"Revenge? No, this isn't an act out of anger but I think doing so will be more beneficial for my self-interest." Kirei Kotomine withdrew his hand.
Assassin stumbled and fell, his body flickering into spirit particles. He could've fought back, killed both Kirei and Kiritsugu, but he didn't. He waited for his own end.
"Ah!!!"
Kiritsugu broke free from the restraints. Avalon healed him fast, and soon he could move. He looked drained, glanced at Assassin and Kirei without emotion, and limped off. "Heroic Spirit Emiya… Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll still chase the Grail."
With quiet resolve, he walked away and no one stopped him.
"So you're the same person from different worlds," Kirei said, his face unyielding as stone. "No wonder your tactics feel like a modern mercenary's. What did you learn from talking to your non-Heroic self?"
Heroic Spirit Emiya gave a faint smile. "Learn… I just remembered I'm an idiot. Pointless ideals belong in the trash."
"What ideal?" Kirei asked, intrigued.
(Kirei, what do you want to be when you grow up?)
"I… want to be a hero of justice." A rare smile crossed his weathered face.
"Stupid… but cute," Kirei said, his tone softening briefly. "Kids dream of heroes because they're admired. Without that, no one would want to be one, and the idea would fade."
He placed his cross on Emiya's forehead. "May the Lord forgive you."
Emiya's form grew fainter. "Too bad my boss isn't God… Cough, my core's damaged. Thirty seconds left…"
Kirei straightened. "Assassin, one last question."
"…What?"
"Why didn't you kill me? If you just wanted to face yourself, killing me would've been simpler. You could've found another puppet Master."
"…How could I kill you?" Emiya smiled sadly. "You're my Master… How could I?"
"Why help me?" Kirei pressed. "Not just the bullet, but earlier, you knew I was there. Why let me strike?"
Emiya didn't answer, staring into the distance. "My life… looking back, it's all shameful. I claimed to be a hero, became a demon, erased my feelings… and saved no one. Now I'm tied to Alaya with no freedom left. But I wanted… just once, to save someone. To give my life some meaning."
He smiled, genuinely happy. "Looks like I did. Emiya Kiritsugu, the failure, succeeded for once."
"Master… do you feel it?" He touched Kirei's chest wound. "Something's different."
Kirei said softly, "Yes. Before, it was empty. Now there's a seed."
"Oh… hope it grows and blooms…"
His core shattered, and he faded into light.
"It will bloom!"
With Emiya's words in mind, Kirei ran. He had to escape the crumbling building, the Grail War, and live. He'd nurture that seed carefully, until the hydrangea bloomed again.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dragging his exhausted body, Kiritsugu climbed the stairs step by step. Avalon could mend his wounds, but it couldn't touch the weariness gnawing at his mind.
Before he knew it, black mud coated his feet.
"I thought I'd run out of tears and blood long ago… but I'm still flesh and bone, huh?" He gave a bitter smile and pushed himself to the final door.
When he opened it, there was no stage with the Grail, no scene you'd expect inside a sealed building.
Instead, it was a sun-scorched southern island. The heat stung his skin, clear waves lapped at the shore, and children leapt from a two-meter ledge into the sea, playing some kind of courage game.
"This…." Kiritsugu's eyes widened. He couldn't forget this place. It was where it all began.
"I… I!" He turned to flee, but the door was gone.
What followed wasn't just memory; it was reality, raw and unrelenting. His life as Emiya Kiritsugu shattered into pieces, replaying over and over like a cruel cycle.
It felt like an old film; dull, tedious and agonizing.
That night on the island, his father's research turned his first love into a Dead Apostle. His cowardice let it spread, infecting everyone into ghouls.
Then came the slaughter. Outside magi arrived, wiping out ghouls and islanders alike, no mercy spared.
He met his adoptive mother and, later, shot his father, Noritaka Emiya, dead.
He became a mercenary, a stray dog thriving in war's chaos.
After his adoptive mother died, he turned into a cold machine.
…..
This was torment; the Grail's interrogation, its test.
Emiya Kiritsugu would face the harshest trial, his darkest, most painful moments laid bare, forced to relive them endlessly until his spirit broke.
He'd see his wife, Irisviel, and his daughter, Illya. If he wanted, he could stay with them forever.
But he'd have to kill them both himself or his wish would slip away.
The joke was, even if he cast aside humanity and did it, his wish wouldn't come true. Or rather, it'd come in a way he never meant.
Even if he claimed the Grail, its contents would disappoint him.
It wasn't an all-granting miracle but a cursed box, brimming with ruin. Any wish would spark disasters beyond imagination.
The Avenger, Angra Mainyu; this world's evil had tainted the Grail long ago. It wasn't pure anymore; it overflowed with black mud.
Every wish would twist into something grotesque, even Kiritsugu's simple plea.
World peace?
Kill every human, and conflict ends as simply as that.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
After her clash with Gilgamesh, the golden king vanished in a terrifying blast and Saber came all the way to the stage where the Grail awaited.
"That's the Grail…" Her heart raced at the sight of the golden cup.
Finally, she saw the Grail and no one could stop her now.
'The fate of Britain will be changed!'
"Saber…"
A frail voice called out. Emiya Kiritsugu shuffled in, looking half-dead.
"Kiritsugu… you're here too." Saber frowned. She didn't like him, but they were allies now.
Then his command crushed her.
"Saber… destroy the Grail!"
A Command Seal flared, forcing her to obey.
"What—" Her sword glowed against her will.
"Kiritsugu, why?" She resisted the Seal. Her Magic Resistance was A+, so one wasn't enough.
Kiritsugu stared at the Grail; his wife's vessel. But he had to destroy it. After speaking with the Grail and the evil within, he knew it wasn't what he sought.
The last Seal vanished. "Saber, use your Noble Phantasm to destroy the Grail!"
"Stop!!!"
Under two Seals, her cries were useless. Excalibur's light swallowed everything, and Saber wept. "Why… Why won't you give me a chance? Is this my punishment for not understanding hearts?"
In the golden glow, the Grail shattered, and Saber vanished.
"It's over… all of it," Kiritsugu muttered, hollow inside.
His efforts were wasted, as if mocked by the Assassin's ghost. He'd lost his wife, Maiya, and now the Grail. Where should he go now?
Just as he thought it was done, a dark moon rose over Fuyuki's new district. A "hole" opened, spilling curses as black mud. Only a fraction escaped, but it felt like divine wrath, spreading from the civic center, burning everything and claiming lives.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan's buildings are sturdy, especially public ones like the civic center, thanks to frequent earthquakes.
Taiga led the way, Haru trailing with Gilgamesh in his arms. Despite the damage, the structure held. But it was still man-made, unable to heal itself. It would collapse sooner.
Haru dodged falling debris and sinkholes, nearly dying more than once. Meanwhile, Taiga moved ahead unscathed, barely dusty.
At last, they reached the exit. Haru exhaled in relief.
But before he could relax, the earth shook and the building collapsed behind him, taking his footing too.
"Ah!"
Haru slipped, grabbing the edge. Gilgamesh fell, but he caught Enkidu, the chain binding her.
"You okay?"
Taiga rushed over, pulling, but she couldn't lift two people and a chain. Haru pushed his reinforcement magic to the limit, hauling himself and the chain up slowly. Then a sharp pain hit his brain and a feeling of numbness came from all parts of his body. The effect of magic was immediately weakened by half; his magic circuits were overloaded.
"Now?!"
His magic circuits were equivalent to those of a first generation magus. His magic circuits had only been activated for two so his body was unadjusted. Overuse without rest wore them down; not low mana, but exhaustion.
He gritted his teeth, holding on. Gilgamesh looked half-dead. Below, black mud pooled. Haru knew what it was and gripped tighter, tearing his wound.
"Ugh… where am I…"
Gilgamesh stirred, seeing Haru clutching the chain.
"Kid… why are you here? I told you to wait outside."
"Why?" Haru rolled his eyes. "If I wasn't, you'd be gone, Your Majesty!"
"Gone?" She pieced it together. "Right, that mad dog… No way he survived. Afterall even I was dragged into it."
She saw the chain on her body and Haru's struggle, and understood. She smiled faintly. "Let go, kid. I'm tired of this world. Returning to the Throne of Heroes is fine. Better for you too. Afterall don't you see me as a bloodthirsty monster?"
....
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