Looking at Waver, who was kneeling on the ground in tears, Erica shook her head slightly, feeling somewhat bored.
"Your Servant has already been eliminated. I suggest you leave here as soon as possible, otherwise things might get very dangerous for you."
Waver was right in the center of the battlefield. If he didn't leave and someone accidentally brushed against him while the others were punishing Gilgamesh, he'd be saying goodbye to the world.
Without caring whether Waver would listen to her or not, Erica quickly returned to Eriri and the others.
In the time that followed, with no second interruption, Gilgamesh was killed several more times in increasingly miserable ways before Eriri finally stopped reviving him.
"Everyone got their anger out, right? Anyone still feel unsatisfied?" Eriri asked with a cheerful smile as she looked at Arifureta and the others.
Everyone who had come to the Fate/Zero world at this moment harbored deep resentment toward Gilgamesh and had no intention of holding back—almost every chat member had killed him once.
"Yeah, even though I'm still annoyed with that Gilgamesh guy, let's just leave it at that. Killing him more won't change anything," Rin Tohsaka said casually, arms crossed.
She was the last one to finish him off. Due to Gilgamesh's betrayal of Tokiomi in the original story, Rin had a deep grudge against him. She showed no mercy when it was her turn.
Of course, before taking action, she made sure to remove Tokiomi from the scene. There was no reason for him to be involved any further.
"Yeah, that guy is way too weak. One hit and poof—gone. Not fun at all," Milim added with a pout.
Their sentiments were echoed by the other chat members, each voicing their agreement.
"In that case, let's wrap it up here."
With Eriri's declaration, Gilgamesh's nightmare finally ended. But the memories of his countless deaths wouldn't vanish from his mind.
Eriri had no intention of erasing Gilgamesh's heroic spirit entirely. Instead, she etched every painful death over the past hour into his soul.
When his spirit returned to the Throne of Heroes, those memories would remain, forever embedded in the soul of his true heroic form—engraving a deep sense of helplessness and fear into his very being.
After finishing off Gilgamesh, Arifureta and the others didn't linger in the Type-Moon world. Before long, they all used Cross-Boundary Talismans to return to their respective worlds, then rejoined the livestream.
...
"Since three of the Holy Grail War's Servants are already gone, why not just eliminate the rest while we're at it?" Eriri said with a smile to Irisviel and the others.
"Yay! I've always wanted to clear the Holy Grail War in one night!" Illya said excitedly. "Eriri-nee, who should we go for first?"
"Either one is fine. They both have to go anyway."
When Tokiomi was removed by Sakura, both Kayneth and Lancer, as well as Kirei Kotomine and Assassin, quickly fled the terrifying area.
Waver had long since obediently escaped the scene.
To the still-unawakened Kirei, the result of this Holy Grail War didn't matter much. So even if Assassin was killed, it had no real impact on him.
But fear drove him to run anyway.
As for Kayneth, he had completely given up on the Holy Grail. He no longer believed he could snatch victory from Eriri's group.
The image of Gilgamesh's miserable end lingered vividly in his mind, leaving him nervous and fearful—afraid he might suffer the same hopeless fate.
So he had already decided to leave that night and rush back to the Clock Tower. Though he still longed for the Holy Grail, he forcefully buried that desire deep within his heart.
Before long, Kayneth and Lancer returned to their hotel.
"Damn it, who the hell are those women? Why is there not a single piece of intel on them from the Clock Tower?" Kayneth growled, slamming the armrest of the sofa in the suite's living room.
"I'm very sorry, Master. Every one of those people was far stronger than me," Lancer said apologetically.
"That much is obvious. Those monsters are beyond human."
Kayneth's scolding was met with silence. Lancer simply lowered his head in quiet resignation.
As the Servant Diarmuid under the Lancer class, he had little desire for the Holy Grail.
What he longed for was the chance to redeem himself for failing to serve his lord faithfully in life. His sole purpose in joining the Holy Grail War was to act as a knight in service of a worthy lord and offer his loyalty until the very end.
However, after a short time, it had become clear to him that the man he now served did not embody the values of knighthood he held dear.
Even so, he was determined to give everything for his Master.
At that moment, a beautiful woman with fiery red short hair walked out of one of the rooms.
"Kayneth, are you really giving up on the Holy Grail? That's not what one would expect from the 'Genius of the Spiritual Evocation Department.'"
As she approached Kayneth and Diarmuid, her tone was filled with mockery.
This red-haired woman was none other than Kayneth's fiancée, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, the daughter of the head of the Clock Tower's Spiritual Evocation Department.
Much like Rin and Sakura, Sola came from a family of magi—House Sophia-Ri—but she was not the sole heir. With an elder brother above her, she was not the one to inherit the family's Magic Crest.
Her father had not adopted her into another magus family without heirs, as Tokiomi had done. Part of the reason was that Sola's magical talent wasn't particularly strong.
Fortunately, she had a strikingly beautiful face. And so, she had been raised merely as a tool for political marriage by her family.
Her intended match was none other than the brilliant mage, Kayneth.
Yet Sola had no affection for Kayneth. On the contrary, she had developed growing feelings for Diarmuid, whom Kayneth had summoned just days earlier. Those feelings had only deepened with time.
Although Sola looked at Kayneth with a mocking gaze, Kayneth didn't get angry. Instead, he broke into a cold sweat, visibly flustered.
Unlike Sola, who disliked him, Kayneth genuinely adored his fiancée.
In the original story, even after Sola snapped his fingers and stole his Command Seals, Kayneth rushed to save her when her life was in danger. He even used Command Seals granted by the Church to order Diarmuid to commit suicide.
Though he partly acted to protect his family's reputation, he mostly did it to ensure Sola's safety—a textbook definition of a devoted simp.
Now, as that same devoted simp, Kayneth hurriedly explained in response to her mocking words:
"Sola, this Holy Grail War is far too unusual. We have no hope of winning. If we stay here any longer, even our lives might be at risk."
"So you're just scared. The high-and-mighty Lord El-Melloi fleeing from the far east like a coward... What will the other families at the Clock Tower think if they hear of this..."
Before Sola could finish speaking, Diarmuid, who had been standing silently nearby, suddenly interrupted, "Please don't say any more. If you continue, it would be an insult to my Master. As a knight, I cannot ignore that."
He paused, then continued with a regretful look, "Ultimately, it was my own lack of strength. I failed to protect my Master from our enemies, and forced him to make such a decision."
Seeing Diarmuid's reaction, Sola—who had feelings for him—panicked. She hurried to his side and said, "No... I didn't mean it like that! Besides, Lancer, you're already incredibly strong..."
Since Diarmuid didn't respond to her, Sola could only turn to Kayneth and apologize. "I'm sorry, I went too far."
However, Kayneth didn't seem pleased by her apology. His face darkened, and his eyes flicked toward the beauty mark near Diarmuid's eye.
As his Master, he was aware of his Servant's abilities—and knew full well that the beauty mark had the power to charm women.
To him, it seemed likely that Sola was already under its influence.
"Alright, let's end this conversation here. We should prepare to leave Fuyuki City," Kayneth said calmly.
Sola shrugged and replied casually, "We can go whenever. I didn't bring much luggage anyway."
...
Meanwhile, just a few kilometers from Kayneth's hotel, a white sedan sped down the street at over 100 kilometers per hour.
When it reached a curve, it didn't slow down—instead, it executed a perfect drift through the turn.
Fortunately, cars were not yet widespread in this era, and it was already late at night. There were no other vehicles or pedestrians nearby. Otherwise, it would have caused quite a commotion.
"How was that, Artoria? Wasn't my drift awesome?"
After pulling off the textbook drift, Irisviel turned to Artoria in the passenger seat with a bright, excited grin.
Watching her spin the steering wheel with one hand at such high speed, Artoria gave her a polite but awkward smile.
"Irisviel, your driving is much better than I expected."
"Right? Right?!" Irisviel said proudly. "I've got tons of driving experience, you know!"
Back when she first arrived in the Saekano world, Irisviel had quickly found her favorite pastime: driving cars.
After just one day of intense practice, she couldn't wait to take one of the sports cars from the villa's garage out for a spin.
Thanks to Eriri's reminder, she refrained from racing in the city and instead practiced on mountain roads built specifically for racing.
Eriri wasn't worried about her safety at all.
Even ignoring the immense strength Irisviel now possessed thanks to Eriri's enhancements, the car's defense was absurd. Even if it fell off a cliff, it wouldn't harm her in the slightest.
Since then, Irisviel had driven almost every day.
And even now, her passion for driving hadn't cooled in the slightest.
In the back seat of the car sat Eriri, Illya, Medusa, Sakura, and Rin.
Luckily, all of them were petite—especially the four in their loli forms—and with Medusa sitting in Eriri's lap, the back seat didn't feel crowded at all.
"Mom, can you go even faster? This feels amazing! It's such a shame I can't drive yet," Illya said, barefoot, standing on the rear seat with her hands resting on the driver's seat, gazing at Irisviel expectantly.
Although Illya could fly, the thrill of flying and the rush of driving a car were two completely different sensations.
"Of course! Watch Mama in action, Illya!"
Irisviel beamed and stepped harder on the gas pedal. The already fast car surged forward with even more speed.
Feeling the intense acceleration, a bead of cold sweat unconsciously formed on Artoria's forehead.
However, she quickly composed herself and turned to Eriri, who was teasing Medusa in the back seat.
"Eriri, when we go up against Lancer later, could I be the one to fight? I feel like I haven't done anything since I was summoned."
There was a trace of frustration on Artoria's face. Ever since Irisviel had summoned her two days ago, she hadn't lifted her sword once.
After everything that had just happened, she was starting to feel like her presence in this Holy Grail War was completely unnecessary—and that was hard for her to accept.
Eriri looked up to meet Artoria's gaze and casually nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you," Artoria said, taking a deep breath and expressing her heartfelt gratitude.
"It's no big deal. We're not in a rush. If you want to experience a proper Servant battle, there's no reason not to."
With that, Eriri gave her a smile before turning her attention back to the shy Medusa in her lap, continuing to gently tease her.
...
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