[Video Danmaku]
Magical Girl Miyu: "Treacherous... utterly treacherous. This man, Kiritsugu Emiya, is every bit as dangerous as that Marisbury who's lurking in the shadows."
Magical Girl Illya: "No... impossible! My papa is not that kind of person—"
In the world of Magical Girl Illya, after personally witnessing Kiritsugu's actions, Illya threw aside Ruby, ignored the words of her two maids, picked up the phone, and immediately called her father.
She refused to admit it, refused to admit that the person in the video could be her papa. It had to be an impostor—
Magical Girl Mami Tomoe: "Magical Girl? That man's daughter is a magical girl, just like me?"
Magical Girl Sirin: "How can this be? There are so many magical girls—"
Herrscher of the Void: "Sirin? What petty upstart dares to impersonate my name?"
Otto Apocalypse: "Kayneth... even though you could have used a Command Spell to make Lancer protect you, you chose to give it up for the person you love. While incredibly foolish, I acknowledge you... Magus."
Kayneth: "What nonsense are you spouting? Sola had already betrayed me. I was merely acting for the honor of the El-Melloi family."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Actually... I think Lancer has it the worst. If you think about it, he didn't do anything wrong, yet he meets such an end. Could it be that being handsome is also a sin?"
Madara Uchiha: "The Holy Grail War is a war. To still believe in that kind of boring spirit during a war... even Hashirama is much stronger than him."
Eden: "Elysia has made her move. I'm sure things are about to get very interesting..."
---o---
[In the video—
The sudden development stunned everyone. Kiritsugu Emiya's eyes darkened. It's her again. She always shows up when I least want her to.
However, with Saber by his side this time, he wouldn't have to flee in a panic like last time, but...
A huge loss... This was a huge loss. The contract Kayneth had signed had already taken effect. In other words, he could no longer kill Kayneth.
On the condition of Lancer's suicide, Kiritsugu Emiya would henceforth not harm Kayneth or Sola.
Now, Kayneth's Command Spell had been issued and the contract was established, but Lancer hadn't died. The opportunity for Maiya to eliminate Kayneth and Sola was gone.
How treacherous—!!!
The viewers watching the screen sucked in a cold breath. Even with Kayneth crippled, his Command Spells exhausted, and Lancer having committed suicide, he still wasn't going to spare them? What kind of grudge, what kind of hatred was this?
Even the Kayneth outside the video was now racking his brain, wondering if the El-Melloi family had somehow accidentally provoked Kiritsugu Emiya in the past for him to employ such cruel methods.
...
"Thank you, Elysia."
After a brief silence, a voice of gratitude was heard, but it wasn't Lancer's.
Elysia had, through some unknown means, erased the compulsory control of the Command Spell, saving Lancer's life. But at this moment, Lancer was trapped in a deep abyss of self-doubt and agony, having been betrayed by his lord once again.
His spirit and will had hit rock bottom. He had no fight left in him, and even his handsome face was contorted in pain.
"You're welcome, Miss King of Knights," Elysia said softly.
Artoria, the King of Knights. As both a king and a knight, she held the utmost respect for a noble man like Diarmuid, who had chivalry carved into his very bones. Although Diarmuid was not strong, in Saber's heart, his worth was no less than that of the King of Heroes or the King of Conquerors.
The Command Spell had activated so quickly that she had no time to react before Lancer had plunged the spear into his body. For such a noble knight to die in this manner was far too tragic.
That was why Saber was thanking Elysia for saving him.
...
With the Command Spell's effect nullified, Kiritsugu Emiya, knowing he could no longer hide, slowly emerged from the shadows. Lancer had completely lost his will to fight, and Saber was nearby, so there was no longer any need for him to remain concealed.
Upon seeing that man, Lancer's spirit instantly flared. With eyes stained by bloody tears, he looked behind him.
At that moment, his Master, Kayneth, was being helped out of the abandoned factory by Maiya. He sat in his wheelchair with a vacant, numb expression, his eyes filled with despair. It was hard to imagine that just a few days ago, this man had been one of the twelve celebrated Lords of the Clock Tower.
"You... so then..."
Lancer knelt in a pool of his own blood, struggling to speak in a hoarse, low voice.
"You want to win that badly!? You desire the Holy Grail that much!? To trample even my... one true wish... You people, do you feel no shame!?"
His beautiful face was twisted by blood and tears, transforming into the ghastly visage of a vengeful demon. Consumed by hatred, Lancer no longer distinguished between friend and foe, roaring out his heart-wrenching fury at Kiritsugu Emiya, Elysia, Saber, and all the world.
"Unforgivable... I will never forgive you! You wraiths, captivated by fame and fortune, who denigrate the honor of knights... let my blood contaminate your dreams! I curse the Holy Grail! I curse your wishes to become calamities! When you have fallen into purgatory, you will surely remember me, Diarmuid Ua—"
"Ugh..." Diarmuid's curse came to an abrupt halt.
Before his eyes, filled with blood and tears, Elysia slowly approached him. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and a mysterious power began to soothe the pain in both his body and soul.
The others present, along with the audience outside the screen, watched this scene with a strange feeling. A handsome man and a beautiful woman together would normally give off a sense of compatibility, but this moment evoked a completely different emotion.
This was not the intimacy between lovers. It was more like a mother soothing her child's wounds. The emotion radiating from Elysia was undoubtedly love, but it was not the love of romance; it was the love of a divine being for all of humanity. This love was directed not just at Diarmuid, but at everyone in the world... Such a contradictory scene could probably only occur around Elysia.
But that was merely an outsider's perception. In Diarmuid's eyes at that moment, Elysia was neither a lover nor a mother. The intense sensation, the feeling that smoothed away all pain, was something he had never experienced in his entire life.
A god...! If one had to use a single word to describe Elysia, then only this word would fit.
"Who... in the world are you? Are you a god? Why..."
Subconsciously, Lancer began to ask, but he quickly fell silent. He had already lost his reason for being. Even if he knew Elysia's identity, what could he possibly do?
Kill Elysia for the sake of the Holy Grail? That was completely unrealistic. His wish was shattered, and he had lost his purpose in this Holy Grail War.
"—Speaking of which, this is the first time you've directly witnessed my 'methods of killing,' Iri."
Kiritsugu lit a cigarette, breaking his long silence. His voice was dry as he spoke, and as he turned to Irisviel, a look of shame and apprehension crossed his face.
"Hey, Kiritsugu. Don't say it to me. Say it to Saber, and to Miss Elysia."
"No, I have nothing to say to them. I only do this for the sake of victory. Words are useless."
He continued to speak to Irisviel, not even sparing Saber or Elysia a single glance.
"To insult a hero with such methods, is this your way of achieving victory? Kiritsugu Emiya!!"
Even in the face of the King of Knights' furious roar, her brows knitted in anger, Kiritsugu Emiya remained unmoved.
He still paid Saber no mind, his gaze fixed only on his wife. But then, he finally began to speak, the words spilling out like beans from a bamboo tube.
"As long as it can bring world peace, I don't care what methods I use. War itself is cruel. Believing in things like chivalry is what's pathetic. Whatever sins I have committed, please deal with me after the Holy Grail War is over. I will accept it without hesitation. But... but why do you keep obstructing me? Why do you always show up at the most critical moments to get in my way? Elysia—"
As he spoke, Kiritsugu's gaze finally shifted from his wife to Elysia. This was the second time, but it wouldn't be the last. As long as Elysia was alive, every one of his plans would be thwarted, time and time again.
"Obstructing? If that's how you see it, so be it. The reason I'm here is simply because I wanted to witness certain things for myself."
"After all, I have never trusted that man and his Caster, even if, up to this point, that Caster's predictions have never been wrong."
Elysia's eyes had dimmed at some point, perhaps recalling something from her past.
She didn't know what future-sight was, but she now thoroughly believed that Solomon possessed the same power as Aponia to see through the threads of fate.
Bluebeard's madness, Kirei Kotomine's fall, Kiritsugu Emiya's justice, and Lancer's death—everything seemed to have been designed like a script, and she alone was a character existing outside of it.
"Caster? What are you talking about? Hasn't Caster already been eliminated?"
Kiritsugu had expected Elysia to offer some reason for stopping him, but her words made him instantly alert. The cigarette in his hand fell to the ground unnoticed.
He was no fool. Although Solomon had never truly made a move, Kiritsugu had felt a strange, nagging sense of dissonance in the background. He had attributed it to the pressure of the Holy Grail War, but now it seemed... that wasn't the case.
In other words... besides Bluebeard, was there another Caster in this Holy Grail War? One who had remained hidden and undetected until now? What were he and his Master plotting?
"Eliminated? One Caster was indeed eliminated. The moment he became that giant monster, he died without even a speck left. But that doesn't mean the Caster class has withdrawn from the war..."
Elysia's eyes were filled with helplessness. It was a pity that Kiritsugu had planned so much, only to end up as a pawn for that Caster and his Master.
But now she had told Kiritsugu about it. By doing so, could she perhaps change that so-called fate, even a little?
Unfortunately, the fact that Kiritsugu now knew about the true Caster was probably already known to the true Caster himself. After all, Clairvoyance only failed to perceive Elysia. What Kiritsugu was thinking, what he was doing, was all within the purview of those eyes.
...
"Oh my, we've been found out..."
Far away, atop the central skyscraper in Fuyuki, Marisbury was gazing at the location where Kiritsugu and Elysia were. This position was perfectly situated to block the perception of both Saber and Lancer.
He wondered what sort of fascinating reaction would occur now that he had revealed the war's true direction to Elysia. He hoped this girl from beyond fate could bring him a different kind of surprise.
Sighing, Marisbury said with a hint of annoyance, "Caster, tell me, is fate something that cannot be changed?"
Solomon: "..."
He remained silent, whether because he didn't want to answer, or because he didn't know how.
"Well, well—it doesn't matter. The Holy Grail War has reached a critical stage anyway. That corrupted Grail is not what I desire. The first thing to do... is to restore it to its original state. Caster, you should be able to do that, right?"
Solomon: "I can. It is not a difficult task."
"Good, I knew you could. Then the next step, and the most crucial one: we must ensure Saber remains until the very end. Even if all other Servants are eliminated, Saber cannot be."
"We will seize the Grail, and then let Saber claim victory in the Holy Grail War."
"As for the Holy Grail War a dozen years from now, making good use of Francesca will be sufficient."
Marisbury wore his usual smile. However, in Solomon's eyes, beneath that smile lay unimaginable calculations and schemes.
Although all the information about the future had been obtained through him, all the plans had been devised by Marisbury alone. He had never even asked for Solomon's opinion, yet he was so confident his plans would succeed.
And the truth was...
Within the scope of what Solomon's Clairvoyance could observe, Marisbury's plan was remarkably successful, one might even say flawless. But...
Had he forgotten that there was one person his Clairvoyance could not perceive?
By telling Elysia everything, was this man not afraid of his plans backfiring? Clairvoyance could see absolutely nothing related to Elysia. Or was it that, for Marisbury Animusphere, it didn't matter whether he obtained that Holy Grail or not?]