[52] Illya Appears in the Video

H—E—A—R—T A—T—T—A—C—K!

The moment Souma saw the title of the newly uploaded video, he felt his entire being go full Spartacus.

Damn you, Alaya—why?!

He had everything planned out perfectly—when King Arthur and Mordred arrived, he'd just cling to Gilgamesh's golden thigh.

After watching The Oldest King, that guy would definitely put on a tsundere act, pretending he didn't want to help while secretly being willing to go through hell for him.

Hell, Gilgamesh was probably already scheming to help him catch Merlin, beat the crap out of him, and then forcibly perform surgery or drown him in the Gender-Swap Spring to turn him into the real [Magi☆Mari].

But now?!

Instead of going through hell for his bro, Gilgamesh would put him through hell after watching the video!

He was done for—his thickest lifeline had just vanished into thin air!

"I'm such an idiot, really!"

Souma raised his utterly lifeless eyes.

With a face full of despair, he continued, "I already knew Gilgamesh from the UBW timeline had his arm chopped off by me—of course that version would hold a grudge. But I didn't think this timeline's Gilgamesh would find out too!"

"Now, Alaya has gone and released yet another exposé video, completely revealing the arm-chopping incident. I'm probably going to get strung up and beaten by Gilgamesh…"

Alaya, I must say this to you—

Go to hell!

Are you determined to screw me over until I'm dead?!

After fulfilling his duty as a savior, he had quietly lived as an ordinary high school student in Japan.

Yet, who would've thought that being a good person would still lead to being ganged up on like this?

Unbelievable—so good people just deserve to have guns pointed at them?!

What frustrated Souma the most was that he couldn't even bring himself to get angry at these people.

Because becoming the student representative to receive Heroic Spirits was nothing short of an enormous surprise.

If word got out, tens of thousands would surely go mad competing for the position.

If it could be auctioned, there would absolutely be people willing to spend millions for this spot!

These people wholeheartedly wanted what was best for him, which was why they were willing to nominate him.

But for him, it was a disaster!

Souma's mind raced: "Wait a minute, Gilgamesh hasn't arrived yet. What if he also wants to strangle that chuunibyou version of himself to erase that embarrassing past?"

Don't panic—watch me turn this around with a sliver of health left!

Now it's time to test my king-tier positioning skills and reverse this game where our base is about to be destroyed!

When playing games, you must laugh while playing!

Living Room.

Roya, who was sitting on the sofa waiting for Souma to bring her food, also saw the update notification and couldn't help exclaiming:

"Wow, Alaya updated again!"

This mysterious [Alaya]'s updates were truly generous.

You'd think it was an anime series, but it updated with a new video in less than a week, redefining "weekly updates"!

"Whose story is it about this time—Nameless and who?"

Illya also blinked her big eyes, full of anticipation.

Then.

The large LCD TV screen displayed the video title—

[Unlimited Blade Works]

Roya looked at the title, utterly baffled: "Huh? I've heard of Unlimited Fighting Works, but Unlimited Blade Works? Is it like Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin?"

"I'm not sure either," Illya shook her head.

She did know that the Dragon Country had some sword-related magecraft, referred to as "immortal arts."

It was completely different from places like Britain, Uruk, and Greece.

In this era where Heroic Spirits gathered, it stood out like a crane among chickens, as if blessed by the Root.

"Let's just watch it first."

Roya was extremely excited to see which Heroic Spirit would appear.

The video began, as familiar as ever—

[Chronicle of the Nameless Heroic Spirit!]

[Your name may be forgotten by history, but your deeds will echo through eternity!]

This made Roya couldn't help but pout.

With [Alaya] being the ultimate exposure maniac, how could anyone remain unknown?

Called "Nameless," yet famous across the world!

She just didn't know where this big shot was—she really wanted to meet that person!

-[Update faster—holy crap, look what I stumbled upon!]

-[Redefining 'weekly Friday updates,' Alaya is OP!]

-[What's Unlimited Blade Works even about? I can't tell which Heroic Spirit it's related to at all!]

-[Why are you yelling so loud? You're ruining my video-watching!]

...

Countless comments flooded the screen as a crowd of spectators got hyped.

They treated [Alaya]'s exposure videos as the biggest, juiciest gossip.

It couldn't be helped.

For ordinary people, aside from [Alaya], no one else dared to expose the past histories of Heroic Spirits like this.

Ea and Excalibur would like a word!

Under Roya and Illya's anticipation, the familiar narration began—

[A grand plan spanning a thousand years, a dream to reach the Root.]

[Magicians used the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel, to forge the Lesser Grail.]

[They sought to use the Lesser Grail to activate the true Greater Grail, fulfilling the ultimate wish of reaching the Root.]

[Its name—the Holy Grail War!]

...

"Huh? Why is this completely different from the previous videos? It doesn't specify which Heroic Spirit it's about?"

Roya grew even more puzzled.

The previous "Avenging Witch," "Perfect King," and "Oldest King" all made it easy to guess which Heroic Spirit would appear.

So, what exactly is the Holy Grail War?

"Could it be a war involving many Heroic Spirits?" Illya speculated.

"Hey, that might actually be the case!"

Roya's eyes lit up.

Since it's called a war, it couldn't possibly involve just one or two Heroic Spirits.

Narration ends.

A petite and adorable girl appeared on the screen.

She had snow-white long hair and beautiful ruby-red eyes.

Wrapped in a purple down jacket, she looked like a little angel wandering through the forest.

Unbelievably cute, making people want to cradle her in their hands and protect her.

However.

Upon seeing this little girl.

Roya turned her head in stunned silence to stare at her friend beside her: "Is this... you?"

"Seems like it's me when I was little..."

Illya was equally dumbfounded.

Why would she appear in Alaya's fourth exposure video?

***

Meanwhile.

Uruk.

This ancient city, whose name originated over five thousand years ago, had become a world-renowned metropolis under the rule of the King of Heroes.

Under his governance, which surpassed even the wisdom of the gods, everyone began to live a happy and prosperous life.

The King was the guardian deity of this city.

Yet, no one knew that the King had already left the city without a sound!

He had arrived in Fuyuki City, half a world away from Uruk.

At this moment, the King stood atop a streetlamp in Fuyuki City, gazing down at the brilliantly illuminated city below.

A smile played on his lips: "Nameless, I wonder if you'll still remember me after 4,700 years."

Previously, Gilgamesh had announced that he would arrive in Fuyuki City in three days.

In truth, he had already conspired with Merlin to arrive early and unnoticed.

That Magus of Flowers had invited him to witness a grand spectacle of "filial piety."

"Foolish magus, since you dare to lay hands on my dearest friend, don't blame me for being merciless."

Gilgamesh grinned with delight.

Once he captured the Magus of Flowers, he would present him as a gift to his long-lost friend after 4,700 years.

Would that bastard be moved to tears?

Just the thought of it made him tremble with joy!

At that moment, Gilgamesh muttered in mild surprise, "Hmm? Alaya has updated another video?"

***

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