"Hey, hey, Lia! How far do you think my sword still is from First Hassan's?"
In the clash of sword against sword, Guinevere was defeated once more. But unlike last time, she had forced First Hassan out of his state of Unity of Heaven and Man. After the third toll of the bell, she had successfully withstood the strike from his unleashed Noble Phantasm.
It was the taste of Instant Death, the taste of absolute rules. Shifting from a mere observer to a direct recipient, Guinevere learned another profound lesson. She felt that her next strike would inevitably carry even greater power.
With this, she had obtained what she sought from First Hassan in this encounter.
And precisely because she had succeeded in forcing him out of his transcendent state, Guinevere's own sword did not miss its mark.
When the blade—infused with the Overloaded Arondight technique, condensing all her insights into swordsmanship and the might of heaven and earth—finally bloomed...
The Walker of the Valley, the Angel of Death—Hassan-i Sabbah, not summoned in his Grand Saint Graph—let out a sharp crack from his armor, the sound of impending demise.
Azure spectral flames leaked from the cracks, accompanied by a deep, heavy laugh that seemed to hold a hint of gratification.
He sensed it. In terms of swordsmanship alone, the ultimate point Guinevere could reach surpassed his own—just as he had guided her to realize not long ago.
He looked forward to the ascension of the Sword of Destined Judgment.
But would the Angel of Death die from his wounds? Of course not.
Could the Angel of Death, having achieved his goal, simply sever the Master-Servant Contract and vanish? He was more than capable of it.
Amidst his satisfied laughter, the blue ghostly flames beneath his skull mask flickered, and the First Hassan's form began to dissolve into particles of light.
"Guinevere, I entrust the Babylonia Singularity to thy care."
"Ah!"
To Guinevere, the First Hassan's words were abrupt and cryptic, suggesting he intended to abandon his role in the Babylonia Singularity. But without him to impose the concept of death upon that being...
"Hey, wait! Explain yourself!"
The First Hassan did not wait, nor did he explain. Even as Guinevere herself began to dissolve into light, she knew she couldn't possibly catch up to him on the way back to the Throne of Heroes.
It was then that Guinevere finally realized something: the First Hassan's sword hadn't just struck her; it had also severed the very Black Mud that constituted her current form.
The First Hassan's Instant Death was a conceptual ability. But the Black Mud was also a concept—All the World's Evil.
Even if the Black Mud within Guinevere had lost its source, it should still...
"Truly incredible. I suppose I owe him another debt of gratitude."
A mix of resignation and deep emotion crossed Guinevere's face. Just as she was about to ask the King of Knights to summon her again promptly...
King Hassan's voice, which should have vanished, echoed once more.
"Thy thanks are not needed. Consider this a gift for calling me 'Master'."
"Huh?"
From these words, Guinevere sensed the First Hassan's acknowledgment.
With this singular, precious recognition, her expression softened into a pure smile as she was about to return to the Throne of Heroes. She snuggled into the King of Knights' embrace with a soft "Guhehehe," openly expressing her joy.
Guinevere had "liked" the First Hassan ever since she first met him in her previous life.
Of course, her affection for him was entirely different from her love for the King of Knights.
She was a lesbian, after all!
"Lia, use the Holy Grail. Prepare suitable bodies for me and Mordred."
With this final request, this world's Guinevere returned to her main body in the Throne of Heroes, merging her current memories and insights with her true self.
Setting aside Guinevere's thoughts in the Throne of Heroes, the King of Knights watched her fade away with a smile, then shook her head. She did not make such a wish.
Holding the Holy Grail, she felt the souls of Chiron, Gareth, and Achilles now contained within it. Surprise flickered across her face.
After reuniting with Mordred, Morgan, and the others, she planned to ask them in detail how they had managed to defeat Achilles.
As for why Guinevere's soul didn't enter the Holy Grail, it was simply because she hadn't been summoned by this particular Grail.
The King of Knights wasn't the least bit surprised that the First Hassan's soul also remained outside the Grail.
"Holy Grail, answer me..."
The Grail was designed to contain seven Servant souls, but it had now far exceeded that number. If she didn't make a wish soon, there was a risk it would overload and explode.
As the King of Knights began to make her wish, a part of her consciousness entered the Grail's inner world. Simultaneously, a phantom image of the "Hole" appeared in the sky above the Yggdmillennia Family's domain.
This time, however, the Holy Grail was untainted. No new Black Mud poured from the Hole.
"Patriarch, you..."
"Your Majesty King Arthur, may I request that Lady Guinevere's promise be fulfilled? I do not desire resources, nor do I seek the right to wish upon the Holy Grail. I only wish to follow the returning Servant souls to the world's interior—to the Root."
In the original design of the Holy Grail War, reaching the Root was the ultimate goal for Mages. The wish-granting Holy Grail served as bait for Servants, and it didn't matter if a Servant ultimately claimed it.
Arguably, under normal circumstances, the victorious Mage Master in a Holy Grail War should throw themselves into the "Hole" in the sky, leaving the Servant to use the wish-granting privilege.
"Since that is your request, then go. You alone shall bear the risks."
Cold, indifferent, her response was a mechanical calculation of pros and cons. This was the King of Knights with part of her consciousness inside the Holy Grail.
The Yggdmillennia Clan Head had seized the perfect opportunity, recognizing that the privilege of reaching the Root was meaningless to Heroic Spirits like the King of Knights.
He had intended to use the Holy Grail to break away from the Clock Tower. Now, by reaching the Root and gaining sufficient power, he could achieve independence through a different, yet still advantageous, path.
As for what would become of the Yggdmillennia Family after his departure? That was no longer his concern.
Such is the nature of Mages.
Then, the Yggdmillennia Clan Head flew upward under his own power and threw himself into the "Hole." Whether he would reach the Root was now his own affair.
Meanwhile, the King of Knights' consciousness, still within the Holy Grail, found itself in a sea of flowers. There, she saw a white-haired young...
Ahem, a mature woman who strongly resembled Mrs. Irisviel, yet possessed an entirely different aura.
"You..."
"The foundation of the Greater Grail, Saint of Winter, Justeaze Lizreich von Einzbern.
King Arthur, state your wish. As a reward for cleansing the Holy Grail from within."
Only when separated from Guinevere did the King of Knights reveal her solemn side. She approached slowly, carefully avoiding stepping on the flowers.
Standing before the 'sacrifice' who had died five hundred years ago, she finally spoke:
"I wish for you to summon my true self and Guinevere's true self from the Throne of Heroes and sever our contracts with the Counter Force."
What was the King of Knights thinking? Only she knew. Contrary to Guinevere's expectations, she hadn't wasted this wish on the 'trivial' desire for a body.
Alas... the Holy Grail's power to grant wishes was limited.
"I apologize, but I cannot grant that. Even if you wished for the entire planet to be reduced to blank paper, I still cannot snatch people from the Counter Force's grasp."
"Then, I ask you to negotiate with the Counter Force. Allow me and Guinevere's Thrones of Heroes to merge, or to completely share a single Throne of Heroes.
My true self has always longed to be with Guinevere forever."
To this wish, the Holy Grail's will...
She agreed.