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

Chapter 227 Tokiomi Tohsaka: Someone's trying to sabotage my business?
Upon hearing Kenneth's words, Kiritsugu Emiya looked over with a blank expression.

The burning pain on my skin, the smoke and dust I inhaled, the incessant screams in my ears—that sea of ​​fire felt all too real.

Before Kenneth could say anything more, a warm, trembling body pressed tightly against him.

"I'm sorry... Kiritsugu... I'm sorry..."

Irisviel buried her face in his neck, tears instantly soaking his collar, her voice filled with endless regret and self-reproach.

It was she who used her naive ideals to bind this man, and with words like "I am willing to sacrifice for you," pushed him back onto that dead end called "justice."

She never truly confronted what kind of broken, wounded heart lay hidden beneath this man's cold mask.

On the other side, Artoria's expression was more complicated than ever before.

The deep-seated aversion to this Master that I had felt before was now being replaced by a deeper emotion.

She could never agree with Kiritsugu Emiya's ruthless approach to achieving his goals, believing it tarnished the honor of a knight.

But in that mercury-constructed mirror, she saw this man's unknown past.

He buried his father with his own hands, sent away his only relative with a missile, completely erased his emotions, and willingly transformed into a cold machine.

Every step he took on this path was treading on his own bloody fragments, only to find that the end was an even greater hell...

This dedication and sacrifice gave her a strange sense of familiarity and a feeling of unease...

El-Melloi II's expression was equally complex. In his original life story, his teacher Kenneth was killed by this very man.

That's why, for a long time, he felt like vomiting whenever he saw his student Grey's face... but unexpectedly...

"Um... Mr. Emiya, although I may not fully understand your ideals..."

But isn't it nice to be with Miss Irisviel?

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the two embracing and couldn't help but speak softly, breaking the dead silence.

She didn't quite understand Kiritsugu Emiya's choice...

Mashu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but when the words reached her lips, she didn't know what to say.

Choosing to sacrifice a minority in order to save the majority is like the trolley problem—no matter which choice you make, it's wrong.

Because for the person making the choice, saving one side means sacrificing the other.

When the person making the choice places the life of their closest and dearest on one side of the scale, the pain behind that resolute decision almost crushes the hearts of the onlookers as well.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Kenneth shook his head upon seeing this. He strode forward and looked down at Kiritsugu Emiya.

"As you just saw, the Holy Grail you seek is not some omnipotent miracle that can save the world."

"During the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family violated regulations by summoning the Heroic Spirit Angra Mainyu, who shared the same name as the evil god."

His soul corrupted the Greater Grail after his defeat, and from that moment on, the Grail's nature was completely distorted.

No matter how beautiful your wish is, it will only be fulfilled in the most malicious and disastrous way...

Upon hearing these words, Kiritsugu Emiya's empty eyes finally showed a slight change.

He neither refuted nor questioned, but simply turned his gaze to his wife beside him.

"Um……"

Irisviel nodded with tears in her eyes, giving him the most profound affirmation.

"Heh... So that's how it is..."

Kiritsugu Emiya let out a dry, bitter laugh, as if it had been sanded by sandpaper. The laugh grew louder and more manic, eventually turning into a silent roar mixed with tears.

There was no anger in that laughter, only endless absurdity and emptiness.

Everything he pursued, everything he abandoned, all the sins he bore...

"It seems you've finally come to terms with yourself. Human capabilities have limits; the human hand can only reach what's right in front of us."

You are neither a saint nor a prophet, but just an ordinary person burdened with an unattainable ideal…

Kenneth said that, as he put it, Kiritsugu Emiya was just an ordinary person.

I lack the ability to realize such grand ideals... "Right now...?"

Emiya Kiritsugu muttered the word to himself, his eyes filled with confusion.

He knew his abilities were limited, which is why he pursued the miracle known as the Holy Grail.

But... does a man with blood on his hands and a heart already rotten really have the right to embrace happiness?
Seeing him like this, Irisviel didn't say anything more, but hugged him even tighter, as if she wanted to use her body heat to melt the ice that had accumulated in his heart for decades.

After a long while, Kiritsugu Emiya took a deep breath and forcibly calmed his turbulent emotions.

He looked at Kenneth again, his voice hoarse but regaining a trace of the composure befitting the "Magician Killer".

"Hmph... If the Holy Grail is that kind of thing, what do you plan to do with it?"

"It's very simple: peel it off from the ley lines of the winterwood and then completely dismantle it."

Miss Irisviel has already agreed to assist me with this.

Kenneth said calmly, then changed the subject.
"At the same time, according to our previous agreement, I will bring your daughter, Illyasviel von Einzbern, who is far away in Germany, out safely."

"And as the price for sparing your life, besides the remnants of the Holy Grail, I need one more thing—the Spell Mark inherited by the Emiya family."

This was his other purpose for this trip: one was the Great Grail, which was built on the foundation of the Third Magic, and the other was a magical crest related to "time," which was extremely rare even in the world of magic.

Even if it is just a fragment, it has immeasurable research value.

“Kiritsugu…”

Irisviel was about to speak, seemingly trying to explain the harsh conditions.

In that situation, Kenneth could have easily removed the Magic Crest from Kiritsugu Emiya's body.

Kiritsugu Emiya's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

The magic crest... that was the only memento left to him by his father, Emiya Norikaze, a testament to the magic accumulated by generations of the Emiya family.

In that instant, he seemed to see again the back of his father, who was so engrossed in his research in the study…

He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the last trace of hesitation had vanished.

"Yes, but you must solve Alice's physical problems."

Before she could finish speaking, Kiritsugu Emiya gave his reply.

He knew very well that he had absolutely no choice in the current situation.

Moreover, for a half-baked magician like him, the mark was of little use except for allowing him to activate [Time Control] through self-harm.

Trading something that is almost useless to oneself for the future of one's daughter and wife is an incredibly worthwhile deal.

"Then the contract is established."

Kenneth's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

……

The next two days

Kenneth dealt with Saber's problem first, because in order to safely cut out the Lesser Grail from Irisviel's body, the assistance of King Arthur's sword sheath was needed as a precaution.

Besides him, the only other person present with the qualifications of a Master was Fujimaru Ritsuka from Chaldea.

And so, after spending most of the day, we reverse-engineered and corrected Chaldea's Heroic Spirit Summoning System.

With a soft light, the remaining Command Seals on Kiritsugu Emiya's arm completely disappeared, and three brand-new red marks clearly appeared on the back of Ritsuka Fujimaru's hand.

From this day forward, Artoria's Master officially became this girl from the future.

Immediately afterwards, he began to assist Aozaki Touko in the operation on Irisviel, safely removing the magic circuits that served as the core of the "Minor Grail" from her body.

Meanwhile, Lord El-Melloi II, along with Fujimaru Ritsuka and others, began operations at various key locations in Fuyuki City.

Their task was to sever the spiritual vein flowing to the underground Great Holy Grail of Ryudong Temple, in order to prepare for the large-scale demolition work that followed.

However, such a large-scale mobilization and diversion of a city's vital energy is, for the land's administrators, tantamount to someone demolishing the foundation of their own mansion.

Deep within the Tohsaka family mansion, Tokiomi Tohsaka, who was elegantly sipping red wine, suddenly frowned slightly...

(End of this chapter)