Chapter 78: Gilgamesh
Yes, Emiya Shirou's reason for letting Berserker go was that simple. It wasn't for some grand hidden motive, nor was it because he coveted Berserker as a top-tier combat asset.
It was exactly as he had said before. For a Emiya Shirou who knew the plot, "changing Illya's personality" to help her walk away from the pain of the Einzberns and return to being a normal girl was simply too difficult.
'One who hasn't suffered another's pain has no right to preach kindness.'
However, marching upon the Einzbern family to demand justice for Illya? That was simple for the current Shirou.
Furthermore, in the original Fate route, Illya—whose lifespan was reduced to a few years or even months due to magical modification—appears in the Tiger Dojo omegas where she can watch Shirou grow up, preventing him from becoming Archer.
Although the reason and method for this extended lifespan were never explicitly revealed by Nasu in the text, it exists.
In Prisma Illya, not only Illya but even Irisviel (as a Lesser Grail) managed to escape their fate as short-lived tools of the Holy Grail War. It stands to reason that the method is hidden within the Einzbern family, buried in their vast archives of magical grimoires.
That reason alone was enough for Emiya Shirou to strike at the Einzberns.
While this might have been a simple logic for Shirou, for Illya, it was undoubtedly something else entirely—a feeling she likely couldn't put into words herself. By the time she snapped out of it, Shirou's silhouette was already far in the distance, leaving only Berserker by her side.
"...He's gone. Fine, let's go too, Berserker."
.
.
.
"Shirou?"
"What is it, Saber?"
Walking toward the Church, Shirou was called out to by Saber. Remembering something, he said with an apologetic look, "Sorry, Saber. I let Berserker go without asking for your consent."
Unlike Shirou, the Saber he summoned had a clear wish she wanted to fulfill and a reason to defeat the other Servants.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Berserker was being suppressed by Shirou; that was entirely because [Pseudo-Anubis] happened to be a perfect counter. If Berserker were to overcome that weakness or adapt his strategy, it wouldn't be so easy for Saber to defeat him.
"It is fine. While I responded to the Grail's call to fulfill a certain wish," Saber shook her head, "after learning that the Grail has long been corrupted, I no longer have a reason to possess it at any cost."
Saber's tone was complicated.
On one hand, she couldn't let go of her wish. On the other, faced with a Black Grail that would only twist her wish into its worst possible realization, she didn't want to gamble the lives of the people of Britain on the slim chance that "the worst" wouldn't be that bad.
Her wish was born from the feeling that she hadn't done enough; she wanted to go back and yield the throne to a king more suited to making Britain endure. If the Black Grail's "endurance" meant that as long as humanity (including the British) went extinct, Britain would technically have "endured" until the end of mankind... then all her efforts would be meaningless.
Suppressing these complex emotions, Saber continued, "Shirou, you said there is another Servant from the previous war besides me? According to Lancer's intel, I don't recognize any of them."
She glanced at Lancer.
"Oi, Saber, you aren't suspecting me, are you?" Lancer looked over.
"No, that's not what I meant," Saber said. It wasn't a matter of trust; with her Instinct, she felt no hidden hostility from Lancer. But if that was the case...
"The true Servant held by Kotomine Kirei is Gilgamesh," Shirou answered. "He wasn't summoned for this fifth war. He's the Servant Kirei has kept in the physical world since the Fourth Holy Grail War... Did I not mention this?"
"...No, not at all!"
Aside from Archer, who already knew, everyone—Saber, Lancer, even Rin—stared at Shirou as if he were speaking madness.
"Emiya-kun, do you have any idea how much magical energy it takes to maintain a Servant's existence!?" Rin shouted. In the original UBW True End, she managed to keep Saber, but it drained her mana significantly even with Shirou's help.
"I know... but if it's not a Servant, but a Servant who has completed 'Incarnation,' then it's possible, right?"
"Eh?"
"In the fourth war, Gilgamesh was bathed in the curse of 'Materialization of the Soul' that flowed from the Grail, gaining a physical body," Shirou explained. "Because he has a real body now, he no longer views the war with the fleeting, playful mindset he had as a temporary spirit. Having a second, permanent life in this world has reminded him of his duty as a King."
Shirou sighed, thinking of the implications. "And that is the worst possible situation."
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