"Father... why were you researching the Dead Apostles?"
Kiritsugu lowered his head and asked quietly.
"So... you've found out."
Norikata Emiya showed no surprise.
His expression remained calm, almost mechanical.
Long ago, he had poured every ounce of his passion into pursuing the Root.
Blue flames consumed the last of the paper documents in the sink.
Turning around, Norikata looked at his son.
"How did you learn about it?"
"Shirley... she used your magecraft on herself."
Kiritsugu's entire body trembled violently as he spoke.
The grief threatening to consume him could no longer be suppressed.
"I see."
Norikata let out a quiet sigh.
"I truly do regret what happened."
"But what's done is done."
"There's nothing to be done about it now."
"If anything..."
"Shirley simply gave us the answer earlier than expected."
"...Father."
"Did you intend to turn me into one of those things someday, too?"
Kiritsugu's voice was eerily calm.
"Kiritsugu."
"That isn't a funny joke."
"What kind of father would push his own child into a pit of fire?"
Norikata shook his head.
"A transformation into a Dead Apostle that cannot suppress the bloodlust is a failure."
"But the Emiya family's research requires an immense span of time."
"A mortal body, forever bound by death, can never truly reach the Root."
"I spent years conducting these experiments."
"Unfortunately, the results have been disappointing."
"It seems I'll have to revise the theory from its very foundation."
Norikata had long grown accustomed to setbacks.
Starting over simply meant beginning again.
He walked over and placed a reassuring hand on Kiritsugu's shoulder.
"Kiritsugu."
"Your father isn't some once-in-a-century genius."
"But you can rest easy."
"I'm confident that before I die..."
"I'll complete the research into the Perfect Dead Apostle."
"When that day comes..."
"You'll become an immortal life-form, free from the thirst for blood."
"You'll possess limitless time."
"And you'll inherit the Emiya family's research, carrying it farther than I ever could."
"So..."
"Forget about Shirley."
"Oh, and of course..."
"If you liked a girl like Shirley..."
"I'll find another assistant."
"Someone with the right appearance, personality, and magical aptitude."
"By then, you'll be grown up."
"You'll be free to pursue your own love."
"And thanks to the Perfect Dead Apostle project..."
"That love can last forever."
"So..."
"Forget about Shirley."
"Love."
"Desire."
"Lust."
"They're nothing more than shackles humanity places upon itself to distract from its ultimate pursuit."
"Compared to reaching the Root..."
"None of them have any meaning."
Norikata gently patted his son's shoulder.
When a child lost his way...
It was a father's duty to guide him.
His regret over Shirley's death was false.
His love for his son...
Was genuine.
To a magus, there was nothing more important than a worthy successor.
If the inheritance failed...
The work accumulated over hundreds—even thousands—of years could disappear in a single generation.
Norikata truly believed he was leaving Kiritsugu the greatest gift imaginable.
"All right."
"We should leave now."
He turned back toward the suitcase, placing the last bottles and alchemical reagents inside.
"Can we really still escape?"
Kiritsugu asked hoarsely.
Everything his father had just said had plunged him into an icy abyss.
For the first time...
He truly understood how profoundly twisted magi were.
Shirley...
Had been deliberately chosen by Norikata to be his companion.
Simply because he didn't want his son to feel lonely growing up on the island.
Even something as precious as love...
Could be engineered.
Manipulated.
Optimized.
Then...
Was his love for Shirley even real?
Or had every feeling he'd believed was his own merely been part of his father's carefully arranged plan?
The more Kiritsugu thought...
The more terrifying the truth became.
What...
In his life...
Had ever been genuine?
He no longer knew.
Norikata, whose back was turned, never noticed the turmoil consuming his son.
He answered calmly.
"Don't worry."
"I anticipated something like this happening years ago."
"I've already hidden a speedboat on the southern coast."
"Though..."
"I'm sorry, Kiritsugu."
"There isn't enough time to pack your things."
"Once we're settled somewhere else..."
"I'll buy you everything new."
"...Including Shirley?"
Kiritsugu suddenly asked.
"...Yes."
Norikata froze for a moment.
Then he smiled with quiet satisfaction and nodded.
Kiritsugu slowly raised his head.
A smile more painful than tears appeared on his face.
He stepped forward.
Then rushed at his father.
Thrust!
The knife plunged in.
Its blade entered white...
And emerged crimson.
Norikata's lifeless eyes widened in disbelief.
The satisfied smile vanished instantly, replaced by confusion...
Then shock.
He staggered backward, clutching his abdomen as blood poured relentlessly through his fingers.
He stared at the bloodstained dagger in his son's hand.
...
"I'll do it."
Kiritsugu volunteered to the silver-haired woman.
"The forest is protected by a powerful bounded field."
"It'll take too long to dismantle."
"But..."
"I can get inside."
"So let me do it."
The silver-haired woman met the boy's empty yet unwavering gaze.
For one of the few times...
The smile disappeared from her face.
Patricide...
Was far too cruel a burden for a child.
Yet...
She nodded.
Because...
This was what it meant to be a magus.
...
Inside the house...
The yellow light bulb hanging from the ceiling swayed with every movement Norikata made as he struggled to remain standing.
"...Ugh..."
He stumbled backward until he crashed into the cabinet that had once held rows of bottles and reagents.
Leaning against it, one hand desperately pressed against his bleeding abdomen while the other reached weakly toward Kiritsugu.
His face was filled with confusion.
Disbelief.
He wanted to say something.
But—
Cough!
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
It clogged his throat.
No words came.
His life was slipping away.
"Kiritsugu... what kind of adult do you want to become?"
Shirley's smile echoed in his ears.
Her face remained vivid in his mind.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
It was the first time Kiritsugu had ever killed someone.
And the person he had killed...
Was the father who had raised him.
Conscience.
Filial love.
Both tore at his heart.
The crushing psychological burden left him barely able to breathe.
Clang!
The bloodstained dagger slipped from his trembling fingers and hit the floor.
He bent to pick it up.
His fingers had gone numb.
No matter how hard he tried...
He couldn't even lift it.
"...Urgh..."
Norikata was still alive.
Still suffering.
Unable to die.
Seeing that...
Kiritsugu abandoned the dagger.
He silently walked to the open suitcase.
Inside...
He found a pistol.
One brass cartridge after another was pressed into the magazine.
His trembling hands loaded the weapon.
Then...
He raised it.
The muzzle pointed directly at his father's head.
"!!!"
Norikata's eyes widened.
His hand reached desperately into empty air.
Bang!
A horrifying hole exploded through the center of his forehead.
His head snapped backward.
The last traces of life vanished from his face.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunfire didn't stop.
Even after every round had been fired...
Kiritsugu continued pulling the trigger mechanically.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The firing pin struck empty chambers again and again.
Only when the silver-haired woman appeared and gently grasped the pistol did he finally stop.
Kiritsugu slowly came back to himself.
His eyes fell upon his father.
Lying motionless in a pool of blood.
Long dead.
His body mangled beyond recognition.
In that instant...
His mind shattered.
He desperately tried to throw away the murder weapon clutched in his hand.
But the pistol felt as though it had been welded to his fingers.
No matter how hard he tried...
He couldn't let it go.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The boy named Kiritsugu Emiya collapsed to his knees.
And wept in utter despair.
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