Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

It can only be the result of favorable timing, location, and human factors.

Timing—Shirou Emiya's breathing technique is derived from the power of the sun, which allows him to escape Esdeath's ice and break free from her ultimate technique, [Mahavamsa].

The advantage lies in the terrain—Emiya's ability to raise his own temperature has a limit, but even at that limit, he cannot activate his mark.

During the battle between Shirou Emiya and Esdeath in the arena, Shirou's body temperature and heart rate reached a very high level, but he still could not activate his Demon Slayer Mark.

However, because they were in a forest burning with flames, although they couldn't suppress Esdeath's Imperial Arms, they did further raise Shirou Emiya's body temperature, allowing him to activate his Demon Slayer Mark.

Human factors – thanks to Shirou Emiya's tireless efforts, he became even more familiar with Esdeath than she was herself. He even managed to memorize Esdeath's instinctive reactions during close combat and knew how to counter them.

With Emiya using sword techniques specifically designed to counter Esdeath, Esdeath was only able to unleash 60% of her fighting power against Emiya Shirou.

To some extent, this makes Esdeath's combat strength equal to that of Shirou Emiya.

This is why Shirou Emiya was able to defeat Esdeath.

————————Time Divider——————

Several days passed quickly, and Shirou Emiya's attitude towards Esdeath softened slightly.

It wasn't that Shirou Emiya had lost his desire to kill Esdeath; it was just that, in this situation of being stranded on a deserted island, Shirou Emiya had to temporarily put aside his desire to kill her in order to survive on the island.

He is not someone who can endure loneliness indefinitely. Shirou Emiya is a social animal, so don't think of him as an omnipotent superman.

Of course, these are not the main reasons. The biggest reason is that Shirou Emiya currently has no way to fight Esdeath.

Even setting aside defeating Esdeath, getting Emiya to lift his sword would be an extremely difficult task.

Even Avalon's magic power is limited, and Emiya never felt the warm current coming from his abdomen again after waking up.

These days, he has been enduring the pain that is gradually spreading through his body purely through his own tenacious willpower.

Emiya also tried projection, but the intense pain from the extension of his brain forced him to stop what he was doing.

After several days of attempts, Emiya managed to project the weapon with great difficulty, but he was constantly accompanied by extremely intense pain deep in his brain.

It seems to be a lingering effect of that battle, and it will probably last for quite some time for Emiya Shirou.

For all the reasons mentioned above, Shirou Emiya had no choice but to temporarily cease hostilities with Esdeath, at least until they were able to leave the deserted island before engaging in combat.

Flames sizzled in front of Shirou Emiya and Esdeath as they sat on the beach, quietly gazing at the starry sky.

Why would you slaughter innocent people like this?

Chapter 102 The Sinner—Esdeath

Nothing happens without a reason.

That's what Emiya Shirou thought.

Every action and every event may not necessarily have its own logic, but they will always have their own reasons.

You can slip on banana peels on the road because people litter them.

Ants are accidentally stepped on and killed because they are on the path that people are walking on.

A person walking down the street had their head chopped off by a flying axe. Perhaps it was a nobleman looking for fun, or perhaps someone just wanted to throw something they were holding.

You yawned because of a physical reaction or because of something in your mind.

There is always a reason for an event, but not necessarily a justification.

He wanted to understand the underlying reasons behind Esdeath's actions.

In fact, Emiya had already made his own deduction. In such a corrupt world, it was not surprising that someone who was ruthless and took pleasure in slaughter would appear.

He just wanted to see if he could change her preconceived notions.

After all, during this period, Esdeath was the one who captured the prey and obtained the food that allowed her to survive.

Emiya expressed his gratitude to Esdeath for this.

Wanting to kill her and thanking her are not mutually exclusive.

The sins she carries are something that Emiya Shirou can never forgive, no matter what.

But if Esdeath can change her mind and help those who are still alive, Emiya will let go of his murderous intent towards her.

If Esdeath cannot change her mind, then no matter how much kindness Esdeath has shown him, Shirou Emiya will still maintain an absolute desire to kill her.

No matter how many good deeds a murderer does afterward, it cannot change the fact that he deserves to go to hell.

No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of a life.

But does that mean criminals shouldn't choose to redeem themselves?

Can killing or torturing a criminal bring back those lost lives?

This is obviously impossible; at least in Emiya's mind, those who are still alive are more important than those who are dead.

Rather than killing those sinners, Emiya truly desires to have those criminals contribute to the world and society.

He has no right to forgive those who were killed by criminals, and of course, Emiya has no right to overstep the rules to uphold the justice he believes in for those who have died.

These are just selfish thoughts in his mind.

Therefore, if Esdeath reforms and an enemy seeks revenge on her, Shirou Emiya will absolutely not stop her.

A life for a life, a debt for a debt—these are the natural order of things, and Emiya has no right to stop them.

These things are not within Emiya's scope of business. He doesn't help others take revenge; at most, he only fulfills others' desire for revenge because of his own needs.

Emiya will only appear to stop someone if that person is willing to sacrifice many more innocent lives to complete their revenge.

"I was born in the northern border region—"

Esdeath had no reservations, after all, she and Shirou Emiya were the only two people on the entire island, so rather than just sitting there blankly, she might as well have some conversation.

She began to recount her past in detail, and it wasn't anything shameful.

Esdeath is the daughter of the chief of the Baltus tribe, a race that specializes in hunting dangerous species. From a young age, she has been deeply ingrained with the idea that the strong prey on the weak.

After returning from a solo hunt, she discovered that her entire tribe had been wiped out by a northern tribe.

However, she harbored no hatred for the northern barbarians; instead, she became even more convinced of the survival-of-the-fittest mentality.

"Is there really no hatred towards the northern barbarians?"

Emiya Shirou pondered this, finally understanding why Esdeath had slaughtered the entire northern alien race. This ruthlessness stemmed not only from her own living environment but also from hatred.

Esdeath may not have shown any attachment to her father or her tribe, but her massacre of the northern tribes alone revealed her deep longing for the past.

Emiya understands Esdeath's actions, but he doesn't believe that what she did was right. Fighting evil with evil is inherently a very wrong approach.

But Emiya wouldn't tell Esdeath that she shouldn't have slaughtered those innocent civilians from the northern tribes.

He couldn't bring himself to persuade someone to lay down their weapons after his entire family was killed. He would only show his loyalty through actions, not words.

"The law of the jungle, which perfectly describes the current state of the empire."

Emiya could only sigh. He wasn't from this world, and he knew he couldn't judge their actions based on his own standards.

In an empire where nobles eat gruel and commoners might not even see grass, Emiya might not be surprised if cannibalism occurred.

This was more than just a situation of widespread suffering; the common people had been turned into livestock, kept and fed by the nobles.

The reason they didn't resist wasn't because the people were unaware of their situation, but because they lacked the means to fight back.

Esdeath alone in the Empire is enough to make everyone feel suffocated.

This is the law of the jungle, absolute suppression through sheer strength.

It is precisely because of the empire's formidable strength that it has been able to stand firm, even though it has become utterly corrupt internally.

"But many things can't be explained by the simple 'survival of the fittest' principle, can they? I suppose in that tribe, even at the very last moment, they would still choose to let the young and weak go first."

Just as Shirou Emiya wanted to change Esdeath's mindset, Esdeath also wanted to change Shirou Emiya's mindset.

This is a boy who was able to defeat me in such a short time. Anyone would be tempted to recruit him as their subordinate.

"Yes"

Esdeath could not refute this point; in her memory, she did indeed find a group of people who had been caught up and slaughtered by the northern aliens, and that included many children and the elderly.

They tried to escape, but were caught up and killed by the northern barbarians.

Those were people in their tribe who had lost their fighting ability or who did not yet possess fighting power.

Without a doubt, those people were the weak.

"No one is strong from the start; everyone starts as weak. Didn't you survive in such extreme cold because of your father's protection?"

Emiya recalled the first time he saw a demon, how frail it was, how easily it could pierce through his body with a single blow.

Chapter 103 An Ideology That Can Never Be Changed

Esdeath did not pause because of Emiya's question.

"That's because my father is a strong person. Isn't it normal for the strong to make the rules?"

Esdeath responded to Shirou Emiya.

"The law of the jungle is an ironclad rule that no one can change. If you weren't so powerful, do you think you could be having this calm and peaceful conversation with me?"

"All rules are based on the principle of the survival of the fittest."

Esdeath's tone left no room for doubt; she had never hesitated in the slightest when it came to what she believed in.

"That--"

Before Emiya could ask any questions, Esdeath immediately interrupted him.

"Are you trying to say why your father would protect the weak?"

"It's just a set of rules set by our father. He's the stronger one, so we follow his rules, that's all!"

Esdeath's father was the most powerful person in the entire tribe, and no one could disobey his orders, just as he had taught Esdeath.

Even though his actions aligned with Emiya's own thoughts, he still adhered to the ironclad rule of the jungle.