"Isn't Saber already dead?"
Illya had said that the souls of Saber and Caster had already been collected by the lesser grail. Since Saber was already dead, why would another Saber appear in the core of this mountain of flesh?
"The aura of the holy sword is unmistakable... There's no doubt this is Black Saber's holy sword, but why? Why would she appear in this place..."
Akatsuki did not rashly touch the mountain of flesh; after all, she didn't know what Angra Mainyu had fused within her memories.
Under Kirei Kotomine's gaze, the mountain of flesh in front of Akatsuki was sliced by an invisible force into equal rectangular blocks, each about the height of a person.
"If I'm not mistaken, Test Subject No. 4 probably used this mountain of flesh to create Black Saber's body, then planned to wait for the body to mature, crush the consciousness born within it, and take over the body herself."
"If she were the original Saber, Test Subject No. 4's plan would likely never succeed. But she is an existence like Black Jeanne, which is why Test Subject No. 4 found an opening..."
"But that's just my personal speculation."
Akatsuki seemed to be talking to herself, yet also to Kirei Kotomine behind her.
"Are you saying this is what was born after all the worlds evil descended?"
Kirei Kotomine looked at the girl within the flesh. Although he didn't want to admit Akatsuki's view, Saber had undoubtedly been eliminated from the Holy Grail War. The girl in the flesh, identical to Saber, was undoubtedly the form after all the worlds evil had descended.
"It's undeniable. In a sense, she is both Britain's king of swords and the crystallization of all the worlds evil. So, Kirei Kotomine, what is your choice?"
"My... choice?"
Akatsuki's words seemed to carry a hint of magic, stirring something deep within Kirei Kotomine's heart.
Kirei Kotomine knew he wasn't exactly a villain, but he was a bad person. While not cruel, in the eyes of normal people, he followed an evil path.
Born with a personality defect, he could not find beauty in what people called beautiful things, yet he could never forget the things many called ugly.
Although he was troubled by these deviations in perception when he was young and once tried hard to correct them, he now held a detached attitude toward it.
His purpose for participating in the Holy Grail War as a supervisor and becoming the biggest cheater in the Fifth Holy Grail War was not the Holy Grail itself, but the hope for the birth of an existence with the same innate malice as himself—'all the worlds evil.'
Yet now, the crystallization of all the worlds evil was right before his eyes, but it appeared in the form of Saber. Could he accept this fact?
Looking at the silent Kirei Kotomine, and to prevent him from causing trouble later, Akatsuki decided to make Kirei Kotomine change careers from a priest to a ramen shop owner who only sold mapo tofu.
"Kirei Kotomine, why can't you accept it?" Akatsuki spoke, shifting Kirei Kotomine's attention to herself.
"Accept it?"
"Would the noble king of knights really become an existence like me just because of all the worlds evil? Someone who, in history and reality, dedicated everything to her motherland, could never become someone like me, even if tainted by all the worlds evil!"
"Why?"
Facing Akatsuki's question, Kirei Kotomine instinctively wanted to argue, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. Under the blood-red sky, Kirei Kotomine stood stiffly in place.
"Kirei Kotomine, there is an old saying in Huaxia: 'You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of a fish?' You are neither all the worlds evil nor the Saber in this flesh. So how can you be so certain that all the worlds evil is born evil like you, and that the Saber in the flesh will never become evil even in the depths of the abyss of evil?"
"'You are not a fish...'" Kirei Kotomine's voice unknowingly took on a hint of irritation. "Perhaps you are right... but this is just your side of the story! How can you be so sure that things aren't exactly as I hoped!"
Akatsuki shook her head gently, her tone calm. "There is another old saying in Huaxia: 'You are not me, how can you know that I do not know the joy of the fish?' You are not me, so how would you know that I don't know these things?"
As Akatsuki's voice fell, the flesh around her gradually melted into a pool of blood. A moment later, all the flesh except for the part containing Saber and the holy sword had turned into blood and then evaporated completely under the blood-red sky.
"..." Kirei Kotomine watched everything happening before him, his mind in chaos. "That's just sophistry! According to what you said, you aren't me either, so how would you know that I don't know!"
Akatsuki shrugged. "I really don't know. To be honest, I don't want to know at all."
"Hmm?"
"There's another saying in Huaxia: 'The Great Way is simple.'"
The flesh behind Akatsuki also began to undergo a transformation. From Kirei Kotomine's position, he clearly saw Saber's finger move, though Akatsuki didn't seem to care much about any of it.
"The world of mystery cannot satisfy you. If you want to find what you seek, try to leave mystery behind and step into the realm of ordinary people. Satisfy your twisted heart under the rules of ordinary people; it's best to start with your own hobbies first."
Akatsuki turned and reached out toward the rectangular block of flesh behind her. The flesh that originally enveloped Black Saber slowly opened, and the Black Saber, having lost her fleshy shell, fell into Akatsuki's arms.
Picking up the holy sword stuck in the ground, Akatsuki used Marble Phantasm to temporarily create a blanket and covered Black Saber with it.
"Wait!"
Akatsuki, being called out to, turned her head to look at Kirei Kotomine.
"Even if I obtain the Holy Grail, I won't get what I want, will I?"
"Who knows."
The blood-red sky gradually disappeared.
"However, Kirei Kotomine, if you plan to continue staying in the world of mystery, then I can swear in the name of brunestud that I will make it so you can never obtain even a shred of satisfaction."
"This isn't a warning, it's a notification."
Watching Akatsuki's receding figure, Kirei Kotomine glanced at the buildings stained with blood and the empty streets around him. He touched his heart, which would no longer beat, and finally left in silence.
Akatsuki knew that this alone wouldn't make him leave this field, but it wasn't a big deal. She had already left a brand on Kirei Kotomine. Once he fell asleep at night, Akatsuki would let him know the consequences of continuing to oppose her.
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