—Everything in this world is conspiring to annihilate you.
…
…
It was all drawing to a close.
How did it come to this final moment so quickly?
Indeed, most of the Heroic Spirits had already exited the stage.
Even Fuyuki City teetered on the brink of collapse due to the frenzied revelry of their final night.
The entire city was like a small boat caught in a tempest, at risk of being swallowed by the waves and shattered into pieces at any moment.
The so-called secrecy of the mystical world, the strict rule forbidding interference with the mundane world to prevent the exposure of magecraft, had been thoroughly trampled underfoot during this most chaotic night.
Currently, the overseer of the Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine, lay gravely injured and comatose in a hospital. The Matou mage family had crumbled with the death of Zouken Matou, and even Tokiomi Tohsaka, Kirei's mentor, had fallen by his own hand. Now, Fuyuki City and its surroundings had become a lawless gray zone, abandoned by both mage families and the Church, left to descend into war and panic.
Even though Fuyuki's police had mobilized their full force to evacuate civilians and sent elite units armed with cutting-edge weaponry to investigate the epicenter near Ryuudou Temple, hoping to halt the catastrophic clash of godlike figures, their efforts were futile.
The first wave of brave, defiant officers hadn't even reached the battlefield when they were obliterated by falling Noble Phantasms and the shockwaves of Fantasy Collapse. After witnessing this, no one dared approach that direction again.
They realized it was nothing but a death sentence.
No amount of courage or sacrifice could change that. They couldn't even glimpse the golden tide surging in the sky or witness a fragment of this mythic war. All they could do was retreat to safety, watching helplessly as the golden waves continued to ravage their homes, as the calamity spread from that region, destroying every building and claiming every life in its path.
That night, Fuyuki trembled under the weight of a mythic war known only to its participants, re-experiencing the primal fear of humanity dominated by gods in ancient times.
Some devout believers even saw it as divine punishment, a sign of the world's end.
They wept, kowtowing toward the sky above Ryuudou Temple, hoping to appease the gods' wrath.
Yet, the gods answered with an ever-expanding golden tide, transforming the night sky into a golden dawn.
…
…
Emiya Kiritsugu.
Undoubtedly, a figure of legendary stature.
If someone asked Kirei Kotomine who his greatest hypothetical enemy was in this Holy Grail War, the answer would be clear: the intriguing man mentioned by the King of Heroes, the magus he had never truly faced—Roy Crowley. His summoned Servant, the Immortal Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scáthach, had been called as a Caster, one of the weaker classes, yet through her ancient magecraft, she was adjusted to a Lancer better suited for direct combat. She displayed unparalleled strength in the Holy Grail War, undeniably a formidable foe for Gilgamesh.
But despite this hypothetical rival he would need to defeat to claim the Grail, Kirei Kotomine's true fixation remained on the enigmatic man named Emiya Kiritsugu.
To him, this man's life was a paradox.
It was impossible to discern what he truly pursued. His actions yielded disproportionate costs and rewards, with motives shrouded in ambiguity. To shallow minds unfamiliar with him, he might seem like a mere mercenary driven by greed.
But Kirei Kotomine knew this man was far more complex than that.
When he and Tokiomi Tohsaka visited the Einzbern estate to propose an alliance, Kirei saw Emiya Kiritsugu in person for the first time. He sensed a unique aura, distinct from ordinary men, sparking curiosity within him.
It wasn't something as superficial as a magus's mana flow but a deeper, intrinsic essence hidden within his soul.
This essence resonated with something in Kirei's own heart, yet it was distinctly different.
This similarity piqued Kirei's fascination with the strange man who mirrored him in some ways.
Thus, when Assassin's forces, under Tokiomi's misjudged command to engage head-on, were annihilated, Kirei took it upon himself to investigate everything about Emiya Kiritsugu.
The results confirmed his suspicions: this man's life, like Kirei's own, was riddled with contradictions. He was not the unscrupulous, money-driven mercenary the world believed him to be.
Kirei would swear that Emiya Kiritsugu didn't act solely for wealth. If money were his goal, marrying into the Einzbern family to fight in the Holy Grail War or wishing for riches via the Grail would be needlessly convoluted compared to countless simpler, safer methods.
Just as mystery attracts mystery and strangeness draws strangeness, those who are alike are drawn to one another.
The deeper Kirei delved into his investigation, the more intrigued he became by Emiya Kiritsugu.
He wanted to know what drove this man, who had endured countless tragedies and should have despaired of the world, to keep moving forward. What was his true wish? His purpose? His ideals?
Kirei yearned to uncover these answers.
Having taken a significant step toward pursuing evil and nearly embracing it fully, a fleeting moment of near-death reflection had rekindled his dormant heart. But this time, it wasn't the pleasure derived from chasing evil—it was a more complex, entirely different emotion.
Years ago, his father, Risei Kotomine, had spoken of this state: redemption.
Ah…
Redemption?
What a foreign, extravagant word.
For Kirei Kotomine, it was a sensation he had sought for over two decades yet never grasped, an unattainable answer.
Just as he was about to abandon seeking redemption from God or beauty from the world, preparing to plunge into evil to fill his hollow heart with pleasure, a miracle he had never witnessed stirred within him, leaving his emotions in turmoil.
'Redemption… redemption… what is redemption?'
Something he had desperately sought but never attained now lay before him, a twist of fate.
Had this come earlier, Kirei would have rejoiced and savored it. But now, it was too late.
He had already set foot on the path of evil, having killed Tokiomi Tohsaka with his own hands. Such a man had no right to redemption…
'Must I truly follow that king's guidance and continue this descent, ignoring this fleeting glimmer of light to pursue malice?'
'No, no, there must be another choice!'
Perhaps recalling stories from the Bible—Matthew's Gospel or Genesis—about the Lord forgiving sins, Kirei, in this final moment, chose to make one last attempt to grasp that fleeting redemption, to seek the answers within his heart.
Even if his heart remained clouded with confusion, his intuition urged him forward: keep going, find Emiya Kiritsugu, ask him directly, confirm what he pursues.
Then, he would find his answers.
"Keep moving forward…"
Kirei glanced at his body, revived from death, staring at his hands with an involuntary sigh.
Human desires are beautiful.
Without basis, often contradicting reality, yet filled with all manner of beauty, humans instinctively chase that beauty.
Even someone like Kirei, who yearned to explore evil, had once pursued that fleeting beauty, only to find nothing, inevitably falling into confusion and beginning to explore the distorted side—evil.
Initially, his pursuit was mere curiosity, but under the King of Heroes's malicious influence, he mistook it for his true nature's desire. Though he knew it was wrong for an Executor, he acted to understand his essence.
Yet, human nature is rarely purely evil or purely good; it instinctively seeks beauty and betterment.
As someone raised with proper values, it was only after facing death that Kirei awoke to this simple truth, realizing he had strayed into a misconception…
The King of Heroes's words weren't necessarily correct.
Pleasure… redemption…
Reaffirming his desires, Kirei realized what redemption meant and sought his own salvation once more.
Compared to Emiya Kiritsugu's mad, absurd wish to save all humanity, Kirei's pursuit was merely redemption for his own life.
…
A great alchemist once said: "The essence of alchemy is equivalent exchange."
But this principle applies only to alchemical magecraft.
Some wishes are so vast, so absurd, that no matter how much you sacrifice, the result isn't fulfillment but merely the pain of failure.
The world's rules are shaped by the world itself and its people, and equivalent exchange isn't the only governing principle.
"Is this the choice you made, Lesser Grail—no, Einzbern?"
Looking at Irisviel, lying on the altar, on the verge of losing her life and becoming the Lesser Grail, a complex expression crossed Kirei's face.
'In the end, did Emiya Kiritsugu truly make such a choice?'
After killing his own father and adoptive mother, he would now sacrifice his wife for his wish…
What kind of desire sustained him? What allowed him to make such choices after losing so much? What was the landscape of that man's heart?
Not long ago, Kirei might have silently watched this tragedy of sacrificing a wife for a wish. But now, he urgently wanted answers.
"Sacrificing yourself for another's ideals… giving up your life for it—what are you pursuing? What is Emiya Kiritsugu pursuing? What kind of goal could drive that man to drag his broken body this far? What wish could make you willingly give up your hard-earned life? Please, answer my questions, Einzbern." Gazing at the pure saintess before him, Kirei urgently voiced the doubts troubling his heart.
"…Kiritsugu's life has been so exhausting. He was born destined to be a savior, and from beginning to end, he's held firm to his goal of saving this tragedy-filled world, bringing redemption to humanity."
"That man's wish… is to lead humanity back to Eden?"
Hearing Irisviel's reply, Kirei's expression showed a hint of shock.
Yet, for a moment, he wasn't surprised by this unexpected yet reasonable answer.
Regarding Irisviel's claim that Emiya Kiritsugu sought to save all humanity and eradicate all evil and tragedy, Kirei inwardly rejected it.
He knew this wasn't a wish but a delusion, the ravings of a madman, an impossible fantasy.
Yet—
At this moment, he finally understood Emiya Kiritsugu's true pursuit and the fundamental difference between them.
Their approaches to their goals were fundamentally different. While Kirei seemed to seek happiness, he prioritized inner fulfillment and meaning, even sacrificing everything to pursue it, sometimes straying onto a dark path. In contrast, Emiya Kiritsugu sacrificed everything for a supreme ideal, enduring immense pain and loss without hesitation. Even if that path was inherently wrong, he never realized it.
Kirei sought his own redemption and happiness, while Kiritsugu saw others' happiness as his own. To achieve this, he distorted his essence, veered to extremes, and judged happiness and morality by his own values. This difference in defining and pursuing happiness created both similarities and fundamental distinctions between them.
"Thank you for clarifying."
At this point, Kirei seemed to grasp the answers within his heart…
Though he still couldn't agree with Kiritsugu's absurd actions and dreams, he now confirmed that Kiritsugu, too, pursued beauty and redemption, steadfastly doing what he believed was right. This was their greatest difference.
'Do what you believe is right, Kirei…'
His father's words echoed in his ears, and for a moment, Kirei's gaze cleared. He looked solemnly at the dying Irisviel and asked, "Was it worth it to you?"
"Yes, it was."
Irisviel gently placed her hand over her heart, her face bearing a fulfilled yet tragic smile that left Kirei silent.
"Because I, too, want to fulfill Kiritsugu's wish."
"Even if it includes your death?"
"It's unavoidable… a necessary sacrifice, and my mission…"
Facing Kirei's question, Irisviel lowered her eyes.
She could feel her life slipping away rapidly, soon to leave this world entirely.
That moment was near, perhaps in the next second…
Yet, in this final moment, Kirei asked one last critical question.
"Did he… ever consider running away? Or regret it?"
'Regret, or want to escape?'
Irisviel froze briefly, her mind flashing back to a distant memory.
One night, Emiya Kiritsugu, the steadfast man who always pursued his ideals, revealed his inner weakness before his wife.
Kneeling before her, he clung tightly to her, pleading in anguish, "Iri, let's run away together! Forget the Holy Grail War! We'll find a way for Illya with Maiya! Just come with me…"
After countless farewells and years of mental torment, on the verge of collapse, Kiritsugu bared his vulnerable side to his most trusted wife—weakness, fear, regret. He wanted to flee, to escape with his hard-earned happiness, to forget the past and start anew, protecting what was his.
But Irisviel refused him, pushing him onto a path of no return.
"…I see."
Though he received no direct answer, witnessing this, Kirei understood everything.
"You pushed him onto a dead end, Einzbern… Escape may be shameful, but sometimes it's better than persisting in error."
No longer expressionless, he let out a faint sigh.
Having obtained all the answers he sought and learned of Emiya Kiritsugu's life, the shackles binding Kirei's heart quietly unlocked.
He realized Kiritsugu, like him, was a lost soul. But he wasn't the cold, ruthless figure portrayed in reports. Instead, repeatedly sacrificing loved ones and severing cherished memories and happiness had left him profoundly fragile.
So much so that, in the end, he sought his own redemption, choosing escape, just as Kirei had.
But his wife, Irisviel, refused him.
This forced him to sever his past once more, continuing down a doomed, mistaken path, lost in the dream of returning humanity to Eden.
"I almost pity him…" With his answers, Kirei's lips curved into a smile—not the gleeful, mad smile from killing Tokiomi, but a bitter one tinged with pity.
"Unlike me, lost for failing to find the right path, he's lost for being forced onto the wrong one, growing obsessive and mad."
The observer sees clearly what the participant cannot. From an outsider's perspective, Kirei saw more than anyone. He slowly drew the Bible from his pocket, offering final solace to the dying Irisviel.
"Do you think Emiya Kiritsugu made a choice? That's not true. He never had a choice. Know this, Einzbern: though your self-sacrifice is noble, you're not human, nor a proper wife. You cut off his last escape, forcing him onto a dead end."
"Saving all humanity? What a grand wish… but it's merely a delusion. And how can a mere dream outweigh personal happiness? Humans aren't divine or perfect; a touch of selfishness is their true nature."
With his final prayer complete and his answers received, Kirei turned to leave.
"What are you… going to do?"
"To do what I believe is right, to seek my redemption, and to grant a blessing to a lost lamb like me, trapped in pain and obsession."
Kirei didn't look back, answering calmly, "Depending on the situation, that means… I'll kill your husband, granting him true liberation."
With that, Kirei waved his hand, gripping two familiar Black Keys glinting with cold menace.
"Wait!"
On the altar, Irisviel, seeing Kirei set to kill Kiritsugu, cried out in panic, but to no avail.
Now on the verge of becoming the Lesser Grail, she couldn't move, only watching helplessly as Kirei pursued what he believed was right, until his figure vanished.
…
—Tap, tap, tap.
Kirei's unmasked footsteps echoed in the empty space.
Following the trail of mana, he arrived at the area where Emiya Kiritsugu awaited—a space prepared for him.
The room where Irisviel lay was too cramped for combat, so Kirei deliberately left traces, luring his enemy to find him.
Unfinished and undecorated, the area was vast and bare, its emptiness mirroring Kiritsugu's hollow heart.
"No cover or weapons prepared? Choosing such an open space for battle—does it mean you know you have no way out?" Kirei, gripping his Black Keys, surveyed the surroundings curiously.
Seeing Kiritsugu unharmed, he continued, "Since you're alive, your assistant must have been killed by Gilgamesh, correct? And she died for you…"
"…Maiya. You dare mention her? Isn't it all your fault?"
Expressionless, Kiritsugu reloaded his gun, his eyes blazing with rage.
"Our fault… Indeed, Gilgamesh, my current ally, killed her. But she died because of you, didn't she? Gilgamesh said Gungnir only strikes its designated target. If it killed your assistant, it means she was the one who launched the missile that night, killing me, that forest, and innocent bystanders…"
Ignoring Kiritsugu's darkening expression, Kirei calmly recounted the cruel truth.
"That woman took the fall for a coward unwilling to pull the trigger himself. That night, it should've been you who died with me, Kiritsugu. But we both got lucky and survived."
"Shut up! You have no right to speak of her!!"
Kiritsugu raised his gun in fury.
"Still running from the truth? You're truly on the edge of madness…"
Facing the dark barrel, Kirei felt a pang of disappointment. Tightening his grip on the Black Keys, he looked at the man with pity.
"Not long ago, I fell to the devil's whispers. But thanks to the death you gave me, I gained clarity in my final moments. Your wife's words helped me find the answers I sought. Yet you, who sacrificed others, still haven't found the right answer, Kiritsugu."
"What are you trying to say? Trying to disrupt me with meaningless lies?"
Kiritsugu struggled, gripping his gun tighter.
"Lies? You're still avoiding the truth, even when it's right before you. What a pitiful man…"
Kirei shook his head, eyeing Kiritsugu's trembling hands. "Can you even fight like this? Your gun hand is shaking… What are you now? Will a man like you hesitate at this final step?"
"It's simple: you never truly resolved yourself. You've been pushed down an irreversible, wrong path, running until you hit a dead end…" He pierced the truth directly.
"Shut up! What would a murderer who killed his mentor know? What right do you have to judge me?!" Kiritsugu roared. "Do you know what I've carried all this time?!"
"You're right. Like you, I'm a sinner… Killing my mentor was my sin, and I won't deny or deceive myself."
"If I die here, my death will atone for his soul. If I survive, I'll use the Grail to send his soul to the Root. If I can't, I'll care for his wife and daughter until Rin grows up, then tell her the truth, letting her end my life and sins."
Facing Kiritsugu's accusations, Kirei's eyes showed sadness, but this time, he wasn't lost. He calmly stated his choices.
"But now, I have something even more right to do." Raising his gaze to Kiritsugu's incredulous face, Kirei assumed a combat stance, brandishing the piercing edge of his Black Keys.
"Emiya Kiritsugu, I will redeem (kill) you, freeing your obsessive soul, granting you true liberation and rest… This is the right choice I make from my heart."
"You… what's wrong with you?!"
In that instant, a chill surged through Kiritsugu's heart, and he instinctively stepped back.
Looking into Kirei's calm yet pitying eyes, his heart trembled uncontrollably.
What was with this infuriating man?!
Why, before the fight even began, did his heart waver, even sprouting the urge to abandon the battle and flee?
'No, I can't!!'
'The salvation of humanity is within reach. The world will soon be saved, my lifelong wish fulfilled. How could I retreat because of this man's deception and words?!'
'Just as justice always triumphs over evil, I'm the ally of justice. This man is just a treacherous mentor-killer! I won't lose—absolutely not!!'
His final thoughts became the last straw breaking him. Kiritsugu, stripped of his initial rationality, descended into a deranged state, lost in his own world.
—Bang, bang, bang!!
He raised his gun, frantically firing at the inescapable nightmare before him, desperate to prove his righteousness.
"Poor soul, stray lamb…"
Seeing Kiritsugu like this, perhaps glimpsing his own once-lost self, Kirei's eyes showed pity.
"Now… I will save you!!"
***
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