Chapter 27 - Battle of the Best

Fuyuki City.

Despite what the boy had claimed in confidence, Kariya had still been doubtful he'd survive Lelouch's crazy idea.

Usually, when your role was to be a suicide bomber, chances of living through the resulting explosion would be minimum, zero for all accounts. However, that was where magecraft, and Kayneth Archibald for that matter, came in handy.

"Ngh…" grunting in light pain, he managed to sit himself up. Kayneth's Volumen Hydrargyrum had done its job protecting him, as proven by the silver cocoon that retreated back under his burnt clothes. But regardless of the relief, the fact Lelouch had readied plastic explosives for him to use in the first place was a highly concerning mystery. 'That kid… Did he make it himself? Or…'

Such thoughts were waved away as he managed to get up and assess his surroundings. The holy building that once housed the arbiters and frauds of the war wasn't in good shape. The vest Lelouch had made for him wasn't too powerful, or so it was according to the British master. Kariya begged to differ.

Quickly looking to the sides, the church was missing one wall, a giant hole was all that was left of the right side. Everything within from the altar to the seats were shattered ruins. Half of the pillars were destroyed. The light of candles had either been extinguished by the blast or had joined the small pyre amidst the rubble.

All this destruction… and it was only partly caused by magecraft—no. It could be said that magecraft itself wrought this destruction in the first place.

Kariya still didn't know why he agreed on it. He detested magecraft for the hell it put him through, be it by his own family or those he loved. But, going into this and caring little about his life, if it meant taking out Tokiomi and saving Sakura, he would do anything. Even stain his hands with that insufferable power that corrupted all it touched.

But, in the end, magecraft had saved him. Not just that, but it made his victory easier. Eyeing the leftovers of the former magus in charge of the entire Fuyuki area that had scattered all over the church, Kariya felt his insides churn. But such voices for victory would be for later… when he'd saved Sakura.

All in all, the simple plan to distract their foes had proven effective. Bar the fact it was insane from the get-go, Kariya could see this as an absolute win, more or less. Neither Gilgamesh nor Kirei were within sight. Considering the proximity of the priest, he might as well have had the front row seat to the faux house of worship's destruction.

Just the thought of anyone surviving had Kariya looking down at his own body.

His clothes were a lost cause. Thankfully, he could still feel the liquid armour that completely covered his body and absorbed the blast. Now that the suicide vest and his jacket were gone, he felt the weight on his shoulders both physically and literally lifted off of him.

Maybe, after this… he could go invite Aoi and Rin to a walk. As he'll be bringing Sakura, they'd likely enjoy it…

"To think… you'd choose to pack explosives…"

Kariya's tired yet maddened gaze narrowed. The smoke hadn't fully cleared yet, but as the dust settled down the corner of the altar furthest from the giant gaping hole, he caught sight of someone he didn't expect to live.

Kotomine Kirei looked like he'd seen better days. The Executioner was still in one piece, but the same could not be said for everything else about him. His clothes, reinforced and made with protecting their owner as a high priority, was still unable to match the point-blank explosion. The Church's gear was in tatters all about him. And, with how he was likely thrown back by the blast into one of the shattered pillars, the man was sporting wounds all over.

Pieces of wood and marble had pierced his back and were sticking out of various parts of his body. A bleeding cut on his forehead covered half of his face in red liquid. Considering the red pool gathered under him, the new master of Archer had lost a lot of blood and was heavily injured.

And yet, despite his grievous state, he continued to stand tall. He didn't scream or panic. Quite opposite, Kirei maintained a calm expression and was trying to slow down his breath. His hands were busy covering the open wounds, a small light shined about him as he tried his best to use a healing spell. Yet still, the eerie calm about his expression was enough to unnerve the cause of this destruction.

Kariya wondered what he should do now. Based on the man's wounds, sending Berserker at him would end it all… but he didn't get a chance when he heard a familiar arrogant king.

"Such an unpleasant visage, for you, Kirei," came Gilgamesh's bored comment. Stood up above on the balcony and looking down on it all, Archer didn't appear to have been affected by the explosion at all. "While I'm pleased that you weren't killed by something this insignificant, it appears you've suffered more than you're capable of recovering from on your own."

"Hn. This is but a scratch, Your Highness," sighed the young priest as he shook his head. "Give me a moment to focus."

Seemingly uncaring of Kariya's presence, the man merely continued to push more power into his healing. It was as if Matou Kariya wouldn't be a concern if he did try to intervene in the man's recovery.

But it wasn't wrong. He didn't have any more surprises. Volumen Hydrargyrum was ordered to protect him and nothing more, Berserker's Master couldn't use anything as an offensive weapon. Not unless he wished to leave himself defenceless against the still-very-alive and likely-pissed Archer.

"Hmph, the last thing I need is for my battery to bleed out. Here." Ignoring him entirely, a golden shimmer warped space about the blonde Servant. Gilgamesh had pulled out something resembling a phial full of brightly shining liquid. "Be grateful for this honour, Kirei. I have never shared this healing water with those who were not a citizen of my nation in the past."

"And it is an honour I shall never forget, my liege."

However, just as Archer was about to toss the phial Kirei's way—

"NGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The blackened knight appeared out of thin air and crashed the wall behind Archer.

In his left hand was something akin to an axe. But in the mad Berserker's hands, it turned into a veined and bloodthirsty hatchet that sought murder. Gilgamesh reacted quickly and evaded the reckless swing that crushed his side of the balcony.

"You finally show yourself, you mangy cur!" Fleeing with wisps of dust and smoke, the king glared with a furious smile. Gone was his normal clothing as his golden regalia shimmered into being. While Berserker roared in response, the King of Heroes hissed back with an arrogant scowl. "Very well. If you want to die by my hand so eagerly, then let it not be known that I am a gracious ruler. Kirei!"

"Yes, my liege."

"I leave the mutt's Master to you. Entertain him as I put this sick animal out of its misery—!" DAN CRACK

Just as he ordered his contractee and tossed the phial of healing water over, the flask shattered midair, raining its contents to the floor halfway between the Servant and Kirei. Both the priest and Archer glared at the distance from where the shot had come from and neither were able to maintain their composure for a moment.

"That bitch…" Never had Kariya heard the arrogant King sound so unsettled before as he made to retreat from Berserker further. A shimmer of portals opened up, but none were trained on his immediate attacker.

Instead, they fired off a pair of swords in the distance, towards the trees at the far edges of the Church's territory. A loud clang shattered the peaceful night air as the attack was blocked entirely.

Katana and rifles forming two rows about her had done their job. Even from such a distance, Kariya could sense that woman's demonic smile. Avenger had managed to position herself as planned.

"Arrogant little—!" Gilgamesh immediately reopened the Gate of Babylon and was about to fire a larger barrage of his treasures at her. That is, he could have, if not for Berserker intervening. "Not just a bitch, but also this mutt!"

The black knight ignored the king's complaints as he rushed at the golden Servant. Brandishing his axe with grace veiled by senseless violence, the first few strikes were aimed for Archer's head. But although he was a king, he wasn't a novice fighter and knew well how to dodge the assault.

Ducking, weaving back, Gilgamesh relented more ground as a scowl appeared on his face. That fact that he was on edge due to two worthless curs had him at the edge of his patience. The insects didn't even deserve the honour to fight him as an equal.

And yet, he had no other option but to retreat further.

It didn't help that Avenger wasn't only satisfied with watching but joining in, making accurately predicted shots that had Gilgamesh actively defending with the flats of his ancient axes and legendary shields. And due to Berserker's ability in corrupting his weapons, Archer couldn't keep them up for long without risking the madman from stealing from him again.

A one-sided match that had the King of Heroes on the run. A pathetic sight indeed.

It didn't help that Kirei was currently wounded and was useless at the moment. Killing the Master of Berserker could've helped him in at least slowing down the rabid Servant. But Kariya did the best he could to hide away behind whatever barricade he could find, keeping himself behind Berserker at all times as well as remaining as far away from Kirei as possible.

That didn't stop Gilgamesh from trying to take out the little husk of a worm.

A golden portal opened and immediately shot a weapon at the sickened Master. Considering he didn't bother aiming it, the shot would've likely missed. But being a Noble Phantasm that inspired the legend of a spearman of Greek origins, it would do enough to just hit near him to do severe damage.

If only Berserker would remain mindless as his namesake and ignore his Master's plight. But it turns out even the insane Servant still had a conscience.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGRR!"

With a vile snarl, Berserker broke away from his assault, distracting Gilgamesh by throwing the possessed hatchet before speeding away to violently kick aside the spear mid-air.

DANG

"Kuh! You cur!" Gilgamesh despised how such a beast could be called a Heroic Spirit. No grace to be found, or beauty to behold. Just raw skill with the beastly strength and inhuman flexibility to back it up.

The worm of a Master had lived, of course. With Berserker now standing protectively between them, the corrupted armour picked up a single plank of wood. What was once a bench was suddenly corrupted as the mad dog's new weapon. Handicapped by the lack of a legitimate weapon, he was just as armed and alert as ever before, ready to continue his attack.

The only upside for the golden Servant to this, apart from the brief respite to his immediate surroundings, was that his foe hadn't the chance to steal his treasure.

"You… filthy mongrel…"

Gilgamesh wouldn't last. He himself knew it, hence the curse under breath. Even Kariya and Kirei did. Berserker was just too potent a foe against him who was supposed to hold the greatest advantage ever. And yet, corrupted black plank in hand, the filth who shouldn't have stood a chance remained as calm as can be, waiting for an opening.

The battlefield needed to change for it to swing back into Archer's advantage. The ruins of the Church were inconvenient for his long-range attacks. Even with his back guarded by his shields and various axes from Avenger's distant potshots, it still didn't mean he could fight as freely as he wanted.

Revolting as it was to admit, Berserker was what Archer feared the most right now. Not only was the mad Servant an annoying pest at close quarters, but he was also the bane of Gilgamesh's entire arsenal. Speaking of which,

SNAP FWEEE—

Getting impatient, Berserker had snapped a splinter off of his plank and thrown it like a knife at the king. Archer managed to block it and subsequent splinters-turned-darts with the flat of one of his giant axes. But he didn't risk firing back a retaliatory strike.

Not when Berserker seemed to be waiting for him too. The knight had raised his hand, waving to himself as if to say 'is that all you got?'.

The audacity of the mongrel to actually taunt him into going on the offensive was getting to the prideful Servant. "Using mere splinters… Then to taunt me so…" The disgrace of being forced into defence had him muttering under breath. The shame of being goaded had him howling. "Who do you think I am, bastard—Ngh?!"

As soon as he raised the threat by opening his Gate further, the king realized his mistake.

He wasn't as quick to react to Berserker rushing him. From where he stood on the first floor, it would've at least taken him a few seconds to launch himself back into melee range. But as soon as the blades of Gilgamesh's armoury appeared, the ground beneath the knight shattered as he rushed at him at tremendous speed.

The King of Heroes didn't have a moment to dodge but was able to open another gate and pull out another treasure. Instead of using a real weapon, he opted for something that wouldn't pose much of a threat against him at all. Oddly, it was a great shield he never knew he owned that he used to block Berserker from his sight.

Gilgamesh loathed losing. He loathed the fact that these mongrels were actually pushing him to go so far. Yet, his fury was quickly replaced by confusion when Berserker's attack didn't seem to make contact with the shield.

In fact, peeking from behind the massive disc, Gilgamesh noticed something. The black knight had frozen, stood before him and staring at the shield.

For once, the maddened knight didn't howl in anger or seek senseless violence.

He just stood there in regretful silence.

_____________

Ah… This shield. He recognized it.

How could he not? It was the same shield that was made out of their round table.

The same one… he carried… but—

It wasn't… No, upon closer inspection, he noted the rough edges and runic markings. It was similar, but not the same one.

The sight of those similarities made him stop, the memories he'd associated with it forced sense into the mad knight's head. Visions invaded him, visions that existed only in memories from his past.

The time before he went against his brothers. The time when he served his king with pride. The time before… he lost himself in an affair with the queen…

Raised hands that tried to reach out to the great shield wavered. He internally batted it away, shaming himself for the attempt as he stood there, shaking… silently mourning.

Reminisce as he might, there was no going back to the time before. He wasn't allowed a chance to return. Not when he'd raised the sword against his fellow knights. Not when he fled the rebellion against his king. Not after he slew his friends… his family…

Metal clinked and shook as Berserker's balled fists twitched violently. While Gilgamesh stared at him with confusion, the black knight stood there for longer than a few seconds. Not attacking, and certainly not defending himself.

What fool would waste this opportunity? Certainly not the king who'd built a kingdom and rebelled against gods.

Confusion was replaced by determination as golden portals shimmered and shot lances at Berserker who did not move. "DIE!"

However, before any of the weapons could penetrate his armour, the mad Servant seemingly snapped back into action, evading the spear tips at the last second.

"Insufferable pest! Sit still while I erase you!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGR!" The knight howled as if to demand the arrogant king try. With great dexterity, Berserker evaded the numerous stabs and swipes from various legendary weapons the world had never seen. Over and over, like an aerobic dancer, death narrowly missed him at every turn, only adding more to Gilgamesh's frustrations. It was when he swiftly grabbed onto one of the many swords that left the Gate too early and used it to block the second and third wave of weapons that the prideful demigod had had enough.

"Tch!"

Gilgamesh, knowing he needed to cut his losses, clicked his tongue before blasting the wall behind him. More shields and the flat of axes spun and spread around him as he escaped into the air. The golden Servant was buffeted but not deterred by Avenger's rapid-fire shots pinging off of his defensive barrier.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGR!" anger at his failure growled at the armored Servant's throat. But before Berserker could give chase, he halted aiming a seemingly threatening gaze over at his Master.

While it was not meant as one, the bloodlust and rage that consumed him made it difficult to convey the words. The command to protect Kariya was still active and he couldn't leave unless his Master was safe. And while the tired and broken man remained at his hiding spot, Archer's counterpart didn't move from his position either. Kotomine Kirei was still nailed to the broken pillar by wood and stone. Any sign of movement was just him struggling to breathe while trying not to reopen his wounds.

That being said, insanity impeded his ability to speak. Intelligent and talented as he was in life, his wit and communication skills deteriorated as a Berserker. The Mad Knight of the Lake could only stare at his Master, the man to whom he made a promise. A promise to save someone who needed it.

Matou Kariya only blinked once before understanding what it was his Servant sought with that blank gaze behind the eerily glowing crimson visors.

"Go!" the man commanded with a light cough riddled with saliva and blood. Having fallen back to lean against what was left of a shattered pillar, the worm-riddled martyr reassured him. "I'm… fine. Finish this and murder him, Berserker!"

The mad Servant was eager to obey the one command his current class knew to do best. But before leaving and going after the arrogant king, Berserk stopped and glanced back at the shield. It had been discarded the moment Archer realized he was distracted by it. And though it would serve well as a tool, he hesitated to corrupt it like he had all his other tools.

It wasn't the same one but it was too similar. Could he take it? Could he use it to his advantage? The symbol of the grand order he and his brothers in arms constructed, upheld and protected? Could he wield it once more under the name of justice and bring an end to his foe?

No… He could not…

Berserker knew he couldn't stain that which had already been doused in blood. What had already destroyed millennia past could not be allowed to be corrupted by his sinful hands again.

The round table was gone. But… in the Throne of Heroes, its spirit lives on. For him, the dishonourable adulterer who betrayed and killed that order's believers, its people, to stain that legacy once more… was beyond pardonable.

No matter how mad he'd become, he was still a knight bound by chivalry… He still sought redemption.

Dashing over to the priest's side, he growled a warning to the nearly dead Executioner's poker face. Snatching up the weapons Kirei had discarded during the explosion, the Black Keys only those of the Church were able to properly wield turned blacker and stained by his curse.

These wouldn't compare much to the armoury of Babylon's greatest demigod, but neither would have a random hatchet and a plank of wood. But the black knight whose skill had been of great renown when he'd lived knew it would suffice.

At least until Avenger was able to supply him with more suitable choices.

Once more, he vanished into a cloud of black and red smoke. The chase for his enemy began. The furious roar was all he'd left behind apart from his Master.

___________

With both Servants gone, Kariya felt himself on edge.

Even as Berserker vanished, the young priest still didn't move much. Although, that was most likely because he couldn't be in such a state, to begin with. However, even like this, Kariya couldn't help but feel intimidated by the Executioner. Rightfully so as the bloody mess of a pincushion had a small smile forming on his face.

"How ironic…" he began with a spat of blood to the floor. "You… the most pathetic Master… the one my teacher regarded as mere rabble, remain untouched while I can't even move." Kirei let out a light chuckle. "Oh, how tables turned… Haaah… So, I'm completely at your mercy now. What are you gonna do, Matou Kariya? Are you gonna finish your job and slay the student of your nemesis, seeing as you've dispatched him to hell twice over?"

In all honesty, Kariya didn't really care about Kirei. Until now, he simply thought the young priest just another pawn in Tokiomi's schemes. But he was mistaken.

After all, it was that same pawn that sold out his own teacher.

The bloody remains of Tokiomi yet again didn't bother the man who should've been the closest one to the magus. Apart from his own Servant that was. Still, considering how quick they were to turn the cripple over and allow Kariya to deliver Tokiomi's death blow for them, Kariya needed to reassess his earlier assumptions.

"You used Tokiomi as a bait," Kariya said. "Why? Why did you betray him?"

"Hm, why, huh…" Even wounded as he was, the stoic priest so easily made to casually sigh. "Why do people betray each other in the first place? Why break an oath of loyalty sworn on one's life? To achieve certain goals? Because of greed and desire? Or was it because… they felt betrayed themselves?"

"Don't give me riddles, priest!" Kariya spat venom from where he sat. "I know that you and your father did. You were Tokiomi's allies from the beginning! Your father is dead because of it! And now you decided to betray Tokiomi like this. Why? Because of your father's demise? Because of some selfish reasons?" Kariya might not have noticed, but the flesh under his skin squirmed with his rising temper. "Answer my question."

Kirei smirked. "Or what? Are you gonna try to strangle as well? In that case," raising both his hands despite the difficulty and pain it would've brought to his partially mangled form, the priest snorted. "You're welcome to try, Matou Kariya. But be warned that I'm not like my former teacher. I won't be as easy a prey as he."

Again, the sleeping bugs squirmed, but Kariya tried his best to reign back his anger. He'd already killed Tokiomi. There was no need to lose his mind for some nobody he didn't have any obligation to either.

"Just answer it, priest. You will bleed out before Archer will be able to save you. Even if not by Berserker's doing, Avenger will likely finish him off." Kariya clearly understood the plan Lelouch laid out for him. That of Berserker distracting Archer long enough before the boy's own Servant could eradicate him with her noble phantasm.

While not the initial objective, his suicidal bombing managed to clip Archer's Master. This was still a small victory he was allowed to revel in. Much less Kirei who had no chance of winning now, without an ally and soon to be without a Servant.

"I did it because it was enjoyable." The man's smirk didn't leave his face. In fact, as Kariya gave him a weak yet confused look, it widened.

"What… are you—?"

What am I, indeed… I spent years trying to find something… anything… that would give my life meaning. A desire or goal… that would make me feel fulfilled." The smile was empty, blank. It was far from what a smile should ever be associated with. "I never had a want for anything and simply did as I was told. I experienced many things but none of them gave me the impression of joy… or satisfaction… That is until I was made to participate in this war."

"You… desired the Grail…"

"In the beginning, I did not. I merely questioned why such a device chose me… But, in my wondering, I began to ask why it ever bothered me to choose. That omnipotent wish-granting device… it considered, analyzed, and chose those most likely to desire what it could offer. My teacher was one such individual." Kariya watched as the bloody priest's gaze locked onto his own. "As were you."

"You're saying… the Grail is sentient…?"

"If it were not, why would it ever select someone as incapable a fighter as Matou Kariya?" The worms writhed a bit at that, nearing awakening, but Kariya managed to calm himself as the man continued. "It does not select a Master by one's capabilities. It chose those whose desires overflowed, those who sought a miracle. For my teacher, it was attaining a path to the Root. For you, it was salvation for Matou Sakura and revenge on the man you could never beat."

"What would you know of Sakura—NGH?!"

Hand gripping his deadened shoulder, he felt his blood pump slightly. The worms were now half-awake due to his anger and had begun draining away his mana again in an attempt to regain full awareness. But as they were tied to his mental state and excitement, his befuddlement of the priest's eager smile had them calming down once more.

"I know a great deal of all the Masters in this war, save for a few. You can thank my teacher's… ingenious strategy of faking my loss with one Assassin's demise while the rest continue to spy on you all." Kirei's gaze then drifted to the hole in the wall, as if waiting for someone to come in, only none did. "Thanks to that, I had become somewhat acquainted in what it is you all seek from the Grail. Fame, glory, the root, salvation. All of them similarly mundane as they are greedy."

"And you?" Kariya demanded. "What did you seek?"

"Nothing… that's the most perplexing thing. Me, someone who had no inherent desires from the start, was selected by a magical medium that only sought after those who desired a miracle. In my investigations, there was a certain individual that gave me more questions than answers. I wanted to meet him firsthand. The bane of all magi, you may know of him as the 'Magus Killer'."

Kariya was aware of the man, but mainly for what he'd done to Tokiomi. Apart from that, there was nothing, someone, as disconnected from the moonlit world as he would know. And though he might've been curious, the thought never weighed more than a passing question.

"For the first time in my life, I had an actual want to meet him. To fight that man and see for myself what kind of person he is. What would such a person desire from the Grail? In all my years, never have I thought I could yearn for something so… Then, I learned… even more about myself."

The priest's tone started to lighten. Instead of sounding cheerful, he began to swing towards hopeful. But… the air about him… Kariya felt it far too familiar. It felt as if he was listening to yet another of his own father's sermons before he'd left the Matou house.

It even began to resemble Kariya's own voice when he began hoping, praying, that he'd one day be able to achieve what he once could not. It was the tone of a man on the brink of lunacy.

"After my father's death, I started to think… I wanted to see it, to witness the dying face my father made as his life ended. Then, I began to want to see how my teacher would react the moment he encountered you again, albeit on the shorter end of the stick. How the two of you would come into conflict with one another, one at the end of his rope and the other at the end of his sanity." For once, Kariya looked upon the priest's smiling face not with fear but with a pitiful stare mixed with disgust. "I began to want to see it! Not just the agony and suffering you both endured to come to the fore, but to also witness the pain and suffering my actions wrought upon others! It was perfect! Both you and Tokiomi would meet and clash, seeking hope and destruction respectively… and both losing everything in the end. It was to be the grand prologue to a whole slew of suffering that I finally yearned to see!"

Kirei spoke with such enthusiasm… such passion… that even as Kariya looked at him with disgust, it turned into a horrified gaze.

"You're sick!" he said, spitting it out as he did. "A psychopath!"

"Please," Kirei sounded a little offended. "I am just a man who has finally found what he wants. Is it wrong to desire what makes one happy? Is it wrong to feel happy when you've accomplished said desires?"

"Not when it means others will suffer!"

"HAHAHAHAH! Such hypocrisy!" Kirei scoffed, blood dripping from the corner of his lips. "Matou Kariya, you are a hypocrite if that's what you think of me. You yourself wanted to be happy at the expense of others. You who loved another man's wife. You who yearned for another man's family, another person's happiness. You even went so far as to try to save her daughter, thinking it will win back her affections, did you not?"

Kariya froze. His teeth grit hard. And his grip on his deadened shoulder, although he couldn't feel it, caused his fingernails to draw blood under his ruined jersey's sleeve.

He couldn't deny it. Just as he became a Master to save Sakura, he couldn't deny he wished for such a thing. For the girl's mother and sister to appreciate his efforts. They, Aoi, Rin and Sakura, deserved a better life than what Tokiomi gave them. Maybe he couldn't provide that, but someone who else out there could've… or so he'd hoped.

He didn't want to admit it, but the truth had left Kirei's lips verbatim.

"Why fall silent now? Shouldn't you be celebrating? You finally managed to kill Tohsaka Tokiomi! You've achieved something you never thought possible… All that's left now is to slay the rest of the Masters and exchange the Grail for the life of the girl." The man even knew about that? Kirei chuckled, seemingly finding enjoyment in Kariya's squirming. "I'm sure Lady Aoi will be thrilled to learn that you bested her husband… More so now that you've left Rin and her sister without a father."

"Shut up! Tokiomi didn't deserve such happiness—!"

"And you did, right? You who chose to run away from the dying Matou lineage chose to turn your nose away from the people who stole your happiness away from you!" The priest's weakened state didn't deter the devilish smile as he enjoyed every second of Kariya's mental breakdown. "Until the girl took your place as the Matou's heir, you deserved that happiness, didn't you? What would've happened, perhaps, had you not left a vacant hole for Tohsaka Sakura to fill?!"

"SHUT UP! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Kariya howled, losing all composure as he stood up. All thoughts in his head drifted towards finishing the talkative man off. The sick priest smiled when he began limping over to do just that, but the smile vanished when after but a few steps, Kariya fell to the ground. "NGA—GAHAK!"

Blood and worms escaped his throat. The limp creatures still slumbered, but they were without a doubt slowly waking due to being fueled by his anger. Had they not, their poison wouldn't have seeped into him so.

"Hm. Even at the end of it all… you're still just a pathetic worm yourself, Matou Kariya." Kirei, despite being weak and trapped, wasn't scared enough to not say with a cold dismissive tone. "Weak… cowardly… a hopeless fool who rides on the coattails of others' victories… thinking yourself grand enough to deserve such happiness…"

Kariya couldn't raise his head. The crest worms started to move. The little monsters fed on his emotions even more. His rage was like caffeine, revving them up from their slumber. They squirmed, starting to resume eating his flesh from inside.

"Ngah—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" It was like his body was on fire. Didn't help that Berserker was fighting and needed mana. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

Kirei merely looked on at the man's agony with amusement. As Kariya lay on the floor, however, the pleasant show soon ended when two new faces arrived. The partially-blasted doors of the Church were knocked aside by a whip of mercurial tendrils, sending them flying away past Kirei. The wounded priest could only look on with curiosity as two men made their way in.

Lelouch Lamperouge and Kayneth Archibald gave him and Kariya a once-over, assessing their conditions with but a glance.

The Master of Avenger walked towards the latter and tried to help him to stand up. However, when the boy touched his hand, he recoiled slightly. A worm wriggled frantically under the man's arm, forcing Kariya to let out a sickening scream in pain. The child's violet eyes went wide, recognizing the Crest worms at work.

But the boy didn't waste another second as he pulled out a small flask. It was a solution Sola-Ui had given to him. Considering Kariya's would-be state after the plan had begun, Kayneth's fiancé had been asked to prepare a little something in the case of needing treatment for non-lethal wounds.

The boy quickly forced his ally to drink it all down. Accepting it, albeit needing to be pressured, Kariya let out another cough as the worms settled and calmed down once more. Only then did Lelouch let out a sign.

"So… You are the young Master his Highness Gilgamesh took an interest in?" the boy's attention was drawn to the priest.

"Kotomine Kirei, you look like you'd seen better days. Well, maybe your father has, considering you still live in that state." Lelouch replied mockingly, earning the priest's sordid laugh. Kariya was silently sitting, his back pressed against the wall while Kayneth stood up between them and the wounded executioner.

"Deriving fun in another person's misfortune is quite the sinful thing, young Lamperouge," Kirei said. "Then again, I guess you won't head advice from a priest, considering you murdered one in cold blood."

"You can't really lecture me, on that, now can you, teacher-killer?" Kirei narrowed his eyes. "What? Disappointed that you couldn't induce guilt from me? Or is it because I stole your kill?"

"… Eavesdropping is a grave sin as well. For a lamb that is your namesake, you're quite the bloodstained sheep, aren't you, boy?"

"You can drop the pious act, fake priest. There's no point in faking it now." Lelouch waved the man's stern glare away. "We've heard quite enough of your babbling already. Quite the dramatic prose, I may add, even if it is from scum who betrayed others for something as pointless as mindless murder."

"But in the end, my little entertainment gave you an edge, no? Then, you should be thankful to me for having carried myself like so until now." Kirei levelled a glare not just on the boy, but Kayneth as well.

"S-silence, Executioner!" The blonde magus immediately collected himself. "You betrayed your own teacher for what? Amusement? What foolish motivation. I would understand if you sought to plunder the Tohsaka family's magical secrets, but to waste them away for mere sport—you're nothing but a disgrace to all magi, a selfish cur who consigned value in worthless thrills!"

Kirei nodded with a short laugh. "Hah… Indeed, my reason was born out of a selfish want to be satisfied. However, not everyone can be like you, Lord Archibald. Maybe, for a tool like myself, it is hard to comprehend betraying others for your own benefit—"

"Silence!" Kayneth shouted, cutting off the man's words as he closed the distance between himself and Kirei. A simple wave of his hand had his mystic code striking the dying man via a stab through Kirei's leg. The maimed man's body tensed slightly, but his smug expression didn't waver. "Any more of your lies won't get you out of this mess, priest!"

"Kayneth, further torture is pointless," Lelouch called out. The young master kneeled near Kariya, waiting for his fellow Master to catch his breath before they moved out of the half-destroyed Church. "And you can drop the act as well. I am well aware of his implications."

"Wha—? Lamperouge, you—?! Wait, what?!" Kayneth froze. Voice tense, he took a step back but kept himself between the downed priest and the young man. "W-What do you mean you know? What is he—What are you talking about—?"

"Relax, yourself, Kayneth." The raven-haired boy's calm attitude in the face of the blonde man's panic was as sharp a contrast as night and day. "I am quite aware that you two had made a deal behind my back. In fact, I was expecting something like this anyway."

"H-how did—?! When—?!"

"Lady Sola-Ui told me," Lelouch said casually, while Kayneth's face became pale. "She also gave me this."

Pulling out something from his person, both the priest and magus recognized the Self-Geis scroll, the one Kayneth had hidden away from him. The Lord of the Clock Tower quickly roamed his hands all over his pockets searching. Shock overtook him when he was certain the scroll that was on him this whole time was the same one in the boy's hands.

Unlike the promise of safety for Matou Kariya, the second scroll had a different description. According to it, one Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald had sworn to help the Tohsaka backstab Lelouch in the most critical moment. In exchange, he and his fiancé were guaranteed protection from all else including their collaborators, not to mention a subsequent agreement between two magi families. Everyone wins, except Lelouch who was now obviously not as pleased as his polite smile made him out to be.

'How could Lamperouge have gotten it—unless?!' The blonde's eyes went wide. "Sola-Ui, she—she?!"

"Quite an understanding lady when you know what she wants. Of course, it was a bit difficult to convince her, but hey, what's a better motivator than love and vengeance, wouldn't you say?" Lelouch's smile turned into a devilish grin as he cornered the man with a mocking tone. "I told you to be wary of her, that she might act against you. How ironic that it just needed me as well to give her one final push."

"But—! How—?! When did you manage to trick my fiancé into betraying me?!" Kayneth screamed with rage. Kirei didn't move, more focused on the show before him. Bleeding aside, it couldn't stop the smile creeping upon his face.

The demonic grin was just as, if not more than, sadistic as Kirei's. "As I said, I just gave her a final push. The one she loved, Lancer is dead, while the man who brought his demise, the man she would still be forced to marry, still lives. No one wants to live a loveless marriage, Kayneth. Certainly not Lady Sola-Ui who has tasted the love she craved for who knows how long."

"Since… Lancer's death?!" the man was heaving, frothing at the mouth. "You seduced her just as that useless fool did?!"

"Not in the slightest, no. She already had all the makings of a traitor ever since the beginning when you summoned him, Kayneth." The boy kindly replied like he was giving directions to boil an egg. Kayneth's head was certainly balding by this point. "All she needed was to reach her breaking point. Apart from time to grieve over Lancer's death, of course. Ever since then, Lady Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri has agreed to help me. She acted as my eyes and ears, so long as it meant I will help her escape this war, escape from you. Considering that I don't really have any plans for Lady Sola-Ui, it was the convenient way to have her exit this whole affair."

After the death of Lancer and Caster, Lelouch made sure to speak with Sola while Kayneth wasn't looking. It was clear enough from the get-go that the woman was reluctant to continue with the struggle, unlike her fiancé. Life as Kayneth's wife, seemingly even before this war, was only a means to an end. Now that she'd lost her will to fight, he made a deal with her.

Lelouch gets a spy, Sola-Ui gets an out, a proper excuse to rid herself of the man who ruined her brief romance.

"No… That's a lie! That's... impossible…" Kayneth mumbled as he slowly walked backwards, leaning against a broken bench and collapsing to the floor as the wood snapped. "Why…? My Sola-Ui, how… How could she—?!"

He was still trying to comprehend what he just heard. His fiancé, the one he wanted to protect, did something like this behind his back.

Kirei watched on with a pleasant smile seeing as it was now Archibald who was in pain. "Hm… It seems you might've been a talented magus, but not the best when it comes to people, Lord Archibald—"

"SHUT UP, YOU PLEBEIAN!" SMASH went the shattered pillar above Kirei's head as a wild mercury tendril thrashed around. "You're the one who came to me with this deal, and for what?! Neither of the Geis scrolls were worth anything! Especially since Tokiomi's word was useless from the start!" Kayneth yelled before quickly turning to Lelouch. "Lamperouge! You don't have a right to judge me! I was doing only what was best for my fiancé and I. I—I needed to make sure we would both survive his war! To continue our lineage! At that time, the deal was the best option. But now, I can see that I fell for a cruel trick. T-Tokiomi was nothing but a puppet! That's right! So that deal means nothing now! So it means, we're at an understanding? Right?!"

Kayneth heaved and gulped. It was as if he was trying to save face while begging the child. Since he didn't have time to betray him and the deal was useless anymore, Kayneth has technically done nothing wrong. Or, at least, he didn't have time to do anything traitor-like worth mentioning.

And it was unlikely he would be extended the same courtesy by the remaining masters. No way he will work with one of his students. The same could be said of reverse. And the Einzberns had allied with the Magus Killer! Such sloppy disgraces of a mage family didn't deserve his consideration.

Kayneth simply didn't have anyone else who could help him, therefore he had no choice but to stay with Lelouch and Kariya. So it should be fine right?

"Hahahahah, ah…" the laugh that left the boy's mouth was hollow as was the question that followed ridden with sarcasm. "Surely you jest, Kayneth-dono?"

Without so much as a hesitation, he turned his back to the priest and magus and lifted Kariya with his shoulder. The man's only working eye was focused on the boy, but he opted to stay silent. This wasn't his issue to intervene. And besides, the man who'd never been born a real magus never held any care for the Clock Tower or magi in general, let alone the blonde who was just as likely to betray him as he'd almost done to Lelouch.

"Nobles like you are the same no matter where I go. Treachery like this… it was expected from the likes of you." Lelouch commented like it wasn't him who'd been betrayed. "I'm not angry for your actions, Kayneth. Just disappointed you didn't do anything worthwhile when you could've."

"And… what are you going to do now?" Kayneth snarled, venom finally seeping into his tone. "Does it mean the end of our alliance? After everything, I did for you?! Why? We still can work towards our goals and get Grail—!"

"Oh, right, I hadn't informed you, have I?" the boy said as he levelled an uncaring glance at the two men before him and Kariya. "I have no need for Grail. I don't have a wish, or at least nothing I desire that I can't attain with my own two hands. Not anymore. But I still have a goal in this war, that being making sure no one else gets the Grail."

Kirei was first to speak, preceded with laughter. "Hahah… Ahahah… Gilgamesh was right! There is something unusual about you, Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Is that what his Highness thinks of me?" Lelouch asked as if he was genuinely surprised. But it didn't fool the adults in the room who could tell sarcasm from curiosity.

"I can still help you with that!" Kayneth said, doing his best to not let the opportunity to survive slip away. "If it means I and Sola-Ui will leave alive, we can! Lamperouge, you aren't a fool! This, I'll admit! Why not let's forget about this Geis incident and continue working together? As adults?!"

The man even offered his hand, as if hoping patronizing would get Lelouch to agree. However, the Demon Emperor shook his head.

"Sorry, but you have nothing more to offer me, Kayneth-dono. This little team of ours was… an interesting experience. At the very least, I've come to understand how many of you magi think and act. Not a very promising sample size, but it is still reassuring that you'd continue to think so protective of your treacherous fiancé. Not many would've put up with such a betrayal from one's betrothed. I respect your feelings for her in that regard. Even if she thinks otherwise."

Lelouch said and pulled out a small device. Kayneth, being a magus that abhorred modern technology, didn't understand what it was. However, next to him, Kirei quickly realized what was going to happen. Shutting his eyes, the priest prepared for the worst.

Or maybe, he shouldn't have to. Perhaps… this was his punishment for trying to finally enjoy himself. It may have been worth it… but why waste any more effort feigning pious falsehood?

"I thank you for your tutelage, Lord Kayneth. Our time together was short, but let it not be said that I didn't learn a great deal from your example."

Regardless of the priest's internal musings, Kayneth didn't have time to react when Lelouch pressed the detonator, switching on the small device that Sola managed to hide within her fiancé's clothes while he wasn't looking. The former master of Lancer couldn't do anything when a small homemade bomb under his clothes beeped to life.

"Wait," for the last time, the magus tapped his pockets until he met the devilish smile forming on the boy's face. "What did you—?!"

"Nothing personal, Kayneth. But… this is war." The teenager didn't avert his eyes from the next death his plans brought upon another hapless victim. "The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed."

"Wai—!" BOOM

The second explosion wasn't as powerful as Kariya's suicide vest. Lelouch didn't want to hurt himself and only needed enough firepower to kill Kayneth. Blasting the already-crippled Kotomine was just a bonus.

All that remained of the two men were a splattering of blood and freshly burnt flesh. Quite an unpleasant end for a man, but it was fitting for two traitors. Or so Lelouch told himself as he shoved any form of guilt aside for the task at hand.

With one grappled onto Kariya's dead one and the other on his lower back, the boy ushered him. "Let's go, no point for the sinners to remain here anyway."

Kariya said nothing, now a little terrified by how Lelouch was willing to go. That the master of Avenger seemingly didn't care about the mess he'd made…. It was unsettling. Three dead in a blast engineered by a child no older than a high-schooler, how else should Kariya feel about the boy helping him limp out?

'If… I'm a sinner… who murdered for his own selfish desires…' the cripple kept to himself. 'What does that make you, who slaughters without a care in the world?'

________

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGRRRRRRRR!" Berserker bellowed as he rushed at the Servant before him.

Gilgamesh glared at the black knight as he shot another volley of weapons at him. "To be reduced to using reserves—DIE!"

A great wall of golden light enveloped half of the courtyard as tons of metal flew at the raging madman like falling stars. Those that he launched were nothing but mere spares. Swords and spears of the greatest make, but nothing in terms of myth or legends to hamper him should they be turned against their owner. The King of Heroes was forced to resort to this tactic for the last few minutes, trying to slow down the mad Servant who could care less about his vain attempts to buy time as he continued to charge.

Annoyingly, he was still equipped with Kirei's inferior Black Keys, using them to parry and deflect every single weapon that should've outclassed the Church's blades. The corrupted black smoke that enveloped the holy accessories protected them enough while encouraging the beast to persist with his violent charges.

Berserker knew as well as Archer did that he needed to close the distance between them before he could throw them effectively for a decisive blow. Any attempts outside of a certain range would have said Keys shattering against any of Archer's royal reserves once Berserker's noble phantasm lost effect.

It was why the king had kept firing at him nonstop in an attempt to keep the hound at bay. Gilgamesh wouldn't allow anyone to make him fall back anymore, even if that was what he was doing still. But this dog didn't stop his advance. Archer's relentless barrage had yet to even wound the mutt he so desperately wanted to slay.

"Sit still, you little—!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGR—" BADAM BADADADAAAAAAAAAM

Their fight had ruined the entire front of the church. With how erratic the dog had been moving around, Gilgamesh had been forced to retreat further into the grounds, ending up standing atop the tallest tombstone in the cemetery. Berserker remained low to the ground, now utilizing the cover of other headstones to mask his approach as he slowly but surely closed the distance between them.

"Is dancing around all you're good for?" when he didn't get a worded response, Archer simply opened fire. "Then dance for me, mongrel!"

Gone was the king's usual snark as the black knight ran circles around Archer. Every now and then, a flying spear or axe would hit close to home, but then the charging Berserker would simply use the dust explosion as cover to change direction or move ever closer.

Gilgamesh didn't want to fight this animal in close range. He wouldn't allow it. Never would he admit fear for the mutt was simply beneath him for a great king to fight as an equal!

However, he hadn't forgotten about his second problem this night.

Avenger. She'd been quiet for some time now, but she was somewhere out there, somewhere. Likely waiting for an opportunity while her attack dog distracted him further. Once Gilgamesh let his guard down, she will strike. Of that, there was no doubt.

Too bad for her, the King of Heroes was above such paltry tricks and was ready for what may come. Although admirable of them admit weakness and rely on one another to defeat him, the demigod wouldn't allow their disgrace to persist!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!" Berserker howled with maddened fury again, as if to cry out its premature victory in achieving the needed range to hit its target.

"Do you know anything besides incessant snarling, mongrel? I called you a dog in the first place for that is how you displayed your insolence. But now, I'm starting to think you are less than a beast!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Was the only response apart from flinging his corrupted weapons at the king.

Gilgamesh frowned at even giving the crazed fool a chance before opening his Gate of Babylon. A giant sword arose from below, protecting its owner as well as blocking him from view. But Berserker wasn't about to let up just because he didn't have a weapon.

Leaping into the air, black tendrils sprouted from his back. Each emanated the same corrupted aura as the weapons he'd stolen before. But more than that, they seemed alive and made to reach out towards Gilgamesh's treasures.

"Insolent fool." The king smirked as he snapped his finger.

A flood of clinking metal and more golden light basked the falling knight as golden chains shot out of the golden portals. Berserker couldn't avoid all of them midjump. Despite how acrobatic he was all throughout their exchange, the Chains of Heaven easily caught the mongrel who thought he could fly.

"GRAAAGRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The black knight howled as he tried to get out. The blackened tendrils he'd brought out attempted to struggle against the chains, but if the insane Servant knew what they were, he wouldn't have bothered trying.

After all, Enkidu was a weapon made to trap even the gods. An Anti-Divine weapon that could ensnare those with strong enough legends and divinity. Granted, the Knight of the Lake had none. But even against mere mongrels consumed by Mad Enhancement, it was still nigh unbreakable when wrapped around him en masse.

It was a weapon without equal. As to be expected of Gilgamesh's most trusted partner and treasure. Something like an animal that corrupts all it touched wouldn't be able to escape Enkidu's grasp so easily.

"Look at you, unhinged yet restrained. Quite the fitting image for a rabid dog," Gilgamesh spat out a laugh as another shimmer rippled the space near his hand.

Pulling on a blade's hilt, he drew a vulgar sword that exuded as much murder and bloodlust as the Berserker he trained it on. For a weapon that sprouted a legend of a tyrant who revelled in torture and suffering, it would suffice as a disciplinary tool for a thief even Gilgamesh found worthy of its hunger. As a start, he stabbed an inch of the blade into the back of the knight's knee joint, eliciting another angry howl.

"Don't think I will grant you a swift death, pest." Gilgamesh withdrew the blade. Despite it being not much of an injury, the legend of the blade itself would cause its victims to experience days, if not weeks, of torturous agony all throughout their body. Such was the potent poison of this gruesome weapon. "Thieves must be made an example of, and you will pay dearly for having touched my treasures without permission. But first, sit still while I kill that barbarian woman."

BADADADADADADAN BADADADADADADAN

Gilgamesh didn't turn around when he heard the sound of multiple gunshots. Without looking, another giant sword intercepted the double volley. Also without looking, he fired a couple of his own in retaliation.

BOOM BADAM BLAGADOOM

With the thief chained up, there would be no need to hold himself back and resort to reserves with his next foe. "Took you long enough, you bitch."

Appearing from behind the dust cloud, he glared at Avenger who had the audacity to smirk back despite the insult. "You missed."

"I could say the same of you, impudent knave," he snapped back to the woman who stood in the distance. In the air above her, Avenger's rifles formed two lines on either side. All of them were aimed at him. But unlike the trapped Berserker, Avenger didn't instil the same unease in the arrogant king. "Or did a fool like yourself think such cheap weapons would be able to scratch my great armoury?"

The redhead merely smiled as she narrowed her eyes. "How arrogant. Do you think yourself the only one worthy of being my target, blondie?"

"What was that—?"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Before Gilgamesh could snap back, the growl behind him had his eyes widening. It was the golden fragments falling like snow that had his crimson eyes in rage as well as adamant shock.

"What—?!" Avenger's shots had shattered the Chains of Heaven, freeing Berserker in the process. Using the brief opportunity, the unrestrained mad knight didn't waste a second before going for Gilgamesh's head. "Damn y—!"

"RRRRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" the vengeful bellow was accompanied by a balled and blackened gauntlet to the king's face.

Even without stolen weapons, Berserker was a force to be reckoned with. In such close proximity, Archer wasn't fast enough to react to the vicious haymaker. Forget retreat, even intercepting it with any of his already deployed blades didn't come to mind.

Not when the image of the divine chains shattering burned itself into his mind.

Yet, despite being sucker-punched and dirtied by the madman's filthy fist, despite flying back into his own sword that acted as a shield against Avenger, the only thoughts in Gilgamesh's head was that of disgrace for a king like himself to be sullied so. That and furious rage.

"Keh!" Gilgamesh spat to the side. Freezing up as he saw the blood, he then realized. The wild dog had gotten him to bleed. "You—?!"

"REEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYGH!" Berserker didn't even give him the time to speak. Seemingly pumped by the success of the first, he went for a second haymaker like he hadn't had enough.

Unfortunately, Gilgamesh was at the end of his patience. "YOU THINK I WOULD ALLOW YOU ANOTHER CHANCE?!"

Even before he'd finished his howl in anger, the moment Berserker got within a meter of him, a new golden chain struck the black knight. But unlike the mass he'd used to restrain the beast, the new chain was not only thicker but had a spearhead the size of a man's head striking at Berserker's heart.

"GRRAAAAAAAAAGH!" The madman was only saved at the last second by his own adaptability. The haymaker turned into a two-handed grapple that held the chain's spearhead at bay. The golden blade scraped against black armour, but just barely. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH—!"

"DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?!" cutting off the cur's victorious cry, Gilgamesh summoned a second chain. Similar in girth as his earlier restraints, it snapped around the knight's leg. But instead of dangling him up like before, this one snapped like a whip and threw the mutt into the earth with a sharp crack.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAGH—!" BOOM

Berserker roared as he disappeared into a crater several meters deep. And yet still, Gilgamesh wasn't done. "For marrying a king's face, I shall be lenient. A hundred lashes for your impertinence!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

More chains had appeared, the same size and thickness as the spearhead. But instead of stabbing at the man in the hole, they all whipped him with their massive links. Gilgamesh had opted to beat the mutt down. Successive flaying and whip cracks caught Berserker all over as the Chains of Heaven lashed out a beating no man would ever survive.

The silence, stillness of the body, and size of the impact crater's aftermath was pretty telling in the state of the maddened beast. He'd managed to beat one into submission. For now, at least.

"Remember this day, mongrel." Gilgamesh spat down into the crater he made. Blood is still mixed with saliva. "For it is but the first of the hellish eons I shall put you through—!"

"This is what you call hell?" Before he heard her, Gilgamesh felt Avenger's presence. A rush of wind to his side had him dodging back, away from a slashing katana that left a trail of murderous red in its wake. Avenger clicked her tongue. "Tch. I missed. Ah, what a shame. I could've silenced that babbling mouth of yours once and for all if I'd just kept mine shut."

The fearlessness in how Avenger just shrugged her failure caused Archer's gaze to narrow on her. Not only was she taking him lightly, but she was also carefree enough to act so relaxedly.

This… wasn't good. Gilgamesh had a good idea of what her noble phantasm was. From the swipe to his head that he barely avoided, he'd felt it. Anti-Divine. Not just her blade, the crimson aura that enveloped her form, her weapons, her bullets reeked of it.

That explained why his chains had been shattered earlier and had the king even more on edge than any opponent had the right to force him. Had he blocked the surprise attack with Enkidu, she would've cleaved through it and him like butter.

The King of Heroes would never admit it, but his hairs were standing on end.

But he wasn't going to shame himself further by standing down.

Multiple portals opened in the air above them, as he activated his Gate of Babylon. Avenger did the same, summoning more ancient rifles and lining them up towards Archer himself.

However, her weapons couldn't be compared to Archer's arsenal. No armoury could compare to his collection. Offensive wise, she had lost in range and firepower. But considering she wielded a katana, Avenger could very much attempt the same as Berserker and close the distance between them.

He wouldn't let that happen! He'd already been insulted once! That was one too many!

"DIE, YOU HERETICAL WHORE!"

"Quite the dirty mouth!"

Archer fired his treasury. Avenger's rifles attempted to shoot the weapons down in response. However, unlike the mad hound who troubled him by being a difficult target, mere magic bullets weren't able to so much as taking out the originals of every legendary weapon. Only deflect a few.

Had they continued this mode of fighting, Archer would've won decisively, no matter how many more lines of rifles Avenger summoned. Even with her Anti-Divinity, none of her attacks would pierce a weapon that had its Mystery birthed from mortal hands.

Blades of famed warriors, spears of renowned soldiers, axes, glaives, chakrams and more, all powerful treasures individually, rained down like a cataclysmic barrage of golden death on the redheaded woman who struggled to fend them off with a smile.

It only turned more vicious when one legendary spear managed to strike the ground where she stood.

For a second, all was silent. Then, a swift shadow with crimson flair flew off to the side, circling around him, much to the chagrin of the King of Heroes.

"You… damned woman!" She was repeating Berserker's tactic of being as much of an annoyance as possible, biding her time as the rabid mutt had wasted his. Only this time, she seemed more eager, more ravenous as she, ducked, evaded, even slapped his weapons out of the air. All the while, she got ever closer and closer. "Why… Why won't you keel over and die, you bitch?!"

"Hoh? So this is the fair cadence of what had been called the 'King of Heroes'?" she snidely remarked as she slipped behind a shattered gravestone to barely avoid a flying axe overhead. "Gotta say, I'm impressed a royal brat grew up with quite the foul mouth!"

"Be silent!" Gilgamesh shouted with anger. "Mongrels like you do not deserve such respect. After the shame you've wrought on me this day, I'll make sure you understand you are undeserving of life as well!"

Avenger merely smirked, seemingly finding amusement in something as she earned even more of his ire. "'Mongrel' this, 'mongrel' that? Don't you get tired of referring to other mortals like so? Or is it a simple attachment to your own humanity, Gilgamesh, the 'one-third mongrel' of a demigod?"

"SILENCE, INSECT!"

His Gate opened even wider. It was practically the courtyard's sun at this point as it spouted even more of his treasures, making it more difficult for the mocking Avenger to dodge perfectly. It was getting hard so fast that one of the many haphazardly flying knives clipped her slightly, scratching her cheek.

"You… are nothing but another trash who calls herself a King!" Crimson eyes filled with fury glared into the second crimson pair whose expression smiled with glee. "A pathetic barbarian like you… don't deserve such a title! If you wish to persist with it, I shall eradicate you and send these backwards islands into oblivion!"

"What's wrong, Giggles? Do you find something you don't like about Japan?" Avenger barely dodged the giant axe that flew for her neck just at the mention of the nickname. Even while avoiding death, the devilish smirk never left her. "And here I thought you of all Servants would've appreciated how far humanity has gone. The wonders of what people have achieved since our age, don't tell me you envy these mortals, Mr. Mongrel Demigod—!"

BAMM BOOM DAN

Yet another spear or ten nearly made a pincushion out of the woman as Gilgamesh's blood boiled. Recomposing himself, the king steadied his breathing, realizing the woman was just wasting his time.

However, he wasn't against voicing his complaints.

"Nothing but a waste of resources. Humanity has grown weak and lazy. Millennia to evolve and for what?! Only to regress into barbarians such as yourself and that thief of a knight!" Venomous and spiteful were his words. With the souring of the woman's expression, his hate was certainly conveyed. "Without my guidance, this world cannot achieve anything meaningful. It is all but a stain compared to the kingdom that I built with my own hands."

"So you say, but then your kingdom never attempted to reach out beyond the stars." Avenger's smirk widened when Gilgamesh's brow twitched in annoyance.

"Arrogance, such arrogance in trying to reach that which they cannot attain. Even if what they achieved is great, such conceit and self-importance in their own race makes them just as filthy and imperfect as the ants they tread over!"

"Well, aren't you a total prick, blondie?" she asked. Hand on her hip, she scoffed at the king who'd stopped his barrage but had yet to lose his Gate. "Here we have humanity, simple humans trying to achieve the impossible, attempting to improving and create new things. We should be amazed by what they can do with their own ingenuity, without relying on sorcery and magic. And yet, there's you, a fallen king who keeps whining about how well they're doing for themselves without him. I'd dare say someone seems to be feeling petty and jelly, aren't they, O King of Heroes, Giggles~~~—!"

"CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I SHALL CUT YOUR TONGUE OFF MYSELF!"

"AHAHAHAHA!" Avenger didn't respond, only sticking her tongue out while laughing haughtily. "My, my! How easy it is to break your patience, O ancient king. One would think, having been a monarch 'til your death, you'd have the patience and understanding to remain composed and graceful at all times, especially in dealing with us 'mere mongrels'."

"Hmph. Patience is wasted on your lot! Even on you, who has ascended to being a Servant, are the same as them! They who forgot the struggles of old, who understood what it cost the common man to even be given the opportunity to bloom. All humans were nothing but cattle, mere fodder for the gods until I separated the world!" The arrogant and self-righteous glare he gave her was akin to a star looking down on the dirt. "Neither you nor the humans of the modern age can understand what sacrifice I and my kingdom had to suffer. What price we paid to beget your future… I see now that it was all not worth it."

Gilgamesh saw it in the woman's eyes. The same ineptitude. The same lack of purpose he found in all others. Avenger, like all the other humans that had survived until now, were as worthless as this conversation. He decided to end this meaningless exchange.

"I had joined this war to see if anyone was truly worthy of my Grail, but I see that neither fighters, bystanders, nor the world itself has the right to be bestowed my treasure. Even mortal heroes such as yourself, though blessed with being inscribed onto the Throne, are the mere rabble and are not worth the honour."

Despite not having closed them, a ripple echoed along his Gate. With Gilgamesh himself at its centre, the golden space about him drew all of his greatest weapons, regardless of whether their use would end up causing more than a mere crater this time.

Even in the face of such a fearsome arsenal, Avenger didn't so much as wilt. "How presumptuous of you to continue claiming any judgement of yours would be followed by the world."

"Do not insult my hegemony, Avenger. No matter what filth has taken over, this world is still my property. Anything I say can and will be taken as the one true judgement!" The king held his head aloft and proclaimed it thusly. "Therefore, in my greatness, I have decided to wipe out every last one of you. To start over, to save my garden from the rot that is humanity, to save this world from itself! So, as my last command to you, stay still, mongrel."

"Hmph." With a flick of her wrist, Avenger straightened her dust-covered hair. "I refuse."

"You would still dare defy me?!" his gaze, irked to no end yet trying its best to remain as regally composed as possible, stared daggers at the woman who stood boldly before him.

"Giggles—Heh, no." She stopped herself so as to make sure he was taking her seriously. "King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. As the Demon King, I hereby declare you to be a blind fool!"

"What was that?!"

"Your nation is gone. The kingdom you've so proudly raised has been reduced to nothing but dust and memory by the flow of time. Your reign has long expired, ended millennia past and can only be found in books. Humanity hasn't and will not ever need you anymore for they have moved on. If you can't see the progress around you, then I must declare you to be a blind fool."

"Unlike the mutt who couldn't stop his howling, the drivel that escapes your mouth is quite something else, isn't it, you red bitch?!"

"Heh! Is that all you have to say? Not admittance to the truth or denial of what has eluded your oh so magnanimous gaze? It hasn't eluded me or any other Servant in this war, Gilgamesh. Bar one, we who have already played our roles in history have come to accept the end result and don't wish for it to be destroyed. Unlike you and that naïve Saber."

"You would dare compare my great ideal to a wishful child's dream?"

"What is a dream but an ideal yet to be attained? Until now, all your words have been filled with claims of lordship over all. I thought it nothing but a fool's bragging, yet it holds some truth for you are one of the world's oldest Kings." It was at this point that Avenger's smirk vanished, replaced by a disappointed stare at the king annoyingly glaring down upon her. "But that high-and-mighty attitude doesn't give you an eternal right to call yourself the ruler of the world. You… you reigned over a nation, but all else, you didn't make to conquer. You only claimed that which you separated from the influence of gods. You may have sacrificed many for the sake of creating your ideal kingdom, but you didn't spill the blood of billions that made the world what it is today."

"You… would deny my right?" Another ripple travelled across the Gate's opening. More great weapons peaked out, ready to execute their owner's enemies. "You would continue to trample on my gracious patience, you inept fiend?!"

"Hoh? 'Fiend', huh." Avenger licked her lips. "Not exactly as prestigious as a 'demon', but considering you acknowledge my defiance, the threat I pose for you, I would see this as an absolute win!"

BAM

The earth near her shook as dust and dirt were thrown into the air. Space had ruptured as soon as Archer fired a warning shot that could have easily shredded anything in existence even if the blade so much as passed by them.

"I tire of your blathering, Avenger," he said with a not-so-subtle hint of annoyance. "I've made my decision. You shall join the impudent thief in eternal suffering!"

"I doubt you'd even have an idea of what hell really is, Giggles." She neither cared nor bothered with hiding her mirth. Katana raised against him, Avenger shouted back with as much hate as she had mockery. "If you can't accept this future, then I suggest you win that Grail and use it to return to your pitiful past. Stay in stagnation while I march to the future. For I, the Demon King will forever aim to conquer the world you had no right in claiming, King of Fools!"

As Avenger said it, hundreds of rifles formed lines before her. She didn't even give him a moment to respond as she opened up with a relentless barrage of bullets. Gilgamesh quickly summoned his treasures to defend. But despite being under constant fire, he hadn't lost his cool.

He wasn't going to allow the insulter to remain standing. The demigod was already beyond furious.

"Be crushed by the dirt as I grind you to dust, Mongrel!"

At his command, the army's worth of weapons he'd summoned rained hell down on the self-proclaimed Demon King. The entirety of the cemetery was reduced to rubble as even more of the earth was gouged out. Scores upon scores of weapons, divine and ancient, flew at and obliterated the many rifles not even half a millennia old in their legend, seeking the demise of their summoner.

For her part, Avenger did well slipping back and avoiding the assault. Not as impressive as Berserker who was quick to avoid and dance around the hail of blades, but the tenacity behind her swiping away the many treasures was not lost on the King of Heroes.

'This… isn't enough!' He grit his teeth. Knowing full well the woman wouldn't be so easy to defeat, Gilgamesh summoned the golden key to his strongest weapon. 'But… I've run out of my patience to hold back on this insolent savage.'

There was only one way the King of Heroes could show his superiority compared to mere plebeians. And, with how he'd finally deemed this woman a true threat, he couldn't afford to hold back.

However, as he started to call upon the Sword of Rupture, Archer felt something. There was a noticeable cut in his connection to Kirei that had him turning his gaze towards the ruined church. His new master was wounded but Gilgamesh was sure in the ability of the priest to survive against a mere worm of Matou… But he felt only one thing. Kirei no longer lived.

For the second time in this war, he'd felt the loss of a Master, his anchor to this world, once more.

This momentary freeze had him hesitating. Without an anchor, a mana source to call his own, summoning Ea would more than exhaust him of his now limited reserves. The World itself rejected that sword and would fight back, ensuring the need for more mana spent simply to call on it.

His Independent Action would help him hang on for a little longer, but upon using his greatest weapon, how long could that skill buy him time for?

But despite maintaining all his focus on the foe before him, even knowing he'd lost his main battery, another interloper had gone forgotten in the king's frantic mind.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRR!"

"Dammit—GAH!" BOOM

Having a tree slammed against him wasn't a new experience for Archer, but Gilgamesh was hardly prepared for the trunk hardened by its corruption to send him flying off to one side. The darkened tree wasn't enough to kill or wound him, but it had caught him by surprise, giving his attackers a chance to exploit his sudden opening.

Avenger especially didn't waste such an opportunity and moved forward, her katana aimed for Gilgamesh's left side. In the midst of summoning Ea, the curved blade managed to clip his shoulder and sever bone and flesh as if it was silk. But the unlocked compartment of his Gate remained open, allowing the king his chance.

'If only that damned priest would've stayed alive a little longer!' Snatching the hilt of the divine blade with his right hand, Gilgamesh readied to destroy them both. 'So long as I can just kill them, I—'

But just as the King of Heroes readied his gambit,

"Every me from the past, present and future shall gather. Unfold:『The Hajun Reborn・Demon King of the Three Thousand Great Thousand Heavens』!"

The world around himself and Avenger went red.

_________

Papiyas.

The world was enveloped in fire and ash.

The burning temple was the only structure present. Anything else beyond it burned an eternal pyre. As the supposed enemy of Buddha and Buddhism as a whole, this place was her world. Her hell.

During her life, Oda Nobunaga spent years upon years slaughtering monks and burning their temples. So much so that the Throne took it upon itself to designate her greatest weapon the bane of all that was Divine. A fitting legacy to the slaughterer of the firm Shinto believers.

This was her Reality Marble. The world within her core. The place where she was betrayed. The temple where she was murdered by her own people. A karmic end to one who burned all those monks that denied her conquest for decades on end.

The Daimyo closed her eyes, taking in the strong scent of sulfur and smoke. Alongside her rifles and blade, this was all she had left. The endlessly burning flames that even a god would consider their hell.

'Ah… I'll need some time off after this, again…' the woman sighed as the strain of forming the world took a minor toll on her. And that was despite Lelouch's surprising amount of mana. Speaking about her partner. 'I wonder… would Lelouch feel… at ease with this world of mine?'

As a fellow Demon, he should. Or, if his proposal was to be 'til death they part, he had to be able to at least accept this side of her legend. Naming herself a demon was one thing, but to be eternally attached to one who had her own personal underworld where no deity would willingly tread? That belied a bond requirement beyond simple verbal promises.

And yet, Nobu didn't doubt for a second he would accept. He'd accept her despite this world portraying such an unbecoming aspect of her as a woman. After all, the boy had carved his own path to hell for the sake of salvaging the world. For the Demon King who'd only seen his path in visions and dreams, the Demon Emperor who walked it in his past life was an existence worthy of respect as well as a seat in this world for her to rule alongside with.

However, Nobu had to pull away from such fleeting thoughts. She had a guest to entertain, after all. The poor soul that was transported inside the Reality Marble with her wasn't feeling as calm and collected as she.

"This is—?!" Gilgamesh dropped to a knee. His golden armour smoked and sizzled as it clanged to the ground with him. "This world is—NGAH?!"

It was a rare act of weakness, an arrogant one such as he would never do under normal circumstances. But the situation was anything except normal. There was a definite reason Oda Nobunaga had never feared the King of Heroes. She'd never been cowed by his presence as many of the others were.

Of course, she acknowledged his power and how dangerous he was. Yet still, she remained confident in her ability to beat—nay, slay the demigod. And why?

Because her world, her legend was built upon the desecration of all that the Divine held sacred!

Stoic faith and the sanctity of life? All that had been torn down, replaced by burning holy sites, massacring monks, leaving none who sought refuge in temple grounds alive. All those stories made a strong impression on her followers as well as the generations that succeeded her.

Born from negativity and fear, set in stone by her karmic death, and then burned into the annals of history. Oda Nobunaga, the Conqueror of Japan, soon attained the title Oda Nobunaga, the Demon King.

So strong was her legend that it gave rise to the mystery that fueled her power in the form of the most memorable curse she placed upon her enemies.

Those who worship God will know fear.

Those who claim the backing of the divine will know death.

Those who fight in the name of their deity, even with their life put to the blade… they shall be denied salvation.

For all their trespasses against Oda Nobunaga, for all that they claim their cause to be just, the bane of that which is holy will grant them one final damnation. In light of their futile yet stubborn resistance, they shall be granted hell.

Thus, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven was born. She who was believed to be the enemy of the gods had been given the greatest weapon against them. Not divine chains that would restrain them. Not a sword that would sever them off from humanity. No.

All she had been given was the power itself to destroy that which held Divinity, a crystallization of her god-abhorring mythos.

Papiyas was the very picture of that power, an amalgamation of the fear and reverence that the people held for Nobunaga even after her death. Therefore, this world which she held absolute authority over burned with the greatest weapon those with Divinity and ancient Mystery could never endure.

Especially not Archer who was two-thirds of divine lineage. It didn't matter how much of him was human, he would never be immune from the air that sought to kill all who were originally of the divines.

Heels clicked against the steps that lead to the burning temple behind her. She hadn't the need to summon the giant skeleton this time, opting to stroll down from her own throne. Her world's only resident would remain slumbering for she only needed the air this land exuded to end her foe.

As proof of such confidence, Gilgamesh could barely even raise his head to glare at her feet. Kneeled before the burning temple's steps, he continued to suffer while she looked down upon his form. His skin burned, the air was attempting to choke out his very existence. No matter how hard his pride wouldn't allow him to show weakness, one couldn't deny the facts.

In this world, Avenger was the ruler. Gilgamesh was nothing but a weakened mongrel on the cusps of death.

"I see that you're in great pain, King of Heroes." Nobunaga smiled as she walked down towards the blood-spewing man. "Where has your earlier bravado gone? Come now, Archer. Aren't you going to shut up this bitch's mouth? Please, say something witty lest you bore me with your insufferable hacking." More blood was coughed to the floor in front of her. It started evaporating in the heat of the world. "Or maybe, you can start begging for your life, mongrel!"

The turnabout had Archer's blood boiling. That whilst his skin blistered and burned. Bent forward and in a far more despicable state, than he'd been mere minutes ago, he was no longer the picturesque King of Uruk he prided himself to be. He was just a man burning away in hell.

But although his very existence was being chipped away piece by piece by the ashes of this world, the arrogant king wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of tormenting him! She hadn't noticed it yet, but Archer's remaining hand gripped tightly on his precious sword's hilt.

"Burn… in hell!" Gilgamesh forced himself to say it through the agony of burning alive. "You… bitch!"

"Ahahah! Been there, done that," Nobunaga laughed as she raised her hand. A Gatling gun, a modern rendition of her myth's relentless assault during her conquest, materialized as if it was one of her rifles. But this one, she made to personally wield and aim at the fallen king's head, like an executioner's axe on the downtrodden prisoner of her world. "Are those your last words, Gilgamesh?"

This was it. His end was nigh. The false world around him would spell his end, even if he was able to dodge her finishing strike.

"No… It's… not!" But there was never going to be a chance in any hell that he would allow himself to die like this!

"Oh? A final act of defiance? Coming from a man who abhorred those who would rebel against his wishes?"

"You forget, wench! I, myself, have once fought and defeated gods!" Gilgamesh ignored the woman's taunts and raised his head. What blood and sweat that had yet to evaporate trickled down his face. With all his might, he grit his teeth and cried out. "—Behold!"

Nobunaga's eyes narrowed before opening wide when Archer trained a sword, the likes of which she had never seen before, on her face. This… weapon, just by witnessing it in so close a proximity, had frozen her stiff. Even though she was in the world where she was the most powerful, the gold-black-red object projected an aura that felt so wrong and yet not divine.

She couldn't make heads or tails of the power inside it. As the supposed blade of the strange sword started to spin, the air and space about her shifted as well.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—

Sensing her oncoming death, Avenger snapped back to her senses and opened fire upon the Archer. The Gatling gun didn't even bother to pre-spin to life as her hell-infused bullets whirred the contraption into a buzzing frenzy.

Hundreds of shells made contact with his body and ripped his torso apart. Archer's golden armour shattered like glass. Divine blood smoked and evaporated. Mortal flesh merely splattered and burned under the searing atmosphere. But the man didn't falter despite the obviously fatal damage he received.

Everything around him was already killing him. This suffering was less of a detriment and more of an encouragement to the one and only action available to him.

Only two words left Gilgamesh's mouth. Neither were cries of mercy nor pained death throes. However, the guttural utterance was enough to cause the Demon King's spine to shudder, if for but a moment.

"… Enuma Elish!"

The world was enveloped in a void of black.

_____________

Cliffhanger...