"For a Servant to just stand by and watch her Master die, you're quite the failure."
"That was her own wish, it has nothing to do with me."
"Besides... love is such a tiresome concept," Kama muttered listlessly.
She had initially been somewhat interested in this Master. After experiencing the twisted relationship of those crazy lovebirds, she, as the goddess of love, had abandoned her obsession with love and instead sought depravity. A broken goddess was quite the amusement for Kama.
That was why she had been so cooperative.
But dying in such a way... it was utterly uninspiring.
"Saying such things when you're a goddess of love... Oh well, even gods have their own troubles and sorrows. But since this Holy Grail War is coming to an end, you should return that child now."
"Oh, you mean this child? What's the rush? Without a Master, I can't exist for long anyway. I'm not a convenient class like Archer."
"It's not really my problem, after all, this is technically the first time I've met that child... But her sister is quite eager to get her back."
The girl said pointedly.
In the next moment, Kama's gaze fell upon a figure who had appeared high above at some unknown time. She jumped down, landed on the ground, brushed off the dust, and then looked at Kama with a hint of hostility.
Undoubtedly, it was Ishtar—or rather, Rin Tohsaka.
Because she was a psuedo-servant, the former was inevitably influenced by Rin.
As things stood, she had no interest in pursuing the Holy Grail. As long as that arrogant Gilgamesh and that presumptuous Dirt Sprite didn't obtain it, she could accept the outcome. And with Aoko Aozaki having no similar desires, Ishtar's only concern now was her missing sister—the current Kama.
"Hey, Indian goddess of love, give Sakura back."
"Seriously, I knew this psuedo-servant body would cause trouble..."
"I hate this kind of thing the most..."
"Enough chatter!"
"Alright, alright, I'm giving her back, geez... I was hoping to use this body to visit other places in this interesting world."
Not wanting to cause trouble, Kama muttered under her breath, shrinking under Ishtar's glare before slowly dissipating into spiritual particles.
"Farewell, Nii-san."
"I can see you really dislike him."
"That's only natural. Gods of love, no matter where they come from, are all terrible."
Ishtar massaged her lower back, complaining unhappily.
Though they controlled beautiful love, it was like love's very essence—the deepest, most twisted emotion. The gods knew very well that while it was indispensable, it was definitely not a good thing.
The tragedies that occurred because of love in mythology were countless. Take Ishtar herself, the mistress of the heavens. A series of disasters and tragedies occurred just because she failed to win Gilgamesh's love.
When needed, the gods would use the god of love as a tool, but when not needed, they would say, "Get that dangerous thing away from me!"
Even though their pantheons were different, the gods were surprisingly unanimous in their attitude toward the gods of love.
"It's because of attitudes like yours that he became like that."
"Well, maybe."
"Einzbern's homunculus, you did well to properly teach that arrogant Gilgamesh a lesson. For that alone, I'll give you a proper compliment."
"As a reward... well, I'll provisionally allow you to kiss my feet."
"Sorry, I can't do that."
"I don't have such fetishes. Besides, if I did that... things would get a bit troublesome afterward."
As she spoke, [Illya] subtly glanced in a certain direction—he could sense a gaze upon him.
A little intimate contact with a cute girl could still be tolerated, but licking? First of all, that was a bit too hentai. He was just interested in forging deep friendships with cute girls, not exploring the boundaries of fetishes. If he really did that, he'd probably be relentlessly ganked by a certain furious 55kg woman.
"Hmph, daring to refuse me. It's only because this child's personality is influencing me, preventing me from being as terrible as my true self. Otherwise, daring to blatantly refuse me like this, I wouldn't mind letting you experience the price of rejecting a goddess."
"But this time, I'll let you off the hook for giving me some satisfaction."
"It's about time I left and returned this body to this child."
"...Well, if possible, please take care of this child and Sakura. I don't really care, but being a vessel for both my goddess and another is, in a way, a kind of fate."
"I don't think I need to worry too much about that. Although both François and the Indian goddess of love have their quirks, they seem to have inadvertently done some good deeds."
[Illya] said with a subtle tone.
Who was the real winner of this Holy Grail War? Considering the failure to properly educate Miss [Illya], and even making her, who already had some inclination, even worse, it was hard to call it a victory for his original purpose.
But...
That man—Kirei Kotomine.
He seemed to be the real winner.
Although it might seem strange, even morbid...
In his reflected eyes, he could see Kirei Kotomine happily embracing Sakura's and Aoi's mother, while in the room, Mr. Tokiomi, the pot king, who was already heavily cuckolded and half-paralyzed, sat nearby.
Kirei Kotomine... He was a very contradictory person.
Though he was morbidly disturbed and had a huge hole in his heart, not understanding what he wanted, he passively responded to others with outstanding results. In the end, however, he hadn't done a single thing for himself. Almost nothing in his life so far had been for his own sake.
His greatest stroke of luck was probably meeting his wife, Claudia Ortensia.
Although he didn't understand it at all, and in the end, had to force her to prove herself through love, causing his close-knit family to drift away, both the priest and his wife truly loved each other.
Having lost something worth cherishing, he fell into confusion once more... Then he met that corrupting Gilgamesh, and as a result, a well-behaved priest was guided and twisted into a tax-evading fiend, plunging into the depths of depravity.
In that regard, as a king, as a leader, he was truly terrible—the type that his younger self and his mature self would look at and roll their eyes in exasperation.
However, this Holy Grail War, which was supposed to be the beginning of his downfall, had taken an unexpected turn.
Mr. Gilgamesh hadn't had time to corrupt him before he was sent away, and he had met another tax-evasion master, who amused himself by playing a prank on him.
As a result, it seemed to have unexpectedly opened the door to a new world.
Albeit an undeniable malice from the goddess of love.
But the priest's mood was now incredibly pleasant and carefree.
Even though, as a priest, he should be bound by propriety, and as a disciple, he should maintain his proper boundaries, and even though such physical acts shouldn't be enough to make him obsessed, the feeling of violating the priest's rules, of having an affair with his master's wife while the master was clueless, really made him feel high.
Moreover, because he was struck by the goddess of love's flower arrow, Kirei Kotomine truly loved the latter.
And Aoi's East Asian housewife charm made him nostalgic, as if he were seeing his deceased wife again, which made him unconsciously treat her as his dead wife.
Ah... how could he do this? What an immoral betrayal!
Betraying God, betraying his teacher, betraying his beloved, long-dead wife...
—The priest couldn't help but be addicted.
"That guy..."
On the verge of leaving, relying on the special nature of a god, Ishtar also understood what [Illya] meant, gritting her teeth and feeling a bit annoyed at the terrible priest.
But in the end, she sighed.
Though from Tokiomi Tohsaka's perspective, her father was somewhat pitiable.
But as long as one understood what a magus truly was, even if he ended up like this, it could only be said to be Tokiomi's own choice, the retribution he deserved for embarking on the path of magic.
"Although it seems to have become a bit strange, he might be able to welcome a different ending this way."
"...Well, I guess it's a good thing?"
Archer Ishtar faded from the world.
With the useless goddess gone, all that remained was Hassan in Kirei Kotomine's hands and [Illya] as Caster. As for Morgan le Fay, her Spirit Origin had broken the moment she descended in her true form.
In fact, the Holy Grail War was already a shell of its former self.
Although, after a series of major battles, Fuyuki City's ley lines could no longer support the war anyway.
"Well, let's consider that Servant as a trophy for the victor of this Holy Grail War."
With that said, [Illya] slowly extended his hand, and several Servant souls flowed from it, drifting into the air.
"But in that case, I'll have to work a little overtime."
The golden Holy Grail materialized, falling into [Illya]'s hand. In the next moment, a dark, ominous hole appeared in the sky.
And black mud began to gush from the Holy Grail—All the World's Evils.
What Manaka had used was only a small portion that had overflowed, while the main body was all located in the Greater Grail.
Almost instantly, the surroundings were covered in mud, and the scene changed.
"Give me your body."
Before him stood a white-haired woman in a black dress. Her face was sickly and evil, and her voice was seductive.
"Justeaze... Well, to be more precise, Angra Mainyu, right?"
The girl spoke the true name.
To hatch himself, he had to obtain a vessel for pregnancy.
The Einzbern's Lesser Grail would be dissolved as a carrier. Unfortunately, Irisviel wasn't here this time, but the good news was that a more outstanding [Illya], more coveted by Angra Mainyu, had come.
"Give me your body... Let us achieve the Third Magic together."
The Black Grail tried to seduce and weaken the girl's resistance in this way, then take the opportunity to seize the body and appear in the outside world.
However... she didn't budge.
"How can this be?!"
"Sorry, I borrowed this body from that child, too. I can't just hand it over to someone else without the owner's permission."
"As for the so-called Third Magic..."
"I'm not interested in it at all."
The silver-haired girl said calmly. In the next moment, a wind rose without warning, and the black mud around them rippled.
The feathers scattered, and then, what emerged was a snow-white dress that presented a completely opposite appearance to the Black Grail.
The Heavens' Feel.
"!!!"
"You..."
"Speaking of which, the purpose of the Holy Grail War is to recreate the Third Magic. In that case, in the face of me who has now demonstrated this power, your mission should also end, right? Justeaze Lizreich von Einzbern."
"No..."
Without arguing further, the snow-white girl raised her slender sleeve.
Strands of thread emanated from it, intertwining and weaving, then covering everything, including Angra Mainyu who was trying to struggle.
Amidst his unwillingness, the core of the Holy Grail system, the Greater Grail, began to collapse.
Those All the World's Evils seemed to wail as they turned into spiritual particles, scattered throughout Fuyuki Great Cavern. They blended into the ley lines, nourishing the land. Thus, flowers and green grass began to bloom on this barren land. That night, the magi watched the early arrival of spring, gazing in the direction of the Far East with various expressions.
"Looks like you've resolved your business over here too."
"Yes, it wasn't anything troublesome."
"Is this golden cup the Holy Grail?"
"Well, you could say that. But it's not the original prototype from the legends, but a mass of magical energy. However, I deliberately extracted the Holy Grail concept from [Illya] and this body, as well as Irisviel. The current cup shouldn't be much worse than the legendary one... Well, in the end, that pigeon (Angra Mainyu) only had an ordinary cup in his hands anyway."
"It looks really pretty~"
Elysia blinked, staring at the Holy Grail in [Illya]'s hand, seemingly hinting at something.
"Yes."
"Ahem... Aren't you planning on preparing some gifts?"
"Gifts?"
Hearing that word, the girl was startled at first, then she suddenly realized.
"Oh! I almost forgot."
"It's almost Eden's birthday~ Perfect, Eden will definitely like this new wine glass~?"
"You naughty Jiang Qiao!!!"