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Splash!
Kiritsugu Emiya, his face a mask of shock, landed in the black mud.
The mud, which had been sizzling and sputtering against the bounded field, suddenly stilled, then began to churn and boil like a pot of water.
Silence.
Everyone stared at Haru, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"Haru-chan? W-what did you just do?" Gilgamesh asked, her voice laced with confusion.
"That's what you meant by 'a role to play'?" Saber's lips twitched.
"If Haru-sama says it's useful, then it's useful—probably," Kiyohime said, her gaze darting away nervously.
Hassan looked at Kiritsugu's legs, the only part of him still visible above the mud, twitching feebly, a flicker of pity in her eyes. Even they, as Servants, wouldn't fare well against the All the World's Evil, let alone a Magician like Kiritsugu Emiya, whose physical parameters were barely E-rank.
He was going to die.
"Ah…" Kirei Kotomine stared at Kiritsugu's struggling legs, his face a mask of disappointment. This wasn't what he'd expected. He was supposed to be the one to bring Emiya's downfall, not Haru.
But his disappointment was short-lived. His gaze, now filled with a rapt fascination, fixed on the churning black mud. Compared to Kiritsugu's suffering, this was far more exquisite. He was enamored with the All the World's Evil, despite its unpleasant appearance.
"Kiritsugu Emiya's Origin is Severing and Binding. He destroys and then reconnects in a—twisted way," Haru explained, his voice flat.
Curious gazes turned towards him. Why was he explaining Emiya's Origin now?
"Is there something wrong with his Origin, Haru?" Illyasviel asked, tilting her head.
"The All the World's Evil—it has no physical form, but it does possess a will, a consciousness, albeit a rudimentary one. Its goal is to manifest in the physical world, to bring about chaos and destruction, to corrupt humanity."
"So you're using him as bait?" Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed, a knowing smirk on her face.
"Exactly. For a being without a physical form, someone like Emiya, with his unique Origin, is the perfect vessel. Once it manifests—it will be much easier to deal with," Haru grinned, his expression turning predatory.
Allowing the All the World's Evil to use Emiya as a vessel to enter the world—it would be easier to destroy it outside the Grail, its power contained within a physical form. A tangible target was always preferable to an intangible one.
As for Kiritsugu Emiya's well-being hadn't he wanted to save the world? Sacrificing one person to save humanity—he should be grateful.
"&#$%^…&(()" Kiritsugu, buried in the mud, tried to speak, but his words were swallowed by the viscous substance. He'd always considered himself a judge, weighing lives on a scale of justice, sacrificing the few to save the many.
And now—he understood what it felt like to be sacrificed.
He wanted to hate Haru, to rage against his fate. But shouldn't he be grateful? He was saving the world. He was fulfilling his purpose. Kiritsugu Emiya, the self-proclaimed savior, was trapped in a spiral of conflicting emotions.
The black mud enveloped him, as if the All the World's Evil, sensing his nature, had finally found its host. It surged into his body, pouring into every orifice—his mouth, his nose, his ears, even his rear—If not for its intangible nature, it would have ripped him apart.
Five tendrils of black mud, like grotesque tentacles, snaked into Kiritsugu's body.
Silence fell over the cave as everyone watched Kiritsugu's ordeal, their faces a mixture of pity and disgust.
Even Haru, the architect of this—situation, looked away, unable to stomach the sight.
Only Kirei Kotomine watched with rapt fascination, his eyes fixed on Kiritsugu's writhing body.
"Beautiful—so beautiful…"
He was filled with a profound gratitude towards Haru, a spiritual ecstasy. Kiritsugu Emiya's suffering, and the birth of the All the World's Evil—his two greatest desires, intertwined.
It was bliss.
Within the Greater Grail, the All the World's Evil, sensing that Kiritsugu's body had been—prepared, its will surged forward, flowing through the rift into Kiritsugu.
It merged with his consciousness, his personality, granting it the ability to think, to reason. But Kiritsugu—he was still Kiritsugu. He'd simply gained another title—the embodiment of all the world's evil.
And with that, a paradox was born. Kiritsugu Emiya, whose greatest desire was to eradicate evil, was now evil itself.
Bang!
A single gunshot echoed through the cave.
Kiritsugu, his consciousness returning, his body under his control once more, had shot himself.
"No! What have you done?! Give it back! Give me back my evil!" Kirei Kotomine screamed, rushing towards Kiritsugu's body, grabbing his shirt, his voice filled with a desperate rage.
Kiritsugu, his body growing cold, looked at Haru, a peaceful smile on his face. He had saved the world. With his own hand.
"Haru-sama—w-what did he do…?" Kiyohime asked, staring at Kiritsugu's body, a puzzled look on her face.
"He took the evil with him. A fitting end, wouldn't you say? For a man who dreamed of saving the world," Haru replied, his voice laced with a sardonic amusement.
"He's becoming a Heroic Spirit? He made a contract with Alaya—in his final moments? Let's see what kind of hero—a vessel of pure evil—becomes…"
Gilgamesh's eyes glowed with the power of Sha Naqba Imuru, her omniscience, then she burst into laughter.
"Pffft— HAHAHAHA! No Noble Phantasms, no skills, just—the ability to endlessly resurrect using malice? That's a hero?"
"You did this, didn't you?" Saber glared at Haru, her eyes filled with disdain.
Haru shrugged, admitting his involvement. Having used Kiritsugu as a vessel for the All the World's Evil, he'd naturally taken precautions. And in this world, what better precaution than binding him to Alaya's will, turning him into a Counter Guardian?
He'd effectively trapped both Kiritsugu and the All the World's Evil under Alaya's control.
Knowing the threat was neutralized, he looked at the rift above the Lesser Grail, through which he could see the empty core of the Greater Grail, and frowned. "It seems—I'll have to provide the energy myself."
Hours later, Illyasviel, dressed in the Dress of Heaven, knelt beneath the Lesser Grail, her hands clasped together in prayer, her body radiating a brilliant, white light.
Within the Greater Grail, sixty years' worth of accumulated magical energy from the ley lines began to stir.
And within the Lesser Grail, three brilliant souls—Iskandar, Diarmuid, and Kiritsugu Emiya—emerged, then, in a flash of light, they vanished, returning to the Throne of Heroes.
The pathway to the Root—was open.
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