Malice.
A flood of malice poured into Irisviel. For some reason, she drew it in like a magnet, soaking up every stray dark impulse.
Murderous thoughts, anger, envy, despair, scorn, emptiness, self-hatred, frenzy…
Compared to true "evil," these were weak; lacking in depth and weight.
But you don't need a bomb to spark a fire, just a single ember.
A faint glow, and something past its limit bursts free.
"Assassin… what are you after?"
Irisviel lay on the stage, Assassin standing watch like a silent knight.
"I've lost the right to chase anything," he said evenly. "Once you abandon everything, regret's just a wound you give yourself."
"Really? That's pitiful… You've let go of so much. Why push this far? Can't you take it back?"
"I… never tried."
Assassin's voice dipped with sorrow. "When a flower wilts, no amount of grief brings back more than dead stems."
"Why not pick it when it bloomed?" Irisviel smiled faintly. "'Pluck the flower when it's ready'… Someone shared that with me, an old saying. It's for you…"
Her smile was too gentle, making even the flames rising from her seem sacred.
As the Lesser Grail, she'd only absorbed Lancer, Caster, and Rider, so far its nowhere near full.
But surrounded by malice, her form began to break, no longer holding a human shape.
"Assassin… and someone else, may you claim the Grail… and find your redemption."
With a final smile, flames consumed her, leaving a golden cup on the stage.
The Grail stood whole, like the fabled cauldron, with just a thin sheen of black. Far from complete.
Assassin rose, shaken by her passing.
He stepped away, leaving the Grail exposed.
After all, the one he'd meant to shield was gone.
He came to Kirei and said, "The Grail's here. What's your wish?"
"A wish? I don't know." Kirei shook his head. "I joined because of my father and the Church, but with Tokiomi dead, it feels pointless… maybe it always was."
He paused. "Does this war even matter to me?"
"The stigmata (Command Seals) appeared on your body meaning the Grail chose you. That has to mean something."
"It should… but I'm lost, searching, thinking. I can neither find the answers nor peace. If the Grail chose me, what does it want from me? What's it after?"
Assassin spoke calmly. "The Grail's a vessel for wishes, meant to grant human desires. It seeks those who crave it, whether they realize it or not."
"I… crave the Grail?" Kirei said, disbelief in his tone.
"If it's not wealth or power, maybe it's something deeper. Love, family, friendship; doesn't one emotion linger in you?"
Kirei pressed a hand to his chest. "Emotions… I loved my father or rather, I knew how to play the son's part. I acted as expected, but it was automatic, not felt."
"When death looms, people see someone dear," the Assassin murmured. "Who do you see?"
Kirei gave a wry smile. "You say it like it's certain… You think I have someone? Or did you see someone yourself?"
Assassin understood.
This man was a void, hollow inside.
He didn't fear death, so it couldn't move him.
"So be it."
Assassin raised a hand, pressing a finger to Kirei's chest.
"Then please die, my Master."
Bang!
A shot fired from his sleeve, piercing Kirei's heart.
Command Seals meant nothing now. Death came fast, yet Kirei remained steady.
"So this is 'death'…"
His body didn't cool, not yet. It was his soul slipping away, tricking his senses.
"Did you see anything?" Assassin asked, a trace of hope in his voice.
"Nothing… not a thing."
Kirei searched in his final moments, but faces; his father, Tokiomi flickered and faded, stirring nothing.
'But… it's a little lonely,' he thought.
Most have someone to mourn them. Who'd mourn him?
Rin?
She'd hide her sadness behind a strong front.
So no one would weep for him?
'If only someone could die with me, their family's grief would be shared…'
"Who would I want beside me?" Kirei wondered.
For a fleeting second, a hydrangea bloomed in his mind.
"Hortensia…"
But she was long gone. Too late.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Haru handled the thugs, Gilgamesh yawned, surrounded by the broken forms of idiots who'd tried to touch her.
"Hm?"
A pull tugged at her chest. She glanced into the distance. "That's… the Grail? Already?"
She considered it, then turned to the busy Haru. "Stay here, mongrel. I'll fetch the Grail and be back."
"Wait—!" But she was gone, dissolving into spirit form.
"Tch!"
…..
Haru took out his frustration on the gangsters. He used the flat of his blade, but each hit struck vital points, dropping them or leaving them helpless.
He didn't care whose side they were on; Fujimura's or otherwise. They were all targets. His strikes grew smoother, picking up small tricks with each swing.
But his stamina was weak. Even with reinforcement magecraft, he wore down fast. After defeating over a dozen people, his magical energy dipped low and his muscles ached. He had to stop to get some rest.
"Huff… huff…"
He slumped against a wall. His twenty-one circuits churned out more energy, but his body couldn't shake the fatigue. Another hard fight was out of reach for now.
"If I were twenty, I wouldn't need magecraft to take these guys," he muttered, then sighed. "This riot's too big; thousands of thugs, plus looters. One person can't stop it…"
'Is there a way to end it all at once?'
As the thought formed, his ahoge twitched: his radar!
He smacked his forehead. "How did I forget this?"
The StarGate had said his ahoge could track people. It even found the Shinya couple, proving it could cut through chaos.
"Take me to the key spot!"
The ahoge went still, ignoring him.
Haru's eye twitched and he paused.
"Dear Ahoge, please guide me to the source of this mess!" He cringed at himself, but the ahoge perked up, spun around his head, and pointed deep into the district.
Haru grinned, gripped Muramasa, and jogged off.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a Matou-owned house, Kariya sat by the fireplace, lost in thought.
A distant pressure jolted him. He looked up, startled. "Now?"
Even as a novice magus, he recognized that feeling; Berserker's restlessness confirmed it.
He hadn't expected the Grail to appear so soon.
This Grail War hadn't even lasted a week, and it was already ending?
"Uncle?" Shinji stepped in, pajamas on, his blank face edged with fear.
Kariya softened. "It's fine, Shinji. Go back to bed. I'll take care of it."
After sending him off, Kariya summoned the dark knight.
Staring at Berserker's solid frame, Kariya's mind wandered.
If he kept fighting, with Berserker's Noble Phantasm and strength, he might win.
The Grail tempted everyone, even Kariya. He'd already broken the Matou curse, dulling his need for it.
But personally, it still called to him. It could heal his decaying body… maybe even grant eternal life, like Zouken craved.
He could almost hear Zouken's twisted voice: "Go, unleash that mad beast, claim the Grail and live forever!"
Kariya smiled faintly. "I'm not you."
Berserker didn't seek the Grail. If Kariya forced him to chase it, denying his fight with Saber, he'd be no different from Zouken.
"Let's go, Berserker."
Kariya revealed his last Command Seal. "This is all I can do for you… Thank you, always."
"By Command Seal: Be free, Berserker!"
"Aaaaathur!!!"
The black knight roared, smashed through the window, and vanished into the night.
Their contract dissolved, but the Seal's power kept him active briefly, and Kariya's order seemed to clear his mind a little.
In that short time, the knight had one task left…
...
Kariya gazed at the silver moon, coughing up blood flecked with black.
His time was running out.
Even after cutting away most of the worms, some lingered too deep for his skill to reach. His body was failing, beyond saving.
With money, he might stretch it to five or six years, but he felt no regret.
Magecraft demanded a price but he'd just paid more.
In that time, he'd secure the Matou estate for Shinji.
Still, worries lingered. "Aoi, Sakura, Rin… I'm sorry I can't watch over you forever…"
He walked alone through the dark, past damp alleys, ignored by stray dogs, collapsing among forgotten trash.
His life was like some lightless bug; foul and unwanted. But even he could look up, dreaming of the moon's glow.
'The moon shone beautifully tonight…'