In Guinevere's eyes, Irisviel had transformed into the Surging Mud Grail.
To the King of Knights, Kiritsugu Emiya, and Maiya, as Guinevere stepped into the black mud, her body was instantly enveloped. She continued to walk, step by step, toward the Holy Grail.
During this time, the black mud stopped overflowing and instead surged frantically into Guinevere, as if trying to devour her before she could reach the Holy Grail.
"Kiritsugu Emiya," the King of Knights said, "did you really expect Irisviel to overcome this black mud?"
The longer they stood in the Great Cavern, the more they felt the black mud was something that should never be touched. Just one minute after Irisviel had transformed into the Surging Mud Grail, Kiritsugu Emiya was already beginning to regret his decision.
He suddenly thought he should have personally confirmed the nature of this black mud instead of pinning all his hopes on Irisviel.
"Saber," Kiritsugu said, "transfer your contract to Maiya. And don't worry too much about Caster. Maiya still bears her Falsification, which proves she's still alive."
Though he had no Command Spells, the contract sustaining the King of Knights was transferred once more. As a precaution, she would remain on high alert until Guinevere successfully emerged from the black mud, refusing to touch it herself.
Pulling Maiya back a few steps, they knew that once Kiritsugu had set his mind on something, only death could stop the stubborn man.
And so, following Irisviel and Guinevere, Kiritsugu Emiya voluntarily touched the black mud.
In that instant, no curses echoed in his ears. He simply found himself back in his bedroom in the old Einzbern castle.
Here, Irisviel sat gently by the bedside as Illya recounted a dream where she was filled by seven enormous things and eventually turned into a cup.
"Kiritsugu, you're back. Listen, Illya had the most absurd dream."
Panic, unease—he realized this was merely an illusion, but more importantly, he understood why he had been brought here.
If All the World's Evil, the corruption within the Holy Grail, had been activated, and Irisviel had successfully taken his place, then he shouldn't be greeted by this scene. Instead, he should have been met with Irisviel's joyous embrace.
"Are you Angra Mainyu? The innocent boy branded with the sin of 'All the World's Evil'?"
Irisviel's smile froze. Illya dissolved into Black Mud and vanished. After a moment, Irisviel was still Irisviel, but she now stared at Kiritsugu in silence.
"Kiritsugu Emiya, you've prayed to the wrong entity. A true saint was right beside you, yet you pleaded with a counterfeit polluted by me, All the World's Evil."
After a long silence, Irisviel finally transformed. She became a werewolf-like figure, clad entirely in black, with a red bandana tied around her head.
When Irisviel's soul fell into the Holy Grail, he instantly devoured her. She was far less resilient than she had imagined.
Yet, All the World's Evil struggled to digest the vessel that sustained her soul.
His own questions, however, were answered the moment Guinevere stepped into the Black Mud.
Contrary to Guinevere's own assumptions, her ability to withstand the Black Mud wasn't solely because her heart belonged only to the King of Knights.
"I saw it—the experiences of the one who entered the Black Mud before you."
With more than half his consciousness focused on Guinevere, and knowing his own rebirth was now impossible, he lost interest in deceiving Kiritsugu Emiya any further.
"Let me tell you the truth. Even an uncorrupted Holy Grail can only grant a wish in a way the wisher believes is feasible.
"Kiritsugu Emiya, you desire world peace. What feasible method do you believe exists to achieve it?
"Heh, you understand now, don't you? The Grail's method for granting your wish would be to exterminate humanity, fundamentally eliminating all human conflict.
"If you want world peace, you must first find the correct path to achieve it. But that brings us back to the original problem: the only truly feasible path is the extinction of humanity."
The shadowy wolf figure spoke with mocking disdain. On the other side of his consciousness, he continued to observe the path Guinevere was forging for herself.
She was killing again the very people she had killed in life. She met the pleas of those begging for mercy with cold indifference, as if her eyes saw only one thing: bringing the King of Knights the peaceful, prosperous Camelot she desired.
Just as true history recorded, after all dissenters were eliminated, Camelot indeed enjoyed over a decade of peace and prosperity under her and the King of Knights' rule.
Permanent peace and prosperity? Guinevere had never prayed for such a thing.
Yet even with this, she had already earned the Holy Grail's recognition and gained the right to touch it.
Heh. The Church had given her the Grail, but if the Grail itself hadn't wanted Guinevere to touch it, she never would have gotten close.
"One who has touched the true Holy Grail has their soul eternally protected by it. How could mere All the World's Evil ever defile a true Saint who purged God's parasitic pests and effectively founded a new religious sect?
"Though, in this moment, she is not a Ruler, but merely a Caster-class Fabricator of History."
The shadowy wolf figure let out a mocking laugh.
In reality, Guinevere was already close enough to the Surging Mud Grail. In this final stretch, the shadowy wolf figure vanished from before Kiritsugu Emiya. He had grasped the true nature of the Grail but still needed time to process the truth.
As for Guinevere, she no longer saw the Vassal Kings and villains who had fallen to her sword, nor the parasitic monks who had shrieked that the Lord's Will would punish her.
She had stepped into a mountain village she had never seen before. Here, a group of fire-worshipping villagers surrounded an innocent boy branded with the title "All the World's Evil."
By the time Guinevere arrived, his body was already covered in cursed markings. His right eye had been gouged out, his hands and feet severed, and he was being tortured in a manner both brutally cruel and deliberately non-lethal.
Some villagers approached, asking Guinevere where she came from and whether the world's evil had diminished now that they had imprisoned "All the World's Evil."
But in response to their questions...
"You've lost your minds, but I haven't lost mine. You are 'All the World's Evil.' He is merely an 'Innocent Monster.'"
With those words, Guinevere swung her sword. She relentlessly slaughtered the seemingly endless villagers, showing no mercy even as exhaustion and weariness set in.
An unknown amount of time passed. For some reason, as long as she refused to give up, her stamina remained inexhaustible. After slaughtering every last villager, she walked up to the innocent boy, who could only see with his one remaining eye.
She sighed and said, "I'm sorry, I can't save the real you. But I've killed them so many times now—you should be satisfied, right? Hey, give Irisviel back to me, and you can return to the Throne of Heroes. To endure so much suffering and still retain your self-awareness... you can be considered a hero in your own right."
Knowing Angra Mainyu's story, Guinevere could more easily make the right choice. As she watched him remain unresponsive, preparing to send him on his way herself, his body began to dissolve into the motes of light that signaled a Heroic Spirit's departure. With his last remaining eye, he looked up at her and mouthed the words:
"Thank you... Thank you for calling me a hero."
All Angra Mainyu had ever wanted was to be saved, to be praised.
To be called a hero by someone who was undoubtedly a hero herself... In his final moments, he smiled, finally at peace.