What welled up in his heart at that moment was not regret, but a sense of relief.
The oppression and frustration that had lingered in his heart ever since he sacrificed his Master had vanished.
So that was how it was. In the end, he was merely a mortal. Trying to imitate the achievements of the gods had been nothing but arrogant conceit.
The "Black" Saber was precisely the judgment fate had bestowed upon him.
"Ah, aah... Roche... I'm... sorry..."
Caster slowly closed his eyes, accepting the fact that he had suffered a crushing defeat.
However, at that very moment—
Amid that light, which resembled the birth of the stars, the figure of a child appeared.
"!?"
Caster's eyes widened. "Th-this is impossible! Roche!?"
The young magus who should have been assimilated and absorbed at the cellular level by the Primal Human (Adam Kamon) now appeared completely unharmed.
Roche, unconscious, was carried in the arms of the "Black" Saber, who brought him to Fiore's side.
"As promised, I took down the golem."
"Huh? Wha...!?"
Fiore's eyes widened.
"It's fine even if I completely destroy that thing, right?"
Those were the words the "Black" Saber had spoken to her before setting out.
So that was what he meant!?
The girl had originally thought Shirou merely needed to defeat the golem...
But he had seen through to something deeper.
Although Roche had already been absorbed, since the "Gordius Wheel" was an Inherent Barrier, there was still a chance to rescue him.
By rescuing Roche, who served as the core, from Caster's golem without killing him, he had prevented Caster's Noble Phantasm from being completed.
"What a troublesome, hateful brat... Fiore! You and your clan had better discipline him properly from now on!"
"Yes, yes, sorry for the trouble... Thank you very much,