Chapter 27: Dénouement
-03:52:07
Kiritsugu blinked. One second, he was aiming the Contender at an approaching Kirei Kotomine, the next he was… outside?
Where… He glanced about where he stood, sand shuffling from the slight movements of his feet. This place… The palm trees and exotic flowers, the large rocks off in the distance with the water separating them from him… I'm back on Alimago Island? Kiritsugu wondered perplexed before shaking his head. No… There's no way he could have been transported from Fuyuki's city hall to the island of his childhood. Besides, Alimago had been razed to the ground twenty years ago. There was no way the beach should've looked exactly the same as he remembered.
The Mage Killer didn't move from his spot even as he took stock of the situation. His body, too, felt as untouched as the place he'd called home once. Not even a whisper of fatigue from his battle with Kotomine. He eyed the starry night sky perplexed as black droplets rained down around him but not on him. Then again, he noted the "rain" looked more like mud than water, and a rather murky mud at that. What is going on here?
"I knew you would make it."
Kiritsugu froze… and slowly turned his head to see Iri standing on the beach close to him. "I never doubted you would find your way here."
He fully turned towards her, taking in the gentle smile she'd always worn in contrast with the black version of her usual dress. "Iri…" How…? She should back in Fuyuki… No… She shouldn't be… alive… anymore. He almost took a step forward but paused, his eyes drawn to the violet accents of her clothing, a dark contrast to the gold he knew. Not to mention the shade was worryingly familiar... "…Where are we?" He asked instead. "What is this place?"
"This is where your wish will be granted," "Iri" answered calmly, as though she hadn't noticed his scrutinizing gaze or the many illogical aspects of her presence. "We're standing inside the Grail you've been seeking." Kiritsugu looked at their surroundings again: the mud raining around them, what appeared to be bodies hidden amidst the distant shadows…
And as he stared up, the dark hole hovering where the sun/moon ought to have been. Bitterness, hatred and curses seemed to be emanating from it the longer he looked. "There it is," "Iri's" melodious voice made him shiver slightly, "the Holy Grail." He tore his eyes away from it to back at her again. "Don't worry, it simply lacks a proper form. It's like a… dream without shape at the moment."
She gestured up towards that… thing above them as she continued. "The vessel had been adequately filled, and all it needs is for someone to make a wish upon it. No matter what you ask for, it will assume the most appropriate form to fulfill its task. Once it has formed, it will finally be able to step 'outside' into the world."
An idea like that grew less appealing with each second Kiritsugu stood in this place. An instinctual loathing and trepidation grew inside him at the presence of the darkness, not unlike what he or his clones had felt around the evil power Rider X boasted. But Dark Energon for all its corrosive nature had been an alien experience, something brought to this world by a warlord from another universe. This, though, the blackness surrounding him, it felt… natural. Terrifyingly so.
"Please don't dawdle, Kiritsugu." And then was "Iri's" serenity in the face of it all. She was talking about this… thing like it was an innocent child, not an abomination. "Go and give it form. You are the only one of this world worthy to give it purpose."
Those words triggered an alarm bell inside his mind. The only one…? Kiritsugu had never doubted Iri's love or commitment to their dream, but he knew she had grown close to Saber and Assassin X. Surely, they ought to be "worthy" of claiming the Grail or whatever that thing up there was. And there was another detail. "Of this world…?"
"I have to admit, you were not the only one I believed could come this far." "Iri" turned towards the putrid waters, staring off into the far distance. "There were one or two foreigners that showed promise as well… His appearance suggests otherwise, but that Avenger X can be quite the conversationalist." Kiritsugu stilled at the mention of that horned Servant; he was considered worthy by her, too? "And Rider X… Megatron…" She giggled to herself, that sound familiar and yet nauseatingly alien to him. "And I believed I had seen it all before he arrived. He was the first X Servant to be summoned, you know. A curious twist of fate…"
Kiritsugu knew he was no saint, but to be lumped in with souls like Avenger X and Rider X, beings who reveled in their sins… His frown deepened as another piece of information stood out to him. "You sound like you didn't expect either of them to be summoned. But isn't the Grail what allowed the X Servants to be called to Fuyuki in the first place?"
"Iri's" white hair flowed about as she shook her head. "The Holy Grail does allow Masters to call forth Servants to fight for it, yes. But it wouldn't have searched beyond the borders of this world for candidates. Not under normal circumstances." Her smile slipped just a little. "Someone else… seems to have tapped into Fuyuki's leylines, altering the parameters just a tiny bit, but enough for twice the regular number of Servants to arrive. Enough for Heroic Spirits to hear the call from alternate universes. Enough to compensate the Grail and the Masters for this additional need for Magic Energy."
Three feats that should've been impossible, Kiritsugu surmised from what he knew of the complex magical system. "Even among the most seasoned and powerful magi in this world, to alter the Grail War's setting so extensively… Who could be capable of all that?"
"I don't know. I have not seen such a person setting foot in Fuyuki City in my time in this world. Not even for the tampering I mentioned." Her face settled into a frustrated pout for a moment as she muttered, "Yet another impossibility, but they pulled all this off remotely…"
Then "Iri" regained her carefree expression. "Still, whoever was responsible for these unusual circumstances doesn't appear to have chosen specific Heroic Spirits in mind. The ones who arrived were called because they all mirrored their respective Masters in one way or another." She tilted her head slightly. "To think Kirei Kotomine would possess a soul dark enough to call about one like Megatron… or maybe he unconsciously sought the darkness." A shrug. "Oh well, at least the meddling couldn't keep the Grail from barring a Ruler's emergence."
Ruler… the special Servant class for unorthodox circumstances in a Grail War. Kiritsugu had discussed their absence with Iri despite at least fourteen Servants running about, but neither had come up with an answer, and Kiritsugu hadn't cared enough to consider investigating. Yet another mistake of his, apparently. The Grail's been… preventing the summon of a Ruler? How could that happen? He eyed "Iri" warily. And why would it do that?
As if she were reading his thoughts, the homunculus faced him with a playful smile. "We couldn't have a Ruler showing up and possibly declaring the Grail War null and void, no? That would've rendered everyone's efforts, your efforts, Kiritsugu, meaningless." His fists clenched at hearing the same reasoning he'd used to dismiss the factor. "And as I said, even with foreign parties having come so close, you are the one to have reached the Grail. You can make your wish." She spread her arms out to him. "You can finally save the world."
Sweet words of encouragement… that only continued to provoke his doubts. "…Who are you?" He finally asked the question at the forefront of said doubts.
"I am Irisviel." She replied with no waver in her smile.
"No, you're not." Kiritsugu's patience was wearing away. "If the preparations for the Holy Grail really are finished, then Iri should already be…" She closed her eyes with a tiny laugh, prompting Kiritsugu to do something he'd have never imagined: he aimed the Thompson Contender at Iri. No, that's not Iri… "Answer me!"
"True." She surely knew what the weapon in his hand could do to her, and yet she was unfazed. "I admit what you're seeing is a mask. If I didn't have some preexistent personality as a shell, others wouldn't be able to comprehend me." She sauntered past the Contender and him towards the water. "This form is necessary for us to communicate. But the personality of Irisviel I recorded is undoubtably real. She was ripped free of the Dark Energonwhen your clone destroyed the Reactor housing it, making me the last thing she touched before dying."
Even as she said that, though, Kiritsugu couldn't help noticing a detail as she passed him. Her eyes weren't quiteas crimson as he remembered…
"Therefore, I have inherited her final hopes," "Iri" continued while halting, her back turned to him. "To see the Holy Grail reached, and to see you as the one to make the wish upon it."
Kiritsugu slowly lowered his gun. These words were the final pieces he needed to complete the puzzle inside his mind. "Which means… you're the will of the Holy Grail?"
"Yes, that is an appropriate interpretation."
However, this answer only raised more questions. "How is that possible? The Holy Grail is supposed to a magical object of great power. There's no way it can have sentience."
Even while still facing away from him, "Iri's" voice remained calm as ever. "That used to be the case, yes. But it's different now. I have developed my own will and desire. I wish to be born into the world."
"Impossible…" Kiritsugu muttered, data racing before his mind's eye. From the way she spoke, this newfound will seemed to have been developed separately from the alterations whoever had made to the Grail War. And if that were the case, then this darkness, this miasma, it really hadn't come from Megatron or any of the other X Servants. Leaving him even warier about the situation. "If you really have a will of your own, then tell me:
"How is the Holy Grail going to grant my wish?"
"What do you mean?" "Iri" finally turned towards him again with that bright smile. He could've sworn the black rain was beginning to intensify. "Shouldn't you know the answer for that better than anyone else?"
Kiritsugu swallowed before asking as levelly as he could. "What do you mean?"
She began closing the distance between them, and it took all of his willpower not to jump away. "Your nature as a human being is very similar to mine. Most ordinary humans wouldn't have kept their consciousness after the mud washed over them, but our similarities allow you to stand here sane and coherent." The mud… Kiritsugu remembered now, the heavy wave cascading down on him and Kotomine. His trepidation grew stronger with step "Iri" took, every word she uttered. Similarities…?
"Didn't you figure out how to save the world long ago? Isn't this resolve strong as ever despite Kakashi's efforts to sway you from your convictions?" She placed her right hand on his chest, right over where his heart was, and he nearly threw up. She… she knows of my talk with Assassin X? My thoughts? "That's why I will fulfill your wish the same way you've always done. I'll pick up where you left off and answer your prayer."
Kiritsugu couldn't comprehend the words he was hearing. "What are you talking about?" The question slipped out even as he realized he was lying. He could understand… but he didn't want to. "How do you, the Holy Grail, plan on granting my wish once you have… form?"
"Iri" stared into his eyes, and this time, he was positive he could see violet flickering in hers. Then she huffed a little. "I don't have a choice…" Her hands went up to his face. "Maybe Kakashi really did shaken your resolve. So, I will help you ask yourself." She giggled as her hands reached his eyes-
He jerked back with a gasp and found himself inside the motel room he'd used as a headquarters the first half of the Grail War. The lamps were turned off, but rays of light illuminated the room despite the blinds drawn over the window. Kiritsugu remained at his new spot to find his bearings, then the television clicked on. "Two ships on the ocean. One contains three hundred people, the other two hundred. So, five hundred in total."
"What the…?" The voice Kiritsugu heard from the TV was cold, emotionless and a perfect match to his own.
The screen showed these two boats sailing a large stretch of water. "Five hundred people and one Kiritsugu Emiya." The voice, his voice, continued like a true machine. "As a thought experiment, we assume that these five-hundred and one are all that remains of humanity. Large holes tear open in both ships' bilges simultaneously. Only Kiritsugu has the ability to repair either ship, but in the time it takes to repair one, the other will sink. So, which ship will you choose to repair?"
"The one with three hundred people, obviously," Kiritsugu answered without hesitation. There, his sense of logic or resolve hadn't been lost to Assassin X's influence. The Copy Ninja probably would've tried to save them all and died, but he knew what he was doing-
"Once you've made this decision," the broadcast drew him back to here and now, "the ship with 200 people capture you and demand you repair their ship first. What will you do in such an event?"
"I…" The sound of gunfire cut him off (and for a moment, Kiritsugu wondered what he would've answered…) and made him turn to the window. Flashes could be seen through the blinds, and he'd recognize the telltale submachine bursts of his Calico M950 anywhere. Hesitating only a little, the Mage Killer drew back the blinds… to see a boat deck covered with bloody corpses.
He froze, only his eyes moving as they took in the horrid scene. There were no signs of malice or cruelty on the bodies, so they hadn't died suffering. It had all been swift and economical. And Kiritsugu couldn't help but find every face he saw… familiar.
"Dispatch all two hundred." He heard his own voice again even as he was back in the motel room, surrounded by his armaments. "Correct. That's what Kiritsugu Emiya would do."
Kiritsugu Emiya could only stand there in a daze, trying to process what he'd just witnessed, what he had/might've- no, would have done in such a scenario. The ringing of a phone rattled him from this contemplation, and he almost kissed the cellphone he was holding before catching himself. His hand couldn't help but tremble as he pressed the "accept" button and held it to his ear. "Moving on." "He" continued. "The three hundred survivors abandon the ruined ship and split up onto two new ships to continue. This time, one contains two hundred, the other one hundred. But holes appear again in the bilges of both ships."
Kiritsugu made for the door, clutching the phone all the while. Now he really didn't like where this "thought experiment" was headed. "Wait…"
"The one hundred capture you and insist you repair their ship." He-The speaker continued undeterred even as Kiritsugu stepped out into the hall. "What will you do in such an event?"
"Hold on… This isn't…" Kiritsugu tried to plead with the speaker, but he couldn't find the words. He already knew what his answer would be, what he would do in such an event…
The phone cut off, and he stared at the display reading, "NO SIGNAL," barely registering that motel had shifted to a parking lot. Kiritsugu didn't dare hope it was over, for the explosion he heard behind him dashed those hopes. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned around to find himself at Fuyuki's docks, standing atop a container to watch the geyser of fire and smoke on the nearby water. "Correct."
That word echoing about him made him grit his teeth and close his hands into fists. "No… That's bullshit!" He screamed into the sky. "How the hell could this be correct?! Two hundred people live, but at the cost of three hundred! That's the complete opposite of what should've happened!"
"No, your calculation was correct," the voice refuted him with disgusting calmness. "During this scenario, you chose to save the many by sacrificing the few. Moving on." Then two hundred became one-hundred twenty vs. eighty; Kiritsugu found himself gunning down the eighty. Eighty vs. forty; he burned away the forty, now being absolutely certain he had seen all of these faces before. They had all been his victims at one point or another.
Sixty vs. twenty… forty-five vs. fifteen… thirty-five vs. ten… "This is all in character for you, Kiritsugu Emiya. You've always chosen to eliminate the lesser number. Even if that meant leaving a trail of bodies in your wake, it was all worth it as long as more lives had been saved." The words were coolly spoken, but they burned him like no insults anyone had ever directed at him.
Kiritsugu was back on the shores, dead strewn everywhere he looked. He'd killed them all… He sacrificed them to save lives… so where were these lives? Why couldn't he see them alive? The countdown continued despite his protests. "Is this what you wanted to show me…?"
"Correct. This is your answer. The truth what lies inside Kiritsugu Emiya. Therefore, this is how the Holy Grail shall grant your wish."
"No, I didn't want this! I wanted it to be done differently… That's… that's why I sought a miracle."
"How can you wish for something if you don't know how it should be achieved?"
That question smashed through his heart, his resolve, even as his voice continued. "You wish for the world to be saved, thus, it shall be done through the methods you understand."
"Screw that!" Kiritsugu howled with what fury he still had. "How the hell is that supposed to be a miracle?"
"It is a miracle. The Holy Grail can accomplish what you couldn't have in your whole life, on a scale no man could hope to reach. If that is not a miracle, then what is?"
Kiritsugu had a very good mind what to call it, but now the number of people had dwindled down to nine in his father's lab. Save five or save four. He tried to fight what came next, but his hand moved all the same, aiming the gun that fired on its own. Two more fell dead to the ground, followed by Norikata Emiya… "Father…" and his teacher. "Natalia…"
Only five left. His Contender was replaced by a combat knife that slit one's throat before he could blink or stop himself. "M-Maiya…" Blood splashing in his eyes, he couldn't see who he stabbed next save for a flash of silver. Kiritsugu hesitantly rubbed his eyes clean…
And found the Heroic Spirit, the man, the… comrade he'd summoned slumped over before him. "A… Kakashi…" Kiritsugu whispered in mounting horror, trying in vain to pull out the knife embedded in the ninja's bloodstained chest. His eyes traveled out of desperation down, to where their feet were; there were scuffles beneath Kakashi's sandals. He'd stepped into the path of Kiritsugu's knife…
To save Shirley who was standing right behind him, her smile a tiny spark in the darkness.
Kiritsugu bit back a sob. I'd expect nothing less… Those eyes of different colors gazed dully into his. "Kiri…tsu…gu…" He could barely make out his friend's dying rasp, but it triggered a flood of memories, from the moment he'd first met this man to when he had introduced himself to Illya… Their strategizing, at times with Maiya, Iri and even Saber… The jutsu he had been painstakingly taught to gain another edge over the other Masters… Their conversations… Their arguments… The words of caution Kakashi had offered so often…
"Before we take measures drastic enough to go down in history as Japan's #1 terrorists…"
"So, to sum up your modus operandi, you believe in sacrificing the few for the sake of the many, correct? Hate to break it to you, Kiritsugu, but that thinking's hardly any different from the ideals you look down upon."
"…do that long enough, and you may find there are just as many people dead as there would've been on a battlefield. Killing is evil, you said so yourself, but ultimately, evil ends up saving no more lives than justice would've."
"Can you claim with a hundred percent certainty that this world will ultimately be better once all the corpses have been disposed of?"
"…life isn't so simple where one can solve every problem by being absolutely chivalrous or absolutely ruthless all the time."
"Kiritsugu Emiya, I know you believe in sacrificing the few for the sake of the many, and you're probably right that it's impossible to save everyone in this situation. But doing nothing saves no one. Can you really live with that?"
"…a little bit can go a long way. Besides, you can at least give the hero thing a try for once."
"It's hard not to be negative when you're immersed in darkness all the time."
"Sacrificing yourself for the benefit of others is a noble thing, but it helps to remind yourself what you're fighting for."
"Your love for your wife and daughter only becomes a weakness if you consider it a weakness."
"Valuing life isn't weakness, Kiritsugu, and disregarding it isn't strength. Then again, I don't think you need anyone telling you that."
Advice after advice… warning after warning… encouragement to look for alternatives, to keep Kiritsugu from stumbling precisely into this absolute mess he'd made…
"I'd rather ask you, Kiritsugu Emiya, not to limit your gaze to these 'practical solutions.'"
And he had plowed on anyways, barely registering these words. Part of Kiritsugu had wanted to heed them, he'd wanted to have faith… but he just couldn't. He couldn't help but believe his creed was right, that he needed to commit evil after evil to reach this place… And now here he was, running Kakashi through for the sake of a "miracle."
Kiritsugu finally tugged the knife free and caught Kakashi's falling body with dull but efficient movements. Somehow, he managed to lay the shinobi gently down next to Maiya; it simply felt fitting for him. And for her. After arranging their bodies in a somewhat dignified appearance, he sank on his knees before them and whispered. "I… I'm sorry…"
Tears glistened in his eyes. It was a feeble apology even by the Mage Killer's standards, but he couldn't articulate his thoughts properly. All he could do was let them resonate in his head and hope he could voice them aloud. "Kakashi… You were right… I should've… I should've listened to you…"
"No," "his" voice finally emerged again, "Assassin X was wrong. He could never have fathomed the length to which one must go to save the world. Not like you."
"Shut up…" Some of Kiritsugu's energy flared up again, forcing him to stand. "Once you're out in the world… You're going to do this… to the entire human race?" He snarled crying to the sky. "This is how my wish… My dream… will be realized?!"
"Yes. What you seek is befitting of the Holy Grail. You are truly worthy of bearing Angra Mainyu. You can bear All the World's Evil."
Such praise filled the man known and reviled as the Mage Killer with more shame than any of the scorn and insults others had thrown at him over the years. "Now, for the final experiment." There were only three left, the three most precious people to him in the whole world: his wife Iri, their little girl Illya… and Shirley. Would he spare two, the family he had found by near accident, or save one, the girl who had once meant the world to him?
His eyes already dry again, Kiritsugu gripped his knife… and advanced on Shirley. This time, Kakashi wasn't there to protect her.
Then there were only two left, and he feared briefly the experiment would continue, forcing him to choose one or the other. But nothing happened. Of course, nothing would happen, he noted dully. There was no majority in one vs. one. And these two souls before him… there was no counterweight in the world that could tip the scales against either one. He would do anything for Iri and Illya… even damn the rest of the world.
"Welcome home, Kiritsugu!" The location changed once again to all three of them inside his and Iri's bedroom back in Germany. Kiritsugu found his face clean of Shirley's blood and loathed the sight of his reflection for it. He was left with no time to dwell on it, as Illya rushed across the bed to hug him. His own arms wrapped by reflex around her. "You finally came home!" Her cheerful smile, so sweet, so innocent… Even with his hands drenched in the blood of hundreds, he didn't want to let her go.
Kiritsugu couldn't help but scan their surroundings, though. The room was pristine and bright, a stark contrast to the picture outside. Mud poured down from the heavens, and he knew that this castle, this room was the one safe place left on Earth. In here, there would be no violence, no bloodshed, and soon the world would follow… because there wouldn't be anyone left to fight one another.
"You understand now, don't you?" "Iri" remained in the center of the bed, her smile unchanged since the thought experiment had begun. "This is the Holy Grail's realization of your wish." Illya planted a little kiss on his cheek, but he didn't feel it, his eyes locked on those of his wife. Largely crimson with a splash of violet… but lively and kind as they had ever been. "All you have to do is pray for it. Pray for your wife to rise again and your daughter to be returned."
It all sounded so enticing to Kiritsugu, and he knew the Grail would be able to pull it off. His family together and forever safe from any harm. What better way to honor all of the sacrifices made? What better way to leave behind the Mage Killer for good? It wasn't as if he could ever come up with another way to realize his dream, right? …Still, he hesitated.
"Iri" picked up on this. "No need to second-guess yourself, Kiritsugu." Her smile took on a comforting tone before flickering. It was only for an instant, but he caught a glimpse of it: A tiny wince. Her eyes narrowed slightly even as the pupils changed color ever so slightly, then her words slipped to a whisper, "O-or maybe… there's an alternative…"
Kiritsugu kept his guard even while still cradling Illya. An alternative? After putting him through a simulation of the logical and gruesome conclusion to his dream? "Iri" slumped forward onto the sheets, her hands supporting her as he took an involuntary step closer. "T-there is," she whimpered haltingly, "a-another f-f-factor. F-from beyond this w-world…" She raised her head, her mouth stretched between a smile and a grimace. Her left eye had turned purple. "T-the power… of Megatron."
He froze, images of jagged crystals, desecrated bodies, and a violet miasma flashing before him. "Dark Energon…?"
She nodded jerkily, both eyes suddenly crimson again, and Kiritsugu wondered if this was somehow the real Irispeaking to him. But… that can't be. She's… she's been assimilated by the Grail… and… How could she suggest something like that?
Her whole body stiffened again, and suddenly she was back to her calm self. "Yes… What an interesting idea." "Iri" had regained her smile, but her eyes still glimmered a light purple. "The power Megatron brought with him to this world… Dark Energon doesn't actually originate from him, but that means it could serve you as well as it does him."
"What are you saying?" Kiritsugu stared at her in naked shock and horror, gripping Illya all the tighter to his person. "That energy… is a sickness. It corrodes and dominates anything or anyone that comes into contact with it."
"Is domination truly evil if it can save the world?" "Iri" tilted her head a little, her smile widening. "That's the thinking of naïve fools and romantics like the Heroic Spirits you scorn. You have always advocated for using evil if it could save lives. Why should Dark Energon be exempt from your resources?" Cold logic… so cold it chilled his heart. "Besides, Megatron and Kirei have both displayed wills strong enough not to succumb to it but to control it. I don't doubt you could match them in that department if you took it from them."
"And why would I want to do that? How could something like this possibly save the world?"
"Iri" leaned closer to him, excitement twinkling in her eyes. "Just picture it, Kiritsugu… With the Holy Grail, you could expand the reach of Dark Energon to across the planet, placing every last human under your will. You could control them, prevent fights and war from happening in the first place. No one need die, no one need suffer."
That was a barefaced lie if Kiritsugu had ever heard one. He had seen the effects of Dark Energon on humans and familiars alike, their will and character stripped away, reduced to undead puppets for someone else to manipulate. "If stripping them of their free will is necessary to save them," "Iri" cut through his thoughts, "then shouldn't it be encouraged? How often have you glared at a newspaper article of a bombing or a hate crime, Kiritsugu? How often have you shook your head at another's foolishness? Are you truly saying you've never wondered how much better the world would be if everyone thought the way you did?"
Something clicked inside Kiritsugu's mind, a clear answer emerging for these questions. Before he could voice it, though, "Iri" spread her arms welcomingly. "You are more than capable of bearing All the World's Evils. I know you could bear the evils of another world as well, no, an entire universe." Her words, gentle and encouraging though they were, dripped with an eagerness that turned Kiritsugu's stomach. All the World's Evil… Angra Mainyu…
He remembered now, the reason that… name was familiar. Before Natalia had fully taken him under his wing, Kiritsugu had been left at her home with little to do but practice taking guns apart and putting them back together and reading. One day, he had stumbled upon an old novel of Persian stories, the birth of a Zoroastrian god of darkness from a sacrifice.
"The choice is yours, Kiritsugu." He watched "Iri" carefully, her having reined in her enthusiasm. But you'd like it if the evil of another dimension were to mingle with yours, wouldn't you? "Whatever you do, the Holy Grail shall save the world. All you have to do… is make your wish."
Kiritsugu Emiya pondered all of this, the many possibilities -and the atrocities they would entail- hovering before his mind. He stared out the window again, seeing only darkness. And with that, his mind was made up. "…I don't think we can go looking for walnut buds anymore." He lamented to his daughter.
Illya smiled all the same. "It's okay. I'm happy as long as Kiritsugu and Mama are with me."
He couldn't help but return her smile, tears welling up again. "Thank you…" He nuzzled his head against hers even as he tried to reassure her. "Daddy loves you, Illya. That's the truth, I swear." As he burned the image of her pretty smiling face into his memory, his right hand stroked her hair one last time before dropping…
Then it placed the Thompson Contender's muzzle beneath her chin. He cried silently at the perplexed face she wore. "Goodbye, Illya…"
A gunshot rang out, and his daughter's blood and flesh splattered across Kiritsugu's face.
He dropped Illya's lifeless, headless body to the floor even as Iri screamed her name. She scrambled out of the bed to crouch sobbing over their girl while he removed the spent round from the Contender. The machine that is Kiritsugu Emiya calmly aimed his freshly reloaded gun at her head when it snapped up with teary eyes. "WHY?!" Iri wailed at him, slapping away his gun with surprising strength and grabbing his coat. "Why did you do that?! How could you do this to our Illya?!" Her fingers reached up curled like claws at his face…
Then she froze up again, her outrage shifting into simple sorrow. Kiritsugu watched Iri sink to the floor again, whispering through her tears, "N-No… N-not our Illya…" Then her mien warped back into fury while her hands balled into fists. "Shut up!" She glared up at him, but Kiritsugu could clearly make out two different faces warring on her. So, that's how it is…
He grabbed her throat, cutting off her words even as his fingers tightened. This face… it's not just a hollow shell…Kiritsugu knelt down to maintain more leverage, gazing into those eyes. One was a sickening violet and glared tearfully at him, but the other had returned to its full crimson and simply wept. You are still in there… aren't you, Iri? Somehow… And you brought up the Dark Energon… to warn me. The Iri he knew and had fallen in love with would've never accepted world-wide slaughter or domination to see their dream realized. Her true personality had somehow found a way to surface through the Grail's will… this Angra Mainyu… to dissuade him from making the wish. "Thank you…" he mumbled, "Iri."
That one red eye glistened, bidding him a silent, final farewell, and Kiritsugu's grip nearly slackened. Then both eyes shifted to purple and sharp despite their tears. "B-Beloved… why do you… reject… the Grail… reject us…?" It was Iri's voice, but Kiritsugu it wasn't Iri pleading with him. Not really; her grief for their daughter and her pain were genuine, but this body didn't belong to his wife anymore. Making this just a little bit easier. …Your final kindness to me, eh, Iri?
He squeezed all the harder even as "Iri" struggled feebly. "The Holy Grail can't be allowed to exist," he declared as levelly as he could. "Six billion people… against two… of my beloved family…" Such was the cold calculation he had always used along his path. The answer was logical, simple… and yet hard as hell in this moment. But Kiritsugu persisted. This was the true answer of his heart, after all.
"C-curse you…" She reached up with one hand to grab him tightly. "K-Kiritsugu… Emiya." Mud flowed from her fingertips and burrowed their way through his coat and into his skin. "Angra Mainyu… curses you…" She hissed full of hatred, confirming once and for all Iri was no longer there. "To suffer… until… you die…" Pain shot through him, but he pushed through it. He was a machine. Pain meant nothing to a machine.
Kiritsugu cried without pause as he reaffirmed his goal. "I will… save… the world…"
"I will… never… forgive you…" Such were her last words before a sharp snap echoed through the church hall.
"I know… That's fine." He loomed over the lifeless shell, the last of his tears dripping onto her face still stretched in hatred. "Like you said… I can bear you."
When Kirei Kotomine opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a mud-drenched floor. Where…? He tried to look about, but his head refused to respond save for an all-powerful soreness. That left him with moving his eyes about, ascertaining that he was back in the city hall's room. Not inside the Holy Grail, an interesting experience. I wonder how much time has passed. After a few painstaking seconds, Kirei got his limbs to work so he could push himself into a kneeling position.
Then he heard the cocking of a firing hammer right behind him. Of course, he woke up first, Kirei sighed to himself, not bothering to turn around. He could sense Emiya standing there with his gun pressed to Kirei's back. Kirei made a half-hearted attempt to summon the Dark Energon to heal his wounds and fight anew, but it only resulted in a bloody coughing fit. His body was too battered to handle the power safely.
So, he simply raised his hands in mock surrender, not a trace of fear in him. "What a disappointment you are," he scoffed in quiet anger, the first words he'd ever directed at his enemy in person. "Why did you deny it?"
Kiritsugu simply stared at the man who had caused him so much trouble. "You ask me that after seeing it for yourself?"
Indeed, Kirei had witnessed the entire exchange between Emiya and the Grail, recognized how they understood one another. Resentment stirred inside him, pushing him to demand an explanation for the man's idiocy. "You sacrificed everything and everyone you cared for just to make it this far. You reached what you sought for so long, and then you just give up?!"
"The price is heavier than any benefits it may offer," was the clinical answer he received. "It's as simple as that. That thing," there a hint of disgust slipped into Emiya's tone, "is no omnipotent wish-granting device."
That made the last of Kirei Kotomine's restraint snap. He now understood completely that he and Kiritsugu Emiya had nothing in common, they never did. Throwing away the very thing that could have given him everything he had wanted… "Then let me have it!" He roared, refusing to turn around because he couldn't stand looking at that stoic face anymore. "Even if you don't have a use for it, I do!" He thought back to the moment he'd seen the darkness in all its beauty. "With it… If that thing is born into the world, it can clear away all of my doubts!"
After everything he'd just been put through, Kiritsugu had little interest left in Kotomine. "Why not ask your Servant? You went and let him turn you into this, after all." He had feared the worst for the priest's intentions, and now here he was, throwing a temper tantrum like a kid for not having the same toy everyone else did.
"All he ever did was nudge me about," Kirei chuckled bitterly, "but he left it to me to find my own answers." Thus, he acknowledged a dark truth; Archer, Rider X and Dark Energon may have spurred him onto this path, but he chose to walk it with all the evil it entailed. "The power Megatron bestowed on me, the drives I've held all my life… I'd finally have the answers I've hounded! You can't kill it! That thing… It longs for its own birth-!"
Kiritsugu finally pulled the trigger, and the Origin Round blasted right through Kotomine's tainted heart. He watched the body slump heavily over, his insides an irreparable mess. But he had no interest in taking any more chances. "You… you're a fool beyond comprehension." Such was Kiritsugu's icy assessment of his nemesis before he scattered his last bombs over the body. The resultant explosion left no trace of Kirei Kotomine behind.
With that, a heavy weariness washed over him, but he stayed on his feet. One glance at the ceiling confirmed mud was still dripping down into the room. No doubt the Holy Grail was all set in the concert hall upstairs. If Archer or Rider X gets his hands on it… Kiritsugu stormed towards the exit. I can't let that happen.
But if he was going to eradicate that thing… he would need more than just an Origin Round.
-03:49:31
The Dark Star Saber's tip tore a crevice in the already battered ground before curving into a rising slash that split the atmosphere itself. Saber twisted around the attack, the violet energy making her bristle as it traveled by, and leaped lunging at her enemy's left. Rider X deflected Excalibur just before it would've sliced his throat, the strength of his guard sending her stumbling back. He followed her swiftly to run her through, but she jumped ontohis arm, golden blade swinging in for another killing strike. Growling, the Decepticon conqueror lashed out with a kick that clipped her despite her attempts to dodge, sending her tumbling.
The King of Knights rolled with the blow, landing on one knee and bringing up her sword to parry Rider X's despite her bruised arm. Energon trickling from the fresh cut on his head, the larger Servant began pressing down on their locked blades. The Dark Star Saber vibrated with tangible delight in its efforts to shatter its counterpart, but Excaliburhummed back in defiance, its luster unblemished from the darkness. A fitting representation of their wielders.
Even as concrete crumbled beneath her feet, Saber drew upon all her strength to divert the wretched blade. It sank into the ground beside her as she spun and slashed for the gaping wound Arondight had carved earlier, but Rider X wrenched his sword free for his own attack. Both Servants were forced to leap away, leaving only a light cut on the other's left shoulder.
Then a large double-bladed axe buried itself into the spot they'd stood an instant before.
Archer was very nearly out of patience. He'd let loose with Noble Phantasm after Noble Phantasm, and this little veiled-up thief before him simply refused to accept the inevitable. It wasn't as if Assassin X had neatly evaded every barrage, either; cuts and bruises were scattered across his body, and there was a noticeable limp in his left leg. Even so, the mongrel persisted in facing the King of Heroes… while wielding his Gáe Bolg.
On the flipside, Assassin X couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this tired. Part of him just wanted to collapse into a sofa, sip some sake and indulge in a couple Make-Outchapters, but he was still on the clock, and Archer had already unleashed his next wave of weaponry. Twirling his new spear as he'd seen Diarmuid do so many times, he diverted the first three's trajectories (surprisingly easily, he might add, must be the spear), then leaped over the fourth to jab the spear at Archer, who blocked it with a sword he'd been holding.
Archer didn't intend to let him land and continue this dance, so he summoned a new portal underneath Assassin X. A broad circular blade hummed with anticipation before it shot up to bisect the troublemaking thief. Assassin X noticed the danger from below, however, and stabbed Gáe Bolg into the ground. He then twisted along the crimson pole to evade the Noble Phantasm, handsigns blurring between his motions, then flicked down his mask.
Archer barely got up his hands in time to shield his face from the oncoming fireball. His armor, scratched and chipped though it was, weathered the flames, but he barely noticed a bloodred tip (belonging to him) hurtling for his stomach. Gilgamesh scowled as Durandal parried the thrust… and his scowl widened from the sudden pain in his side.
Kakashi wasn't pleased, either; while he'd been able to call up a Shadow Clone in the diversion of his Fire Ball Jutsu, his Lightning Blade hadn't done quite as much damage as he'd hoped. I knew that armor of his isn't for show, but to put up this much resistance against Lightning Blade…Blood splashed against his electrified hand, though, and there was a sizable hole in the King of Heroes' side, something said King took note of with an array of portals around him that erased the clone and Gáe Bolg. Assassin X barely dodged in time.
More Noble Phantasms blasted about in Archer's irate state hurtled towards Rider X and Saber's side of the battlefield, forcing them to take their own evasive actions. The Lord and Master of the Decepticons tried to throw up a defensive wall of Dark Energon crystals, but they crumbled away almost immediately upon impact. Saber for her part slipped Excalibur's tip into the gap of an oncoming halberd, spun, and slungshot it whirling back to its owner. A Roman shield appeared to stop Archer from becoming reacquainted with its pointy end.
Gilgamesh permitted himself a moment or two to appreciate his soon-to-be newest treasure's grace, even letting her pet thief flip over to her side. They really were a troublesome team. Persistent, too; it was no accident that this pair was the only intact team left since they had been first established in the Grail War. Alone, Saber would've surely lasted longer than Assassin X, but she too would've fallen from the two assaults of Archer and Rider X.
Not that the one true King had any intention of joining forces with the upstart, most assuredly not after having seen the full depths of his repugnance. Oh, Archer could hardly wait anymore to eradicate that metal bastard and his tainted spirit from his garden, if only Saber would hurry up and give in to the inevitable…! Her and her pet's persistence was so frustrating… and yet, Archer felt elation along with his frustration. He honestly didn't mind continuing to drag out this dance.
He idly traced his scar. I may have spent a mite too much time playing with Zaraki…
Megatron hefted his blade when a sensation coupled with a sudden wave of weakness reached him. Kirei… He spared a glance in the direction of the city hall. Have you fallen? …A pity, if it were true. Missing his chance to witness the culmination of the intriguing priest's development aside, he had been Rider X's sole remaining mana supply with the Reactor gone.
His processor swiftly accessed what strategies he had left. What mana he had to his namesake was swiftly depleting both from the injuries he'd sustained and continuing to manifest the Dark Star Saber, but sheathing the latter was out of the question. How else was he supposed to contend with Saber in his current condition and face Gilgamesh afterwards? At least the brilliant fool wasn't in top condition himself, none of his enemies were after two hours of nonstop fighting. But Saber and Assassin X still had their Master, apparently, and Archer had Independent Action…
But didn't Rider X have a similar Skill in his possession? The Path to Glory had already granted him the freedom to make his own preparations back when Tokiomi and Kirei hadn't known what to do with him, and its effect, the desire to succeed in spite of all these pesky obstacles, still thrummed inside him. Come to think of it, Archer X had drawn out her own rampage through sacrificing the time Independent Action gave her, as Zouken had laughingly told Megatron afterwards. Well, if she could do that…
He concentrated, and sure enough, his limbs lifted with renewed energy. Still, Rider X knew he couldn't waste time with dragging out the battles. This was simply exchanging later time for power in the moment, after all. But why worry about that? They all knew that with dawn would come the end of the Holy Grail War. And dawn will see me as the victor of the Grail… and of all existence. Megatron renewed his vow with a swing of his Saber. As it should be.
Hastily treating each other's injuries, Assassin X and Saber braced themselves for yet another round. At this point, their trump cards would be the best option for getting rid of either foe, but Assassin X had used Kamui twice already. A third time would put him out of commission. Saber needed time to fully charge Excalibur's blast, and the collateral damage…
Then one of them heard a familiar voice in his brain. 'Assassin X.' The two Servants were forced to separate as Archer opened fire anew, but the addressed did his best to pay attention to their Master's message even as they traded opponents. 'Fall back to the city hall.' Kiritsugu sounded a little… drained despite his usual cool tone, but neither had sensed any decline in the mana he was providing them, so he ought to be in one piece. 'The Grail's begun to take form, you need to get here this instant. …Saber, too, if you think you need her'
Assassin X grunted as he ducked under Rider X's swing and kicked him with both feet away. 'We're a little tied up right now, Kiritsugu.' He felt a huff of agreement from Saber.
'…Kakashi...'
He stiffened at hearing his True Name, the name Kiritsugu hadn't addressed him with once since their time with… It was only because of the chaotic battlefield he didn't freeze up and get impaled. Still, he registered the pain in his Master's next words clearly. 'I need you to listen to me. Please.'
The confused look Artoria gave him indicated she hadn't been privy to this telepathic conversation. Assassin X didn't like keeping her in the dark, but he knew Kiritsugu wouldn't open up to her no matter what. From the looks of it, this called for privacy. '…What's going on?' He asked as gently as he could while trading blows with his bigger dance partner.
A heavy mental sigh drifted into his brain. 'I went into the hall and fought Kirei Kotomine, almost got myself killed trying to take him down when…' Assassin X forced Rider X back with a flurry of concentrated air blasts, his worry growing at Kiritsugu's uncharacteristic trepidation. '…The Grail revealed its true nature to me.'
'True nature? What does that mean?' Rider X retaliated with a slash of violet energy that nearly took his head. 'The Grail's just a wish-granting device, it doesn't have a personality or nature of its own … right?' He noticed Saber barely parrying Archer's raining attack.
'It's not supposed to, but… Something's been hiding inside of it, some kind of corruption. "Angra Mainyu," it called itself. "All the World's Evil…" I don't know for how long that thing's been in the Grail, but it's waiting for someone to make a wish. It wants someone to give it a form, to free it from the Grail, and… and any wish it grants…'
'Let me guess,' Kakashi, sensing the pain rising with each word, took over. 'Any wish it grants will be warped to serve its own needs.' He spared a glance towards Artoria, seeing her duck behind the remains of a car before more of Archer's "arrows" shredded it further. The time it took gave Assassin X the chance to redirect Rider X's next sword blast towards their mutual enemy. 'Rider X… his Dark Energon… Is that what-'
'No, from the impression it… gave me, this Angra Mainyu was inside the Grail long before Rider X found his way here. In fact, it apparently didn't have anything to do with him or you or any of the X Servants' summoning, Kakashi. But… if it were to mingle with Dark Energon, things would only get worse. That's why I need you here as soon as possible.'
Assassin X noted briefly how Kiritsugu didn't seem to use a plural "we" there before returning to the matter at hand. Summoning a pair of clones, he let one face off against Rider X, the other support Saber and hopped back for a minute to think. The Holy Grail corrupted… It sounded admittedly a bit far-fetched, but Kiritsugu wasn't the kind of man to exaggerate or tell cockamamie stories. And if he was right… If he or Artoria or Kakashi or anyone else were to make a wish and set this evil free… 'What do you think I can do, Kiritsugu? I honestly don't know anything about the Grail, so if you expect me to fix it-'
'No. I'm sorry, but…' Okay, now the Copy Ninja was starting to grow worried about his Master. 'I need you to destroy the Grail.'
…Okay, this time he did actually freeze up. For a few five seconds that would've surely cost him his life if he were actually fighting. Fortunately, Kakashi's clones hadn't disappeared yet, giving him the time to reboot his brain and try and find some logic. 'What?! N-now, hold on, I know what I said, but we shouldn't throw in the towel that quickly. I mean, the three of us, everyone in this whole War has been fighting like crazy to claim the Grail, you most of all-'
'I know…' Bitterness flickered inside Kiritsugu's "voice" along with a sense of self-loathing. 'I know how much your wish means to you, too, Kakashi, and I really am sorry to ask this of you, but there's no other way. We can't let anyone near the Holy Grail the way it is, least of all a monster like Megatron. I'd destroy it on my own, but the only way to make absolutely sure…'
'…Is with a powerful enough Noble Phantasm,' Assassin X concluded heavily right as Rider X beheaded his doppelganger. He raced back into the fray with a Lightning Jutsu, but his thoughts were in turmoil. 'Artoria needs to hear about this. This news… it affects her, too. You know how much her home and her people mean to her.'
'I do, and believe me, I take no pleasure in denying her this chance. But let's be real, do you seriously think she'd believe me if I told her what I've been telling you?' He couldn't help but wince, silently conceding the point even as he unsettled Rider X's stance with an Earth Style sinkhole. As much as their cooperation had improved, there remained a sturdy ideological barrier between his Master and his partner. And the King of Knights loved her kingdom as much as she regretted its downfall. Could he really convince her to relinquish her wish with just Kiritsugu's word? …Hell, could Assassin X himself take this chance?
It almost seemed as though Kiritsugu sensed his doubt. 'I… know it's a lot to ask for you to believe me, too. And I swear on my life, I never wanted to rob you of the chance to make your own wish, Kakashi Hatake. But… I'm afraid you're the only one I can trust to do this impossible thing. Blame me afterwards, I'll gladly accept all of Saber's hatred. I deserve it and yours.' Well, as much as Assassin X wanted to doubt him, it was rapidly growing harder with every word uttered.'…Please.'
And there it was. Kiritsugu Emiya was his Master. He'd only expended one Command Seal each for Assassin X and Saber, and they surely hadn't been lost, either would've sensed that possibility. Kiritsugu could surely just summon them to his side and order them into destroying the Grail if that was what he wanted. Kakashi didn't even have Magic Resistance like Artoria, so forcing him to comply would've been easy.
Instead, Kiritsugu kept asking him, pleading with him. That and the heavy self-doubt (an emotion Kakashi knew intimately well) saturating his tone told the Servant something was indeed very wrong. Still… All the hard work, their efforts along with those of Irisviel, of Maiya… What about Lancelot and Artoria's other knights? What about Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke? Could he really just ignore this one-in-a-million chance? What were the odds he or Artoria would ever see it again? Sometimes, Assassin X wished he were a little more like Naruto or Obito. They wouldn't agonize so much over the consequences, they'd just follow their shinobi way…
…And just like that, he knew what to do. 'Artoria,' she perked up at his communication,'whatever happens next, do you trust me?'
Her telepathic answer came immediately even as she swung hard enough to force Archer skidding away. 'With my life.'
He smiled beneath his mask, then sobered as Rider X charged him with a heavy overhead swing. Od swirled about in his left hand like a miniature hurricane. 'We need to head to the city hall. Kiritsugu's waiting for us.' Assassin X then completed the Rasengan before striking it against the Decepticon's arms just as he made to bring his sword down. The heavier Servant was sent flying while the smaller one nursed a broken left hand.
Saber would be lying if she said she didn't have questions. But that didn't stop her from gathering as mana as she could in five seconds and unleashing an 'Excalibur-lite,' so to speak. It was far from the A++-attack she'd used to destroy Caster and his abomination, B+ at best, but it ushed back Archer enough for her and Assassin X to high-tail it. 'What's the plan?' She asked over their link, knowing better than discuss strategy out loud.
'It'll be easier to explain once we get there,' Assassin X reassured her as they ran, hoping he'd told her the truth just now. Truth be told, he was working out the details himself. 'Kiritsugu, we're both on our way. Sorry, but you'll have to trust me.'
'…More than I trust myself at the moment.' A heavy confession, but Kakashi sensed only he would ever hear it. Once again, he had to find a way to work with both Artoria Pendragon and Kiritsugu Emiya. …Well, no one said this job was easy.
Behind them, the dust settled to reveal Archer frowning after them in confusion. "I would have not thought you or even your thieving pet cowards, Saber." He summoned a discus beneath him for transport. "This better be you simply playing hard-to-get, as today's mongrels say." Then he was speeding after the duo, Rider X as well in vehicle mode.
Even in their exhausted state, it took them only a minute to reach the city hall, dodging attacks from their pursuers all the way. As their destination came closer in view, Assassin X couldn't help but notice how much darker everything seemed to be in the area. Looks like you were right, Kiritsugu.