At the same time.
In the courtyard of Ryūdō Temple atop Mount Enzō.
The interior of the Golden Grail, which was suspended in midair by Aegis Sigma, suddenly began to change.
The black mud rejected by Irisviel—sealed away by Aegis Sigma with nowhere left to contain it—began spilling out uncontrollably.
All the World's Evil.
It was searching for a new vessel capable of containing it.
However—
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sentient black mud had barely begun to surge outward before an icy aura, so intense it was visible to the naked eye, instantly froze it into solid obsidian-black ice.
With Aegis Sigma serving as its foundation and the Golden Grail as its flowerpot, the scene resembled a blooming black red spider lily, radiating an eerie, unsettling aura that was itself smothered beneath an even deeper cold.
Nearby—
In front of Ryūdō Temple's main gate.
Artoria, her collar hanging open, leaned weakly against Leon's chest, breathing heavily as though she had just finished an exhausting battle.
Leon wrapped one arm around her soft waist, his eyes closed as he quietly assessed the state of his body.
The mana replenished through Artoria had only partially restored what he had already spent.
At the same time, he could clearly feel the warmth of her body against his.
The familiar chill prompted Leon, who had been savoring the lingering afterglow with his eyes closed, to slowly open them.
Footsteps reached his ears.
Yet with his hearing, he immediately recognized that whoever was approaching was still far from his position.
"In my current state, the maximum mana output I can sustain is limited. There's no need to keep it sealed so tightly. Ease the restraints a little. As long as Irisviel isn't contaminated, nothing else matters."
As Leon's calm voice fell, the freezing radiance released by Aegis Sigma immediately subsided.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Freed from the tighter restraints, the black mud shattered its icy prison with astonishing speed.
As though granted a pardon, it erupted like a geyser, gushing wildly into the open.
Yet even then, it instinctively avoided touching either the Golden Grail or the shield supporting it.
Rumble—!
Without Aegis Sigma suppressing it, the seemingly inexhaustible sea of black mud exploded outward.
In an instant, it formed an enormous black bowl that enveloped the summit of Mount Enzō upside down.
Like a catastrophic flood, it flattened the surrounding forests and swallowed everything visible across the mountain.
Halfway up the mountain.
"Kiritsugu Emiya!!"
"Kirei Kotomine!!"
Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine had completely abandoned all restraint.
Both desperately sought to reduce the other to ashes before their own broken bodies finally gave out.
Then—
ROAR!
"Wha—?!"
The avalanche-like torrent of black "floodwater" surged down the mountainside.
Neither man had time to evade it.
In an instant, both were swallowed whole.
Not only their bodies—
Even their consciousness was dragged into the endless darkness.
…
The scene shifted.
When Kiritsugu Emiya's Five Senses gradually returned and his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was a familiar shoreline.
The ebbing tide washed over his shoes, sending a faint chill through him.
Above, the night sky stretched endlessly like a silver tapestry, countless stars glittering like scattered diamonds.
"...This is..."
Kiritsugu's expression darkened.
An ominous premonition welled up inside him.
He suddenly turned around—
And the familiar island instantly awakened memories buried deep within his heart.
"Kerry... what kind of adult do you want to become when you grow up?"
Alimango Island.
Kiritsugu Emiya had returned to the place that had changed the course of his entire life.
A salty sea breeze brushed across his face.
The rows of coconut trees lining the roadside were exactly as he remembered them.
Yet Kiritsugu knew all too well—
The island he had once known could never be returned to.
He stood there silently.
Without the slightest desire to explore the island.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
At some point—
Black rain began falling from the sky.
Then a familiar voice spoke from behind him.
No matter how cold or rational he tried to be, it was a voice he could never ignore.
"Kerry... I knew you'd keep your promise."
"...!!"
Kiritsugu's pupils contracted violently.
He slowly turned around.
Standing there was the wheat-skinned girl who had been his first love.
She wore the same familiar white dress.
Her hands were clasped behind her back as she leaned forward slightly, greeting him with the bright, joyful smile he remembered so well.
"...Shirley..."
His voice came out dry and trembling as he spoke the name that had become engraved upon his entire life.
"Mhm. It's me, Kerry."
Shirley answered gently.
Her bare feet stepped lightly across the soft sand as she walked over to him.
Then she held a hand above her head, comparing their heights.
"You used to be shorter than me. Now, even standing on my tiptoes, I can barely reach your chin."
"That's wonderful."
"I always believed you'd make it here... to fulfill your dream of becoming a Hero of Justice."
The Shirley forever frozen in that summer night rested her forehead gently against Kiritsugu's chest.
Her voice was as soft and caring as ever.
"...Shirley."
Kiritsugu's expression grew distant.
The warmth of the girl before him flowed into him through their touch.
Her voice.
Her posture.
Her every gesture.
Her every expression.
Everything perfectly overlapped with the Shirley preserved in his memories.
"Kerry... this is the place where your wish can come true."
"It's the inside of the Holy Grail you've been searching for."
Shirley looked up at him with her clear amber eyes.
Her gentle voice was exactly the same as it had been on the night they confessed their feelings to one another.
Hearing those words—
Kiritsugu immediately recalled the true purpose of his journey.
His dream of becoming a Hero of Justice had long since been abandoned.
It had become nothing more than an empty pretext—a hollow stake that allowed him to keep moving forward.
Only the world he wished to create had never changed.
Even so—
Kiritsugu had no intention of telling Shirley the truth.
He did not want to shatter the image of justice she still held of him.
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