[Mass Update: 5/5]
[T/N: So that's the end of today's mass release guys, Same rules for next week. Leaving aside the regular two chapters every week, as long as the power stones cross 10, There will be a 5 chapter mass update on Sunday. Of course, this offer is for this month only as I have a bunch of chapters stocked up. For now. Enjoy!]
After finishing his routine call with Tōsaka Tokiomi, Kotomine Kirei descended into the private basement he had constructed.
"Master."
Before Kirei even opened the door, Assassin whispered a warning from the shadows.
Sure enough, when he pushed it open, there was already an uninvited guest lounging comfortably on the best sofa in the room.
The collection of fine wines Kirei had acquired purely as a hobby lay scattered on the floor, half of them already emptied. The intruder had clearly been indulging himself for some time.
"…Archer? To what do I owe the honor?"
Kirei's voice carried a hint of surprise. He knew that thanks to Archer's skill with Independent Action, Tōsaka Tokiomi rarely had any idea where his Servant wandered during the day. But this was the first time Archer had sought him out directly.
The golden Heroic Spirit wasn't clad in armor today. Instead, he wore a modern ensemble: a tailored jacket and fitted leather trousers, yet his presence remained no less regal.
"I grew sick of that tedious man. His constant groaning after punishment offends my ears."
"Even so, despite his injuries, Master forced himself to rely on potions just to regain basic mobility. He still had to manage the chaos stirred up by your clash with Lancer. Considering the circumstances, I would say his response was admirable."
That day, when Tōsaka Tokiomi recalled him, Gilgamesh, enraged and brimming with contempt, had lashed out without hesitation. Noble Phantasms flew, impaling his own Master and pinning him to the wall like an insect.
Though Gilgamesh's fury burned hot, he hadn't killed Tokiomi. Out of lingering respect for the man's earlier reverence, he'd left him nailed up like a specimen. Not until Kotomine, suspicious after his daily calls went unanswered, arrived at the Tōsaka estate did Tokiomi receive release from his humiliating display.
Even if outwardly nothing had changed, the bond between Master and Servant had been fractured beyond repair.
But clearly, Gilgamesh had no intention of mending it.
"When I heard that man's so-called wish, I knew at once he was worthless. To reach the Root? How absurd. He has not even plumbed the depths of this world, yet he presumes to reach beyond it. And even if he did, what then? Power that cannot be shown before the world is nothing but waste."
Such contempt was enough to enrage any magus. The Root, the very pinnacle for which generations of families had sacrificed everything, dismissed as worthless.
But Kotomine Kirei was no ordinary magus, and he had long known the tyrant's temperament. Instead of outrage, he listened with intrigue.
And Gilgamesh, pleased by the attention, drank with a satisfied smile.
"Tell me, Kirei. What of you? That sly rat you command at your heels, both of you feign obedience to Tōsaka Tokiomi while seeking the Grail yourselves. So, what is it you truly desire?"
"I have no wish. My actions follow only the Master's will." came a voice from the shadows.
"How very loyal. What a fine little hound," Gilgamesh sneered, his crimson gaze narrowing. "But you, Kirei? What do you desire?"
"…Once, I thought I sought answers. Now, I only doubt whether salvation exists at all."
"How stiff and joyless." Gilgamesh's smile twisted into mockery. "You speak of redemption while your heart burns with hunger. Would it not be simpler to abandon restraint and indulge in pleasure?"
Kirei fell silent. His refusal to argue pleased the King all the more.
"I cared little for this farce of a war. But then he appeared. Tokiomi's pompous suggestion prompted me to study this so-called wish-granting chalice, and what I discovered was… enlightening."
Gilgamesh's expression hardened. The smile faded, his tone chilling.
"Tell me, Kirei, how many souls must be consumed for this Grail to fulfill that man's delusion of reaching the Root?"
Though the Gate of Babylon did not open, the killing intent that radiated from him was suffocating. Assassin immediately manifested, interposing himself between Kirei and Archer.
Yet Kirei's expression remained composed.
"You've realized it. To grant an ordinary wish, six Heroic Spirits would suffice. But to reach the Root, all seven must be sacrificed. From the beginning, he was never qualified to make his wish."
"…Hmph. So you can think clearly." The malice in Gilgamesh's eyes receded, and he leaned back languidly on the sofa.
"Then his vaunted loyalty was nothing but a lie?"
"My teacher is a magus of tradition," Kirei replied, neither confirming nor denying. But paired with Archer's own derision, his meaning was plain.
"A duplicitous wretch!" Gilgamesh snarled. "I endured his obsequiousness only out of restraint. Out of deference, I stayed my hand."
It had already insulted him to be interrupted while reunited with Enkidu. That Tokiomi's deception compounded the slight was unforgivable.
"By rights, he should perish for his insolence. But to reunite with my dearest friend, a Master is still required. Thus, I will select another, one worthy of supplying me mana."
Kotomine raised his gaze slightly.
"Hero King, are you attempting to entice me to betray my mentor?"
"No." Gilgamesh's tone was cutting. "I merely intend to make his death meaningful. If his tedium can awaken something more interesting within you, then he will not have lived in vain.
So tell me, Kirei, who is more worthy of your loyalty? That man, or me?"
"Of course, it is you. No matter how excellent a magus my teacher may be, before the glory of the Hero King, he is but a reptile beneath the sun."
"Exactly." Gilgamesh folded his arms across his chest. "How could victory in this Holy Grail War ever come from crawling insects like him?"
His golden eyes gleamed.
"So, Kirei, decide. Will you cling to hollow loyalty and rush to warn Tokiomi, knowing it will cost you your life? Or will you accept betrayal, and in doing so, open yourself to the pleasures I offer?"
He poured himself another glass of wine with deliberate grace, awaiting the priest's answer.
And Kirei did not hesitate. Without so much as a twitch of wasted motion, he bowed low, lowering his head.
In solemn tones, the priest spoke:
"There cannot be two suns in the sky. And you, my lord, are the only sun in my heart."
Yet even then, at this moment of supposed submission, Kirei's eyes were utterly calm.
The joy Gilgamesh promised meant nothing. He understood well: indulgence was but poison disguised as nectar, incapable of filling the void within.
Only a law beyond this world, more exalted than any mortal order, only God's will, could bring true fulfillment.
And to follow the one who embodied that path, the one who had already walked ahead, Roland, Kirei would sacrifice everything, restrain everything.
For only Roland. Only heaven. That alone was salvation.
[T/N:....Goosebumps]