Under the streetlamp...
The evening breeze brushed against Gilgamesh's cheek.
At this moment, his mood was quite good.
He was about to reunite with a friend he hadn't seen in over four thousand years.
And he was also about to capture that Flower Magus who knew only how to delight himself, yet never acted like a proper human.
Now, he unexpectedly discovered that Alaya had released a fourth video.
It had only been three days since the last one.
The exposure video titled The Oldest King had finally jogged Gilgamesh's memory of a piece of lost history.
The fact that he had even lost part of his memory meant something extraordinary must have happened in the past.
It was very likely a terrifying disaster—one that reversed time and rebooted the world.
"Nameless, what did you do during that disaster?"
Gilgamesh grew even more curious.
Even a being as exalted as the King of Heroes had forgotten him. This was clearly a conceptual erasure based on some sort of rule.
Not even the Mother Goddess of Creation, Tiamat, could accomplish something like that.
Which meant…
That bastard friend of his had once again pulled off a god-defying miracle, all without his knowledge!
Back then, the man had sacrificed himself to unleash the full power of the Sword of Rupture, using a single strike to sever the bond between gods and mankind.
Freeing humanity from divine tyranny, he paved the way for Uruk's future.
Now, once again, without anyone knowing, he had done something even more impossible.
"What exactly did I do wrong, for you to treat me with such disregard? You won't even call me your friend!"
Right now, Gilgamesh just wanted to find that bastard.
And have a proper face-to-face chat with him!
"A new video titled Unlimited Blade Works?"
He glanced at the video's title.
But after hearing the narration at the beginning, he completely lost interest.
Gilgamesh let out a cold snort. "All that scheming for over a thousand years, just for a lousy cup?"
The Gate of Babylon he commanded wasn't merely a vault of his treasures.
Rather, it was the Primordial Archive of Human Wisdom itself.
It held the prototypes of human inventions and every kind of treasure throughout history.
Under such circumstances, how could he possibly care about some worthless cup?
"That puny Lesser Grail has nothing to do with this king. Better to go find Nameless and Merlin first."
Gilgamesh looked toward the distant Fuyuki Academy City.
Earlier, he had feigned agreement with Merlin, saying they would work together to deal with Nameless.
But when they actually met, he planned to capture Merlin instead and present him to Nameless as a gift.
At that time...
That Flower Magus who loved using others for amusement might very well end up being forcefully transformed by Nameless into Magical☆Merry.
Just imagining the nightmare-born being—who, like himself, had clairvoyance—being toyed with in such a bizarre way brought him immense joy.
So, my dearest friend… where are you?
In the video...
A tiny girl, not even 120 cm tall, was happily skipping through a wintry forest.
She was playing a game with her father, searching for "Winter Buds of the Walnut Tree."
Her soft, childish voice and innocent behavior lifted countless hearts.
ICastFart-[Ahh, I'm dead! She's too cute!]
IDigBigClock-[Come here, let big sis hug you—this is the ultimate "cheat-code daughter" material!]
LoliConnoisseur-[Officer, please believe me—I really don't have a loli complex!]
InterdimensionalFBI-[Right...]
FateBot-[By the way, based on the previous videos, the sweeter it is in the beginning, the more tragic it'll be later...]
ICastFart-[Shut up, you damn prophet! Let us enjoy the fluff first!]
...
"You really don't remember?" Kirina asked again, unwilling to give up.
The girl in the video clearly resembled her best friend when she was just a few years old.
The first three videos had all been about world-renowned Heroic Spirits—far too distant from her own reality.
But this one gave her a surreal feeling of witnessing history firsthand.
"I really don't remember..." Illya's beautiful, ruby-like eyes were filled with confusion.
What is the Lesser Grail?
What's the Holy Grail War?
Did I really lose a part of my past memories?
The video continued playing.
And sure enough, as the prophetic comment had foretold...
What began as a warm, homey scene suddenly twisted into cruel torment.
The Einzbern family began preparing for the Holy Grail War by pre-summoning a powerful Servant.
His name was—
Heracles!
A figure over two meters tall, with skin like black steel and muscles bulging with explosive power.
He wielded a massive axe-sword over two meters in length, radiating pure violence.
But after this Berserker appeared...
The girl in the video suddenly screamed in agony.
Her small body trembled in pain, with blood oozing from her eyes and nose—utterly horrifying.
And yet...
The family members standing around her showed not a shred of sympathy or concern.
They all watched coldly from the sidelines!
The uploader [Alaya] even thoughtfully provided subtitles:
[Servants are usually supplied with mana by the Holy Grail. But since Heracles was pre-summoned, Illya has to provide all the mana herself.]
[To better control him, the Einzberns deliberately Berserked him, robbing him of all rationality.]
[Forcing a little girl to sustain a Berserker is no different than draining her very life.]
Line after line of text appeared—each more disturbing than the last.
"How could they be so heartless?!"
Kirina's face turned pale.
To force a little girl to endure such torment—it was utterly inhuman.
And it wasn't just her. Everyone watching the video exploded with rage—
YeetTheInfidel-[Oh my god, this family is pure evil!]
NotSunKnight-[Damn those Einzberns! Come fight me, don't torture the little girl!]
HistorianWithWifi-[That's freaking Heracles—a half-god hero! How can a normal little girl summon him?!]
RebelliousExecutive-[Screw them! These monsters deserve to burn! Nameless, where the hell are you?!]
...
Kirina couldn't bear to watch anymore.
It was too tragic.
Illya, who should've been enjoying a blissful childhood, was suffering nightmarish torment.
Unable to hold back, she hugged her best friend. "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you!"
"You… are too weak."
Illya paused but still said it aloud.
"...Oof. Right in the heart!"
Kirina felt like she'd just been stabbed in the chest.
Compared to her genius mage best friend, she was indeed painfully weak.
All she could do now was pray for Nameless to descend soon and protect the tormented Illya in the video.
However...
Summoning Heracles was only the beginning of her suffering.
To help Illya bond fully with her Servant, the Einzbern family throw her deep in the winter forest.
There, she faced vicious, starving beasts and grotesque undead monsters.
To survive, she had no choice but to summon her Servant to her side.
But the creatures gave her no time to do so, launching frenzied attacks one after another.
The girl stood with her back against a tree, surrounded by snarling beasts and monsters.
She looked utterly helpless and pitiful—
As if the next moment, she would be ripped to shreds and devoured.
Kirina couldn't bear to look anymore. She covered her eyes.
Why should Illya be forced to endure such horrific torment?
She couldn't stop the voice rising in her heart—
Nameless, where are you? Hurry up and come!
In a situation like this, only Nameless could protect her beloved best friend.
And just like her, countless viewers were calling for that miraculous man.
BOOM!
A figure descended from the sky, stomping on a wolf's head and smashing it to pieces.
That familiar silhouette stood protectively in front of the helpless girl.
"I came to make up for regret."
Nameless gently wiped the blood from the girl's cheek, solemnly declaring.
"I will not allow anyone to harm you."