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Drip—drip—drip…
Water, dripping from a stalactite above, landed on Kiritsugu Emiya's face, jolting him awake.
"Ugh…" The cold water sent a shiver down his spine. He opened his eyes, his gaze darting around the dark cave, his body tense.
The distant walls were shrouded in darkness, the only light source a golden sphere hovering in the air, its light illuminating a hundred-meter radius.
He tried to sit up, but he was bound, his limbs tied in an intricate pattern—hogtied.
"A Conceptual Noble Phantasm that restricts movement?" he thought, examining the ropes that glowed faintly with magical energy.
"So, you're awake, Emiya-san," Haru's voice echoed through the cave as he and Kirei Kotomine emerged from the shadows. Haru held a small, intricate device in his hand, turning it over and over—Kiritsugu's Time Alter Mystic Code.
"True Magic user... and Kotomine Kirei. Where am I?" Kiritsugu's voice was flat, though his eyes, narrowed to slits, betrayed his unease.
"Ryūdō Temple, Mount Enzō. The location of the Greater Grail, and the ideal place to activate it," Haru replied casually.
Kiritsugu's face paled. Why would he, a defeated Master, be brought to such an important location?
"Haru-sama, the ritual preparations are complete," Kiyohime said, her voice breathless as she emerged from the depths of the cave, a light sheen of sweat on her brow.
Haru reached out, gently wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Excellent work, Kiyohime. You're always so efficient."
Kiyohime's eyes narrowed, a soft purr escaping her lips as she leaned into his touch.
Illyasviel, Saber, and Hassan-i Sabbah followed Kiyohime out of the cave, Gilgamesh materializing beside Haru.
"Haru, why have you brought this depraved individual here?" Saber asked, her brow furrowed in disapproval as she looked at the bound Kiritsugu.
She held no fondness for the Magus Killer, the man who had twice used Command Spells to force Lancelot to betray his knightly code. Had Haru not seemed to have a purpose for him, she would have already ended his life.
"He has a 'role' to play. You'll see," Haru said with a cryptic smile.
He turned his gaze towards Illyasviel.
She wore a white dress that left her shoulders bare, a large red ribbon tied around her waist, a crown-like headdress adorning her head. Her entire being radiated an aura of divine holiness, like a Madonna about to bestow her blessings upon the world.
She wore the Dress of Heaven, a Mystic Code that acted as a control interface for the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel—the key to opening the pathway to the Root.
Haru, looking at her, his eyes narrowed slightly, a lecherous glint in them.
Illyasviel, having spent years with Haru, instantly understood his intentions. She smiled sweetly. "Of course, Haru. Next time, we can play—while I'm wearing this."
"Illyasviel, please! Some things are better left unsaid!" Haru's face flushed as he felt the weight of the others' gazes—especially Kiyohime's murderous glare.
"Haru, hurry up and summon the Grail. I want to see this Omnipotent Cauldron for myself," Gilgamesh said, her voice laced with impatience.
She wasn't interested in watching their domestic bliss. If not for her curiosity about the Grail and this era—she would have returned to the Throne of Heroes long ago.
"Very well. Let's begin." Haru nodded at Illyasviel, then turned to the others, his voice serious. "Prepare yourselves."
Ignoring their puzzled expressions, he released his control over the Lesser Grail.
The small, golden goblet, which had been hovering above them, providing light, pulsed, connecting with the Greater Grail hidden within Mount Enzō.
A thin, hair-like crack, a tiny rift in space, appeared above the Lesser Grail. Through this door, they could see something shifting, its form undefinable.
Then, as they watched, a dark substance began to seep through the rift, into the Lesser Grail—mud, black, viscous mud.
The moment it appeared, its will, its essence, became clear.
Gluttony, lust, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride—all of humanity's negative emotions, a swirling vortex of malice.
"What what is that?!"
"That's inside the Grail?"
Saber, Hassan, and Kiritsugu stared at the swirling darkness, their faces masks of shock and horror.
Gilgamesh's brow furrowed in disgust. "That filth—you call that the Grail? The Omnipotent Cauldron?"
"That's not the Grail. That's All the World's Evil," Haru said, his voice flat.
"All the World's Evil?!" The others echoed his words, their voices filled with disbelief.
The black mud continued to pour into the Lesser Grail, overflowing and spilling onto the cave floor.
Intricate runes, glowing with an azure light, appeared on the ground, spreading rapidly to cover the entire cave—the bounded field Kiyohime and Hassan had prepared under Haru's instructions.
The mud, making contact with the runes, sizzled and sputtered, its darkness slowly being neutralized.
Haru, knowing the nature of the All the World's Evil, had prepared for this. He couldn't allow it to spread, to contaminate the human world. That would—complicate his plans. He still needed to—impregnate Alaya.
"Lord, you have descended—to bring this miracle—into the world?" Kirei Kotomine's voice was filled with a fervent awe as he stared at the black mud.
To him, whose values were so inverted, the cursed substance, the embodiment of all things evil, was the most beautiful—the most Divine thing he'd ever seen.
"My Lord!"
Kiritsugu stared at Haru, his eyes wide with shock. For Kirei Kotomine, a Church Executor, to address someone as "Lord"—it could only be—God.
Unlike the Magicians, who believed the Gods were dead, Kiritsugu, having encountered a Fallen Angel, knew they still existed.
Haru turned to Kiritsugu, his voice soft.
"Kiritsugu—you want to save the world, don't you?"
"More than anything! It's my dream! I'd sacrifice everything to eradicate evil…"
"Then, my middle-aged chuuni—go. Save the world."
Haru grabbed the ropes binding Kiritsugu and tossed him into the vortex of malice.
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