Emiya Residence.
After eating and drinking their fill, Taiga Fujimura rode home on her little motorized scooter, repeatedly instructing Shirou Emiya to take good care of Tohsaka Rin and the others before she left.
"Fuji-nee isn't exactly young anymore, yet she's still so rowdy."
Shirou Emiya complained while clearing the dining table, though he was still smiling; this peaceful daily life was incredibly precious and beautiful to him.
"Being energetic is a good thing. She truly lives up to the name 'tiger of fuyuki'."
Having had some wine, Akatsuki was a bit tipsy now. She sat at the kotatsu, propping up her head with her hand, her gaze somewhat hazy as it drifted between Matou Sakura and Saber.
"Has Fujimura-sensei left?"
Tohsaka Rin walked into the living room from the inner room holding a tea cup. After sliding into the kotatsu, she took a sip of tea. "Now then, let's talk business!"
"Archer!"
"What are your orders?"
"It's better for everyone to discuss this together, so Sakura, you should call Rider out as well."
Matou Sakura nodded, and Rider appeared behind her.
"Regarding this Holy Grail War, regardless of what wishes everyone has, it's best to give them up."
"Why, Rin? Don't we Heroic Spirits respond to a Master's summons precisely to pursue the Holy Grail?"
"Saber, calm down. Listen to Rin finish before making a judgment."
Akatsuki was sipping wine on the side, not even bothering to look up as she spoke calmly.
"If you're asking why... though I hate to admit it, Fuyuki City's greater grail was already corrupted during the Third Holy Grail War. The current greater grail is just a piece of 'trash' that distorts wishes."
"Corrupted?"
"Yes."
Facing Saber's puzzled gaze, Tohsaka Rin turned her eyes toward Akatsuki, who was drinking nearby.
"Hmm? Rin, why are you looking at me like that? Could it be... oh, you're so impatient~"
"Akatsuki, do you need me to help you sober up?"
Tohsaka Rin looked at Akatsuki with a smile.
Akatsuki lightly swirled the wine glass in her hand as if she hadn't seen Tohsaka Rin's smile. She let out a small burp and said slowly, "Fuyuki City's greater grail was corrupted as early as the Third Holy Grail War by the Eighth Class, Avenger—also known as 'Angra Mainyu (all the worlds evil)'—summoned by the Einzbern Family."
"So even if you obtain Fuyuki City's greater grail, any wish granted will only be realized in a distorted way. For example, if you wish to 'become the richest person in the world' to the greater grail, it might fulfill it by killing everyone else on Earth. When you're the only one left, you naturally become the richest."
"How could this be..." Saber's eyes grew dull. She suddenly thought of the previous Holy Grail War. Was that why that man forced her to destroy the Grail with command spells after learning the truth at the very end?
"So that's why Kiritsugu finally gave up on the Holy Grail?"
Hearing Akatsuki's words, Shirou Emiya recalled what the priest, Kirei Kotomine, had said at the church. Then he remembered the great fire in the New City. "But why did the disaster in the New City still happen after Kiritsugu gave up on the Grail?"
"Ah, that was because of Kiritsugu Emiya's error in judgment. What he destroyed was merely the 'Gate'." Akatsuki put down her wine glass, a hint of reminiscence flashing in her eyes. "Destroying just the 'Gate' isn't enough. If Angra Mainyu isn't completely destroyed, the Holy Grail in future Holy Grail Wars will remain a useless piece of 'trash'."
"How can it be..." While everyone was silent, Saber looked at Akatsuki in disbelief. "Does that mean I won't be able to realize my wish in this Holy Grail War either?!"
"Of course. If you plan to use a corrupted Holy Grail, then you are making an enemy of all human history." Akatsuki stretched and continued, "If you truly used it, your inner wish would surely be distorted into something extremely evil. It might even destroy all of human history, becoming a Singularity in human history, or perhaps just a spark in some future great fire."
"Saber, I'm telling you this from experience: do not disregard everything for the sake of what is already gone. Otherwise, you'll find that everything you've done will ultimately lead to ruin. If you were the only one bearing the consequences, it might be acceptable, but if it affects others, that would be an unpardonable sin."
Saber bit her lip, her body trembling slightly. Her eyes were filled with despair and indignation. Was her wish to save her motherland truly impossible to achieve?
"Is there really no other way?"
Shirou Emiya suddenly asked.
Akatsuki smiled. "By eliminating Angra Mainyu, the vengeful spirit polluting the Grail, in this Holy Grail War, the greater grail will return to normal by the Sixth Holy Grail War sixty years from now."
Akatsuki paused and then added, "However, even if the greater grail returns to normal, I wouldn't suggest you use it to grant your wish. After all, if your wish were to come true, the entire human order might be overturned."
"Wait! You just said human order, right?! That human order concept proposed by the Lord of the Department of Celestial Body at the Clock Tower!"
Tohsaka Rin suddenly became agitated, looking at Saber in disbelief. "Saber, what exactly is your wish? Why would it have the potential to overturn the human order?!"
Saber clenched her fists. "I... I just wanted..."
Saber's distressed expression was truly something one could never tire of seeing. Akatsuki suddenly understood why Gilgamesh took an interest in Saber. But unlike Gilgamesh, Akatsuki wasn't a tsundere and wouldn't pursue a girl in such a wrongheaded way.
"Actually, you don't need to be so distressed." Akatsuki drained the red wine in her glass. "The fall of Britain was inevitable, just as Morgan could never become the King of Britain. These were the choices of the human order. No matter how you try to change it or how much you agonize, you cannot change the course of the story."
"How can that be... all those people who died because of me..." Saber said softly.
"No one blames you. Even the one who said 'The King does not understand the hearts of men' feels regret. You don't have to take everything upon yourself. The rise and fall of dynasties is the will of heaven."
Akatsuki spoke indifferently as she drank her wine.
Seeing Saber's dejected look, Shirou Emiya quickly spoke up to comfort her. Meanwhile, Tohsaka Rin carefully pondered Akatsuki's words. Suddenly, she seemed to have a lead on Saber's true name, though it would still take some time to confirm.
"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that for tonight." Looking at the empty wine bottle, Akatsuki sighed. "The goal is clear: destroy the greater grail corrupted by Angra Mainyu, and then let the Holy Grail War return to its proper track."
"Although it's a bit difficult for us to deal with Assassin right now, we can certainly join forces. Putting Caster aside for now, I've already met Berserker's Master. Tomorrow, we'll go find her to discuss an alliance. If there are no objections, the meeting is adjourned."
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