[—I am a worm, crawling in non-volatile malice. I raise my head higher than the moon, until I no longer see you pitiful creatures.]
…
…
Meanwhile, in the forest…
Clang, clang, clang—!!
The clash of metal echoed under the night sky.
Sparks flew in the dark woods.
Two figures, one tall, one short, darted through the dense forest with ghostly speed.
The young priest in front, wielding two dagger-like Black Keys, sliced through the air with cold precision. The piercing sound of his strikes flawlessly cut down the pursuing worms.
These palm-sized worms, Zouken Matou's century-honed familiars, were far from ordinary, their hardness and strength surpassing bullets.
Despite his youth and strength, Kirei Kotomine was chased, leaping to treetops for cover, parrying with Black Keys, seeking a counterattack.
Zouken, a decayed, mummy-like figure, pursued with unimaginable speed, his withered face growing sinister, laughing maniacally.
"Ho ho ho—!! Church boy, didn't you vow to purge this old soul? Where's your bravado now?"
Laughing, black worms swarmed from his decayed body, coalescing into a dark mass, enveloping him, boosting his already formidable speed.
"Hm…"
Hearing the ghastly laughter and taunts, Kirei didn't respond, maintaining his pace through the forest.
To avoid being overtaken, he flicked a Black Key mid-air.
A flash of cold light, and a clean cut appeared on a towering tree. Then—
—Boom!!
With a loud crash, the tree, sliced by his Black Key, fell toward Zouken to slow his terrifying speed.
"Ho ho, using obstacles to escape? Useless tricks, Tokiomi's disciple. You're as incompetent as your professor…"
Zouken sneered, his pace unfaltering.
As the tree fell, his controlled worm swarm formed a massive black hand, catching the tree and hurling it at Kirei with astonishing force.
—Swoosh!!
"What?"
Hearing the piercing sound, even the calm Kirei raised an eyebrow, his composed face shifting slightly.
With no time to think, he dove behind another tree, barely dodging the deadly strike.
"You dodged… lucky boy."
Seeing Kirei evade, Zouken's eyes grew colder.
This Kirei Kotomine was formidable.
His combat experience and instincts were exceptional. In Zouken's long life, few surpassed him in battle intuition.
Such a man, sent to the Eighth Sacrament?
Zouken believed Kirei's talents suited Western Europe's battlefields against Dead Apostles, not this mystically barren East.
Among his peers in the Church, Kirei was top-tier. With special training and kills, he could join the Burial Agency. Being a mere priest here, under the useless Tokiomi, was a waste.
Tokiomi, without Gilgamesh's protection, dying to such a foe was no surprise.
Their gap was vast…
If close enough, unprepared, Kirei could kill Tokiomi as easily as an ordinary man.
After the chase, Zouken gauged Kirei's strength.
A pinnacle human, mastering Church Executor techniques, flawless with Black Keys in melee or range. With Zouken's decayed body, a close fight could see him pinned by those keys.
Knowing this, Zouken avoided melee, denying Kirei a chance to counter.
Smirking sinisterly, Zouken's worm familiars multiplied, forming two torrents—one east to west, one west to east—trapping Kirei in the forest.
Kirei didn't sit idle. As Zouken paused to control the swarm, he spun, hurling a Black Key at Zouken's head like a throwing dagger.
—Clang!!
The move did no harm. Zouken raised his cane, deflecting the key to the ground. Kirei used the distraction to vanish into the forest's right side.
"Hmph, cunning boy! Think you can escape?"
Seeing Kirei disappear, veins bulged on Zouken's withered face. Though gone, Zouken wouldn't let him go.
The ominous aura from Gilgamesh lingered, making his worm-replaced heart wail.
A wild thought struck: even three top Servants might fall to Gilgamesh. To be safe, he had to capture Kirei, Gilgamesh's new Master, and plan next.
Zouken picked up Kirei's fallen Black Key, tossing it to his swarm.
"Tracker worms, find his scent, lead me to him! For victory, I must seize that Executor!"
His tone was menacing as he commanded.
The swarm boiled, thousands scattering to search, halving their mass.
Zouken gripped his cane, sneering like a demon, following the scent through the forest.
…
Soon…
Creak—!!
A black wooden door was pushed open, screeching, plunging the dark church into deeper shadow. Even the faint candle on the altar was snuffed by the cold wind.
Decayed strings, broken chairs, a half-shattered Virgin Mary statue…
An abandoned church, once nestled in the forest, left desolate due to its inconvenient location.
Everything bore the marks of time.
Tap, tap, tap—!!
Footsteps echoed. Kirei, just arriving, moved past fallen chairs.
Suddenly—
—Bang!!
A chilling gust slammed the door shut.
Kirei frowned but remained calm, eyeing the broken statue, hearing the rustle of crawling worms, already knowing the situation.
"How pathetic, Kirei Kotomine…"
A raspy, ghostly voice echoed.
He softly named the speaker: "…Zouken Matou."
"You found me so quickly."
"Ho ho, you made a fatal mistake, Executor."
The withered voice continued, followed by—
Clang!!
A black dagger flashed, embedding in front of Kirei, glinting coldly.
"So…"
Kirei smiled, understanding how Zouken tracked him so fast.
"Behave, Kirei Kotomine. It's over. Accept your fate."
The old voice carried killing intent, accompanied by cane taps on the roof, then a rustling sound.
Countless black worms emerged from shadows, crawling down pillars, through door cracks, around the statue, encircling Kirei, trapping him.
"Kill him… no, leave him alive, preserve his Command Spells."
The voice hesitated, then commanded.
The worm swarm surged like a tide, aiming to devour Kirei.
Yet, in this dire situation, Kirei's eyes remained calm. He made no sound, gazing at the statue, ignoring the worms as if they posed no threat.
I didn't realize this when I killed Master Tokiomi…
But now, it's clearer.
Ah, I've always known.
I'm different, born broken…
Happiness is bitter to me; only distortion is sweet.
In despair and twistedness, I feel joy, feel alive.
I've long understood.
My existence is wrong for this world, for any creature—pure evil.
Even monsters like Merlin Solomon or Roa's host, Ciel, called me so.
A grave flaw—perhaps I shouldn't exist.
Yet, for over twenty years, I suppressed my nature, gaining conscience.
I tried to be normal, to fit among humans, but failed every time.
My last attempt was to love a woman.
It wasn't love…
Just what I thought I should do.
I wanted to feel human through love, through a child.
The result…
Until you died before me.
"I truly couldn't love you…"
Kirei closed his eyes, murmuring, letting the worm sea engulf him.
…
"Hmph… dead already? Pitiful Executor."
Feeling no movement below, Zouken, atop the church by the cross, sneered. "Like your naive professor, your betrayal and desires end in nothing."
"With Gilgamesh gone, I'll kill El-Melloi and Kiritsugu, and it's done…"
He mocked, deeming Kirei dead in the swarm.
But just before his victory speech—
Bang!!
An explosion erupted beneath, a massive hole forming. Before he could react, a black figure leapt up, facing him.
"It's… you! How is this possible?!"
Zouken stared, shocked, at Kirei—half his face eaten, body ravaged, yet regenerating at an eerie speed.
Kirei didn't answer, his skeletal hand slamming Zouken's head to the ground. Under Zouken's incredulous gaze, his eaten eye regrew, his expression calm, joyless, sorrowless.
"What are you?!!"
Zouken roared, cursing, questioning the man who should be dead but stood before him.
Kirei didn't reply, his eyes empty, pinning Zouken down, murmuring—
"I declare
I govern death, I govern life.
I wound, I heal.
None escape my grasp.
None flee my gaze."
"What… is this?"
The holy incantation and strange sensation made Zouken realize something.
"Let it perish.
The broken, the decayed, I summon back.
Entrusted to me, guided by me, obedient to me."
As sacred words flowed, a white sanctuary spread from Kirei's hand, enveloping them, its dazzling light shining under the night sky.
Bathed in holy light, Zouken's decayed face twisted, black mist rising from his withered hands. He glared at Kirei, chanting, mustering his last strength for a sky-shaking roar.
"Stop! Stop!! You must stop!!"
Unmoved, Kirei continued.
The hour of rest,
Never forgetting song, prayer, or myself.
"No, no, you can't, Kirei Kotomine! My wish, my dream isn't fulfilled! You can't kill me!!"
"With my lightness, I lift all burdens, granting rest in my hand.
For your sins, anoint with oil and seal with a mark."
Holding Zouken's head, now burned to a skull by holy light, Kirei faced the cross, calmly saying:
"Eternal life, granted by death.
Forgiveness is now, sworn by my incarnation."
Zouken's heart trembled, descending into madness, cursing wildly.
"You monster! Unforgivable! You captives of false justice defile my ideals! I curse you, I curse you… Aaaah!!!"
—KYRIE ELEISON (Have mercy on this soul)
Kirei spoke calmly, releasing his hand, sending Zouken's remaining soul through the holy light to the distant stars, to the Lord's realm.
"…"
After, Kirei gazed at the vanishing river of stars, his expression unreadable.
His half-eaten body fully restored.
He pulled a golden apple core from his throat, tossing it to the soil.
Before entering, he'd eaten Gilgamesh's golden apple, healing fatal wounds, the reason for his calm amid the swarm.
Zouken didn't find him—Kirei left the Black Key to lure him.
Watching Zouken's maddened end, hearing his unwilling cries, Kirei smiled with pleasure.
Descending the roof, his wife's final words echoed.
Kirei, you loved me…
See, your eyes are tearing…
"A misunderstanding…"
Recalling that moment, sadness flickered in his eyes.
"I was sad, but not for her death."
"I wished, if death was inevitable, to do it myself… like Master Tokiomi…"
…
Matou residence.
On the path to the worm pit, a lone bug crawled.
Before it reached the closed door, it opened. A youth sat, coldly watching the worm, waiting patiently.
***
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