Below the mountaintop, Saber—unable to approach due to the limits of her realm—saw what unfolded. Before she could even voice her shock, she was forcibly cast out of that space.
With only the faintest stirring of mana, the entire world had seemed scoured by calamity. Cracks in space and the scars of a shattered world were visible everywhere.
After all, this was not a true Singularity. It was only a mental landscape manifested by an ability akin to a Reality Marble. Bearing even one Grand-class Saint Graph was already its limit. To also endure Satsuki's power on top of that—
Even the Demon God King Goetia's Temple of Time could not manage such a feat.
Thus, battle was impossible.
Yet from the high peak, the Old Man of the Mountain declared a pact of war: "Demon Buddha Māra, the next time we meet, it shall be to decide life and death."
Satsuki accepted gladly. "I hope you do not keep me waiting long."
Assassin's ghostly blue eyes fixed upon Satsuki, as though engraving her visage into the depths of memory.
With the extinguishing of the ghostly flame, the killing intent and the Assassin's presence vanished in an instant. The world stitched itself back to reality once more.
...
The deathly canyon collapsed before their eyes. The suffocating aura of death vanished as though it had never been. Kirei Kotomine's figure had also disappeared.
When Satsuki returned to the real world, the first thing she saw was Saber not far away, watching her like a cornered beast. The vigilance and tension on her face were laid bare.
"You are wary of me, King of Knights?"
Satsuki's gaze was cold, filled with oppressive force.
"Saver—that is your true class, isn't it?"
"Saver?" Irisviel, startled, wore a look of confusion. "But there is no Saver class in the Holy Grail War."
"Iri, it is a class outside the seven Servants of the Grail. In the long history of these wars, it has appeared only once, like a fleeting flower…"
"The last to descend under that class was known by many titles—'The Answerer who transcended the suffering of life and samsara,' 'The human who attained Truth.' A being who, in a thousand years, was one of the rare few to step into the [End]—the Enlightened One, Shakyamuni."
"Ah—"
Hearing such exalted descriptions heaped upon one existence, Irisviel and Maiya could only gape in shock.
Beads of sweat slid down Saber's forehead. Even with Avalon's protection, she could not calm herself as she forced out the next words:
"And she—she is one whose rank is nearly equal to the Enlightened One. The Demon Buddha Māra."
"How can this be?!"
Even here, in this remote land of Fuyuki City, across the sea from the great continent, the name of Shakyamuni was revered. And opposite him, the Demon King Māra, eternal adversary of the Buddha, was equally known.
"That such an existence could descend into the Holy Grail War…"
"It seems you remember clearly what transpired in that world just now." Satsuki cast a glance her way. "So then, King of Knights—do you mean to cross blades with me here? Now that you know my identity, you should also know the vastness of the gulf between us."
At those words, the air froze.
Yet with her golden holy sword in hand, the King of Knights felt an unmatched courage ignite within her heart. It gave her the resolve to stand firm, to face Satsuki's threat openly and without fear.
"I will not act rashly. I only want to know—why have you descended?"
"My reason for descending?"
Satsuki answered without hesitation. "Merely to respond to the call of another's heart. As for my own purpose—it is, of course, cultivation and learning."
"Cultivation and learning?"
Repeating her words, the King of Knights felt a chill spread through her heart.
And at that moment, Chaldea's party finally arrived on the scene.
The moment he appeared, Lord El-Melloi II subtly examined Satsuki's state. Seeing that she was not in the form she had displayed within the Singularity, he finally exhaled in relief.
"Hah… hah…"
Ritsuka Fujimaru's stamina was far inferior to that of a Servant. By the time he arrived with all his strength, most of the events had already concluded.
But in his eyes, gazing at Satsuki, there was both astonishment and a hint of expectation. "Senpai… could it be, you already—"
"You're asking about Caster? He has already been slain by me."
"Truly? But…"
For the first time, Ritsuka's communicator emitted a voice—it was that of a woman.
"History marked as [Abnormality] has not been corrected. On the contrary, the distortion is intensifying—it is already trending toward a Lostbelt."
"How can this be?!"
Ritsuka's eyes filled with confusion. Yet the white beast perched upon his shoulder was far keener. Its small eyes, fixed upon Satsuki, brimmed with vigilance and fear—just like the gaze Saber had worn moments ago.
"Senpai, be careful."
Mash, as a Demi-Servant, was far more perceptive than Ritsuka. Though she seemed gentle and quiet, her resolve and courage were in no way inferior to a true Heroic Spirit.
She shifted slightly, placing herself between Satsuki and Ritsuka. Without openly showing hostility, she nonetheless positioned herself to protect her Master with utmost precision.
But in Satsuki's eyes, such gestures were meaningless. She spoke directly: "The one who descended under the Caster class was the summoning ritual within King Solomon's body. You should not find that unfamiliar…"
Indeed—it was Demon God King Goetia.
In Ritsuka's heart rose the thought, as expected. Yet another question still lingered.
"As for why the [Abnormality] of history you spoke of has not disappeared… I suspect Lord El-Melloi has already realized the answer."
When Satsuki voiced this, the long-haired El-Melloi II wore an expression unseen before—one of sheer fear.
"There is no need for secrecy. But I have no interest in introducing myself twice. If you wish to confirm my identity, go and ask the King of Knights…"
With that, she fell silent. And in the next instant, her form vanished abruptly from their sight.
Ritsuka turned toward the King of Knights standing firm ahead. In her eyes was a heavy vigilance—not aimed at her allies, but at the place where Satsuki had just stood.
"Haa… haa…"
With Satsuki's departure, Irisviel and Maiya finally began to exhale in great gasps. Only then did they realize: just moments before, in the presence of one who had descended under the Saver class, they had not even possessed the courage to breathe freely.
"Demon Buddha Māra… so that is your true identity?"
When Satsuki returned to the small inn where Angra Mainyu and Kariya Matou were staying, those were the words that greeted her.
"If even something this obvious cannot be discerned, then for one who bears the title of [All the World's Evil], you are far too negligent."
"Tch…" Angra Mainyu rolled her eyes. "That way of speaking is so like you. As the great demon king, I doubt you've ever had many subordinates."
"They are merely categorized as tools." Satsuki glanced toward another small room. Her Tenseigan swept over it briefly. "That little girl's condition has mostly recovered. By tomorrow noon, she should be able to leave."
"How cold. You've barely taken her in, and already you're sending her away?"
Angra Mainyu also looked that way, though her tone carried a subtle undercurrent. "And that half-dead man? What do you plan for him?"
"You mean Kariya Matou?" Satsuki sat on the sofa, pouring herself a cup of cappuccino. "His fate is the combined result of his environment and his choices. I have no intention of altering it. Nor could he pay the price required."
Taking a sip, Satsuki cast a sidelong glance at Angra Mainyu. "As the so-called [All the World's Evil], do you truly feel moved like an ordinary mortal?"
"Of course… not."
Angra Mainyu's face twisted into a morbid smile. "I'm only curious. Such a being, both rebellious and righteous, clinging to vengeance… what kind of flower could that soul of revenge possibly bloom into?"
"A boring thought. He is nothing more than an ordinary man."
Satsuki had no interest in Angra Mainyu's musings. In this world, three-legged toads were rare, but two-legged men were everywhere. Among such a vast number, any kind of person could appear. To Satsuki, Kariya Matou was just another wave in the human sea.
"Enough about him." Angra Mainyu lowered her crossed legs wrapped in white silk and walked over with an air of mock secrecy, as though promising to keep her confidence. "So, great [Saver], Demon Buddha Māra—can you tell me how one becomes a Buddha (in other words, dies)?"
"And what about you, great Angra Mainyu? How did you become the [All the World's Evil]?"
Satsuki countered instead, the words leaving Angra Mainyu grinding her teeth in frustration.
"Che. I was being serious…" Angra Mainyu shifted her tone reluctantly. "Though I am called the [All the World's Evil], my first wish at the moment of birth was actually to save humanity from its sins. Hah, in a way, it was not so different from that other fellow…"
As she spoke, she pointed downward with one hand.
But at those words, Satsuki's gaze grew contemplative.
"The Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, who swore not to become a Buddha until hell was empty? Do you mean to claim such a vow?"
"How should I put it?" Angra Mainyu's usual mocking tone gave way to a rare clarity. Her crisp, feminine voice grew quiet. "I'm no saint. At first, of course, I had no such vow. But sometimes people change their environment, and sometimes the environment changes people… Like that Caster you killed earlier. Part of him already returned directly to the Grail."
"The Demon God King Goetia?" Satsuki recalled him. "And?"
"As my true body is already part of the Grail, I inherited fragments of his memory when it was reclaimed. And somehow… I found him a little relatable, almost pitiably so."
"Get to the point."
"Fine, fine. As expected of you, Demon Buddha Māra—sharp and merciless."
Angra Mainyu lowered her head, a vicious light glinting in her eyes. "Since I have become [All the World's Evil], my strength should match the title. Yet it is far from enough. In Caster's memories, you restored him to his original form: one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, Beast I, bearing the Principle of 'Pity'…"
"I cannot accept it!" Angra Mainyu's expression twisted into fury. "Why should I, once a mere human, suffer such a fate? And if I have already borne the role of [All the World's Evil], why is my power so pitiful—just a clown to be mocked?! Goetia, one of the Seven Evils, nearly incinerated all of human history, while I was defeated in merely four days! This gap… this gap! I cannot bear it!"
Yet after hearing Angra Mainyu's words, Satsuki merely took a light sip of her drink before speaking slowly: "What you truly care about—is it not why, after becoming [All the World's Evil], this world still overflows with sin?"
"—!"
Angra Mainyu froze.
"Hahahahahahahaha~"
At Satsuki's words, Angra Mainyu burst into low, hysterical laughter. But within that laughter was something tangled, as though a deep pain tore through her without restraint.
It was laughter both complex and contradictory—yet in a way, strangely pure.
As the oldest of evils, Angra Mainyu should not have been summonable by the Grail. The very fact that she had been summoned proved that once in history, there was indeed a human called "Angra Mainyu." In truth, he had merely been a youth chosen as the "symbol" of Angra Mainyu in a small Zoroastrian village, tortured to bear that name.
This Heroic Spirit was nothing more than an ordinary man expected to shoulder the sins of the world. Not by his own will, but by the wishes of those around him, he had been created into a "hero." He had no real power, only the weight of human projections. He was an existence that should never have been.
An Assassin specialized solely in killing humans, useless on the superhuman battlefield of the Holy Grail War. A Servant in name only, and truly the weakest of them all.
And now, such a Heroic Spirit knelt before Satsuki. For reasons even he could not articulate, he sought to shoulder all the sins of the world.
He prayed: "I wish to become the sin of this world… no, of all of human history, of the entire universe, even of every parallel world. Will you help me?"
Satsuki did not answer.
She quietly set down her cup. With a light twist of her fingers, a white flower bloomed in her hand.
It was the remnant of a boy's lost everyday life, his broken self, his branded hatred… and the final fragment that bore witness to it all.
She tucked the small white flower into the hair of the Master before her. As Angra Mainyu lifted her head in shock, meeting Satsuki's gaze, Satsuki only shook her head gently before knocking her unconscious.
As darkness closed in, confusion still lingered in Angra Mainyu's eyes: Why…?
"You cannot, little one named Angra Mainyu. To bear the sins of all requires not only resolve, but power."
Satsuki's gaze lingered on the white flower, though her thoughts drifted back to that first moment of meeting in the dark.
"When you still carried that faint light even within endless darkness, I understood then—the true [All the World's Evil] is not you…"