What is Humanity?
It occupies the pinnacle of the world, and ever since Gilgamesh bid farewell to the gods, humanity formally entered its world.
But how is humanity defined?
As the origin god and life-bearing sea, Tiamat never considered Alaric a child of this world and therefore did not include him on the list of humanity's seven billion targets for annihilation.
If even Tiamat, as a mother, denied Alaric's legitimacy as part of this world and as a proper human, then no matter how the world evolves, this fact would remain unchanged.
But this is merely an external judgment—
Based on the primordial blessing, Alaric is the bearer of the All-Human Spirit and thus is a true human.
Even Angra Mainyu, who bears All the World's Evil and is burdened as a necessary evil, undeniably sees Alaric as human.
When Angra Mainyu excitedly declared those words...
The radiant black aurora, like the eruption of a supernova, ravaged Fuyuki City's streets. Everything touched by the aurora was condensed and assimilated within a Planck instant, becoming fuel for that aurora.
Was the storm rising?
The thunderous roar, as if an engine had been ignited, tore through the night sky, transforming into an absolute sound echoing across the nation.
In Japan, where mystery has receded, nothing comparable to this phenomenon exists.
The blooming aurora seemed to transform this place into the true pole star of the earth. From the pillar of light rising at Ryuudou Temple, the wave known as the end of the world roared forth!
This was not akin to the True Ancestors' Marble Phantasm.
Marble Phantasm refers to the ability possessed by spirits as extensions of nature and the world's senses, enabling them to directly connect their consciousness with the world and alter it into an environment aligned with their imagination.
Alaric, however, could not connect his consciousness to the world to enact such changes. His will had not yet reached such a realm.
Even so, this was nothing more than an unconscious activation of a miracle—a miracle of conquering the world with the Rights of Humanity.
This excessive, large-scale miracle unfolded for the first—and last—time in this era!
Unfazed and unshaken, Alaric gazed at the shadow that had severed one of his arms. No, it was not a mere shadow—it was a young man.
Now, as the tattoo representing All the World's Evil manifested, the young man, who had ceased to be an absolute shadow, bore a bizarre appearance.
Since Alaric prided himself on being human, it was inevitable that the entity capable of defeating humanity would be his natural enemy.
An obstacle he must overcome.
The Guardian Emiya once said that after Angra Mainyu incarnated, it entered the realm of human evil—an avenger of human grievances.
But whether Beast or human evil, both were born of humanity and are calamities that humanity must surpass.
Thus, as someone claiming to be human, Alaric had to overcome this calamity.
"I will kill you, Angra Mainyu."
Without hesitation, Alaric stepped forward toward the embodiment of absolute evil.
The world, starting with humans, began to return to its origin.
Mysteries unrelated to the First Magic began to permeate the atmosphere, transforming into starlight and—
For what reason did this occur?
Was it someone's inherent trait? Or just a simple leak of power?
As someone moved forward, pure white flowers began to spread across the entire city.
The ground was covered in a more primal form, as if beyond the reach of human intellect.
He was not something representing the planet itself. Even if the world began to return, it would not take the form of a primordial celestial body but rather something far more distant—a dream forever out of reach.
"You're pretty cool, human, but I'm pretty awesome right now too!"
Standing amidst the sea of flowers, Angra Mainyu laughed heartily before decisively activating his Noble Phantasm—[Verg Avesta].
This was the Noble Phantasm he hadn't used even during the Third Holy Grail War. At that time, he didn't yet qualify to activate it, but now he could fully wield its power.
[Verg Avesta]
A counterfeit scripture of the Zoroastrian text Avesta, it is a curse that reflects any damage inflicted upon its user directly back at the opponent.
However, if the user receives a fatal wound, they might die before the Noble Phantasm activates. Thus, unless the damage received is precisely non-lethal, the Noble Phantasm cannot be triggered.
As an Avenger, Angra Mainyu cannot defeat enemies on his own. He requires a partner to take down his foes after the Noble Phantasm is invoked.
Truly the weakest.
But now, Angra Mainyu did have a partner.
This partner was a fleeting life born of someone—a being created from genetic information inscribed in blood, molded into intelligence by malicious data.
The cursed being, the Red Dragon, rebelled against its father.
Battle instincts etched into its life drove its pure magical energy to transform into lightning. Crimson arcs of electricity surged toward Alaric's back.
The searing heat, thousands of degrees in temperature, seemed poised to completely vaporize a human body!
But such a thing was impossible.
Without even acknowledging the nameless girl's rebellion, the aurora surrounding Alaric distorted the dimensions of space. The crimson lightning, which should have struck him, was bent along the trajectory of the aurora's movement, roaring past his side.
This pure application of magical energy defense had been demonstrated as early as the Sixth Singularity, a magical construct that nullified even terrifying attacks.
At this moment, Alaric's eyes seemed to focus only on one figure. Nothing else existed.
"Here and now, with what I can do, I will kill you."
Though he stared at one person, Alaric seemed to be communicating with another presence.
Angra Mainyu, immediately grasping the meaning of this, burst into laughter: "Wow, I almost feel like surrendering!"
As Angra Mainyu spoke, the shadows beneath him and the nameless girl grew, encompassing Alaric and the sea of flowers.
The ripples emanating from those shadows contained the power unique to Angra Mainyu.
At the same time—
"Sir Alaric?"
Panting slightly, Fujimaru Ritsuka stared in disbelief at the man amidst the sea of flowers. As the source of all this chaos, only his surrender could bring an end to the disaster.
Not long ago—
The sudden disappearance of the curse's waves had finally given Fujimaru Ritsuka and her team a chance to leave Ryuudou Temple and rush into Fuyuki City.
Their goal was, of course, the opened void and the Lesser Grail.
Summoning shadow Servants and using Noble Phantasms to traverse, Fujimaru Ritsuka, along with Lord El-Melloi II and Kiritsugu Emiya representing participants of the Fourth Holy Grail War, soon parted ways.
Having understood the Holy Grail War and witnessed the disaster firsthand, Kayneth abandoned the idea of defeating Alaric and instead planned to escape with his fiancée, Sola.
Prompting his decision was Red Riding Hood's death—
Bound by a contract with Red Riding Hood, Artoria immediately informed Kayneth the moment the magical connection was severed upon her death.
Kayneth immediately had a bad premonition, as his fiancée Sola was with Little Red Riding Hood.
Apart from Kayneth, Waver, who had not been able to bid farewell to Iskandar, was in a daze.
At just nineteen years old, it was also the first time he had witnessed such a horrifying apocalyptic scene.
And then there was the mourning for Iskandar.
Although they had not been together for long, Iskandar's fiery charisma deeply attracted Waver, inspiring him to move forward, yearning for Iskandar's domineering spirit.
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya and the still-living Irisviel were attempting to enter the underground cavity to resolve the problem of the Greater Grail.
As a homunculus created by the Einzbern family to serve as a Lesser Grail, Irisviel seemed to have a peculiar connection to the anomaly occurring in the Greater Grail, clearly sensing that something was about to be born from within her body.
Having once nurtured life, Irisviel was acutely aware of this sensation—it was the sign of a new life about to emerge.
But what kind of life was about to be born from the Grail?
Irisviel didn't know, and Kiritsugu, who had always been an outsider to such matters, didn't know either.
He only knew that he had to save everything.
Shortly after the group split up, the aurora erupted.
It was an all-encompassing phenomenon, an ultra-wide-area coverage created by overloading someone's magical energy to form a miracle that no one could escape.
"That light of magical energy—it's Sir Alaric!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka, extremely familiar with the aurora in the sky, changed expression dramatically and almost immediately began a summoning. The saint who responded to the call activated her Noble Phantasm the instant she arrived.
"My Lord is here! Luminosité Eternelle!"
The divine flag radiated an incomparably dazzling white light, transforming into a barrier that shielded Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others.
Almost simultaneously, the engulfing aurora swallowed everything in sight.
The erupting aurora seemed to ignore the existence of life, merely consolidating and gathering the unconscious fabric of the stars, erasing the traces of human intelligence from the planet's surface.
Within that aurora, everything—all of it—was reduced to fuel, propelling the beginning of a return.
Thus, a pure white sea of flowers bloomed.
The world changed.
The ones who most directly sensed the change were Da Vinci and Mash in Chaldea.
"The atmospheric magical energy is changing. The mysteries of the era are reversing, hundreds of years, thousands of years, reaching back to before the Common Era, to the true Age of Gods."
Da Vinci, who was closely monitoring everything, quickly said, "The foundation of human order is shaking, diminishing. Something similar to the Sixth Singularity has appeared there. The entire city has been tainted by Sir Alaric's magical energy. Shallow material has undergone transformation and assimilation.
Did you see anything?"
"It's Rhongomyniad—"
Noticing the pillar of light blooming from Ryuudou Temple, even if it was as thin as a thread, Fujimaru Ritsuka still referred to it as a pillar of light.
After all, that was how Artoria described it.
The Knight King Artoria, the wielder of the holy lance Rhongomyniad, gazed solemnly at the thin pillar of light rising in the distance.
Without much hesitation, Artoria led Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others toward the location of the Lesser Grail.
Even though Alaric was not at Ryuudou Temple, and the current Greater Grail was nothing extraordinary, she could destroy the entire mountain with her Noble Phantasm, Excalibur.
However, destroying the light trail wouldn't solve the problem. Only by addressing the light trail itself could this disaster be truly stopped!
When Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others arrived, they were met with that scene—
The pitch-black shadow covered the pure white sea of flowers. From within the shadow surged demons representing absolute evil, vengeance born of the Grail.
The Servant called Angra Mainyu was melting at an astonishing rate, not appearing as a shadowy medium but truly merging with the girl who embodied the Red Dragon.
The interrupted birth ritual continued—
What was truly meant to be born should not have been the youth forcibly crowned as All the World's Evil, used as a sacrificial offering.
Instead, it was the wish that had received a response, born atop that foundation.
A mere existence of desire, when touched by the Grail, had its colorless power respond to that wish.
This gave form to that metaphysical desire, crowning it as the true Absolute Evil.
The day of its birth would mark the beginning of vengeance.
If this had been in the past, Fujimaru Ritsuka or Artoria would have been unable to stand by and do nothing upon seeing such a sight.
Naturally, even now, they wouldn't stand idly by. However, something more brilliant had captured their attention.
If the absolute evil spreading across the ground, covering the starry sea of flowers, was one thing, then what was the aurora shining in the night sky?
For the first time, Artoria realized—within this dark aurora, there existed so many colors.
The person holding high the holy sword Gram channeled his magical energy into it, transforming it into light and accelerating its kinetic energy.
Crack. Crack.
In but a moment, the prototype of the holy sword obtained from Gilgamesh began to disintegrate. Cracks spread from the hilt to the blade, yet it never completely shattered, as though some force was restraining it—
The sword had to be completed.
Unconcerned with the breaking holy sword, Alaric swung it down.
The light slash that should have been released did not appear. Instead, the brilliant starlight burst forth, radiating along the fractured blade.
[Binding All Severance!]
It was not a Noble Phantasm, but merely a manifestation of swordsmanship, and Alaric didn't even need to invoke the sword's true name.
The downward slash was unstoppable.
It sought to sever both the shadow below and Angra Mainyu together.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Within the shadow, waves of curses surged. These were not the prior existence but the amniotic fluid nurturing the demon.
From the waves stretched a beast's claw, ignoring the incoming slash. Wrapped in horrifying magical energy winds, it struck Alaric, who was closest.
The magical storm, far surpassing that of the Holy Grail War, was akin to the curses of divinity, a power equivalent to gods.
Just as the shadow ignored Alaric's slash, Alaric ignored the shadow's attack.
Fully focused on the sword.
The self—sealed;
Abandon the humanity within?
No, persist.
Only humans could defeat it. Only humans could deny it—
Submerging the self into the depths, to the end of everything, staring into the source of death.
Reaching out;
Fishing out the death that belonged to this world.
Death extended downward. The supreme strike that had once killed the sun knight Gawain during the battle of Camelot reappeared.
Crack.
The blade embedded itself into the line of death. The light that burst from within the blade illuminated the world of death.
No grandiose scenes were unfolding, only the cursed annihilation and an impossibly slender sword mark.
At the moment the starlight faded, the demon appeared.
The towering black demon did not resemble a human. Its sharp claws shimmered with tattoos symbolizing evil, and its long tail swung, stirring up eerie wails. Its canine-like head glowed with scarlet eyes, baring sharp fangs in a menacing grin.
On the monstrous body, which could only be described as a creature beyond monsters, a sword mark glimmering with starlight spread across it, as if ready to tear it apart on the spot.
That strike, the pinnacle of Alaric's swordsmanship, severed the connection between the shadow, Angra Mainyu, and the nameless girl. It even targeted the line of death the moment the monster was born, delivering the final blow.
As he gazed at the monster before him, doubt arose in Alaric's heart.
Was this evil?
No.
As he questioned himself, Alaric gave a negative answer.
It was merely the malformed result of Angra Mainyu's failed fusion with the nameless girl—something that couldn't even qualify as a Beast's embryo.
Even with god-like power, it could not be called the embryo of a Beast.
Moreover, what stood before Alaric was nothing more than a corpse.
Before it could be born, Alaric had already killed them.
Angra Mainyu, the nameless girl… light, atmosphere, mana, curses, consciousness, life, soul—everything. To erase them, Alaric had already offered the ultimate assassination.
In a daze, he seemed to hear the chime of a bell.
The words of an old man, spoken many times before him, faintly echoed—"The time of destiny has come."
'I know—'
Releasing the shattered remnants of the holy sword, now reduced to dust, Alaric's gaze began to blur.
If this wasn't evil—
Then where was the true evil, the evil humanity must overcome?
Gulp, gulp.
The tide of curses continued, advancing endlessly as long as humanity existed.
Hearing the roar of the tide hundreds or even thousands of meters away, Alaric finally snapped back to reality.
"Angra Mainyu, nameless girl—"
Gazing at the motionless monster, light returned to Alaric's eyes. He spoke:
"You, crowned as Absolute Evil, are a Counter-Hero born of humanity's wishes. You are an avenger born from hatred, speaking of love's revenge. You are an avenger born from love, speaking of hatred's revenge.
But this is enough. If you are the Absolute Evil realized through humanity's wishes, then—
Please heed my wish.
As a human, I make this wish: I reject your existence.
Good and evil do not need an absolute singularity.
I am the one who embodies all good; I am the one who embodies all evil—"
Alaric was not speaking to the existence summoned by that wish, but to the young man who had been sacrificed. He said:
"Humanity does not need others to bear its sins."
The young man's personality had already vanished. Alaric's words would not elicit any response.
But that was enough—it was enough for Alaric to make his resolve.
Watching the scene, Artoria didn't know what to say. In any case, was Alaric the only one left in this?
Standing beside her, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Lord El-Melloi II thought the same.
After all, the developments had far exceeded their expectations. The changes to the city, the return of the Age of Gods, and so on—all of it had left Fujimaru Ritsuka's blood boiling with excitement.
The next moment—
BOOM!!!
A deafening roar erupted from afar, drawing the attention of Fujimaru Ritsuka, Lord El-Melloi II, and Artoria as they turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
The origin of the sound was where they had just come from.
The mountains were collapsing, and from the fractured mountain body rose a giant—a manifestation of curses. It bore no attributes, existing solely as the embodiment of evil.
It was a primordial lifeform, formed from the endless curses pouring out of the void as its foundation!
The curses that had been unable to invade the current Fuyuki City made a final counterattack!
Even if it could not be born, it would carry out its original command—Vengeance.
Alaric was also drawn to the giant and finally noticed the slender pillar of light in the distance. The barrier at the world's end had appeared on the horizon, advancing toward Fuyuki.
The holy spear, originally set to anchor the light, had, in this miracle, once again unleashed its power.
Or perhaps, it was a power that belonged solely to Alaric.
To Alaric, none of this mattered anymore. His fate had already been sealed when this miracle began.
Understanding this, Alaric was not particularly disappointed. Instead, he laughed freely.
A small failure, huh?
No wonder they were so confident, sending only a single Emiya—?
Thinking this, Alaric raised an eyebrow. Why did another Servant's presence suddenly appear?
Was the Counter Force summoning reinforcements in waves now?
"Sir Alaric! What's the situation—"
Fujimaru Ritsuka ran over, nervously watching Alaric, afraid he might say something shocking again.
"I failed. I originally planned to use the corrupted Grail, but that little one betrayed me and stabbed me in the back."
Alaric shrugged, his expression helpless as he said, "If I'd done this a few years earlier, would I have succeeded?"
Seemingly empathetic, Artoria averted her gaze uncomfortably.
Fujimaru Ritsuka, not grasping Alaric's metaphor, quickly pointed at the black mud giant and said, "In that case, can we fight together now?"
If Alaric had abandoned his plan, then surely he would join their side, right?
"I'll handle it. You should go back."
Waving his hand, Alaric said, "Chaldea should no longer detect the Grail, right? After all, was it the little red hood girl or the little nameless one you detected initially? Never mind, it doesn't matter.
Leave the cleanup to me. This time, I don't want to disappear before your eyes again."
"..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka stared at Alaric. After unfolding this immense event, Alaric didn't seem to have changed much, but Fujimaru Ritsuka could sense something new—something had appeared.
["Fujimaru, the Grail is no longer detectable."]
Da Vinci's voice rang in her ear, but it didn't waver Fujimaru Ritsuka's resolve.
She said, "Then let me watch, just like you witnessed at the Temple of Time!"
Hearing this, Alaric smiled and said, "I see. Very well.
By the covenant of witnessing, watch closely, last Master of humanity, Fujimaru Ritsuka!"
Buzz!
Once again, Alaric spread his steel wings and transformed into an aurora, streaking across the heavens toward the pillar of light!
Before acting, however, Alaric had to retrieve the Holy Lance and bring back those two people.
In a part of Fuyuki City that had not yet been destroyed by the aurora, a red-cloaked guardian looked at the streak of light crossing the sky and lowered the short spear in his hand.
Not far away, Kayneth, now lifeless, clutched the corpse of his fiancée, Sola, as a river of blood pooled beneath him.
Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, a genius renowned throughout the Clock Tower—the very definition of a prodigy.
A man who was even expected to reach the Root of Akasha, now lay in eternal slumber in this distant land.
This horrific scene was burned into the trembling eyes of the young boy who had accompanied Kayneth, his gaze filled with terror as though he would never be able to forget this nightmarish sight.
This sight was also captured by Alaric, high in the sky.
After a brief moment of surprise, he accepted it. Kayneth's death was regrettable, but to Alaric, it was just that—a pity.
Without dwelling on Kayneth's death, Alaric moved swiftly. Before the black mud giant could reach Ryuudou Temple, he seized the Holy Lance and stored away the light pillar it had created.
As the slender light pillar vanished, the apocalyptic world created by the Holy Lance began to fade, gradually returning to normal.
The little red hood, who had stood by the Holy Lance, had long since fallen unconscious. Her body even began to dissipate.
Maintaining the light bands and performing miracles had drained her. Though Kayneth had praised her for her seemingly limitless magical energy, there was, after all, a limit.
Seeing this, Alaric picked her up without hesitation, planning to take her with him.
This series of actions brought an even wider smile to the face of Merlin, who was still seated in front of Ryuudou Temple. He shook the bag in his hand and said with a grin, "This is just a normal bag, crafted with magecraft. It contains records of the Second Magic."
With that, Merlin tossed the bag to Alaric.
Catching it, Alaric immediately understood Merlin's intentions and laughed, "So, did I mess up this time?"
"No, not at all. Keep it up!"
Merlin, already beginning to fade, smiled with eyes curved into crescents and waved at Alaric. "Traveler, I, Merlin the Magus Flower, bless your journey. May it be a story of love and hope."
Boom!
The mountain continued to collapse. The black mud giant's form, already towering nearly 100 meters tall, was still growing.
"Goodbye, Merlin," Alaric said with a smile. "Perhaps we'll meet again someday?"
After bidding Merlin farewell, Alaric traveled hundreds of meters away to find Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel. A certain guardian had already dragged the two of them back from the brink, preventing them from throwing themselves into certain death.
Seeing this, Alaric said nothing and returned to Ritsuka Fujimaru's location.
Unlike Merlin, who left of his own accord, the Servant contract still bound Artoria to the world. Sustained by the Greater Grail, she remained in the present, silently watching the final battle unfold.
The black mud giant, though not possessing the power of absolute evil, was still an unstoppable force against Fuyuki's Servants. Artoria had no way of defeating it.
When Alaric, holding the Holy Lance, landed on the ground, Artoria immediately recognized the weapon and realized that Merlin had tricked her again.
But at this moment, Artoria couldn't be bothered to complain. She simply asked, "What about Irisviel and Kiritsugu?"
"They're safe, somewhere else," Alaric replied, his demeanor calm as he waved his hand in what he thought was a cool gesture. "After this, we'll all part ways."
"Can't you come with me?" Ritsuka Fujimaru asked. "If we use spiritron transfer—"
"Light bands. Activate."
Ignoring Ritsuka, Alaric initiated the final grand spell.
Due to the black mud giant's destruction of the mountain, the ritual had become unstable and was bound to collapse eventually. At this moment, the spell finally activated.
After countless calculations, the immense heat energy was successfully funneled into the final ritual.
The black, star-like light bands began to rotate slowly. As the spell reached completion—
The light bands collapsed inward, distorting space itself.
The light descended from the heavens, not expanding outward but shrinking continuously. From thousands of meters wide, the light bands condensed into a radiant torrent of light spanning hundreds of meters.
The mountain where Ryuudou Temple stood, the Greater Grail, the black mud giant—everything was engulfed.
It was a divine punishment-like apocalypse. In the face of this absolute heat, all physical laws were obliterated.
Within the Light, there was only absolute destruction.
The winds that surged through the flower fields became mere gentle breezes, causing the flowers to sway lightly.
What kind of scene would remain after the light bands completely dissipated? Alaric had no way of knowing, nor would he ever have the chance to find out.
As the flower fields that covered Fuyuki began to wither, the miracle belonging solely to Alaric started to fade.
The world altered by the Authority of Man was reverting to normal. All things that should not exist were being erased in the restoration process.
This was never meant to happen, but someone's actions had caused this chain of events.
Clap.
The sound of hands touching echoed crisply.
"As I thought, I can't just let you leave like this!"
Fujimaru's resolute voice rang out—a decision born from countless partings:
"This time, I absolutely won't let him go!"
She thought to herself. After so many separations in Camelot, Mesopotamia, and the Temple of Time, each reunion, interaction, and farewell deepened their bond.
She understood what he had endured—burdens he should never have borne.
If that was the case, as his friend, she could not let him continue like this.
At the very least—at the very least, she had to save him this time.
But her resolve went unanswered.
The hand she had grasped so tightly slipped away again. The familiar figure vanished into the cracks of her consciousness, disappearing in an instant as if he had never been there.
As Fujimaru's feelings suggested, Alaric himself felt the same. In an instant, the warmth of her touch and her presence disappeared, leaving only Merlin's bag in his hand.
Beyond that, what greeted Alaric was a pure white landscape.
No longer the apocalyptic Fuyuki he had left behind, he now found himself in—
A boundless world of ice and snow, untouched by human footprints.
The icy storm roared, whipping up white flurries that sparkled in the light, making it impossible to discern anything in the endless whiteness.
"Hm?"
"Where have you sent me this time?" Alaric muttered.