Kiritsugu Emiya executed a tactical roll into the security room, his finger poised on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.
But the room was empty. Kiritsugu had prepared himself for magical traps, but all he found were several brand-new monitors glowing softly, displaying standby screens.
Just then, the telephone on the desk rang. Kiritsugu cautiously picked up the receiver.
"Welcome to the game, Hero of Justice. It's called the Trolley Problem—I'm sure you're familiar with it. You're the one standing at the switch."
As the man spoke, the two frontmost monitors lit up, displaying scenes of railway tracks with numerous people bound to them.
The man seemed to be suppressing laughter. "Let's start with the simplest scenario. Twenty people on the left track, ten on the right. The leftmost lever controls the switch. If you do nothing, the train will crush the twenty on the left. Pull the lever, and it will divert to the right, crushing the other ten. You have five minutes to decide. Let's see what choice a 'Hero of Justice' like you will make."
Kiritsugu knew he had no chance to directly rescue these people; his captors had lured him here and wouldn't leave such an obvious loophole. But for Kiritsugu, there was no dilemma. Without hesitation, he pulled the lever, sacrificing ten lives to save twenty.
"No hesitation at all? You're clearly experienced," the man said, a hearty laugh echoing through the phone.
The next five minutes passed in silence. The train roared closer and closer, its wheels grinding over the ten victims.
"Looks like this is too easy for you. Let's raise the stakes a little."
Two more monitors lit up. This time, however, the disparity was stark: one side showed a massive crowd of people, while the other displayed only a single figure.
"That's right, there are twenty-five people on the left, and on the right is your assistant and lover, Maiya Hisau. Ha ha ha ha ha! Well then, Mr. Hero of Justice, you have another five minutes to decide. What will you choose?"
The scene brought back memories of the pivotal choices that had shaped Kiritsugu Emiya's life. First, there was Shirley, and then his adoptive mother, Natalia Kaminski. Each decision had dramatically altered the course of his Worldline. The first had solidified his resolve never to hesitate, while the second had taught him that perfect outcomes were impossible—saving some always meant sacrificing others.
Kiritsugu didn't understand the mastermind's motives, but he knew what the "correct" choice was.
He pulled the lever again. This time, the sacrifice was Maiya.
"How utterly heartless," the voice on the phone suddenly turned grave. "You must have considered this possibility even when you were sleeping with her, haven't you?"
Kiritsugu remained silent, but he slowly curled into himself, as if suppressing his expression. The composure he had maintained during previous choices had vanished.
The train streaked past the surveillance camera, and Maiya's severed head, its lifeless eyes staring directly into the lens, rolled to a stop.
This time, Kiritsugu finally let out a choked sob, but he felt no regret. Maiya had always understood the nature of his work; had their roles been reversed, she would have made the same choice.
How dare you play this kind of game with human lives.
Murderous intent surged through Kiritsugu's heart. Though he refused to admit it, a significant portion of his fury stemmed from Maiya's death. He vowed to hunt down the mastermind behind this scheme, encase them in concrete, and sink them to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean once everything was over.
Kiritsugu deliberately kept his voice from reaching the phone. He couldn't afford to show weakness to his opponent.
But the next words from the other end shattered his carefully maintained facade of detachment.
"I'm getting a little bored too. So, let's try the third choice. Fifty people on the left, one person on the right—and that person is... your daughter, Illya! You have the same five minutes as before."
The voice crackled through the phone again, and the rightmost screen lit up. Illya stood blankly on the tracks, five minutes from being crushed by the train.
"This time, I've thoughtfully set the lever to switch the train to the right track. Illya is alone on one side, while fifty people are on the other. Tell me your answer! This is your final choice—make it!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Kiritsugu Emiya finally responded, his voice trembling with urgency.
"You want the Holy Grail's material, don't you? Illya is the Lesser Grail! How could you do this?!"
"Four minutes remaining."
The voice on the other end didn't answer Kiritsugu's plea.
"You want the Holy Grail, right?! I was a participant in the previous war! I can give you information!"
Still no response. Then, at the three-minute mark:
"Three minutes remaining."
"Please, just stop the train!"
Kiritsugu was at his wits' end. He had nothing of value that the other party would want. "Just stop the train! I'll do anything!"
"We're still playing the game, Mr. Kiritsugu."
The voice on the other end remained calm and measured, tapping rhythmically on a desk, the tap-tap-tap echoing Kiritsugu's pounding heart.
"Your only options now are to pull the lever or not pull it. That's all. Two minutes remaining."
"Damn it! Aaaaaaahhh!"
Kiritsugu Emiya fired his gun wildly, venting his frustration. Despite his opponent employing no extraordinary tactics, he had been driven into a corner. This was a tactic Kiritsugu himself often used, and its effectiveness was even more devastating when turned against him.
"One minute left," a voice began counting down over the phone.
"60, 59, 58..."
Seconds ticked away.
"9, 8, 7, 6..."
Just as Kiritsugu finally made his decision, he lunged for the lever with a desperate roar. This time, he was determined to sacrifice fifty lives to save his daughter.
But with uncanny timing, the train's first car had already switched to the right track while the remaining cars remained on the left. The train, in a cruel twist of fate, had chosen to take both paths.
Kiritsugu Emiya: "..."
Jiang You: "..."
Confetti exploded around Kiritsugu, showering him completely. Jiang You strode in, clapping, followed by Fairy Tristan and the remaining members of Hundred Faces.
"Congratulations! You've unlocked the 'No Survivors' achievement!"
Illya, her face dark with fury, and Maiya, her expression blank, entered behind them. Illya carried a tablet from the Fifth Holy Grail War era, its screen displaying Irisviel watching the live broadcast. Only then did Kiritsugu realize the surveillance feed was unnaturally high-resolution for its time.
"Kiritsugu Emiya, I hate you!"
Although Kiritsugu ultimately chose his daughter, Illya felt he had hesitated too long. If he would hesitate over saving fifty people, what about a hundred or two hundred? Would Kiritsugu still choose to save others instead of her? She kicked him to the ground and stormed out. Maiya, unsure how to face Kiritsugu in his current state, hurried after Illya.
"What a show! More entertaining than a movie."
Fairy Tristan relished the spectacle, but she hadn't forgotten her purpose.
"So, what's next?"
"What's next? We keep beating him until he drops gold coins, of course!" Jiang You pointed at the kneeling Kiritsugu, showing no mercy.