Arriving in Type-Moon, Now Out of Contact

Matou Zouken's pupils dilated in an instant. He gripped his wooden staff, and a terrifying aura erupted from him, causing the Magic Power in the air to surge.

This old guy really held back. Li Zihan narrowed his eyes. During his previous confrontation with the Old Worm, Li Zihan had found it strange that his abilities, apart from his escape methods, were only slightly superior to Tokiomi Tohsaka's. It wasn't that Li Zihan looked down on Tokiomi Tohsaka; Tokiomi Tohsaka was truly terrible when it came to defense and survival.

Li Zihan could deal with him by simply pulling out the AS50 hidden in Imaginary Space from 1.5 miles away, loading it with five magically enhanced rounds, and continuously pulling the trigger. The Tohsaka Family could then appoint a new head.

But the Old Worm was different. When he was still Zouken Matou, he was practically the god of war from Norse legends. Without the Count's Noble Phantasm, Li Zihan would absolutely not have clashed head-on with his corrupted form. After all, his total Magic Power was ten times that of a third-rate prestigious Mage, his strength was so immense that he could fight Servants, and he even had a very high probability of killing a Servant. Even in his degenerated state, he wasn't a pushover like Tokiomi Tohsaka, who could be crushed with ease.

In the eyes of this old demonic entity, Sakura Matou, the Matou Family's legacy, were all insignificant things, not worth him fighting with all his might. Sacrificing a pawn and a lineage to gain a top-tier Mage as his subordinate was not a losing deal in the Old Worm's eyes. This guy had gone easy on him quite a bit during their previous fight.

A giant black god manifested behind Li Zihan, staring coldly at Matou Zouken. If Matou Zouken showed any inclination to harm Li Zihan, he would use the anti-city form of God's Divine Bow-Mystic Eyes of Discernment to turn the entire Matou Family into a crater.

There was no need to doubt Alcaeus's resolve to protect Li Zihan. To avenge Gilgamesh, Li Zihan was indispensable. If Li Zihan died, the matter of avenging Gilgamesh would become Kyōka Suigetsu, something Alcaeus absolutely could not tolerate.

"Berserker, don't get agitated. Old Man Matou is our ally." Li Zihan signaled Alcaeus to return to his spiritual form, then said to Matou Zouken with a half-smile, "Senior's mastery of the demonic path is truly admirable."

"My apologies, I lost my composure." Matou Zouken gazed at the place where Alcaeus had disappeared, his dry face contorting into a near-ghastly expression. "Is that the Hercules? Truly an unparalleled warrior."

"It's nothing. It's only natural to get excited when the topic of immortality comes up." Li Zihan rested his chin on one hand and said to Matou Zouken, "Old Man Matou, are you interested in this?"

"Doesn't Li-kun already have the answer?" Matou Zouken retorted, his sunken eyes glinting with ambition. "Asking a villain who constantly devours the lives of others just to survive, isn't the answer already obvious?"

"What do you want from me?" His deep-set eyes blazed with ambition. He wanted to live, even if it meant enduring the pain of soul degradation and body decay with every passing second.

"I want the complete Command Spells system. You can't produce it now, but if you could regain your youth, it would be no problem." Li Zihan suddenly felt a bit of pity for this old demonic entity whose sins were too numerous to count. A righteous hero who pursued eternal life to eliminate all evil in the world, only to forget his original ideals on the path to immortality, gradually degenerating into the very person he hated, loathed, and despised.

After his best friend Enkidu died, Gilgamesh, who had learned the terror of death, embarked on a difficult journey for eternal life, seeking the secrets of life and death from Utnapishtim, the sole survivor of the Great Flood and an immortal. He crossed Mount Mash, which led to the sun, under the cover of night. Despite the obstruction of Humbaba, the half-scorpion man, he finally crossed the Sea of Death after using up 120 oars. Utnapishtim received him but did not directly answer his questions about life and death, instead subjecting him to a trial where he had to stay awake for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh failed, but thanks to the kindness of Utnapishtim's wife, he obtained the herb of immortality from the seabed.

This was the general content of the third part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a story known to every Mage.

"Gilgamesh is precisely the Archer in this Holy Grail War," Li Zihan said. "That herb, corresponding to immortality, is hidden within his Noble Phantasm—the Gate of Babylon—as part of his legend."

"That's just a projection of the herb of immortality; it's impossible for it to possess the power to grant eternal life to its consumer as described in mythology. Furthermore, obtaining the herb of immortality from Archer is also a problem. You should know Archer's strength; even Berserker is not enough to fight him."

"How to obtain that herb is my problem to handle." Li Zihan stated, "As you know, the current Holy Grail is already scrap metal; it doesn't possess the effect of a wish-granting machine."

"Even a projection of the herb of immortality possesses the power to restore youth." Li Zihan looked at the current villain with a complex expression. He stood up to leave, giving the Old Worm time to think. "At the very least, it can remind you why you pursued eternal life."

Watching Li Zihan's departing figure, Matou Zouken did not see him off. He remained seated, like a sculpture.

Why did I pursue eternal life? For the first time, Matou Zouken felt a sense of confusion.

He only remembered it was for something very important, but he couldn't recall what.

A total of 983,163,540

ps: Every time I write about the Old Worm, my feelings are very complicated. The righteous hero of his youth has become this.

I can only say that I will try my best to give him a spectacular ending.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Post-Battle Gathering

In the bedroom he had grown accustomed to living in for free, as if it were his own home, Waver Velvet woke up from his sleep.

The sun outside was already high. Waver, as on his usual days off, lazily lay in bed, unwilling to get up.

Everything that had happened up until now felt like a dream. The tragic, desperate battles and destruction...

And the spirited army marching forward singing, the cheers when they defeated the Sea Monster, and the hot, dry wind that seemed to burn everything.