After the Lancer team was eliminated, the plot of Fate/Zero suddenly picked up speed.
First came Kotomine Kirei. Upon arriving at the church, he discovered the corpse of his father. Yet upon learning of his father's fate, he did not show any particular sorrow—rather, he fell into a deep state of confusion and doubt.
In the end, he shared everything with Tohsaka Tokiomi, deliberately omitting the fact that he had already regained Command Spells and had once again become a Master in the Holy Grail War.
Following Diarmuid's (Lancer's) death, Irisviel's body became completely immobile. She was eventually brought by Saber to a hideout deep in the mountains of Fuyuki City.
Originally, Artoria (Saber) had intended to look after her. However, she suddenly received an invitation from Tohsaka Tokiomi, who proposed a peaceful meeting to discuss the possibility of an alliance.
After some deliberation, Irisviel chose to accept the invitation.
She brought Artoria with her to the meeting spot: the Fuyuki Church.
Negotiations quickly began. Tokiomi proposed an alliance with the Einzbern faction to first eliminate the remaining Berserker and Rider.
As a condition, the Tohsaka family would provide intelligence on the identities of Berserker and Rider's Masters.
Irisviel naturally agreed to this, but she also made a demand in return: Kotomine Kirei must be excluded from the Holy Grail War and leave Fuyuki City that very day.
Kirei was shocked to hear this condition, but he had no grounds to object.
Tokiomi, after a moment of hesitation, countered with a request of his own—that Saber would not be allowed to use her Noble Phantasm without restraint in situations that could endanger the city.
In the end, both parties accepted the terms, establishing a preliminary alliance.
Only Kotomine Kirei, who was about to be forcibly removed from Fuyuki City, began to form some private schemes of his own.
. . . . . . .
Faced with a still-conflicted Kirei, Gilgamesh took the initiative to speak with him.
"We've come this far, and you're still hesitating? Even the dullest of men would have figured it out by now, Kirei."
"Ever since I gained self-awareness, I've lived solely to seek the answer. I've spent years enduring suffering and pain—but all of it was in vain. Yet now… now I feel the answer is close at hand. What I've been searching for all this time must be waiting at the end of this war in Fuyuki."
"If you're that certain, what is there to hesitate about?"
"I have a premonition that when I finally know the answer, I will be utterly destroyed."
"Don't get all philosophical now, Kirei. This should be a moment of celebration! Your endless pilgrimage is finally reaching its destination."
"Will you bless me, Archer?"
"I believe I've already said this: humanity's fate is the ultimate form of entertainment. I'm genuinely looking forward to the moment when you confront your destiny."
Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Kirei finally made the decision he had long been on the verge of making.
"After the meeting ended, I had the Church personnel follow the Einzbern group. We've now discovered their current hideout."
"What the—Kirei, you sneaky bastard! So you were planning to keep fighting this whole time!"
"I was hesitant. There was a chance to walk away. But in the end, King of Heroes, just as you said—people like me have no way of living except by constantly questioning everything."
As Kirei spoke, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing an arm covered in Command Spells, something that he had stolen from his father's corpse.
Upon seeing this, Gilgamesh burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! But Kirei, if you're going to continue in this war of your own free will, then Tokiomi and I become your enemies. Don't you think that's a dangerous situation?"
"Not necessarily."
"Oh?"
"Since I'm going to oppose Tokiomi, there's no need to cover for his lies anymore. Gilgamesh, let me tell you the truth behind the Holy Grail War, something you probably don't know."
"What?"
"The so-called Holy Grail War, this competition for a wish-granting device, is just a farce. The ritual held in Fuyuki was originally intended to gather the souls of seven Heroic Spirits as sacrifices, in an attempt to open the path to the Root. The promise of miracles was merely bait to lure Heroic Spirits into being summoned."
"You're saying…"
"The only magus in this war who truly seeks to fulfill the centuries-old dream of the three founding families is Tohsaka Tokiomi. His plan is to kill all seven Heroic Spirits to activate the Greater Grail. The reason he's so reluctant to use his Command Spells is because he must save one for the end of the war to command you to take your own life."
Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh didn't show anger. Instead, a smile appeared on his face.
But anyone could sense the chilling malice behind that smile.
Soon, Kotomine Kirei and Gilgamesh exchanged a look and smiled at each other.
From this moment on, they cast off the chains of their former roles and became a new Master and Servant pair.
As for what happened next—it goes without saying.
In the face of these two, now united in their goals, the death of Tohsaka Tokiomi became inevitable.
Kotomine Kirei used the very dagger Tokiomi had given him as a gift and stabbed his mentor to death.
The audience was once again emotionally stirred by what they saw on screen.
No one had expected the plot that just when it seemed to be clearing up to twist again into utter chaos.
"No way, Tokiomi just got stabbed by Kotomine Kirei like that?"
"Unbelievable! I really thought Kirei was one of the good guys... turns out he's just as much a villain?"
"So it's literally a cast full of villains now? Seems like only Waver is still innocent. And Iskandar's personality is just too charismatic—I could watch the Rider group's daily antics forever."
"Man, I just want to know who's going to win the Holy Grail now. With Tokiomi dead and Gilgamesh switching Masters, is Kirei going to get it?"
"This story's gotten dark! It could traumatize kids!"
"Who cares? I just want to see more fights! The Servant battles are the best part of Fate/Zero!
"Honestly, I kind of like the political scheming between the Masters too."
"I just want to see Saber. She's too beautiful!"
"Facts. Saber is wife +1!"
"Shut up!"
Compared to the general audience, the mage watching from the Imperial Mage Academy had a very different focus.
They weren't as drawn in by the scheming between Masters, they were shocked by the truth Kirei revealed about the Holy Grail War.
"Wait, what did Kirei just say? That the Holy Grail War is an experiment to open the Root using Heroic Spirits as sacrifices? That the wish-granting machine is just bait, and it's true purpose is to unlock the hole in the world?"
"Whoa. That explains so much! I always thought it didn't make sense that the Grail could both summon Servants and grant any wish. It never seemed to obey any conservation of magical energy… but now it's clear we were misled from the start!"
"So the Holy Grail's true nature is that? Then even if someone wins, they might not actually get their wish?"
"Not necessarily. The Grail still absorbs the mana from all seven Servants. With that much power, even if it's not used to open the Root, it could still perform miracles of almost any concept. It is a wish-granting device after all!"
"Looks like the story will continue to revolve around the battle for the Holy Grail."
The mages, still reeling from the shocking revelations, discussed the development with great intensity. At this point, no one could clearly predict how the plot would unfold.
. . . . . .
At the top of the Mage Tower, the Arch Mages showed no particular surprise upon hearing Kotomine Kirei's revelations.
After all, from the very beginning, they had speculated on the truth behind the Holy Grail War. Now, their suspicions had simply been confirmed.
To the Arch Mages, the only truly surprising aspect was the fact that the souls of seven Heroic Spirits could open the path to the Root.
"What exactly are Heroic Spirits, if their souls contain such vast magical power?"
"Though the story hasn't explicitly said so, I believe Heroic Spirits are guardians of the world—creations of the world itself, designed to preserve its integrity and fend off enemies from beyond."
"Yes, that makes sense. The only thing powerful enough to maintain a concept as grand as Heroic Spirits must be something like the will of the world."
"The will of the world, huh…? Do you think our world has something like that?"
"Well…"
At that point, the room fell silent.
Throughout human history, there had never been clear signs of interference from external forces—but still, there were numerous unexplained events and irregularities.
Even the death of the former Administrator was something the Arch Mages weren't fully convinced had been caused by mere human means.
It felt as though this world, too, had an invisible hand shaping the course of its history.
"In any case," said Hohenheim, shifting the topic, "the framework of the Holy Grail War has mostly come into view. The remaining key mysteries are: the true nature of Gilgamesh's trump card, his Noble Phantasm Ea; the identity of Berserker; and what role Kotomine Kirei will play moving forward. Once these three pieces are revealed, the story should be approaching its conclusion."
The other Arch Mages nodded in agreement.
After all, as paragons of human intellect, deciphering storylines—even complicated ones—was relatively easy for them. Once a plot was broken down, its structure and core were usually quite apparent.
Still, even if they could anticipate the twists and turns, the entertainment of the movie remained irresistible.
Because in the end, even Arch Mages were just a bunch of nerdy shut-ins starved for fun.
. . . . . . .
After Kotomine Kirei murdered Tohsaka Tokiomi, he and Gilgamesh left the Tohsaka residence together to begin laying the groundwork for their schemes.
The film then shifted to show the status of the remaining factions:
Irisviel and Artoria returned to their warehouse to rest and prepare for the coming battle.
Waver and Iskandar set out to find the area with the highest concentration of ley lines to recover the magical energy Iskandar had spent using his Reality Marble.
Kariya Matou awoke in the church, confused as to why he was still alive.
And finally, Kiritsugu Emiya appeared on screen.
But just then, the camera suddenly cut to a small island in the middle of the ocean.
A young boy, bearing a striking resemblance to Kiritsugu, appeared on screen—his face lit up with a brilliant smile.
"What's this?"
"Is that… Kiritsugu Emiya?"
"He looks so young…"
"Wait—is this a flashback?"
"Are they about to dive into Kiritsugu's past?"
The theater was instantly buzzing.
Anticipation surged through the crowd like lightning.
Kiritsugu Emiya's twisted personality had long since left a thorn in the audience's collective hearts. Everyone wanted answers—wanted to understand the roots of his distorted ideals, the tragedy that had shaped him, and what "justice" he was really after.
But just when the audience was leaning forward, waiting for the film to finally reveal the answers…
The screen flickered.
Images of fierce battles flashed in rapid succession, until finally, it landed on a quiet scene by a pond.
A girl's voice asked,
"Kerry, what kind of adult do you want to become?"
A noticeably older voice replied,
"Me? I want to become a hero of justice."
The screen faded to black.
A single line appeared in clean white letters:
"Fate/Zero: Episode Three — Coming Next Spring. Stay tuned."
For a moment, the theater was dead silent.
Bright magic crystal lights flicked on, bathing the stunned audience in harsh clarity.
And then chaos began.
"WHAT?! That's it?!"
"Are you freaking kidding me?!"
"PROTEST! Protest! Protest!!"
"You ended it right there? Are you trying to kill us?!"
"I won't be able to sleep for months!!"
"This is robbery! Absolute robbery! Edward, you heartless fiend!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHH! Just kill me already! No more Fate until spring? How am I supposed to live?!"
A chorus of anguished screams erupted through the theater.
It was an auditory stampede of shattered emotions.
Somewhere in the crowd, Edward Durin—director of this glorious torment—was doing his best to melt into the shadows, pulling up his hood and avoiding eye contact.
Too bad for him, though, the studio staff knew exactly where to find him.
"EDWARD!!"
The first to explode was Helena, her petite frame practically bouncing off the ground as she waved her staff furiously, nearly pouncing on him with rage that belied her size.
Even Latisha, the powerful lich who had only worked on the sea monster segment and avoided spoilers to enjoy the film fresh, was now radiating a dangerous aura.
The air itself seemed to crackle with undead energy.
As for the rest of the crowd?
Unless they were cast members like Chase, they were utterly feral.
Edward's cliffhanger had pushed them all to the brink.
Seeing the situation spiral, Edward could only give an awkward smile and then made a break for it.
Without wasting a second, he cast a teleportation spell and vanished, fleeing the stampede of half-mad fans thirsting for closure.
Because, really—how do you calm a theater full of people whose souls were just left dangling from a cliff?
You don't.
You run.
<+>
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