---o---
Old Man???
They didn't mishear. The audience outside the light curtain was certain they hadn't misheard. That red Archer called Emiya Kiritsugu "Old Man"?
The amount of information in that single address was just too massive.
Could it be that this Heroic Spirit from the future was the son of Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel? No, that's not right. They look nothing alike.
From a genetic perspective, the Red Archer and Emiya Kiritsugu shared no resemblance whatsoever. Besides, while Kiritsugu and Irisviel had acknowledged having a daughter, they had never admitted to having a son. So what was this son's identity? An illegitimate child...?
The audience outside the light curtain was filled with questions. They even forgot about the ultimatum the Old Worm had given Emiya Kiritsugu, and everyone began discussing the relationship between the Red Archer and Kiritsugu.
Even the Emiya Kiritsugu outside the light curtain couldn't stand the intense stare from his wife, Irisviel. He could swear to the heavens that he had never betrayed Irisviel, so what was his connection to this Heroic Spirit?
Did the light curtain have a grudge against him? No matter how he looked at it, he had no blood relation to that Heroic Spirit.
Eriri Sawamura: "Forgive my poor eyesight, but I really can't see how Red Archer and Emiya Kiritsugu are father and son."
In Eriri's view, the only thing Kiritsugu and Red Archer had in common was that they were both men. Nothing else.
Conan: "You can't say that. As we all know, the Holy Grail War creates multiple branch timelines, and each branch is different. Perhaps Red Archer is Emiya Kiritsugu's son from some unknown world line."
One had to be scientific about things. Although the two of them really didn't look alike, until a paternity test was done, no one could deny their father-son relationship.
Schicksal Overseer: "Is there a possibility... just a possibility, that Red Archer is not Emiya Kiritsugu's biological son, but his adopted son?"
That's right, adopted... Given the intensity of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the probability of Irisviel surviving was minuscule. And it was highly unlikely that Kiritsugu himself would get together with another woman after Irisviel's death. That left only one possibility.
As everyone knows, humans are beings who understand the concept of inheritance. What the predecessors fail to complete is passed on to the next generation. Emiya Kiritsugu fancied himself an Ally of Justice, and his conviction to save the world even at the cost of his wife and daughter was something even Otto admired.
Therefore... the ideal of 'justice' was already carved into Emiya Kiritsugu's heart. Even if he couldn't realize this ideal, even if he abandoned it, he would still try to find a successor to carry on his philosophy.
And Emiya Shirou was very likely the product of such an effort. Perhaps instilling one's own ideals into an unknowing child was not the right thing to do, but Emiya Kiritsugu's tenacious conviction would inevitably drive him to do so.
It was just like his Theresa and Durandal. Otto had high hopes for both of them and treated them like family, yet neither was his direct relative, especially Durandal...
Not only was she not Otto's relative, she could even be considered his enemy.
But even so, Otto still raised Durandal as if she were his own daughter. He gave her every form of support except for the truth. In a sense, he could truly be called Durandal's adoptive father and teacher.
And wasn't his purpose in doing so to have a successor who would erect a nameless tombstone for him after his death?
Heroic Spirit Emiya: "..."
The Schicksal Overseer, Otto. It was this man again. Just how far did his intellect reach? As much as he hated to admit it, from the very beginning, Otto's predictions had almost never been wrong.
To be able to deduce so much about him without any prior knowledge... this man... was simply too terrifying.
This was the thought of the Heroic Spirit Emiya currently in the Fifth Holy Grail War timeline. The only fortunate thing was... Otto was not a person from their world.
---o---
[Inside the Light Curtain—
"Abandon your justice, Old Man!"
This single sentence caused the light to return to Emiya Kiritsugu's dulling eyes. He looked toward the source of the voice.
The red Archer. He had seen him before. If the man hadn't shown mercy, then he, Maiya, and Irisviel would have all died at his hands.
Didn't he disappear? How did he appear here?
Emiya Kiritsugu was confused. In fact, it wasn't just him; the audience outside the light curtain was also quite perplexed. After all, Saber was the Servant who had set out first to find Kiritsugu and the others.
Yet the first to arrive was the Archer who had just finished fighting Berserker. This was far too strange. Could it be that the Red Archer also possessed something like the Jojo family's once-in-a-lifetime teleport?
The biggest question now was... where did Saber go? As Emiya Kiritsugu's Servant, she should have been able to sense his location, but now she was nowhere to be found.
[Inside the Light Curtain—
Emiya Kiritsugu silently stared at the suddenly appeared Heroic Spirit Emiya.
More than why he was here, he was more curious about the way Heroic Spirit Emiya had addressed him.
"Old Man? A Heroic Spirit from the future? Hehehe, this Holy Grail War truly has not disappointed this old one. To think it would bring me so many surprises."
The Old Worm was still the Old Worm. Despicable as he was, he had the knowledge to back it up. With a single glance, he saw through Emiya Shirou's origins.
However... while he was perceptive, the gap between a Heroic Spirit and a human could not be bridged by such things.
Even if Heroic Spirit Emiya was slightly injured from his battle with Berserker... his strength was still far beyond what the Old Worm could compare to.
Thus, the Old Worm was already thinking of retreating. After all, this was the kind of person he was—a true scumbag who would do anything to survive.
In the face of the Old Worm's attempt to flee, Heroic Spirit Emiya had no reaction. The Old Worm's main body wasn't even here. He wasn't the King of Heroes, able to pull out a mountain of strange treasures to deal with him.
But even so, Heroic Spirit Emiya was trembling with rage. If he could, he would drag the Old Worm's true body out and make it die in agony.
If you were to ask who here had the deepest feelings for Sakura, it would undoubtedly be Emiya Shirou.
In Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes, although Sakura was a child, she was the daughter of his enemy, Tokiomi Tohsaka. They had no connection. To save the world, he might feel guilt, but he would kill Sakura without hesitation.
But Emiya Shirou was different. Sakura was his junior. Even in the timeline where he ended up as a pawn of the Counter Force, Sakura was still a junior he cared deeply about.
No senior could remain calm after seeing a beloved junior tortured like this.
Unfortunately, the Old Worm's true body wasn't present, so Emiya Shirou could only suppress his anger and choose to guide his old man first.
He had also been an Ally of Justice. He knew the meaning behind that title, and he knew what those words truly represented.
Forcing him to choose between humanity and his wife was far too cruel.
To Emiya Kiritsugu, Irisviel represented love, family, and humanity. She was the final sanctuary for his soul, the only tenderness and warmth left in that battle-scarred man's heart.
The other innocent civilians represented the ideal Emiya Kiritsugu held fast to, the obsession of being an Ally of Justice, the one thing he had sacrificed so much for and adhered to from start to finish.
To choose to sacrifice Irisviel meant abandoning his last vestiges of emotion and humanity, becoming a mere tool named 'Ally of Justice'.
To choose to protect Irisviel meant betraying his ideal, betraying his obsession, and betraying everything he had suffered and fought for to get to this point.
Persuading Emiya Kiritsugu in this situation was no simple task.
How difficult... That old worm, Zouken Matou, his actions were truly disgusting to the extreme.
Emiya Shirou thought this with a sense of helplessness, but he still looked at the adoptive father who had raised him with a determined gaze.
After a moment, he said, "Old Man, if you don't want to live the rest of your life in regret, then abandon that wretched dream of yours. As a Heroic Spirit from the future, I already know everything..."
Emiya Shirou paused, as if to make sure Emiya Kiritsugu could hear him clearly, and raised his voice slightly. "If you continue to cling to that pathetic dream, not only will you fail to protect the world, you will even lose your wife and daughter."
"Do you remember... Illya? Big Sister Illya is still waiting for you in the castle. Do you want her to go through those inhumane magical experiments and become the vessel for the Fifth Holy Grail War?"
Illyasviel, who could be called Emiya Shirou's sister in name, though they didn't look alike at all. But... in any timeline, as long as the Emiya Kiritsugu of the Fourth Holy Grail War insisted on his so-called ideal of justice, Illya was destined for a bad end. To live happily like the Illya in Prisma Illya was nothing more than an extravagant hope.
Perhaps it was hearing Illya's name that made Kiritsugu look at Shirou in surprise. He probably never expected to hear that name from his mouth.
And... Big Sister Illya... so that's how it is. In the future, Illya grew up to be a gentle woman just like her mother.
I want... I really want to watch Illya grow up day by day... I want to see the grown-up Illya of the future. She must be a gentle and intelligent girl, just like her mother...
Perhaps thinking of a future with Illya, tears began to stream down Emiya Kiritsugu's face.
This was the first time he had ever questioned his ideal... He couldn't even protect his own family. Was he truly qualified to protect the masses?
He recalled his tragic and helpless life. For his ideal, he had killed his own father, slain his first love, and even the teacher who had raised him...
Emiya Kiritsugu... this man had already gone too far down the wrong path to turn back. Like a machine, he had saved the many time and time again using his methods. But it was this man, this cold heart, that was now being melted by two family members: Irisviel and Illya.
Vaguely, he felt as if he had returned to that summer, the chirping of cicadas echoing in his ears. That girl asking him what kind of adult he wanted to be.
"An Ally of Justice... Yes, Shirley. I... I want to become an Ally of Justice."
Emiya Kiritsugu wept, as if he had returned to the past. His body trembled uncontrollably. Emiya Shirou stood by and shook his head. This wasn't the answer he wanted. Did Irisviel really have to die in front of him, did all his efforts have to turn to dust, for him to finally wake up?
However... Emiya Kiritsugu's words weren't finished. As if atoning for his sins, he knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.
"But... Shirley, I'm sorry... I'm going to betray it... I'm betraying my ideal."
Yes, he was giving up. After experiencing so much, enduring so much, and being lost for so long, he was finally giving up. Giving up on the ideal that had caused him so much pain, giving up on the ideal named 'Justice'.
He would protect his family. He would protect his wife and daughter. Emiya Kiritsugu... this man had never felt like this before. His heart was pounding, as if he had been reborn.
Emiya Shirou stood to the side... somewhat stunned. A smile touched his lips... That's good. Although he couldn't end his own tragic fate, he had managed to free his old man from it.
This trip wasn't a waste after all, Emiya Shirou thought to himself.
Speaking of which... the reason he was able to come here had everything to do with that elf-like young lady...
Emiya Shirou slowly opened his hand. A pink crystal flower bloomed in his palm. Against the backdrop of the night, the crystal flower emitted a beautiful, yet not ostentatious, pink light.
With this crystal flower, the Holy Grail could be harmlessly removed from Irisviel's body. From now on, Irisviel would no longer be the Holy Grail. She would become a true human being.
Saber... looks like you came all this way for nothing... Emiya Shirou thought silently.