"A lowly cur that should grovel on the ground, dares to soar into the skies reserved for kings? Don't overestimate yourself, mongrel!"
On screen, Gilgamesh unleashed the Gate of Babylon, projecting a six-strike barrage of Noble Phantasms.
However, Berserker, now in control of a fighter jet, used its extreme speed to dodge all of the incoming attacks with terrifying precision.
At the same time, he released explosives that had been tainted by his own magical energy.
Even though modern weapons are normally ineffective against Heroic Spirits, once tainted by Berserker's cursed mana, they became something entirely different.
"Ignorant fool."
Seeing this, Gilgamesh only let out a cold, disdainful smile. Then, using a sudden burst of speed from his Vimana, he elegantly dodged the incoming missiles with a grace Berserker's hijacked jet couldn't hope to match.
"It's been a while since I've played like this. That a mere beast could bring me such amusement—how delightful!"
Laughing loudly, Gilgamesh drove his golden flying craft into a sharp ascent.
Berserker's jet followed relentlessly, locked in a supersonic pursuit.
Both broke through the sound barrier, soaring into the night sky above the clouds, launching into an all-out aerial deathmatch.
. . . . . . . .
The sheer intensity of the air battle between Berserker and Gilgamesh drew the full attention of the audience. So much so, the ground battle—where Artoria and Iskandar fought the massive sea demon—began to fade into the background.
Everyone was too excited, desperate to know how this fight would end.
However, as if deliberately teasing the audience, the film abruptly cut away from the aerial battle and the monster clash—shifting instead to focus on Tohsaka Tokiomi and Kariya Matou.
. . . . . . .
A cold night fog blanketed the air as Tokiomi descended from above.
Kariya, on the other hand, was writhing in agony from the crest worms raging inside his body. The pain was like having his limbs scraped raw with a rasp, biting into the bone.
"Kariya Matou. You gave up on the magus's path, yet still cling to the Holy Grail? Crawling back like this—your disgrace alone is enough to shame the entire Matou family."
"Tokiomi... why did you entrust Sakura to Zouken?"
"Is that really a question you should be asking now?"
"Answer me, Tokiomi!"
"Even without asking, the answer should be obvious. I only wanted my beloved daughter to have a bright and happy future."
"What?!"
"When a magus is blessed with twins, a dilemma always arises. Our family's secret arts can only be passed on to one. That means, no matter what, one child must be discarded and allowed to live a mundane life."
"Mundane?"
"Yes. Especially considering my wife—she was an exceptional vessel. Both Rin and Sakura were born with equally rare and remarkable talent. As a father, how could I possibly choose one to inherit everything, while stripping the other of her potential? That would be a tragedy no parent could bear. So, I sought to ensure they both received the protection of prestigious magus families."
"You'd have the sisters fight one another for supremacy?!"
"Even if it leads to that outcome, it would still be a blessing for my bloodline. If one triumphs, glory belongs to her. If she fails, then that glory returns to our ancestors. A battle without hesitation—that is the dream of every true magus."
"You're insane!"
"As expected, telling you is a waste of breath. You, a man who once turned his back on the path of magecraft, can never understand the nobility of it all."
"Shut the hell up! I won't forgive you, you despicable magus! I'm going to kill you! And Zouken too! I'll kill every last one of you!!"
As Kariya Matou shouted, he summoned a swarm of insects—the deadliest weapon of an insect mage—the Blade Wing Insect.
But Tokiomi Tohsaka remained calm and composed, replying coolly:
"From the moment a magus is born, they are fated to wield power. And one day, they will obtain even greater power. That responsibility flows through their very blood—long before they ever awaken to their destiny. You refused to inherit your family's legacy, and thus, the Matou magecraft was passed on to Sakura. In that sense, I should thank you."
"But make no mistake—I will never forgive your cowardice. To abandon the duty of your bloodline… that kind of weakness is a disgrace that can never be redeemed."
"Shut your mouth, you heartless monster!"
"You're mistaken. Being accountable for yourself is the bare minimum for being human. If you can't even manage that, you're not a man… you're a dog. Understand now, Kariya?"
"I'll kill you!!"
Consumed by rage, Kariya lunged, but Tokiomi raised his staff with absolute ease.
In an instant, a blast of searing flame incinerated every last insect that had swarmed toward him.
. . . . .
The confrontation between Kariya Matou and Tokiomi Tohsaka left the entire audience in stunned silence.
No one expected Tokiomi to have handed over his own daughter to the Matou family for such a reason.
And when the viewers recalled the horrifying suffering little Sakura endured at the start of the story, they couldn't help but curse Tokiomi in disgust.
After all, no decent human being could accept such twisted logic.
Still, some viewers tried to stay grounded and offered more nuanced thoughts:
"Tokiomi probably didn't know the truth about the Matou family. If he knew how they were abusing Sakura, he'd never have forgiven them either."
"Maybe, but ultimately this is his fault. He gave his daughter away to another magus so easily. Did he not consider the risks?"
"Magus logic is totally different from how normal people think."
"Kariya was also too stubborn. If he'd just told Tokiomi the truth, maybe this whole thing could've been avoided."
"Or maybe Kariya wanted to be the one to rescue Sakura with his own hands. That selfish desire may be why he kept quiet."
"Sigh... This tragedy isn't just one person's fault. But Tohsaka Tokiomi and Zouken Matou are definitely the ones most deserving of judgment."
The debate grew from there. It was clear that most of the audience could distinguish the layers of truth in the story—and understood that this tragedy wasn't born of a single decision.
. . . . . .
In contrast, Commander Wycliffe, seated in the theater, growled in fury:
"These magi are nothing but monsters devoid of humanity. If there were people like this in the real world, I'd wipe them out to the last one!"
General Wilhelm, sitting nearby, could only force a dry chuckle in response.
His age kept him from making such a blunt statement—but luckily, the mages of their own world were vastly different from the magi in the story.
Thanks to the fundamental difference between magic and magecraft, such horrors were unlikely to ever occur in real life.
Still, no one was more shaken by the film's moral confrontation than the mages at the Imperial Mage Academy.
The foundational education they'd received made them completely reject Tokiomi's ideology on an instinctual level.
To them, what he represented was not noble tradition, but inhuman cruelty—something they could never accept.
"Why does Tokiomi Tohsaka's philosophy sound so much like the mages from the Age of Magical Enlightenment, before the Empire was established? Back then, magic was passed down exclusively through a single lineage. Mages hoarded their knowledge and refused to share it with others. If you wanted to learn magic, you had to become someone's apprentice just to inherit the craft."
"Exactly. That kind of inefficient method of magical transmission seriously slowed the progress of human magic. Hundreds of years could go by without the emergence of a single new Tier 5 spell. It wasn't until the Empire era and the founding of the Imperial Mage Tower that things began to change. From that point on, anyone with talent had the right to study magic."
"Human wisdom can only be preserved and advanced through sharing. There were even Tier 6 forbidden spells in the Enlightenment era, but they've all been lost to time. Not even the names of those who first stepped into the realm of Grand Mages remain. It's truly tragic and lamentable."
"The Fate/Zero world is just like that. Magecraft is passed down to only one heir. And if that heir dies, the entire lineage of knowledge dies with them. The organization called the 'Clock Tower' seems to collect the magecrafts of lost families, but apparently has no intention of making them public. What a waste."
"It seems like magecraft in the Fate/Zero universe isn't the same as magic in our world. Their magecraft is inherently secretive and completely unsharable."
"So how is that any different from the so-called occult rituals in real life? Techniques that can't be passed on or expanded will inevitably vanish. They have no future, no potential for growth. They might as well be tossed into the dustbin of history."
"No wonder the mages in Fate/Zero are so weak. If Tokiomi Tohsaka is considered one of the strongest, they're really not impressive at all."
"If we sent one of our world's Grand Mages over there, they might not be able to beat Heroic Spirits outright, but they could definitely crush any of those so-called magi."
"The movie's power scaling also feels underwhelming. One Tier 6 forbidden spell from an Arch Mage could level a major city. Yet the Holy Grail War has been raging for so long, and Fuyuki City is still standing? That's just bizarre."
The murmuring among the mages continued to build. It was obvious that the vast majority of them looked down on the mages portrayed in the film.
And it wasn't just arrogance—the magical systems of their world and the one in Fate were fundamentally different.
In this world, magic is more akin to science—a foundational discipline that thrives on expansion, analysis, and theory-building.
The more it spreads and the more mages there are, the greater the pool of discoveries.
This leads to stronger overall systems and more advanced magical understanding.
By contrast, Fate's magecraft is a mystical art that relies on secrecy and exclusivity. If it spreads too widely, it risks losing its effectiveness entirely.
That core difference explains why this world's mages fundamentally cannot comprehend the logic of Fate's magecraft system.
Compared to ordinary mages, however, the Arch Mages atop the Imperial Mage Tower had a far deeper understanding of the situation.
As early as the first chapter of Fate/Zero, they had already seen through the essence of the magecraft system, and their reaction was one of genuine confusion.
How could a power so exclusive—restricted to so few—persist for so long?
That's what made no sense to the Arch Mages who had built their world on collaboration and progress.
As for Tokiomi Tohsaka's philosophy, the Arch Mages didn't see it as inherently flawed.
From his own standpoint, what he said was logical—his arguments were sound in theory.
The only issue was that he had made one critical error:
He had completely misjudged Zouken Matou, failing to realize the man was no normal magus—but a twisted monster in human form.
<+>
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/162522?view=condensed
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