There was no extra place to choose for the banquet.
In the end, it was set at the open courtyard flowerbed of the castle.
Rider carried the wine cask to the courtyard. The two Servants sat facing each other, relaxed but opposed. Irisviel and Chaldea's group sat to the side, speculating on how things would unfold, and realizing this meant a temporary truce—they only needed to watch quietly.
Bang—
Rider smashed open the lid of the cask with his fist, and at once the rich aroma of red wine filled the courtyard air.
"Though the shape looks strange, this is a drinking vessel unique to this country."
As Rider spoke proudly, he scooped wine with a bamboo ladle. Unfortunately, no one present could point out his mistake in common knowledge.
Rider was the first to drink a full scoop in one gulp, then he spoke: "They say the Grail is destined to be obtained by the most worthy."
His solemn tone quieted the atmosphere.
"It's hard to believe this seemingly boisterous man could speak in such a manner. Something feels off."
Ritsuka Fujimaru whispered this to Mash beside him, while Rider's poor Master, Waver, sat nervously on the other side.
Though their previous encounter with Chaldea's group hadn't been friendly, now that Ritsuka and Mash knew the situation, they naturally settled close together. As for timid Waver, he had no choice—being exposed under the eyes of the Magus Killer terrified him even more.
"But from the looks of things now, if it were only by strength, the rightful owner has already appeared."
"…"
Saber accepted the ladle Rider offered without hesitation, scooped wine, and drank it in one motion.
Her slender frame always made people worry whether she could really drink, but her boldness was in no way inferior to the burly Rider. Seeing this, Rider let out a joyful cheer of praise.
"Then, Rider, did you come only to say such discouraging words?"
"Of course not! If victory could be decided by strength alone, my empire would never have met its end. Since you understand why I came, let's first affirm our goals before discussing that matter."
After another sip of wine, Rider dropped his solemn tone, grinning mischievously. Then, as if muttering to himself, he said:
"Ah, come to think of it, there's another who calls himself 'king' in this Holy Grail War."
"Enough with the jokes."
As if in response, dazzling golden light flashed before everyone's eyes.
That voice and radiance instantly made Saber and Irisviel stiffen.
"Archer, you're here too? Did Rider invite you?"
Saber looked toward the newly arrived King of Heroes, her gaze unsurprised.
"Ah, I ran into him in town and invited him to drink—though he's late as always, that golden fool. Well, he came on foot, unlike me, so I can't blame him."
Clad in armor, Archer gazed arrogantly at Rider with ruby eyes.
But soon, two cheerful voices interrupted his thoughts.
"Wow, King Gilgamesh~~~!"
Off to the side, Ritsuka waved eagerly at the King of Heroes.
Even Mash looked delighted as she gazed at him.
"Tch, these brats again. Still daring to hang around here."
Casting them a disdainful glance, after seeing they were unharmed, the King of Heroes finally turned to Rider.
"You chose this place for a banquet? Typical of your taste. I came here specially, so how will you make amends?"
"Don't say that. Here, have a drink first."
Rider laughed heartily and offered a full ladle of wine to Archer.
Contrary to expectations, Archer accepted it without hesitation and downed the wine in one go.
As the most ancient king of Mesopotamia, Archer could not possibly refuse the drink offered by Rider.
But after finishing, he sneered with disgust: "What is this swill? To think you'd serve such trash in a banquet among heroes?"
"Is that so? I bought this from the local market. For this land, it should be considered good wine."
"You think that only because you know nothing of wine, you—"
The word mongrel never left the King of Heroes' lips.
Instead, as Archer sneered, golden mana swirled beside him, manifesting the familiar vortex of his treasury.
Even at a distance, Waver and Irisviel shivered with unease.
But this time, what emerged was not weapons, but a set of dazzling jeweled vessels. Heavy golden flasks brimmed with a crystal-clear liquid.
"Hmph. Remember this well. Only out of respect for Saber do I allow you the privilege of tasting such a vintage."
Even the sight of the radiant vessels radiated overwhelming wealth, not to mention the intoxicating fragrance spilling forth in that instant.
"Look well, and engrave it upon your body and senses. This is the wine of kings."
By comparison, the barrel Rider had brought was little more than a third-rate trinket.
"Oh, how moving."
Yet Rider was unbothered, cheerfully pouring the new wine into three golden goblets.
Saber, too, accepted the goblet from Rider without complaint.
"Oh—splendid!!"
Rider's eyes widened as he praised the taste. Even Saber's curiosity was piqued. This was no contest of pride, but a duel of wine.
As the clear liquid slid down her throat, Saber felt her mind swell with a heady rush. She had never tasted anything like it—fiery yet pure, rich yet refreshing, its strong aroma filled her senses, making her feel as though she were drifting.
"Incredible… this must be no mortal's drink, but wine fit for gods."
Seeing Rider's unabashed praise, Archer smiled faintly. At some point, he too had sat down, swirling his goblet with satisfaction.
"Of course. Whether wine or blade, my treasury contains only the finest. That is the taste of kings."
"In that case, Archer…" Saber's calm voice cut through.
"In this Holy Grail War, what is your true purpose?"
Archer glanced at Saber, his gaze no longer as cold and dismissive as when they first met.
After all, Saber had once saved him with her Noble Phantasm. As a king, he could not deny such a deed.
"I came only to see what kind of mettle my future allies possess."
"Enough of the roundabout talk…"
Rider cut in with a wry smile, silencing Saber before she could say more. Then he turned back to the earlier topic.
"Since ancient times, cooperation requires clear interests. Without them, alliances crumble the moment their purpose is done. History is filled with such lessons."
At that, Rider looked to the King of Heroes. "Archer, what do you seek from the Grail War?"
"Before, I sought only to punish you thieves who dared covet my treasures. But now…"
Archer drained his wine, anger flashing across his brow.
"I will tear that one into pieces, until my rage is satisfied."
At those killing words, the air grew as cold as a winter gale.
But Saber calmly refuted Archer's claim.
"King of Heroes, after the last battle, even you must realize that is not an enemy you can defeat alone. And Rider, if your strategic sense is not dulled, you too must know who the true greatest foe in this war is."
This time, both Archer and Rider fell silent.
For that day, they had witnessed the golden blade that split the heavens and the earth. Even as kings, they had felt fear at that Servant's might.
"Your words are much like Tokiomi Tohsaka's. Yet I do not deny their truth. That is why I came."
"Well now…"
Unlike Saber, Rider muttered almost playfully, pouring himself more wine. "Sounds like you two have dealt with each other quite a bit already."
At this, Saber turned her gaze to the Conqueror King. "Then Rider, what is your purpose in this war?"
"My original purpose…" Rider stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Rather than a purpose, it is the first step toward it."
"Obtaining a physical body," he said, swirling his goblet calmly. "That is the first step to my conquest of the world. That is my goal."
At that very moment, an ethereal woman's voice rang out unexpectedly in everyone's ears.
"Conquer the world? You? Are you worthy?"
The heavens changed in an instant. An unimaginable pressure swept the courtyard.
Dark storm clouds swirled into a vortex of mana overhead. A shadowed figure flickered within.
The atmosphere froze. Every heart leapt to the throat.
Even the three greatest Servants of the Grail War rose at once, summoning their full armaments. Their steel will and the violent surge of mana revealed their unease.
They were no ordinary men. They were Heroic Spirits—Servants! The mightiest of humanity, enthroned above their age, shouldering its greatest burdens, etched into its most resplendent legends.
And now, even such beings knew fear.
All because of one person, one voice.
"[Saver]?!"
"Māra!"
"It's her! Why is she here?!"
The sudden appearance of Satsuki in the sky instantly ignited the atmosphere of the banquet. The King of Conquerors immediately tried to summon the Gordius Wheel to shield himself and his Master. The King of Knights almost reflexively prepared to call forth her Noble Phantasm, Avalon. As for the King of Heroes Gilgamesh—at the very first sight of that figure, the humiliation of his previous defeat and flight coiled around his mind like a venomous serpent.
Golden ripples surged at his side, swelling into an endless storm of portals as his fury roared toward the heavens.
Kiritsugu, meanwhile, seized Irisviel in his arms and tried to flee, though perhaps it was only a vain act of comfort. It was all he could do.
Ritsuka Fujimaru, though hesitant, revealed the Command Seals on his hand, while Mash manifested her violet battle armor beside him.
But then, the vortex of storm clouds overhead dispersed beneath an indescribable pressure. To everyone's shock, what appeared above were a pair of colossal golden eyes.
There was no time to flee, no time to react.
The golden radiance swept across the Einzbern grounds, freezing it all like amber.
Under the gaze of those divine-demonic eyes, the flow of magical energy stiffened and then froze entirely. For ordinary humans with physical bodies, an irresistible pressure pinned their actions completely.
This was Satsuki's long-unleashed technique—Judgment of the Ten Kings: Veil of Light and Shadow!
One person, one pair of eyes, had just suppressed over half the combatants of the Holy Grail War in an instant.
Angra Mainyu had once said that if Satsuki wished for victory, she could seize it in but a moment.
And this scene proved that her words were no lie.
The massive golden eyes stretched across space and time, gazing down with detached indifference—as if none beneath them were worthy of regard.
Where tension, clamor, and battle intent had filled the castle courtyard only a moment before, now silence reigned absolute.
And within that eerie stillness, Satsuki descended slowly from the sky.
All eyes followed her every move. Even immobilized, even unable to speak, none of their senses had been stolen.
This time, her attire was more formal than usual, though the style remained distinctly her own.
She stepped into the center of the courtyard where the three kings had sat, picked up the golden cask, and glanced about. Two goblets had already been used. She had no intention of drinking from another's cup.
With a brief inspection, she casually picked up a broken piece of the wooden barrel. Bathed in the blue radiance of her revolving Tenseigan, the information and properties of the golden vessels imprinted into the fragment. In moments, a new golden goblet formed in her hand.
At her feet, a black mandala pattern unfurled into a carpet. Sitting cross-legged upon it, she poured herself a cup of wine.
Before their stunned gazes, she took a small sip, sighed, and set the cup down.
"As I thought, I'm still not fond of the taste of wine. Tea suits me better."
With that, she drew out a stack of floral tea leaves—traded long ago from the Uchiha clan of the shinobi world.
Lifting her gaze to the still-stunned Servants and Masters, she arched a brow and spoke softly: "I've already released my ability. Why are you still dazed?"
"What?"
"It's released?!"
Only then did the others attempt to move again. Their bodies responded, and the flow of mana returned to normal.
Looking skyward, the golden eyes had already vanished.
The storm clouds dissolved, and blinding golden light once more shone upon the courtyard.
Yet as they looked closely, they realized—that light was no ordinary sun. It was the wrath of the King of Heroes.
In the very next instant, he had unleashed his Gate of Babylon. A storm of countless treasures filled the skies, crowding the heavens with a golden cloud of weapons that chilled the soul.
Behind him, six golden spatial ripples emerged, heralding the appearance of Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven, the anti-divine Noble Phantasm. Its jagged ends unfurled, ready to strike viciously at the enemy who had shamed him so deeply.
Yet the target, Satsuki, seemed utterly unbothered. Calmly, she raised a teacup—transmuted back into blue-and-white porcelain. Her lowered gaze spared not even a glance for the King of Heroes, whose fury now burned to the heavens.
At that instant—
"Archer! Stop!"
It was Britain's King of Knights, Saber, who interposed herself, striking aside the tip of the Chains with her sword.
"Saber! Stand aside!"
For a brief moment Gilgamesh faltered, then his wrath blazed anew. His crimson eyes overflowed with rage and bloodlust. With a raised hand, the countless treasures in the sky fell like a meteor shower, tearing through the firmament, aimed at the Einzbern Castle itself.
But seated serenely, Satsuki spoke but a single sentence:
"King of Heroes, if this is your choice, then as a king, you have gravely disappointed your own subjects—Mash and Ritsuka Fujimaru."
The words pierced him like an arrow straight into the heart, driving through his golden armor, pinning his fury, his unwillingness, his resentment firmly in place.
And then, at the very brink of destruction, the storm of countless Noble Phantasms dissolved into motes of light, returning quietly to the treasury.
"Mo…ng…rel…"
An expression never before seen crossed the King of Heroes' face. Proud, powerful, wise, tyrannical—yet even when faced with the goddess of creation, Tiamat, in Uruk, he had never worn such a look of defeat.
For the first time, it appeared upon Gilgamesh's face.
"King Gilgamesh." x2
In the next instant, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash rushed to his side, their eyes brimming with genuine awe and devotion.
That gaze… Gilgamesh had not seen it for a very, very long time. Not since his dearest companion Enkidu had died. Not since his homeland was destroyed by the gods' vengeance. Not since he had drowned himself in the empty slaughter of Grail after Grail.
—Not since he had forgotten who he once was.
"Even if you seek a dignified death, Gilgamesh, you still have the duty of a king to fulfill."
Satsuki's cold words drifted on the wind into the ears of all present. Only then did they realize the truth: had Gilgamesh truly sought to strike Satsuki down, unleashing such a massive storm of Noble Phantasms was no rational tactic.
What he truly sought—was to provoke her into killing him.
"Yes. This king already knows he has no chance of victory against you alone. Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star, has already shown me the ending."