The Holy Grail's Finale

Thunder followed Li Ke's attack, crashing down instantly as a thick pillar of lightning struck the man draped in white burial shrouds.

The Noble Phantasm he had hastily projected in his rush could not withstand the slash of the golden twin swords in Li Ke's hands; it was shattered into three pieces in an instant, and before he could even dodge, Li Ke's blade had already carved into his body.

The white burial shroud scattered in an instant, its ability to act as a substitute for the man's injuries now completely nullified, revealing his sleeveless black inner armor and sturdy muscles.

"Oh? Shirou Emiya?"

Seeing this familiar figure, Li Ke immediately realized that this was the protagonist of the Type-Moon World, in the form he took as a Heroic Spirit.

The so-called lackey of the Counter Force.

Clearly, his appearance here meant that the senseless Counter Force wanted him dead.

"Ha..."

Li Ke felt it was somewhat inexplicable, but it didn't matter.

Since the Counter Force wanted to kill him, then when he killed it in the future, it shouldn't cry about being innocent!

Without giving the youth a moment to catch his breath, Li Ke kicked the man who had attacked him twice.

However, because his height had shrunk significantly, the power of the kick was insufficient; it only broke two of the opponent's ribs instead of crushing his heart as he had intended.

The white-haired youth stumbled back, trying to create distance to continue his assault, but the moment Li Ke landed, the lightning descended once more!

A pillar of thunder as thick as a water barrel plummeted from the sky! Li Ke's previous strike had left a primer on the opponent's body; if the subsequent attacks killed him, all the better, and if they didn't—

Then it would be a feast of lightning!

The storm that had not yet dissipated in the sky surged continuously, and bolts of violent lightning struck the youth again and again, hammering him into the ground.

"Damn it..."

The white-haired youth still wanted to resist, reaching out his arm to use his projection magecraft to manifest a shield-type Noble Phantasm to block the lightning.

But the moment he raised his hand, Li Ke was already there.

Ignoring the lightning, Li Ke swung the Sword of Termination, severing the youth's arm in a single stroke. As the other looked at him in shock, Li Ke drove his other sword into the youth's forehead, shattering his brain!

The white-haired youth's eyes widened, but he could no longer struggle. At this moment, Li Ke possessed the power of Scathach in her prime, and as such, the youth was completely powerless to resist.

Looking into Li Ke's eyes, which had turned red from using Scathach's power, he couldn't help but think of one thing.

Did Scathach lend her power to Li Ke just so he could kill him with his own hands?

Or was it that she wanted Li Ke to possess all of her power as well?

"Queen of the Land of Shadows, who pursues battle, do you know what you are doing..."

You are raising a monster.

With that thought, the white-haired youth dissipated before Li Ke, but a portion of his magical energy, like that of Gugalanna and Gilgamesh, was absorbed by Li Ke.

After the youth vanished, Scathach withdrew from Li Ke's body. She looked at the spot where the white-haired youth had disappeared without a word.

The man had guessed correctly; she did indeed want Li Ke to acquire all of her abilities. She could teach him techniques, but some of the special powers she possessed could not be gained through technique alone.

However, if she bestowed that power upon her disciple, his uniqueness would allow him to claim it as his own.

And then—

It could be used to kill her!

To let her experience once more that battle which approached death infinitely!

As Scathach left his body, Li Ke felt that sense of emptiness again, though fortunately, it was not as severe as before.

Looking at the wreckage surrounding him, he felt a bit helpless.

This was, after all, the city he had lived in for so many years. If he hadn't slammed on the brakes, the Holy Grail War would have leveled it to the ground.

"The Three Founding Families who hosted the Holy Grail War are probably going to cry, aren't they? And the cleanup work will likely be enough to make them weep as well."

It was one thing for summoned Heroic Spirits to be disobedient, but they had also smashed the Greater Grail that the war relied upon.

In other words, the Greater Grail would no longer exist.

Scathach glanced at Li Ke. Li Ke had absorbed the energy of the Greater Grail, meaning that once he grew, he could rely on his own power to create the ridiculous Grail that those mages sought.

But she intended for Li Ke to discover this for himself; after all, if the master explained everything, what would be the point of the disciple's training?

At this moment, Enkidu arrived, carrying the young girl-form of Rin Tohsaka. Seeing Li Ke's stable aura, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Things had happened too quickly; even he hadn't been able to react in time.

Looking at Li Ke, he spoke with a touch of helplessness.

"So, Master, is the Holy Grail War over?"

Li Ke nodded, confirming it.

"Yes, this Holy Grail War is over. But Enkidu, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Since you've finally come out, it wouldn't hurt to experience the wonders of the modern world before you go."

He looked at Enkidu and extended his invitation.

Although he held a great grudge against Gilgamesh, Li Ke felt quite fond of the polite Enkidu.

Of course, it wasn't that kind of fondness; although Enkidu was indeed beautiful—a rare, stunning beauty—Li Ke was very clear that Enkidu had no gender.

He is essentially a clay figurine, a "perfect human" created by the gods of Sumerian mythology to restrain that thing called Gilgamesh; the concept of gender simply does not exist for him.

His feminine appearance is merely an imitation of a beautiful person.

"Very well, since it is an invitation from the Master, I shall impose upon you for a while longer. After all, I am quite curious about how modern humans live. Besides, it is actually quite difficult for me to be summoned."

Enkidu smiled, though his true reason for staying was to see just how much of the Gate of Babylon Li Ke had mastered and whether he could use these treasures correctly.

And to help Li Ke clean up the aftermath.

Li Ke, however, was thinking about how he could spar and exchange pointers with the other in the future.

Furthermore, he could find time to summon Gilgamesh and beat him up right in front of Enkidu, the person he cares about most!

"By the way, what is going on with her?"

Li Ke pointed to Rin Tohsaka, who was sleeping soundly in Enkidu's arms. The girl who had been so arrogant before her was now completely unconscious, while Enkidu wore a look of sorrow.

"Because of her beauty, her body was occupied by Ishtar. Due to that reckless goddess, this child's body has been modified to be near-divine; it can no longer grow normally in this world... Master, without your magical energy, she will gradually weaken and die."

Enkidu looked helpless. The girl in his arms had originally been intended as a new vessel for Ishtar. Although Ishtar had fled when she saw the situation turning sour, the child's body had already been significantly altered.

If Ishtar were still occupying her, it wouldn't be an issue; Ishtar's soul possessed a vast amount of divine magical energy, sufficient to sustain the growth of this modified body.

However, now that Ishtar's consciousness and soul had departed, while it was a stroke of luck for the child to escape death, her body could no longer adapt to the magical energy of this era. She required power imbued with divinity to continue growing and surviving until her body matured enough to absorb the world's ambient magical energy on its own.

In this era, the only person left who could provide her with divine magical energy for growth was Li Ke, who had absorbed the Authority of the Sky.

"Ah? You mean you want me to replenish her mana?"

Enkidu nodded solemnly. Li Ke looked at Rin Tohsaka's youthful cheeks, and a few thoughts crossed his mind.

It's a prison sentence, but I can't lock her up.

To put it simply: it's a death sentence, to be carried out immediately!

Scathach immediately realized what Li Ke was thinking, because in this world, mana replenishment required the exchange of bodily fluids, and the most efficient method was mucosal contact.

Therefore, she spoke up to remind Li Ke that there were other ways, as well as another matter she was most concerned about.

"You can feed her your blood. Also, your house has been flooded; you had better think about where we are staying tonight."

Li Ke: "..."

As Li Ke let out a sigh of relief, he looked up and realized his house had indeed been flooded!

He couldn't fully dissipate the floodwaters triggered by Gilgamesh, and the remainder had all fallen as rain upon Fuyuki City and the surrounding areas.

Consequently, amidst Enkidu's awkward smile, Li Ke cursed out loud.

"Gilgamesh, you son of a b—!"

Inside the Black Mist Space, Naruto Li Ke, who had just finished sharing memories, shouted out.

"So, that's it? It's over? What about the Matou family? What about the part where you kill Zouken Matou? What about saving Sakura?! And you're actually interested in a purple-haired old hag! You even made a move on a little girl! Shameful! You are a disgrace to all Li Kes!"

Type-Moon Li Ke looked at Naruto Li Ke, struggling to keep from laughing.

Because Naruto Li Ke was definitely jealous! He was absolutely jealous that he could openly replenish mana with female Heroic Spirits! And with a voluptuous older sister like Scathach, no less! He could openly pursue such a mature woman instead of some little brat who hadn't even grown up yet!

It was definitely that! After all, this guy had actually peeked at Tsunade's chest!

So, he gave a light cough and said sternly, "We're two of a kind on that front. As for Zouken Matou, he naturally has to be taken out, but have you forgotten that I haven't had the chance to send Sakura away yet? Besides, now that Rin Tohsaka's body has become like this, Tokiomi Tohsaka might not necessarily choose her as the heir to the Tohsaka House. So, I plan to wait until the city calms down before dealing with the Matou family. Otherwise, if fighting breaks out again, heaven knows when the official disaster relief teams will arrive."

Type-Moon Li Ke was truly impressed by Japan's disaster relief efforts, and Smiling Proud Li Ke also found it absurd; the sluggish disaster relief speed of the Fuyuki City authorities couldn't even compare to his Great Ming!

After Type-Moon Li Ke sent Rin Tohsaka home, no one in Japan had gone to provide relief; the streets remained congested, and not a single official was to be seen.

There were earthquakes, landslides, and giant typhoons, yet the Japanese authorities were as good as dead, with not a single word of news.

In short.

Nobody cared!

"Why is Japan's disaster relief speed and reaction time so slow? And the school hasn't even notified us about classes being suspended; I might even be told to go to school tomorrow! Isn't that just pathetic?"

Type-Moon Li Ke couldn't help but complain.

But as soon as he finished, he noticed that Naruto Li Ke, Smiling Proud Li Ke, and French Li Ke all wore interested expressions, as if they wanted to start a political seminar to discuss Japanese issues that he had no interest in. He quickly decided to let the three of them play by themselves.

"By the way, the new British Prime Minister in your world is actually named Jim Hacker? And he seems to know your grandfather?"

As the words fell, French Li Ke immediately became animated.

"Yes, just like Sir Humphrey, my grandfather was good friends with them, though my grandfather often referred to them as being composed of idiots and madmen..."

Hearing this, Type-Moon Li Ke wisely departed, leaving the space to the trio.

Sure enough, the second he left, topics such as the purpose of the UK joining the EU being to ensure the EU remained disunited, or Germany acting only to avoid looking like an outcast, began to emerge from the trio's gathering spot.

Then, he looked at Prehistoric Li Ke and asked the question he was most interested in after arriving at the exchange space.

"By the way, did you really use simplified characters to defeat the Dragon Script and Phoenix Seal in your world? And you actually saw Nuwa?"

Prehistoric Li Ke nodded.

"Yes, Guangchengzi said he had long since grown tired of the Dragon Script and Phoenix Seal, as simplified characters express meaning more accurately. He was preparing to contact the teacher to have all the library books replaced with simplified characters... Though, speaking of the Nuwa in my world, she isn't quite the same as the one in mythology. I actually saw her a long time ago, but during the time I was growing up, their tribe migrated away."

He wore a wistful expression.

"In my world, the great goddess known as Nuwa was someone who mastered the techniques to help others deliver babies safely. She constantly taught these skills to others, researched better midwifery techniques, took in orphans, and taught them how to survive. That is why the tribe was called the Wa, and Nuwa was the kind, elderly mother who founded the Wa tribe."

He paused, then continued.

"Even the Yellow Emperor and I were delivered by her, and the ancestors of the Youxiong tribe carried the bloodline of the Wa tribe. The reason we were able to see them this time was because there were so many pregnant women in the tribe, so the Yellow Emperor sought her help with the deliveries."

Type-Moon Li Ke: "..."

He didn't quite know how to react. There were too many absurd points, yet it all felt a bit too realistic!

It stood in such stark contrast to his own world, which was all about bragging and posturing!

I actually made it onto the Sanjiang list, so here is an extra thousand words to celebrate.

Also, starting tomorrow, I will be switching to 2k-word chapters...

Because I want to use this despicable and shameless tactic—that is, 2k-word chapters—to push for a hundred-chapter milestone.

Though I might fail, heaven help me.