The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"Why, why did you become like this!"

Artoria burst into tears.

"Why! Why did you become like this!"

Lancelot still hasn't woken up.

Those unfocused eyes were proof that he was no longer alive...

"Ah, ah... ahhh..."

Artoria held Lancelot and wept uncontrollably, her heart filled with remorse.

"Lancelot, I'm sorry!"

"Lancelot!"

"sorry!"

Artoria kept repeating this phrase, as if only in this way could her heart stop hurting so much, as if only in this way could she alleviate the pain in her heart.

However, she overlooked one thing.

Even Lancelot is not an eternal being.

His body will slowly dissipate and eventually vanish completely; this is a fate that was predetermined countless years ago.

“Lancelot…”

Artoria looked at Lancelot's corpse, tears streaming down her face.

"Why do you always stubbornly insist on doing what you believe is right..."

Why won't you listen to my advice!

"Why are you so obsessive..."

"..."

Artoria gently touched Lancelot's cheek, and couldn't help but recall the time they had worked together.

However, she knew very well that this was all in the past.

As Lancelot's body vanished into nothingness, a single tear slid down her cheek...

"It seems this heroic spirit has already fulfilled its wish..."

Kiana's voice came from behind.

Upon hearing her voice, Artoria immediately turned around and glared at her.

"What's the meaning?!"

At this moment, Kiana was dressed in casual clothes.

She had a faint smile on her face, looking like a girl next door.

"Literally, because it involves the privacy of each Heroic Spirit, I, as the adjudicator, could not tell you at the time."

However, now that he's dead, there's no need for me to hide it anymore.

Upon hearing this, Artoria immediately questioned:

"What are you hiding?"

Kiana breathed a sigh of relief.

As the adjudicator, she can see what some of the Heroic Spirits are here for.

And in Lancelot as a Berserker.

Kiana saw this sentence: "She came because she was obsessed with King Arthur, and wanted to be freed from the guilt of not being punished."

Such a reason is quite strange, but if both of them are extremely standard knights, then it is not surprising.

After all, knights might care more about honor than life and death.

At the same time, the spirit of chivalry—the willingness of a man to die for one who understands him—is also the reason why chivalry has endured for so long.

As a near-perfect knight, Lancelot's behavior was entirely in line with her status.

"Cough cough."

Finally, with Kiana's explanation...

Artoria finally realized where she had gone wrong.

Or rather, she finally understood why Lancelot had come here.

"Feeling guilty for not being punished...?"

She muttered to herself, completely unaware that the lack of punishment would cause Lancelot such torment.

But... that seems to be exactly what he can do.

"It seems that the knight was right, I... don't understand people's hearts."

Finally, filled with self-reproach, Artoria uttered these words.

However, before she could continue blaming herself, Kiana slowly reached out and gently stroked her face.

"There's no need to blame yourself, Saber. You're not wrong, and neither is the King."

Kiana said slowly.

She had actually said the same thing to Kiritsugu not long ago.

“Saber has her own pursuits and her own principles. Kiritsugu, perhaps to you, humans are just objects that need to be saved. But I want to tell you that a person is a person, not a tool.”

Kiritsugu remained noncommittal in the face of Kiana's candid remarks.

He lit a cigarette, then exhaled a smoke ring, his weary eyes remaining calm.

There was absolutely no conviction or approval from them.

"But what does that have to do with the final result? As long as we can achieve the goal of saving all of humanity, you, me, and Saber are all willing to sacrifice ourselves."

"And what about your family? Irisviel and Ilya?"

Kiana stared intently at Kiritsugu and slowly questioned him.

Although it's not quite appropriate for someone who isn't human to say these words, what makes humans human is the existence of emotions.

There may be people who maintain absolute rationality in the face of justice, but absolute justice is absolute evil.

Actions that focus solely on results while ignoring the process are akin to a judgment made without trial.

Without a proper process, the will of the group can amplify human malice to an extreme degree.

Often, the most beautiful wishes lead people into the deepest abyss of despair.

Kiana felt that she might need to speak to Kiritsugu from an outsider's perspective.

Otherwise, if he continues like this...

Is it possible to witness the deepest despair?

"Even they can."

After saying this, Kiritsugu stubbed out his cigarette and drove away.

Kiana then came to Saber's side.

“You did nothing wrong, Saber. The problem was the era you lived in. Perhaps you failed because of your grand ambitions, but... even so, you were still glorious in defeat, weren't you?”

Kiana placed her hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder and spoke slowly.

"..."

After hearing Kiana's encouragement, Saber remained speechless for a long time.

She... finally nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Kiana."

"Hehe, you're welcome. Although I'm the adjudicator, I'm still your friend, aren't I?"

Kiana waved her hand, then touched her chin.

"Alright, enough of the small talk. Next... we might have to deal with a really, really big problem."

"You mean that Caster who ran away?"

As Artoria recalled the horrific scenes she had witnessed along the way, her sense of loss vanished, replaced by a determination to fight evil and uphold justice.

She will not let this man continue to do evil!

“That’s right. He’s incredibly fast right now. Even though he can’t use magic, he’s still a tough opponent and we have to be careful.”

"Ah."

I know what you're thinking.

"..."

Seeing Artoria's expression, Kiana chuckled softly.

"Your idea is actually very simple."

Artoria didn't speak, but simply watched Kiana silently.

She wanted to know how Kiana would solve this problem.

Kiana slowly revealed her plan.

“Since this man is a Caster, he will definitely have magical energy fluctuations. Just sense his location and tell me, and we'll take care of him together.”

"us?"

Saber was slightly taken aback.

“Yes, us. Although you are the Servant and I am the Judge, this guy’s behavior has completely gone beyond the scope of the Holy Grail War. I think I can take care of him.”

After saying that, Kiana winked at Artoria.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

After hesitating for a moment, Artoria agreed.