"Hey, Goldie, you're the last one left. You in or what?"
With Iskandar defeated, Diarmuid returned to the Throne of Heroes, and Berserker Lancelot left to have a private conclusion with Artoria. Gilles de Rais had long since been dealt with, and Assassin was under Daniel's control. That only left one Servant—Archer, Gilgamesh.
"I acknowledge your strength," Gilgamesh said, stepping forward, "but if you think you're worthy of making this king give up the Grail, you're sorely mistaken."
He didn't call him a mongrel this time—Gilgamesh, arrogant though he was, knew how to recognize power. He had respected Iskandar after their battle, despite the defeat, and even spared Waver's life. It was the same now—Daniel had earned his acknowledgement.
"Worthy? Whether I'm worthy or not isn't up to you to decide. Let's go. I promise you'll be shocked."
"Hahaha! Then allow this king to smash your scrap metal to pieces!"
Standing in the center of the desert, Gilgamesh extended his right hand, summoning a uniquely shaped golden key—the Key of Kingship.
Having witnessed Daniel's strength, Gilgamesh wasn't going to hold back. He began with Ea, his most powerful Noble Phantasm. Against Shirou, he had hesitated to use it. Against Daniel? Not a chance.
"Scrap metal? You talking about yourself?" Daniel replied, summoning his own Key of Kingship. Ea versus Ea.
"How did you get that?" Gilgamesh's haughty demeanor shattered the moment he saw the key in Daniel's hand.
"You lent it to me."
He wasn't lying. Technically, the one who had given it to him was Kid Gil, but a Gilgamesh is still a Gilgamesh. Close enough.
"Mongrel!"
To Gilgamesh, seeing someone else wield a weapon from his treasury was intolerable. In his eyes, all treasures belonged to him alone. Others could only be robbed—not the other way around. His obsession with the Grail was proof of that.
"Enuma Elish."
"Enuma Elish."
Both unleashed their Noble Phantasms simultaneously. Two beams of overwhelming golden-red light collided in the air, releasing a tidal wave of magical energy.
"Careful!"
Seeing the violent magical storm that erupted, Medea immediately deployed a defensive spell at high speed using Divine Words. Soon after, Luvia, Rin, Kayneth, and Tokiomi joined in.
"What terrifying power… This dimension won't last much longer."
The clash between two Eas began to tear apart the ground, exposing a bottomless abyss beneath their feet. The rift widened rapidly.
Then, the sky cracked. The Reality Marble above them shattered like glass. With a deafening explosion, the entire space collapsed.
In the blink of an eye, everyone was back in the real world.
"Move!"
Medea shouted. With the help of the remaining Servants, everyone began retreating quickly.
BOOM.
A thunderous explosion rocked Fuyuki just as the group left the Einzbern estate. They turned to see a golden-red pillar of light shooting into the sky, illuminating the heavens.
"Damn it…"
Tokiomi's face turned pale. There was no way they could cover up something like this.
"That's enough. Focus. Help me cast a concealment barrier. People are going to come investigate. We can't let this be exposed."
Luvia, quick to recover, took charge. The preservation of secrecy came first. Explanations could wait. Thanks to her experience in the Fifth War, she knew exactly what to do. With Medea's help, a spell to disperse bystanders was swiftly constructed.
"I didn't think it would cause that much destruction. Shame about the villa…"
Floating above the ground, Daniel looked down at the massive crater and sighed. He had expected Iskandar's Reality Marble to hold out. Turns out, it couldn't handle the clash of two Eas at all.
"Is he dead? If not, come on out."
Daniel had won. With both using Ea, the determining factor was magical energy. No matter how much mana Gilgamesh drained from Tokiomi, it couldn't compare to what Daniel had access to.
"You bastard…"
Gilgamesh emerged from the rubble, glaring at Daniel with bitter resentment. To him, the true owner of the Gate of Babylon, losing to an "impostor" was beyond humiliation—even if technically, Daniel had every right to use it.
"Sorry, I still have a lot to do. So, stay put for now."
Before Gilgamesh could retort, Daniel raised a golden cross in his left hand. It radiated golden chains that wrapped around the king. This wasn't Enkidu's Chains, but Judas' Oath—a Divine Key. Enkidu's Chains wouldn't work on Gilgamesh. This, however, would.
Daniel hadn't killed Gilgamesh because he remembered the Seventh Singularity—Uruk. That version of Gilgamesh wasn't yet tainted by the Grail's mud.
"Poor Tokiomi… This is probably getting off lightly."
Dragging the bound king, Daniel rejoined the others. Tokiomi, held up by Rin, was pale as a sheet. Daniel shook his head slightly.
"Sorry about the estate. Now that everyone's here, let's dismantle the Greater Grail."
To make the process faster, Daniel returned briefly to Chaldea and brought Leonardo da Vinci. With her and Medea working together—both experienced with Grail disassembly—it was done even faster than in the Fifth War.
Upon seeing the black mud within the Greater Grail, Tokiomi finally let go of his final delusion. The Grail was corrupted beyond salvation.
As for reconstructing a new system? Daniel, Da Vinci, and Medea had considered it. But they abandoned the idea.
Not because it wasn't possible—they had thoroughly studied the Grail's mechanisms and could theoretically rebuild it. The problem was cost.
The original Grail system was built by sacrificing Justeaze. There was no one willing—or suitable—for that role now.
"Sakura…"
"Sis…"
As Da Vinci, Medea, Kayneth, and Waver worked on dismantling the Grail, Daniel brought Sakura from Chaldea to reunite with her sister and mother.
The Tohsaka sisters' bond had always been strong. Even after Sakura left, little Rin never stopped caring—though she never said it, largely due to their father.
"Thank you for saving Sakura."
While the sisters reconnected, Aoi approached Daniel and bowed deeply. She had learned the truth about the Matō family.
"No need to thank me. I just happened to be there."
And that was true—had he not been, there'd have been nothing he could've done.
"You're Rin, right? You must've had a tough time these years."
Aoi's eyes shifted to the older Rin—the one from the Fifth War. Even if she was from another world, she was still her daughter.
"I managed. It's Sakura who suffered."
The moment her name came up, Aoi fell silent. Sakura had been saved in this world. But in the Fifth War… she had suffered for years.
Just the thought of it reignited Rin's fury.
"You two have some time. You might not get another chance to talk like this."
"Sakura… You're leaving again? Don't go!"
Little Rin held her sister's hand tightly when Sakura said she had to leave.
"I must. I don't want to see him again."
Everyone knew "him" meant Tokiomi. Sakura no longer referred to him as "Father."
"You better take care of Sakura, or I'll never forgive you."
Young Rin solemnly placed her sister's hand into Daniel's.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of her. After all… I'm her brother-in-law, right?"
Daniel smirked, teasing her.
"Wha—brother-in-law!? As if I'd ever like you!"
Little Rin blushed furiously.
"Don't flatter yourself. I meant the other you."
Daniel tilted his head toward the older Rin chatting with Aoi.
"I'll grow up!"
She pouted, muttering under her breath.
"What was that? Speak up."
"Idiot!"
Flustered, she grabbed Sakura's hand and fled.
"Kids these days are really mature. No surprise—born into mage families, after all."
The more prestigious the family, the earlier their children had to mature. While normal kids played, these ones studied.
"All right. Let's head out together, then."
A few days later, after the Grail was dismantled, Daniel prepared to return to the Fifth War's world. Sakura had spent those days with her mother and sister. Tokiomi? He could stay sidelined.
Sakura could've stayed behind—Luvia's family or the El-Melloi household would've welcomed her. But she refused. Her decision to leave was firm.
The entire Emiya family was leaving too—opting to settle in the Fifth War's world. Before that, they took Black Artoria to the Einzbern base, broke through the barrier, and retrieved Illya.
They could've remained in this Fuyuki, but knowing that the other Illya had grown up without parents… they chose to go support her and Shirou.
Daniel had no objections.
"Dear brother, please take good care of the me from this world."
Waver and Lainis said goodbye to Kayneth. Had Kayneth lived originally, Lainis would've never inherited the El-Melloi name. She was from a branch family, and only inherited after others panicked and dumped the responsibility on her.
Now that Kayneth knew her situation, he would surely bring her into the main family and personally mentor her.
"And you…"
Lainis turned to Waver, smiling in a way that made him dive behind Iskandar's massive frame in fear.
Though Iskandar hadn't obtained a physical body, Chaldean technology allowed him to remain in this world as Waver's Servant. Whatever trouble he caused afterward… that would be Waver's problem.
"Don't worry. I'll keep him in line. As for you… you've been through a lot."
As head of the Clock Tower, Kayneth understood what Lainis had endured. After his death, she had revived the house with Waver's help. Their accomplishments couldn't be understated.
"I'm not too bothered. If not for all this, I'd probably be just another minor magus—never a lord."
In the end, El-Melloi's future rested with Lainis.
"I wanted to meet the me from this time period. But like this, it wouldn't be fun. I'll wait a bit. When the time's right, I'll show up—and it'll be a riot."
"You…"
Waver could only sigh helplessly at her antics.
"Next, I'll be counting on you."
Back in the Fifth War world, inside her Clock Tower estate, Lainis handed Daniel a magic artifact containing a Crest. It had been retrieved from Waver's friend, Melvin.
"No problem. Restoring a Magic Crest is great practice for me."
Having met Kayneth, the restoration of the El-Melloi Crest became a priority. Normally, Kayneth would never allow an outsider access to the Crest. But to see Lainis's restored, he had no choice.
Once completed, her power would skyrocket, and the family's prestige would solidify.
"It might take a while, though."
"Just don't take three generations."
"Don't worry, it won't."
For Daniel, who possessed the Ope Ope no Mi, this was no challenge. But his attention wasn't focused on it right now.
He had already acquired Kiritsugu's Time Alter Magic Crest.
His focus now—was on mastering that.
______
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