My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

Kidnapping this woman was never about sexual desire; rather, it was because he had a question he desperately wanted answered and needed to ask her.

Therefore, he sent unofficial members of the Fuyuki Church to closely monitor Kiritsugu Emiya's new base. These unofficial members were all ordinary humans, so they did not arouse the suspicion of Kiritsugu Emiya and Saber.

This allowed him to seize the opportunity when neither Kiritsugu Emiya nor Saber were present, and successfully kidnap the woman.

……

on the ground.

Artoria chased after him relentlessly, and even though she could no longer see Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm, she did not give up. She chased him all the way to the outskirts of the city and encountered Iskandar, who had regained his physical form.

Iskandar assumed the other party had come to fight, and without saying a word, he stopped Artoria and, as was customary, tried to persuade her to join his army. However, Artoria had no interest in listening to his nonsense.

She slowly raised the holy sword, chanting "Ex-calibur".

The holy sword emitted a golden light, resonating with the magical particles in the surrounding air, transforming them into a high-density, highly destructive beam of light, which she swung fiercely toward Iskandar with her movements.

The beam of light, accompanied by a whistling sound, engulfed Iskandar, who was charging towards them in the "Divine Wheel," with unstoppable force.

As the beam of light dissipated, the scene was a mess. The original asphalt highway had been completely erased, leaving a blank space in its place, replaced by a huge ditch that exposed the yellow soil underneath, stretching for hundreds of meters. Broken concrete blocks were scattered everywhere, the guardrails on both sides were also broken, and the nearby ground was cracked and showed signs of collapse.

Artoria glanced at Iskandar, who was hanging on a tree branch on the side of the mountain where the beam attack was located, and Waver, whom he was holding, then turned around and drove away on her motorcycle, continuing to search for Irisviel.

Iskandar watched Artoria disappear without using the King's Army.

In the nick of time, he decisively abandoned the Divine Wheel and jumped onto a tree branch on the side of the mountain to escape disaster.

Chapter 408 Transition II

Artoria searched all night but couldn't find Irisviel.

The next day.

Ryudo-ji Temple, located atop Mount Enzo, is a typical ancient Japanese temple.

Kiritsugu Emiya sat on the steps in front of the temple, looking haggard. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his chin was visibly thinner. The cold stone steps were covered with a layer of frost, but he seemed oblivious to it.

He didn't sleep at all yesterday and last night, searching all over Fuyuki City for Irisviel, the woman he could call his "wife." He personally went to every place he could think of, but in the end, he found nothing.

Left with no other option, he could only wait and see which location might be the site of the Holy Grail's descent ceremony.

Although he is physically exhausted, his mind remains sharp:

'It's been about 40 hours since my last sleep. To win the Holy Grail War, I must hold a ceremony at one of the four ley lines in Fuyuki City.'

The Holy Church has disappeared, and Kirei Kotomine has not been found in Tohsaka Prefecture either. This leaves only two places: Mount Enzo or the Fuyuki City Hall.

As far as Ling is concerned, Mount Enzo is the most likely candidate. I'm already waiting here. Even if he ends up at the Civic Center, that place can simply be taken by a frontal assault.

……

The underground flood discharge reservoir near Weiyuanchuan.

However, it is currently the dry season, so a place resembling an underground cavity has been created here, which is why Kiritsugu Emiya did not discover it.

"Woman." A deep voice echoed in the darkness.

Irisviel on the ground frowned, then opened her eyes, though they were hazy and confused, clearly not fully awake yet.

"Did you hear that, woman?" Kirei Kotomine raised his voice.

Irisviel gradually regained consciousness upon hearing the sound. She struggled to sit up and looked around. She noticed some protruding objects on the ground and walls, about the size of an adult's waist. However, due to the dim light, she couldn't tell what they were. There was only a faint smell of blood in the air.

Her eyes were filled with vigilance as she looked at the person in front of her: "Kirei Kotomine...".

"This is where Caster's Master hid," Kirei Kotomine explained. "It seems that Kiritsugu Emiya never managed to find this place in the end."

Upon hearing this, Irisviel's expression changed. She finally understood what was on the ground all around. It was probably because of the sudden drop in temperature in Fuyuki that these corpses had not started to decompose.

Kirei Kotomine savored Irisviel's fear, a smile playing on his lips, his voice brimming with confidence: "The Holy Grail War is about to be decided, and I suppose I'll be the one to shoulder the responsibility of fulfilling the Einzbern family's long-cherished wish."

Upon hearing this, Irisviel immediately frowned, her eyes filled with rejection.

In her heart, only Kiritsugu could fulfill the Einzbern family's long-cherished wish.

"Are you that dissatisfied with me?" Kirei Kotomine asked.

Irisviel, drawing courage from who-knows-where, looked directly at Kirei Kotomine and declared, "I entrust the Holy Grail to only one person. That person will never be you, Agent!"

Your inner self has already been seen through by Kiritsugu Emiya.

He sees you as his greatest enemy.

You'd better prepare yourself mentally!

Faced with Irisviel's threat, Kirei Kotomine laughed out loud: "This is a blessing for me. Like attracts like. Kiritsugu Emiya is indeed the man I imagined."

Irisviel felt as if she had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world: "It's ridiculous, you are clearly the one who is the furthest away from him."

"What did you say?" Kirei Kotomine demanded.

"Kiritsugu can see through you, but you can't understand him. Anything in his heart is something you can never possess."

Kirei Kotomine was furious: "What right do you have to criticize me?"

As he spoke, he grabbed her by the neck.

"I admit, I am indeed an empty person, but how is he any different from me?"

Kirei Kotomine's face contorted into a ferocious expression. He grabbed Irisviel by the neck and lifted her up. He roared into her ear:

"That man who has devoted himself to battles that yield no reward for years, who only repeats the cycle of killing, has deviated from the norm and gained nothing. Isn't he just a lost sheep?"

Irisviel was being choked and couldn't breathe.

Upon seeing this, Kirei Kotomine released his grip. It wasn't out of pity for the woman, but because Irisviel couldn't die before answering his question.

"Cough...cough cough..." Irisviel was able to breathe again.

"Answer me, Kiritsugu Emiya, why does he pursue the Holy Grail? What is the wish he wants the wish-granting machine to grant?" Kirei Kotomine was eager to know the answer.

Irisviel hadn't recovered from the violence yet. She clutched her neck, her voice slightly hoarse, but her eyes shone brightly as she looked at Kirei Kotomine.

"Alright, you want to know? Then I'll tell you. Kiritsugu Emiya's greatest wish is... to save humanity!"

"Huh??" Kirei Kotomine thought he had misheard.

Saving humanity?

When did humanity begin to be represented?

Have you asked every single human being?

Without asking, what gives you the right to claim you can save humanity?

What's the difference between forced salvation and slaughter? One is hypocritical, the other is aboveboard.

Irisviel, thinking he hadn't understood, explained in detail: "To eradicate all war and bloodshed, and to achieve lasting world peace!"

This time, Kirei Kotomine was certain he hadn't misheard. He thought the other man was playing a trick on him, and he stared into Irisviel's eyes.

However, all that could be seen in those beautiful eyes was earnestness and determination.

"What is this?" Kirei Kotomine asked, full of confusion.

"You could never understand that this is the difference between you and him, the difference between having or not having beliefs."

Kirei Kotomine retorted, "No, fighting is human nature. To eradicate fighting is to eradicate humanity. This cannot be considered an ideal; it's like a child's joke."

A hint of sadness flashed in Irisviel's eyes. She knew that this dream was simply a pipe dream: "So in the end, he could only hope for a miracle. In order to pursue his dream, he was always forced to give up the people he loved."

Indeed, as a dreamer, Kiritsugu was too kind.

Even knowing he would inevitably lose her, he still couldn't help but love her.

In the end, Irisviel's eyes held a tenderness, but this tenderness, in the cold surroundings, had a desolate feel to it.

Kirei Komine was stunned. Who were these people? What were these things?

It's simply... simply...

It's one thing that Kiritsugu Emiya is problematic, but why do you, as a woman, act like you completely understand this devil's thoughts?

Kirei Kotomine looked at Irisviel in silence for a moment, then said, "I understand."

He realized that this woman had been brainwashed.

Like a religion, he became a fanatical follower of the "Emiya Kiritsugu Cult".

It's useless to reason with these fanatics. Only by using pure, primal violence to destroy their bodies can they be freed and go to see God!

Without saying a word, he immediately...

He grabbed Irisviel by the hair and roughly lifted her up, showing absolutely no mercy.

"Ah~" Irisviel cried out in pain.

But Kirei Kotomine ignored her, grabbing her neck with both hands, his arm muscles tensing as he slowly tightened his grip...

Squeak!

Irisviel's fragile neck emitted a painful groan.

Kirei Kotomine continues to intensify her efforts.

Irisviel's neck was visibly bent, her face contorted in pain. Her hands instinctively gripped Kirei Kotomine's, but her strength was no match for his; she could only struggle helplessly.

With a "click!"

Irisviel's struggles ceased, her hands instantly went limp and relaxed, drooping naturally for a few moments before coming to rest.

Kirei Kotomine released his hand.

Irisviel's body swayed slightly under the influence of gravity before landing heavily on the ground.

Kirei Kotomine looked at Irisviel's corpse: "I have finally found the meaning of this battle. I will shatter his ideals, along with the Holy Grail, to pieces before you."

After finishing his sentence, Kirei Kotomine turned and left.

Time flew by and evening arrived.

Kirei Kotomine placed Irisviel's body at the Fuyuki City Civic Center, and then released a smokescreen similar to fireworks, commonly used in the magic world, into the sky.

The smoke signals exploded a thousand meters into the sky, and could be faintly seen even in the neighboring Chancheng.

Looking at the signal in the sky and flipping through the memories of Zouken Matou, a traditional magician, she understood that this was a signal for summoning.