Emiya Kiritsugu should've denied it. But he didn't. Perhaps, there was a kernel of truth to that assumption.
Yes, Lelouch denied the man's dream. Not because he disliked a peaceful world, but for the fact, it was built on the same foundation as his greatest foe's own dream.
"The world isn't simply coloured in either black or white. As a fully-functioning adult, more so one who has been paid in blood money, you yourself should understand that fact most of all. Revolution and rebellions aren't always started out of mere human selfishness. They are not always won by heroes nor are the sacrifices ever forgotten by the victors. In the same vein, fighting for one's freedom from oppression can't be equated to a fight for survival. Even the Stone Ages you reference was a time when people fought tooth and nail for the sake of limited resources and adequate living spaces."
"The Grail will then answer the unspoken question!" Kiritsugu refuted. It was certainly sounding hypocritical when the man didn't deny participating in the cycle of conflict. "Why do people fight, why do they resort to violence… the cup will give me the solution to end that pointlessness!"
"I will not disagree with your views, you would-be ally of justice, however," the boy shook his head as if he was speaking to a child and not the other way around. "War is a mode of diplomacy reserved for when talking is no longer an option."
War was not always done out of greed or pride. There were certain aspects to it done out of necessity. Food and homes were just a couple but also unavoidable. Harsh climates and famines in the past weren't fully understood, yet many still died due to the destitute desperately seeking the riches of the well-off. And who was to blame but the corrupted nature of self-serving humans?
But saying so didn't mean humans themselves were in the wrong for being human.
Humanity wasn't innocent. It lashed out at the unknown but tried to present itself civilly in the face of injustice. When pushed to the point of hopelessness, it will resort to biting its own arm off for the sake of survival. But of course, that wasn't always the case. Nothing was ever that simple. Nothing.
"War is a part of humanity. Human conflict is natural to us. It is no different from breathing. Certainly, since the early days of our species, we have fought over countless pointless things. But pointless to us only in hindsight. Many of those in the past have committed mistakes because they neither knew nor fully comprehended their situation. The same happens every day. But we still move on. During peace, we assess the damages and grow better as people. Upon the eve of conflict, we reassess our flaws that led up to the conundrum. This has been the tried and tested method that has helped humans evolve and advance. Certainly, it was born out of murderous and overly-ambitious desires, but could your nation be the way that it was today had history's greatest conquerors not left their mark? Will you wish the same if it meant the eradication of what already is and what is meant to be?"
"I do not intend to change the past!" spat the man. The boy's preaching had no effect as Kiritsugu sounded more emotional than before. "Such a naïve way of thinking won't ever improve humanity no matter how good the intentions. My desire is for a peaceful future! And the people who inherit it!"
"Any peace, be it long or short, will soon be replaced by another war. It is only natural for no man can ever hold the world together." Kiritsugu looked about to refer to the Grail once more, but Lelouch beat him to it. "Say you use the Grail. Then what? You have to take away the notion of war and you are left with people who cannot always act on their desires. If a nation that has been asked to share their resource refuses, then the ones who are in dire need of it die. If a government oppresses its citizens but the people cannot rebel, they suffer."
"The Grail will have a better answer than that!" Kiritsugu defended. "An omnipotent object capable of granting any desire is beyond human understanding—!"
"Then let's take an inhuman solution and put it to the test, shall we? Say you use the Grail and take away human desires. Then, and only then, will your wish succeed? If everyone is content, you need only give them what they need. But that is simply stagnation. An eternal lack of progress. A standstill in time. Surely, people will never die of wanton destruction or violence. But would you ask billions of people to go about their lives as they always have been? Now and forever the same."
The cursed Grail would never be able to accomplish anything good. Say it does answer the man's wish, then what? How will it do so?
Reminiscing of the man he'd once feared, and the mother he once sought vengeance for, there was no worse-off solution than being forced into eternity. Even if it was supposed to be a paradise for all, living and dead.
"What would you know?!" The man's gun shook slightly, hinting at disgruntlement. Or confusion. "How could you possibly understand the horrors that I and millions of people experience because of injustice?!"
"Just as I know little to nothing about you, so too will you not understand me," Lelouch muttered under his breath, resigned. However, he added. "Regardless of my views then, how do you think the Grail would respond to your request?"
Kiritsugu… didn't answer. Of course, he wouldn't. Not even Matou Zouken knew how the Grail functioned to its fullest extent. Only that it did. Of all the participants in the Grail War, Lelouch hoped the Einzberns, the ones responsible for the device itself, knew what the supposed Third Magic would entail. But seeing their representative falter like this… It was disappointing.
"I am not a magus. That much is clear." He admitted calmly. "I have no understanding of your Grail's Third Magic, this… Heaven's Feel. But what I do know is your wish. And? How do you suppose the Grail will carry out your dream? Will it force your wish upon mankind? Will you have it change their values and take away their free will? Get rid of all desires or notions of conflict in the name of eternal justice?"
"What… that's…"
"Will you strip them of their very flaws, what makes humanity human? Changed them all into something else no different from cattle living idly in the field? To tear away any and all of the other humans' own wishes?"
"What, what are you talking about?" Kiritsugu was confused, but Lelouch didn't care.
"Please answer me directly, Emiya Kiritsugu." The boy—no. The Eighth Master, Lelouch Lamperouge stated. The air about him shifted from debating to the regality of his former lineage. More judging than observing, as if attempting to discern just how similar Kiritsugu was to himself… or Charles zi Britannia. "How do you intend to change the world? What is your desired method to bring peace upon this sinful planet?"
The boy waited, quietly reassuring in muted silence that nothing would happen should the man actually need to give it some thought. So Kiritsugu did.
The boy had come to many conclusions about the man's wishes. Apart from his parent's own sentiment, there were many solutions to bring about a 'peaceful world'.
But the one thing he couldn't abide by was the eradication of 'humanity' itself. That which allowed human flaws to create happy mistakes and moments, that allowed him to meet his friends and colleagues, that allowed his sister to live a content and happy life by his side…
Lelouch couldn't—nay, wouldn't allow the removal of human nature itself. It was why he loved his sister. Why did he care for her? Why he fought for her well-being and the future of their own world. If something were to take that away from not just him but the denizens of this world as well… he wouldn't allow it.
Not if it'd mean the fulfilment of Charles' and Marianne's dream for a single person that didn't deserve an eternity of anything. A paradise-disguised hell. Even if she wasn't here, no doubt Nunnally would wish for him to stop that at all cost.
"You don't really know, do you?" When the man's gun dropped to his side, Lelouch figured out he had no proper answer to the question. Disappointment filled the boy's core. "I expected more from a man who devoted themselves to such a dream, Magus Killer, yet it seems as though you'd given up entirely for the sake of the easy way out. And here I thought you'd be more resolved to carry the martyrial burden you've taken up for yourself."
Why did the man look so broken? Just how much did he lose to have jaded him so? Where was the human ambition? The fervent desire to succeed? Where was the fiery passion only seen in another person when they were so close to achieving their goals?
'Perhaps… we aren't so alike after all.' The assessment caused his excitement to die down. For once, he thought he'd been thoroughly cheated. What he thought he found was a firm rebel against the cruelty of the world. 'But what I found was actually a man broken into submission, resorting to anything and everything so long as it was satisfactory…'
A man who would cruelly toss aside their loved ones if it was for the sake of reaching a contenting conclusion. A man just like his father. Had Emiya Kiritsugu actually shown such promise, such a difference to the man Lelouch feared the most, he might've given him a chance to live.
"A brat like you would never understand!" Maiya, who'd been behaving since her earlier would-be outburst, spat in the boy's face. "You know nothing, bastard!"
"Hm," Lelouch smiled lightly. Nostalgia flitted to his expression but only for a bare moment before looking at her. "I know a lot of things, miss assistant assassin. In regards to your accomplice's dream, in regards to his methods, all of that which you desire from the Grail, I know. Believe me or not, this is the truth." He then turned to face Kiritsugu once more. Gone was the smile. What remained was a scowl. "However, after hearing all that you have to say, I believe I have to reevaluate my plans."
Meaning time was up. Just as Kiritsugu concluded it, a rhetorical question was asked of the man.
"Earlier, I gave you a choice, didn't I? Order the suicide of my ancestor, Saber, or betray your camp and divulge the location of the Lesser Grail. But seeing as you'd chosen neither, I'll take it as your resolve to continue no matter the cost."
"Of course," the man answered but looked tired as all hell as he did.
"Pity." The boy met his gaze. Bored violet orbs stared into jaded black. "Apologies, Emiya Kiritsugu, but I'm afraid negotiations end here."
He pressed his gun to Maiya's temple once more, prompting Kiritsugu to raise his own at the boy. They stared at each other in muted silence. Lelouch however couldn't help but maintain his gaze on the man, as if searching for something more to Kiritsugu than his observations gave him. But, in the end, such a long pause was wasted. For when he committed to getting rid of all of them here and now—
BOOM
An explosion rocked the entire building.
"What the—?!" "Hng?!"
Considering how the boy himself was just as openly surprised as he, the trained assassin within Emiya Kiritsugu quickly discerned that this wasn't a part of Lelouch's plan. Meaning this was the opening he was looking for.
"Time Alter—" Lelouch heard the muttering, feeling the temperature drop a few degrees as magical energy coalesced towards the mercenary's magic casting. "Square—"
However, he didn't get to hear the man finish. At that moment, the ceiling above them cracked and burst.
BANG
A desperate shot rang out, but it only struck the glass, breaking it but not piercing through. With widened eyes, both Lelouch and Kiritsugu could do nothing as black mud spilt from the cracks, consuming them all.