"You bastards! Every single one of you wants to destroy the peace in my heart. Go to hell!"
With a twisted expression, Shinji Matou glared at Kiritsugu Emiya holding the detonator and threw his longsword with all his might. The sword streaked like a meteor toward Kiritsugu Emiya's chest, seemingly about to pierce his heart.
At that instant, Servant Kiritsugu manifested and deftly deflected the sword with a dagger, then raised his pistol and pulled the trigger on Shinji Matou.
Shinji Matou's face was cold as he watched the bullets spark against the avalon barrier. He slowly walked over to pick up his deflected sword, then took a knightly sword stance and charged at Kiritsugu Emiya and Servant Kiritsugu without hesitation.
Seeing Shinji Matou's attack, Kiritsugu Emiya pressed the detonation button without a moment's hesitation.
Following a series of explosions, and under Kiritsugu Emiya's precise calculations, the resulting fire quickly spread across the entire town with the wind.
After the explosions rang out, the soaring flames made Shinji Matou's face so dark it looked like it could drip water.
"You bastards! Why must you destroy the peace in my heart! Tsuruno was like this, that monster Zouken was like this... Just how far do you intend to drive a person to despair!"
Then, Shinji Matou raised his left hand, which still had two command spells, and shouted loudly.
"Lily!"
The command spells emitted a brilliant red light, and Lily appeared beside Shinji Matou with her Golden Sword raised high. Seeing Shinji's expression, a trace of heartache appeared in Lily's eyes. Then, witnessing the tragic state of the town, Lily raised Caliburn with an expression of rage.
"Caliburn!"
A golden torrent carrying Lily's wrath surged toward Kiritsugu Emiya and Servant Kiritsugu. Just as the golden torrent was about to hit the two Kiritsugus, Servant Kiritsugu used Scapegoat to swap a pair of innocent residents into their positions.
Once the golden torrent faded, Lily bowed toward the corpses of the town residents, then searched for Kiritsugu Emiya's figure with eyes filled with fury.
At this moment, hiding in an alley, Kiritsugu Emiya said to Servant Kiritsugu.
"Assassin, go and lure them to that girl."
"Fine! As you wish!"
Kiritsugu Emiya watched Servant Kiritsugu leave, looked at the command spells on the back of his hand with a blank expression, and turned to disappear into the shadows of the alley.
Far away in the Mysterious Garden, Rin's face soured as she watched the footage on the monitor.
Regarding Kiritsugu Emiya, Rin felt a deep-seated disgust for him, yet she understood perfectly that his actions stemmed from 'good' intentions. However, his methods and style made the term 'hypocritical saint' constantly pop into her mind. Of course, unlike typical hypocrites, Kiritsugu Emiya possessed the power to act and was far more extreme than so-called saints—extreme wasn't even the word, he was simply insane!
Watching the live broadcast through the monitor, Rin soon discovered that Kiritsugu Emiya had already snuck into the City Hall and was searching for something.
Meanwhile, the furious Lily and Shinji Matou were lured near Gudako by Servant Kiritsugu. Shinji Matou, his mind clouded by rage, charged at Gudako with his longsword the moment he saw her.
With Martha tied up by Lily, Gudako was chased by Shinji Matou, her life hanging by a thread.
In her panic, Gudako accidentally tripped. Survival Instinct drove her to roll, narrowly avoiding Shinji's downward slash. Then, scrambling on all fours, she ran to a nearby well, grabbed a wooden bucket used for drawing water, and held it to her chest in a futile attempt to block Shinji's attack.
At the same time, having found what he wanted, Kiritsugu Emiya was unhurriedly returning to the battlefield. In his logic, Gudako was also a default opponent. He was waiting for them to decide a winner or for both sides to be wounded.
"Stop chasing me! Can anyone save me?"
Gudako was now driven into a corner. With her back against a wall, she futilely held up a small piece of wood, trembling as Shinji Matou approached her step by step.
Shinji Matou was a very unfortunate soul. Born into the Matou Family, he lived his whole life under the control of others. Fortunately, he met a few good companions who kept him from falling into total despair. When the fifth Holy Grail War began, this unlucky guy was used as a tool again and thrown into the black mud to serve as a battery. Later, during Shirou and Caren's crisis, he saved his friends and was killed by Zouken Matou, who severed his brainstem while he wore a smile.
Thinking he was finally at peace, he never expected to regain consciousness one day. He was picked up by Rin and 'volunteered' to join her plan. After 900 years of reincarnation, he finally regained his memories 50 years ago upon meeting his companions again. Having learned some information, Shinji Matou volunteered to stay on the first floor as a gatekeeper.
As time passed, Shinji Matou, who blocked all challengers, built a paradise-like town on this floor with Lily. Having achieved the life of his dreams, Shinji was immensely satisfied, his only regret being his small group of friends.
Shinji Matou withdrew his sword from Gudako's abdomen and turned to look at Kiritsugu Emiya, who was holding the only group photo of him and his friends. Although he knew this place was artificial, seeing his only memento held by a guy like Kiritsugu Emiya made his eyes twitch and his teeth clench; he had completely fallen into madness.
"Give it back to me!"
Kiritsugu Emiya silently pulled out a lighter and moved it beneath the photograph.
"Make your Servant commit suicide!"
"In your dreams! Go to hell!"
Having learned part of the truth, Shinji Matou understood that this was just a virtual world. Perhaps when this world collapsed, his consciousness would vanish. Thus, Shinji cherished the time spent with those companions above all else. As his friends moved on to higher floors, the Shinji who remained had treated this single group photo as a supreme treasure.
But compared to this inanimate object, Lily was the companion who had been through life and death with him for 50 years. How could Shinji Matou ever let Lily kill herself? In his absolute fury, Shinji gripped his sword, and with tears in his eyes, he slashed down, cutting the photo in half.
As the photo was split in two, Shinji Matou's rage reached its peak and he became eerily calm. Only from his eyes, which looked as if they wanted to destroy the world, could one see just how furious he was.
Kiritsugu Emiya nimbly rolled across the ground to avoid Shinji's downward strike, while simultaneously pulling out a bag of lime and throwing it at Shinji Matou.
Shinji Matou, who had never encountered an enemy like Kiritsugu Emiya, was indeed caught in the trap. Shinji instinctively slashed open the bag of lime, letting a large amount of quicklime enter his eyes. A burning sensation immediately erupted from his eyes, accompanied by intense pain that radiated throughout his entire body.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
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