With the strongest Servant, Archer Gilgamesh, exiting the stage, the Holy Grail War was undeniably nearing its end.
All other Servants and Masters had lost their ability to compete, and the Greater Grail was now Roy's prize.
But compared to the fierce battle in the Land of Shadows…
…
In the blackened world of the Holy Grail, Kirei Kotomine and Emiya Kiritsugu—two strikingly similar yet starkly different men in their choices—continued their perilous journey.
Drip, drip…
Black, muddy rain fell from the dim sky, pattering onto the gray world, sliding down Kirei's cheeks and into his eyes.
Nearby, a lone, desolate figure knelt before a blazing inferno, staring blankly at the tragedy unfolding.
Kiritsugu watched lives lost by his choices, cities destroyed by his decisions. His eyes were filled with despair, his parched throat trembling, unable to produce a sound.
Yet before him, a white-haired figure in blackened ceremonial robes urged him to choose, pushing him deeper into despair.
"What's wrong, Kiritsugu? Hurry and choose. If you don't fix one ship soon, all five hundred people on both will die. You're out of time to hesitate~"
Irisviel smiled, her light tone laced with relentless pressure and killing intent. Her eyes showed no regard for the hundreds of lives on the brink of death.
Five hundred people—three hundred on one ship, two hundred on another—were trapped at sea, their ships sinking. Only Kiritsugu could repair one.
Which ship would he save?
Hearing the cries for help amid the sinking ships, Kiritsugu's heart trembled wildly. He tried to speak, but his dry throat failed him. The oppressive atmosphere nearly made him forget how to breathe.
Yet, with the incessant pleas and sobs, in the final moments of silence, he clenched his teeth and screamed his answer.
"Three hundred! I'll save the ship with three hundred!!"
"Heh, as expected of Kiritsugu. Another correct choice. Congratulations on saving the majority."
"No… I… I killed those two hundred innocent people!!"
Hearing Irisviel's demonic whisper, Kiritsugu collapsed to his knees, broken.
Watching the two hundred sink, their hateful gazes piercing him, his hands trembled uncontrollably. He could only watch their deaths, powerless.
"You shouldn't have chosen."
Kirei stepped to Kiritsugu's side. "By choosing three hundred out of five hundred, you seem to save more. But then, those three hundred become two hundred and one hundred, forcing another choice. And you'd choose the two hundred, as it's the 'correct' answer."
Kirei gazed at the tragedy, quietly offering prayers for the two hundred souls lost to Kiritsugu's choice, fulfilling his duty as an Executor despite knowing it was an illusion.
Lives faded before them. Saving more meant abandoning others. And when forced to choose again from those saved, what was that? It was as if…
"Salvation itself is a form of killing, isn't it?"
Kirei patted Kiritsugu's shoulder, shaken by the surrounding devastation.
Looking at Kiritsugu, kneeling in agony over his choices, Kirei sighed.
"Sacrificing the few for the many—classic Kiritsugu."
"Kirei Kotomine…"
Hearing his voice and seeing his familiar figure, Kiritsugu had no will to fight. After so many choices, his heart was dead. Images of those who died because of him flooded his mind.
"Because…"
Facing Kirei's question, the broken Kiritsugu clutched his head, trembling. "I had no other way… This was the only way to… save?"
"You say there was no other way, that this is salvation?" Kirei shook his head. "This isn't salvation—it's sacrifice."
"Sacrifice…"
"Yes. You think you saved three hundred, but to me, you sacrificed two hundred."
"But… if I didn't choose, then…"
Before they could finish, the surroundings shifted. They appeared in a two-person room, and Kiritsugu's face twisted in pain. This was where his nightmares began, where he was forced to make choice after choice.
No matter how many times he chose, the outcome was always the same tragic end.
Kirei, having walked his own path, felt nothing for this place.
As expected, a new scene emerged—two ships again, with the three hundred Kiritsugu saved. Two hundred on one, one hundred on another.
"No, no… Don't come closer!!"
Seeing this nightmare, Kiritsugu knew another choice loomed. He backed away, screaming, desperate to flee. But the cries of three hundred halted him, forcing him to watch and choose in agony.
This time, Kirei stepped forward, facing Irisviel who awaited Kiritsugu's choice.
"I'll choose for him."
"…"
Kiritsugu stared, stunned, at Kirei's intervention. Irisviel was intrigued by his request.
"Oh? Alright, what's your unique solution, Father?"
"I wouldn't call it a solution. I just can't stand watching you torment this lost lamb."
"You're quite the saint, Father."
"Not a saint—just a man seeking atonement."
"So… what's your choice?"
"…"
Gazing at the sinking ships, Kirei approached Irisviel, looking at her outstretched hands—one for the ship with one hundred, the other for two hundred.
Both Irisviel and Kiritsugu awaited his decision.
Yet…
Until the ships nearly sank, Kirei made no choice, causing Kiritsugu anxiety and Irisviel confusion.
One feared everyone would die without a choice; the other wondered why Kirei, with his resolve, didn't act.
Puzzled, Irisviel asked, "You're not choosing?"
"I'd like to know more about these three hundred—their families, their deeds, their virtues—before deciding."
"Virtues…?"
Kiritsugu and Irisviel were taken aback by Kirei's request.
"I see. You don't judge lives by numbers but by their moral worth? Interesting. But do you think you're qualified to judge human virtue?"
"I don't know. But it's worth considering, isn't it? Making decisions for others without understanding them is irresponsible."
"I get it. You're stalling with sophistry~"
Unfazed by Kirei's request, Irisviel let out a thoughtful hum.
"Then how about this?"
With a wave, the scene changed.
Two train tracks appeared—one with ten people, the other with fifty.
"Before you are two tracks. One holds ten virtuous, selfless people; the other, fifty criminals. A train is coming, and you can switch the track. Choose: save the few good or the many bad?"
Kiritsugu's trembling hand reached for the lever.
Ten good lives versus fifty evil ones—what would he choose?
Numbers or morality?
His heart waged its fiercest battle.
"I understand."
Kirei nodded thoughtfully, then drew his Black Keys, slashing the control panel to prevent Kiritsugu's choice.
"What are you doing?!"
Amid Kiritsugu's frantic shouts, Kirei smashed the control room's glass and charged toward the train's path without looking back.
"No choice is needed… Just stop the train."
"You're insane! You think you can stop a speeding train? You can't climb it and halt it!!"
"Don't jest, Emiya Kiritsugu…"
Kirei shook his head, gripping his Black Keys. Instead of climbing the train, he charged head-on.
His calm eyes reflected the approaching train, its piercing whistle and crushing wind pressure billowing his robes. Even as the train loomed, its terrifying momentum closing in, Kirei didn't retreat.
"No choice is needed. We're not gods, with no right to decide others' fates. The moment you choose, you're not a savior but a judge…"
"If you truly want to save, to be a partner of justice, then save! Even if it fails, even at the cost of your life, never retreat. Strive until death, but don't make self-righteous sacrifices or judgments."
"Our only outcomes are success… or striving until death!!"
With his final words to Kiritsugu, Kirei charged without hesitation.
Facing the roaring train, recalling his father's words from the Middle East…
Redemption held more meaning than judgment or punishment.
"More meaning…"
Kirei understood something profound.
His eyes resolute, heart racing, he gripped his Black Keys and charged the train.
"Perhaps… this is my redemption…"
—Boom!!
A violent explosion followed, and the train vanished upon touching Kirei.
"It… disappeared?"
Kirei passed through, puzzled by the surroundings.
"Are you okay?!"
Kiritsugu, watching from the platform, rushed down, his heart roiling at the sight of the priest he'd cursed as a villain.
"I'm fine. But the train?"
Ignoring himself, Kirei cared more for the train and its passengers.
"They're fine. It was all an illusion."
Kiritsugu sighed in relief, realizing he hadn't killed anyone. His burdened body felt lighter.
"Good. You didn't kill them either."
Kirei shared his relief.
As a priest, seeing a lost lamb retain hope, he offered his blessing.
"Your infuriating will broke the illusion, you detestable priest! You ruined my trials!!"
Irisviel reappeared, her face twisted in unprecedented anger. "You think you can save everyone? The world isn't that kind!"
"No, I succeeded…"
Kirei replied calmly. "I died. In that situation, climbing or shouting wouldn't stop the train. So I chose… to use my life to alert the driver."
"If he realized he hit me, he'd brake. That was my greatest effort, the best option. Sacrificing one who seeks to save gives a chance to save all. I can't decide others' lives, but mine is mine to choose."
"You…"
Both Irisviel and Kiritsugu understood Kirei's true intent in facing the train.
He hadn't naively believed he could stop it without sacrifice. He'd chosen himself as the sacrifice.
"There's… such a way?"
Kiritsugu's eyes widened, grasping it all.
Irisviel couldn't hold back. She'd lost.
"You're not just enlightened—you're a martyr?!"
She shouted.
"No, not a martyr, nor enlightened, nor a judge—just a penitent, striving to save everyone to my utmost. Even if I fail, it's only regret, not pain, because I gave my all."
Kirei looked at Kiritsugu calmly. "Do you understand now?"
"We're human, not gods. Sometimes we can't save everyone, nor are we qualified to decide their lives. Salvation built on sacrifice isn't salvation—those who live bear the guilt and torment of the dead. If you truly want to save, just do it."
"Maybe struggling is futile. Sometimes, even striving to death changes nothing. But we mustn't dictate others' fates. We have no right to decide who dies—only the conviction to save others at any cost. The result may not be as efficient as sacrificing two hundred for the many, but…"
Kiritsugu lowered his head, his fingers digging into his flesh, blood dripping from his palm.
Kirei drew a Bible from his pocket, opening it gently. His figure seemed saintly, blessing Kiritsugu and this gray world.
"I won't abandon anyone worth saving—good or flawed, they deserve to live. Even if I strive to death, I'll try to redeem them all. That's what I believe is right, my redemption for myself and humanity."
"Redemption for all humanity…"
Hearing this, Kiritsugu could no longer hold on. His knees buckled, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Yes, that's redemption… True redemption… What have I been doing all this time?!!"
Pushed forward, chasing miracles, he'd gone so astray, only now grasping this simple truth.
"That's sophistry! Missionary nonsense!!" Irisviel roared. "You didn't save more lives—what kind of redemption is that? Kiritsugu saved more—he's the true savior! You're just a hypocritical penitent!!"
"Perhaps, but you're wrong about one thing."
"What?!"
Kirei pushed past Irisviel, extending a hand to Kiritsugu.
"We're not saviors, and humanity has never needed one. All we need…"
"Is to be a good person."
Gently pulling Kiritsugu up, Kirei spoke with compassion.
"Lost lamb, wandering in the past and future, do you understand now?"
"You're not the only one striving to be a partner of justice, bearing heavy costs to save something."
"From the start, humanity never yearned for salvation or a return to the Eden they were cast out from. Joy, sorrow, destruction, resentment—since leaving Eden, humanity has progressed through it all. After all these ages, to deny it all with a miracle because you can't bear it, imposing so-called salvation… Have you asked humanity's opinion?"
"You're too arrogant, Emiya Kiritsugu."
Grabbing Kiritsugu's arm, Kirei clenched his fist and struck his face without hesitation.
"Now, in this moment, it's time to awaken, isn't it?"
The punch twisted Kiritsugu's face, and he broke down, sobbing.
"I… I understand…"
"Now… let's escape together."
Seeing Kiritsugu's wails, Kirei opened his arms, offering a comforting embrace.
"Even if you can't save the world, start with what's in front of you. Start by saving yourself."
"Saving myself…"
"Yes, begin with that." Kirei nodded.
"You two think you can escape?!"
Watching their exchange, Irisviel's face twisted in disgust.
Her gentle smile faded, her white form dissolving, black liquid flooding the world.
"The sacrifices are enough. The Holy Grail will descend, and I will manifest in your world. This Holy Grail War's outcome is set. Even without your wishes, this world will face its infinite malice!"
"I see… No wonder the King of Heroes said the Grail was flawed."
Kirei nodded. "It's corrupted."
"You can't destroy this world!"
Kiritsugu took a deep breath, raising his gun. "We'll stop you here!"
"Heh… With just you two?"
As if hearing a great joke, Irisviel laughed.
"This is humanity's wish. Without Servants, how will you stop me? Stop the All The World's Evil?!"
How to stop…
—Swish!!
Before she finished, a golden sword beam pierced the illusionary world, tearing a massive rift.
"What?!"
Irisviel turned, seeing a blonde King of Knights in silver armor appear.
"The King of Knights?"
Kirei was surprised by Saber's arrival.
"Irisviel… It's come to this, hasn't it?"
Ignoring the others, Artoria took a deep breath, her eyes flashing with regret and pain at the sight of the black mud-corrupted Irisviel.
"Saber!!"
Seeing Artoria, Kiritsugu shouted in excitement.
Though he didn't know why Saber, whose contract with him had ended, hadn't vanished, her presence gave hope…
"Destroy the Grail! She's no longer Irisviel! For the world's peace, unleash your Noble Phantasm!!"
"I know."
Artoria nodded. She'd learned her mission from that mysterious elder and understood her role.
"The Holy Grail…"
Yet, seeing the object she once coveted within reach, her heart wavered.
Without Roy's guidance, she might have recklessly pinned her hopes on the Grail again.
Thinking of that vexing figure, Artoria felt gratitude—though his dishonorable tactics, trampling her, still irked her.
Facing her past obsession, she neither took nor destroyed it. Gripping her holy sword, she stood at the gymnasium's exit, blocking the All The World's Evil's escape, awaiting the right person.
Before that mysterious elder acquainted with Merlin, she'd seen the future's answer. Rather than destroying the Grail and causing another disaster in Fuyuki, her mission was to wait for the one who could resolve this calamity.
So, under Kiritsugu and Kirei's puzzled gazes, Artoria stood motionless at the exit, watching.
Waiting for the right person to arrive.
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL