Chapter 73: Everything Will End Soon!
Having finished the main business, Akira prepared to settle the remaining minor matters.
Shin Akira's gaze fell upon Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was holding the Holy Grail. In an instant, every hair on Fujimaru Ritsuka's neck stood on end.
"You... what are you planning to do...?"
Seeing Akira staring his way, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately panicked, his voice trembling slightly.
He had to remember—this man could actually kill him. That punch from earlier had shifted his jaw. If it weren't for this transaction, he would likely be dead by now.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka, do you still remember what I said?"
"What... what did you say...?"
Hearing Shin Akira's words, Fujimaru Ritsuka was momentarily confused, unable to understand the point.
"When we first met, do you remember the warning I gave you?"
"When we first met..."
Stored memories began to resurface, and then Fujimaru Ritsuka remembered.
When they first met, Shin Akira had approached him and Mash, offering a deal. However, in the end, he and the Doctor had rejected it.
And, at the very end, it seemed he had given him a warning.
The content of that warning was—
Suddenly, Fujimaru Ritsuka's face turned slightly pale.
The Three Goddesses Alliance; one was his woman, one couldn't be reasoned with, and one was the goddess he was after—along with a warning not to touch what didn't belong to him.
Now, the Demonic Beast Goddess, Gorgon, had been defeated, while the Goddess of Venus had never appeared.
Not long ago, the Goddess of the Underworld he had met in Ereshkigal... wasn't she the goddess Akira meant when he spoke of the one he was after?
"It seems you've remembered. You should know, I gave you a warning at the start, but you still acted recklessly. How do you think I should handle you?"
"I did it to save King Gilgamesh! It was a desperate situation!"
"What does that have to do with me? Acting as one pleases is the right of the strong, didn't you know that?"
"You..."
Thump!
A powerful blow landed right in Fujimaru Ritsuka's gut.
Akira had deliberately controlled his strength. This punch wouldn't cause a fatal injury, but he would feel a level of pain that defied description.
Because you chose to do that, you must naturally bear the consequences yourself.
Just as Shin Akira said, acting on a whim is the right of the strong. I am stronger than you, so I can oppress you as I please, and you can't do a thing about it because I am the more powerful one.
"Senpai...!"
Mash saw Fujimaru Ritsuka collapse and instinctively wanted to rush over to help him up.
However, the moment she tried to move, she was immediately held back by the chains controlling her.
"Let Mash go! If you have a problem, just face me!"
In that moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka surprisingly showed a flash of manliness.
It was just that, in his current state, that was as far as it went. In Akira's eyes, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked more like someone pathetically overextending himself in a moment of weakness.
Facing me? Are you sure about that?
"Fujimaru Ritsuka, the savior of humanity, the last Master of mankind... look forward to it. Your journey has only just begun. Even if you eventually defeat Goetia, that is merely another beginning."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"What do I mean? The Evils of Humanity, the Beasts, will appear in a chain reaction. When one Beast manifests, the others will appear one after another in sequence."
"What did you say? Could it be that all the Evils of Humanity will appear?"
"Precisely. A world where the Evils of Humanity appear will head toward further disaster, toward the 'Final Evil.' Once 'I' appears, 'VII'—which marks the end—must have already appeared in some corner of the world."
Akira spoke slowly, but his words made Fujimaru Ritsuka feel as though he had fallen into a pit of ice.
At that moment, his blood felt as if it were freezing over.
The mastermind behind the Incineration of Humanity, Goetia, Beast I... was only the beginning?
There were seven Evils of Humanity; even counting Tiamat, there were still five left.
Meanwhile, Akira felt a bit sentimental; the end of one story would surely give birth to the next.
With so many Fate series—from anime, manga, games, and light novels to various other industries—it truly was a money-making machine.
Especially the FGO game; even though it had been around for a very long time, it still hadn't collapsed. Aside from having many long-time fans, another reason was the endless stream of Fate series being released.
When a Singularity ended, there would be a Lostbelt storyline. After all, they did all this with the goal of making a profit.
The story couldn't possibly end that easily.
Hadn't he seen Naruto? The grand wedding between Naruto and Hinata should have been the perfect conclusion for a generation's youth.
But, to keep milking the profits from the old work, Boruto was born.
At that moment, Gilgamesh looked at Akira. Regarding the words Akira had spoken, for some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
He didn't know that these words were actually the same words left behind by his own Servant self at the Grand Temple of Time.
"Gilgamesh..."
"What is it?"
"Before long, we will be leaving Mesopotamia. Not just me, but Mother as well. This world still rejects Mother; therefore, we will look for a world that can accommodate her."
"Hmph, such a thing has nothing to do with me."
Despite saying so, a hint of loneliness flickered in Gilgamesh's eyes.
Because soon, everything really would come to an end.
Gilgamesh, the wedge created by the Gods to link humans and the Gods—the king who was two-thirds god and one-third human.
Ironically, it was Gilgamesh who initiated the era where humans walked in the opposite direction of the divine.
He was the one who brought about the 'Parting of Humans and Gods.' He had done it, and now only the final part remained.
He was the King of Humans, but at the same time, he was also the anchor from the divine side. Even if he didn't admit it, even as he led humans to separate from the gods, the fact that divine blood flowed through his body was an undeniable reality.
Therefore, in the end, to completely finalize the separation between humanity and the gods, he—the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh—was also an object that needed to be separated.
Even though Goetia's Holy Grail had changed this place from its original historical path into the current Singularity, many things had been decided long ago.
"Since everything is finished, I should be going as well. Mash..."
Hearing Akira's voice, Mash's body trembled slightly. She stole one last glance at Fujimaru Ritsuka before finally walking toward Akira.
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