"The personalities I've recorded are genuine in every respect."
"So I've inherited their wishes as well."
"Natalia" rested her cheek against Kiritsugu's chest, quietly listening to the uneasy rhythm of his heartbeat.
"...Are you the will of the Holy Grail?" Kiritsugu asked with a frown.
"Yes."
"That's a perfectly accurate way to describe me."
The "Natalia" straddling him vanished without warning.
In the blink of an eye, the entire world around them changed.
A veil of mist drifted across the endless sea.
Sunlight broke through the heavy clouds, shining directly into Kiritsugu's eyes.
He instinctively narrowed them and raised a hand to shield himself from the glare.
When he came back to his senses—
He found himself sitting in a motorboat with its engine dead, drifting aimlessly with the current.
The wind blew across the open sea.
As more and more clouds were torn apart by the sunlight, a white passenger airliner appeared on the horizon, piercing into Kiritsugu's exhausted vision like a spear.
"...That..."
As his eyes adjusted to the light, his pupils suddenly contracted.
"That's right."
"The day you killed me."
Natalia's voice came through the headset that had somehow appeared over Kiritsugu's ears.
Even the exhaustion in her breathing had been recreated perfectly.
"I am them..."
"...but they are not entirely me."
"I possess my own will."
"My own wish."
"I want to be born into this world."
For a fleeting instant, the flawless recreation almost convinced Kiritsugu that this truly was Natalia.
But instinct rejected the illusion.
His mind snapped back to reality.
"Impossible!"
"How could the Holy Grail have a will of its own?"
"If you really are the Holy Grail..."
"...how exactly do you intend to grant my wish?"
The white airliner continued drawing closer.
Beside him rested the launcher already loaded with a Stinger missile.
All he had to do was reach out.
"Kid..."
"That's like asking me, 'Master Natalia, what kind of job do you do?'"
"How am I supposed to answer something like that?"
Natalia laughed teasingly.
Not a single word out of her mouth sounded sincere.
"Answer me!"
Kiritsugu demanded again, his voice rising.
"Fine, fine."
"Honestly, you're just as troublesome as ever."
Her tone carried the patient helplessness of an adult indulging an unreasonable child.
Inside the aircraft's cockpit—where Kiritsugu could not see her—a strange smile spread across her lips.
"Kiritsugu..."
"Shouldn't you already know the answer better than anyone?"
"I told you from the very beginning."
"I already gave you the answer."
"...What did you say?"
Kiritsugu's voice trembled.
He had never forgotten the answer Natalia had once spoken almost jokingly.
"You already know..."
"...how to save the world."
Her teasing voice echoed once more through the headset, pressing the memory even deeper.
"Humanity is beyond salvation..."
"So—"
"Stop talking!"
Kiritsugu roared.
But Natalia ignored him completely.
"So..."
"I'll simply use the method you've always relied upon."
"I'll inherit your principles."
"And fulfill your wish."
"I said shut up!"
His face twisted with fury.
He grabbed the launcher loaded with the Stinger missile, shouldered it, aimed at the incoming airliner carrying countless innocent lives—
And fired.
BOOM!!
As though fate itself had rewound.
The aircraft carrying Kiritsugu's hope once again exploded in the sky before crashing into the sea.
The blazing fireball bloomed like a grotesque firework.
Its light reflected once more in Kiritsugu's trembling eyes.
"So..."
"I'll use the method you've always chosen."
"I'll inherit your ideals..."
"...and complete your wish."
Even after the plane had been destroyed, Natalia's voice continued through the headset.
Kiritsugu could no longer remain calm.
"...What are you trying to do?"
"It isn't about what I want."
"It's about what you want."
"I exist only to grant your wish as the Holy Grail."
"But..."
"I suppose there's no helping it."
Natalia suddenly stood before him.
Her body was drenched in blood, covered in burns and horrific wounds from the explosion.
As though she had always been there.
She raised her mangled hands and gently cupped Kiritsugu's face.
"The next question..."
"...can only be answered by your own heart."
"Hehehe..."
Her laughter continued.
Gradually—
Her voice transformed into another woman's.
A woman Kiritsugu knew all too well.
The world shifted once again.
This time—
The woman standing before him left him completely frozen.
Like a puppet whose soul had vanished.
"...How..."
"You shouldn't be here..."
"That's right."
"I shouldn't."
"But why not?"
Kiritsugu now found himself inside a modest hotel room.
Standing opposite him was Maiya Hisau.
She wore the familiar black tactical outfit he knew so well.
They had carried out missions together in this very room.
They had also comforted one another here.
"...Why..."
"Why is this happening?"
"No matter how much I struggle..."
"...am I destined to end up alone?"
For the first time, Kiritsugu questioned everything.
If Maiya had appeared inside this mental world—
If she had become yet another "shell" for the Holy Grail—
Then just like Shirley...
Just like Natalia...
She too had already—
"What happened?!"
"Tell me!"
Driven nearly insane, Kiritsugu slammed Maiya onto the floor beneath him.
His hands wrapped tightly around her throat.
"Tell me who did this!"
At the same time, he screamed inwardly.
I told her to withdraw!
Who did this?!
Who killed her?!
"Poor Kiritsugu..."
Maiya looked at him with nothing but pity and tenderness.
"This child remained loyal to you until the very end."
She gently stroked his cheek.
"Who was it?!"
Kiritsugu tightened his grip.
Yet Maiya seemed entirely unaffected.
She simply smiled.
"You'll find out soon enough."
"It's been a long time since I've seen such a desperate expression on your face, Kiritsugu."
"Don't speak to me in her voice!"
"...All right."
"I am merely the support system that helped keep your machine running."
"This shell..."
"...truly longs to obey your every command."
"How wonderful..."
A faint smile appeared on Maiya's face.
It held both compassion for Kiritsugu—
And the love Maiya herself had always carried for him.
"Damn it..."
"This has to be some kind of joke..."
Overwhelmed by unbearable grief—
Bloody tears streamed from Kiritsugu's eyes.
Then—
An old box television sitting nearby switched on by itself.
Amid the flickering black-and-white static—
Two ships could be seen sailing across the open sea.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789