They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 226 The End of the Road to Ideals

Irisviel's face was as pale as paper, the dim light in the forest reflecting off her face, which was devoid of any color.

Her gaze was fixed on Kenneth; it was the first time she had come to understand what the Clock Tower Monarch represented.

The mercury falcon perched on Kenneth's shoulder was once her proud creation, an alchemical life she constructed with magic threads using techniques passed down through the Einzbern family for thousands of years.

However, at this moment, it was completely tainted and assimilated by the silver mercury, turning into a familiar belonging to the enemy.

This man, the monarch of the Clock Tower, possessed magical skills far beyond her comprehension.

Standing beside her, Hisayu Mami's face was equally gloomy.

Her hands remained hidden beneath her trench coat, her fingertips just millimeters from the spare pistol, but she never made a move.

Her muscles were tense, her breathing was suppressed to the limit, and she was like a black panther poised to pounce, assessing the hunter's every subtle movement.

"Lord El-Melloi..."

Irisviel took a deep breath, suppressed the tremor in her throat, stepped forward, and bowed slightly to Kenneth, performing an impeccable noble greeting.

Her voice was cool and steady, as if she were attending a high-society dinner party, rather than a life-or-death confrontation.
"In this Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family has lost. Please spare my husband's life..."

She knew about the factions within the Clock Tower, the aristocratic faction represented by El-Melloi, whose members behaved like medieval nobles.

They value honor, emphasize manners, and follow a set of ancient unspoken rules.

In their eyes, annihilating an enemy who has voluntarily surrendered and given up resistance is a barbaric act that is beneath their dignity...

“Miss Irisviel, do you really think that a simple ‘surrender’ from you is enough to make me let go of an enemy who dared to bare his fangs at me?”

Upon hearing this, Kenneth's lips curled into a playful smile, but his emerald eyes remained completely unmoved.

His words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the faint hope that had just ignited in Irisviel's heart.

But she did not despair; instead, she caught a glimmer of hope in the other party's question.

"What do you want?"

She looked up, met Kenneth's eyes, and her tone became more earnest.

As long as the other party proposes conditions instead of outright refusing, it means that everything is negotiable.

Regardless of who gets the Holy Grail, or what price the Einzbern family is willing to pay, as long as Kiritsugu's life can be saved...

Upon hearing this, Kenneth's smile finally became more genuine.

He seemed quite pleased with Irisviel's sensibility, slowly raising his hand. His slender index finger passed over Kiritsugu Emiya, who lay in a pool of blood, through the air thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood, and finally, pointed precisely at the silver-haired android.

"Hey?"

Irisviel's expression froze.

"Huh! Me?!"

……

Kiritsugu Emiya's consciousness plunged into an endless chaos.

He felt himself sinking through the icy seawater, until finally, his feet touched solid ground.

When he came to his senses again, the blinding sunlight and the salty sea breeze made him feel disoriented.

He found himself standing on a familiar island, with the azure sea in the distance and a tranquil village behind him.

That was where his life began, Alimago Island.

Is this... a dream?
Kiritsugu Emiya's thoughts were in complete disarray.

He couldn't understand the situation. Shouldn't he be in the forest of Fuyuki City, participating in the Holy Grail War? Why was he back here?

Before he could figure it out, black smoke suddenly rose from the distant village, followed by a piercing scream that shattered the island's tranquility.

Flames shot into the sky, and his body moved uncontrollably, running towards that hell on earth.

What happened next was exactly the same as the past that he had deliberately buried deep in his memory.

Because his father, Emiya Norikata, lost control of his research on "Dead Apostles," the entire island's inhabitants turned into bloodthirsty monsters.

To prevent the disaster from spreading and to "save more people," he personally used a gun to end the life of the culprit who caused all of this—his father.

Later, he was adopted by his foster mother and mentor, Natalia Kaminski, and transformed from a survivor into a ruthless bounty hunter.

Firearms, explosives, magic... He learned all the skills needed for his job.

He was going through the past, but his heart remained completely unmoved.

His expression changed only when he saw the airplane in the night sky.

On that plane was his only relative, Natalia, who also carried the ghoul virus that could cause another "Alimaggo Island tragedy".

On one side of the scale is the foster mother, and on the other side are thousands of innocent people on the ground.

In the end, Kiritsugu Emiya pulled the trigger.

From that time on, he completely erased his feelings as "Emiya Kiritsugu" and became an absolutely rational machine operating to achieve "the happiness of the majority".

Only in this way can he feel at ease weighing his life on the scales;
Only in this way can he prove to himself that the path he has chosen is the right one.

Until he was chosen by the Einzbern family to become their proxy in the Holy Grail War.

There, he met a woman named Irisviel.

Her smile, her gentleness, and her curiosity about everything in the world were like a ray of warm sunshine, shining into his heart that had been frozen for many years.

For the first time, he had the thought of giving up everything and living an ordinary life with Irisviel and their daughter Ilya, just like any other husband and father.

But Irisviel told him that she was willing to sacrifice herself for his ideals.

"Kiritsugu's wish is my wish."

Everything from the past came back to haunt him.

That heavy dream called "partner of justice" once again dragged him into the abyss.

Even if it means sacrificing his own wife, he is determined to obtain the miracle known as the Holy Grail War and realize his ideal of saving the world.

The scene before my eyes changed drastically again, distorting and twisting.

That was the moment he won the Holy Grail War, the moment the miracle he had been hoping for came to pass.

However, what flows from the hole in the sky is not an all-powerful cup that grants wishes, but rather endless black mud that is enough to pollute everything in the world.

Black mud cascaded down like a waterfall, turning the entire city of Fuyuki into a burning wasteland, a sea of ​​despairing flames.

why?
Why is this happening?

Is this the Holy Grail he sought, the miracle for which he sacrificed everything?!

Kiritsugu Emiya let out a silent wail, for it was because he was acutely aware of his own insignificance and powerlessness that he placed all his hopes on the Holy Grail.

For this ethereal thing, he bore all the sins, and was even willing to sacrifice the only love of his life...

But if the truth of this miracle is destruction, then what is the meaning of everything he pursued, abandoned, and carried?
"Ah ah ah ah ah--!"

He rushed into the inferno like a desperate, trapped beast, wanting to save even just one survivor from the apocalyptic scene.

However, the next moment, the excruciating burning pain and suffocation suddenly disappeared.

Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly opened his eyes, only to be met with an unfamiliar ceiling made of wooden planks. A cold, heavy sensation came from his head, and he instinctively tried to raise his hand, but found that his whole body was bound and he could not move.

His gaze moved upwards, and he saw an unbelievable sight. A helmet-like device made of flowing mercury was covering his head, and directly above him, the mercury converged to form a smooth mirror.

On the mirror, everything he had just experienced in his "dream" was clearly playing out—the boundless sea of ​​fire that was swallowing the city.

“Kiritsugu…”

Just then, a voice so familiar that it made his soul tremble rang out beside him.

Kiritsugu Emiya turned his head with difficulty and saw Irisviel's face, which was filled with worry and complexity.

Behind her stood a group of people.

Kenneth, the mysterious Master from last night, and even Saber stood there quietly.

He gazed at himself lying on the ground with a complex mix of pity, curiosity, and scrutiny.

What... is going on...?

"Emiya Kiritsugu, how does it feel to witness the end of your ideal?"

(End of this chapter)