Chapter 36

The night breeze was cold but refreshing. Edmund walked calmly through the deserted streets of Fuyuki, his footsteps echoing softly on the pavement as he made his way to a small park near the hotel. He had just left his room, leaving Sakura and Alice behind, when his mind began to wander over recent events.

Alice Kuonji… He had no idea how she had ended up in his suite or how long she had been there. He clearly remembered leaving Sakura alone in that room two years ago, and yet, now Alice was there, sitting with her expressionless face, holding a cup of tea as if she had been waiting for his arrival. It was a mystery he simply decided to accept without asking too many questions.

This wasn't the first time Alice had done something like this. Since he had met her years ago in Japan, Edmund had persistently tried to befriend her, something that at first only seemed to annoy her. But little by little, his persistence managed to capture her attention—not out of interest, but rather out of boredom. The powerful, solitary sorceress, who barely showed any emotion, had found in Edmund an occasional distraction, and somehow, that relationship had turned into the closest thing to a friendship.

What troubled him the most wasn't Alice's presence in his suite, but the fact that he had no idea how long she had been there or how she had managed to enter without him noticing. Edmund had placed multiple barriers and detection systems in his room, but Alice had simply ignored them as if they didn't exist. A reminder that, despite all his talent and skills, there were still magi and beings who surpassed him in certain aspects.

As he walked through the park, he took a deep breath of the fresh air and sat down on one of the wooden benches, crossing one leg over the other. There weren't many people around at that time of night, which was perfect. He needed a moment to clear his head, to sort through his thoughts after everything that had happened. He had intervened more than he had planned, and though he initially thought he could remain a mere observer of the Holy Grail War, it was already too late to turn back. His involvement in the events was inevitable.

He thought of Sakura, the real Sakura, whom he had rescued two years ago from her tragic fate. To ensure that neither Tokiomi Tohsaka nor Zouken Matou noticed her absence, he had created a perfect copy of her. He hadn't just replicated her appearance, but also her magical presence, circuits, and even her personality. A clone that would live out the fate meant for the original, without anyone being able to tell the difference.

That had been one of the most advanced uses of his projection magecraft, one that seemed to brush against the boundaries of the First True Magic. Creating matter from nothing… not just illusions or fleeting projections, but beings with real existence, emotions, and magical capabilities. If he had truly replicated something close to the First Magic, then what he had done was something even the Clock Tower wouldn't fully comprehend.

But now that Sakura was free from that hell, Edmund had to ensure her life wasn't in danger. How long could the illusion hold before Zouken noticed the difference? He had no answer for that. The only certainty was that, when the time came, he would be ready to act.

He leaned his head against the backrest of the bench and gazed at the starry sky. Everything was unfolding chaotically, but that was how it had to be. A war wasn't a game of chess where every move was perfectly planned; it was a battlefield where events could change in a single moment of hesitation. And he… had already made his decision.

He let out a soft laugh to himself and closed his eyes for a few seconds, savoring the moment alone.

Edmund took a deep breath of the cold park air, letting the night breeze clear his mind. It had been a long night, full of surprises and twists he hadn't even foreseen. No matter how much he tried to remain a mere observer, the course of events had pushed him to act more than he would have liked to admit. He sighed heavily and, for no apparent reason, felt a shiver run down his spine.

Something was wrong.

He didn't know what it was, but his instincts screamed that something out of the ordinary was happening. Without wasting time, he closed his eyes and expanded his awareness through his familiars scattered across Fuyuki. In a matter of seconds, his vision shifted to one of his observers, a bird hidden in the shadows, and that's when he saw it.

The body of Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, impaled on the ground.

Golden weapons pierced his body mercilessly, pinning him down like a ragdoll. Beside him, the body of Hector, the Lancer of this war, lay in the same condition: his spiritual form already fading away bit by bit. There was no glory, no last stand. Only death.

Above the corpses, a figure clad in red and gold stood with absolute superiority.

Gilgamesh.

The King of Heroes gazed at the remnants of his handiwork without a trace of emotion, as if he had merely crushed bothersome insects that had gotten in his way. Edmund felt an odd discomfort as he watched the scene. It wasn't that he felt pity for Kayneth or Hector—after all, he had handed over the latter's relic in the hope that at least his brother-in-law wouldn't die a pathetic death at Kiritsugu's hands. But in the end, all that caution, all that preparation… had meant nothing. Kayneth had died anyway, just at the hands of someone far worse.

"So much effort for nothing," Edmund muttered to himself, feeling a twisted sense of irony in it all.

From the distance of his vision, he could see Gilgamesh's golden gaze rise, fixed on the familiar Edmund was using to observe the scene. The King's eyes gleamed with disdain and disgust, as if he could sense Edmund's presence on the other side.

"I will not be a spectacle for mongrels."

Gilgamesh's voice rang out with absolute arrogance, and in the same instant, a golden sword was launched directly at the avian familiar. Edmund barely had time to process what happened before the connection was abruptly severed, leaving him alone in the park once more.

Silence enveloped him completely.

Gilgamesh had noticed him. And not only that, he had deemed him unworthy of even being a spectator. A direct insult, a display of absolute contempt.

Edmund exhaled slowly, letting the adrenaline in his body dissipate. He crossed his arms, gazing up at the night sky, before letting out a soft laugh.

"Tch, how annoying."

Though he wasn't surprised by the outcome, he disliked the way things had ended. Kayneth wasn't a good person—that much was clear—but at least he wasn't a coward like most of the mages from the Clock Tower. And Hector… Well, Edmund had the feeling that if he had been summoned by a different Master, he might have had a better chance. But fate is cruel, and in this war, no one emerged unscathed.

"Well, I suppose this will make things more interesting."

With nothing left to do there, Edmund shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking back to the hotel.