Type-Moon: My Destiny Guide

"What kind of person do you want to be when you grow up?" The brown-skinned Southeast Asian girl smiled brightly, revealing Kiritsugu Emiya's first love.

But she was already dead. After taking the drug that turned her into a Dead Apostle created by Emiya Norikaze, she was eliminated by the Church of Christ and the Mage's Association.

The girl, now a Dead Apostle, hands Kiritsugu Emiya a silver dagger, begging him to kill her.

But Kiritsugu Emiya fled in disgrace.

Because he failed to kill the girl he loved, the entire village fell into ruin—this disaster almost shaped the lifelong values ​​of the magician assassin named Kiritsugu Emiya.

"Ms. Natalia? Is Ms. Natalia here?"

"what……"

This time, the man finally stopped.

The wound in my heart has stopped bleeding; a breeze blows by, producing a hollow echo.

After the village that had become a Dead Apostle was destroyed, he was adopted by the bounty hunter Natalia.

She accompanied Kiritsugu Emiya through his youth, watching him transform from a child into a gloomy, cold-blooded hunter with dry eyes.

In his final mission, in order to eliminate the Dead Bees on the plane, Kiritsugu Emiya used a blowgun-mounted surface-to-air missile, shooting down the doomed flight before it landed.

Even though his most respected teacher and the woman he had been with for over a decade were on that plane.

In the countless midnight dreams that followed, Kiritsugu Emiya belatedly realized what he had lost.

He had long regarded Natalie Adams as his mother.

"Strange, Emiya Norikaze, Xia Lei, Natalia... Haven't they come out yet?"

Yes, I killed them all with my own hands.

The ghosts of the past reached out to him, trying to drag him into an unfathomable abyss.

The thin man stood in the crowd, looking so lonely and precarious.

It's all fake, fake. They're all dead, how could they possibly be alive in this hotel?

Everything could only be someone's malicious mockery of him, or a setup to slow him down.

Despite knowing this, Kiritsugu Emiya couldn't change anything. He treated himself as a scale to measure good and evil, but one side of the scale was constantly weighed down by heavy weights, while the other side was firmly held down by the man himself.

The creaking sound wasn't just from the scales themselves.

Each name becomes a hidden clue, seemingly foreshadowing a tragic ending.

So, what follows is...

"Miss Irisviel? Is Miss Irisviel von Einzbern here?" Death flipped through the list of names and slowly read out the next one.

Yes, even his beloved wife was killed by his own hands...

Yes, I'm here.

A melodious voice, like that of a lark, rang out behind Kiritsugu Emiya. Irisviel cupped her cheeks, her red eyes filled with confusion:

"Strange, I didn't book a room at the Hyatt Hotel? But it's in my name... Hmm, is there a mistake?"

Seemingly noticing Kiritsugu's incredulous gaze, the beautiful woman stuck out her tongue and clasped her hands together in embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Kiritsugu, but I couldn't resist coming over in the end."

Beside her, the man in the suit stepped forward: "This is not Irisviel's fault. I came here on my own initiative, and I should bear the responsibility for the mistake."

But at this moment, Kiritsugu Emiya didn't care about that. Looking at the woman he loved, a glimmer of light appeared in his lifeless eyes.

Under Irisviel's astonished gaze, Kiritsugu Emiya stepped forward, opened his arms, and embraced his wife, embracing one of the few remaining bonds in this cold, mortal world.

After a long while, a muffled sound finally rang out.

"Thank you,."

Artoria raised an eyebrow, and the ahoge (cowlick) on her head swayed slightly.

This was the only time her Master thanked her, but he couldn't feel happy at all.

Her intuition told her what kind of bitterness and tears were hidden in this expression of gratitude.

What exactly did this man go through in the past?

Meanwhile, Irisviel also noticed Kiritsugu Emiya's unusual behavior.

They had shared brief embraces before, but each time, her husband suppressed his emotions and only took it lightly, as if afraid that he would become addicted to something and unable to extricate himself.

But this was the first time he had embraced her without any reservations and nestled in her arms.

Kiritsugu is very vulnerable right now.

Irisviel's unique sensitivity, characteristic of androids, led her to a quick conclusion.

Unlike when he was born, when he was vulnerable and said with a pained expression, "I am not worthy to hold this child," his vulnerability at that time was firm. It was the pain caused by the fact that the person named "Emiya Kiritsugu" knew what he would do and what would happen in the future, but was powerless to change it.

But this vulnerability is illusory and broken, like the despair of having one's own meaning denied.

That's precisely why it's so profound.

"If I decide to abandon everything and run away right now—Ellie, would you come with me?"

After a brief moment of tenderness, the man looked up and said something that left Irisviel stunned.

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Chapter 60 Timed Explosion, Hotel Collapse

Irisviel had never seen her husband with such an expression.

His desperate expression resembled that of a wounded and terrified child, as if he were about to burst into tears. The man standing there wasn't a highly skilled magician assassin, but a weak and timid man.

"Kiritsugu, you—"

Irisviel could feel her chest trembling; her husband’s once strong and reliable wrists now felt as weak as a child clinging to its mother.

"If I—" Kiritsugu's arms tightened around Irisviel, his voice hoarse and weak as he asked in her ear, "If I decide to abandon everything and run away now—Irisviel, would you come with me?"

This is probably the question that Irisviel could imagine Kiritsugu Emiya would be least likely to say.

"Ilya... what should we do about the child in Winter City?"

"I will go back and bring her out. Anyone who gets in my way will be killed." The man's answer was urgent and concise, proving his resolute will.

"From now on... I will dedicate everything I have to ourselves. I am willing to give my entire life just to protect you and Ilya..."

At this moment, Irisviel finally understood the extent to which the man before her had been driven. Before their arrival, it seemed that someone had used mysterious means to completely shatter the warrior's resolute mind and spirit.

He is not the Kiritsugu of nine years ago, not the killing machine who was as sharp as a hunting dog, as ruthless and sharp as a bullet or a blade, forging himself to the limit. He has changed too much, becoming fragile and worrying.

Irisviel knew what had changed him—his wife and daughters, impurities that would never have been part of Kiritsugu Emiya's life.

Before arriving in Winter Castle, Kiritsugu Emiya had nothing left to lose, not even the capacity to feel pain. That's why he could be so ruthless and cold-blooded, decisively giving up and sacrificing everything in pursuit of the unattainable dream of saving the world.

Now, Kiritsugu needs to go back in time. But turning back time makes his soul wail; the changes of the past ten years are too profound. The existence of Irisviel and Illya allows Kiritsugu to find ties in the mortal world again.

The assassin who once devoted himself entirely to his ideals is gone. In his place is a man with a weakness who can no longer remain ruthless.

Kiritsugu Emiya's resistance reveals his weakness. He is currently struggling to maintain his own identity and has no energy left to accept or consider how to reconcile his relationship with the King of Knights.

Irisviel felt a tightness in her chest; her beloved man was suffering so much, and she was powerless to help him. For the one tormenting Kiritsugu was none other than himself.

If they agree to Kiritsugu's request, their futures will definitely take different directions, for better or for worse.

However, Irisviel simply smiled gently and spoke as if she could see right through her husband's soul:

"Can we escape?"

“We can escape. It’s not too late to leave now,” Kiritsugu replied immediately. But these words did not come from his existing conviction; they were merely words he uttered to force himself to believe in an extremely slim hope.

"You're lying." So Irisviel retorted, gently yet cruelly denying him.

"That's a lie. Kiritsugu Emiya, you absolutely cannot escape. You will never forgive yourself for abandoning the Holy Grail and for being powerless to save the world. You will become the first and last punisher, and you will annihilate the existence of 'Kiritsugu Emiya'."

The man she was holding fell silent.

Was he crying? Or was he just whimpering silently?

Because he himself knew very well that he had no other choice.

The Iron Curtain had already fallen, and the moment they stepped into Fuyuki City, there was nowhere to escape.

After realizing this, it was as if something had shattered.

Instead, a new belief took hold in Kiritsugu Emiya's heart.

"Ah, yes, we can't escape now."

Gently yet irresistibly pushing away the embrace, what appeared before Irisviel was once again the cold and meticulous "Magician Killer".

"At least allow me to struggle a little longer before fate arrives."

With an incredibly sarcastic tone, Kiritsugu Emiya led Irisviel away, then took out a pager. However, this old-fashioned machine neither vibrated nor made a sound; the received signal was sent through a modified circuit to the detonator connected to the C4 bomb.

He pressed the last button without hesitation.

Accompanied by a deep, rumbling sound like thunder, a dazzling cloud of fire suddenly enveloped the hotel.

Although the explosion was small, the sound did not even reach outside the deserted restaurant.

But instead of the sound of explosions echoing in the night sky, there was a strange, mournful wail of steel bars and concrete crushing against each other.

The hotel collapsed!

The high-rise hotel, over 150 meters tall, collapsed as if sucked into the ground, maintaining its upright posture. Because all the exterior walls collapsed inwards, not a single piece of debris flew out; only the dust generated by the collapse buried the surrounding streets.

With Kiritsugu Emiya's masterful demolition skills, the Hyatt Hotel was completely destroyed by its own weight, which caused it to collapse inwards due to the destruction of load-bearing walls and key pillars.

There were no unnecessary arrangements, the impact on the surrounding area was minimized, and almost no sound was made—only the collapse of a 150-meter-tall building could prove how skilled and terrifying Kiritsugu Emiya's demolition techniques were.

However, the man who caused all of this did not even glance at the explosion. His coat was blown by the strong wind generated by the falling building as he strolled among the crowd, surrounded by the sobbing of frightened children, with a mother hurriedly comforting her child.

But such a scene could no longer sway Kiritsugu Emiya's steps.

He walked forward indifferently, watching the crowd flee. When the wind pressure finally subsided, he lit the cigarette in his mouth and dialed the phone.

"Maimi, how are things going on your end?"

"There was no movement on the 32nd floor until the very end; the target did not escape outside the building."

"very good."