The moment he heard these words, Lelouch's perfect mask of politeness faded. Complete shock overtook him before he managed to recompose to a more neutral look.
'How in the world…?' his mind couldn't help but race. Only, lacking any real facts, he couldn't come up with a proper conjecture as to how Archer would know. 'The only one who'd ever get a chance would be Nobu thanks to our dream-sharing. Is it some kind of skill of his? Or perhaps there's more to this Gate of his?'
Numerous questions, no concrete answers. As far as Lelouch knew with magecraft, anything was possible. That the bloody mess of a long-dead king before him was able to laugh at his expense spoke volumes of how far debased this world's reality was to him.
"Ahahaha! My, seeing such an expression on a stoic like you is priceless. It would've been perfect if we could both enjoy this over another glass of wine." Even as Gilgamesh spat blood off to the side, the man didn't let his air wane. "Oh, but you must be asking yourself now. How is it that I came to learn of your being an outworlder?"
"Magecraft? Or is it True Magic as Kayneth said exists in this world? If it's neither, then forgive me for my lacking knowledge, milord." With those being his only proper guesses, he had to accede this one. And since the man was confident enough in his answer to be aware of a lie, Lelouch admitted it. "After all, it is as you say. I… am not of this world."
"So it is true." Gilgamesh smiled. "Worry not your little head on the mortals' concepts of Mystery and magic. I am aware of it for I am the King! And so long as I do it, nothing can hide from my eyes."
Gilgamesh placed emphasis on the last word. His crimson gems focused on Lelouch's violet orbs. For the first time in a while, Lelouch sensed something odd within them, now that it was brought to his attention. The way the man looked at him, wasn't directed at him but seemed to look beyond him.
Had it been just the Servant spacing out, it'd be a perfect excuse, but the boy wouldn't doubt the man if he was going to boast about it this much.
"May I ask, milord?" at the man's weak nod, only then did he continue. "Since when have you known, Your Highness?"
"Back on that night, when I and the rest of the kings, including your barbarian woman, enjoyed my wine. On that eve, I noticed something. When my eyes fell upon the others, I was made aware of their legends, of their pitiful myths that were crystallized into the Servants who dared claim my title before me. Yet, when I laid my eyes on you, a mere mortal, I sensed something that shouldn't be—GAHAK!" The king narrowed his gaze as he coughed even more blood. Clearing his throat by spitting to the side once more, he added. "You… you wear the guise of a mortal, but something within you screamed that you weren't one. The others may not have noticed it, but my eyes would rarely miss an oddity like you. You… that which hides within you, it is an aura akin to that of the Heroic Spirit, albeit a lesser one."
Lelouch said nothing. Intriguing a revelation this might be, he tried not to now show any signs of it being new to him. He himself knew little about how he was resurrected and brought into this world, only that he was. That entity wasn't very particular about the matter of his transfer after all.
'All I know is that I am now bound to his world and its history.' Whatever that meant, it went way over the Demon Emperor's head. She was not so much a conversationalist, but rather simply gave him the minimum information before dispatching him here. 'For there to be someone who could actually give me a clue… now he's just about to die…'
What a waste, he didn't say as Gilgamesh continued.
"Still, after my revelations, I was left with more questions than I wanted. When mere guesswork troubled me more than working with that annoyance of a magus Tokiomi, my curiosity for you only worsened." The hunger in the broken man's expression would've been a regal smile had he not been burned so. But Lelouch didn't classify the man to have gone mad yet. "A brat like you couldn't be a true Servant for there were already eight. Not even Tokiomi or the priest would be able to accept it should the Master of the abnormality that is Avenger also be a Servant. Yet, neither were you some sort of Ghost or Wraith as you had no attachment… no real desire that could be found in this world. It was then that I came to the conclusion of an outlier among outliers. An outsider of this reality." Gilgamesh's stare deepened into a bloodstained yet victorious smile. "With how you reacted earlier, I'd already claimed my guess to be correct."
It wasn't even a question. The man stated it as if it was a fact even before he'd admitted to it. Lelouch sighed, wondering where this man got his confidence. "Hm. Yet Your Highness doesn't sound very surprised."
"What do you take me for, mongrel from another reality? I am the sole ruler of this world! Finding out an outlier in my garden, it wouldn't be the first time I dealt with one such as you." Archer replied while his gaze wavered slightly. "In the past… or was it the future, I feel like I already experienced something similar. Meeting one far detached from this world, an outsider that belonged to a different reality… a different time. Even now, I can still sense the anomaly, that of an organization… a camaraderie and a master not of this war..."
"Hm?" It appeared like he was reminiscing about something. Something there, but also not. Lelouch couldn't help himself. "What… do you mean?"
"To you, it will be taken as a dead man's rambling. But to a god king such as I, it is definitive proof that there exists an anomaly. My eye will always be able to sense oddity apart from the mundane. Even if I could be uncertain in my guesses."
'So I'm not the only one? Are there… others like me? She didn't mention anything like this.' Lelouch put that thought aside as he carefully watched the now-weakening Servant before him. "So, Your Highness came all this way to confirm all this? I trust you are satisfied—"
"I am not." He so casually interrupted as if expecting the polite question. "Back in that castle, your braggart of a Servant claimed you a prince. The progeny to Saber's lineage. Of the latter, it was a lie… and yet, I sense it isn't the complete truth." The man glared up at him, judging him, studying his expression more intently than ever before. This is what Gilgamesh came here for, half-dead and about to vanish. "I've already confirmed the falsehood of your origins, Lelouch. Now, answer me sincerely. In what manner were that bitch's words false?"
Lelouch thought about it. Honestly, he'd have preferred the man keep his comments about Nobunaga to himself, but thinking professionally, there was no point lying to him right now. Especially when Archer was in this state. Taking into account that Kariya was nowhere in sight, likely being guarded by Berserker, it was just him, Gilgamesh, and Nobu.
She'd been here for a while now. Just feeling out for her, Lelouch could sense that Nobunaga was close. Very, very close. Like Archer, she was watching him, waiting. But unlike the broken king who sought answers, Nobu was merely anxious for his safety.
What better way to reassure his concerned accomplice and appease the greedy king than by performing a classical act?
"There was a time when I was once a prince. I threw away that title when I took up a mask of a messiah and led a revolution." Crossing his arms, he hid half of his face with the palm of his left hand as it touched on the eye that once held his greatest power. With a simple gesture of unmasking himself despite the lack of one, he proclaimed to the curious king. "Then, when I was betrayed by that revolution, I discarded that mask as well and stole back the throne. With my hands, I overthrew that which I once called father and took over as an emperor."
"You? The Emperor?" Gilgamesh with excitement. "And what, pray do tell, are you an emperor of?"
The hunger in his bloody expression, the greedy smile in his burned face. Had he not resembled a lump of flesh, Lelouch would've likened him to a certain journalist-turned-terrorist-PR-turned-traitor-once-more.
Lelouch could only smile fiendishly. The King of Heroes oft called himself the true owner of the world. But the boy wondered, would the king react the same as the man who had been awestruck by Zero's first appearance?
"I apologize for the delayed introduction, Milord Gilgamesh, King of Uruk." Offering the man an esteemed bow, the boy held a hand behind him while the other covered his heart. Raising his gaze ever so slowly and capping it off with a dramatical waved of his hands, the formal introduction befitting his former title was given. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia. The former Emperor of Britannia, the man who was once abandoned by his homeland, the man who raised the flag of rebellion under the guise of a masked hero known as Zero, and the one who conquered the world in less than a year, proclaiming an era of peace the likes of which neither your world nor mine had ever experienced before."
For a time, all was silent. The only thing that made a sound was the trickling blood of the Servant's severed arm that continued to drip into the pool of the forest floor. Then, the king seated back against the tree's roots shifted with teeth grit hard like it seemingly held back laughter.
"Heh… So, you… aren't lying…"
"I have no need to." Disappointed that Gilgamesh had nothing to offer but an expression of mixed emotions, Lelouch dropped the dramatic charade. "My past matters little in this conflict, not to mention, it is of a world different to your own. Nothing from my former life would be relevant to us of the present day." None except the past made him the Demon he was today, but that was neither here nor there. "Now, King Gilgamesh are you satisfied?"
Archer said nothing. The man's expression was hard to read. A likely haughty laugh being held back, a studious gaze that continued to stare deep into Lelouch's own. Had he not been covered in so many injuries, missing half a body as well, Lelouch may have been able to see if the king had other noticeable quirks that he could glean a reaction from.
"You said you are the former emperor." Instead of praise, surprise, or even mockery, Lelouch received a demand. "Explain."
Lelouch pondered why he was still on his case but proceeded anyway.
"As any tyrant, my end was predictable. Opposition from those who didn't agree with my rule eventually led to my downfall. I was slain by a new leader of the revolutionary army I once led." Excluding what need not be said, the boy instead looked up into the stars, wondering what his killer and friend was doing now. "Hm. It was quite the anticlimactic end mere months after my absolute victory. Henceforth, I am but another monarch fallen from grace, now a mere teen who'd formerly been a ruler of the entire globe."
"Fool." Gilgamesh scoffed with a foolhardy smile. Even near death, the king wasn't above mocking him with a smile. "There is no such thing as a former ruler. Once a monarch, you will forever be a ruler. It is inscribed in history and therefore forever true."
"While that may be true for milord and other Heroic Spirits, as you surmised, I am not the same—"
"Doesn't matter what world you live in, you imbecile—GAHAK!" Spittle mixed with blood stopped the man as soon as he interrupted. But the pain he must've been feeling spewing out red didn't deter him from lecturing the boy. "No matter if it is time or some rebellious mongrels that managed to claim your life, you were, are, and will always be a ruler. One need only look at examples of old! Need I remind you of myself? Even that brute Rider or naïve child you falsely claimed your ancestor, Saber. Both had fallen from grace in life as I did, yet both continue to be follow through with their kingship even after death! The end of your rule does not end with your life. It ends with the complete and total annihilation of your legacy, what you'd built and what bore fruit thereafter!"
"So you may believe, King Gilgamesh. However the same cannot be said of one whose legacy would be remembered as the darkest times in history."
'Even if it was designed that way' went left unsaid. He'd played his part as the demon that held the world in the palm of his hand. He was not the messiah that saved it. Merely the martyr that orchestrated the demise of a 'great evil', manipulating people to unite against him. Even if it was a peace that came as a result, the method he used was not a legacy worth being proud of.
Even if one couldn't change the world without getting their hands dirty, there should've still been better ways to go about it. Let it not be said that Lelouch Lamperouge would've taken another path had he had the chance to.
"I… was not a just ruler. Merely a tyrant… I ruled not for the sake of my people, but to achieve my own goal. I did not hesitate to kill whoever tried to stand in my way. Be they a town, a city, or country, the ninety-ninth emperor, Lelouch Vi Britannia, was never the benevolent sovereign."
"And? What of it?" Gilgamesh scoffed. "You ruled as any ruler should. Your people lived for your sake. They lived for the sake of your desire. Not bad, Emperor Lelouch. Not bad for a child as young as you. Do not fall into the same pitfall as that foolish Saber. No king should rule selflessly for they are nought but fools destined to regret what they wrought. That is not how a king should behave." With his one working arm, Gilgamesh pointed at Lelouch's face. "A ruler, you see, should be the star that leads the people. It is by their word, their actions, their presence, that the people act. Wherever the star goes, the people must follow. A King's path is one of isolation for he treads where others will not. Having heard your answer, I am satisfied knowing you do not fully share the same views of that girl. But, you are stepping on a line that would tarnish the sacrifices made should you step over it."
"I would still disagree with you to some degree, King Gilgamesh. But I feel like my words will be ignored." Lelouch sighed but smiled.
He understood the man's advice for he too once second-guessed his actions.
Like Saber, there was a time he questioned whether he should continue or stop and make amends. But time waits for no one. The path of redemption leads to nowhere if all he does is apologize and retreat. No. Once he'd crossed a line, cutting off the path of many others, there was no going back. Ever.
He never became emperor to rule, for him, it was just another mask. But like Archer's adamant yet bloody expression said. He shouldn't discard it like one. He should proudly wear it through and through. No matter how much blood it was stained in.
In his mind, it was, in some aspect, fine to accept the Babylonian King's view on kingship. "Be that as it may, my past has nothing to do with present matters any more. As I said I don't intend to use Grail for myself."
"Oh? And why is that?" Gilgamesh turned curious. Like a bully questioning a stubborn child. "I spent a great amount of time showing Kirei his true nature and desires. Must I go through the same with you?"
"I doubt you'd have enough time." The joke was taken with another bleeding chuckle. "But no. It isn't that I don't know what I would wish for. It is merely the fact that I already achieved what I wanted before my death."
Lelouch paused. He debated whether he should tell the Servant of what was to come. He might incur the king's wrath… but, after the length this man went through to give him advice… it was odd to say, but he felt he owed Gilgamesh a little on this.
Breathing deep, the young man made his decision. "This Holy Grail War… it is pointless. The prize is claimed to be able to grant any wish. However, that is a lie. It does not grant wishes, much less be able to give me anything I could ever want."
"That, I am aware of, boy." Lelouch's eyes widened slightly. "You don't think I kept Kirei because he was an amusing actor, do you? Nay, that man had far more uses than Tokiomi ever will. For one, he would've kept me supplied with mana to see this war to its end and beyond. For unlike the many other participants, what that man sought was not victory, but purpose." The king then followed up with a sneer. "Heh, well, he would've had that had you not ended him prematurely."
Meaning he'd wasted his time deliberating what the man sat before him already accepted as a fact. Lelouch couldn't help but deride himself for wanting to show gratitude to a man as arrogant and willful as Gilgamesh. But then again, what use was an all-powerful wish granter to one who used to rule the world, no?
'A lot, actually.' Lelouch knew better than to go back on his own words.
He thought to use the Grail himself when he was told of its omnipotent wish-granting powers. Perhaps undoing his wrongs, saving people who didn't deserve to die because of him, maybe even recreating the world for Nunnally without the needless sacrifices he and many others were forced to suffer through.
Shirley and Rolo certainly didn't deserve their end. Euphemia more so. 'If I could do right by them again… then…'
Lelouch didn't bother entertaining that thought any further than he already had. Not now when he knew it was futile to rely on this Grail.
Not only would it fail in granting any wish, but the Demon Emperor also suspected his sponsor already knew that the magic artefact would instead corrupt those wishes, morph the winner's desires into something grotesque. Why else was he brought here to 'stop anyone from claiming it' instead of 'win it for himself'?
From experience, Lelouch knew that power comes at a price.
His former countrymen and their corrupt empire turned everyone against one another. His parents and the power of Geass led them to their mad plan to kill God. Power always took more than it gave back. A literal trade with a devil. He'd partaken in one himself, good intentions be damned. No way in hell would he suspect the Grail to not have caveats and underlying strings attached.
Besides, even if it wasn't a scam, the fact it would end up using Nobunaga, his partner, as fuel was as much an insult to him as it was a mockery of every participants' struggles.
'Why offer a Heroic Spirit such a reward upon victory if it would sacrifice them to that end? I will not use my partner for something like that.'
Nobu didn't deserve to be betrayed a second time. Ignoring her stunt at the king's banquet, she was still his ally. His one and only accomplice in this world. Not to mention, Lelouch enjoyed her company greatly. For someone as detached from the world as he, she was the only solace he had. Speaking with her… it just let his mind fall at ease.
'The promise I made with her on that day still stands. I… I'm not going to act ignorant of its meaning. But… at the same time, I don't know how much time I have left.' Seeking her out with their connection, he felt her far closer than ever before. Maybe it was the sentimentality of it all, or she was actually this close yet unseen by the bloody Archer, but he felt it. Her concerns, her yearnings. It was subtle, but they were there. 'Such feelings… I don't want to betray them. But I understand my position more than anyone.'
He might die the moment war is over for all he knew. And yet, if it truly was the last of his numbered days, he preferred to enjoy it with someone who would accept his company. Whether it be smiling with her or fighting alongside her until his last breath, Lelouch wouldn't squander the trust she'd placed on him.
'Thank you…' The thought came to him. But they weren't his own. The young man simply shrugged as if to acknowledge it in silence. Being connected as they were, she need not see the appreciative smile on his face. Assured in his position, he broke the silence between himself and the king. "Well, regardless of what we know and what we do not, I have to say, I find our positions interesting, Your Highness."
"How so?"
"During the banquet, you said that you would judge to see if anyone was worthy of the Grail. All this time, it was my goal to prevent such judgement from coming to pass." He need not say, but he knew the king appreciated the irony as much as he did. "Not to keep the prize for myself but to deprive it from all others."
"Indeed. A king who would reward and one who would steal it away. You make for the appropriate Master of the woman after all," Gilgamesh chuckled. "But now that the winds have changed, I suppose that works out well for me."
Lelouch raised a brow. "You would accept my taking away your self-proclaimed treasure, milord?"
"Do not misunderstand me, Lelouch. The only person who I thought was worthy to have it was Kirei. But such a decision was done merely out of curiosity, an interest to see how that device would answer the wishes of a man who truly had none." The King of Heroes sighed, seemingly regretting the loss of opportunity to see things through. "You know, Lelouch. I don't have a master anymore."
"Of that, I am aware, milord." Lelouch smiled a little, knowing the man wasn't implying what a certain eavesdropping daimyo would assume he'd be. "However, I must refuse if you would mean to grant me the honour of being yours."
"Don't think so highly of yourself, brat," the king snapped back with a smile. "While I may deem you somewhat worthy as an emperor, I have not yet come to trust that smug grin on your face. And I'd rather disappear from this world than join forces with the barbarian bitch that inflicted these wounds of mine that won't heal." With his only arm, Gilgamesh pulled his hair back, cleaning the blood off of his scarred forehead, but at the same time, staining the locks of his ash-ridden hair with maroon. "Hmph, I may not accept falling to such a savage, but a king must admit defeat when his foe is one as cunning as you."
"I'm honoured that you would praise me so." Lelouch walked up to the injured man and knelt to one knee. Giving a genuine bow, he offered his thanks in the form of a smile.
"Hmph, only now do you show your true colours." The king graced him with a simple scoff. "For a competent strategist and capable leader, you are quite the demon to offer a dying foe a sneer as vicious as yours."
"It is a smile I've only given a rare few," Lelouch replied. "For there are hardly many foes that I feared more than you, King of Heroes."
"You're lucky I find you interesting, Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia. Had my one and an only dear friend been summoned alongside me, I'm sure they'd enjoy meeting you as well." Gilgamesh returned the smile with his own. "As my parting gift, I shall grant you the honour in finishing this war as you see fit."
How presumptuous… For a loser to be offering the rights of victory to his killer. Then again, Gilgamesh lived by his rules, his kingship. If he'd deemed him worthy, then at least there was no need to worry about him being killed here and now. Not anymore.
"Then, as my parting gift to you, I would bestow upon you the swiftest end to your suffering." Lelouch stood up, a smile widening further than ever before. In the eyes of many, it would appear cruel. But to Lelouch, he genuinely meant every word he said. "In the modern era, I've read it's what's called a 'gun salute'. An honour reserved only for the mightiest of warriors who'd fallen in battle."
Gilgamesh raised his eyebrow before Lelouch took a few steps back. At the same time, the leaves rustled underfoot as another made their appearance behind the boy. A river of crimson hair made her way between Lelouch and the staring yet wildly grinning Gilgamesh.
"I apologize for having relegated her as my substitute. But, as you've said, I am not a real Heroic Spirit nor a proper Servant," Lelouch bowed once more from behind rows of rifles that manifested in the air. "Anything I would do would only end up prolonging your pain."
"Heh," the king's mocking smile was riddled with seething hatred. But Lelouch thought he might've seen a little fear mixed in it as well. "For this bitch to be my executioner in the end… What a laugh!"
"Die by my hand, or get ripped apart by Berserker, you choose." Nobu raised her Katana at the one-armed, legless, defenceless King of Heroes. "Or I could grant you the honour of being made into sashimi while you live. Don't worry. I may not be a cook, but I understand the basic concept."
Lelouch wondered where all the bile in her voice came from. Though he was aware of her potent rage against all her foes, the way she was threatening a defeated Gilgamesh… it was odd.
It wouldn't be until later that the young man would understand. The rage and anger in her scowl was not out of blind bloodlust like Berserkers. No. This was just Oda Nobunaga being far more petty than she'd ever reveal to anyone.
She didn't like how Gilgamesh managed to destroy her world with a swing of an unknown sword. She didn't like the fact that the escapee went behind her back and managed to sneak his way to her Lulu. She didn't like knowing that, somehow, the foe who refused to see her way of things managed to connect with someone she wished to keep for herself.
It wouldn't be until later that the furious woman would understand. The throbbing in her chest, the wrath she managed to hold back was not mere hatred for the Servant her entire being was designed to kill. No. This was just Nobu being a little jealous.
"What's with that threat, mongrel bitch?" To the all-seeing eyes of the King of Uruk, it might as well be plain as day. "Don't tell me, this is enough for the seeds of envy to blossom? Oh, how rich!"
"Try me, and I'll make your last moments an eternal hell—!"
"That's enough, Nobu!" Lelouch had to step in lest she loses control. He didn't want her to lose composure over a dying man's words. 'Calm down. I'll grant you anything you want in return, but please. Stay your temper, my foolish Daimyo.'
It was only by the clinking of her katana that Lelouch knew she would stay her hand.
Gilgamesh though," "Ahahahahah! Truly, from reactions alone, you're both made for one another!" He was unrepentant. Even with his lungs heaving and soaked in lifeblood, the arrogant King wouldn't hold back his mirth. "Ah, a child emperor more mature than his years and a savage daimyo who'd never known being a jealous brat. Ah, yet another potentially good plot I would never see thanks to a poor playwright at work."
"You must have terrible luck with playwrights, Your Highness," Lelouch said whilst consoling, as well as holding back, Nobu with a hand on her shoulder. "Might I recommend reincarnating to my world? You may find more entertainment there than you would dreary endings here."
"Enough with the jests, former Emperor of Britannia. Unlike you, as I live and breathe, now and forever, I still have a duty to my kingdom that is this world, rotten and foul it may be. Once I get another chance, I shall end this farce the moment I find no worth in letting it continue or joy in participating in it!" The king loudly proclaimed before finally losing the energy to hold his head up high. "Yet… if Fate would permit it, I'd hope to meet you in the Throne of Heroes."
"Perhaps. Or our paths may cross again. Maybe, in a different war." Lelouch noted the man's acknowledgement in the form of a nod and smile. "Fare thee well, King of Heroes, Gilgamesh."
"Do not disappoint me, Lelouch vi Britannia—, nay. Lelouch Lamperouge." The boy's eyes narrowed upon the removal of his title. "A ruler, you may not believe yourself to be. But an enjoyable actor you are. Make sure you continue this dance until its very end. Else, I shall be a bored audience in the afterlife."
With their last words said, Lelouch bid the man who was more than an enemy yet less than a friend a final adieu. Stood back, he watched as the numerous rifles clicked, ready to fire.
"I'll admit this, barbarian woman." Gilgamesh then directed to Avenger who stood still yet patient. "You are strong. But I will not acknowledge you for you are neither a worthy ruler nor a great conqueror. You are but a sham who accepted your false power upon your ascension."
Nobunaga said nothing. Instead, her rifles just clicked. All those that she spawned tore through the corpse, blasting the arrogant smirk of the fallen king's face.
By night's end, the number of participants in the Grail war had fallen.
Four Servants remain. Four Masters yet live. The Fourth Holy Grail War has reached its midpoint by the dawn of the next day.
***
Author's note:
Once again, special thanks to Beta-Reader for amazing work: ReavesTheReader! Also, the lesson from Reaves: apparently 'Lelouch' means lamb in Algerian, Hebrew, or some Arabian Peninsula Arabic culture. The more we know right? :D
Anyway, until the next chapter!