People in Type-Moon start from adopting Sakura

Kotomine Rizheng shook his head.

"We don't know who's right or wrong in this war. The soldiers aren't innocent, but they're simply following orders from their superiors. Meanwhile, the promoters and instigators of the war are free to let these soldiers do the work without spilling blood. Punishing any number of soldiers won't effectively redeem them. Redemption itself is more meaningful than punishment."

"Is it more meaningful..."

Kotomine Kirei put away the black keys in his hand and silently followed his father's steps.

"So what exactly can be called a meaningful redemption?"

"The most meaningful redemption..."

Hearing Kotomine Kirei's question, Kotomine Risei muttered a few words to himself.

"In fact, the greatest salvation does not mean saving others, but saving yourself..."

Hearing this, Kotomine Kirei couldn't help but listen attentively.

“Find your own meaning and do what you believe is right. Only by doing this can you truly redeem yourself.”

"Do...what you want to do, what you think is right?"

Kotomine Kirei repeated these words, and then his eyes gradually became thoughtful.

Is this redemption for yourself?

So, can he only obtain the so-called redemption when he finds what he really wants to do?

……

For a moment, thoughts gradually became diffuse.

The revolving lantern in front of me gradually began to fade away.

Modern day, Fuyuki City.

"Hey, Kirei, have you slept enough? It's time to wake up."

In the forest, among the ruins of the church that had been bombed into ruins, Gilgamesh dug out an unlucky guy who was buried underneath.

Seeing Kotomine Kirei, who was dying because he was in the center of the explosion and had no time to dodge, he took out a bottle of water of life from the treasure house and forcefully poured it into Kirei's mouth, pulling his life, which was like a candle in the wind, back from the brink of death.

"Perhaps I have found my own redemption...Father."

Kotomine Kirei still had his eyes closed, murmuring incomprehensible words softly. Seeing this, Gilgamesh frowned.

He grabbed the guy in front of him who had obviously recovered from his injuries but was still immersed in his memories, and then questioned him coldly.

"Kirei, how long are you going to sleep here?"

“…Ah, it’s the King of Heroes…”

Hearing Gilgamesh's call, Kotomine Kirei slowly stood up, looked at the messy ruins and scorched earth around him, then looked at his tattered priestly clothing, and in a trance his thoughts returned to the very beginning.

The Middle East battlefield, his father, and his own redemption...

Do what you want to do and what you think you should do.

"…Perhaps we have arrived at that crucial moment, Father."

Kotomine Kirei took a black cloak from Gilgamesh's hand and covered his naked body. Then, under his puzzled gaze, he spoke slowly.

"Gilgamesh, I now understand the meaning of my life and have found my own redemption..."

Kotomine Kirei opened his arms and said expressionlessly. Unlike the joy he showed when he killed Tōsaka Tokiomi, his face was now filled with an inexplicable sense of redemption and a deep sense of mission.

Gilgamesh frowned.

He was also a little confused about what this newly found clown was up to.

"Well, I'm glad I found it."

"Anyway, pack your things quickly and follow me, Kirei. Now that we've sorted out the boring rubbish, I'm ready to enjoy my own meal."

Ignoring Kotomine Kirei's crazy thoughts at the moment, Gilgamesh turned his head and looked in the direction of the Fuyuki City Gymnasium.

The great god Xuanxuan Kungunir, who had just been released, not only killed the insect that disturbed his interest, but also had the purpose of finding the final place where the Holy Grail descended.

And the final decisive battle will also begin there.

"..."

Seeing Gilgamesh in front of him, who was full of fighting spirit and expectation, Kotomine Kirei did not say anything or ask anything. He just silently followed his steps and continued to move forward.

He looked at Gilgamesh, then stretched out his fingers to rub the bright red Command Seal on the back of his hand. A fleeting cold light flashed in his eyes, making it difficult to guess what he was thinking.

……

……

Right now.

In a hidden secret room at the bottom of Fuyuki City Gymnasium.

Her long silver hair fell like a waterfall, and Irisviel, the Lesser Holy Grail, lay quietly on the platform, awaiting her end.

Looking at his wife lying on the stone platform, Emiya Kiritsugu knelt in front of her, his face full of complexity, and his empty eyes were also filled with despair at this moment.

Because just now, even Hisau Maiya, who was regarded as a family member, died in front of him.

And when they were rejoicing and celebrating the success of their plan, they were killed silently by a spear.

The silver spear cut through the sky, disappearing in an instant as fast as a meteor.

The light came so fast that they couldn't detect it, let alone avoid it.

In just a blink of an eye, before he could even hear the last words Maiya wanted to say to him, her life was taken away right before his eyes.

In that brief moment, Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes widened. He desperately tried to pull out the silver spear and save his partner. However, Kungunir, with its absolute law of causality and guaranteed hit rate, was not something a mere human like Emiya Kiritsugu could shake.

At this moment, he could do nothing but watch.

“What…what happened?!”

Looking at Hisau Maiya, who was pierced through the heart by a spear and then fixed in place like a sculpture, with a smile still on his face before dying, he almost roared.

Ups and downs, joy and sorrow, the transition between the two happens in just a moment.

At that moment, the joy he had originally felt at eliminating all the Masters vanished from his heart. Emiya Kiritsugu closed his eyes in pain and despair, then half-knelt in front of his partner like a deflated ball.

Then, this man who had shed all his tears since the moment he killed his adoptive mother once again tasted the feeling of loss.

At this moment, all the emotions that had been pent up in his heart could no longer be controlled and burst out completely.

He wailed, suffering the loss of his family; he roared, madly accusing the world of cruelty and injustice.

I have been working hard throughout my life to save the world and redeem mankind, day after day for decades, just to fulfill my original childhood wish.

This life is constantly passing away: his childhood sweetheart, his biological father, the adoptive mother who raised him, and the wife who will sacrifice herself for that wish...

He clearly did nothing wrong, but why did the world always make him lose everything step by step?!

Right now, even at this moment when he is about to succeed, about to fulfill his original wish and save the world and mankind, this cruel world is forcing him to experience loss once again, making him witness his only remaining family member die in front of his own eyes, and is unwilling to even give her a chance to be redeemed.

This cruel scene caused Emiya Kiritsugu's emotions to completely go out of control and completely shattered the man's inner defenses.

He really didn't understand why the world was so cruel, and why he had to keep losing in order to move forward while insisting on following the path of justice.

He cursed and raged against the injustice of the world, accusing the gods of turning a blind eye. If there really was justice in this world, if miracles really existed, then prove it to him immediately!

“Kiritsugu…”

Looking at the man kneeling on the ground and crying heartbreakingly, Irisviel, whose body was lying on the platform and who felt the soul of another Servant returning to the Holy Grail, whispered softly to him.

“Irisviel…Ellie!!”

Hearing his wife's soft call, Emiya Kiritsugu hurriedly crawled to her side and held her hand tightly, and saw the sad and beautiful smile on Irisviel's face.

He knew the time had come and he was about to experience loss once again.

For a moment, the pain and despair in Emiya Kiritsugu's heart had reached a point where he was almost numb. He was so sad that he could no longer make any sound. All he could do was to lean on her and accompany her through her final moments.

Because things have come to this point, it has come to this time.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Ellie, I..."

He, Emiya Kiritsugu, the most pathetic man in the world, could do nothing but bow his head and say sorry when facing his wife.

There is no way back...

This is true for both him and his wife.

He had lost so much along the way, and his retreat had long since disappeared.

"It's okay... Kiritsugu, don't feel sad for me. This is the mission I was created for, and it's also the fate of the Lesser Holy Grail.

And... I'm already very happy that I could help Kiritsugu realize his wish at the last moment of my life."

Alice held his hand with a sad but satisfied smile on her face. She turned her head away and comforted Emiya Kiritsugu while quietly waiting for death to come.

For her, being able to use her last life to help Emiya Kiritsugu realize his dream and die with her lover by her side was already the best ending for her as an Einzbern android, but this gentle comfort undoubtedly hurt Emiya Kiritsugu's heart even more.

But at this moment, he could do nothing.

“Kiritsugu… I can sense that it’s almost time for me to leave…”

“Maybe we really have to say goodbye here.”

Irisviel lowered her eyes.

"Ellie..."

Emiya Kiritsugu held her hand tightly.

“But, Kiritsugu, please promise me, even if Miss Maiya and I are no longer here, you must live a good life, take good care of Illya, and lead her to live happily. You must be happy for the rest of your lives…”

The blood-stained saint on the altar spoke softly.

This was her last words as a human being who had only been born a few years ago, and also her last wish as a mother.

"I, I promise you, Ellie, I... will definitely take good care of Illya, I will definitely... achieve the salvation of all mankind, I... will definitely create the most beautiful world... I promise."

At this moment, Emiya Kiritsugu, the man who had always been indifferent and strong, finally revealed his inner weakness.

From his youth to middle age, he personally saw off his father and adoptive mother, and today his wife was sacrificed for his wish. The double torture from physical pain and mental made him begin to collapse further.

At this final moment, at this critical moment, countless painful memories that came like a tide completely broke down the defenses in Kiritsugu Emiya's heart. At this moment, this cold and world-famous mage killer became vulnerable.

But there was a voice in my ear telling me something.

"It's okay now, Emiya Kiritsugu. We are only one step away from success."

"If you complete this final step, you will be able to redeem all of humanity. Then, both you and the people of the world will be able to achieve... happiness."

happiness……

That’s right, as long as everyone realizes that wish, everyone can achieve true happiness.

Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the dyed altar and muttered to himself.

His tone was like that of a drowning man who was clutching at the last straw and was unwilling to let go at the last moment.

Apparently, this has become his last motivation to live, but...

Will things really go as planned?

……

……

"Well, it's time for the protagonist to appear next."

When Emiya Kiritsugu was still bidding his final farewell to his wife, in an underground parking lot not far from the Fuyuki City Gymnasium.

Assassin, Rider, Berserker, and Lancer who just left the show were confirmed.

After all four sacrifices needed to activate the Holy Grail were gathered, the young man, who had also been waiting for this moment for a long time, slowly climbed onto the platform that had been set up long ago under the gaze of Scathach.

"Ah, it looks like Irisviel is going to be sacrificed. This means the situation is almost over... Then we should prepare for the final revelry."

Luo Wei asked Scathach behind him: "Are you ready? Scathach."