Today, Illya Will Smash Golden Flash's Head In

This was Emiya's favorite pair of twin swords. Holding them behind him, he charged at Golden Flash.

"Come, King of Heroes."

"Oh? Are you challenging the king's majesty, mongrel?"

Golden Flash looked contemptuously at the charging Emiya. Gate of Babylon flashed repeatedly behind him, continuously firing Noble Phantasms at Emiya.

Emiya knocked aside each incoming Noble Phantasm and rapidly closed in on Golden Flash. Close combat was Golden Flash's weakness; only by getting close could he have a chance of defeating him.

"Do you so desperately wish to stand before me and behold the king's heroic visage?" Golden Flash saw through Emiya's intent and raised his voice. "You are not qualified!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Golden Flash expanded Gate of Babylon to an even greater extent. Endless Noble Phantasms shot forth, completely engulfing Emiya.

Emiya's advance was halted. His hands moved in a blur, leaving afterimages as his twin swords formed an airtight defense before him.

The Noble Phantasms he knocked away flew wildly through the air and fell to the ground in a dense rain of weapons.

Seeing that he could not advance for the moment, Emiya stepped back twice, filled Gan Jiang Mo Ye in his hands with magical energy, aimed at Golden Flash, and hurled them with all his strength.

At the same time, another pair of Gan Jiang Mo Ye appeared in his hands, and he rushed forward with both swords drawn.

Guided by the twin swords in his hands, the pair he had thrown earlier curved back, forming a pincer attack against Golden Flash.

After taking several steps forward, Emiya threw the swords in his hands once more. Two pairs of twin swords, four blades in total, flew toward Golden Flash at once.

At the same time, another pair of Gan Jiang Mo Ye appeared in Emiya's hands.

He reinforced this pair of swords with all his strength, raising their destructive power to its limit. Seizing the opening while Golden Flash dealt with the first two pairs of twin swords, he slashed down at him savagely.

Crane Wing Triple Strike

One of Emiya's ultimate techniques, and the strongest use of Gan Jiang Mo Ye.

Compared to Kuro's Crane Wing Triple Strike, Emiya's version carried far greater momentum. After all, he was the creator of the technique. Yuxian silently made his assessment.

Golden Flash had underestimated him. Caught off guard by the assault of Crane Wing Triple Strike, he was wounded by Emiya.

A gap opened in his golden armor. When he reached out to touch the wound, his hand came away covered in blood, and Golden Flash's face twisted.

"You damned insect! You dare wound the king's body? Die!"

Golden Flash became frenzied, pouring forth the Noble Phantasms within Gate of Babylon like a raging storm.

Emiya temporarily retreated and avoided the brunt of the attack. "King of Heroes, your combat experience is far inferior to those warriors who have fought countless battles. Arrogance is your greatest weakness."

After saying that, Emiya's expression turned solemn as he began to chant.

I am the bone of my sword.

Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.

I have created over a thousand blades.

Unknown to death, nor known to life.

I have endured pain to create many weapons.

Yet, all that remains is emptiness.

Therefore, as I pray.

Unlimited Blade Works

As Emiya chanted, a massive Bounded Field unfolded around them.

Inside the field was a world resembling a steelworks, filled with weapons, flames, and enormous gears.

This Bounded Field contained all the elements needed to form every sword. Any weapon Emiya had seen and understood, as well as any weapon used here, could be instantly copied and stored.

Golden Flash, dragged into the Bounded Field, took in the scene and said contemptuously, "Faker."

"Then let this faker defeat you."

Emiya raised his hand and swept it forward. Like Golden Flash's Gate of Babylon, multiple Noble Phantasms launched from behind him at once.

"A fake can only ever be a fake. It can never become genuine."

The two fired Noble Phantasms at each other within the Bounded Field, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Golden Flash, who possessed the world's infinite treasury, and Emiya, who could instantly copy Noble Phantasms, freely unleashed Noble Phantasms here.

Treasures that had left their mark on history could be seen everywhere, scattered across the ground like trash.

Emiya's Noble Phantasms were copied, after all, and were slightly inferior in rank. He could not defeat Golden Flash through this alone.

Not to mention that Golden Flash had yet to draw his strongest weapon, Enuma Elish.

While dodging and blocking Golden Flash's Noble Phantasms, Emiya ran toward him.

Once he was close enough, he leaped into the air and lunged at Golden Flash.

In midair, Emiya became an immobile target, and Golden Flash concentrated his barrage on him.

But Emiya had anticipated this. He could copy not only weapons, but armor as well; it merely consumed more energy.

Seven Rings of the Sky

Purple petals, beautiful and resplendent, layered themselves into seven faint walls of defensive light.

This was a replica Noble Phantasm based on the shield Ajax once used in the Trojan War to block Hector's spear.

A Noble Phantasm with absolute defensive power against thrown weapons, it was the only defensive Noble Phantasm Emiya excelled at.

At this moment, it perfectly countered the weapons Golden Flash fired from Gate of Babylon.

This was also Emiya's trump card against Golden Flash. Using it now meant that he intended to end this battle.

Golden Flash finally realized that the situation had turned against him and hurriedly drew Enuma Elish.

Crack!

Naturally, Emiya would not give him his wish. He knew Enuma Elish's power well and would never allow Golden Flash the opportunity to use it.

He descended from the air and severed Golden Flash's right arm with the Gan Jiang Mo Ye in his hands. Enuma Elish fell to the ground along with it.

Golden Flash had been defeated!

Emiya dismissed the Bounded Field, and the two reappeared within Ryuudou Temple.

"You think this is enough to defeat the king?!" Golden Flash flew into a rage, his expression twisting grotesquely.

"Without Enuma Elish, you have already lost." Emiya looked at him calmly. "I told you, arrogance is your greatest weakness, King of Heroes."

Chains of Heaven

Golden Flash bound Emiya with chains, but Emiya easily broke free. "I am merely an ordinary Heroic Spirit, without divinity. To me, Chains of Heaven are no different from ordinary iron chains."

"Stop struggling, King of Heroes. It only makes you seem petty."

"Ahhh—!!!"

Golden Flash roared furiously. He could not accept such a defeat—defeat at the hands of an unknown nobody, much less at the hands of the Heroic Spirit before him, whom he had mocked as a fake.

"It is over, King of Heroes Gilgamesh. I look forward to our next meeting."

Chapter 17: Today, Illya Will Smash Golden Flash's Head In

Emiya projected a bow and arrow, nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring, and prepared to deliver the final blow to Golden Flash.

At that moment, a figure swept in from outside the battlefield at high speed, interrupting Emiya's movement. He did not release the arrow in his hand.

It was Illya.

Illya closed in from behind Golden Flash with lightning speed, before anyone could react.

In midair, she swung the Jewel Staff with both hands, raised it high overhead, and then smashed it down hard on Golden Flash's head.

Duang!

Golden Flash was struck by the sudden, ferocious blow. The immense impact knocked his entire body to the ground in an exaggerated pose.

His body, already on the verge of dispersing from Emiya's injuries, could finally no longer endure it. Unable to maintain his spiritual form, he slowly began to fade away.

King of Heroes Gilgamesh had exited the stage.

Yuxian and the others were all stunned by Illya's sudden strike, standing frozen in place for a moment.

They had not expected Illya to suddenly appear at this moment and give Golden Flash that extra blow. No one had anticipated such an unexpected development, nor had anyone guessed that one as powerful as the King of Heroes would meet such an end.

Illya did not notice the strange atmosphere around her. She raised the index and middle fingers of her left hand, made a V sign toward Yuxian, and wore a proud smile.

She was even more delighted with herself for having rendered another service, eagerly awaiting Yuxian's praise.

Ruby: Illya!!!

Ruby's protesting roar rang out. It was extremely dissatisfied that Illya had used it like a wooden club.

Illya was jolted awake by the roar and no longer basked in the pride of defeating her enemy. She immediately dropped her triumphant pose and hurried over to Yuxian.

"Master, this is bad. Inside... inside..."

Illya did not know how to describe what was happening in the Great Chasm. Anxiously grabbing Yuxian's hand, she pulled him toward it.

As for Ruby's endless complaints, she automatically filtered them out.

Although Illya had not clearly explained what had happened in the Great Chasm, Yuxian understood that the Greater Grail must have been summoned.

They quickly arrived within the Great Chasm. Even though Yuxian had been mentally prepared, the sight before him still made him frown.

A black hole had appeared in the sky, continuously pouring out black sludge. Like a factory's sewage outlet, it endlessly spewed Black Mud.

The Black Mud piled up on the ground, forming a fairly sizable mound beneath it.

The mound's shape was utterly disgusting. It constantly wriggled, making it easy to associate it with certain creatures too revolting to look at.

A foul stench rushed into Yuxian's nostrils from afar. It was an indescribable odor, and an involuntary thought surfaced in his mind: this was the foulest smell in the world.

All the World's Evil, Angra Mainyu.

What lay before Yuxian was the ugliest thing in this world. No wonder Illya could not describe it; even Yuxian did not know how to put it into words.

"What should we do, Senior?" Mash covered her nose, but it was only psychological comfort. Faced with that enormous mass before them, covering her nose was completely useless.

Yuxian looked up at the black hole hanging in midair. He knew that destroying it would end everything.

But he waited for Kiritsugu Emiya and the others to arrive. The one who tied the knot had to untie it; only by letting them witness this despairing sight could he completely shatter their delusions about the Holy Grail.

Before long, Kiritsugu Emiya, Maiya Hisau, and Artoria arrived one after another.

They were the final victors of this Holy Grail War.

Seeing the scene before them, all three stood dumbfounded, unable to understand what had happened.

Once Yuxian saw that everyone had arrived, he turned to them, pointed at the wriggling mound before him, and said mockingly, "You have won this Holy Grail War. Now you may make your wish to that disgusting thing before you."

Kiritsugu and Artoria looked at each other. Could that disgusting thing before them truly be the Holy Grail?

But Yuxian spoke with such certainty that, no matter how unwilling they were to believe it, they had no choice but to accept the truth.

Yuxian had no reason to deceive them.

Why had it turned out like this?

Neither of them could accept such an ending. After sacrificing everything, this was what they had obtained. What had they fought so desperately for? What meaning had there been in it?

The mound before them clearly did not look benevolent. Even without knowing its true nature, neither would ever make a wish to it unless they had truly gone mad.

"All the World's Evil. This is the true form of Fuyuki City's Holy Grail. It twists any wish made upon it into an evil result in order to fulfill it."

Emiya walked before Kiritsugu, looking gently at the man he had once admired. He did not want Kiritsugu to walk that road of no return again.

Kiritsugu lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, calming himself from the shock of what lay before him.

He exhaled a large cloud of smoke, then looked calmly at Emiya. "Who are you? I could not find any information on anyone named Emiya."

His reason told him that this was someone entirely unfamiliar, someone absent from his memories, someone about whom he could gather no information at all.

Yet his intuition told him that the person before him was connected to him. At last, he voiced the question that had lingered in his heart.

Emiya spoke with nostalgia. "My former name was Shirou Emiya, Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted son, and a survivor of Fuyuki City's Fourth Holy Grail War."

Hearing this, Kiritsugu slowly closed his eyes. After a long while, he gradually opened them again and looked calmly at Emiya. "So in the end, I saved only one person."