In the backyard of Ryuudou Temple, there was once a pond so clear you could see the bottom. It was said that a dragon god had once dwelled here.
But that was long ago.
What now lay before Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel was a lake of tar, a grotesque mix of red phosphorescence and black sludge.
At its center loomed a monstrous mass, like a mountain of rotting flesh—utterly repulsive.
"What... is that?" Kiritsugu was visibly shaken by the sight.
Irisviel's heart clenched painfully. Brow furrowed, she looked up at the gaping hole in the sky.
From that void, black matter spilled forth, on the verge of flooding out.
"...The Holy Grail really has been corrupted."
Though she had trusted Morgan and Shiomi's words, some truths had to be seen to be fully believed.
"We have to stop the Holy Grail from activating. If this keeps going... it'll be a catastrophe."
She urgently warned her husband.
This was no longer a colorless machine for granting wishes—it was a weapon, ready to become a tool for slaughter at any moment.
Even without the ability to resonate with the Holy Grail, Irisviel could feel the overwhelming, sinister Mana radiating from it.
"You're just in time, Kiritsugu Emiya." Kirei Kotomine stood at the lake's edge, back turned to them. "It's only fitting that you witness the completion of my Holy Grail."
He wore a strange smile, eyes brimming with scorn for Kiritsugu.
As Morgan and Shiomi had discussed in the castle the previous night, Kirei had not been trapped in the Garden of Lost Will. He had escaped by unconventional means—and seen the dreams of others in the process.
Before the illusion vanished, he had glimpsed Kiritsugu Emiya's dream.
A cycle of abandonment.
Kiritsugu's life could be summarized in a single phrase—relentless sacrifice.
That man had given up countless moments of joy and happiness. To Kirei, even the tiniest sliver of such moments was worth cherishing—worth dying for.
But for someone like him, who couldn't even grasp a single fragment, Kiritsugu's existence had long surpassed notions like hope or longing.
Yet this very man had nearly been crushed by the weight of everything he'd forsaken, his heart worn down to its last fibers.
It was laughably dull.
Kiritsugu Emiya's emptiness was nothing more than the byproduct of a wish that tried to exceed human limits.
So Kirei no longer questioned himself. He knew what he had to do.
By killing his wife with his own hands, he had come to understand and embrace his true nature.
If the Holy Grail truly contained "All the World's Evil," then he would release it—just to ask why it had chosen him as its Master.
He couldn't care less about the wails and cries that would follow the Grail's completion. He would savor it all.
"Stop the Holy Grail right now, Kirei Kotomine!" Kiritsugu raised his rifle and aimed at the man with unwavering intent to kill.
But Kirei remained unfazed. "With all the Servants tied up by Archer, you're no match for me."
Before he finished speaking, Kiritsugu pulled the trigger.
The bullets were all intercepted.
From the shadows emerged Assassins, their movements eerie and unnatural. Their bodies twisted grotesquely, as if under someone else's control, wrapped in a strange, sickly hue.
"You fed them that stuff, didn't you?" Irisviel gasped, covering her mouth in horror.
The stench radiating from the Assassins matched the vile, mana-saturated water of the lake.
"They were too weak, scattered and fragile—so I gave them something to strengthen them," Kirei said, lifting his empty left hand. "But getting them to drink it willingly without being consumed took every one of my Command Spells."
Even so, the Assassins had no will of their own anymore. Stripped of consciousness, they had become Kirei's most efficient killing machines.
"Iri, get back... I'll handle this." Cold sweat dripped down Kiritsugu's face.
Maiya was nearby, ready to snipe from a hidden position.
But with the Assassins guarding him, there was no conventional way to kill Kirei Kotomine.
"Kiritsugu, I—"
Irisviel had just opened her mouth to insist on fighting with him when a piercing noise cut through the air behind them.
Kiritsugu spun around in alarm, reaching for Irisviel, but before the black dagger could strike, it was deflected by a sudden burst of light.
"Without a Servant, you'd have no way to stop him."
A calm, regal voice rang out as Morgan descended beside the Emiya couple.
"Morgan!" Irisviel's face lit up with relief.
By all rights, the Servants should have been blocked—but it must've been Shiomi, using a Command Spell amidst the chaos, who got her through.
"Oh? I didn't expect Gilgamesh to let you slip by," Kirei said without a hint of concern. "But if you still think Assassin is what he used to be, you'll be in trouble... Witch who never existed in human history."
The title made Morgan narrow her eyes. And then—
Boom—
A deafening roar erupted from the lake.
Black and crimson "filth" began pouring from the hole in the sky.
It was the manifestation of the Holy Grail's corrupted mana. Not enough yet to grant a wish, but more than enough to devour anything it touched.
With a casual wave of his hand, Kirei summoned the Assassins. They emerged with distorted howls and charged at the three now surrounded.
"Hold the line. I'll handle the Servants."
Morgan swept her hand, casting defensive and reinforcement magecraft on Kiritsugu and Irisviel.
She could have just focused on surviving and completing her task.
But almost reflexively, she gave them protection.
She really couldn't cast off that innate softness.
Morgan sighed inwardly, then slashed down the first Assassin to approach with her magic spear.
The fallen Assassin didn't vanish—his body crumpled, dissolving into a thick black sludge that slowly crept toward them.
"Watch out! That black mud can contaminate a Servant's Spirit Core. Even a trace can be dangerous!" Irisviel called out urgently.
Morgan stomped the ground lightly, and the earth beneath them rose, forming a small elevated platform.
"Then let's adjust the numbers a little."
She raised her hand, light blooming in her palm before scattering and exploding around them.
When the dazzling light faded, five identical clones of Morgan hovered in the air.
Seeing this, Kirei Kotomine instinctively pulled out his reserve Black Keys, ready for a fight.
Just a little more time...
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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