"Thank goodness, Gil… I'm really glad…!" Rikka sobbed, her knees trembling as the adrenaline faded.
It couldn't be called unharmed. Still, they somehow defeated Saber and shared the afterglow of victory together.
The golden archer looked down at her, an eyebrow raised in amusement. "What's with that face? Don't tell me you really thought I would fall?"
"I didn't… I mean, I didn't think that!" Rikka stammered, wiping her eyes furiously.
"Then stop crying," Gilgamesh sighed, reaching into the golden ripples of the Gate of Babylon that appeared beside him. "Here, I'll lend you a cloth. Your face is a mess."
"Yeah… sniff."
The silk handkerchief he pulled from the treasury was quickly soaked with tears and snot as Rikka buried her face in it.
Gilgamesh grimaced. "…That's not it, you idiot…"
"Thank you…" she mumbled into the fabric.
"…No, I changed my mind," he said flatly. "I'll give it to you."
Rikka blinked, looking up with red-rimmed eyes. "Really?"
At least, he told them to wash it before returning it, and gently patted their head.
"…Sorry. I made you worry," Gilgamesh murmured, his voice soft.
"Yeah, me too. Sorry for panicking," Rikka sniffled, standing straighter. "As a Master, I need to be stronger."
A gruff chuckle came from the side. "Man, I'll never get used to this. You apologizing honestly is the strangest thing of all. To me, that's the biggest Singularity there is."
Gilgamesh scoffed at the interruption. "What nonsense. Informing one's retainers of one's safety is the duty of a king—hm?"
Looking over, he noticed that from the tip of Caster's feet, his Saint Graph was unraveling and turning into particles.
"…Did you get hit by a stray attack? Don't tell me you died, even though you're a Caster?"
Cú Chulainn grinned, leaning on his staff. "I didn't die! My role here is over, so I'm being sent back to the Throne."
His role was over—that meant the Singularity had been cleared and erased.
When a Singularity disappears, the Heroic Spirits summoned by its cause lose their connection to the present world and must leave it.
Unless they wish for manifestation through the Holy Grail as victors, Servants are nothing more than shadows, drifting with no roots.
"…Even though you didn't lose, you still disappear…" Mash whispers, her expression falling.
"That's unfortunate, but that's the limit of being a Servant," Cú shrugged, unbothered. "Once the Holy Grail is recovered, Heroic Spirits summoned by it vanish."
"The sorrow of a drifter, huh," Gilgamesh remarked, crossing his arms. "Well, the guidance suited a dog just fine."
"Yeah. After this, it's your job," Cú said, pointing a finger at the King. Then he turned his grin to the Master. "Do your best."
"Mash Kyrielight," Romani added, "shouldn't you say something? He helped you out, right?"
"He did while you were gone," Gilgamesh said flatly. "Reflect deeply."
"I said I'm sorry!" Romani protested.
"Um…" Mash said, stepping forward. "Thank you very much, Cú Chulainn!"
"Do your best, kid," Cú replied with a grin. "If you keep fighting, and if fate lines up right, we might stand shoulder to shoulder again someday."
He then turned his eyes toward Gilgamesh. "And you there, goldie."
"What is it?" Gilgamesh said. "Have you finally decided to repent for your many insults?"
--
…This vessel seems to like the Heroic Spirit Cú Chulainn quite a lot.
To me, he feels like a teasing bad friend—but maybe that's just how it is.
"That's not it. I mean… uh…" Cú scratched his head, speaking awkwardly for the first time.
"You don't have much time left," I said. "Say it already."
"Alright, alright," Cú said quietly. "…Take care of those girls."
…His final words left a clear image of a caring older brother.
"I'll see it through, however it ends. Rest easy and be gone."
"—Tch. Not cute to the very end," Cú muttered.
With those words, and a faint scent of lingering particles,
Caster, Cú Chulainn, the guide, returned to the Throne of Heroes.
"Farewell, loyal dog," I whispered to the empty air. "Next time, come with your spear."
…I won't waste what you taught me. Thank you.
"…Well then," I declared, "This so-called First Order should be complete. Let's go."
"Wait, wait!" Romani interrupted. "The Holy Grail—the cause of the Singularity—should still be there. Can you collect it?"
"The Holy Grail…" the Master repeated.
Looking over, Olga Marie Animusphere stood with her arms crossed, deep in thought.
For now, she was the leader of the exploration team.
"Girl. You're the flag bearer of this group, aren't you? Don't space out—do your job."
"Eh? Ah, yes…" She shakes her head. "Everyone, good work. There are still unclear points, but with this, the First Order is complete. Let's recover the Holy Grail and return to Chaldea."
"Okaaay!"
"I'm tired… I'm going home."
—At that moment, a voice echoed from deep within the high ground.
"I never thought you'd go this far. This is outside the plan—and beyond the limit of my patience."
"?"
—An electric shock ran through my body, telling me to raise my guard at once.
"Mash, protect the Master and Olga Marie," I command instantly.
"W-Wait… what!?"
—Whatever was coming out was clearly not a normal human.
"L-Lev…!?" Olga Marie gasps.
"—Hello, Olga. I didn't expect to see you here."
"That guy with caterpillar hair…!" Rikka points.
"Both of you, stay close to me…! That Professor Lev is not the professor we know…!" Mash warns, shielding them.
—Mash's judgment was correct.
Though he kept up a polite appearance, the vessel could see his true nature: something far from human, a disgusting pillar of flesh.
So that's it. That thing is one of the beings nesting in ⬛⬛⬛⬛, a ⬛⬛⬛ controlled by ⬛⬛⬛⬛.
The noise was too strong to read clearly, but the vessel had seen through his identity.
…For some reason, that truth was not revealed to my nameless soul. Was something blocking it?
The problem was—
—Looking at him stirred a strong feeling inside me.
Not irritation. Not discomfort.
This was—anger.
"The forty-eighth Master. Letting an untalented girl like her slip by was my mistake."
"Wait a second! Professor Lev!? Is Professor Lev really there!?" Romani shouts over the comms.
"That voice… Romani Archaman, is it? I told you to come to the infirmary. Judging by this, you ignored me—honestly."
That was when it happened. His carefully maintained facade peeled away, revealing his ugly true self as he spat curses.
"You're all a bunch of unorganized trash. Watching you move however you like makes me sick."
"You speak as if your existence isn't worse. So you are called 'Flauros'," I state coldly.
"Oh? This is surprising. The Hero King Gilgamesh. Why would a Heroic Spirit like you side with such trash?"
"...Mongrel. Who gave you permission to question me?"
—This was the first time the vessel showed such open rage.
Just who was that man, to enrage the King of Heroes this much?
"For a mere Servant, you sure talk big," Lev scoffed. "You sound like you think you're a hero yourself. How laughable."
"Oh, I can't match you in being a clown. That Master you claim to have 'overlooked' destroyed an entire Singularity. How will you apologize to your so-called king for that failure?"
"——" Lev twitched.