Gilgamesh sat on his throne, golden dust slipping through his fingers.
His chest heaved violently a few times. Then, the berserk magical energy that had threatened to tear the entire basement apart miraculously subsided.
"Haha... Hahahahaha!!!"
Gilgamesh suddenly threw his head back and laughed. The sound was no longer purely arrogant; instead, it carried a hint of amusement.
"I see, I see!"
"I was wondering why a mere stray dog would dare to be so arrogant, even baring his fangs at me."
"It turns out he himself is a deadly poison."
The crimson light in Gilgamesh's eyes swirled.
The nameless fury born from the influence of that Class Skill was easily suppressed by his sense of superiority upon discovering the truth.
Being blinded by anger was the behavior of a beast.
Seeing through an enemy's scheme and trampling it underfoot—that was the true demeanor of a king.
"Turning himself into a medium for a curse, using his own death as the final move to slay a king..."
Gilgamesh stroked his chin, a cruel and playful smirk curving his lips.
"Truly... so insidious that even I must applaud."
"Kirei."
"I am here."
"You did well."
Gilgamesh turned his head, his gaze filled with the approval and praise befitting a subordinate.
"If you hadn't stopped me just now, if I had truly charged over on that wave of false fury and blasted him to ash with a single strike... wouldn't I have fallen right into that mongrel's trap, becoming a puppet driven by hatred?"
"For my peerless, heroic self to exit the stage due to such underhanded tactics... Hmph, that would likely be the greatest joke in this world."
The manic aura surrounding Gilgamesh had completely vanished, replaced by an unfathomable, oppressive presence.
"You keenly perceived the anomaly and offered your counsel at the critical moment."
"Compared to a boring man like Tokiomi, you certainly capture my interest far more."
Praised so highly by the oldest of kings, Kirei Kotomine did not act flattered. He merely bowed slightly. "You flatter me, King of Heroes. I simply fulfilled my duty as an assistant."
"Well, don't be so modest. Excessive modesty is just hypocrisy."
Gilgamesh returned to his indolent posture. "Since we have seen through his little trick, this game has become quite interesting."
"That Avenger... Asuka, was it?"
Gilgamesh chewed on the name as if gnawing on a tough piece of bone.
"You want to enrage me, to make me lose my reason to anger, but I will do exactly the opposite."
"I shall watch and wait, to see what other tricks you can play. I will leave you for last. When all your trump cards are revealed, at the very moment you believe your scheme is about to succeed..."
Gilgamesh clenched his fist in the air, as if grasping some invisible fate.
"...I will grant you a meaningless death."
"I will show you what absolute ego truly is. Before a king, such curses are nothing more than spices to enhance the entertainment."
"That is the best punishment for such an insidious schemer, is it not?"
"As you wish," Kirei replied softly.
As the golden light faded, the basement returned to silence.
Only Kirei Kotomine stood there quietly.
He cut the communication with Tokiomi Tohsaka, a deep, thoughtful expression hanging on his face.
'Asuka...?'
Kirei recalled the intelligence provided by Assassin—the man who guided a young girl in swinging a sword under the lights, the man who helped a housewife clear the dining table.
Could such a person truly be the mastermind Tokiomi and Gilgamesh spoke of, someone who used himself as bait to lay down a heaven-shaking death trap...?
If all of this was truly intentional on that man's part, then the depth of his scheming was indeed terrifying.
The corners of Kirei's mouth curled up at an excruciatingly slow pace.
It was a smile full of twisted amusement, one that even he himself failed to notice.
The Kamado Residence.
"Achoo!!!"
Asuka, who was currently supervising Haruri's special training, let out another earth-shattering sneeze without any warning.
The sudden sneeze startled Haruri, who was trying to bend a spoon with her gaze. The stainless steel spoon, which had already started to bend slightly, clattered to the floor.
"Ah! It broke! The magical energy broke!"
Sumire Kamado picked up the spoon for her mother and looked at Asuka with a worried expression. "Mr. Asuka! Shouldn't you go see a doctor? How many sneezes is that now? Can Heroic Spirits even catch the flu?"
"I... don't know."
Asuka rubbed his nose and suspiciously pulled back the curtains to glance at the night sky outside.
That feeling was back.
It felt as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at him from the dark, scheming against him, guarding against him as if he were some terrifying monster.
"Strange..."
Of course, Asuka had no idea that in a small basement filled with conspiracies and calculations...
...he had already been imagined as a deeply scheming, ruthlessly cunning mastermind capable of cursing others simply by existing.
Furthermore, Asuka did not know that due to the malicious thoughts within him being stimulated by the fierce battles between Servants, his unconsciously activated [Oblivion Correction] skill had successfully pinned the most troublesome King of Heroes to his throne, ensuring that, at least for the short term, he wouldn't be subjected to the man's overwhelming firepower.
Whether this was a blessing or a curse for the current Asuka, only heaven knew.
In the unseen void, deep within the corrupted black mud of the Greater Grail, a mocking bubble seemed to rise to the surface, amused by this intricate web of misunderstandings.
The following night.
Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, top-floor presidential suite.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald sat upright on a velvet sofa, flipping through the grimoire in his hands.
As one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, he originally had absolute confidence in his position in this war.
However, his deeply furrowed brows betrayed a hint of inner irritation.
"Kayneth, are you still worrying about that Avenger?"
Beside him, his fiancée Sola-Ui was boredly trimming her nails.
Her gaze drifted from time to time toward the handsome spearman standing guard by the window, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, her eyes swirling with undisguised infatuation.
"That Servant is indeed a variable."
Kayneth closed the book, his tone solemn. "Avenger... This is an eighth class that shouldn't even exist."
"Judging from the previous battle, although that fellow's magical energy reaction is weak, his physical capabilities and combat intuition are absurdly high."
"Especially that black blade Noble Phantasm capable of devouring magical energy. It is truly concerning."
Recalling the battle at the docks, remembering the scene where that black-clad Servant severed the flow of magical energy with a single strike, Kayneth felt a wave of discomfort.
For a traditional magus who relied on Magic Circuits and magical energy to construct offense and defense, such an ability was simply cheating.
"However..." Kayneth shifted the conversation, a determined smile appearing on his face. "A beast is ultimately just a beast. According to the intelligence brought back by my familiars, his Master is merely an ordinary little girl with no foundation in magecraft whatsoever. She doesn't even have a formal magus workshop."
"There is no need to clash head-on with Avenger. As long as we find that girl and I offer her some friendly persuasion with my Volumen Hydrargyrum, I believe she will realize the futility of her actions and withdraw."