Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life?

Chapter 18: Farewell, Golden Tyrant

‘This is a nightmare.’

Before I knew it, my feet had already crossed half the distance between me and the place where Gilgamesh held Tamamo. My sword blurred at ridiculous speeds as I batted away every weapon fired from the Gate of Babylon. My mind was hyper-focused on one thing, and one thing only.

Reaching Tamamo. Getting her away from Gilgamesh at any cost and finding a way to save her.

I didn’t even register that Rider was the only one beside me now—Berserker busy dealing with Kirei and protecting his Master, with Waver doing what he could to stabilize Kariya.

A fire I had only felt once before roared to life in my chest, threatening to consume me. Words—ancient and incomprehensibly vast—whispered in my mind, in a language I shouldn’t have known. And yet… I understood.

But none of that mattered right now.

With sheer willpower, I shoved those voices aside and focused on my goal.

I was so consumed by rage and fear that the world around me seemed muted. Rider was yelling something beside me but the words didn’t reach me. It was like I was underwater, deaf to everything but the pounding in my chest.

Then I finally reached her.

‘I cannot! I will not fail again!’

My blade came down with all my strength and fury, aimed straight at the hand holding Ea, the weapon still lodged in Tamamo’s chest.

To my further despair, chains intercepted me. The Chains of Heaven. They wrapped around Balmung and halted my strike, and I could just barely hear the cruel laughter that followed.

And then—through the haze—I heard her voice.

Weak. Bloody. Beautiful.

“S-Sieg-kun… cough… p-please don’t worry about me… cough… this isn’t your fault,” Tamamo whispered, her voice barely above a breath. Her golden eyes met mine, wet with tears. “So please… don’t blame yourself. Just… do everything in your power… to live.”

My heart broke. Something inside me cracked.

‘Not again. Please! Not again!’

Unbidden, a tear rolled down my cheek. I wasn’t even sure if I had ever cried before but this pain? This anguish? It felt all too similar to the time when Jeanne died in my arms after sacrificing herself. After I wasn’t strong enough to protect her.

‘When will they understand that them dying is so much worse than living with the knowledge that I couldn’t protect them!?’

Then, mocking laughter pulled me from that moment.

“Huhuhu… hahahahaha! Wahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha! Oh, that felt good~,” Gilgamesh cackled with unrestrained glee, deflecting Rider’s approach with a storm of golden portals.

“Don’t worry, mongrel,” he sneered, eyes alight with sick pleasure. “You’ll be joining her in the afterlife soon enough. So you won’t be separated for long.”

That was the final straw.

Something in me snapped.

With a snarl, I dropped my transformation—my Siegfried form unraveling in an instant. The chains binding me loosened with the sudden size shift, and I seized my chance.

Without hesitation, I drew the sword Astolfo had gifted me and, with all my strength, severed Gilgamesh’s arm at the elbow.

He barely had time to widen his eyes in shock before I lunged forward, cradled Tamamo tightly against my chest, and leapt away with her in my arms.

I landed hard, sliding across the pavement but shielding Tamamo from further harm.

For the first time since this madness began, the world’s noise returned. I could hear everything again.

Waver was shouting for Kariya to stay awake. Berserker stood beside them, holding the perimeter. Kirei’s corpse lay crumpled on the ground, and Rider stood tall in his chariot, still going strong.

Rider pulled up beside me a moment later, chariot rumbling like thunder. I turned toward him, sword raised and aura blazing.

“Rider! Can you cover me for a minute?” I called out, batting away a wave of projectiles from the furious King of Heroes.

“You got it, boy!” Rider grinned, his voice booming with confidence. “Glad to see you pulled yourself together. Take care of your lady, leave Goldy to me!”

And with a roar of wheels and hooves, Rider charged once again into battle.

Finally looking down at Tamamo, I saw her gazing up at me with weak, tender eyes. I brought a hand to her cheek, gently wiping away her tears, then leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Please hang in there a bit longer,” I whispered. “We haven’t even had our first date yet, right?”

Her lips twitched upward as she tried to smile for my sake, clearly in immeasurable pain. “F-Fufufu… that’s right. This Tamamo’s love life is just beg— cough—beginning.” Her hand reached up, trembling, to caress my cheek as she looked at me with such warmth it almost broke me.

“Thank you, Sieg-kun. For always treating me like a regular girl and more importantly, for not being put off by my advances. You’ve made every day I spent with you a cherished treasure in my heart.” Her voice was soft, pained, but full of emotion. She stopped to cough again and gently raised her hand when I moved to stop her.

“So let’s both survive this silly war… and enjoy our days together, okay~?” she said with a beautiful, bittersweet smile. Blood still stained her lips, but the light in her eyes never wavered.

My own eyes misted, a soft chuckle escaping me despite everything. I nodded. “Yes… let’s stay together from now on, Tamamo.”

“Good~” she murmured, then suddenly leaned up and planted a quick, shy kiss on my lips before retreating with the faintest blush on her cheeks despite the circumstances. “Now go kick that mutt extra hard for me, okay?”

“Yeah,” I said with quiet determination, not even commenting about the kiss. At this point I would be an idiot to not know what I felt about her. With one last smile, I swiftly stored Tamamo in my Pocket Space.

Now that I was calmer, I recalled Kariya mentioning how time had stopped for him when he was inside. Using that logic, it meant anything stored inside remained frozen in time giving me all the time I needed to get her to Kiara.

A soft thud beside me caught my attention—Gilgamesh’s severed hand, still clutching Ea, lay on the ground. Not wasting the opportunity, I grabbed Ea and stored it away too. Then, with no hesitation, I bit into the severed arm and swallowed a drop of his blood—before discarding it like the trash it was.

I stood up, and saw Rider still holding off Gilgamesh. He was holding his own, but the pressure was growing. He wouldn't last long.

I turned and sprinted toward the others.

“How is Kariya?” I asked Waver quickly, glancing down at the fallen man—my stomach twisting at the look on Waver’s face.

“I… I tried everything I could. But the injuries were too severe,” Waver said softly, shaking his head.

I nodded grimly, then looked to Lancelot, who had let his helmet dissipate. His eyes held sorrow, disappointment—and understanding.

“Lancelot, would you be willing to make a contract with me?” I asked, raising my arm to show the two remaining Command Spells reserved for my transformations.

Lancelot was quiet for a moment, then gave a solemn nod. “Before my Master passed, he bade me to follow your will. If you are willing to accept a knight such as I, then I will gladly join you.”

“I accept. Welcome to the team, Lancelot. Let’s finish what we started.” I raised my hand, and a moment later, I felt the unmistakable bond form between us.

“Perfect. Now go help Rider and be ready to back away on my signal.”

With a single nod, Berserker blurred into motion, rejoining the fight.

I turned toward Gilgamesh, the fire in my chest blazing back to life as I dug deep—reaching for that voice, that feeling I had pushed aside earlier.

And then I let it take hold.

I glared up at Gilgamesh, rage returning in full force, and declared my will upon the very world.

“I will kill you, King of Heroes!”

Words surged to my mind—ancient, divine—and I let them rise freely this time as my body began to glow with divine gold, catching everyone’s attention.

“For victory, hasten forth before me!

O Immortal Sun, I beseech thee to grant radiance to the stallion.

O Stallion that moveth godlike with wondrous grace,

Bringest forth the halo of thy master!”

Behind me, a golden wheel formed, shimmering with radiant power—and from it emerged the image of a white stallion, majestic and alight with golden flames.

“Rider! Berserker! MOVE!” I shouted.

The stallion reared, then transformed into a divine spear of golden light—and launched straight at Gilgamesh with blinding speed.

Rider and Berserker barely had enough time to move before Gilgamesh was consumed by a flood of golden light.

But while we were facing off against the King of Heroes, another confrontation was unfolding—quiet and unnoticed, hidden by the chaos of battle.

=====

Near Ryuudou Temple—Kiara’s POV

"Are you sure this is a wise idea, Irisviel?" Kiara asked her companion, one hand on her glowing hairpins, ready to summon a shield at the slightest sign of danger.

"Yes. Completely sure. Sieg and Casko-san have been working really hard and even risking their lives for this silly war so any help we provide them to lessen their burden is worth the risk in my opinion." Irisviel nodded, a serious expression on her face as they ascended the path toward the temple—Sieg’s last known location for Saber and Kiritsugu.

Kiara still found it remarkable, the change in the homunculus. From the day they met, Irisviel had gone from cursing them out and distrusting every word they said… to now walking willingly into danger to help her so-called ‘kidnapper.’

Of course, Sieg promising to save her daughter from a terrible fate had likely played no small part in that change but it still took Kiara aback.

Just moments ago, Kiara had heard an anguished scream erupt from the battlefield where Sieg and the others were fighting Archer. The sound had pierced the air like a blade—raw, guttural, full of pain.

And most importantly… familiar.

So familiar, in fact, that Kiara had nearly run off then and there, heart thundering in her chest, prepared to charge into battle to see if there was anything she could do.

The only reason she hadn’t was because Irisviel still needed her. And… because she could still feel her connection with Sieg through the mark on her body, the tattoo on her womb. A mark that connected her to Sieg on a level she could hardly fathom but was nonetheless extremely happy to experience.

Kiara might have been weak before meeting Sieg but now she had been gifted something extraordinary. A gift of power, unlike anything she had ever imagined.

He had granted it so casually, as if it were nothing—yet Kiara had poured every spare moment into mastering it. Especially after the day he had been fatally wounded and she could do nothing to help.

The power to reject phenomena was frightening… but beautiful. With it, she could attack, defend, heal—whatever Sieg needed her to be.

She would not stand by uselessly again. Kiara never again wanted to experience the feeling of being useless when the person she lov-ahem, highly admired was near death’s door.

And so she had agreed to Irisviel’s idea—to try and sway Saber to their side, to do something to lighten Sieg’s burdens. Even if it was just a little. Even if she could only offer one less worry on his shoulders.

One day, she thought… she would walk beside him. Like Casko-san. Like an equal.

A small, sharp pang of jealousy bloomed at the thought but she buried it with practiced grace.

A feminine voice suddenly broke her thoughts, yanking her attention back to the present. Kiara immediately tensed, hairpins glowing bright with magical light as a shield formed in a blink.

“Irisviel!”

The figure of Saber—Artoria Pendragon—soon became visible as she landed in a crouch before them, her eyes locking immediately onto Irisviel.

"Hello, Saber. It’s nice to see you again. Did you miss me?" Irisviel asked with a lighthearted smile, clearly hoping to ease into the conversation.

Saber’s brows furrowed slightly. Her eyes lingered briefly on the glowing orange shield surrounding the two women before she shook her head and focused on Irisviel again.

"Is that really all you have to say after being kidnapped!?" Saber exclaimed, incredulous. "Never mind that—are you hurt? Were you treated with dignity?"

Chuckling softly, Irisviel visibly relaxed. “Don’t worry, Saber. I was treated really well~ I even learned what a television is, watched movies, saw the ocean, and built a sandcastle!” she added with an impish grin, launching into a happy little rant about all her experiences in Sieg’s Demiplane.

Kiara, watching closely, allowed herself to relax a little as well. The sight of Saber’s stiff posture softening into something between fondness and exasperation gave her hope that this conversation might actually go somewhere.

When Irisviel finally wrapped up her enthusiastic recap, Saber’s expression shifted once more.

“Tell me, Irisviel… was Sieg telling the truth? Is there really more going on with this war than what we were led to believe?”

At the shift in tone, Irisviel’s smile faded. She let out a quiet sigh, and when she looked back at Saber, her expression was calm and serious.

“Yes. Everything he told you is true.”

Saber blinked, then furrowed her brow in thought.

“Then what’s your purpose here, Irisviel?”

Feeling that things were moving in the right direction, Kiara remained silent, her senses sharp and scanning for danger. Based on what Sieg had said, Saber’s Master and his associate were the "shoot first, ask questions never" type, and she wasn’t about to be caught off guard.

With a gravity Kiara hadn’t seen in her before, Irisviel stepped forward slightly.

“I want you to join us, Saber. Please. Once you know the truth, you’ll see that this silly war needs to be stopped.”

Saber fell silent again, clearly struggling internally. Her lips parted as if to answer—

But the moment was shattered.

Kiara’s ears twitched. The sharp report of gunfire cracked through the air from somewhere off to the right.

Without hesitation, Kiara threw her arms forward and expanded her barrier, forming a solid oval shield around them just as the bullets clanged uselessly against it.

“Kiritsugu!?” Saber shouted, her voice a mixture of disbelief and confusion as she turned toward the source of the shot.

Kiara couldn’t blame her. What kind of bastard fires on his own wife?

Irisviel, on the other hand, didn’t look shocked at all. Just… sad. Deeply, painfully sad.

‘My therapist instincts are screaming,’ Kiara mused, frowning. ‘There’s definitely a story there.’

And then, with an inward sigh of resignation. ‘At least I know Sieg-kun would never pull something like that…’

With negotiations clearly breaking down, Kiara steeled herself and prepared to defend them again.

=====

Back With Sieg and Company

Walking cautiously toward the still-smoking, glowing form of Archer, with Rider and Berserker flanking me, we stayed on high alert—ready for any last-minute traps or retaliations.

Surprisingly, there were none.

We came to a stop a few feet from the crater, where the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, lay flat on his back, golden light slowly eating away at his body as he stared silently up at the sky. The glow of the White Stallion still clung to him—my Divine Authority working its way through his form, piece by piece, dragging him back to the Throne of Heroes.

“Heh.” Gilgamesh scoffed, his gaze sliding to me for a brief second before returning to the sky, clearly unimpressed. “To be done in by a god, of all beings… disguised as a human. How disgraceful.”

I blinked at the accusation, frowning slightly. “I’m not a god.”

Gilgamesh’s head turned more fully, his eyes narrowing with one last flicker of wrath. “Do you dare mock me, mongrel, even in my final moments?” he hissed, then scoffed again, this time more bitterly. “You cannot fool me. That was a Divine Authority. Only gods wield such power. Or do you deny it?”

Already, his body was fading from the waist down.

“No, you're right—that was a Divine Authority,” I admitted, my tone calm and direct. “But I stand by my words. I am no god. In fact, I’m the exact opposite. I’m a Campione—a Godslayer. A human who managed to slay a god and steal their Authority.”

I didn’t mind sharing the truth. He had only seconds left. And even if we ever crossed paths again, it would be a different version of him entirely. The multiverse was a big place—especially in the Nasuverse.

“Campione, huh…” Gilgamesh muttered, a strange expression flickering across his face. Then, slowly, a cruel smirk twisted his lips. “Heh… Hahahaha… What a disgusting being you are.”

His voice dropped to a bitter sneer.

“Hope we never meet again, mongrel.”

And with that, he vanished—his body breaking apart into motes of light and golden dust, scattered to the winds.

I stood there for a long second, face unreadable.

“It’s not like I’ve forgiven you for what you did to Tamamo either, bastard,” I muttered under my breath, my voice devoid of pity.