Chapter 105: Chapter 105: The Birth of the Golden Glittering Treasure
Iskandar: "So, Gilgamesh's final ending should be defeat, right?"
Waver: "Well, that seems very likely. After all, he hasn't been shown doing much in the video."
Gilgamesh: "Ha! How could this king be defeated by such trifling events?"
Waver: "Just ignore him. He's just being stubborn."
Iskandar: "Come now, Gilgamesh. There's no shame in admitting your failure."
Gilgamesh: "Then watch closely, mongrels, and witness the truth."
[The time for answering questions ends, and the video resumes.]
["Uh… what is this place?"]
[In the charred ruins of Fuyuki City, a figure suddenly sat up. It was Kotomine Kirei.]
["What a troublesome man."]
[Nearby, a golden figure sat amongst the rubble, entirely naked, looking oddly out of place. It was none other than Gilgamesh.]
["It took me quite some effort to dig you out from under the ruins."]
Tohsaka Rin: "Ah! What is wrong with you?! You exhibitionist!"
Artoria: "Gilgamesh, is this truly how far you've fallen?"
Ishtar: "Well, to be fair, his body is kind of… perfect. But still, this is embarrassing even for him."
Iskandar: "Hahaha! Gilgamesh, didn't you claim you didn't have any strange fetishes? And now you're prancing about without so much as a shirt or pants!"
Gilgamesh: "Silence, you fools! This disgraceful display in the video is not reflective of me!"
Even Gilgamesh himself was visibly uncomfortable as the mocking continued.
Gilgamesh: "What in the name of Uruk was I thinking in that scene? I have countless garments in the Gate of Babylon! There's no excuse for such a display!"
Kayneth: "Your priorities are all wrong. Shouldn't we focus on Kotomine Kirei? Wasn't he killed by Emiya Kiritsugu? How is he still alive?"
Waver: "Yeah, and what about that black mud? It seems connected to all of this."
Chihiro: "Of course, it's the black mud. It isn't just toxic, it's deeply connected to Angra Mainyu's influence."
["Gilgamesh, what happened?"]
[Kotomine Kirei looked around in bewilderment, the desolation of Fuyuki City stretching endlessly before him.]
["Who knows?"]
[Gilgamesh shrugged nonchalantly, seated on the rubble. "That foul mud spat me out. It seems that fate has decided I must walk among mortals again. Perhaps the gods themselves wish for me to rule this age."]
["You… you've obtained a body!"]
[Kotomine Kirei finally realized what had changed.]
["Yes, though this form isn't entirely of my choosing."]
[Gilgamesh looked at himself with mild disdain. "To think those fools sought to use that mud as a wishing machine. The entire ordeal was a farce from beginning to end."]
Iskandar: "Hahaha! So Gilgamesh is the one who benefits in the end. How fitting!"
Iskandar: "Perhaps I should take a dip in that mud myself."
Waver: "Don't even joke about that! Do you have any idea how dangerous that stuff is?!"
Iskandar: "Relax, it was just a jest."
Gilgamesh: "Hmph. To be given flesh in this manner? Hardly an honor. Yet, it suits my purposes."
Chihiro: "Classic Gilgamesh. Benefiting from the situation while pretending it's beneath him."
Waver: "So, the answer to the question was C… I got it wrong."
El-Melloi II: "It was a tricky one. Who would have guessed the mud would grant him a body?"
["Wait… shouldn't I be dead?"]
[Kotomine Kirei suddenly remembered being fatally shot by Kiritsugu. He touched his chest instinctively.]
["No heartbeat."]
[Kotomine looked at Gilgamesh in shock. "What did you do to me, Gilgamesh?"]
["Don't drag me into this."]
[Gilgamesh raised his hands in mock denial. "From what I can tell, you were definitely dead. However, it seems the mud's influence defied all logic and bound your existence to this plane."]
["So, this power… gave me life."]
[Kotomine murmured as he processed the events. "All the Servants are gone. Does this mean we're the victors?"]
["Kirei, open your eyes. Look at this ending closely."]
[Gilgamesh gestured to the burning city around them, his tone almost amused.]
["If the Grail truly grants wishes, Kotomine Kirei, then what you see before you is what it has given you."]
["Oh…"]
[Kotomine Kirei suddenly broke into a chilling laugh, his voice echoing amidst the ruins.]
["What's wrong with me?"]
[His laughter grew more unhinged as he surveyed the devastation around him.]
["How utterly evil… how cruel this is! But this destruction, this suffering… it brings me joy."]
["Such filth and distortion—this is my wish."]
Kotomine Risei: "Kirei… you…"
Kotomine Risei was horrified and bewildered by his son's words.
Waver: "This is insane. He's completely lost it."
Kayneth: "Well, he was resurrected by the foulest substance imaginable. How could anyone escape that unscathed?"
Chihiro: "Not to mention the person whispering in his ear isn't exactly a voice of reason."
Gilgamesh: "Hmph. I merely allowed him to see his true nature."
Kotomine Kirei: "Gilgamesh, I don't believe my true nature is quite as twisted as you claim."
Despite his words, the current-day Kotomine Kirei appeared oddly calm, as if the events of the video were nothing more than a tedious drama. His interest seemed entirely detached, more preoccupied with his culinary skills than the chaos depicted.
["Satisfied now, Kirei?"]
[Gilgamesh turned to him with a faint smirk.]
["No, it's not enough. This… this answer isn't enough."]
[Kirei's tone grew eerily measured as he continued. "I've sought answers all my life, but to simply have the truth handed to me without the journey? That's unacceptable."]
[He reached down and picked up a tattered red cloth from the ground, throwing it toward Gilgamesh.]
["For such a strange equation to produce this outcome, there must be a simple reason. I must seek it out. I must spend my life finding it."]
["You never cease to amuse me."]
[Gilgamesh wrapped the cloth around himself, finally covering his bare form.]
["Very well. I, Gilgamesh, shall bear witness to this quest of yours, a quest so profound it might even confound the gods themselves."]
["I will meet the evil of this world one day. And when I do, I will witness it with my own eyes. Its birth, its purpose, its proof."]
[At that moment, Kotomine noticed something in the distance. Emiya Kiritsugu was staggering through the ruins, holding Avalon in one hand, his expression blank.]
[Kotomine instinctively tensed, preparing to engage, but Kiritsugu didn't even glance at him. Instead, he walked toward another part of the wreckage, digging furiously.]
[Moments later, Kiritsugu pulled a red-haired boy from the rubble, a boy who was still clinging to life.]
["It's time to leave, Kirei."]
[Gilgamesh turned away disinterestedly, already walking toward the horizon.]
[Little did he know, that boy would grow up to be his nemesis.]
[Kotomine followed Gilgamesh reluctantly but glanced back one last time, as though trying to etch Kiritsugu's face into his memory.]
[The correct answer is C.]
[Congratulations to Chihiro, Hassan of the Hundred Faces, Zhang Jiao, and Sigurd for earning 3 Saint Quartz.]
[Those who answered incorrectly will lose 1 Saint Quartz.]
Waver: "So that boy was Shirou. It all connects now."
Irisviel: "That child will carry Kiritsugu's ideals forward…"
Kayneth: "Gilgamesh remains in the real world? That's… unsettling."
Waver: "Maybe it won't be so bad. I mean, he might not cause too much trouble, right?"
El-Melloi II: "You'd hope, but with Gilgamesh, nothing's ever certain."
Gilgamesh: "I am not some senseless killer, mongrels. My actions are always deliberate."
Tohsaka Rin: "Do you even believe the nonsense you just spouted?"
["The second question is over, and the third question will now begin."]
["This is a timed quick-answer question."]
["Please watch the video and answer immediately after it ends. The first person to answer correctly will receive 3 Saint Quartz. An incorrect answer will result in a deduction of 1 Saint Quartz."]
["If no one answers within 1 minute, the system will randomly select one person to answer."]
[The video starts.]
["I remember his face. It was a face full of tears, but he was smiling, a man who was genuinely happy to find a living person."]
[The scene resumed from the aftermath of the disaster, this time from Shirou Emiya's perspective.]
["He looked so overjoyed, almost as though it wasn't me who was saved, but himself."]
["Alive, alive, alive…"]
[The screen showed Emiya Kiritsugu holding the small, fragile body of Shirou Emiya, his face streaked with tears as he embraced the boy tightly.]
["He seemed to be thanking someone, someone I couldn't see. His voice cracked as he said 'thank you' again and again, in a tone that even I, on the brink of death, envied."]
["He said it was great to have found me."]
["He said that even if it was just one person, that person was his salvation."]
[The scene shifted abruptly, showing a grown-up Shirou sitting beside the deathbed of Emiya Kiritsugu, tears streaming down his face.]
[Kiritsugu's frail figure lay motionless, his breaths shallow and weak as the life ebbed from him.]
***
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