Chapter 195 - 196: Dark History

Although Gilgamesh's personality is, to put it mildly, difficult to describe, one must admit that it is precisely this "difficult" and ego-centric character that could cultivate someone as terrifyingly overconfident as he is.

When the malice and curses generated by over five billion humans on Earth (1994 data) showered upon Gilgamesh during the Fourth Holy Grail War, it wasn't a matter of whether [All the World's Evil] could corrode him. The curse—which could kill Emiya Kiritsugu with the slightest touch—seemed to vanish the moment it came into contact with Gilgamesh. It had no effect on him whatsoever, and by extension, Kotomine Kirei, who had signed a contract with him, only enjoyed the benefits of the Third Magic—the essence of [All the World's Evil]—without suffering any of its side effects.

As a result, under normal circumstances, the Ainsworth family's displacement magic—which only swaps the power of a Servant without swapping the Servant's consciousness—would fail when applied to Gilgamesh. Instead of the user wielding Gilgamesh's power, Gilgamesh's consciousness would occupy their body and use it to manifest his power.

That is why, in the original Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, even though Miyu and the others successfully obtained the Gilgamesh Class Card, there were very few scenes where they actually used it; the only time they did, it immediately went out of control.

Throughout the entire plot of Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, the only person capable of nullifying the influence of Gilgamesh's consciousness was likely Angelica. But even for Angelica, the reason she could ignore or diminish Gilgamesh's influence after using the Class Card was likely because she had been displaced and resurrected in the form of a doll, a process that had numbed the emotions she once possessed as a human. However, even then, the usually expressionless Angelica could not avoid becoming arrogant and condescending whenever she used the Class Card for a "Card Install."

It was precisely because such an example existed that Emiya Shirou suggested this method as a last resort.

"I see, so that's how it is."

However, upon hearing this, Tohsaka Rin automatically brushed aside the third method. With a look of relief, she covered her face with her hand and lamented, "So that's how it could be done—why didn't I think of that before?"

She had thought as much. How could the Second Magic become so cheap? It turned out the method Shirou was referring to was still Zelretch's Second Magic.

As for the third method Shirou mentioned... whether it was the danger he described or the act of displacing Gilgamesh's power, Rin did not believe Shirou could succeed. Summoning a Heroic Spirit was not a simple task, let alone displacing their power into a human. Compared to this last method, the first two seemed far more practical to her.

"Then, the negotiations with the Einzberns will be left to you, Shirou." Tohsaka Rin quickly made a decision. "Illya, who can link to the magical energy of the ley lines through her magic circuits and connect to the memories of the 'Saint of Winter,' cannot possibly have failed to notice the ley line anomaly in Fuyuki City.

However, things like parallel world traversal—as long as she doesn't have your [Future Vision], Shirou, it's impossible for her to find the cause of this, even if she scours the memories of this land.

The fact that she hasn't come to find us until now probably means she's realized we already know the cause of this anomaly, while she remains in the dark.

So, she's holding onto that stubborn competitive spirit, wanting to see who can solve the problem first," Rin guessed.

Without Shirou's [Future Vision]—which acted as a spoiler—Rin's understanding of Illya was limited to their previous encounters and the self-introductions Shirou had made. That was all she knew. But since Shirou had saved Matou Sakura early and healed her wounds with [Pseudo-Crazy Diamond], Rin had reconciled with her. Rin had also had the opportunity to listen to Sakura's complaints, and so, facing Illya—who, like Sakura, had essentially been abandoned by her father—Rin had become able to understand Illya's desire not to lose to Shirou, especially since Illya was Shirou's older sister.

However, they didn't have time for Illya to keep acting petulant.

"Eh? Why? Why don't we try the first method?" Shirou asked, puzzled. "Although both methods require adjustments to the Mystic Code, compared to the Gem Sword, which requires you to manually adjust it, Rin... the Kaleidoscope staff has an artificial spirit inside. As an artificial spirit created by Zelretch along with the staff, shouldn't it be more proficient with the Second Magic?"

Just like the Ruby in Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, which could always pull out all sorts of strange items, the Ruby in Fate/hollow ataraxia was no less capable. After all, both were products of the Second Magic. Traversing parallel worlds was not a problem for it at all.

Before the serialization of Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya began, the Ruby in FHA had already stated that because its abilities were too "shameful," only two people would ever sign a contract with it throughout the past, present, and future. One was obviously Tohsaka Rin. As for the second Master, it couldn't possibly be Zelretch, nor could it be Tohsaka Tokiomi, because Ruby was a Mystic Code restricted to female users. Thus, the second Master was undoubtedly Illya.

Through the parallel world observation of the Second Magic, it had seen in advance that in a certain parallel world, it would sign a contract with Illya.

Recalling this memory from his past life, Shirou tried to persuade Rin once more: "Even in terms of difficulty, the first method is the simplest. On the contrary, the second method is actually the most difficult."

"No, it is precisely because there is an artificial spirit inside the Kaleidoscope staff that I absolutely refuse!" Rin reacted defensively. "Come to think of it, why did I seal the Kaleidoscope staff away in the first place?

Shirou, you possess [Future Vision], so you should know the answer to that, right?"

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