Chapter 222: The End of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War
At this moment, nothing stood between Shirou Emiya and the Holy Grail.
The boy's wish was finally about to come true.
Unfortunately, the only wish that could be fulfilled was allowing Sakura Matou to return to a normal life.
Shirou Emiya knew very well that there was no going back for him.
But that was fine.
As long as Sakura was safe, that was all that mattered.
And so—
Shirou Emiya raised his hands, assuming the stance of gripping a sword.
"Tace… On…"
Barely clinging to consciousness, his awareness had become hazy.
The only thing he knew now was that he had to destroy everything before him, to set Sakura's life back on track.
Just as Shirou prepared to burn away the last remnants of his life, a gentle voice called out to him.
"No, Shirou, you can't die."
"Because the one who will close this door… is me."
Illyasviel, dressed in the Dress of Heaven, appeared on the big screen.
The moment this white-and-gold magical attire appeared, it instantly captivated the audience's attention.
Elegant, beautiful, and mysterious.
Aside from the words "plain" or "subtle," nearly every adjective used to describe clothing could apply to this unforgettable garment.
"Such a dazzling outfit… It's so pretty."
Akiha Tohno stared at the shimmering Dress of Heaven, her cheeks turning slightly red—a young girl's natural admiration for all things glittering and beautiful.
"I'm so jealous, Illya. You got to wear such a gorgeous outfit for the film… Illya?"
Only then did Akiha realize that Illyasviel, sitting beside her, was watching the screen with a calm and indifferent expression.
This wasn't an act.
The indifference on her face was completely genuine.
And it wasn't just Illya—Shirou, Rin, and even Rider all had the same unreadable expressions.
If Akiha had more experience, she would have recognized it right away—this was the face of someone who had just finished an utterly exhausting task, too drained to even smile.
"What's wrong with all of you?"
The little girl tilted her head curiously.
"Akiha-chan, please don't talk to us right now," Illya said with a heavy heart. "I just want some peace."
"Illya's right. We all just want some quiet."
Shirou nodded in agreement, cold sweat covering his forehead.
"You guys… What happened to you?"
Akiha asked in confusion.
As a newcomer, she had no idea just how much of a nightmare it had been to film those few minutes of Illya in the Dress of Heaven—how much torment the Heaven's Feel production team had gone through just to get this scene right.
For those who might have forgotten, let's clarify one more time:
The Dress of Heaven, while appearing to be a predominantly white dress, was in reality a magical artifact crafted entirely from gold.
If touched by a human, it would revert to its original golden form.
And not in the way that clothes turn gold and stick to the wearer.
No—if touched, the Dress of Heaven would disintegrate into golden dust.
Because of this unique trait, aside from Illya and Irisviel—who could handle it through their family's secret arts—anyone else who so much as laid a finger on the dress would instantly destroy it.
According to the original lore, the Dress of Heaven was meant to be operated by spirits or artificial beings—like homunculi—so in theory, a Servant could have helped.
Unfortunately, due to the decline of mystical energies, the Dress of Heaven had become incredibly fragile.
And since Servants' bodies were composed entirely of magical energy and spirit particles, any contact with the dress would immediately ruin it.
During the filming of this scene, aside from Illyasviel, who was wearing the Dress of Heaven, and Irisviel, who was assisting, everyone else was strictly forbidden from touching it.
If anyone so much as brushed against the Dress of Heaven, the set would immediately devolve into an R-rated disaster—with a little girl standing stark naked in the middle of the scene.
Because of this, filming this sequence was absolute agony. Everyone had to be extremely cautious, constantly reminding themselves not to touch the dress.
Not only did they have to restrain themselves, but they also had to ensure that no one else got too curious or accidentally bumped into Illya.
The entire process was so nerve-wracking that, by the time they wrapped up the scene, every single crew member was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Especially Shinji.
As the director, his heart had been on edge the entire time.
Of course, Shinji himself wasn't particularly worried about Illya's accidental exposure—after all, a flat little loli wasn't much to look at.
If he had any free time to think about something like that, he'd much rather spend it planning how to get a ride on Rider.
No, what really terrified him was the possibility of damaging the Dress of Heaven—a millennium-old crystallization of Einzbern wisdom.
Forget about the sheer amount of gold it took to make it—this thing was an actual antique.
Even Irisviel wasn't exactly sure when this Dress of Heaven, which the Einzberns had been trying to perfect for over a thousand years, was finally completed.
But one thing was certain—it predated the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.
Which meant the Dress of Heaven was at least 200 years old.
And if something from the Napoleonic era showed up in the modern day—who would dare say it wasn't an antique?!
After learning all of this, Shinji immediately wanted to scrap the idea of using the actual Dress of Heaven and just go with a regular costume instead.
But then came Irisviel.
This woman, upon hearing that the Dress of Heaven would appear in the film, shipped the damn thing straight from Germany without a second thought.
By the time Shinji found out, the dress had already passed customs.
"Irisviel, tell them to send it back!"
Faced with Shinji's demand, Irisviel simply blinked innocently.
"But… it's already arriving soon."
"Arriving? How long until it gets here?"
Irisviel held up five fingers.
"Five days? If I call right now, I might still—"
Shinji's forehead veins bulged as Irisviel slowly lowered each of her fingers one by one till there was only one left.
And then, right on cue, the deliveryman's voice rang out:
"Miss Einzbern, we have a package for you from Germany."
"...…"
By the way, just as a side note—Irisviel used regular international shipping to send the Dress of Heaven.
Shinji had no idea whether to call her bold, reckless, or just completely out of her mind.
Sure, the container had been magically reinforced to prevent any problems during transit…
But what if customs decided to open it for inspection?!
She said she put a suggestion spell on the box to prevent that, but what if the spell failed?!
Normally, Shinji was not the type to take risks, so even with the Dress of Heaven now in his hands, he still had no plans to use the real thing.
But then, Irisviel hit him with the classic "We brought it all the way here, don't you at least want to try it?"
And so, he gave it a shot.
And in true horror-movie fashion—"just one try" led straight to a nightmare.
The filming process was so painstakingly complex that by the end of it, Shinji was a complete nervous wreck.
The only thing that made him feel a little better was that Kiritsugu had it even worse than him.
Worried that something might go wrong and his precious daughter would end up flashing the entire set, Kiritsugu was on full alert the entire time.
If any unfortunate incident happened, he was fully prepared to "physically erase" all evidence.
There were even a few moments where Shinji was genuinely afraid that Kiritsugu's gun might "accidentally" go off.
Despite all the complaints and near-heart attacks, the final result was absolutely worth it.
The Dress of Heaven, as a highly mystical magical artifact, had an ethereal glow on camera, giving Illya an otherworldly, enigmatic aura.
It was breathtaking.
Still, if you asked the production crew whether they'd be willing to film this scene again...
They would all give you the same answer:
Hell. No.
This wasn't something that could be achieved through post-production editing or filming techniques.
As the closest magical artifact to the Third Magic, the Dress of Heaven carried an unparalleled level of mystery that no other method could replicate.
Regardless, every audience member who saw this scene was stunned by the visual effects of the Dress of Heaven.
"So this is the beauty of the Third Magic? It's really breathtaking."
Alice naturally noticed the abnormality of the Dress of Heaven and couldn't help but admire the mysterious allure it exuded.
On the screen, Illyasviel took Shirou Emiya's place, mimicking the ritual of the first-generation Einzbern, offering herself as a sacrifice to activate the Great Holy Grail.
"Bye-bye."
Illyasviel turned back and smiled as she bid Shirou farewell.
"Even though you and I aren't related by blood, being siblings with you… has truly been wonderful."
After saying her final goodbyes, Illyasviel walked toward the Great Holy Grail, embracing the fate that all Einzbern homunculi were meant to face.
"Illyasviel!!"
Shirou Emiya tried to say something in a panic, but it was too late.
"Illyasviel is sacrificing herself?"
Shibamatsu was a bit dazed.
As the Heaven's Feel storyline neared its conclusion, he had already been debating whether he should leave early to avoid getting locked in the basement later that night.
However, this sudden twist at the very last moment completely wiped away his escape plan.
"No… this isn't really a twist. Illyasviel's sacrifice was foreshadowed all along."
As the movie played flashbacks, showing scenes of Illyasviel and Shirou spending time together, Shibamatsu recalled Illyasviel's remarks about the lifespan limitations of homunculi.
With that in mind, it wasn't entirely surprising that Illyasviel would choose to sacrifice herself to ensure Shirou and Sakura's survival.
But still—
Who the hell actually saw this coming?!
At the very least, Shibamatsu was sure that every single person who watched the Fate/stay night movie (himself included) hadn't expected Illyasviel to die at the end.
"The Emiya family really can't catch a break, huh? Especially Kiritsugu… If he knew how the Fifth Holy Grail War turned out, he'd never rest in peace."
Shibamatsu propped his chin up and grumbled internally.
Compared to him, Alice, who was sitting beside him, had far fewer distracting thoughts.
Instead, this traditionalist magus actually felt a bit envious of Illyasviel.
"As a human, Illyasviel is quite pitiful. But as a magus, being able to personally reach the other side of the void is nothing short of…."
Alice struggled to find the right words but ultimately felt that this must have been a gift from the Root to such a pure-hearted girl.
The other magi in the room shared her sentiment.
"If only I had this chance."
"Yeah, what a rare opportunity."
...
Compared to these not-so-normal magi, the reactions of ordinary audience members were far more grounded.
"Poor Illyasviel."
"Why are all the female characters in Fate so tragic?!"
"Does Matou Shinji have something against women?!"
...
As Illyasviel smiled and bid Shirou farewell, many viewers who were rarely moved by films found themselves tearing up.
"I'm going now."
Surrounded by radiant light, Illyasviel gave one final parting smile before—
THUD—
—closing the Great Holy Grail's massive doors.
Shirou Emiya, completely drained, finally collapsed onto the ground.
As the cave crumbled completely, revealing the vast open sky above, he gazed up in exhaustion, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile.
At long last, it was over.
The Einzbern's thousand-year pursuit,
The Matou family's five-hundred-year obsession,
The Tohsaka lineage's two-hundred-year prayer,
And the two-hundred-year-long saga of the five Holy Grail Wars—
At this moment, they all finally came to an end.
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