"I understand now."
The moment Kirei Kotomine felt an overwhelming urge arise within himself—a powerful desire to accomplish something—he knew that his transaction with Kiritsugu Emiya had already been completed.
An almost eerie smile spread across his otherwise composed face.
He slowly returned to the priest's pulpit inside Fuyuki Church and raised his right hand, which was covered in countless Command Seals.
Looking down at Kiritsugu, who sat among the church pews like an ordinary worshipper, he bestowed upon him what he considered an act of mercy—
A mercy born of pity.
A few moments later...
Kiritsugu Emiya calmly walked out of Fuyuki Church, his three Command Seals fully restored.
Outside, Maiya Hisau, who had kept her sniper rifle trained on Kirei the entire time, quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Then—
Bang!
Her scope suddenly exploded.
The glass lens shattered inward, and razor-sharp fragments embedded themselves deep into the eye she had been using to aim.
"Ahhh!"
Clutching her injured right eye, Maiya cried out in pain as she tumbled from the tree.
On the ground nearby...
A golden, needle-shaped Noble Phantasm slowly dissolved into particles of light.
Inside Fuyuki Church—
"Hmph."
"A mere mongrel."
Gilgamesh snorted impatiently as his figure materialized beside Kirei.
He had been standing there the entire time.
He had simply remained in Spirit Form.
Maiya hadn't been aiming only at Kirei.
She had unknowingly been pointing her rifle at the dematerialized Gilgamesh as well.
The fact that he had endured it until now before deciding to teach her a lesson...
Already spoke volumes about how restrained he was being—
At least by Gilgamesh's own standards.
Besides...
The woman had never truly offended him beyond redemption.
"Heh... just like him."
After noticing Gilgamesh's actions, Kirei looked toward Kiritsugu's retreating figure with an amused smile.
I wonder...
What kind of expression will he make when he discovers that woman has lost an eye?
Truthfully, Kirei would have preferred Gilgamesh to simply kill Maiya outright.
Kiritsugu's reaction would have been far more interesting that way.
Still...
This was enough.
Although Kirei possessed an enormous reserve of Command Seals, he had no intention of damaging the cooperative relationship he had built with Gilgamesh over something so trivial.
"Are you really just going to let him leave, Kirei?"
Gilgamesh asked casually, a trace of temptation hidden within his smile.
His tone made it sound as though blinding someone had been no more significant than flicking away a speck of dust.
He didn't even bother mentioning it.
"Yes."
Kirei nodded.
"There's no need for pointless testing, is there... King of Heroes?"
Turning toward Gilgamesh, he spoke with quiet certainty.
"Just as Kiritsugu Emiya said..."
"Whether I ordered you—or merely requested—that you kill him here..."
"You would most likely kill me first..."
"...to punish my insolence toward a king."
"Hahahahaha!"
Gilgamesh burst into delighted laughter.
"That's exactly what I like about you, Kirei."
"You're nothing like Tokiomi."
"You don't revere me either..."
"But unlike him..."
"You never hide what you're thinking."
"And somehow..."
"You always manage to satisfy me."
Tokiomi Tohsaka had died because of two fatal flaws—
Hypocrisy...
And arrogance.
Before the King of Heroes, whose eyes could perceive the truth behind all things...
There was no greater foolishness.
Had Tokiomi simply spoken his true thoughts aloud...
Gilgamesh might have regarded him a little more favorably.
Though...
His death would still have been inevitable.
Only someone like Kirei—
A man who genuinely piqued Gilgamesh's curiosity...
Who possessed pride enough to speak honestly before a king...
Yet still behaved with the proper humility expected of a servant—
Could truly earn the acknowledgment of the oldest Heroic Spirit.
Only then...
Could one barely qualify to stand at his side.
"So?"
Gilgamesh's laughter gradually subsided.
"What is your answer?"
"Because now..."
"I finally know."
"Oh?"
"I understand what kind of man Kiritsugu Emiya truly is."
Kirei paused.
Then slowly spread both arms and lifted his eyes toward the heavens.
"And more importantly..."
A smile unlike any before spread across his face.
"I've finally found..."
"...the meaning of battle."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789