King Arthur knew this was the second time the Grail being corrupted had been brought up. She realized it probably wasn't just nonsense from Alexander the Great, and her heart sank.
"King of Knights, you're still clinging to that impossible wish?" Alexander the Great said again. "I'm telling you, give it up. It's a dream that can never come true!"
"What, Conqueror King! Are you mocking my wish again, calling it wrong?" King Arthur's face instantly lit with anger.
"No. Since I've seen the effort Tia put in, I won't deny that your wish could be possible. But I've always believed changing the past means denying the memories I made with my soldiers, and that's something I'll never accept!" Alexander the Great replied.
"Is that so? Then I can't accept your careless rule over the empire you built, letting it fall apart after your death! You and I are destined to fight!" King Arthur declared.
"Hahaha! Well said! In that case, how about we make a promise? Once we both fully recover, let's have a one-on-one duel!" Alexander the Great answered.
"No problem!" King Arthur agreed at once.
"However…" Alexander the Great added after making the pact, "I want you to know your wish is impossible. Forget that the Grail is already corrupted trash that might destroy the whole city when it's unleashed—even if it were still pure, even if it really were a wish-granting machine, it's not almighty! It could never fulfill your wish. The Three Families made up a grand lie about it to cover their real goal—the Third Magic, reaching the Root!"
Alexander the Great had already seen that Tia changed the future she once told him about. If the future Tia saw could be changed, why not the past? But even so, the Emperor knew this Greater Grail never had that power.
Waver already knew this, so he wasn't surprised.
Gilgamesh, however, was. His brows furrowed as he turned toward Tokiomi. "Tokiomi, looks like you've hidden plenty from me."
Gilgamesh was clearly angry.
"Are Magus always this boring?" Lancelot asked, confused. "Destroying a city just for selfish desires."
"At least most of the Magus here are like that," Tia explained to him.
Hearing Alexander the Great's words, King Arthur frowned deeply and turned to Irisviel. "Iri, is this true?"
King Arthur was clearly angry too, just like Gilgamesh. If it was true, then what did the Three Great Families see Servants as? And what about the ordinary people of Fuyuki City?
"I… I don't know. Maybe the family head knows everything. I only know the Einzberns have been chasing the Third Magic for a thousand years. But I didn't know the Holy Grail War itself was created just to realize it," Irisviel frowned.
"Sorry, Iris. I'm not blaming you. I know you were kept in the dark too. I'm just furious that they're treating us Servants like toys! If we're only summoned just to achieve the Third Magic, then what's the point of us?!" King Arthur's anger was rising.
"We Servants are sacrifices for summoning the Greater Grail," the King of Conquerors added. "Three Servants are already gone, right? The Einzbern homunculus body shouldn't be able to hold out much longer."
"What!" King Arthur turned to Irisviel.
Irisviel had already been forcing herself to stay standing. The only reason she hadn't collapsed yet was because Kiritsugu was always by her side.
Hearing Alexander's words, Kiritsugu also turned to Irisviel. That was when he noticed her unfocused eyes and her whole body trembling slightly. He quickly caught her in his arms and called softly, "Iris! Iris! Are you alright?!"
"I… I'm fine…" Irisviel tried to push herself up from his arms, but her body wouldn't respond at all.
At that moment King Arthur rushed over and grabbed Irisviel's hand.
Because Avalon's sheath was inside Irisviel's body, the instant she touched King Arthur her condition improved, and she managed to stand upright again.
"Sorry… Kiritsugu, for making you worry," Irisviel whispered.
"Iris, we should head back first," Kiritsugu said. He lifted her up and started walking. "Sorry, everyone. I'm leaving. Saber, that's enough for tonight. Iris's health comes first."
King Arthur nodded without protest and went back with him.
"Sir Lancelot, King of Conquerors, King of Heroes, I'll take my leave. I'll think carefully about the Grail matter," she said.
"Then I too will return. I still have to question Tokiomi. To dare deceive me—there must be a price!" Gilgamesh grew even angrier at learning he was just a sacrifice, and vanished into spirit form before them.
That left only Waver, Alexander, Tia, and Lancelot at the scene.
"Knight of the Lake, I suppose you don't really count as a Servant in this Holy Grail War anymore," Alexander remarked.
"Right. I already disappeared before. But thanks to my Master's holy sword, the bond between us is even tighter than the usual Servant–Master link or Command Seals," Lancelot explained.
"I see… then congratulations. That's something I always wished for, but you managed it," Alexander sighed. "Ah well… what I wanted was simply for the Holy Grail to give me a real body! Conquering the world starts with actually existing in it. This world is far deeper and harder to predict than I thought, but how could I know if I can't try? Conquest will always be my ultimate goal!"
"Idiot! The modern world isn't something you can conquer! Idiot!" Waver yelled, waving his arms.
Tia and Lancelot exchanged a smile.
Meanwhile, deep in the ocean—what people called the abyss—a giant octopus appeared again, or rather, was revived. It had countless believers around the world. Many famous artists had stared into the abyss and been influenced by it. Because of this, destroying it completely was nearly impossible, unless you erased every trace of its existence in this world.
That was… Cthulhu itself!
(End of The Chapter)
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