Postwar Gathering

Matou Zouken's pupils dilated in an instant. He gripped the wooden staff in his hand tightly as a terrifying aura erupted from him, throwing the magical energy in the air into turmoil.

That old bastard had indeed held something back. Li Zihan narrowed his eyes slightly. During his previous confrontation with Old Worm, he had found it strange that, aside from his escape methods, Old Worm's other abilities were only slightly stronger than Tokiomi Tohsaka's. It was not that Li Zihan looked down on Tokiomi Tohsaka; Tokiomi was genuinely terrible at defense and staying alive.

Li Zihan only needed to take the AS50 hidden in Imaginary Space from 1.5 miles away, load it with five magically enhanced ***, and pull the trigger repeatedly. The Tohsaka Family could then replace its head.

But Old Worm was different. Back when he had still been Zouken Matou, he had practically been a war god from Norse legend. If not for the Count's Noble Phantasm, Li Zihan would never have confronted his fallen self head-on. After all, he had been a freak whose total magical energy was equivalent to ten times that of a third-rate noble magus, powerful enough to fight Servants and even highly likely to kill them in return. No matter how far he had degenerated, he was not some weakling like Tokiomi Tohsaka whom one could crush at will.

In the eyes of that old monster, Sakura Matou and the Matou Family's inheritance alike were insignificant things, unworthy of him fighting with all his strength. Abandoning a pawn and an inheritance in exchange for a top-tier magecraft user willing to serve him was hardly a loss in Old Worm's eyes. He had held back considerably during that battle.

The black Giant God manifested behind Li Zihan. He stared coldly at Matou Zouken. The moment Zouken showed any inclination to harm Li Zihan, he would use the anti-fortress form of God's Divine Bow-Mystic Eyes of Discernment to turn the entire Matou Family into a meteor crater.

Do not doubt Alcaeus's determination to protect Li Zihan. Li Zihan was indispensable to his revenge against Gilgamesh. If Li Zihan died, revenge against Gilgamesh would become nothing but an illusion. That was something Alcaeus could never tolerate.

"Berserker, do not get worked up. Old Man Matou is our ally." Li Zihan signaled Alcaeus to return to spirit form, then said to Matou Zouken with a faintly mocking smile, "I deeply admire your attainments in magecraft, Senior."

"My apologies. This old man lost his composure." Matou Zouken stared wantonly at the spot where Alcaeus had vanished. "Was that Hercules? As expected, he is an unparalleled warrior."

"It is nothing. Getting excited at the mention of immortality is only human nature." Li Zihan propped his chin up with one hand and said to Matou Zouken, "Old Man Matou, are you interested in this?"

"Did Li-kun not already know the answer?" Matou Zouken asked in return. His withered face twisted into an almost grotesque expression. "Asking such a question of a villain who has continuously devoured the lives of others just to cling to existence—was the answer not obvious long ago?"

"What do you want to obtain from me?" Ambition gleamed in the eyes deep within his sunken sockets. He wanted to live, even if every second of life meant enduring the agony of a deteriorating soul and a decaying body.

"I want the complete Command Spell system. You cannot provide it right now, but if you return to your youth, it will not be a problem." Li Zihan suddenly found this old devil, whose crimes were too numerous to record, somewhat pitiful. A champion of justice had sought immortality in order to eradicate all the evil in this world, only to forget his original ideal along the path to immortality and gradually fall into becoming the very kind of person he despised, loathed, and scorned.

After his close friend Enkidu died, Gilgamesh came to understand the terror of death and began a grueling journey in pursuit of immortality. He sought the secrets of life and death from Utnapishtim, the sole survivor of the Great Flood and one who had attained immortality. Under cover of night, he crossed Mount Mashu, the path leading to the sun. Ignoring the obstruction of the half-scorpion man Humbaba, he finally crossed the Sea of Death after exhausting 120 oars and reached his destination. Utnapishtim received him but did not directly answer his questions about life and death. Instead, he made him undergo a trial in which he could not sleep for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh failed, but due to Utnapishtim's wife's kindness, he went to the bottom of the sea and obtained the Herb of Immortality.

This was roughly the content of the third part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a story every magus knew.

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

"That is merely a projection of the Immortal Grass. It cannot possibly possess the power from myth to grant eternal life to those who consume it. Besides, obtaining the Immortal Grass from Archer is also a problem. You should know Archer's strength. Even with Berserker, it would not be enough to fight him."

"How to obtain that herb is my problem to handle," Li Zihan said. "You also know that the current Holy Grail is already defective. It no longer possesses the power of a wish-granting device."

"Even a projection of the Immortal Grass has the power to restore youth." Li Zihan's expression was somewhat complicated as he looked at the villain before him. He rose and left, giving Old Worm time to think. "At the very least, it can help you remember why you sought immortality in the first place."

Watching Li Zihan depart, Matou Zouken did not see him off. He remained seated where he was, like a statue.

Why had he sought immortality? For once, Matou Zouken felt somewhat lost.

He only remembered that it had been for something very important, but no matter what he did, he could not recall it.

P.S. Every time I write about Old Worm, my feelings are complicated. A champion of justice in his youth had become this kind of monster.

All I could do was try my best to give him a grand and spectacular ending.

Post-Battle Gathering

In the bedroom he had gotten used to freeloading in as if it were his own home, Waver Velvet woke from his sleep.

The sun outside was already high in the sky. As on any ordinary day off, Waver lay lazily in bed, unwilling to get up.

Everything that had happened so far felt like a dream. That incomparably tragic fight to the death and all that destruction...

There had also been the army marching through the desert with fighting spirit blazing, singing as they went; the cheers when they defeated the Sea Monster; and the scorching, dry wind that seemed capable of burning everything.