Elsewhere, Irisviel, who was fiercely battling Emiya Kiritsugu, began trembling violently. This was not a sign of arousal, but because the magical energy within her was draining away at a frenzied rate.
With the souls of four Servants inside her, she already had a rather deep connection to the Greater Holy Grail. Logically speaking, she should have been able to endure any amount of Servant-related consumption.
But now... she could not hold on anymore!!!
"Give me more!! Kiritsugu!!!" Irisviel passionately kissed Kiritsugu, almost as if she were plundering him. She needed more magical energy!!
"I can't take it anymore... someone save me..." Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the empty blue pills on the table and shed tears of sorrow. A man could not say he could not do it.
But he really could not do it anymore!!! What the hell was Saber doing?! Why was Irisviel consuming magical energy so quickly?!
Off to the side, Maiya Hisau watched Emiya Kiritsugu struggle bitterly and Irisviel grow increasingly frantic. After a moment of silence, she decided to let Kiritsugu rest while she took his place and Replenished Magic for the lady.
After all, Irisviel was currently the main source of magical energy. Even a blind man could tell that. Maiya Hisau removed the towel wrapped around her body, embraced Irisviel, and said coolly to Emiya Kiritsugu, "Saber is probably about to enter a final battle. Otherwise, he would not be this frantic. Rest for a while first."
With that, Maiya Hisau kissed Irisviel. Women could Replenish Magic with each other too; otherwise, why would Mikaela have had Maiya Hisau stay here?
"Th-thank you, Maiya." Emiya Kiritsugu panted, feeling as though his entire body was about to fall apart. His kidneys hurt terribly! Even healing magecraft had no effect!
Exit! Exit!
Mikaela had once used the power of that King Hassan before.
However, that had been King Hassan from the card deck used in Illya's Dream Summon. In the previous world, Mikaela, with only a mortal body, had used that card just a little and nearly been drained dry. He had never used it again after that.
But now, in order to kill Gilgamesh faster and more reliably, Mikaela did not intend to use Illya's Dream Summon. Instead, he would directly transform into King Hassan himself.
It was not that Mikaela could not transform into male characters, nor was it that he personally liked transforming into female characters. The reason was that he had previously lacked money to buy things like energy supplements.
He had to train himself, keep track of his own consumption, and continue earning money!
That had caused Mikaela tremendous difficulties at the time. His mother had gone to prison, his father had vanished, and he alone had been desperately supporting the entire family. Even though he knew he possessed a mountain of treasure, he had no strength to mine it.
During his experiments, Mikaela discovered that transforming into female characters greatly reduced the consumption. Trap characters consumed practically nothing. On the other hand... transforming into male characters caused the consumption to suddenly increase by a huge amount.
That was why Mikaela favored female transformations. Back then, he truly could not transform into men. The cost was simply far too great. One careless mistake could drain all his energy and lead to his death.
After many experiments, Mikaela also learned that his transformations seemed to involve something like "compatibility."
For example, everyone knew that Mikaela looked rather feminine, so it was perfectly normal for him to transform into beautiful girls or little girls.
Although Mikaela had initially been around 178 centimeters tall, repeated use of his transformation ability had gradually reduced his height... and made his appearance increasingly cute.
This was a side effect, or perhaps a matter of compatibility. If Mikaela had guessed correctly, the more often he transformed into a certain character, the stronger his compatibility with them would become, and the less energy he would consume. If it ever reached the point where no energy was consumed at all—
Then the final result would probably be that he became that person.
How did that saying go? The dragon slayer eventually became the dragon. If he kept transforming into someone, then one day, Mikaela would become that person.
But now... who cared whether the consumption was high or not!!! Irisviel was Replenishing Magic with Emiya Kiritsugu, and she herself was linked to the Greater Holy Grail!! Sixty full years of accumulated magical energy! It was enough for Mikaela to go wild once!
"You bastard!!!!"
Gilgamesh's pupils contracted. He could clearly sense just how terrifying the being transformed from that "clown" was.
And!!! He could feel that the other party's Spirit Core was actually King Class!!!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!"
Gilgamesh, who had originally wanted to mock Mikaela, became serious. The Gate of Babylon behind him opened fully! Golden ripples filled the sky!
"..."
Clutching the massive blackstone sword in his hand, Mikaela sincerely felt... that having someone provide magical energy was simply wonderful!! If he had dared to play like this in his previous life, he would probably have died already.
"Boom—!!!"
Blue flames burst from beneath Gilgamesh's feet. The flames carried no heat at all; instead, they were filled with a bone-chilling cold!
"Tch!" As if he had already sensed the danger, Gilgamesh leaped away, avoiding the cold blue flames.
"Die!" Gilgamesh no longer had the leisure to evaluate the "clown's" performance. He deeply felt the threat now. If he did not quickly eliminate that fellow, he might very well be killed by that "fake" with a King Class Spirit Core!
"Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!"
Like a bomber's carpet bombing, countless Noble Phantasms poured from the Gate of Babylon. The ground was smashed into a massive crater, while the surrounding streets suffered from the shockwaves. Numerous streetlights and benches placed along the roads were utterly destroyed by the aftermath of the bombardment.
Even Waver, who had been quite far away, was blasted away by the impact. He had never expected that Gilgamesh would become so agitated upon seeing that "swordsman"!! Without another word, he unleashed so many Noble Phantasms in a bombardment.
"Useless."
Like the whisper of death itself, a deep voice sounded beside Gilgamesh's ear. At some point, the skeletal swordsman had arrived at his side. He... had not suffered any harm at all!
"What?!" Gilgamesh instinctively tried to draw Gae Bolg, but the skeletal swordsman was faster!
"Whoosh—!!"
With only one slash, he severed the hand Gilgamesh was reaching out with to grasp Gae Bolg. Azure Flame burned in the skeletal swordsman's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "King of Heroes, farewell."
Mikaela did not intend to give Tohno Shiro the chance to recall Gilgamesh.
If a Servant's spiritual core was not destroyed, then even if all four limbs were cut off, he could still recover as long as he had enough magical energy. Therefore, it had to be a one-hit kill!
"Dong—!!!"
As Mikaela swung his final sword, a deep bell toll sounded, as though it were seeing some existence off.
"Uwah—!!!"
Gilgamesh's head was cleaved off! His body and brain were forcibly separated.
"..." Mikaela showed no reaction. He calmly thrust out his sword, piercing Gilgamesh's heart with perfect accuracy. With that... the strongest participant in this Holy Grail War had truly exited the stage.
"Damn you!!! You clown!!!!"
Gilgamesh died filled with resentment. He had never imagined that the clown he had always looked down upon had hidden such a powerful trump card!!1
But no matter how much he resented it, he could not revive. His body turned into particles and vanished from this world.
"It's over."
Mikaela let out a breath and looked toward Einzbern Castle. Five Servants had exited the stage. Only Assassin remained.
"Let's vote. Is killing ourselves faster, or should we go fight that guy who can transform into the First Generation Master for the Holy Grail?"
The Assassins had gathered. All the Hassan of the Hundred Faces had assembled together. They had originally been tracking the three Servants: Gilgamesh, Mikaela, and the King of Conquerors.
Now that those three had gathered together, the Hassan of the Hundred Faces naturally gathered as well.
They were currently holding a secret meeting.
"Hmph! So what if that guy can transform into the First Generation Master?!" One Hassan of the Hundred Faces stood up and said with great displeasure, "If he wants the Holy Grail, then just give it to him..."
"I think I'll die first. If you want to fight, then go fight."
One of the Hassan of the Hundred Faces immediately slit his own throat, declaring that he would leave first. It had nothing to do with him anyway. If anyone looked into it afterward, he would not be involved!
"Mm-hmm! Suicide is definitely faster."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't let the First Generation Master remember you."
"Look at how cowardly you all are!! Wait for me! I don't want the First Generation Master to remember me either."
The sixth Servant, Hassan of the Hundred Faces of the Assassin class, officially exited the stage.
Golden Experience!
"It's over."
When Mikaela rushed into Einzbern Castle at top speed, he found the listless Emiya Kiritsugu sitting in a chair, trembling as he lit a cigarette, as though his body had been hollowed out.
"...Looks like things are worse than I imagined." Mikaela casually crushed a card, causing a dandelion to appear in his hand. He gave it a slight wave toward Emiya Kiritsugu, and green light fell into the man's body.
This was Hozuki's dandelion, which possessed the power to heal others' bodies. Although there was not much physically wrong with Emiya Kiritsugu, he had merely Replenished Magic with Irisviel for far, far too long. His kidneys were weak... and his spirits were exhausted, that was all.
"Why did what was supposed to be an ordinary raid turn out like this?" Emiya Kiritsugu's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. He remembered that tonight's plan had only been to kill the King of Conquerors and Diarmuid, right?!
Why had Gilgamesh and Hassan of the Hundred Faces died too??? This was completely different from the plan.
"I don't know. Maybe the timing was just too good. I thought launching an attack was the best choice." Mikaela said calmly, "You should also know that our greatest enemy was the King of Heroes."
"No, it's normal enough that you killed the King of Heroes. But why did Assassin die too?"
Thanks to the healing effects of Hozuki's dandelion, Emiya Kiritsugu's hand was no longer trembling so violently. He took a deep breath, snuffed out the cigarette, and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
Six Servants had now exited the stage. The only one left was Mikaela.
Without a doubt, they had won. It was just that this victory had come far too suddenly. Tonight's plan had only been a small-scale surprise attack, not some final decisive battle.
Yet unexpectedly, their Servant had been so fierce that he killed every other Servant cleanly. Even Assassin, the one with the greatest stealth capabilities, had been slaughtered!
"Assassin?" Mikaela tilted his head, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes. Had he killed Hassan of the Hundred Faces? He definitely had not... Could Gilgamesh have killed them? Or had the King of Conquerors done it?
Forget it. Since Emiya Kiritsugu said so, Irisviel must have sensed that Hassan of the Hundred Faces had officially exited the stage.
"Let's go. Go see Irisviel one last time." Emiya Kiritsugu knew what would happen next, but he had to see his wife one final time.
"..."
Mikaela nodded. He was somewhat surprised that Irisviel had not yet become the Lesser Holy Grail, but the fact that she had not transformed into it yet was also quite beneficial to him.
Opening the door, Mikaela found that while the room had a strange odor, it was not as heavy as he had imagined.
"You even had time to bathe?" Mikaela raised an eyebrow as he looked at Maiya Hisau and Irisviel, both wrapped in bath towels. Judging from the situation, the two of them had taken some time to wash up.
However... Maiya Hisau had probably helped Irisviel bathe. As a vessel for the Holy Grail, she was protected by Avalon, King Arthur's scabbard.
But with six Servants having already exited the stage, she had fallen into a state where she could no longer move, and even her consciousness was close to fading away.
In other words, she was now like an inflatable doll.
"If we hadn't bathed, I'm sure you wouldn't like that smell." Maiya Hisau, wrapped in a bath towel, seemed to have just finished bathing. She looked calmly at Mikaela and said, "For people Replenishing Magic, it might be an aphrodisiac. But to outsiders, the smell is quite pungent. After all, Emiya Kiritsugu Replenished Magic for over ten hours straight."
"..." At that, Mikaela looked at the listless Emiya Kiritsugu and roughly understood why the man had been sitting outside with a cigarette in his mouth, looking as though life had lost all meaning, while waiting for him to return.
"I'll examine her." Regardless of how Emiya Kiritsugu felt, Mikaela placed his hand on Irisviel's chest and sensed the state of her heart.
Or rather... Irisviel's heart was the "Lesser Holy Grail." Her heart was where the six departed Servants were stored. Even if Mikaela squeezed her human heart right now, she gave no reaction at all.
"..."
Mikaela placed his hand on her lower abdomen, feeling the "scabbard" protecting Irisviel's body. Earlier, Mikaela had transformed into Artoria and used the scabbard's power to temporarily suppress the Holy Grail summoning ritual engraved inside her.
But this was merely temporary suppression. Once the magical energy dissipated, or once the Greater Holy Grail lost patience, Irisviel would eventually become the Lesser Holy Grail.
"How is she?" Emiya Kiritsugu did not care about Mikaela touching his wife so lightly, because in the past few days, he had come to understand that Mikaela was not a lecherous man. He was naturally doing this to check Irisviel's condition.
"Do you want her to live?"
Mikaela looked at Emiya Kiritsugu and said calmly, "No one can stop us now. If you want Irisviel to live, I have a way to free her from the identity of the 'Lesser Holy Grail.'"
If Mikaela had just arrived in this world, he would not have wasted words on Emiya Kiritsugu. He would have directly planned to sacrifice Irisviel, summon the Lesser Holy Grail, and then use the black mud to reconstruct his body.
But these past days, Irisviel had always stayed by Mikaela's side. Her kindness and gentleness reminded Mikaela of his mother, so he felt compassion for her now.
"...What about the Holy Grail?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked calmly at Mikaela. He naturally understood that Irisviel was extremely important. Without her, he would be unable to make his wish.
"I'll become the Lesser Holy Grail." Mikaela said calmly, "Although I am a Servant, things have already reached this point. The so-called 'Lesser Holy Grail' is merely a catalyst. As long as I place Irisviel's artificial heart inside my own heart, I can naturally become the Lesser Holy Grail as well."
"...How certain are you?" Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to want a cigarette, but when he took out his cigarette case, he discovered that he had already smoked them all.
"One hundred percent."
Seeing Emiya Kiritsugu make his decision, Mikaela crushed a card. A phantom figure appeared behind him—it was none other than Golden Experience!
"Splurt—!!"
Golden Experience threw a punch, immediately blasting a large hole through Irisviel's delicate chest.
The Holy Grail Has Been Corrupted
"Cough!"
The heart—or rather, the spiritual core. Mikaela roughly placed the Lesser Holy Grail heart carrying the souls of six Servants into his own body.
"What... is going on?"
Irisviel, whose heart had just been replaced, immediately regained consciousness like a robot. She blinked, confusion appearing in her eyes. She had originally been in darkness, dragged downward by countless versions of herself.
But just as she had prepared to die, suddenly! Her consciousness returned to this body?! What was going on?
Before you continue