"What did you just say…?"
For a moment, I felt a spark of irritation, but I quickly checked my temper.
While he may seem like a man lacking that final two percent when manifesting as the King of Heroes, his true nature is that of a Wise King—one who has lived through ages far longer and more profound than a mere fledgling like myself, who hasn't even spent a decade since awakening to the 'Root.'
"…What is the fact that I am missing?"
"You dunce. That thing you call 'All the World's Evil' was, in the end, nothing more than a single youth who was framed and sealed away."
"And what of it?"
"It is pathetic for one who claims to be a proxy of the Observer. Why do you not realize the fact that the youth forgave everyone?"
"Who doesn't know that? The youth himself may have forgiven them, but the cursed tattoos etched onto that Heroic Spirit reacted, dyeing the entire resource of the Holy Grail in filth—"
…Wait a minute.
"…Forgiveness."
"What is it? What's wrong, Karma?"
Yes, that youth certainly forgave them.
All Servants drawn into the Holy Grail lose their self-awareness, but the curse remaining within the Servant acts upon it, tainting the Grail.
Yes, according to the 'information' I possess, that is undoubtedly the case.
However, Gilgamesh's words… there is something I am overlooking.
"…King Gilgamesh."
"Ask whatever questions you have. My coffers are not so destitute that I cannot resolve even the doubts of a foolish dunce."
"Surely, before he died, that youth must have forgiven the villagers and everyone else."
"Indeed. It is a clear truth, one that is visible even to my eyes."
If that youth truly forgave the villagers… then that constitutes a form of…
"Love for Humanity."
And those beings who possess this 'Love for Humanity' stand in direct opposition to the Throne of Heroic Spirits.
"You are truly slow to realize."
Their existence is predicated on having a Love for Humanity.
Ashiya Douman, who sought to enter the category of 'those things' of his own volition, ultimately failed because he lacked the fundamental Love for Humanity that is their root. Those entities each harbor a twisted version of that love.
Pitying humanity as they see fit, trying to cover everything in self-love, or attempting to regress everything back to their own children to let them live on.
Ultimately, their love causes humanity to stagnate, completely castrating the motive force for progress and leading the world to be pruned… yet, one cannot deny that their essence is love.
"…A second question, King of Heroes."
"What is it?"
"Who is Berserker's Master?"
"There is none. That filthy harlot was not summoned by anyone."
Not summoned by anyone.
To put it another way, it means the Holy Grail's system itself summoned the Servant.
But that creates a problem.
A Servant fundamentally requires a constant supply of magical energy to manifest; otherwise, they naturally return to the Throne. Of course, it is possible to manifest by consuming human magical energy and souls, but if a Berserker—whose magical energy consumption is high even under normal circumstances—had done such a thing, it wouldn't have ended quietly. A subjugation order would have been issued, much like with the 4th War's Caster.
Therefore, it means 'someone' is providing her with magical energy. If that were the case, Berserker's existence could be concealed.
Yes, if the Holy Grail's system is her Master, anything is possible.
"Wait, so does that mean the Grail summoned a Servant? That's impossible!"
"No, it's not impossible, Waver-kun. However, if a Servant were summoned… it would be impossible for them to remain manifested for over a day? If they were targeting civilians, the Holy Church surely would have noticed…"
"…It makes no sense for the Grail itself to maintain the manifestation either. The Holy Grail is just a system; it's impossible for it to have a will. I might be the Lesser Grail, but the Greater Grail is literally just a prana reactor core!"
Indeed. It is impossible for the Holy Grail itself to possess a will.
…But what if a will had entered into it?
'All the World's Evil' gained a will later on, but that was essentially nothing more than a curse etched into Angra Mainyu.
The will of the original youth had long since been swept away and turned into a mass of magical energy; only the remaining blind curse of Angra Mainyu moved to destroy the world.
But what if that will hadn't been swept away?
"The Holy Grail absorbs Servants and uses them as magical energy."
"…We… just said that."
"Yes, the Grail absorbs Servants and activates using that magical energy."
"I told you, do you mean something else by that?"
"No, I mean it literally. The Grail absorbs Servants. It absorbs 'Servants.'"
In other words, if it is not a Servant, it cannot be absorbed by the Grail.
"An Evil of Humanity. Angra Mainyu…"
Opening my mouth slightly, I looked at Gilgamesh's expression.
He showed a light smile, like a parent watching a child's efforts.
* * * * *
The Evils of Humanity—the Beasts.
They appear as the eternal nemeses and primary antagonists in Fate/Grand Order.
Possessing a fundamental emotion of love for humanity, they perform acts that destroy the Human Order and the peace enjoyed now, using those emotions of love instead of the fleeting evil that vanishes quickly.
Goetia, the King of Demon Gods, planned to return to the beginning of genesis, turning himself into a planet without the concept of death, effectively replacing all of humanity as if swapping out organs.
He carried out the Incineration of the Human Order to provide humanity with a peace they wouldn't even perceive, and intended to use the calories gained from burning them all to erase the concept of death itself and create a new humanity that does not die. Naturally, because it was a twisted love, he only valued the grand framework of 'humanity,' and its individual members were of no importance.
Of course, there was the additional reason that the Alien God had begun an invasion of humanity, and since the concept of humanity would vanish if the bleaching began, he had his own calculations: 'If that's the case, I'd rather burn it all into energy and use it to recreate and preserve the concept of humanity'… but still.
And secondly, Tiamat, the Beast of Regression. Although everything touched by the mud she produced was eroded, consumed the world, and erased all life, she was simultaneously producing a new humanity called the Lahmu. Except for Kingu, who later betrayed her, they did not fight amongst themselves and loved their mother, and Tiamat loved them back; she would have completed a world literally overflowing with love and devoid of conflict.
Naturally, it would have become a Lostbelt due to the lack of the concept of progress, but in the end, her essence also belongs to the category of Love for Humanity.
And that thing.
The Beast of Retribution within the Holy Grail, Angra Mainyu.
In the original timelines of the 4th and 5th Holy Grail Wars, he ultimately failed to manifest and was defeated by the Emiya father and son, retreating. However, if he were to successfully manifest as an Evil of Humanity, the story changes.
"Lady Irisviel, how do you feel?"
"Hmm… I'm not sure. I do feel like my body has become a bit lighter, though."
The first thing I did after grasping the situation was to separate the Lesser Grail from Irisviel.
The mere fact that the Greater and Lesser Grails were connected was dangerous, but if a bomb called a Beast was inside that Greater Grail, the story became many times more serious.
All the Masters—including Tokiomi, who had one arm cut off—the supervisor of the Grail War, and all Servants except for Berserker headed straight for the Great Cavern of Mount Enzou where the Greater Grail was located. Soon, we encountered 'something' blocking the single path leading to the mountain gate, the main entrance of Ryuudou Temple.
Just as Tristan was about to step forward and pluck Failnaught, golden ripples shimmered, and a tremendous amount of magical bombardment flew out.
"Vermin who cannot even rank among mongrels, clear the path. You are in the presence of the King."
"…It looks like the ones who were supposed to clear the path have all died anyway?"
"Hmph, it is their own fault for failing to recognize this one's brilliance. It is only proper that they apologize with their deaths."
As we neared Ryuudou Temple, an eerie feeling and chills began to seep in for some reason, and we could see monsters and phantasmal beasts wandering about—beings that should never have been generated naturally.
They took various forms, but the vast majority were creatures with a skeleton base and massive crystal skulls.
"The numbers… seem to be quite large…!"
"The Grail system wouldn't summon such things… To think it would truly use the Grail as a proxy to summon and control Berserker."
Dozens of crystal skulls lunged at us, but there were five Heroic Spirits gathered here—not including Assassin—and the skeletons were cut down one after another by Saber's Prana Burst before they could even launch a proper attack.
Fortunately, there was no 'PEASANT' who surpassed even Saber in swordsmanship among them, but advancing while protecting the Masters supplying magical energy was an inconvenient task in many ways.
"Wise King, why don't you just take some Noble Phantasms out of your treasury?"
"A foolish question. You dare ask me to protect these mongrels with my treasures? I am here, along with the King of Knights and the King of Conquerors, however meager they may be, and yet you dare demand my treasury? Do not overstep, mongrel."
Tch, I knew that wouldn't work…
More importantly, I could feel an immense amount of prana surging as we approached the cavern.
To think this much prana is present even though I'm absorbing it bit by bit using Seal Absorption… It wasn't for nothing that Olga Marie from the FGO era was shocked, calling it a prana reactor core of the evaporation class.
"Hmm… it is certainly pupating much faster than what I 'saw.'"
Gilgamesh, quickly pulling five staves from the ripples, fired off magical bursts. Soon, there was a sensation as if something was being peeled away, and a massive 'veil' was stripped off.