Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

For Shirou, the reason to fight has never been himself.

He never suffers from inner turmoil or pain—that alone makes him completely different from you!

Kirei Kotomine...you're so self-centered, how could you possibly be the same kind of person as Shirou?

As Irisviel said, Kirei Kotomine only ever thinks about his own affairs.

Who am I? What am I here for? How can I stop feeling lost?

Kirei Kotomine thinks about these things every day.

Kirei Kotomine's only true love is himself.

The young priest in black robes frowned: "Are you saying that Shirou Amamiya is a true saint?"

"I am not sure as well."

With an expression of absolute certainty, Irisviel said, "Although I don't know... I'm certain that Shirou and you are definitely not the same kind of people!"

At least—he would never sell his soul to the devil!

"........."

The hesitation in Kirei Kotomine's expression disappeared.

As expected... neither of these two women knew the real Shirou Amamiya.

Asking any more questions is futile and pointless... Just kill him.

Bringing her body to Shirou might provide the answer from the boy's reaction.

Kirei Kotomine raised his arm, and the magical power of the Shadow Servant Legion suddenly surged.

"Ugh...!"

Irisviel was knocked away by a shadow follower and crashed to the ground with a mournful cry.

Have these shadowy figures not used their full strength yet?

Hassan the Hundred-Faced hastily stepped in front of the silver-haired homunculus, but more Shadow Servants attacked her.

At the same time, Kirei Kotomine also walked over here.

Irisviel saw this as an opportunity; if Kirei Kotomine were defeated, the Shadow Servants might cease their actions.

"no--!!"

Assassin shouted excitedly, but it was too late.

Irisviel, who had gotten up from the ground, rushed towards Kirei Kotomine.

The silver giant eagle soaring in the sky reverted to its amorphous threads, wrapping around Kirei Kotomine's upper body like vines.

Irisviel ripped off two strands of her long hair, which, through magical infusion, transformed into a magnificent scimitar with its own consciousness, and slashed towards Kirei Kotomine's neck.

but--

Completely unaware of what was happening, the priest had already appeared in front of the android.

The next moment,

"Oh!"

Irisviel was blasted away like a cannonball.

No matter how excellent a Master she is, she is absolutely no match for Kirei Kotomine in battle.

The moment the alchemical blade grazed the robe, the gusts of Bajiquan had already penetrated the android's defenses.

Assassin reacted swiftly, rushing into the path of Irisviel's attack and catching her, thus mitigating most of the impact.

Even so, the two of them still retreated several meters.

By the time they tried to regroup, the shadowy figures had completely surrounded them.

Lancer, the Shadow Follower, pressed his spear against Hassan the Hundred-Faced, rendering her completely immobile.

"That's it."

As Kirei Kotomine stepped forward, he drew the Church's exclusive weapon—the Black Key—from his robes.

Without saying much, he cleanly and decisively pierced Irisviel's heart.

"Ugh...!"

The silver-haired android vomited mouthfuls of blood, completely staining its chest red.

"Irisviel!"

The Assassin tried to rush forward to stop Kirei Kotomine, but was instead pinned to the ground by "herself"—the Assassins who were also shadow followers.

Can an artificial life form survive after its heart is crushed?

To confirm this fact, Kirei Kotomine cruelly twisted his wrist.

The three black keys between the agent's fingers tore the android's heart, which had been pierced through, to pieces.

……

……

The king's fighting spirit soared and boiled.

How long ago was it that I felt this excited?

Bathed in the torrent of magic, the hero-king Gilgamesh pondered quietly.

The final battle with Rider was incredibly exciting.

Iskandar the Conqueror was the adversary to whom he offered the utmost respect and who was also given his death.

However, the battle between them can hardly be called equal.

The last time the Heaven-Opening Sword was drawn was when the King of Heroes acknowledged Iskandar's path to kingship and unleashed his strongest attack out of respect.

But this time it's different.

The situation this time is—

If I don't draw my sword soon, I will truly lose.

This is an undeniable fact.

With eyes that can see into the future, and the original source of all the world's treasures—the King of Heroes has given everything he has, yet he still cannot defeat Shirou.

Continuing the fight would likely lead to nothing.

This is the second time I've been forced into such a desperate situation.

The last great enemy who forced the King of Heroes to reach into the deepest part of the treasure vault was a future friend named Enkidu.

Although it's hard to say, and although I don't want to agree—

My friend, there are heroes in this world who can be compared to you and me.

Overwhelmed with emotion, the oldest king gave a wry smile.

Then, he activated the strange sword in his right hand.

The Heaven-Opening Sword [EA].

For Gilgamesh, who possesses all the treasures in the world, half-baked Noble Phantasms are nothing more than things he would casually toss into his treasury—but this sword is one of the most cherished exceptions among all of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms.

However, this sword has no name.

The so-called "Heaven-Opening Sword" was merely a nickname Gilgamesh gave it for convenience.

Worse still, it might not even be a sword.

After all, it existed before weapons like swords or guns appeared in history.

An age older than man or the planet.

It is a treasure among treasures, wielded by the gods to create the world, a manifestation of pure power itself.

The thing that split the sky and the earth from the beginning of this planet.

Cut through the void and create the sky, penetrate the sky and return to the void.

Symbolizing the power of beginning and end, it can only be used by Gilgamesh, who inherited the divine essence.

Therefore when Gilgamesh wields this sword with all his strength, it will be classified into the following categories.

Opposing Noble Phantasm.

The attacking Noble Phantasms against individuals, armies, cities, etc. will vary in level based on their nature.

When Heroic Spirits fight one-on-one, there are many cases where using anti-personnel Noble Phantasms is more effective than using anti-army or anti-city Noble Phantasms. However, the power contained in anti-world Noble Phantasms is far beyond the scope of measurement of coordination or battle situation.

It is an absolute force that has the potential to destroy the world itself.

Regardless of whether the opponent is an individual or a group, it will destroy the world to which it belongs.

The Hero King's full-strength attack possessed this level of power.

Next, he will destroy Shirou Amamiya's world.

It is not a grand judgment that is brought down based on agreement with the other party's beliefs.

The time for the "ruling" has ended.

There was no way he could win unless he destroyed his world as well.

The King of Heroes, just like the heroes he described, is now caught in an ugly struggle to survive.

Despite this, he was not annoyed at all.

My heart is filled with joy and excitement.

This is what is meant by a "fair and square, equal battle".

This was a battle that the incredibly powerful Hero King should never have encountered.

The emotion he thought he would never feel again after his friend's death has now returned to Gilgamesh.

Thank you... Shirou Amamiya.

I will remember your name, and then I will grind you to dust!

"————————!"

The cylinder of the Heaven-Opening Sword slowly began to rotate, drawing in the surrounding air like some kind of alien technology machine.

The atmosphere was compressed to its limit, forming a true etheric eye of a storm above the King of Heroes' head.

The three cylindrical sections of the Heaven-Opening Sword rotated along a trajectory that defied the laws of physics, tearing out cracks that spanned dimensions with each rotation.

Even light and sound were absorbed into the converging Heaven-Opening Sword, causing the laws of physics to show signs of distortion.

Then, without hesitation, the King of Heroes swung his sword hilt—

"Enjoy this, you bastard! This is the cry of creation of the planet!"

—The Creation of Heaven and Earth (Enuma), the Star of Evolution (Elish)!!!

There is no suspense.

The landscape of Shirou Amamiya's mental world—the Sea of ​​Stars—is gradually collapsing.

The boundless sea of ​​flowers turned to ashes in the crimson magic storm, and the azure night sky and the distant moon were also churned and shattered.

No matter how noble a world is, it is powerless before a World-Defying Noble Phantasm.

but--

Gilgamesh looked surprised.

Shirou Amamiya smiled as he saw the boy standing in the end-of-the-world landscape.

"impossible……"

Gilgamesh's pupils contracted sharply, and for the first time, his handsome face revealed an emotion called fear.

I'm sorry, Archer... I lied to you.

Shirou quietly closed his eyes: From the very beginning, I never intended to fight you fair and square.

Everything up to this point has been a preparation to trick you into drawing that sword.