"Damn it—!!"
The final shout of rage lingered in the air before dissipating with the breeze.
The Oldest King, who had always stood above all others, ultimately ended his life in the form of "Suicide."
What remained was a single orange orb slowly falling, eventually caught by Lelouch.
The two twinkling stars within it undoubtedly proved it was the Dragon Ball that once belonged to Kirei Kotomine.
"Hah... is it finally over?"
Seeing the conflict apparently conclude, Waver collapsed to the ground, his tightly wound nerves finally relaxing.
He didn't know how many times he had felt the oppression of death just now; he had never been so terrified.
"Waaaaah!! Give it back!"
A tearful, unwilling cry reached his ears, causing Waver to look over.
He saw the little girl held by Berserker still crying loudly.
But the Servant merely comforted her with a spoiling expression, taking no further action.
Although he didn't know why Berserker had actively given up, Waver breathed a sigh of relief.
Just dealing with Archer had cost Rider so many "pieces."
If they had to face Berserker now, it was hard to imagine how they could continue fighting.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
Not far away, Tokiomi Tohsaka and the newly arrived Risei Kotomine ran up to Lelouch, carrying the remaining Dragon Balls.
Saber Group's One-Star Ball...
Assassin Group's Two-Star Ball...
Lancer's Three-Star Ball...
Berserker Group's Four-Star Ball...
Archer Group's Five-Star Ball...
Caster Group's Six-Star Ball...
And...
Rider Group's Seven-Star Ball!
A full seven Dragon Balls from different Master-Servant teams were finally gathered together.
"Only the victor is qualified to make a wish..."
"After gathering the Dragon Balls, recite the incantation to call forth the being capable of granting any wish..."
"Shenron!"
Lelouch looked at the pile of glistening orbs on the ground, then spoke slowly.
He then turned his head to look at Waver, who was sitting on the ground.
"Eh?"
"Ugh..."
Realizing something, Waver scrambled to his feet and came to Lelouch's side.
The summoning incantation was known only to the Masters...
The Servants who answered the summon would not know it.
This was also why Lelouch originally didn't want to fall out with Waver when he was first summoned.
He wasn't sure what form the incantation took.
Acting rashly could have led to a major blunder.
"Think it over carefully."
"You can still stop me now."
"My Geass can only be effective on a person once; I can no longer bind you."
At this moment, Lelouch stared at Waver with a playful smile, reminding him.
"Eh... drop the jokes."
"I'm not going to be scared by you again."
" besides, thanks to you, I was able to survive this war. That is enough."
Waver sighed. Knowing what Lelouch meant, he spoke words of relief instead.
Testing each other...
That was no longer necessary.
After experiencing so much together, both could more or less guess the other's current thoughts.
Yielding the wish to Rider wasn't a big deal to Waver.
"Come forth! Shenron!"
The short incantation was shouted from Waver's mouth, and the seven orbs on the ground suddenly erupted with astonishing beams of light.
Like thunderbolts reaching straight for the sky...
The clouds that had been dispersed by the Sword of Rupture now gathered again. The pitch-black sky, flashing with lightning and rolling thunder, made one feel the majesty of nature.
A gigantic "Dragon" appeared in the sky above Fuyuki City, instantly causing massive panic and fear.
"Now, I shall grant you any wish..."
"Speak your wish!"
That deep, resonant voice spread throughout the entire city.
"Is that Shenron?"
In the distance, Saber stood on a rooftop, marveling at the entity that only the victor could touch.
Unlike the winged dragons in her cognition, this skewed more towards the "Loong" of ancient eastern countries.
"Hey... isn't this too exaggerated?!"
"I never heard about this!!"
Waver stepped back in fright. Without thinking, he knew such a massive disturbance would definitely cause big trouble!
"Hmph. It seems it isn't some scam."
Lelouch, on the other hand, didn't care about the voice broadcasting to the world. He simply looked up with interest.
He had actually been worried that this would turn out to be a massive fraud in the end.
But looking at it now, it seemed he had overthought it.
"Any wish is possible?"
"Any wish is possible!"
Asking a probing question, Lelouch immediately received an affirmative reply from the entity.
The massive body of the dragon, stretching across the sky like the Great Wall, combined with that thick, turbid voice, was truly magnificent.
Lowering his head, pondering for a moment, Lelouch recalled his initial goal.
That world, already filled with "hatred and war," needed someone to stop it.
The plan with Suzaku was about to unfold, but now there was a better way.
'Brother...'
'Lelouch.'
'Lelouch.'
Acquaintances flashed through his mind—from students to Zero, from Zero to Emperor.
Changing the world...
That was what Lelouch craved.
"However..."
"I won't let others do this, because I cannot trust a world changed by someone else!"
"So..."
"I must change it myself! With my own hands! Whether for Nunnally or for Suzaku and the others!"
Looking up at the giant Shenron with determined eyes, Lelouch was resolute.
"Grant me..."
"The power to change the world!!"
What greed and massive ambition...
That wish made Waver and the others tremble in fear.
"Understood."
Its glowing red eyes flashing, Shenron heard the wish the other party Yearned for.
"The wish has been granted!"
"Eh? Can even that kind of wish be realized?"
Hard to believe, Waver didn't know how to describe the shock in his heart.
"Rider?"
Tilting his head to look at Lelouch in front of him, Waver found him seemingly immersed in something.
"Heh..."
"Hmph-hahaha!!"
But then, the familiar low laughter from the other party made Waver a bit worried.
"This is indeed... not bad."
Hearing Lelouch's satisfied words, Waver was scratching his head in confusion.
"Now..."
"Speak your second wish!"
But next, Shenron's voice stunned both Lelouch and Waver directly.
"?"
"!"
Even Berserker and Kariya Matou, who were witnessing this from not far away, were astonished.
"A second wish?"
"Of course! Because both Master and Servant are alive, the wishes I can grant are two!"
Facing Waver's query, Shenron gave the answer.
"I see... so that's why they specifically emphasized the Master-Servant relationship."
"Is this also a test for the Servant and Master?"
"What a God with terrible taste!"
Recovering his senses, Lelouch understood the intention behind this and couldn't help but sneer.
If the Master-Servant pairs knew from the start that there were two wishes, they would likely have worked together more unitedly.
There might even have been possibilities of two groups forming an alliance to split the wishes.
But precisely because this point wasn't revealed, Masters and Servants always had to consider one thing.
That is, if they really won to the end, would they have to "kill each other"?
After all, assuming there is only one wish, is it used to realize the Master's wish or the Servant's wish?
Masters participating in the war and Servants responding to the summon definitely all have their own "needs."
But if the prize is unique, it will inevitably cause internal strife.
Of course, pairs like him and Waver were rare exceptions.
Revealing this point now was undoubtedly intended to mock those lone victors who didn't trust their respective Masters or Servants.
"What are you standing there dazed for?"
"Huh?"
Hearing Lelouch calling him, Waver didn't react for a moment.
"As one of the victors, you naturally enjoy the right to make a wish."
"I am not so greedy as to need a second wish to make up for anything."
That wasn't Lelouch feigning modesty, but rather acknowledging the Master who had gone through hardships with him.
Moreover, Shenron had already given Lelouch what he needed most with the first wish.
"Ugh..."
Walking forward, looking up at the huge dragon head, Waver appeared a bit anxious and flustered.
He really wasn't mentally prepared.
His mind was a mess; he didn't know what to do...
Being able to grant a wish or something...