"What!" Tia was even more shocked after hearing Gilgamesh's words.
Grand Archer! Last night!
No wonder Gilgamesh had been acting so strangely today. He didn't stop Kotomine Risei's plan to get rid of the Fantasy Tree, nor did he try to kill Tohsaka Tokiomi. He even volunteered to go back with Tokiomi to fetch some book.
Tia was still very suspicious of what kind of book could possibly activate the Greater Holy Grail that was hidden in Tohsaka Tokiomi's house, and what scheme it involved. He also didn't understand why Gilgamesh insisted on following him back. What's more, even though Kotomine Risei had gathered everyone to dismantle the Greater Holy Grail, his son, Kotomine Kirei, didn't show up. Tia didn't know why and hadn't been in the mood to ask.
But no matter what, Tia understood now that Gilgamesh was acting serious because he had been given an important mission.
Still… Grand Archer was given to Gilgamesh? Wasn't it supposed to be Orion?
That should've been more than twenty years later, after Chaldea saved humanity once, and then the Earth was turned into a blank sheet, and in the fifth Lostbelt, Orion descended as the Grand Archer. How could the Grand Archer suddenly be given to Gilgamesh now?
Unless this place is…
But if that's the case, the timeline only gets even stranger.
And… Gilgamesh said the Will told him to wipe out the human evil that was about to appear? There's human evil here?
No… human evil has already been in Fuyuki City for at least seven years! And there are two of them. They're even my parents.
Wait… if my parents are both human evil… then what am I?
Tia suddenly realized something extremely important, and his whole body froze.
He stiffly turned his neck and stared blankly at Gilgamesh.
"More dangerous than the evil of this world? What does that mean, Gilgamesh!" King Arthur was shocked as soon as he heard it.
"Grand Archer? Human evil? Hey, Tia, do you know what the King of Heroes means?" Waver asked curiously.
"Grand Archer, huh? I didn't think Gilgamesh really was one. Then in a normal Holy Grail War, I'd have absolutely no chance of winning," Alexander the Great sighed. "But for human evil to appear here… this is really something."
"What exactly is human evil? Isn't it that evil of this world?" Waver was still confused. "Could it be connected to the seven deadly sins?"
Alexander shook his head.
"Among Servants, some of the highest-level ones are given the title of Grand, representing the very best of their class. They're sent to the world only for one reason—when human evil has been born. Human evil is the evil born from human emotions, the greatest danger that threatens all humanity. It's not the same as Angra Mainyu, the evil of this world," Alexander explained to Waver. "This is usually just basic knowledge for Servants. But in normal Holy Grail Wars, such beings should never appear. Yet… here it has."
"Actually, Angra Mainyu as the evil of this world is on a higher level than human evil itself. The emperor's explanation isn't really clear. He was probably only told the general idea, but never actually encountered a human evil," Tia suddenly cut in.
"Human evil is the collective name for the seven beasts of disaster born from mankind's animal instincts. They are like mud settling in human history, or like cancer cells gnawing at humanity from within society as it develops."
"Unlike Angra Mainyu, who became an Avenger—a class that belongs to humanity itself and can sometimes be summoned irregularly because of its endless hatred toward mankind—the process of Angra Mainyu turning into the evil of this world was basically a man-made accident."
"But the Beast class of human evil is completely independent from all other classes. Their instincts come from love for humanity, but when that love reaches its extreme, it turns into evil, becoming a world-ending beast of disaster. The Beast has several different phases of existence, but without a doubt, before they grow into human evil, they were once people who had great love for all of humanity."
As Tia explained, he gradually calmed down, because he realized he had never possessed so-called love for all humanity, so it was impossible for him to become human evil. In his past life, he was just an ordinary person, only someone who really liked Type-Moon. How could he possibly be connected to all of humanity? Besides, whether those parents of his were even truly his parents was still uncertain. A Beast of Return marrying a Beast of Mercy, going back in time, giving birth to a child named Emiya Shirou who would later become a Servant and reach Chaldea—just thinking about it sounded absurd.
"But by your explanation, does that mean Angra Mainyu, when alive, didn't have any love for humanity?" Irisviel walked over and asked.
"Of course not!" Tia answered naturally.
"Then what about after he became a Servant? Or… after he became All the World's Evil…" Kiritsugu spoke up, "are you really sure he had no love?"
Though Kiritsugu was still at Irisviel's side, his eyes turned toward the distant figure slowly rising from the ground.
Yes, it was Angra Mainyu—without the chance to possess Emiya Shirou, it appeared in its true body, formed only of black mud.
"Ahh… I've been listening to you chatter on about human evil and whether I have love or not. So boring. I like humans the most, you know—because they're my favorite food. Just don't give me those overly righteous types. They upset my stomach!" Angra Mainyu walked forward slowly, its entire being radiating a strange, indescribable aura.
At that moment, the Tree of Emptiness stopped moving.
"Angra Mainyu, that tree you mentioned earlier—more dangerous than you—was that true?" Irisviel suddenly asked.
"Of course! Much more dangerous than me! Isn't that right, King of Heroes?" Angra Mainyu turned to Gilgamesh with a grin.
"Trash. So you're one of those Evils of Humanity that specialize in killing humans with curses," Gilgamesh said, but his eyes shifted to the pale branch. "All this talk, and you still haven't explained what that Tree of Emptiness really is, smith!"
(End of The Chapter)
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