Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

So dazzling, so blinding, yet so ironically dazzling in the eyes of every self-proclaimed pious person.

“I don’t believe in God, I don’t believe in any religion at all, I only believe in one thing—that the world created by good people like him is worth protecting and building! And people like him, my friends, are worth protecting!”

"I don't distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, but simply because I believe he is right and I believe he is my friend, I will carry out my will to protect him!"

He paused, then grinned.

"Damn it, how could I say such cheesy things? It's all your fault. He'll probably laugh at me later. I don't know who you are, but whatever, take this!"

In an instant, the dazzling light transformed into a sharp sword in his hand, and at that moment, Tsurugi's 'Sleepless' skill also began to change!

He paid no attention to any of this, just as he didn't notice that the figure transformed into light smiled at him, simultaneously raising its sword of light and striking an almost identical pose—

"—Good! As expected of..."

That's it, let's go!

Light and light collided in that instant!

In an instant, an unparalleled radiance enveloped everyone's vision. When the light faded, both the Holy Grail in Medea's hand and the Holy Grail in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand vanished.

Tsugumi, he still stood in the same spot, only his gigantic form and massive cannon were gone. But his livestream continued, his power remained, and the Holy Grail in his hand—

There are still more!!!

"Now it's your turn!"

He pointed at the enemies in front of him, without hesitation or any intention of showing any mercy, and was about to execute them at this moment!

But just as he was preparing to launch another attack, he suddenly turned around and looked in the direction of Ryudou Temple.

Having transmigrated, my only purpose is to kill, kill, kill! : 58. Another betrayal, another sacrifice.

Right inside Ryudong Temple, right behind the well-preserved statue of Jesus, who was purifying the evil of this world.

A priest stood there, his expression a mixture of piety and fervor, pain and inner turmoil.

In his hand he held an ordinary black key, a weapon that represented the Church's expulsion of heretics and defense of divine will, but it came from behind and pierced the left breast of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, whose body was no different from that of an ordinary person, possessed miracles and divinity, but his body was indeed a mortal shell.

A body that bleeds, gets injured, and becomes fragile and dies when its vital organs are damaged.

Of course, if he is the true Lord, he should have been resurrected.

"Lord, I have committed such an unforgivable sin!"

Kirei Kotomine released his grip on the black key, knelt on the ground, and prayed with his hands clasped together devoutly, earnestly, and longingly.

What he held in his hands was the silver coin of Judah that he had taken from the Thurs River that day.

He thus drew near to the Son, just as Judas of Escarius did with the thirty pieces of silver, committing grave sins out of greed, desire, and torment.

“I do not ask for your forgiveness, I do not ask for your understanding, I am willing to suffer in Hellfire forever—and all I ask for is an answer.”

He closed his eyes in anguish and prayed.

"Let true judgment and faith, and the miracles of my Lord, truly descend upon this world—instead of letting some 'archangel' who masquerades as God's grace come!"

"Lord, if you truly exist, then descend upon this place!"

……

"Father Kotomine, do you remember who the Matou family summoned during the last Holy Grail War?"

Ten minutes earlier, from a high vantage point overlooking Ryudou Temple, Matou Sakura, watching the distant demon battle, asked Kotomine Kirei a question with great interest.

"...I don't remember." Kirei Kotomine paused for a moment before answering honestly.

"This is the result of true corruption." Matou Sakura chuckled, her dark golden eyes radiating a terrifying light.

"History, existence, is the history of this world that is clearly unrelated to his predecessors. Yet, it was fundamentally changed with his arrival. The world tried to correct it but could not change the outcome, and could only cause human beings' shallow memories to become disordered."

"One proof is eternal proof; this is the true demon, an existence entangled in ancient myths..."

"But even the closed loop of time has become like an ouroboros, without a head or a tail..."

She murmured words that Kirei Kotomine couldn't understand, but there were some things he still knew.

"Lord, do you truly exist? If you do, will you stop me from committing the atrocities I am about to do?"

Kirei Kotomine gazed at the enormous, rampaging demon, silently reflecting on his actions.

If God is truly omnipotent, He should stop His current evil deeds.

If God is not omnipotent, then perhaps He cannot give me the answer I want.

This paradox of blasphemy is actually a flawed idea, but in Kirei Kotomine's case, there is another answer.

God is not in this world

Or rather, the Lord they believe in, and the Lord's words they understand, are all wrong; they are wrong answers based on their own self-righteous understanding.

Kirei Kotomine wouldn't normally have thought that way.

Although he was a scoundrel who took pleasure in the suffering of others, his devout faith was unquestionable.

But just ten years ago

In the year he painfully struggled with his own nature, during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

As Kirei Kotomine struggled with his own nature and beliefs, he encountered many things during the war.

As Matou Sakura said, he had lost most of his memories. The corruption of his true nature and the correction of the world made it impossible for many things to remain in his mind. He only knew what happened, but could not recall the details.

But there were only a few things he was absolutely certain of, and that was that he had truly seen the existence of the one he worshipped and believed in, or rather, the closest thing to the great figure of the Lord he worshipped.

He saw the Lord's archangel, the being who was said to be closest to God.

—Although, strictly speaking, it was just an angel described in a pseudo-scripture, it was the closest existence to God that Kirei Kotomine could come into contact with.

Then, filled with piety and anguish, he asked the Lord's angel why his nature had become this way and what he should do.

Seriously speaking, if that archangel told him to continue to restrain his nature, Kirei Kotomine would endure the pain indefinitely.

But how did the archangel answer him?

"I am only responsible for conveying the Lord's will; I have no obligation to answer your questions."

"If you absolutely need an answer, then it's up to you to do whatever you want!"

"Will it hurt other people? But haven't humans always been like this? If God doesn't care, then I don't care either."

"Isn't this the Lord's will? Isn't my will the Lord's will?!"

It was this series of self-righteous answers, especially the last sentence, that almost drove Kirei Kotomine crazy.

For a believer, to be made to doubt whether their faith truly exists is a cruel and utter denial.

His devout faith and conflicted, tormented nature were both denied, even leading him to doubt whether his object of faith truly existed. Given such intense questioning of his own faith, it's not surprising that Kirei Kotomine, already deeply mired in confusion and struggle at that time, chose to commit suicide!

But in the end, it was a 'true demon' who gave him the answer he wanted.

If he survives until the next war, he will have the chance to witness the answer he seeks!

"By the way, keep an eye on your daughter. Maybe you can get the answer from her? If not, ten years from now, you might get the next step from my past self."

So he survived, and not only that, he found his daughter Karen after the war, cared for her for a few years, and then sent her abroad.

His experience of taking care of his daughter over the past few years has indeed given him the answer he sought from Karen—he felt that the unbearable and ugly desires were not unique to him, and that even her daughter naturally possessed desires to be close to his.

Perhaps this is a curse passed down through generations, so he doesn't need to feel guilty or struggle with anything.

The trial will eventually come.

But before the judgment comes, he must do the right thing with a devout heart for his faith. He must prove this for himself, for the world, and for the Lord’s Kingdom!

Does God truly exist?

"Only after shameless betrayal can the Lord I believe in and the miracles I believe in be confirmed."

Kirei Kotomine stood up, his gaze deep and emotionless as he spoke in a low voice.

Over the past four years, he has come to realize one thing: the true path is not in the hands of the church. They are nothing but heretics, a group of people who perform magic tricks in the name of God. They may have seen the Lord before, but they have long forgotten him.

Judas betrayed the Lord, but perhaps it wasn't betrayal, but rather a choice made by sacrificing himself in accordance with the Lord's will. Then why couldn't he have done the same?

Ten years later, he met the devil again. Although he did not do so willingly, and the devil seemed not to recognize him at all, he still exchanged 30,000 yen for a Judas coin from the devil.

In that instant, Kirei Kotomine understood what he should do, but he struggled and hesitated. Even though he knew his true nature, Kirei Kotomine still felt hesitant and fearful about what he was about to do. In the end, however, he chose to sacrifice himself like a saint.

Of course, he would not arrogantly compare himself to a saint, but he would not hesitate to dedicate himself to proving the greatness of the Lord.

—I offer only one thing, I bow down to receive grace, the time has come for me to throw silver into the sanctuary and hang myself with a straw rope!

Matou Sakura watched from the side, her face displaying a barely suppressed mockery.

"Okay, let's go then."

With a wave of her hand, an invisible wind enveloped Kirei Kotomine and him. Under the shining Goetia Mark and the starlight of Sagittarius, they entered the barrier set up by Medea with almost no hindrance.

Before me stood Jesus Christ, who was wholeheartedly dedicated to purifying the evil of this world.

Matou Sakura kept her distance, or rather, she didn't even dare to look at the other person. She only dared to kneel on the ground, tightly closing her eyes and not daring to move!

Even if it was an incarnation projection of a holy son from another world, his 'existence' was something that demons like her could never approach.

The more powerful the evil, the less likely it is to get close to the other party; the more sacred the being, the less likely it is to harbor malice towards them.

But—human beings are the sole exception.

Neither the highest angels nor demons can harm the Son in the slightest; any harm they cause is considered a provocation against the Lord. Only the humble humans in the middle possess this special power.

Even the weakest mortal has this power, a power called 'killing saints'.

When he descended to earth as the Son of God, he was a human being, and therefore only a human could kill him—unless he was the Messiah, the savior of the world, but that would mean the end of an era.

Kirei Kotomine looked at the great being who was purifying the world while being trapped in countless black muds, his gaze complex, but he did not waver in his determination.

He glanced at the Judah coin in his hand, gripped it tightly, walked over, pulled out the black key, and without hesitation, plunged it into his back!

Saint Jesus opened his eyes instantly, turned around, and saw who had attacked him. He did not feel surprised or sad, but simply looked down at the bloodstains on his chest, sighed softly, and showed no surprise or astonishment.

"Lord, I just want to see if you are real."

Kirei Kotomine knelt before Jesus, almost weeping.