After completing his daily routine call with Tohsaka Tokiomi, Kotomine Kirei came to the basement he built.
"Master."
Before he even stepped through the door, the assassin behind him sounded a warning.
Sure enough, after pushing open the door, an uninvited guest was already lying on the most comfortable sofa in the small room.
The fine wines that Kotomine Kirei had collected in the past simply out of hobby were also casually placed on the ground, and most of them had been drunk up. It was obvious that this evil guest had been drinking by himself for quite some time.
"Archer? What can I do for you?"
Kotomine Kirei asked with some surprise. Although he knew that because of his outstanding inherent skill of acting alone, Tohsaka Tokiomi didn't know where his Servant was doing during the day, this was the first time that he took the initiative to find him.
The golden heroic spirit was not wearing armor as usual, but instead was wearing a more modern combination of a jacket and leather pants.
"I just can't stand that boring guy. I'm tired of hearing his wailing after being punished."
"Even though he was so badly injured, Master still managed to use potions to heal his wounds and maintain basic mobility. He also had to deal with the chaos caused by the aftermath of the battle between you and Lancer. I think Master's reaction was excellent enough."
That day, after being called back by Tohsaka Tokiomi, Archer, filled with rage and with nowhere to vent, attacked Tohsaka Tokiomi without hesitation. Several Noble Phantasms pierced Tokiomi's body and nailed him to the wall.
Although Gilgamesh was furious, he did not kill Tokiomi because of Tokiomi's respectful attitude in the past, but he did not intend to take the initiative to rescue his master. It was not until Kotomine Kirei's daily phone calls did not get a response and he discovered something unusual and went to the Tokisaka residence that he finally rescued Tokiomi, who was nailed to the wall like a roast duck.
Even if the other party's attitude remained the same afterwards, there was still an unignorable rift between the master and the servant.
But Gilgamesh obviously had no intention of letting Tohsaka Tokiomi go.
"When I heard the man's wish, I knew he was a boring guy. What's the point of reaching the root? He hasn't even chased the things inside the world to the end, but he wants to chase the things outside the world. Even if he gets them, what's the point? In the final analysis, if you have power but can't show your glory in front of the world, this power is worthless."
Such remarks were enough to make the magician furious. The goals that countless families, countless traditions from ancient times to the present, had devoted everything to were belittled by Gilgamesh.
However, Kotomine Kirei, who had long known that the other party was a tyrant and did not consider himself a magus, listened with great interest.
And this was exactly what Gilgamesh wanted. He drank the wine in the cup with a smile.
"Come to think of it, Kirei, what is your wish? And that rat who hides his head but shows his tail, you two don't seem to mind obeying Tohsaka Tokiomi, even though you are here to pursue the Holy Grail."
"I have no wishes. The Master's will is the criterion for my actions."
"He is a loyal and good dog." Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Kotomine Kirei: "So, Kirei, what about you?"
"I originally wanted to seek answers, but now I doubt the direction of salvation..."
"Are you so rigid? You actually consider things like redemption, when your heart is clearly burning with desire," Gilgamesh said with a wicked smile, "Why not just let go of yourself and pursue pleasure?"
Kotomine Kirei fell into silence, and this behavior made Gilgamesh even more satisfied.
"Originally, I didn't care about this game, but I didn't expect that guy to come. Tokiomi's bold advice was a bit strange, so I learned a little about this so-called wish-granting machine, and then I found something unexpected."
Gilgamesh turned his head, the smile on his lips faded, and his tone became cold.
"Answer me, Kirei. In order to realize Tokiomi's silly wish of reaching the source, do we need to sacrifice six or seven souls?"
Although the King's Treasure was not activated, the murderous aura released by Archer was enough to make the atmosphere in this space tense, causing Assassin to immediately transform into a physical entity and stand in front of Kotomine Kirei.
But even so, Kotomine Kirei's expression did not change.
"You've discovered that if you just want to make a wish come true, six Heroic Spirits are enough. But if you want to reach the root, you must sacrifice seven Heroic Spirits to fix the gate to the outside world. From the beginning, you were not qualified to make a wish."
"Oh, so calm, it seems that your old-fashionedness is not completely useless." The murderous intent in Gilgamesh's eyes suddenly disappeared, and he lay back on the sofa.
"So, the loyalty that Tokiomi showed to me from the beginning was fake?"
"The teacher is a traditional magician."
Kotomine Kirei did not answer this question directly, but combined with Archer's previous evaluation of the magician, his answer was already very clear.
"What a traitorous man. Considering his loyalty and humility as a subject, I was patient and did not take his life."
Archer was already furious when he interrupted his meeting with Enkidu, but considering that the other party had served as an introduction to the reunion between him and his best friend, Gilgamesh still showed mercy.
But after knowing that Tohsaka Tokiomi had been pretending and deceiving himself, this behavior undoubtedly touched Gilgamesh's bottom line.
"Originally, Tokiomi, who committed such a foolish act, should have died to atone for his sin, but in order for me and my best friend to reunite after a long absence, a Master who is responsible for the supply of magic power is necessary, so I intend to find a more interesting guy."
Hearing this statement, which was almost an explicit statement, Kotomine Kirei also raised his head slightly.
"Hero King, are you trying to instigate me to betray my mentor?"
"No, I just want to make the man's death more valuable. If the boring him can inspire you to be more interesting, his death will have some value."
Gilgamesh said coldly: "Kirei, who do you think is more worthy of following, me or Tokiomi?"
"Of course it's you. Even if the teacher is an excellent magician, compared to the legendary hero king, it's like the difference between a reptile and the sun."
"That's right," Gilgamesh crossed his arms over his chest, "How can we fight the Holy Grail War with insects like these?"
"So, Kirei, make your choice. Do you want to risk your life to leave here and warn Tokiomi for the sake of your loyalty? Or do you want to betray me and let me bring you more pleasure?"
Gilgamesh poured himself another glass of wine without haste and looked at Kotomine Kirei expectantly.
The other party's reaction was also without hesitation. Without any unnecessary movements, he slowly bent down and lowered his head.
The solemn priest said: "There is no two suns in the sky, and you are the only sun in my heart."
But precisely because of this, Gilgamesh did not notice that, even at this moment of showdown, Kotomine Kirei's eyes were still as calm as ever, as if the so-called joy was just a passing cloud.
Hero King, you are just the best one in this world. Even if pleasure is my answer, blindly falling into it will only be like drinking poison to quench thirst, and it will not let me feel at ease.
The only thing that can make me happy now is the law that transcends the world, which is more noble than any mundane law, and belongs to God. Apart from that, everything else is meaningless.
In order to reach that place and follow in his footsteps, I can restrain everything and give up everything. Only Roland, only {Heaven}, are our only salvation.