"Your Majesty—pardon this servant's bluntness. I trust none can contend with Your Majesty's might, but shouldn't we be a bit more… cautious…"
Off to the side, Ishtar heard this brain-dead "father" comment and covered her face in wordless despair.
He'd already agreed to accept the challenge and even promised a trial. What kind of "king" would go back on her word at a moment like this? It was pointless to say any of that now, wasn't it?
Sure, Ophis wasn't the type to care about pride, but she was absolutely the type who didn't take back what she'd promised. Either way, Tokiomi Tohsaka's after-the-fact worrying was just… impressively stupid.
To be fair, Tokiomi was in a bind too. Command Spells didn't work on Ophis, and it wasn't like he could call her back on the spot. All he could do was stew in helpless panic.
The moment Ophis casually declared she would take on seven at once, Tokiomi had started to lose his composure. In his worldview, even if Servants varied in strength, the gap had limits—one against two was already stretching it. One against seven? You might as well surrender on the spot.
"Honestly, Your Majesty, why did you stop Assassin's assassination back then? If that had succeeded, we wouldn't be in this predicament…"
Ophis didn't even bother answering. Tokiomi pressed on, and Ishtar's jaw nearly hit the floor.
If she were even a little more short-tempered, your Command Spells wouldn't save you, you know?
From a "war" perspective, what Ophis did back then really was a bit… scummy. But to her, up until that point, it had all been playtime, hadn't it?
And now that she thought about it, Tokiomi seemed to be the only Master still taking the Holy Grail War seriously. He'd even brushed aside what Ritsuka said about the Holy Grail being wrong.
No—he hadn't brushed it aside. It was that bloodline pride of the Three Founding Families, the certainty that something they'd created couldn't possibly be flawed.
Whatever. It doesn't matter. With that mindset, even if he got the Grail, he'd never amount to anything.
Tokiomi Tohsaka was Rin Tohsaka's father. And yet Ishtar absolutely refused to acknowledge that.
The clash between her Divinity and her humanity left Ishtar's feelings toward him tangled with contradictions.
But there were two things neither side would deny.
Tokiomi's every choice had been wrong. From the very beginning, he'd gotten everything wrong—and he had no chance of succeeding.
And neither Rin nor Ishtar would ever warn him of that.
When you're holding a winning hand and still won't just lie down and wait for the win, this is the only end you deserve.
"Whatever happens, Your Majesty, please reconsider! No matter what, one against seven is still too much!"
With no response from Ophis, Tokiomi's agitation only grew.
A Holy Grail War planned for so long—the Tohsaka family's centuries-old wish—how could it be allowed to burst like a bubble over some childish promise?
"I know my limits."
Only after Tokiomi finally quieted down did Ophis answer—at a pace slow enough to drive him mad.
And she said only that single sentence.
"…"
Silence draped itself over the Tohsaka estate. Staring at the Command Spells on his hand, a flicker of ferocity twisted across Tokiomi's face. In the end, he said nothing—only bowed and left.
"What a sorry sight."
Ishtar offered that bland verdict and looked back at Ophis.
"You really are going to use your full strength?"
The goddess of Venus smiled, tilting her head.
The gesture held not the slightest hint of childish innocence. Instead, it felt like a devil's whisper—seductive, dangerous.
Even as a goddess who existed to watch over humanity, the hunger for stimulation and conflict in her bones had never once gone quiet.
Blades crossed for the sake of belief. Light spilled forth from will itself, reflecting and clashing.
All of it—a supreme offering fit for a goddess.
"If it turns into a total stomp, it'll be boring."
Her crimson, enchanting eyes narrowed as Ishtar fully revealed her divine self.
"I am not one who fails to repay a debt."
Ophis rose slowly and looked out through the window at the sun lifting over the horizon.
"Infinity is a concept that can contain anything. That does not mean infinity can be contained by all things. In fact, it is extremely difficult."
"Hey—don't tell me you're planning to…"
Bathed in morning light, Ophis smiled faintly.
"Hm. The true me is impossible, but if it is only this me… witnessing the future of humanity in this world is not a bad choice."
...
"Master… are you sure you're all right?"
The Einzbern Castle was hosting a sight no previous Holy Grail War could have imagined.
Saber Artoria. Saber Lily. Lancer Diarmuid. Rider Iskandar. Berserker Lancelot. Caster Lord El-Melloi II. And Shielder Mash Kyrielight.
A full roster—seven Heroic Spirits gathered together, the number you'd expect in a normal Holy Grail War.
More astonishing still: those seven weren't assembled as enemies.
They were allies.
And their opponent was a single person.
At Lord El-Melloi's question, Fujimaru Ritsuka opened her eyes.
"Don't worry. I've never felt better!"
She swung her arms, answering with bright, overflowing energy.
"Chaldea's support is ready. We can deploy at any time."
At the same time, Dr. Romani's voice came through—comforting, or maybe so casual it made it hard to stay tense at all.
"How's the situation?"
Just then, the door opened, and Kiritsugu Emiya stepped inside.
"Preparations are mostly complete. What about you, Kiritsugu?"
"Caster's Master won't be appearing at the TV station again. But… is what you said about the Holy Grail really true?"
His dead-eyed gaze sharpened into something frighteningly focused as Kiritsugu stared at Lord El-Melloi.
Lord El-Melloi's expression didn't change.
"Didn't Master and I both sign a self-binding oath forbidding lies? Is that still not enough to convince you?"
"…I understand. If the Holy Grail is that kind of thing, then we absolutely cannot let it remain in this world."
"We agree. But to make that happen, there's one more thing we need you to do."
"What?"
"Kill Archer's Master—Tokiomi Tohsaka. And if you can… Kirei Kotomine as well."
After finishing with Kiritsugu, Lord El-Melloi turned to Kariya Matou.
"How are you holding up? Can your body take it?"
"I can… as long as I kill him. Kill Tokiomi Tohsaka…"
"…"
There was nothing to say to a man who'd already fallen into obsession.
As long as he could still serve as combat power, that was enough.
Since this was a Singularity, their strategy had more flexibility. Even aggressive—excessive—methods were permissible.
...
Elsewhere, whatever one-sided "conversation" had been happening between Artoria, Lily, and Lancelot had ended (at this time, Mash did not know the True Name of the Heroic Spirit possessing her). It didn't look like they would erupt into conflict during coordinated combat.
"The sun's up," Ritsuka murmured, watching the light outside the window.
"Yeah. Then we begin."
Lord El-Melloi nodded to her, and Ritsuka nodded back.
"All units, move out. At 9 a.m., we begin the decisive battle against the King of Heroes!"
---
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