"Assassin, what is the situation?"
Back inside the church, it wasn't until the moment Qiong reappeared that Kirei Kotomine remembered he actually had a Servant, and that he had sent this Servant out to gather intelligence.
When he recalled this, even Kirei Kotomine couldn't help but feel a slight tremor in his heart. This ability to make others gradually forget one's existence as soon as one disappears was truly terrifying. Moreover, this forgetting was rapid and seamless; he had spent the entire previous night with his teacher, yet neither of them had realized there was an Assassin in their lineup.
It was only now that Kirei Kotomine remembered the matter. Otherwise, as time continued to pass and the existence continued to fade, Kirei suspected even the Command Spells on the back of his hand would vanish, and he might even completely forget that he was participating in the Holy Grail War.
"Is this nihilism? Is the power of such a philosophical concept truly this terrifying?"
Kirei Kotomine couldn't help but wonder: if Assassin were determined to hide himself and erase his existence, would even that oldest King of Heroes be able to discover this non-existent being?
"The Matou family has summoned a Servant. I'm not sure which class it is, but they are wearing white armor and look like a knight. As for the other Servants, while I can roughly confirm the directions in which they were summoned, I don't have specific locations yet."
"Hmm, I see. Come with me to meet our ally."
Qiong nodded and asked nothing, following Kirei Kotomine to the Tohsaka Family residence. There, he met the head of the Tohsaka Family, Tohsaka Tokiomi—the very man behind the famous line: 'Everything is Tokiomi's fault.'
As well as Mushroom's Daddy, Goldie, the Grand Archer Gatekeeper, the oldest Fat Tiger, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh.
The blonde Gilgamesh sat on a sofa, holding a golden wine cup filled with a liquid the color of fresh blood. He gently swirled the golden cup, letting the aroma of the wine waft out, before looking at Qiong, who had been brought before him, with eyes like blood-red rubies.
"...Truly, there is a resemblance."
Those eyes, which were originally sharp and gave off a sense of arrogance and scrutiny, now became somewhat peaceful.
Gilgamesh looked at Qiong, who reminded him of his former dear friend, Enkidu.
At this moment, Qiong did indeed share some similarities with the Enkidu who had first met Gilgamesh; both were emotionally incomplete, yet both possessed the faint sprouts of humanity within their hearts.
The only difference was that the emotions in Enkidu's heart back then were developed through imitation and learning bit by bit.
In contrast, the humanity and emotions in Qiong's heart were remnants left behind by his two predecessors.
"What is your name?"
The peace in Gilgamesh's eyes vanished, replaced once more by arrogance.
"Qiong."
Qiong answered.
"A decent name. Can you fight? Have a match with this King."
"My King!"
Tohsaka Tokiomi, standing to the side, couldn't help but speak up.
"Assassin is indeed a fine opponent to provide Your King with amusement and relief from boredom, but he is ultimately Your King's subordinate in this battle. He must fight for Your King in the future after all. It wouldn't do for a monarch such as yourself to always lead the charge personally, would it?"
Gilgamesh was originally somewhat impatient, but after hearing Tohsaka Tokiomi's words, he found them quite reasonable. After all, if he had to personally deal with every stray dog and cat, it would diminish his status as the oldest monarch. Having a capable subordinate to command was indeed a good thing.
"Hmph, you do have a point. Boy, our battle shall be saved for the very end. Until then, become a soldier under my command and sweep away the mongrels who dare covet this King's treasures."
Qiong nodded indifferently.
Gilgamesh thought for a moment. Since the boy had become his subordinate to clear away madmen, he had to give some sort of reward. Otherwise, wouldn't it make this King seem overly stingy?
At that thought, Gilgamesh snapped his fingers, and golden ripples surged around him. He then reached into the golden ripples and pulled out a weapon.
It was a sword. The blade was like white silk condensed from moonlight, suspended in mid-air, its edge shifting between substance and void. In daylight, it appeared as a pale ink-colored misty shadow, while at night, it transformed into frost and snow-like flowing light. The black jade hilt was inlaid with a map of the stars, and the blade was three feet and three inches long. When swung, it trailed a band of light like the tail of a comet.
"This sword is named Xiaolian. As a soldier of this King and my destined opponent, it would be stingy of me not to provide you with a proper weapon. Accept this gift with gratitude."
Qiong caught the longsword Gilgamesh threw over. After swinging it a few times casually, Gilgamesh shook his head at the sight. It looked like a child flailing about, completely devoid of any technique or form.
"Honestly, if outsiders saw this, they would mock this King for taking in a fool who knows absolutely nothing! A fine sword in your hands is no different from a fire poker. This will not do; it is an embarrassment to this King!"
Gilgamesh began rummaging through his treasury. Although the fellow before him was special and most energy-based blessings could not affect him, Gilgamesh, confident in his treasury, believed he could surely find an item that would work.
"No need."
Qiong spoke up, interrupting Gilgamesh's search. Suddenly, his previously unsightly posture became proper. Although his movements and stance while swinging the sword didn't quite match the longsword in his hand, they already contained the essence of actual techniques.
"Hmph! At least it's somewhat presentable now. Get back and practice more! Don't let it be said that a subordinate of this King brought me shame in battle!"
Gilgamesh's sour expression improved significantly upon seeing Qiong quickly adopt a proper swordsmanship stance. He then hurriedly told the fellow to get back and practice his martial arts, so that even if he didn't become a master, he would at least look the part and not embarrass him.
Qiong did not feel any anger or annoyance at Gilgamesh's abrasive tone. Instead, he nodded seriously and said to the monarch who had gifted him a suitable weapon: "I will not fail the trust."
"Hahaha! Good! This King gives you a promise: if our future battle satisfies me, I wouldn't mind rewarding you with that so-called Holy Grail!"
"Alright, King. I'll go back and practice hard right now."
Qiong disappeared on the spot. In that instant, Tohsaka Tokiomi, who was about to speak, felt his mind go blank. He suddenly couldn't remember what he was going to say, and wondered why the monarch was sitting on the sofa laughing so happily.
After Gilgamesh finished laughing, he glanced at the bewildered Kirei Kotomine and Tohsaka Tokiomi, knowing they had temporarily lost the relevant memories because of that boy's ability.
As for why Gilgamesh remembered?
It was because this King, upon meeting Qiong, had already quietly taken an item from his treasury that countered existence-erasure and kept it on his person. This allowed him to avoid falling into self-doubt or contradiction due to the power of nothingness and resist the effects brought by the reduction of presence.
"Truly an interesting little fellow. I wonder just what you will grow into?"
Gilgamesh, who had previously lacked interest in this Holy Grail War, was now quite intrigued. He truly wanted to see what this boy, who shared some similarities with Enkidu, would become.
Volume 1: Chapter 6: Ordinary Hero
Qiong stood alone in a quiet corner of Fuyuki City. He swung the longsword in his hand; from his initially clumsy, beginner-like posture, he could now wield it as naturally as an extension of his arm, appearing like a swordsman who had practiced for many years.
As the Xiaolian sword was sheathed—a scabbard Qiong had bought from the System Shop, along with the swordsmanship he now possessed.
Now, one might ask: where did the System Currency come from?
In fact, Qiong had received a notification from the system at dawn.
[Side Quest: The Future of the Matou Family completed. Rewarded 5,000 System Currency.]
Qiong: "System, what is the deal with this side quest?"
System: "Side quests are hidden tasks where the specific completion methods and rewards are not displayed. They require the Host to experiment and discover them. The Host has just completed a side quest related to the Matou family, fulfilling the trigger conditions, and thus completed the quest and received the rewards."
Qiong: "So, killing that old man of the Matou Family counts as completing a side quest?"
System: "Yes."
Let us temporarily return to a moment ago. The fact that Matou Kariya had'summoned' a Servant had truly surprised Zouken Matou. Moreover, seeing Lancelot in white armor and appearing perfectly rational made Zouken Matou even more astonished.
Matou Kariya found the already sleeping Sakura Matou. Looking at this girl who gave him his final reason to persevere, and seeing her head full of purple hair, pity and pain couldn't help but surface in his eyes.
"master, this girl's body has been modified, and there are parasitic insects inside her. Do you need assistance?"
"What!"
Hearing that there were parasitic insects inside Sakura Matou's body caused Matou Kariya's eyes to widen uncontrollably. He then grit his teeth tightly; if not for the fear of waking Sakura Matou, those two words would have been shouted out instead of being suppressed in his heart.
Matou Kariya left the room with light steps. With the veins bulging on half of his face due to the modification and the scar on his forehead, his expression looked exceptionally hideous and terrifying at this moment.
"That old worm clearly promised me that as long as I participated in this Holy Grail War and as long as I endured the suffering, he wouldn't touch Sakura for the time being! That bastard actually broke the agreement!"
Lancelot's voice rang out again at this moment.
"master, do you need my help?"
"Berserker! Can you cure Sakura?"
Matou Kariya's tone was filled with hope.
"I can. I can cure that young girl. But master, this only treats the symptoms and not the root cause. If the source is not dealt with, that young girl will fall into this state again."
Lancelot spoke with a tone of disappointment at his lack of initiative: "master, will you truly allow that evil heretic to continue existing in this world?"
"But... but I don't have that ability."
"But you have me."
"You..."
"master, what is my name?"
"Lancelot."
"Then, what kind of person is Lancelot? And does he possess the ability to save others?"
Recalling the past experiences of this famous Knight of the Round Table, Matou Kariya's trembling body gradually calmed down. That exceptionally hideous expression also slowly retracted, but at this moment, his eyes were incredibly bright.
"Lancelot, please help me."
"As a knight, it would be my pleasure! Please state your request, master."
"Zouken Matou can no longer be allowed to remain in this world of hope. Send that old monster to hell!"
"By your command!"
Lancelot's figure suddenly appeared, followed by a gust of wild wind. In an instant, he broke through the so-called magical barriers and various concealment spells, then directly swung his longsword to slash Zouken Matou to pieces.
Zouken Matou naturally wouldn't die so easily. His shattered body turned into swarms of insects flying in all directions, and a blurred voice came from everywhere.
"A summoned Servant, a mere thing like a familiar, dares to rebel? Kariya, it seems the power you've temporarily gained has made you think you can oppose this old man."
Just as Zouken Matou was preparing to directly cause trouble for Matou Kariya, he suddenly discovered that the white knight had actually reached out and grabbed a cloud of smoke composed of insects.
Finally, a colorless power climbed onto Lancelot's gauntlet.
"What is this!"
An unprecedentedly strong sense of erosion spread through the mental connection of these insects directly to Zouken Matou's main body. Then, it was replaced by a tide of past memories flooding in.
It was the past of a man named Makiri Zolgen.
As he recalled everything, Zouken Matou constantly questioned himself whether what he had done all these years had any meaning. He constantly doubted whether he had completely lost himself. He constantly thought, what was the point of his pursuit of never-ending immortality?
What kind of meaning did the infinite time accompanying an infinite lifespan have? Witnessing familiar people and things leave him one by one, witnessing his own original heart being worn down and changed bit by bit under the erosion of time—from the originally high-spirited youth to this monster today who was willing to pay any price just to stay alive.
Was there really any meaning?
Everything was meaningless.
What ideal of saving the world, what Partner of justice, what desire to live eternally?
What was the point of any of it?
Endless doubt and endless questions filled Zouken Matou's brain and reason. Amidst these endless questions, the insect that served as the vessel for his soul gradually lost all color.
In the end, Zouken Matou felt that everything in this world was meaningless. Since all things would eventually change and even be destroyed in the distant future, what was the point of his persistence?
He gave up his life, he gave up his persistence, and he discarded everything he had held onto in the past and present to embrace eternal sleep.
To put it another way, he committed suicide.
The tiny insects in Lancelot's hand drifted down from his gauntlet like sand. He had only borrowed the Nihility energy that composed himself to erode Zouken Matou; he couldn't use the Nihility ability to assimilate and devour existence like his main body could.
If the original Servant Lancelot were to deal with an old monster like this, who possessed powerful vitality and whose main body was hard to find, it would indeed be very troublesome. He might even have had to plow through the entire vicinity with a large-scale cleansing to possibly kill the old monster.
But for the puppet Lancelot, who was created solely with the power of Nihility, it was actually much easier to deal with. This was because it only required using the power of Nihility to enter the opponent's mind and perform erosion.
Lancelot shook off the remaining insect corpses from his hand, then returned to Sakura Matou's room. Looking at Matou Kariya, who was still kneeling to one side, he said, "master, mission accomplished. I have killed that monster."
Hearing this, Matou Kariya's gaze became incredibly dazed. That old fellow who had always acted as his nightmare... had he really died so easily?
"Thank you, Lancelot. Thank you for answering my summons. Thank you for being willing to help a useless piece of trash like me. My life really is a failure..."
"Please do not say that, master."
Lancelot's eyes looked intently at Matou Kariya, in whose heart a faint death wish had appeared, and said, "Even a failed life is still a life; you have the right to taste this life until the very end. Even if your past life was full of failure, it does not mean you cannot write a successful next chapter for the rest of your life."
"This world does not lack geniuses or heroes who can create miracles, but most are just ordinary people living mediocre lives. Does that mean those ordinary people whose lives are filled with failure are all useless?"
"master, failure has always permeated all of our lives. Even famous heroes and geniuses have experienced various failures. Do not fear failure, and do not get used to it. Your life may have been full of gloom in the past, but that is over now. You can completely begin to write a new chapter of your life."
Lancelot reached out and smiled at Matou Kariya, who was kneeling on the ground staring blankly at him, saying, "Moreover, master, you are not as much of a failure as you say, because you successfully saved a girl, didn't you?"
"But, that was you..."
"No, the one who called forth this miracle was you, Matou Kariya. It was because of your determination to save another that I was summoned. You are also a hero—this girl's hero."
"I am... a hero?"
"Yes. In the name of Lancelot, I acknowledge my master, Matou Kariya, as a hero."
Looking at the knight in white armor before him, tears flowed uncontrollably from Matou Kariya's eyes.
A hero. This was the desire and dream buried in his heart since childhood, the title he had wanted to obtain all his life when he was young.
And now, he had received this title, along with the recognition of a genuine hero.