Shikotei stood silently upon the altar.
The once sword-wielding Nameless, who had questioned the gods on behalf of humanity, had long since vanished without a trace.
Under everyone's watchful eyes—
The First Emperor underwent an earth-shattering transformation.
His appearance grew even more handsome, as if transcending humanity to become a god.
No — he had clearly surpassed gods, reaching an unprecedented realm.
Next—
One scene after another flashed rapidly before their eyes, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
All the weapons that Nameless had previously gathered were now fused together, transforming into twelve terrifying golden giants.
"Gather all weapons, melt their blades, and cast them into twelve golden men!"
The northern frontier of Qin began constructing the Great Wall, exuding an indescribable mechanical aura, as if it were a living being that could awaken at any moment.
"Build the Great Wall to suppress the nine provinces' leylines, protect my Qin, and secure my dynasty!"
The colossal Epang Palace was being built with overwhelming grandeur, radiating an unimaginable, mysterious might.
"The Six Kings are gone, the Four Seas united; Mount Shu flattened, Epang arises, covering over 150 kilometers(93 miles), blotting out the sun!"
Upon the Epang Palace, the Shikotei declared with supreme authority:
"I am the first and the final emperor. The sovereign who brings order — I am the First Emperor!"
The entire screen froze abruptly.
——
The video ended abruptly.
Kirina sat frozen, unable to react for a moment before shouting angrily, "Damn you Alaya! What happens next?!"
She had just reached peak excitement, only to be cut off abruptly.
She desperately wanted to see what Qin ultimately became, yet it ended so suddenly.
Still, what she had seen was absolutely thrilling.
Especially when the ancestor gods descended together to aid Nameless in severing the connection between gods and humanity, ending the era of gods and granting eternal freedom to humankind.
"If the world lacks a beacon, then I shall ignite myself to become that flame…"
Miyu softly repeated Nameless' words, feeling deeply choked up and saddened.
He had saved the world and countless lives, yet time and again sacrificed himself — burning his own life to illuminate others.
"Indeed, in the long, endless night, someone always lights themselves ablaze to shine for others." Illya sighed softly.
The more they understood him, the greater his heroism appeared.
What kind of resolve did it take to achieve such deeds?
"So the First Emperor has also joined the battle to claim Nameless!" Kirina said, her small face was filled with excitement — a true bystander enjoying the unfolding drama.
The First Emperor — how will he vie for Nameless?
"Uh…"
Miyu's heart tightened upon hearing this.
If the First Emperor found her brother, he would surely take him away, making it harder for her to meet him again.
Danger!
Illya beside her was equally worried.
After all, this was the First Emperor — one who stood atop the heroic spirit pyramid alongside Gilgamesh.
But unlike the solitary Gilgamesh, the First Emperor commanded over a hundred heroic spirits—an army of legends bound to his will. Not to demean the King of Heroes, whose power as a lone sovereign was unmatched, but sheer numbers bring a different kind of dominance.
Where Gilgamesh stood as a singular beacon of strength, the First Emperor was a force of unity and scale, a strategist who wielded not only his own might but the strength of nation.
Now the question was — what would the First Emperor's reaction be after watching the video?
——
Meanwhile—
In Fuyuki City.
I need to flee Japan, no — in the entire Asia, he could no longer stay. He had to flee overnight with the brat!
As for why he needed to carry Kirina?
Wasn't it obvious? His peaceful retirement depended on keeping watch over this little doomsday!
If he dared let her loose, Alaya would drag him back to grind away endlessly as a miserable 007 workhorse.
"After this video exposure, I wonder how the First Emperor will treat you?" Gilgamesh suddenly laughed, "My dear friend, how much treasure do you think I could trade for selling your whereabouts to the First Emperor?"
That man possesses an entire 5000-year history — imagine the treasure he has.
If he really sold this information, he could easily trade for several powerful Noble Phantasms.
Perhaps even god-forged treasures!
(T/N: I can see this one coming—yes, Gate of Babylon is often said to contain all the treasures of the world(particularly cuz of Gilgamesh's arrogance calling it that and it sounds pretty dope), but that's not literally true.
The vault holds items that existed during or before his time and were part of human legend, but divine relics exclusive to certain pantheons, later creations, or conceptual artifacts tied to gods or unique servants are not part of his collection.
Thus, even Gilgamesh may covet certain rare or divine treasures he does not own.)
"...Get lost!"
Sanjiro immediately wanted to strike his elbow again.
Damn that flashy bastard — he was such a happy little sadist who enjoyed watching drama!
If Shikotei found him, he'd surely appoint him a king or minister — and he'd end up like those overworked virtuous kings or Shokatsu Kōmei, slaving away endlessly.
Just the thought of it was terrifying.
For him, work was absolutely impossible — he'd never work even if he died—
Wait, no — if he died, Alaya would just drag him back to work 007 shifts again!
Damn you, Alaya! Its all your fault!
"Hahaha, there are already two Human Evil beings in your room, adding a First Emperor won't make a difference!"
Gilgamesh laughed even more happily.
The other party claimed to enjoy an ordinary life.
Yet, the cat he kept, and the child he adopted, were both Evils of Humanity.
Is this what you call an ordinary high school student's daily life?
"Fou… Fou (I'm just a cute little kitty, don't mind me)," Fou meowed softly.
With graceful steps, he walked over to the spot where Sanjiro had been sitting earlier, curled up, and continued sleeping.
"What a strange fellow."
Gilgamesh stared at him with his crimson eyes.
Even with the activation of Sha Naqba Imuru, he couldn't pierce through Fou's disguise.
A true Human Evil, on the same level as the Mother Goddess of Creation, Tiamat.
And yet, this kind of being—
Could lazily live as a pet.
He couldn't help but admire his dear friend's astonishing charm, able to make even Human Evil submit!
"So, what do we do next?"
Sanjiro slumped helplessly onto the sofa.
He only wanted to live like shut-in, so why did Heroic Spirits have to keep coming for him?
Now, it all depended on what reaction Shikotei would have.
Please, please don't come looking for me!
Fuyuki City already had Gilgamesh, Artoria, Jeanne, and now adding Shikotei, plus Mordred, Astolfo, Tamamo-no-Mae…
They could practically start a Holy Grail War!
A terrifying thought suddenly popped into Sanjiro's mind—
Uh, would the prize of this Holy Grail War be the grail or me?
…
In the conference hall—
Chen Gong sighed softly, "As expected of Nameless, sacrificing himself time and again. I truly want to collaborate with him!"
His eyes were full of longing, as if he had found a once-in-a-lifetime soulmate, desperate to approach him.
"...Stop trying to mess with Nameless!"
Shokatsu Kōmei nearly lost his composed, wise image.
The man was his deputy — not particularly strong in battle, but an excellent support-type Heroic Spirit.
He could greatly enhance his allies, allowing them to exceed their own limits, even beyond reason.
Sounds beautiful, doesn't it?
The problem is—it's essentially live sacrifice!
Nameless was willing to sacrifice himself to protect humanity. How could he be forced into sacrificial tactics by you?
Of course, the most important question right now was—
What did His Majesty think of the video?
Shokatsu Kōmei hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to inquire: "Your Majesty, what are your thoughts?"
Of everyone present, he was the closest to His Majesty and held the highest position.
The video just exposed some of His Majesty's past — no one knew if the proud and forceful Emperor would fly into a rage.
It's said: To accompany a ruler is as to accompany a tiger. This has always been true since ancient times!
"Everything shown in the video is true!"
Shikotei was silent for a moment before answering.
Under everyone's gaze, his flame-like eyes were filled with reminiscence.
When he saw The Witch of Vengeance and The Oldest King videos before, he hadn't cared much.
As the one who destroyed the Six Kingdoms, unified the land, standardized currency and others—he possessed absolute confidence in his invincibility.
However—
After watching The Eternal Emperor video, his heart wavered instantly.
Endless memories seemed to unseal themselves, flooding back into his mind.
When he escaped and faced danger, it was that man who descended forcefully to rescue the young Shikotei.
He escorted him to Xianyang, taught him the Emperor's Sword.
Forged with the foundation of the state and people, Shikotei was crowned King of Qin.
Later, he assisted in eliminating his rebel brother, and killed Lü Buwei who controlled the Qin court.
Nameless even personally led armies to help Shikotei conquer the Six Kingdoms and unify the land.
Everything had abruptly ended after the war against the gods.
Shikotei could not accept it.
His teacher had sacrificed himself to protect him and the people of Qin, yet was forgotten by everyone.
What exactly had happened?
Were the gods responsible for this?
Shikotei recalled that battle against the gods, where he had exhausted all of Qin's resources just to barely stand against them.
At that time, he wished to ascend the altar with Nameless, but was firmly stopped.
Nameless chose to shoulder everything himself, sacrificing his own body to bring eternal peace to Qin's people.
No different than a sage of old!
"My teacher... I truly, truly wish to see you again."
Shikotei's eyes were filled with memories.
This deceiving teacher — clearly not dead, yet had lied to him. When they meet again, the first thing he would do is convict him of deceiving his monarch!
This news, since his descent as a Heroic Spirit, was the happiest thing he had heard.
After two thousand years, they could finally reunite. How much must his teacher have missed him?
He really looked forward to it!
Now that he had obtained the Elixir of Immortality long ago, what had he experienced since?
Countless memories churned in Shikotei's mind, yet he could not find any trace of them.
As if everything had been completely erased and was beyond retrieval.
"Your Majesty, how should we handle this video?" Shokatsu Kōmei asked again while the First Emperor was reminiscing.
The Eternal Emperor video had been released worldwide.
Countless people had seen it; there was no hiding it.
Better to hold a public press conference openly.
When the first video The Witch of Vengeance aired, Jeanne had held a press conference and confirmed everything.
She then tried to find Nameless, but had no success to this day.
Later, during The Perfect King, Artoria directly conferred upon Nameless the title of Knight of Holy Light, hoping to locate him.
Still no success.
Then came The Oldest King, but even Gilgamesh had no clue where Nameless was.
Now it was finally the turn of the First Emperor.
Everyone would be watching to see what His Majesty would do, and whether he could find Nameless.
"How to handle this video?"
Shikotei's gaze turned toward the British group, speaking forcefully,
"Artoria, your knighthood was far too stingy. I shall confer upon my teacher the title of Imperial Teacher. My teacher belongs to me — he is mine. You have no right to take him away!"