From Kiritsugu Emiya's perspective—
All he could see was the intense crimson light born from the collision of those two walking catastrophes.
A crimson light so violent it seemed to tear reality itself apart.
BOOM!
Nearly half the mountain was destroyed in mere moments as Arthur began to gain the upper hand.
The impact wasn't just physical—it was as if space itself were being crushed.
Tear—
A massive fissure split through what remained of Mount Enzou, opening from top to bottom like a cake brutally cut in half and forced apart.
The wound in the mountain directly exposed the cavity where the Greater Grail lay buried, now completely unprotected.
The already decaying Ryūdō Temple was reduced to dust by the shockwave of that catastrophic disaster.
Nothing remained that could be tied to what once stood there.
Only the ground where the ritual had been performed was still recognizable amidst the destruction.
An empty stage for the end of that war.
"Cough… cough… cough!"
When the dust finally began to settle, Kiritsugu—who had fortunately managed to shield himself—coughed violently, his face pale and his lungs burning, as he stared at the colossal crater that had quite literally erased Mount Enzou from the map.
The sight before him was surreal.
And at the center of all that destruction stood Arthur.
Though he showed no visible injuries, his limbs were tightly bound by chains emerging from golden ripples, glowing with oppressive light and completely restraining his movements.
In the next instant, Gilgamesh appeared before him.
His condition was dozens of times worse than Arthur's.
His body was covered in open wounds, his right arm completely gone—only a bleeding stump remained.
He could barely stand.
"You—cough! cough! cough!"
Still kneeling, Gilgamesh tried to speak—
But ended up coughing up blood mixed with fragments of internal organs that splattered onto the ground.
CRACK!
Without warning, Arthur began breaking the chains.
The sound echoed sharply.
Despite possessing high divinity, those chains had little effect on him—especially since they weren't directly touching his body, only the spatial layer he had created to defend himself the moment he realized Gilgamesh would use the Chains of Heaven.
"That was a very fun contest, Goldie…" Arthur said with a calm smile, as if he weren't standing at the center of devastation.
"But let's end this right now."
He pulled a sword from the Gate of Babylon and pointed it at Gilgamesh.
"Don't think I'll—Pfft!!!"
Before Gilgamesh could finish—
A radiant spear pierced straight through his chest without resistance.
And in the same instant, that same spear pierced Arthur's chest.
A fatal blow to both.
Time seemed to freeze.
Artoria, already clad in her armor, stood motionless.
Her eyes were wide.
Her hands trembled in shock.
Slowly, she looked at her own weapon.
At the blood dripping from it.
At Arthur's body.
At Gilgamesh's body.
By the time she understood what she had done—
It was already over.
"Arthur… I'm sorry… it wasn't me… I didn't—"
Her voice broke.
Her words came out disjointed, desperate, incapable of forming any coherent explanation as panic consumed her mind.
She took a step back, as if trying to flee from her own actions.
But there was nowhere to run.
Her greatest fear had just become reality.
"It's alright, Artie…" Arthur said calmly, as if it meant nothing.
As if his chest hadn't just been pierced.
"You don't need to worry."
"You wretches!!!"
Gilgamesh, still not dead, roared in pure fury.
"You're the true Lancer?! Foolish woman! How dare you interrupt my banquet?!"
But before he could continue—
Without thinking, without hesitation—
Arthur struck Gilgamesh's face with devastating force.
The impact sent Gilgamesh's body flying for kilometers, disappearing into the horizon.
Silence.
Still standing, Arthur slowly reached for the spear lodged in his chest—
And pulled it out.
The sound of blood beginning to gush followed.
Even so, he smiled at her.
He reached out and gently touched Artoria's cheek.
She was trembling.
No—she was collapsing.
Her eyes were completely lost.
Filled with terror, guilt, and absolute despair.
Her gaze shifted between the bloodstained Rhongomyniad—
And the open wound in Arthur's chest.
Her breathing faltered.
Her body refused to respond.
Her fingers loosened on the spear—
As if rejecting it.
As if refusing to accept that she had once again used that weapon to kill the one she loved.
"No… no… no…" she murmured faintly. "Not again…"
"Artie…" Arthur said softly, forcing her to look at him.
[A/N: It was the best image I could find to illustrate this scene, ignore that here she is from the Saber class lol.]
"Do you remember the conversation we had in the Einzbern territory, right after we formed this alliance?"
"What…?"
She shook her head frantically.
"I… I don't remember anything at all…"
It was a lie.
Or maybe not.
Her mind was collapsing.
"Then let me remind you, my dear Artie…"
---
"Tell me… what is your reason for participating in the Holy Grail War?" Artoria asked.
"My reason?"
Arthur rested his hands on the snow, looking up at the sky for a moment.
"I don't have any wish I need to fulfill. Everything I want, I can obtain without the Holy Grail."
He turned slightly.
"How about I help you achieve your wish?"
Artoria looked at him.
"Why?"
Arthur smiled.
"Because it's a hero's duty to help his princess in distress—"
He paused.
"…no, rather, his queen in distress."
Artoria held his gaze.
"You don't need to do that. And I don't have any wish for the Grail either."
"That's a problem." Arthur laughed.
He stood up—
Then, without hesitation, knelt before her.
He took her hand and gently kissed it.
"How about we help each other find a reason to be here?"
---
"After all this time together…" Arthur said, his voice now weakening. "I know my reason for being here… especially after hearing about the great adventure we shared."
Artoria froze.
Her eyes trembled.
"Goodbye, Artie…" he smiled. "Tonight is the end of our fate in this Holy Grail War."
"No…"
Before she could react, Arthur leaned in and kissed her.
At the same time, he took her hand—
The one still holding Rhongomyniad—
And began guiding it slowly and firmly toward his own heart.
"No… no… NO! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!"
Artoria resisted.
She tried to pull her hand back.
Tried to release the spear.
Tried everything.
But her body wouldn't obey.
Her heart screamed in agony.
Her mind begged her to stop.
But her body betrayed it all.
"Stop… please… stop…! Please, Arthur…" her voice broke, desperate, almost unrecognizable.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
"I don't want to… I don't want to do this again…!"
She struggled—
But her hand kept moving forward.
Relentless.
Watching this, Kiritsugu understood Arthur's actions.
Silently, he raised his right hand.
The final Command Seal glowed.
His empty eyes hesitated for a moment.
Cold as he was—
He still felt pity.
But this was the path he had chosen.
In a low voice, he murmured:
"I… command you, by this Command Spell…"
His voice carried rare weight.
"—Lancer…"
The mark flared brightly.
"Use all your power to kill Berserker at once."
"STOP IT!!!!!"
Artoria's scream tore through the air.
But it was too late.
Kiritsugu's final crimson Command Seal disappeared.
The mark flashed once—
Then vanished.
All he saw afterward was the tip of Rhongomyniad pressed against Arthur's chest.
The spear trembled in Artoria's hands.
Her fingers barely obeyed.
Her arms fought against themselves.
Her eyes were filled with panic.
"No… no… I can't do this…"
But the Command Spell had already activated.
She had sacrificed much of her power just to be summoned—
She couldn't resist it.
A golden light began to gather at the tip of Rhongomyniad.
It intensified—
Beyond anything she could contain.
"Stop… please… stop…"
Her body trembled as she tried to pull back.
To let go—
But she couldn't.
Like a spectator to her own actions.
"Arthur… I—"
The light exploded.
BOOM—
In the end—
Artoria made one final desperate choice.
She deliberately exhausted all her magical power.
Like a flame choosing to burn itself out completely.
And then—
She vanished.
Taking Arthur with her.
Both were swallowed by the light of Rhongomyniad.
But in that final instant—
Their eyes met.
And all that remained there was overwhelming pain.
"What a foolish woman you are…" Arthur murmured with a faint smile.
"If you do this… I'll have a lot of work bringing you back."
"I have no reason to exist in a world without you… you fool," Artoria replied, smiling.
"You really are… a foolish woman, Artie…" he repeated softly.
And they both disappeared into spiritual particles.
Walking side by side toward the Holy Grail.
As if that moment had been inevitable from the start.
[A/N: Same situation here.]
Artoria's deliberate self-destruction far exceeded Kiritsugu's expectations.
He had placed everything on her.
His final hope.
Believing she would destroy the corrupted Grail—
And end this meaningless war.
But he had made a simple, fatal mistake.
What did he truly know about Artoria?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
He had never tried to understand her.
Never listened.
Never cared to know what she carried inside.
He never realized that at that moment, she was not fighting as a Servant.
But as someone who had just been forced, once again, to destroy with her own hands the one thing she never wanted to lose.
(End of Chapter)