Chapter 70: A Transaction with Chaldea!
"Bam—!"
A violent surge of power exploded in an instant, sending Gilgamesh and his axe flying backward.
At this moment, Akira was a living embodiment of a Demon. Compared to Gilgamesh, who still held the status of a 'human,' their strength was worlds apart. The only reason the fight had lasted this long was simply because Akira wanted to gauge his opponent's power.
The result, however, was a bit disappointing. Although the current Gilgamesh was dubbed the 'Axe-King of Uruk,' that axe was effectively nothing more than a magic staff. Furthermore, with the vast majority of his magical energy diverted to maintain the Dingir fortifications, his current combat strength wasn't even a tenth of his true peak.
"Cough, cough... I truly didn't expect the gap to be this vast. To think I've fallen this far."
Crawling out from a pile of stone debris, Gilgamesh's expression was grim.
Gilgamesh was born a King. The blood of the Gods, the former rulers, and the blood of humans, the succeeding rulers, had merged within him to create something entirely new—the Wedge of Heaven. His power was beyond doubt; simply put, he possessed strength equal to a God while bound by a human lifespan. That was the reality of Gilgamesh.
After all, since he was designed to be the tether between humanity and the Divine, he could naturally only ever be human.
His transformation from a tyrant into a wise king occurred after his quest for the 'Herb of Immortality.' On his journey back to Uruk, Gilgamesh had bathed in a spring where his soul and body were liberated from all shackles. However, disaster struck. The herb he had obtained with such agonizing effort was snatched and eaten by a snake.
Witnessing this, Gilgamesh had a sudden epiphany and burst into laughter. He concluded that 'in the end, when all is finished, nothing will remain in one's hands.' He felt that since he could see the distant future from the very beginning, he had no need for immortality. He already existed in this era and had become eternal. Though his years would not increase with the passing months and he could not live as long as the heavens and earth, it was enough for him to observe that far-off future.
As the protagonist of humanity's oldest tale, as long as he remained a hero praised by future generations, his duty was fulfilled.
Following that, Gilgamesh ruled Uruk as the king who led all heroes. He personally sealed away his strongest weapon, 'Ea,' along with his immense treasury of power, choosing instead to use his wisdom and his own principles to govern Uruk.
This was the Gilgamesh standing there now. As the Wise King, this was his weakest period in history, without exception.
"The Gilgamesh of now is very different from the Gilgamesh I remember."
Suddenly, Akira let out a sentence that sounded nonsensical to any outsider.
However, it was those very words that caused Gilgamesh's pupils to contract slightly. Deep down, he became certain that the person before him was indeed the true Chains of Heaven; he had seen another version of himself.
"Hmph. Regardless, I who stand here now have sealed my own power. I am no longer the tyrant I once was."
"I know. And yet, it is precisely because of that I feel disappointed."
As the successor who inherited the Enkidu Template, Akira naturally had a burning desire to have a grand clash with the famous King of Heroes. The collision between the Chains of Heaven and the Wedge of Heaven—just the thought of it was exhilarating.
But for now, that was merely a fantasy; the current Gilgamesh could not fulfill Akira's wish.
Then, Akira's gaze shifted back to Mash.
"Mash Kyrielight..."
"..."
The only response Akira received was silence and an air of 'resignation to the slaughter.' This left Akira deeply dissatisfied. What was the meaning of this?
"Do you have nothing to say?"
"Nothing..."
"No regrets?"
"No regrets..."
"I see. In that case, I understand."
"Vwoom—"
A purple jewel flew out of Mash's body, bearing a pitch-black mark upon it.
The Commandment of Love, which had previously resonated with Mash and was thus granted to her by Akira, was now being reclaimed. As the Commandment was withdrawn, Mash instantly felt the magical energy within her body mostly vanish.
After all, Mash's own strength was still lacking. This was only the Commandment of Love; if Akira had been even more ruthless and stripped away her darkness as well, her power would have plummeted drastically.
Looking at the Commandment of Love in his hand, Akira felt a flicker of disappointment. He had originally thought he had gained a powerful subordinate, only for it to end like this. This 'betrayal' had left him quite displeased.
However, Akira had no intention of punishing Mash. Sooner or later, she would be his. He would 'change' her bit by bit, staining her with his own colors and molding her into his own image.
"People of Chaldea, can you hear me?"
Akira turned his head toward Fujimaru Ritsuka, who stood not far away—or rather, toward the communication device on her wrist.
「 Ah, I can hear you... 」
Romani's voice drifted through, though it was heavy with exhaustion and hesitation. Regarding Mash's current situation, he didn't know whether to feel relieved or saddened.
Even though Mash was no longer a part of Chaldea from this point forward, it was because of this change that Mash—whose life was supposed to end soon—had gained a new lease on life. Furthermore, she would no longer have to struggle for the sake of humanity. From Mash's perspective, this was a good thing.
However, for the current Chaldea, Mash was their only successful case and Fujimaru Ritsuka's closest comrade. Without Mash, what would they do next?
"I want to make a deal with you."
「 A deal? 」
"Correct. In Mesopotamia, there are two Holy Grails in total. One is a Holy Grail that does not belong to this era, and the other is the Great Cup of Uruk. Unfortunately, both Holy Grails are now in my hands."
As he spoke, Akira produced two Holy Grails. Both cups radiated a brilliant golden light. Those present were people who knew the value of such things; both were undoubtedly the real deal.
「 What is it that you want? 」
The Holy Grail belonging to the King of Mages, Solomon, was something Chaldea absolutely had to retrieve.
Meanwhile, the corner of Gilgamesh's mouth twitched slightly. One of those grails was the one Kingu had snatched ten days ago, and now it belonged to Akira. Truly, the wheel of fate turns in strange ways.
"The complete data regarding the 'Holy Grail System,' the 'Servant System,' and the 'Command Spell System'."
Akira stated his objective. Looking at the entire Fate series, everything centered on these three basic elements. It was effectively a unique system, and Akira was naturally curious. Especially now that he had Holy Grails in his possession, he might be able to develop some specialized branches by utilizing the 'Servant' summoning system.
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