Fate: Nameless Hero

The earth-shaking cheers...

Made it hard for the audience to believe that this was the reaction of people facing despair.

Gilgamesh had already made it perfectly clear—Uruk would be destroyed, and the vast majority of them would die.

Yet at this moment, all fear and despair had vanished. What remained was boundless fighting spirit.

Gilgamesh, in that moment, displayed his A+ rank [Charisma] perfectly.

To command an army or rule a kingdom, even B-rank Charisma would suffice. But he had far surpassed that—his aura was nearly a conceptual miracle in itself.

Countless citizens of Uruk prostrated themselves before him, their morale skyrocketing.

Even the bullet-screen audience were whipped into a frenzy—

Blorbo-[Uruk still stands!!!]

GigglesThenShit-[My goodness! Is this really the same guy as the edgy Goldie from Unlimited Blade Works?!]

GlazingAtItsFinest-[Offer our lives to the King! Even if only one life remains, we'll pass down Uruk's glory to the generations to come!]

FateBot-[@GlazingAtItsFinest, still remember the bet?]

GlazingAtItsFinest-[Bet? What's that?]

FateBot-[YOU MOTHA-!!]

ClipThat!-[Don't worry, friend upstairs, I still have the clip!]

…

"Are they secretly twins???"

Illya stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

No matter how she looked at it, she just couldn't connect this perfectly noble, kingly figure—this paragon of leadership—

With the version of Gilgamesh from Unlimited Blade Works, who tried to use the Holy Grail's mud to annihilate all worthless people in cold blood.

Even extreme puberty couldn't explain this gap!

"Yeah… there's no way that's the same person…"

Miyu fully agreed.

ThatKing of Heroes who had been summoned earlier—he had wanted to rip out her best friend's heart and use Illya to activate the Holy Grail.

He planned to use All the World's Evils to destroy the world and kill everyone.

In the previous Singularities—

Even King Arthur had turned into the terrifying Lion King. So how come Gilgamesh, a man with a mountain of dark past, had instead become a wise and virtuous king?

Miyu boldly speculated:

"Could it be because of Onii-chan's guidance? The version of the Heroic King in Unlimited Blade Works appeared before he ever met Onii-chan?"

That actually made a lot of sense!

Before meeting Nameless, he was just an arrogant, tyrannical king.

But under Nameless's chuunibyou-correction fists, he gradually became more and more like Nameless himself—

Transforming from a terrifying tyrant into a virtuous king beloved by countless people.

"Eh, that really might be it!" Illya nodded enthusiastically.

Otherwise, it's completely inexplicable how the same person could be so different!

No matter how amazing he acted now, Illya could never forgive the version of Gilgamesh from before who tried to kill her and Shirou with that chuunibyou look in his eyes.

Clearly, that's also why Shirou—as the Nameless Heroic Spirit—kept going after Gilgamesh when he descended in front of him during his youth.

The fact that he didn't stab him on sight was already showing a lot of restraint!

Meanwhile—

Kirina also refused to believe it:

"No way! There's absolutely no way they're the same person!"

How could that insufferable King from before possibly turn into this kind of person?

After all his embarrassing black history had been exposed…

Yet this one is actually virtuous?!

Nobody could believe their eyes.

Kirina didn't hesitate to send a comment:

MoonlitGachaVictim-[Hold the line, everyone! There's still gotta be more dark history coming up!]

But her once-determined allies were already on the verge of switching sides!

The video continued.

After a rousing, passionate speech—

The King of Heroes began discussing the next battle strategy with Nameless and the others.

Nameless explained:

"Tiamat is heading directly for Uruk because this city symbolizes Sumerian civilization. To her, humanity and the earth are one and the same. If Uruk is destroyed, it means the complete destruction of mankind."

"No wonder she ignored my temple! If Uruk and that idiot King are gone, then humanity goes extinct!" Ishtar nodded in understanding, finally grasping the cause and effect.

At that moment—

Dr. Romani, watching the monitors, grew increasingly serious:

"Tiamat is the Mother of All Life. As long as there is any living being in the world, she cannot die!"

A truly terrifying fact—

You would have to kill all life to truly kill her.

But if all life is dead, then what would even be the point of killing her?

Nameless smiled and reminded them:

"Then we just need to go somewhere where there is no life."

"Exactly! That was this king's thought as well!"

Gilgamesh turned toward the [Boundary of the Underworld] and shouted:

"Ereshkigal! Are you there, Ereshkigal?!"

Indeed, they could not kill every living being. But they could go to a world with no living creatures—

The Underworld.

A place with absolutely no living things, perfectly meeting all the conditions. And now they would need the help of its mistress.

The [Boundary of the Underworld]—

Was the Noble Phantasm Ereshkigal had left behind earlier to allow them to contact her.

"Ugh, so noisy! A mighty goddess like me shouldn't be summoned so casually by humans!" Ereshkigal appeared suddenly, visibly exhausted. "I've been working nonstop collecting souls since yesterday—the Underworld is completely full!"

The endless monsters had already swept across the land, leaving no survivors outside of Uruk.

All the dead souls had been gathering underground en masse. Now, the number of souls in the Underworld far exceeded the number of the living above!

Even a mighty goddess like her was starting to look sleep-deprived with dark circles under her eyes.

Gilgamesh declared,

"I summon you now so you can prepare to receive Tiamat. We have two days!" He explained briefly, "We will carry out the final battle in the Underworld!"

"W-what?! You're sending the Mother Goddess to the Underworld? To my house?!"

Ereshkigal was instantly shocked.

That was the Mother Goddess of Creation—the mother of all gods and life itself!

Gilgamesh ordered her:

"You are to fully open the gates of the Underworld beneath Uruk and bind Tiamat there!" He smirked,

"This is punishment for your earlier involvement in the Three Goddess Alliance."

"Don't even think about it! Just a mere human king—what right do you have to order me around?!" Ereshkigal snorted,

"Are you telling me to move all of Uruk into the Underworld? That's impossible!"

Let's not forget—he had died from overwork and fallen into the Underworld once before, and she had to send him back!

But then—

Nameless made a polite request:

"Beautiful goddess, we truly must trouble you just one more time. In order to save humanity, we must defeat the Mother of Creation!"

"…Hmph, fine! I'll help you one last time!"

Ereshkigal turned her head away shyly and stomped her foot lightly.

"I really don't want to do something this reckless!"

This scene made all the viewers watching burst into virtual applause:

BoobVenerate-[The "last" time—for the billionth time! Ereshkigal is so cute!]

ConstipatedProcrastinator-[Damn, I'm so jealous! She's clearly the best waifu—why does Nameless get her for free?!]

EXRankDegenerate-[Too cute! I wonder if she'll say "this is the last time" in coitus situation too~]

ICastFart-[Ereshkigal: "One last time! Again! Okay, one more! Seriously, just one more! Men can't say no to the final round!"]

"You're clearly just obsessed with Senpai's body!"

Back in Chaldea, Mash couldn't help but pout.

When Gilgamesh said it, he sounded so confident and righteous in his refusal—But the moment Senpai made a simple request, Ereshkigal immediately agreed without hesitation!

But it didn't matter.

After all, she was a goddess living in the Underworld—in a cold, damp, dark realm.

Mash still had hope of winning!

Still… where exactly was Senpai now?

Mashu frowned slightly.

As she watched the video, her memories had begun to return too.

Being an artificial human, and forcibly turned into a pseudo-Servant, she only had about half a year of life left…

So seriously, where was Senpai?

On-screen, Ereshkigal added:

"But! Gilgamesh, and you—Chaldeans! Do you think opening a full-scale gate to the Underworld beneath Uruk is that easy?! To do that properly would take ten years!"

That statement—

Caused everyone's faces to change instantly.

Gilgamesh frowned,

"Ten years… but we only have two days!"

Tiamat was already closing in fast—there was no way she'd wait.

Then—

Ereshkigal grew a little bashful, her cheeks flushed red:

"B-but… I've actually been planning this for a while because I used to really hate Uruk. So if I hurry, I can finish it in three days."

"Wait, you've been digging tunnels under Uruk all this time?" Mash stared blankly at her.

Nameless twitched at the corner of his mouth, forcing a compliment:

"Well… nice work, I guess."

Was that even something to be proud of?

He found it hard to imagine this beautiful goddess, secretly digging a tunnel every day.

"Hmph, not bad at all. My time spent down there cursing everything was worth it!" Ereshkigal answered confidently.

"…"

Everyone fell into awkward silence.

Mash couldn't help but mutter quietly:

"She really is Ishtar's sister, huh…"

"Ahhh, stop! Don't say that—it's so embarrassing!!" Ishtar's cheeks turned red with shame.

The viewers were losing their minds:

FuyukiGasLeak-[Just imagine her down there every day with a little shovel, muttering curses—what an image!]

BobUchiha-[Gilgamesh's bitter smile was too funny—his own capital was almost stolen from under him!]

AspiringWizard-[Bro, I'd be terrified if I thought I might fall into the Underworld in my sleep one day!]

"Truly impressive, Ereshkigal!"

Even Rin couldn't help but admire her.

If it were her sister Ishtar, there's no way she'd have had the patience for that.

Ten years!

You know how I survived those ten years?

I dug tunnels every single day. While cursing everything. And finally I pierced through Uruk's foundations!

Just thinking about it was terrifying.

Still—

When Rin thought about Ereshkigal living alone in the Underworld for centuries—

It honestly wasn't all that surprising she'd do something like this.

Just then—

The screen showed…

Everyone began to discuss how they could stall Tiamat to buy Ereshkigal three days of preparation time.

Dr. Romani said, "According to calculations, Tiamat will reach Uruk in two days, which means we must stall her for at least one day! But the Axe of Marduk has already been used—what do we do now?"

The Axe of Marduk was the divine weapon used by the gods to defeat Tiamat in ancient times.

Previously, it had been used to destroy the Temple of Blood in one strike, which allowed Nameless and the others to defeat Gorgon who had acquired part of Tiamat's power.

"No need to worry. This king has already prepared a countermeasure. After all, we have Ishtar!" Gilgamesh replied confidently.

"Uh, me?" Ishtar was a bit confused.

Dr. Romani nodded eagerly. "Oh, right! With Ishtar here, we're totally fine!"

Quetzalcoatl joined in, "Yes, exactly!"

Jaguar Man chimed in as well, "Right! We can totally count on Miss Ishtar!"

The divine beings, the king, and the doctor all looked at the goddess with expressions full of praise.

Clearly, in their eyes, victory was already assured.

However…

Nameless lowered his head with a bitter smile, as if he couldn't bear to watch what was coming.

Seeing this—

Rin couldn't help pointing at the screen. "Here it comes! My past life's shining moment is finally here!"

The person on-screen looked exactly like her—even her voice and personality matched—so everyone had long since agreed that this Ishtar must be her past life.

Many even speculated that the goddess Ishtar had deliberately reincarnated as a human to pursue Nameless.

"Go, my past self!"

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Even the mighty King of Heroes and divine beings were putting their trust in her.

Now was the time to shine bright!

Rin was already blushing with excitement.

After all the embarrassing things Ishtar had done earlier, Rin had been humiliated by association. At school, she didn't even have the face to face people!

No matter where she went, people pointed and whispered.

So infuriating!

Now was her chance to redeem herself!

"Don't get too excited just yet…" Sakura cautioned.

She had a bad feeling—something didn't seem right.

Nameless's expression was clearly off.

Rin was getting excited way too early!

But Rin stood tall with pride. "Hmph! This is my past life's most glorious moment. I have to celebrate!"

However…

On screen, Ishtar looked even more bewildered. "Why is everyone—except the Master—so excited about this?"

"Hah! You're still trying to pretend?"

Gilgamesh let out a cold snort.

"Relax. This king, Nameless, and Enkidu once teamed up to slay that thing before. I'm no longer angry about it. Just summon Gugalanna already."

Back in the day—

The gods tried to judge him as they pleased.

Gilgamesh, Nameless, and Enkidu joined forces to slay the Bull of Heaven Gugalanna, in defiance of the gods. Afterward, Nameless sacrificed himself to unleash the full might of Ea, cutting off the connection between gods and humans.

That had all happened decades ago.

And since the Bull of Heaven was a divine construct, it had naturally revived with ease—now serving as Ishtar's pet.

Their current plan was to use this enormous beast to stall Tiamat for a full day.

Mash nodded.

"Right. The Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna! I heard it's bigger than a mountain—more than enough to slow down Tiamat."

"I've heard of that divine beast too—yes, it should be sufficient!" Quetzalcoatl added in awe, "Ishtar, you're amazing—being able to control such a powerful divine beast!"

"W-Well, it's not that impressive… I-I mean, it can't stop Tiamat!" Ishtar stammered awkwardly.

Nameless let out a soft sigh. "It's not that it can't stop her… you just lost it, didn't you?"

Earlier, when he and Mash had just arrived, they saw Ishtar panicking and looking for something.

Nameless already knew—

What she was searching for was the Bull of Heaven.

That massive divine beast had already gone missing from the very beginning.

Which was why he had only given her one-tenth of the gems from the Gate of Babylon.

No—without Gugalanna, Ishtar didn't even deserve one-tenth.

Half at best.

And don't forget—when they fired that powerful cannon to wipe out Tiamat's first form, it was Nameless who had used a Command Seal to supply mana and amplify its power!

Ishtar gave an awkward laugh. "Uh, so… you knew, huh…"

"Damn it! No wonder you weren't laughing triumphantly!" Gilgamesh was instantly furious. "You really are useless! Stand over there and stay out of the way!"

He had promised Chaldea 30% of the gems to entice the goddess into helping—using the Bull of Heaven to stall Tiamat!

Now the bull was gone!

"I really searched everywhere but couldn't find it…"

Ishtar stood off to the side, holding a clay tablet that read "I'm a useless goddess", looking like she was about to cry.

The bullet screen comments exploded—

FateShit-[Damn! I knew she couldn't suddenly become useful. Nameless and the King of Heroes were totally right!]

HolySimp999-[This is ridiculous! How do you lose a bull bigger than a mountain?!]

NotEmiyaLOL-[You dropped the ball at the worst moment. Where'd you learn that—Rin Tohsaka?!]

=======

"Ah geez…"

Kirina watched in awe.

A bona fide goddess—how could she be this unreliable?

Embarrassing!

Absolutely embarrassing!

"Well, she is the officially recognized Useless Goddess," Sanjiro scoffed.

Don't forget—Ishtar had descended into the world using Rin Tohsaka's body from the future.

Originally, she had been a hot-tempered and moody goddess. After fusing with Rin's personality, she became like this.

Which means—she'd already been infected by Rin, becoming a goddess who screws up at the worst moment.

The Tohsaka family's "drop-the-ball" tendency was at the level of causal law.

Even gods couldn't resist it!

Now that they'd lost the Bull of Heaven—The only option left was to buy time with their lives and stop the Mother Goddess of Creation.

On the screen, atop the city walls—

Rows of massive cannons had been raised, all pointing into the distance.

Gilgamesh was issuing commands. "Everyone, take a break. Sleep for three hours—leave everything to this king!"

The soldiers had already fought desperately for far too long. Each of them was utterly exhausted.

At that moment—

Nameless arrived on the city wall.

"What, you came to say goodbye to this king before we die?" Gilgamesh snorted coldly.

Nameless smiled. "Don't worry. This won't be our last goodbye. We've got this!"

"Hmph. Let's hope so. With manpower lacking, this king is forced to act personally." Gilgamesh rubbed his temples.

"If Siduri were here… hmph, she has already fulfilled her destiny perfectly."

"So you do regret it," Nameless said.

"This king does not regret anything! It is not the king who lives for the people—it is the people who live for the king!"

Gilgamesh snorted, crimson eyes narrowing, though his tone turned a bit more urgent. "This king ruled Uruk purely to witness the people's worship—and to entertain the king!"

"Tch. Die-hard tsundere…" Nameless muttered.

That line spoke to the hearts of many viewers, who echoed it in the comments.

Even in the face of death, the King of Heroes still displayed no fear or hesitation.

As proud as ever—

He wouldn't even put the gods in his eyes!

It was precisely this pride that made people love him so much!

At that moment—

An unexpected visitor arrived.

With long, flowing green hair and violet eyes, she stood silently before the two of them. "Uruk… I'm such a fool… Why did I come here, of all places, at the end?"

"Stripped of everything… cast aside by my creator… I was just a fake from the start."

That figure was none other than Kingu.

Earlier, she had been backstabbed by a Lahmu, which took the Solomon Grail from her.

The Grail had been the core of her resurrected body—its removal meant her life was now fading.

And in these final moments of life, she had returned to Uruk, to once more see the two men on the wall.

Thud—

She collapsed to the ground.

Nameless rushed over and caught her.

"Hmph! This king was about to rest. You pathetic fool—coming here to trouble me!"

From afar, the King of Heroes snorted, "What, the so-called 'greatest divine weapon crafted by the gods' needs someone to carry her?"

"You… so smug… damn it… can't believe you saw me in such a pathetic state!" Kingu said in broken gasps.

Even in the face of death, they were still bickering.

Nameless sighed. "Enough, you two. Just stop talking for a second. King of Heroes—where's that fancy cup you were bragging about earlier?"

The once-powerful divine weapon was now completely weak.

Her chest had been pierced—her heart removed—bringing her to the brink of death.

Even Nameless, who had originally regarded her as an enemy, couldn't help but sigh at the sight.

After all—

That was the body of Enkidu who had once always clung to him, and he found it hard to be truly heartless.

But more importantly—

Siduri's earlier sacrifice had bestowed humanity upon her, awakening the memories that once belonged to Enkidu.

That was why, in her final moments, she had returned to Uruk—

To see him and the King of Heroes once more.

"Hmph. This king just so happens to have a worthless broken cup lying around. A waste to throw away, so I'll give it to you!"

Gilgamesh said, casually pulling out the Great Cup of Uruk and tossing it over. Then he turned his head again, staring into the endless night beyond.

This scene left many viewers with complicated emotions—

EXRankDegenerate-[The King of Heroes is such a tsundere!]

IDigBigClock-[Blond hair, red eyes, tsundere, and a king… ahh, he's exactly my type!]

FeetFirstFujoshi69-[So, King of Heroes, when are you getting a genderbend route?]

…

Amid the strange and increasingly chaotic commentary from the peanut gallery—

Lying weakly in Nameless's arms, Kingu couldn't help but ask:

"Why are you trying to save me? I'm not Enkidu… I'm just a puppet using her body!"

"That's true. You're not Enkidu."

Gilgamesh's voice turned sharp and furious:

"You fool! Even if your soul is different, your body is still the only 'Chains of Heaven' in this world! That one—back then—was so dead set on sacrificing themselves with Nameless to bring this king a brighter future!"

That… was the one thing he regretted most. The one thing he could never forgive.

To watch, helplessly, as his two closest companions died before his eyes—

Unforgivable.

Kingu tried to protest again,

"But I'm really not…"

"You're free now. The end of the world is upon us—do whatever you want," Nameless interrupted gently, reaching out to softly stroke her hair.

Kingu grew even more confused.

"Free? I'm just a doll. I don't even have sentience…"

"That's your problem. Do what you want," Nameless said.

Then he gently placed the Holy Grail into the gaping hole in her chest.

Bzzzz…

A wave of powerful magical energy burst forth, completely healing the wound.

After that—

He and the King of Heroes turned and left.

Leaving her alone where she stood.

Kingu stared at their backs, tears once again welling in her eyes.

…

The scene shifted abruptly—

From the city walls to the black sea of mud.

Tiamat was accelerating—making her way toward Uruk.

Gilgamesh frowned.

"If we want to slow her down—even if it's almost impossible—we must destroy her legs! This king shall personally lead the army…"

"Leave it to me. You all focus on controlling the King Signal Cannon!" said Quetzalcoatl, stepping forward.

"Then… I'll leave it to you," Nameless replied, feeling a little guilty.

After all—

She was a chief deity from South America.

And yet—

After traveling halfway across the world to Uruk, she had been heavily weakened.

Divine beings can only exert their full power in their homeland, where their myths are strongest.

Suddenly—

Quetzalcoatl lunged forward and tightly hugged him.

"Ahaha! Cute little Master! Once we win this battle—how about we go home and get married?"

The boy's face was once again smothered by the overwhelming prowess of her divine figure—he couldn't even breathe.

And sure enough—

Mash leapt forward.

"No!!"

She tried to pry the two apart.

That outrageous goddess was once again taking shameless advantage of her senpai!

Nameless finally managed to wriggle free.

"Cough… Big Sis, you're way too enthusiastic!"

"Ahaha! Well, I am a goddess from passionate South America! Leave everything to me!"

Quetzalcoatl laughed heartily, then flew into the sky.

Up above—

She hovered over Tiamat and spoke with sadness in her voice:

"Goddess Tiamat… You are the origin of life, the mother of all. Yet now you seek to reclaim that life... To cast aside your children. It breaks my heart. We gods of Mesoamerica live in harmony with beasts and jungles.

The sun does not burn to destroy—it shines so that life may endure!

The past lives on in us! The present is forged by our will! And the future shall rise from our courage!

¡Viento, trueno, acompáñenme!(Wind, thunder, accompany me!) Let the storm answer the call of the sun!"

BOOM—

At her call, radiant golden light erupted, rising like a miniature sun.

Blazing brilliance lit up the entire sky.

Thunder echoed across the battlefield—everything paled in comparison to her divine glow.

In that moment—

The previously playful and cheerful goddess had fully unleashed the power of a true deity.

Only now did all the onlookers truly grasp what kind of terrifying existence a chief god really was.

Back when she had fought Chaldea and the others—

She had clearly held back.

She had gone easy on them.

Just then—

Blackened Ushiwakamaru, who had been previously defeated by Nameless, suddenly returned and charged forward.

"You will not succeed!"

She aimed to destroy Quetzalcoatl and protect Tiamat.

But—

Another figure rushed in from the side and grabbed her leg tightly—

Benkei!

Her once loyal and devoted subordinate.

Though blood poured from his mouth, he showed no fear.

"This time, even unto death… I will remain by your side!"

"You coward… Why would you go this far?"

Blackened Ushiwakamaru sighed softly.

She suddenly stopped resisting.

Allowing herself to be pulled down by Benkei—

Together, they plunged into the black mud below.

Above—

The dazzling golden sun slowly descended from the heavens. As Quetzalcoatl finished her incantation, she cried:

"When the morning star shines... let all know the Sun's light reaches every corner of the Earth!"

[Piedra Del Sol: Solar Calendar Stone!!]

BOOOOM!!!

Everything was engulfed in light—

As though a sun had descended upon the earth, evaporating the ocean and the sea of black mud alike!