inferno, it looked as though all of Fuyuki City was burning.
"Let us go. It is time to meet the Holy Grail..."
With a hint of impatience, Artoria swiftly followed Marisbury's footsteps.
However, Solomon, who had put his hooded robe back on and had earlier helped Marisbury allow Artoria to remain in the present world and fulfill his wish through the Uruk Great Cup, shook his head.
"No. Let us part here... When I can no longer make a living someday, I will come trouble you."
"Very well... Romani Archaman, my doors will always be open to you..."
The Star-Forged Holy Grail, the Counter Force, and Wishes...
Beside the Pseudo-Holy Grail that was about to take shape, the nearly transparent King Hassan carried his grotesque greatsword and walked step by step toward Zouken Matou, whose face was filled with terror and unwillingness.
Zouken Matou retreated in terror again and again, until a solid rock wall blocked his escape...
Zouken Matou's expression was twisted and filled with resentment. It was not as if he had not tried to resist...
But before King Hassan, even a King Hassan about to dissipate on his own... what use was Zouken Matou's resistance?