NOTE: Volume 23 (the next Volume) has also ended and is now fully accessible through Glitch Plus Tier
**********************
Wet gusts of wind slapped against all faces.
The scale of destruction had become so large that it was hard to say how many lives were lost. Wherever eyes landed, they saw fire and blood.
Screams, like faint echoes, were coming from all directions.
The titanic creature had disappeared, but the planet was still shuddering.
All signs of Angra Mainyu, and the worm acting as its core, vanished.
And yet…
Covered in dirt, soot, and blood, Shirou looked at Kirei's fingers reaching out to grab his face.
The Priest was smiling, as if he was about to hold the Grail itself. Yet his heart had stopped beating already, his open eyes planted greedily on Shirou's face.
Perhaps, Kirei was seeing someone else's face on Shirou's… Who knew?
One thing was certain, though.
The evil was dead.
And yet…
Sakura and Rin let out grunts as they opened their eyes, a broken Rider looming over them. As their eyes met, the girls teared up, throwing themselves into each other's arms.
Watching them like this, Medusa should have felt a sense of relief.
The sisters were back together, both healed.
So Medusa should have let herself fall.
And yet…
Black crawled out of a pit, bruised and battered.
Joyless Slaughter had already slaughtered the existences, save Rider, who survived because of her fate.
Angra Mainyu didn't block all the Mana, that had been pooling in it from the dead Heroic Spirits, anymore, letting it reach the only remaining Grail Vessel — Black.
And yet…
The Great Holy Grail War — wasn't over.
The Grail's black hole was still swirling in the sky, pouring a torrent of blood — blood that had thinned out immensely, but still… it was there.
That meant something had survived.
The evil was still on the battlefield.
"… Haha…" Black laughed as he saw Medusa Alter rising from Shadow Gorgon's blood. "Hahahaha…"
Gorgon had descended into Medusa Alter like a Master summoning a Servant.
Despite sharing the same identities, they were still different.
And the death of the Servant didn't mean the death of the Master.
With Sakura losing Angra Mainyu's control over her, the blackened Medusa shouldn't even exist.
It became apparent why she was still standing on the battlefield, perfectly fine.
The Greater Grail, now lacking a core again, wanted her to find another core for it.
Things had again reached the point where they had begun.
So… why not laugh and enjoy it?!
Black's laugh was full of irony as it reached their ears.
No one on this battlefield could fight anymore. Shirou's body was barely visible through all the swords. Sakura, despite having enormous Mana, wasn't in a state to fight. Rin didn't have the Sword anymore. Rider wouldn't survive one blow from her evil counterpart, either.
The hidden duo, Kai and Medea, were even worse.
Working with Black wouldn't bode well for Kai, as he lacked the strength, all his buffs being used by his Item at the moment, and Medea was weaker than her Master.
And yet…
Black stepped forward, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
"… Black…" Shirou didn't look away, tears rolling down his chin.
"… Black…" Sakura bit her lips with teary eyes, Rider holding her back.
"… Black…" Rin's heart thumped as she called out his name, experiencing a deja vu.
Then, the three Characters together shouted, as if joining Black's unlucky laugh. "DEFEAT HER!!!"
Chains clinked as Evil Medusa's head bobbed left and right mechanically.
In the next moment, she appeared next to Black like a black-purple wraith.
With a speed that blurred all perceptions, her foot landed on Black's chin and sent him flying hundreds of meters into the sky.
This should have already made the Characters' hearts jolt.
This should have already made Kai call back his Item.
And yet…
Black continued to laugh, even as Medusa's chains wrapped around him and pulled him down, his figure booming against the earth.
He did it because — that was expected of him.
He did it because — that was what a Hero must do.
He did it because — the Unsynchronization had disappeared, letting him see the Notification.
The same Notification that had puzzled him the most, forcing the Ad Infinitum to strengthen the Unsynchronization.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have achieved a new Title
…
Title: Hero
Specification: Have loyal followers across timelines that unconditionally believe in you as their timeline's Savior
Status: (7/7)
]
…
When Black had received the notification, he already had two loyal followers, Sakura being the third.
At that time, he had questioned himself about the identity of the first two followers, as they couldn't have been Shinobu Kocho and Arya Stark.
It was only after seeing the future through Blood Prophecy that Kai confirmed the identity of these followers.
As these followers' perception of Black's actions could change at any point in time, he had blocked this knowledge from the Item. Because it was nigh impossible to hide even the deepest intentions from the perception of all.
Because they were… Heroic Spirits!
As Kai believed himself to be the savior of this timeline, he had become his own first follower. Medea was the second, with Sakura being the third, who successfully brought the notification out.
Then, strangely, it was Rin, seeing Black put his life on the line to save Sakura from Ruler.
The fifth and sixth, with an unexpected turn of fate, were Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Through Sha Naqba Imuru, the King of Heroes had seen through everything, sharing his findings with his friend.
With both of them being Heroic Spirits, they didn't trigger any notification, either.
But when Shirou screamed for Black, discarding the hate he carried for him for the deaths of innocents, he struck the seventh nail in the coffin, completing the list.
With the Heroic Spirits gone, Kai was bound to lose this Title after the end of the Holy Grail War.
Till then, Black would continue to be a Hero.
And a Hero could do unimaginable feats… like this.
Yellow-colored bolts of lightning danced in the crater where Black had landed, the cloud of dust disappearing with a puff.
Black walked out of the crater, a red spear appearing in his hands as he smiled.
"A Hero…" Black thundered, wielding Gae Bolg. "… Lives On!!!"
*****************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my Webnovel profile to access all options.]
You can even subscribe to the Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones/day: +1 Bonus Chapter next day