C52

"Shink!"

The main hall of the Church fell silent as the piercing sound of a blade ringing through the night air echoed through the room.

Lying on his back, the supervisor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kotomine Risei, had a blade made of mercury protruding from his abdomen. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound, staining the ground beneath him.

"You!" Risei, now weak, lifted his head and looked up to see Kayneth's face, expressionless as if nothing had occurred.

"Reciprocity is the name of the game," Kayneth stated. "And let me tell you, as a supervisor, secretly aligning yourself with the Tohsaka family, this is a punishment straight from the heavens."

Risei's eyes finally came to rest on Kayneth as the latter stowed away his Volumen Hydrargyrum before Risei collapsed and slipped into unconsciousness, not to wake again.

"Kayneth, we can't find the Saint Graph." Kayneth's fiancé, Sola, searched the entire Church, but still could not find the objective of their visit - the Saint Graph.

"Has that old man hidden it or given it to that scoundrel?" Kayneth's eyebrows knitted together in frustration before smoothing out as he continued, "Forget it, Sola. It's just a minor game. Our opponents are nothing but a group of backwater magi. Even without the Saint Graph, I can easily emerge victorious."

"But this way, it will be difficult to find the vessel," Sola said.

"No worries, it's simply a question of effort and strategy. Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald can accomplish anything with just a bit of thought," Kayneth said with a nonchalant expression.

Kayneth's life had always been one of ease, envied by others and admired by many. Being a "genius" was a title that came naturally to him, and there was nothing he couldn't accomplish with a bit of thought and strategy.

"Lancer, where do you believe that valuable research vessel is being kept?" Sola's eyes shifted to Diarmuid, inquiring.

Kayneth's face turned ashen.

Diarmuid sighed inwardly and remained silent.

"---!!!"

Suddenly, Diarmuid's eyes widened, and he turned his head, gazing out of the window towards the southeast. "Master, I sense Caster's presence nearby."

"It seems we've been beaten to the punch. Is it the Tohsaka family? Hmph. Even those small-time nobles from the countryside dare to try and take that precious vessel from me? Don't even think about it! That vessel is mine, and mine alone," Kayneth exclaimed with disdain.

He looked at Sola, and added, "It belongs to me and Lady Sola!"

As Kayneth prepared to depart the Church, Sola looked at the blood-soaked Risei, and asked, "Aren't you going to finish him off? If he's still alive, he'll report this to the Holy Church, and it could lead to unpleasant consequences for you."

"I may not be a battle magus, but I am not much weaker than them. Kayneth does not require a second strike when it comes to killing." With that, Kayneth and Diarmuid made their way toward the suburban forest at a sprint.

Upon reaching their destination, Diarmuid charged ahead while Kayneth unleashed his Volumen Hydrargyrum, a unique Supreme Mystic Code created from mercury filled with magecraft. He prepared to infiltrate slowly, with a cool, collected smile on his face.

But then -

"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"

The ground trembled, and in the next instant, a massive arm emerged from the ground, resembling a giant hand that covered the sky and blocked out the sun, striking Diarmuid with its force.

"BOOM----!!!!"

With the ease of a human swatting a mosquito, Diarmuid was struck by the giant arm and sent flying. His body fell like a meteor, causing a splash in the nearby sea before crashing into the ruins on the other side. His condition was unknown.

"This... this..." Kayneth stared in shock at the scene, his jaw agape.

"Kay...Kayneth... Let's, let's retreat for now."

"You're, you're right, Sola. Let's retreat strategically. We'll come back another day," Kayneth said as he and Sola turned and fled the scene. The giant hand that emerged from a mythological legend, the true identity of this monster remained a mystery. It was wise to retreat strategically... retreat strategically...

"Hmm?"

Shirou looked up in the direction where Diarmuid had been struck and muttered to himself, "Just now, there was a sudden presence of a Servant, but now it's gone. What happened?"

With a sense of uncertainty, Shirou turned his gaze to the towering presence of Spartacus and couldn't help but feel a sense of security.

He had to admit, the feeling of being protected and safe made Shirou feel incredibly good. Despite Scathach's refusal to materialize, and the unexpected nature of this war, he had still found someone he could rely on for safety.

However, the current form of Spartacus should not be underestimated, otherwise, it would lead to disastrous consequences!

But this doesn't mean that he can't do anything.

Swords and shields are responsible for fighting and protecting, while as the eyes and brains, it is necessary to discern direction and devise a strategy for victory.

Shirou is by no means a skilled strategist, he is just an ordinary person who has been thrust into the stage of heroes. He doesn't possess great wisdom, but he is consistently resourceful. He relies on having read the script and understanding his opponents' characters, especially when the opponent is already trapped. Thus, Shirou already knows what he should do next.

"Kiritsugu... if it were you, you would have definitely noticed, right?" Shirou's low voice echoed in the darkness.

...

Dawn has come.

Kirei, who emerged from the basement, finally discovered the unconscious Risei lying in a pool of blood.

"Father ..."

As Kirei rushed over to his father's side, he gazed upon Risei's ashen complexion, unsure of what words to offer in this moment of grief. The thought of someone brutally taking the life of the man who had placed so much trust in him should have ignited a fiery rage within him, yet Kirei felt nothing but a numbing emptiness.

He knew he should be filled with anger and hatred, yet as he tried to summon those emotions, Kirei found his heart to be as still as a tranquil sea with no ripples. A disturbing and irrational thought crossed his mind - "If death is inevitable, why not let me be the one to end your suffering?"

Kirei was both horrified and fascinated by this thought, and the conflicting emotions brought him pain and confusion. He couldn't understand why he would even entertain such a notion, yet he couldn't shake it off. He felt lost in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, unsure of how to reconcile them.

He was born on December 28, 1967, while his father Risei was away on a pilgrimage. As he grew, he was trained as an executor under Risei's guidance during his teenage years.

Risei had high expectations for his only child and son, and Kirei did not disappoint. He developed into a person of excellent character and ability. However, despite his achievements, Kirei was plagued by confusion in his heart. He couldn't quite grasp what his father meant by the "Beauty" he always spoke of. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was missing something important.

As Kirei grew older, his confusion only deepened. He enrolled in the Theological College of Manresa where he transitioned from trainee to Executor who could operate independently and received his second baptism ceremony.

Despite graduating from College two years ahead of schedule as the top student, he still couldn't understand his purpose in life. He couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something missing, something he needed to understand.

Kirei struggled to find his true path, as he couldn't see good things or happiness in the way most people did. In an effort to change his abnormality, he tried many things, including becoming an Executor.

His final attempt to find fulfillment was to start a family. He married a woman named Claudia Hortensia, who was suffering from a terminal illness and had only a few years left to live.

During their two-year marriage, Kirei worked hard to love his wife and she in turn worked hard to make him love her. She was willing to do whatever it takes to help fix his abnormality. But, in the end, Kirei still couldn't gain the happiness of a normal person through his wife.

For him, happiness was derived from his wife's suffering, the more she wanted to help him, the more he wanted to see her suffer. This realization made Kirei even more desperate and lost.

Claudia, to prove that Kirei could love and was a person with a right to be loved, committed suicide in front of him. But all Kirei could think was "if she was going to die anyway, I wish I could have killed her with my own hands."

Kirei is consumed by sadness and often thinks back to that time. He can't decide whether his sorrow is because he couldn't enjoy his wife's death or because he loved her and wanted to end her suffering himself. Every time he thinks of this, his thoughts are interrupted by confusion and uncertainty, perhaps the answer will elude him forever.

However, it was also due to his wife's death that Kirei began to study Spiritual Healing magecraft. Now, as he stands in front of his father's corpse, he is plagued by another question. He is filled with doubts, wondering if his sorrow at this moment is because he couldn't enjoy his father's death or because he couldn't kill his father himself.

Suddenly, Gilgamesh appeared by Kirei's side and asked, "Are you awake?"

Kirei, who was lost in his thoughts, was startled by Gilgamesh's sudden appearance and unsure of what he meant by the question.

"I don't understand," Kirei said, looking at Gilgamesh in confusion.

"This mongrel, you still don't understand?" Gilgamesh sneered as he retrieved a potion from his treasury. He poured it over Risei's injuries, "Your father's not dead yet. The mongrel who ambushed him is a foolish, arrogant imbecile who can't even use a blade properly. Use this as a remedy, and he'll survive."

Gilgamesh then hurled a knife at Kirei's feet.

"..."

Kirei looked at the knife, then let out a maniacal laugh. He clutched his head and slammed it against the ground.

"Thud!" The holy scripture he held in his arms slipped from his grip and fell to the ground. Kirei paid it no heed and persisted in bashing his head against the ground.

"thud, thud, thud"

Blood and tears mingled as he laughed maniacally, the warmth of it running down the pages of the holy scripture. He snatched up the knife and snapped it in half with his bare hands, the sound of the breaking metal piercing the air.

"Oh?" Gilgamesh said with interest, "You're finally awake?"

Kirei's behavior and actions in the presence of his father's corpse reveal a disturbed and unstable state of mind. The laughter and violence he exhibits suggest a difficulty in processing his emotions, and the reasons behind his actions remain uncertain.

"Yes...yes...I never really considered it, I always put my faith in God's beautiful teachings, but the reality is so chaotic." Kirei laughed, tears streaming down his face, his twisted smile becoming more pronounced. "I just don't understand, why did you help me? You're clearly my teacher's servant."

"Is that even a question?" sneered Gilgamesh. "The so-called savior's doctrine is steeped in false righteousness, trapping evil under the guise of hypocrisy!" He continued, "And as for Tokiomi, he's nothing but a traitor who attempted to overthrow his king. He is not worthy of being called a subject."

"Do you understand the truth about the Holy Grail?" Kirei asked.

"Don't underestimate me. Your mongrel, when I was playing with those so-called gods, your ancestors' hadn't even been born yet!" Gilgamesh said contemptuously.

"That's true." Kirei lowered his head slightly. After three years of studying under Tokiomi, Kirei was also aware of the truth about the Holy Grail.

The so-called Holy Grail War, in essence, is a grand scheme orchestrated by the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou families, with the ultimate goal of reaching the "Root". The system is divided into the Greater Grail and the Lesser Grail.

The Lesser Grail, the prize awarded to the winner of the Holy Grail War is the object that the seven groups of magi and Heroic Spirits fought for. It is believed to have the power to instantly grant any wish, however, in reality, it only serves to preserve the souls of deceased Servants.

The Holy Grail's true essence is a highly crystallized form of magical energy that has been stored in spiritual veins for sixty years. While it may be able to accomplish some simple wishes, its true power is limited and it is nothing more than a lie.

"Why do you, as a king, protect that Caster?" Kirei asked. "Is it simply because he is still a child, or is there something more to it? Is he, like me?"

"I may have a fondness for the pure soul of a child, but that is not the case with him," Gilgamesh shook his head. "His soul is even dirtier and more chaotic than yours. But, he is different from you."

Kirei lowered his head slightly, "I am still confused. I must go find Kiritsugu, that extremely purpose-driven man may be able to give me the answer."

As Gilgamesh's figure gradually faded away, he spoke with a flourish, "Mongrel affairs, unless they are ugly, have no bearing on this king. But mark my words, when I appear before you again, that is the true grand theater worth savoring with wine! Hahahaha----!"

Kirei hugged Risei and headed to the hospital for treatment. The question that had once consumed him, he now had the answer to.

He could not find pleasure in his father's death and was unable to kill him himself. These two options were not ways to fill the void inside of him. Because no matter which one he chose, it would only serve to redeem his pitiful father, who until his death, had believed in his son's righteousness without a shred of doubt.

Kirei had come to understand his true self. The act of redeeming others could not quell the growing turmoil within him. Rather than allowing his pitiful father to hold onto the belief in his son's righteousness until his death, it would be more satisfying for Kirei to let his father witness the depth of his son's inner depravity and mercilessly shatter that trust. That, he thought, would bring true pleasure.

"Hahaha----" Holding his face, as he imagined his father's collapse, his heart felt a mix of pleasure and pain, hot tears streaming down his face, twisted in a smile.

His father Risei, from the day Kirei was born, had dedicated himself to pursuing God's grace and beauty, dividing his soul in two. The good was on display and the evil was locked away. Kirei was never taught how to guide or release it, he was simply taught how to use the prison to trap the evil half of his soul. This trap had held him captive for 27 years, only now did he truly understand the nature of his existence.

Human nature is evil!

For 27 years, he never guided or clarified his inner evil, whether it was his father Risei or his teachers, they only degraded it and trapped it in his heart, without any outlet to vent. It continued to accumulate and brew, without any release, eventually forming the evil that consumed all that was good inside him.

And this is why the Grail had chosen him. Could it truly be said that he was worthy of the Grail?

He himself had been trapped in the "righteous" prison and forgotten the true sense of his existence, yet the Grail had discovered it in an instant and bestowed upon him a curse!

As Kirei walked out of the hospital, he summoned Assassin and asked him, "Is there any news of Kiritsugu's whereabouts?"

"Yes," Assassin replied, "He was spotted by us when he was attacking Caster's Master. He is currently on his way to the hospital where Caster's Master is located."

"I understand." Kirei nodded and dismissed Assassin.

Kiritsugu holds a special significance to Kirei. This became apparent to him when he saw the information Tokiomi had obtained on Kiritsugu. He uses dirty and vile methods, and his actions and belief are vastly different from those of magi, all actions appear aimless but yet they have a grand goal. He is similar to Kirei but yet vastly different.

Kirei had once yearned to meet Kiritsugu, a man who was both similar and dissimilar to him, in order to gain a deeper understanding of himself. But now, he has finally found the answers he was searching for, yet the realization is both comforting and difficult to accept. He desires to speak with Kiritsugu and seek validation for his newfound understanding, however, a face-to-face encounter is no longer his goal.

Kirei made his way back to the basement of the church and utilized the Tohsaka magical device to contact Tokiomi.

"Teacher," he said, "I have completed a thorough investigation and have uncovered something suspicious regarding Caster."

"What is it?" Tokiomi queried.

"He is not a Servant, but rather a being similar to a dependent spirit who has fused with his master and is participating in this war. The body that has been fused is that of Caster's master," Kirei revealed.

"A fusion between human and servant? How is this possible? Such a thing is unprecedented! If the Clock Tower were to discover this kind of vessel, it would undoubtedly be sealed away,"

"Yes, that is why Lancer's master, the lord from the Clock Tower, is currently searching for the corpse of Caster's master," Kirei confirmed.

"Where is his corpse?"

"At the police hospital."

"Good!"

As the sound of someone leaving echoed through the phonograph, the room fell silent. Kirei sat in the basement, engrossed in the book of God. A smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

Kirei wondered if the information was a blessing or a curse, Tokiomi didn't bother to ask where Kirei had obtained it, a fact that was crucial. He couldn't help but wonder how it would all play out in the end.

Kirei's heart was in turmoil as he read the book of God with a mix of anticipation, pleasure, and waves of excitement.

"Generosity, tenacity, honesty, loyalty, diligence, justice, patience..."

In the dim and quiet basement, a voice resounded, reciting melodious words.

...

Next 68 Chapters are up on my Patreon: patreon.com/bcloud