He kept killing.
With guns, blades, poison, and bombs.
Assassinations, slashing, burning, drowning, crushing.
He never doubted the aning of such actions, carefully considering the value of slaughter. To save the side of the tilted scale, he emptied the other side by killing. Over and over again, he killed.
Yes, this was correct. To accept sacrifice for the sake of saving the majority. If the happiness protected outweighed the increased suffering, didn't that an the world was one step closer to salvation? Even if rivers of blood flowed at his feet and mountains of corpses piled up.
If so lives were saved through sacrifice, then the precious ones should be those who were saved.
"—That's right, Kiritsugu. You are correct."
The woman beside him said this, and Kiritsugu knew deep down that this wasn't the real Irisviel, but he didn't imdiately expose her.
"What is this place?"
"This is where your wish will be realized. The inside of the Holy Grail you've been seeking."
'Irisviel' answered with a cheerful smile, while Kiritsugu was left speechless, looking around.
A sea of black mud pulsed like a living thing.
Everywhere, small mountains of decaying corpses slowly sank into the sea of black mud.
The sky was red, a blood-like crimson. In the midst of the black mud rain, a dark sun supported the sky.
The wind blowing through the air carried curses and cries.
If one were to describe this place in words—wasn't this hell?
"You're saying this... is the Holy Grail?"
"Yes. But you don't need to be afraid, because this is like a dream without form, still waiting for the mont of its birth."
The woman pointed to the sky, directing Kiritsugu's attention. At the center of the swirling world in the sky, what Kiritsugu had mistaken for a black sun was actually a "hole" in the sky, filled with endless darkness, its imnse mass seemingly capable of crushing everything.
"That is the Holy Grail. Though it hasn't taken shape yet, once the vessel is full, all that's left is to speak your wish. No matter what wish is made, it will choose the appropriate form to fulfill it. Only by gaining a physical form in this world can it go 'outside.'"
"..."
"Co, please give it 'form.' Although we didn't wait for that person, you are equally qualified to bestow it with a concept, Kiritsugu. Tell the Holy Grail your wish."
Kiritsugu remained silent, staring at the terrifying "hole."
Suddenly, he wanted to cry, but his tear ducts had long dried up. He only felt an empty feeling in his heart.
"So, this is... the Holy Grail."
The last glimr of hope was extinguished. When he abandoned his obsession with the Holy Grail, Kiritsugu Emiya realized how laughable his self-deception had been.
Pouring a wish like "saving the world" into sothing like the Holy Grail was, in itself, an indescribable irony—
He suddenly recalled the Hyatt Hotel, the nas written on the list, each one etched deep in his heart.
He suddenly recalled his argunt with Sakatsuki in the abandoned factory, how ridiculous the man who confidently declared, "Only the Holy Grail can end the unending cycle of evil," had been.
Ah, that young man.
Only now did Kiritsugu Emiya realize that every blow to his inner weakness had been orchestrated by that young man.
So that's how it was—Kiritsugu suddenly wanted to laugh, a laugh that would tear his throat and burst his lungs, to lash himself for the mistakes he had made up until now.
The reason he had been so hostile to that young man was because he had struck the weakest point in his heart.
That young man wasn't indecisive; he had simply held back multiple tis to allow Kiritsugu to find redemption.
That young man had been reminding him all along, reminding him of the small happiness he had almost lost.
After completely severing his delusions, Kiritsugu's heart finally swelled with guilt, and a deep longing erged, casting aside the image of the 'scale' as the arbiter, and embracing his humanity.
He wanted to go back, to apologize to that young man.
He wanted to go back, to embrace his beloved wife.
He wanted to go back, to vow to protect them—
For that, he could abandon his lofty and unattainable ideals.
Ah...
Just as he had sealed the utopia of Avalon within Irisviel—
He had already offered his ideals to the people he loved.
Under the woman's expectant gaze, the man beside her revealed a liberated, ominous smile for the first ti.
"My dream was to save the world—but that was in the past."
He raised his gun, aiming it at the woman's forehead.
"From now on, the man nad 'Kiritsugu Emiya' will live only for the people he loves. No matter if the future brings atonent or punishnt, I will accept it gladly."
"Wait..."
The woman wearing Irisviel's guise seed to want to say sothing, but Kiritsugu pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
****
Bang!
Sparks flew as the golden king retreated under a fierce barrage.
"Haaaaaaa—!"
With a roar that split the air, Saber's sword moved like a shooting star.
Chasing her enemy, Saber unleashed a whirlwind of sword strikes, relentlessly pursuing the retreating Archer.
The golden holy sword clashed with the crimson-patterned Ea, creating a sacred, interwined gale that carved deep marks into the ground of Ryudou Temple.
Facing Archer's ferocious grin, Saber stepped to the left, adjusting her stance to slash diagonally with her holy sword, aiming a stunning arc at the golden armor of the King of Heroes.
Archer's crude swordsmanship was no match for her—
But her instincts scread a warning. Saber looked up to see countless unfamiliar weapons!
While deflecting them would be easy, she couldn't engage head-on.
Archer's weapons held unknown abilities. Charging in blindly would be suicide.
Instinctively, she flipped her sword, deflecting three of the weapons, then released a burst of magical energy to quickly retreat. Countless Noble Phantasms chased her, piercing the ground where she had stood just milliseconds before.
Forced to retreat dozens of ters, Saber finally realized the dire situation.
Behind the golden king, golden ripples spat out more weapons—
Yes, while Gilgash's swordsmanship might be inferior to hers, the King of Heroes was never renowned for his personal combat prowess!
A rain of Noble Phantasms poured down, and the King of Knights was like a lone boat in a storm, struggling to hold on, searching for a chance to escape.
But—there was no opportunity!
Saber's heart filled with shock as she glanced at her opponent again. Gilgash's face no longer held a frivolous smile. Instead, his eyes were slightly narrowed, gleaming with calculation.
No matter how absurd his actions or how vile his personality was, he was still a king, the one who had ruled Uruk and severed ties with the gods, the Wedge of Heaven.
When he finally cast aside his arrogance and took the battle seriously—such a King of Heroes would make all his enemies tremble.
"Is it because of the blood of the British Red Dragon within you that such a graceful body can unleash such monstrous strength?"
Gilgash murmured, raising his hand slightly. The weapons erging from his treasury were now completely new, radiating a sense of crisis that made Saber's hair stand on end.
"Then let's use dragon-slaying weapons to crush you."
In the next mont, the Noble Phantasms shot forth again. The concepts embedded within those weapons sent shivers down Saber's spine, forcing her to raise her holy sword to block.
As Saber struggled against the dragon-slaying weapons, Gilgash didn't revel in her plight. Instead, he sighed softly in regret before slowly raising the spinning sword in his hand.
"Though it's a pity, my true opponent isn't you, Saber."
With this declaration, the rotation of Ea in Gilgash's hand gradually sped up, faster and faster...
Under Saber's wide-eyed gaze, the howling winds of heaven and earth roared as imnse magical energy erupted from the hilt of Archer's sword.
"Awaken, Ea. The stage for your performance is set!"
***
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