The Holy Grail... it was actually purified.
And Guinevere... she actually withstood the Black Mud and absorbed all of it.
"Maiya, do you think Guinevere is alright?"
To the onlookers, Guinevere simply walked through the Black Mud, absorbing it as she went.
By the time she reached the Holy Grail and touched it, the Grail had stopped overflowing with Black Mud. She had fulfilled Irisviel's Command Spell: Reach my side.
In that brief moment, the King of Knights could feel that Guinevere now possessed a living, physical body. However, the thought that this body was constructed from Black Mud filled her with a faint sense of disgust.
Almost simultaneously, Guinevere opened her eyes and reached out to grasp the Holy Grail, just as Kiritsugu Emiya opened his own eyes, his expression now far more world-weary.
He had been endlessly tortured by the question of whether to save the many or the few, his heart tormented until it was nearly broken. He had finally come to understand that the Holy Grail was not omnipotent—the only thing it could do was bring Irisviel back.
"Guinevere, can you do it?"
"You're not going to save the world anymore?"
"I don't have that ability. I'm just going to start with small things."
Guinevere didn't know the full extent of Kiritsugu Emiya's mental journey, but knowing he had touched the Black Mud, she could imagine the kind of torture he had endured.
As for Kiritsugu's request? If she could bring Irisviel back without much effort, why wouldn't she?
"Holy Grail, please grant Artoria Pendragon and Maiya Hisau healthy, living bodies. Holy Grail, return Irisviel von Einzbern's soul."
Even the Founding Three Families of the Holy Grail War held a misconception: that the Grail could only grant a single wish. In reality, if the wishes were relatively small, the sixty years' worth of leyline mana accumulated from Fuyuki City was more than enough to fulfill several.
First, Maiya Hisau's Falsification became real. Then, the King of Knights gained a physical body. Finally, the Grail itself began to transform, gradually reshaping into the naked form of Irisviel von Einzbern.
"Guinevere, don't look!"
"Ahem..."
"We're all girls, what's the big deal? It's not like I'm going to get all touchy-feely with her."
Having a physical body was entirely different from not having one. For instance, the King of Knights immediately felt hunger pangs; her new stomach was empty and desperately needed food.
So, what happened to the souls of the nameless Servants stored in the Lesser Grail now that the Holy Grail had formed and been used? They were all returned to the Throne of Heroes, forcibly opening a brilliant blue hole in the sky directly above Mount Enzo.
"Kiritsugu Emiya, are you curious about the Root? If you dive in, you might find another way to achieve world peace."
Outside the Great Cavern, the group looked up at the sky, watching the hole shrink. Despite Guinevere's teasing, Kiritsugu merely exhaled a weary smoke ring and said:
"I told you, I don't have that ability. I'm just going to start with small things. For example, after tonight, I plan to adopt an orphan to give Illya a companion. I'll work to create a world where Illya can live happily."
"Hmm, whatever makes you happy. As for the orphan, do you have anyone in mind?"
"Not yet, but Fuyuki City should have an orphanage."
"Oh."
Kiritsugu Emiya's surrender was so swift and decisive that it felt unreal to Guinevere, as if he had personally witnessed the world's destruction at his own hands.
While the group chatted idly about dismantling the Greater Grail System to end Fuyuki's Holy Grail Wars for good, Kirei Kotomine stopped nearby, his gaze fixed on Guinevere with a mixture of shock and uncertainty.
He had just received a message from the Holy Church. Due to the insistence of Britain's Purification Plan faction, the Church was not only retracting its order to attack Guinevere but was also considering a proposal for her canonization.
Of course, the canonization proposal came from the Purification Plan faction; the Roman Orthodox Church and other major and minor denominations across continental Europe vehemently rejected it.
But the Holy Church was a joint institution of the Lord's various denominations. With the Purification Plan faction now integrated as a member, the Church had to consider their views, even if certain influential figures disagreed.
How ridiculous, Kirei thought. A heretic of heretics, deemed worthy of sainthood simply because she once purged Great Britain's Church and restored its purity? She's now seen as the founder of a new denomination, with a chance at canonization now that the Purification Plan faction has grown powerful?
However, with the Purification Plan faction in the picture, the conflict between Guinevere and the Holy Church probably won't escalate.
Black Keys, black robes, crimson eyes... An Executor becoming a Dead Apostle wasn't a big deal. Kirei had watched with his own eyes as the Holy Grail was used, as the pathway to the Root—coveted by countless Mages and carved open by the souls of five Servants—was sealed shut forever.
His gaze returned to Kiritsugu Emiya. But for some reason, looking at Kiritsugu now was like staring at a dead fish. Kirei felt no motivation at all.
Frustrated, he decided to retreat. Kirei had changed his bloodline, not his brain. He would wait until Guinevere and the King of Knights had left before making his move against Kiritsugu's family.
They have physical bodies now, and the Holy Grail War is over. They should...
"Saber, Caster, will you come with us to pick up Illya?" Kiritsugu asked. "We obtained the Holy Grail but used it ourselves. The Family Head..."
"Of course, we'll go," Caster interrupted. "Didn't I say? I'm going to kill his... ahem... entire family, excluding you all."
She reached for the King of Knights' hand and took it. The familiar feel, the familiar warmth—it was just like fifteen hundred years ago.
Come to think of it, Guinevere had been fully prepared to fight the Altered King of Knights. Who would have thought it would go so smoothly?
Still, Guinevere had no intention of wasting the mana accumulated within her Replica Holy Sword.
It was almost laughable: even with a physical body, Guinevere still couldn't generate her own mana. Without a mana source, she might truly have to resort to eating children to sustain herself, just like the Incarnated King of Heroes from her memories.
Unlike her, the King of Knights had been granted a physical body by the Holy Grail. She wasn't merely Incarnated; she was truly resurrected. Her mana supply was completely self-sufficient.
"Alright," Guinevere declared, "we need to visit the Einzbern estate and dismantle Fuyuki's Holy Grail System. But first, let's head back to our place. I want Lia to replenish my magic."
She spoke without a hint of shame. Hearing this, only the King of Knights blushed and showed some resistance, still bothered by the fact that Guinevere's body was constructed from Black Mud.
However, the King of Knights' resistance was short-lived. With the Holy Grail War concluded, a certain Faerie who had been forced to watch from Avalon could no longer sit still.
She wasn't wearing her familiar blue-black, midriff-baring long dress, nor was her face veiled by sheer gauze. But compared to fifteen hundred years ago, Morgan's ears had become pointed, and her unchanging face now held a hint of a smile.
Now, she wore an overly tight white shirt, with a short, blue JK skirt tied around her slender waist. Beneath the hem, which barely covered her thighs, were black stockings of a style Guinevere couldn't quite identify, keeping her warm through the night.
"Huh? Sister Morgan?"
"Sister, why are you dressed like that? Who are you trying to seduce?"
"I really do despise you, my foolish sister!"
Meanwhile, Irisviel pulled out her phone, her gaze darting between the three women. She was certain she had heard the name "Morgan."