A breathtakingly beautiful aerial garden is shrouded in a multicolored poisonous mist.
Various ferocious beasts from mythological times roar deafeningly.
The great sage Chiron, responsible for command and detoxification, is the first to fall. Targeted by the garden's master, Semiramis, he steps into the palace complex and is immediately struck by the Hydra's deadly poison. Influenced by the legend of "dying from Hydra's poison in life," he disintegrates into spirit particles without even having a chance to struggle.
Soon after, the hero Siegfried, who once slew the mighty dragon Fafnir, falls, succumbing to a backstab from the black-robed priest.
The great hero Achilles, whose myth shone brightly for an era, also falls. First paralyzed by poison, then caught in a trap while dazed, he injures his ankle and is eventually overwhelmed and killed by a swarm of foot soldiers.
Having lost her ideal partner and vanguard, Atalanta goes berserk. Donning the boar's skin, she transforms into a destructive demon, viciously attacking everything in sight. She tears through countless fierce beasts, magical beasts, phantom beasts, and divine beasts, but is ultimately torn to pieces by a relentless horde of divine fish.
Sensing the dire situation, Avicebron chooses to betray. He seizes his master Roche, using the child who always admired him as the "core" to activate his Noble Phantasm.
Though he quickly dies under the furious sword of Mordred, the Noble Phantasm is complete. A massive golem, over fifteen meters tall, becomes the greatest obstacle for everyone.
To break through the golem's obstruction, Astolfo and his steed are smashed into spirit particles by the golem, Mordred is severely wounded, and Jeanne's holy banner loses its power after reaching its limit.
Before the group can recover from their enormous losses, a new wave of attacks follows. Karna engages Artoria, while Mordred and Jeanne are toyed with by Semiramis, with Mordred on the verge of death.
The victorious black-robed priest shows a cruel, bloody smile to Shinji: "It's over for you. The world will be destroyed."
Shinji, unwilling to accept defeat, charges forward with bloodshot eyes, but is halted by a single move from the priest—he pulls out Justeaze's soul, using it as a barrier between them.
Without giving Shinji a chance to curse his treachery, the priest drives his katana through Justeaze's back and into Shinji's chest.
Pierced through her spirit core, Justeaze's presence dwindles. She reaches out to gently stroke Shinji's cheek, her eyes filled with attachment, reluctance, worry, and tenderness, but devoid of blame.
Her pale lips move faintly, whispering: "Run."
Then, the tightly bound contract shatters, and the bond of six years of shared fate breaks, dissolving into pure white spirit particles in the air. Only Shinji's heart-wrenching cries of grief remain.
"No!!!"
But even his shout lasts only a few seconds, as he too is pierced through his spirit core, unable to maintain his existence.
His eyelids grow heavy, his consciousness fades, and the entire world is swallowed by darkness.
Unwilling to perish like this, the assassin struggles to focus, trying to stay conscious, forcing his eyes open.
Perhaps persistence pays off, as his heavy eyelids finally lift, and the dark world is replaced by light.
However, the scenery before him is not the poison-filled aerial garden, but a familiar ceiling.
"This is... Millennia Castle."
Rubbing his groggy head, his fingers inadvertently touch a trace of moisture at the corner of his eye.
"Tears? So it was a dream, yes, a dream, thank goodness it was a dream. No, wait—"
The tight nerves had just relaxed when the previous memories surged like a tide.
Days of planning had come to naught.
The Holy Grail containing Justeaze's soul was taken away.
And that person, similar to himself, wearing the guise of Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship and footwork.
That person proclaimed to destroy the world.
Despite pouring all his strength, using every means, and allying with every possible partner, he still ended up fleeing in defeat.
Thinking of this filled Shinji with a strong sense of powerlessness.
He hadn't felt this helpless in a long time, not since the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, when Scáthach voluntarily fell to Artoria's sword and departed this world.
At that time, he vowed to work tirelessly, never wanting to lose someone important due to his powerlessness again.
So, even though there was no one to supervise his training, and no one to impose a Spartan education on him, he never slacked off for a single day. He always completed his daily tasks to excess, never falling short.
It should be noted that in his previous life, he was just an ordinary person living in a peaceful era. Though his life wasn't without challenges, it wasn't particularly difficult either. The most strenuous times were the major exams, the high school and college entrance exams, that most students had to endure. Even during those crunch times, he would sometimes sneak in some leisure reading or a visit to the internet café.
But this hardship was nothing compared to the coursework left by Scáthach. His motivation to persist until today, aside from a man's innate desire for power and curiosity about the unknown, was for the sake of those important to him.
To protect his extraordinarily gifted sister and Fujino, for Touko, and to fulfill the wishes of Justeaze and Scáthach, he had worked tirelessly until today.
But now, not to mention achieving his goals, he couldn't even protect the people important to him. What was the point of being a magus or training in martial arts? Why had he worked so hard until now? Why had he willingly involved himself in the Clock Tower's conflicts, opposing the Dead Apostle Ancestors?
Were these years of effort all meaningless?
Various negative emotions flooded in, and Shinji began to doubt his life, doubt himself.
He didn't blame the Jewel Wizard; if that old man had truly wanted to harm him, he wouldn't have needed to go through so much trouble.
Nor did he blindly resent Shirou. Ultimately, it was his own lack of strength and insufficient planning.
If he had power equal to Shirou's, if he had thought things through more thoroughly, if he hadn't let his guard down when things seemed to go smoothly, assuming everything was foolproof, and started changing the so-called tragedies according to his intentions, how could he have ended up in this situation?
All of this was caused by his immaturity. If he had been more mature, stronger, the situation would have been completely different—at least that person in Shirou's guise was not invincible. If he were, he wouldn't have needed to follow Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's original plan; he could have just used force to take what he wanted.
However, saying all this now was too late. Although they had narrowly escaped with their lives, their opponents, now possessing the Holy Grail and the home-field advantage, were already in an unbeatable position. The supposed numerical and combat strength advantage had many ways to be dissolved.
That dream just now might have been an illusion, but it was enough to highlight the problem—if even his immature self could think of such a strategy, how could that unfathomable transcender not?
Was he dumber than himself? Ha, that's not a funny joke. How could someone who dared to scheme against the Counter Force be a fool?
The fool, the powerless one, was himself.
Unconsciously, Justeaze's smiling visage appeared before him, so beautiful, so clear, yet gradually becoming distant. He wanted to chase after her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up until he was utterly exhausted, his consciousness fading.
—I really, really am useless.