Manaka Sajyou had known from the very beginning that things would turn out this way.
The all-knowing, all-powerful girl stopped observing her own future the moment she learned that she would fall in love.
Originally, she could know fate and control the future.
She could even weave events and choose futures as if playing cat's cradle with the threads of the world and time, deciding every possibility exactly as she wished and selecting the days she wanted to live through.
But she did not.
With a smile and no hesitation at all, the girl closed the eyes that looked upon the future and imposed a restriction on herself.
Why?
Because in love, she wanted to feel her heart race.
Yet in the very instant she shut off her "Future Sight," the Root Maiden saw something unexpected.
At the end of the Great Holy Grail War, what awaited the girl and her prince was not a happy ending.
The end of the world.
The end of humanity.
What had happened?
Why had it turned out that way?
Where, exactly, had things gone wrong?
Manaka Sajyou furrowed her brow in confusion.
The only thing she could be certain of was that "the end of the world would be triggered by the Great Holy Grail War."
In that case, she could only assume that some Magus or Servant would make a wish to destroy the world, right?
In truth, she could have understood the situation if she had restored even a small part of her "functions."
But Manaka Sajyou did not.
She would not look at her own future.
No matter what.
Absolutely not.
That was the one restriction she had placed on herself.
This racing heartbeat, this nervous tension, was originally a human weakness she had gained in exchange for losing her "omniscience and omnipotence."
Manaka Sajyou was beginning to enjoy the situation, just a little.
Of course, it would be a problem if humanity went extinct like this.
In that case, she would just kill everyone~
Manaka Sajyou settled on her strategy several years in advance.
During the Great Holy Grail War in Romania, she would eliminate every Heroic Spirit except for her own Knight.
That way, the end of the world should be prevented.
That way, he would once again become the savior of the world.
With that thought in mind, Manaka Sajyou met defeat.
She possessed all-knowing, all-powerful strength, yet refused to use it, immersing herself instead in fantasies of romance.
She longed to become human, but kept the arrogance she had been born with. That must have been the reason for her defeat.
...
"The request has been received."
"Servant of God, Archangel... Jeanne Metatron. I look forward to working with you."
"Next, I shall bring destruction upon this world. Please prepare yourselves."
"O humanity, know that destruction is God's salvation."
The Archangel flowing out from the Ruler's body unilaterally declared humanity's end.
The words of this girl who called herself the "Scribe of God" were absurd, yet carried absolute conviction.
To compare her to some phenomenon...
Right, the "Black" Caster's Noble Phantasm, "Golem Keter Malkuth."
Jeanne Metatron's existence was like Adam Kadmon amplified a million times over.
If Manaka were still alive, and if Shirou still had the heart to joke, he would surely have cursed, "What kind of garbage game is this? The stat inflation is ridiculous!"
The range of values modern Magi could perceive, Spirit Origin Reaction, Mana Power Reaction, all lost meaning before her.
Overwhelming divine radiance flooded the night sky and the earth.
Simply gazing at the Archangel made one's heart begin to submit.
The option to fight had never existed in the first place.
The only thing they could do was "calmly accept her judgment."
"...Why?"
Amakusa Shirou looked up at the golden-haired, white-winged Archangel and muttered in a daze, his face blank with disbelief.
"You are..."
Jeanne Metatron shifted her gaze and noticed the boy who had summoned her into this world.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada... Well done, young Servant of God. Your faith and devotion are moving. As a reward, I will allow you to witness the final moment."
"Huh? Wait... wait a second! Why? Why must humanity accept your destruction! Wasn't my wish 'the salvation of all humanity'? Why did it turn out like this...?"
Amakusa Shirou's eyes widened.
"Could it be... the Holy Grail distorted my wish...?"
Hearing that, the Archangel tilted her head slightly.
"No. The commission I received from the Holy Grail was indeed to bring salvation to the people of this world. However, the means by which that result is achieved... that decision belongs to me."
"Wha..."
"This world has no future left. Not as of now. That was already decided fifteen hundred years ago."
As she said this, the Archangel glanced at the red-haired boy who was also in the Sky Garden.
"This world, which continues to decline, would arrive at self-destruction even if I did nothing. The process would be extraordinarily long and painful. No matter how humanity struggles, it cannot be changed, and during that process, the world's limited resources would continue to be squandered. Therefore, I shall bestow salvation (destruction) upon humanity. You need not experience suffering that repeats in endless cycles. You will vanish within a dream of unsurpassed happiness. After that, the planet will await a new primate... some being known as the next sentient entity, born upon this planet. That may take hundreds of millions, or even billions of years, but there is no need to worry... the extinction of you old humans is not meaningless."
Cold sweat poured down the young Father's face. He had been mistaken from the very beginning.
First, how should "all of humanity" be defined?
From the perspective of the Heroic Spirit Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, "all of humanity" referred to his fellow humans, past, present, and future, who had lived under the same blue sky as him for thousands of years.
Even the detestable Shogunate troops who had once killed his comrades were part of the "all of humanity" he wanted to save.
But if that perspective were expanded to the scale of a planet, a galaxy, or the universe...
From the angel's perspective, "all of humanity" referred to the very concept of the primate species on the third planet of the solar system, across a span of time that could reach billions of years.
"The current old humanity" could receive a peaceful end.
"The future new humanity" could inherit a blue homeworld whose resources had not been exhausted.
This was the "salvation of all humanity" in the mind of the angel Metatron.
"...Hmph. So you finally understand."
Watching Amakusa Shirou's reaction, the Archangel's inorganic face showed a faint trace of pride.
"This is both my judgment and the will of the Lord."
"You say... the will of the Lord...?"
"Of course. My will is the will of the Lord."
The Archangel spoke as if it were only natural, uttering words that any believer would consider utterly blasphemous.
Even so, no one could rebuke her. No one could question her.
From ancient times to the present, Western emperors, kings, and the Church had always proclaimed themselves "God's representatives on earth."
Yet everything they had done in smug satisfaction was nothing more than a clumsy imitation of the angel Metatron.
Metatron, who was permitted to act on behalf of God, could sit upon the throne of God and exercise the Lord's authority.
"Scribe of God," "One Who Stands Beside the Throne (Metathronios)," "Little Jehovah," "Chancellor of Heaven," "She Who Walks with God"...
Those many radiant titles proved her transcendent, absolute status.
"...Don't screw with me!"
Amakusa Shirou roared, "Everything you've said is nothing but your own one-sided opinion! The only thing you can represent... is your own will! Don't you dare call that the Lord's will and twist the meaning!"
"What are you trying to say, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?"
"I cannot agree with this... I cannot accept it..."
The young Father gnashed his teeth. "Just because humanity is destined to have no future, you would take their lives from them now... How could something like that ever be allowed?!!"
"You are saying something very strange."
Metatron looked slightly puzzled.
"Your words contradict themselves. Your thoughts drift without settling. Are the views you are expressing not the very same ones Jeanne, whom you were confronting a few minutes ago, put forward?"
"..."
The young Father was left speechless.
The Holy Maiden's voice was poured into everyone's minds.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, I cannot accept your redemption. Your actions show distrust toward humanity, and would reduce everything humanity has accumulated to nothing. Humanity has struggled against suffering and calamity for thousands of years. Even after repeated defeats, they never gave up. They overcame countless sacrifices to reach this point!"
Those words were exactly what Jeanne had said a few minutes earlier to refute Amakusa Shirou.
At the time, Amakusa Shirou's view had been that all of human history up to now was meaningless.
What people called human history was nothing more than an endless cycle of ugliness and suffering.
Humanity could not learn any lessons from history or achieve any growth. That was why he would use the power of the Holy Grail to create an entirely new world.
The Holy Maiden's view was the opposite of his.
Although humanity had endured countless hardships, even suffering it had created with its own hands... that did not mean the past should be rejected wholesale. If anything, the present should be cherished all the more.
Even if greater crises awaited humanity in the future, they should still move toward that future with kindness and courage.
And now, Amakusa Shirou was pleading the Holy Maiden's argument before the Archangel.
Humanity should not be destroyed.
Even if no future remained, humanity's past and present should never be denied.
"It seems you never had any conviction of your own to begin with. Your wish is not as strong as you claimed. You merely wanted your fellow humans to find happiness, without ever truly considering humanity's future... In other words, a double standard."
The Archangel with the Holy Maiden's face spoke coldly. "What a shame. I thought you might be a true saint. It seems even you are no exception. You possess the same foul habit as all humans (old humans), the vice known as 'selfishness'..."
"Your chattering is getting really annoying."
"...?"
Interrupted mid-sentence, the Archangel shifted her gaze toward Shirou, who stood nearby.
"What do you wish to say, Holy Sword Bearer?"
The Saber holding the Sleeping Beauty in his arms glared at her and said in a low voice, "Aren't you going to destroy the world? If you're going to do it, hurry up and do it. Stop dragging this out. No one here wants to listen to your sermon."
"Saber! What are you saying!"
"..."
Metatron did not grow angry at Shirou's provocation. Only her eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Although I would like to bring salvation to the earth right away... the most basic procedure must still be followed."
Shirou frowned. "What are you planning?"
"I will... give you a little time."
The Archangel's tone carried no emotion, but absolute confidence and composure could be felt within it.
"As everyone knows, the Lord created the world in seven days. In that case, I shall grant you seven days as well. During this final week before the world ends, you may use your time however you like. I will not interfere. Whether you choose repentance or indulgence, whether you give in to despair or prepare to resist, I will overlook it. Accept it with gratitude. This is the Lord's final mercy."
"You talked so smugly just now, but don't tell me you actually can't wipe out all of humanity."
Shirou provoked her again.
But it was not only provocation.
Shirou felt that Metatron must have some unspeakable reason for giving them seven days.
"Think what you like, Holy Sword Bearer."
The Archangel's eyebrow twitched again. "If you do not wish to accept it, you may challenge me at any time. I can send you back to where you came from whenever you wish."
Send me back to my original world? Something that good exists?
If this had been one day earlier, Shirou would probably have thought that with delight.
But now.
Shirou glanced at Manaka Sajyou, whose eyes were shut tight in his arms.
Forget the world for now, he thought. I can't abandon this child.
"...Saber, what do we do?"
Atalanta asked with a tense expression.
Whether they intended to oppose an Archangel or do anything else, she did not think starting a fight now was a wise choice. Saber did not even have a Master supplying him with Mana, did he?
After a brief silence, the void behind Shirou rippled, and a pure white airship appeared.
"We're retreating."
As he said that, the boy walked toward Metatron. Or more accurately, toward Leticia, who lay directly beneath her.
The Archangel Metatron had not manifested by using Leticia's body, but by directly occupying Jeanne's Spirit Origin.
That meant the French girl's body was no longer of any use to her.
Shirou slung Leticia over his shoulder and returned to his airship.
Besides Atalanta, Achilles was also preparing to leave with him.
After witnessing the whole sequence of events, he now understood Manaka Sajyou's intentions. Though he still disliked the girl, he had also decided to resist the Archangel's tyranny.
"Then, I will see you in one week."
Metatron watched Shirou's airship and Achilles's chariot depart.
Aside from them, there was someone else who could not bring himself to leave.
Amakusa Shirou drew his blade. He could not accept the reality that the world would be destroyed because of his own wish.
"Master."
Semiramis came up behind him and began driving the last of the Mana within her body.
The Archangel intended to requisition her Hanging Gardens and transform the Queen's Throne into a divine throne that would shine over the world.
Of course Semiramis could not accept that. She also intended to settle things with the thief stealing her territory.
Even knowing this was no different from a moth flying into the flame.
Amakusa Shirou's arm blazed with crimson light.
"By my Command Spell, Assassin... flee. You should not die here in vain."
"What!?"
Semiramis's eyes widened.
She had never imagined that her Master would betray her at a time like this.
It was an unforgivable crime. Even if she flew into a rage and tore him apart, no one could blame her.
But she no longer had even the chance to complain.
Under the coercive force of the Command Spell, Semiramis's body vanished from the Sky Garden.
...
"Saber... Thank goodness! You're still alive! I thought you were dead!"
As they were leaving the Sky Garden, they heard a familiar, excited voice.
Shirou and Atalanta turned and saw Rider mounted on the back of a Hippogriff.
The corner of Shirou's mouth twitched. "Where did you go?"
"Listen to me, Saber~~~~"
With a miserable look on his face, Astolfo recounted the grand adventure he had gone through after parting ways with Shirou.
Apparently, after releasing "Hippogriff," he had made a Dimensional Shift to a place he knew absolutely nothing about. In other words, he had gotten lost.
With neither "Instinct" nor "Revelation," he wandered around inside the floating fortress for half an hour, only to somehow end up outside the garden.
Waiting for him there was the Floating Garden's autonomous defensive Magecraft, the Black Coffin...
After finally escaping the Anti-Army firepower of the cannons, he was just about to look for Shirou when the two of them ran into each other.
"What happened up there? Why did you leave?"
Astolfo asked, looking puzzled.
"Ah... don't tell me this is an elopement!?"
He covered his mouth, his gaze darting back and forth between Shirou and Atalanta.
"..."
Shirou really was not in the mood to explain right now. Once they got back, he would let the people of Yggdmillennia explain the situation to him.
"Is that... an army of angels?"
Atalanta looked toward the distant aerial fortress, which was gradually shrinking from view.
Countless white wings had surrounded the pitch-black fortress.
From the "Ninth Tier" to the "First Tier."
The angels had sacred yet bizarre forms. At first, they were merely clusters of wings, but as their rank rose, the higher-tier angels gradually took on the shape of giants.
Judging by their Spirit Origin reactions, every angel from the "Fourth Tier" and above had at least Servant-class combat ability.
And the number of wings was still increasing.
If the scene described in the Holy Scriptures was true, then at least one million angels would soon be flying around this stretch of sky.
The army of Heaven, with over a million combatants on the level of Heroic Spirits...
Atalanta felt like she could not breathe. To be honest, even if the entire power of the Throne of Heroes were exhausted, she did not know whether they could stand against it.
"Assassin didn't escape."
Shirou gazed at the aerial fortress and murmured.
Atalanta's fine brows drew together slightly. "...Are you worried about her?"
Shirou shook his head. "I can't forgive her for stabbing Manaka in the back, but... I was just thinking that at a time like this, it would be nice to have a Magus from the Age of Gods as an ally."
In a one-on-one fight, even possessing Age of Gods Magecraft was not particularly impressive.
But when facing an army, a Magus became vital.
Shirou narrowed his eyes. Especially against a mass-produced army that had nothing but overwhelming power.
"..."
Atalanta was secretly startled.
Even in the face of such overwhelming despair, Shirou was not discouraged in the slightest. He was already thinking about how to defeat the Archangel.
As expected of my future husband, the girl thought faintly.
Shirou said, "Forget it... Since she doesn't want to come with us, we can't force her."
Atalanta said, "Yes. A captain who refuses to abandon her ship... I cannot say I don't understand how she feels."
The next instant, the "Red" Assassin appeared on the chalk-white deck of the Ehangwen.
Shirou: "?"
Atalanta: "?"
Semiramis: "..."
The three of them looked awkwardly at one another.
***
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