That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Price

In the basement of the Tohsaka family home, candlelight flickered, creating a somber and heavy atmosphere.

Tokitomi Tohsaka sat alone in front of the retro stereo, seemingly talking to himself or confirming with the listener on the other end of the stereo: "Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, has lost."

The voice of the supervisor, Kotomine Risei, came from the speakers: "Yes, it has been confirmed through Assassin's eyes that the King of Heroes has been eliminated."

Tokiomi Tohsaka closed his eyes and sighed deeply: "What a blunder. I thought that summoning Servant Killer would surely bring me the Holy Grail and fulfill the Tohsaka family's centuries-old wish."

"I'm sorry, Assassin can't help. When Archer was defeated, Assassin had no room to intervene. Caster is no ordinary Servant; he probably planned all of this from the very beginning."

Tokiomi Tohsaka gripped the ruby ​​scepter in his hand and agreed, "No Servant in this Holy Grail War is a simple character. Given the King of Heroes' arrogance, his carelessness and defeat were entirely expected. What is unexpected is that he was the first to leave the stage."

"Head of the Tohsaka family, Assassin currently has no Master." Kotomine Risa said meaningfully.

Tokiomi Tohsaka shook his head and said, "Assassin is already a discarded pawn. What's the point of picking it up again? Assassin doesn't have the ability to fight head-on. Making a last-ditch effort would be too ugly."

"Head of the Tohsaka family, there is one more thing to report to you. We have found traces of Berserker. He seems to be active in the city. Several civilians have been killed. We do not yet know what he wants to do."

"Now... what else can we do?"

······

"Sword sheath".

In the outer forest, Shinji Matou took the scabbard of the Holy Sword from Saber. A transmutation circle unfolded in front of him, and Irisviel lay in the center of the transmutation circle, activating her android device as the transmutation circle was activated.

A complex magic circle unfolded above Irisviel's body, and it could be seen that some of the incantations had failed, indicating that the magic circle was not functioning smoothly.

This exquisite object, a culmination of over a thousand years of Einzbern technology, is so ingenious that even Shinji Matou could not fully comprehend its contents.

Shinji Matou carefully placed the scabbard above the magic circle, re-infusing the concept of [Avalon] into the android's body to stabilize its operation.

Irisviel slowly opened her eyes, lay up, and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Shinji Matou and Saber. She smiled gently and said, "Thank goodness, you're both alright."

Shinji Matou nodded: "With Archer officially out of the picture, we have eliminated the biggest threat in this Holy Grail War. Thanks to Saber's help, I was able to survive Archer's Noble Phantasm attack."

"Irisviel, are you alright?" Saber stepped forward, helped Irisviel up, and asked with concern.

"Hmm, don't worry, just like before, the magic supply is perfectly fine!" Irisviel smiled playfully, waving her right arm vigorously, looking as energetic as a child.

Is that really the case?

Shinji Matou's eyes flickered. He was very clear about Irisviel's condition, which was worse than he had imagined. To put it simply, if you temporarily take out a human's heart and then put it back in after a while, would that person's body still remain normal?

The android's body structure is more sophisticated than that of a human, and the ten or so minutes it takes to remove the sword from its sheath is enough to cause irreversible damage.

Irisviel's body has lost its balance. Although she can still maintain her human form, as the number of Servant souls she absorbs increases, the resurgence of the Lesser Grail's functions will inevitably squeeze out her humanity.

Irisviel's current state is remarkably similar to that of the original work; she will inevitably lose her human form over time and eventually become the Lesser Grail.

This is clearly not the perfect ending that Shinji Matou wanted, and it's even worse than the FGO collaboration ending. In the FZ collaboration event, Irisviel went to Chaldea as a homunculus.

The workload has increased again.

Shinji Matou sighed silently, but fortunately, the cost was not high compared to Archer's departure.

Shinji Matou placed the scabbard back into Irisviel's body, his expression shifting slightly. His detection magic sensed an unusual aura, which was quite close.

No, it's less about perception and more about the other party deliberately revealing their whereabouts. Their ability to conceal themselves is so strong that no one but Assassin could match them.

"Come out, Assassin," Shinji Matou said calmly, looking into the shadows of the forest.

Saber reacted immediately, drawing her sword in defense.

Black smoke coalesced into Assassin's body. Wearing a pale skull mask, Assassin hid in the shadows of the forest, his voice low and menacing: "Caster, you have violated the Church's decree forbidding bloodshed."

"I know, so what?" Shinji Matou said indifferently.

With Archer gone, Shinji Matou's concerns about the Holy Grail War have lessened considerably. His next step is to go to the Church and seize the Command Seals from Risei Kotomine's arm, which is a very important strategic resource.

"..."

After a brief silence, Assasin continued, "We'll discuss your punishment another day. The Overseer has ordered that Berserker's whereabouts have been discovered. It is slaughtering innocent civilians in the city, violating the secret treaty of the Holy Grail War. The most urgent task is to eliminate Berserker. If that happens, the Church may consider rescinding your punishment."

After speaking, Assassin vanished into the shadows.

“Caster, what do we do next?” Saber asked.

Shinji Matou crossed his arms and pondered, saying, "Although I've expended a lot of energy tonight, I should still go and check on the situation. Berserker's Master cannot be judged by common sense, and Jack the Ripper's Noble Phantasm is also troublesome. I'm afraid they want to cause chaos in the city and increase the power of their Noble Phantasm by exploiting human fear and anxiety. If left unchecked, it could grow into a huge threat no less than Archer."

“Irisviel.” Saber looked at her Master; the final decision rested with her.

Irisviel nodded: "I agree with Mr. Caster's opinion, but there is one thing I would like to confirm. Mr. Caster, when Archer used his Noble Phantasm, it was Lancer who helped us. Did Lancer also agree to assist us in dismantling the Holy Grail?"

"I haven't told her the truth about the Holy Grail War yet. It was in exchange for other information. Lancer may not be our enemy, but he will never help us."

"learn."

The power went out in the afternoon, and repairs were completed by 9 p.m. It was incredible!

Playing on my phone in the dark almost blinded me.

The remaining chapter might be released quite late.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Nature

In the dark alleys of Fuyuki City, garbage lies strewn about, and the city's neon lights cannot illuminate the darkness deep within.

"Berserker's Master, what are you doing?"

Kirei Kotomine stood at the end of the alley, staring at Ryunosuke Uryu in bewilderment, but received no answer.

Dead people cannot speak.

Ryunosuke Uryu's body had been dissected, his internal organs exposed, and his head cut off and placed aside, as if a skillful operation had been performed, and the human body had been perfectly dissected.

What puzzled Kirei Kotomine the most was that even though he was killed by his own servant, Ryunosuke Uryuu had a satisfied smile on his lips, as if he had found the meaning of life, fought for it, and achieved his ideal.

A smile radiated from the bottom of his heart.

Seeing Ryunosuke Uryu's smile, Kirei Kotomine felt a slight pang of envy.

"The Command Seals have disappeared, and they have lost their binding force on the Servant. It is only natural that they would be killed by the Servant. But why does he look so satisfied?"

Kirei Kotomine was very puzzled. In his eyes, Ryunosuke Uryu was an unusual and pure human being, like a mirror in which Kirei Kotomine saw his own reflection.

"To kill repeatedly and find meaning in life through killing—does such a person really exist in the world? Now we have the answer. Without a doubt, what he pursues is something completely opposite to that of ordinary people."

"The King of Heroes once said that humans have an instinct to pursue pleasure, like beasts craving blood, death, and nothingness. If this meaningless concept is what the Berserker's Master seeks..."

“Then myself…” Kirei Kotomine’s lips curled into an evil smile.

"Hahaha...hahahahahahahahaha."

Kirei Kotomine laughed wildly: "Now we can finally confirm it. What a loss of composure! That Kirei Kotomine, my father really gave birth to something worse than a dog."

Kirei Kotomine finds pleasure in confronting his true nature, and to this day, his father, Risei Kotomine, hopes to raise Kirei Kotomine to be an excellent priest and inherit his mantle.

How confused Kotomine Risuke, who believed in God and walked the right path his whole life, would be if he knew his son's true nature!

Just like the question that Kirei Kotomine had when his wife committed suicide: why didn't he take matters into his own hands instead of committing suicide himself?

Despite being the most precious person and the one she should protect with her life, Kirei Kotomine wants to destroy it with his own hands.

Kirei Kotomine finally understood that the suffering of others was the very beauty he sought.

The maniacal laughter abruptly stopped, and Kirei Kotomine took three black keys from his trench coat and held them between his fingers.

Concept Costume - Black Key.

Black Key is the most commonly used Mystic Code for church members. Usually, only the hilt of the Black Key sword needs to be carried. It is small in size and easy to carry. The sword blade will be generated as the concept unfolds.

At the entrance of the alley, a black wolfhound, as large as a lion, let out an eerie howl. Its fur was jet black, dripping with a foul-smelling black liquid. It bared its teeth, and its scarlet eyes were filled with rage.

"The demons summoned by Berserker, huh? I see. They want to devour this city and grant death its peace." Kirei Kotomine chuckled coldly.

"Announcement—"

I both destroy and I create.

I both harm myself and save the world.

No one escapes my grasp, no one is beyond my sight.

Return to dust.

The messenger from hell lunged at Kirei Kotomine, the black keys unfolded, and Kirei Kotomine continued chanting the incantation.

“I have called the defeated and the old. They have committed themselves to me, learned from me, and served me faithfully.”

Rest is granted to you. Do not forget to sing praises, do not forget to pray, do not forget my name, for my body is light, and I liberate you from the weight and suffering of all things.

Let's drop the pretense.

Swish!

Kirei Kotomine used his left hand as bait, which was bitten off by a demon, while his right hand used three black keys to pierce the neck of the Grim Reaper from below, pinning it to the wall.

"To forgive with revenge, to trust with betrayal, to hope with despair, to light with darkness, and to the things of this world with a death of darkness."

Rest is what I bring. Burn your sins, brand them.

Eternity can only be granted by death.

—I hereby swear that I am forgiven, having received flesh.

May the Lord have mercy on this sorrowful soul.

The prayer was completed, and the hellish demon let out a wail, its foul-smelling body emitting large amounts of white smoke before disappearing.

Magic is heresy in the eyes of the church. The church uses "miracles" generated based on doctrine, a standardized and modified simple magic ritual called "baptismal chanting," which is the most powerful form of spiritual magic.

Kirei Kotomine stared at his severed left hand and murmured, "I can't die now. I want to see this city turn into hell. That would be quite enjoyable."

······

The once bustling city of Fuyuki has been transformed into a living hell.

Panic-stricken crowds were everywhere, their screams drowned out by the sounds of explosions and bestial roars. Demons with wings, bull heads, and horns roamed the streets and alleys, slaughtering civilians with impunity.

Cars were overturned, and buildings were engulfed in flames.

High-rise buildings stand in stark contrast to the chaos below, with white-collar workers looking on in bewilderment and others taking photos with their phones and uploading them to the internet.