In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

For a moment, the agents who had just felt joy because of their goodwill were all expressionless, and an indescribable sense of heaviness filled their hearts.

"Let's go, Kirei..."

Kotomine Ryougi gazed at the area reduced to ruins, silently praying for the deceased orphans, his face etched with indescribable sorrow. At this moment, he could only pray in his heart that they would be redeemed by the Lord and enter heaven.

Meanwhile, Kirei Kotomine, watching this scene, seemed thoughtful. Observing the priests who were praying together, he couldn't help but come to his own conclusion...

It turns out that the kindness we extend is more important than resources, even if that kindness is ultimately futile, these children still have a chance for redemption...

After all, these children still had smiles on their faces, showing the joy of receiving food, until the very last moment before they died.

Kirei Kotomine coldly gazed at the ravaged land, then pondered more deeply, his doubts growing ever stronger...

If goodwill is salvation, then what if we cut off the source of malice?

For example: Wouldn't it be a greater act of kindness to kill the soldiers who brought disaster?

For a moment, Kirei Kotomine couldn't help but reach for his black key.

“Father, should I punish them? With the number of agents of the Eighth Mystery, punishing that number of soldiers would be a piece of cake.”

He asked calmly.

"Do not……"

Kotomine Risuke shook his head.

"We don't know who was right and who was wrong in this war. The soldiers were not innocent, but they were just following orders. The instigators and promoters of the war could get these soldiers to do it without getting their hands dirty. No matter how many soldiers are punished, it cannot effectively redeem them. Redemption itself is more meaningful than punishment."

"Is it more meaningful...?"

Kirei Kotomine put away the black keys in his hand and silently followed his father's steps.

"So what exactly constitutes meaningful redemption?"

"The most meaningful redemption..."

Upon hearing Kirei Kotomine's question, Risuke Kotomine murmured a few words to himself.

"The greatest redemption is not about redeeming others, but about redeeming yourself..."

Upon hearing this, Kirei Kotomine couldn't help but listen intently.

"Find your own meaning and do what you believe is right. Only by doing this can you truly redeem yourself."

"Should you do...what you want to do, what you believe is right?"

Kirei Kotomine repeated the sentence, then his eyes gradually became thoughtful.

Is this how I redeem myself?

So, is it only when he finds what he truly wants to do that he can achieve so-called redemption?

……

In an instant, my thoughts began to expand.

The revolving lantern display gradually began to fade away.

Modern-day Fuyuki City.

"Hey, Kirei, have you had enough sleep? It's time to wake up."

In the ruins of the church in the forest, which had been bombed into a wasteland, Gilgamesh dug out a poor fellow who had been buried underneath.

Seeing Kirei Kotomine, who was on the verge of death because he was in the center of the explosion and had no time to escape, he took out a bottle of the Water of Life from the treasure vault and forcefully poured it into Kirei's mouth, pulling his life back from the brink of death.

"Perhaps I have found my own salvation... Father."

Kirei Kotomine kept his eyes closed, softly murmuring incomprehensible words, a sight that made Gilgamesh frown.

He grabbed the guy in front of him, who had clearly recovered from his injuries but was still lost in his memories, and then coldly questioned him.

"Kiri, how long are you going to sleep here?"

"...Ah, it's the King of Heroes..."

Upon hearing Gilgamesh's call, Kirei Kotomine slowly rose, glanced at the surrounding ruins and scorched earth, and then at his tattered priestly robes. In a daze, his thoughts drifted back to that very beginning.

The Middle East battlefield, a father, and self-redemption...

Do what you want to do and what you believe you should do.

"...Perhaps we have now reached that important moment, Father."

Kirei Kotomine took a black cloak from Gilgamesh's hand, covering his barely clothed body, and then slowly spoke under Gilgamesh's questioning gaze.

"Gilgamesh, I now understand the meaning of my life, and I have found my own salvation..."

Kirei Kotomine opened his arms and spoke expressionlessly. Unlike the joy he showed when he killed Tokiomi Tohsaka, his face was now filled with a strange sense of redemption and a deep sense of mission.

Gilgamesh frowned.

He was also somewhat confused about what was wrong with the newly found clown.

"Well, it's good that we found it."

"In short, hurry up and pack your things, then come with me to Qili. Now that the boring minions have been dealt with, it's time for me to enjoy my main course."

Ignoring Kirei Kotomine's current delirious thoughts, Gilgamesh turned his head to look in the direction of the Fuyuki City Gymnasium.

Besides killing the insect that disturbed his enjoyment, the newly released God Declaration Gungnir also serves to find the final location where the Holy Grail will descend.

The final battle will also begin there.

"..."

Seeing Gilgamesh before him, who was full of fighting spirit and anticipation, Kirei Kotomine said nothing or asked any questions. He simply followed in his footsteps and continued to move forward.

He looked at Gilgamesh, then rubbed the bright red Command Seals on the back of his hand with his fingers, a fleeting glint of cold light flashing in his eyes, making it difficult to fathom what he was thinking.

……

……

Right now.

In a hidden room at the very bottom of the Fuyuki City Gymnasium.

Her long, silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall as Irisviel, the Lesser Grail, lay quietly on the platform awaiting her end.

Looking at his wife lying on the stone platform, Kiritsugu Emiya knelt before her, his face filled with complex emotions, and his empty eyes were filled with despair.

Because just now, even Hisayu Maiya, whom he considered family, died in front of him.

And it was in the midst of their joy, celebrating the success of their plan, that their lives were silently taken by a spear.

The long, silver spear pierced the sky, disappearing in an instant like a shooting star.

The light came too fast, so fast that they couldn't detect it, much less dodge it.

In the blink of an eye, before he could even hear the last words Wu Mi wanted to say to him, her life was taken away right before his eyes.

In that brief instant, Kiritsugu Emiya's eyes widened as he desperately tried to pull out the silver spear to save his partner. However, Gungnir, possessing absolute causality and the ability to hit its target with every throw, was not something a mere human like Kiritsugu Emiya could easily defeat.

At this moment, there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly.

"What happened...what happened?!"

Looking at Hisayuu Maiya, who had been pierced through the heart by a spear and was frozen in place like a statue, with a smile still on his face as he died, he almost roared.

Great ups and downs, great joy and great sorrow, the transition between the two can happen in the blink of an eye.

In that instant, the joy of eliminating all Masters vanished from his heart. Kiritsugu Emiya closed his eyes in pain and despair, then knelt down in front of his partner like a deflated balloon.

Then, this man, who had shed all his tears since the moment he killed his adoptive mother, tasted the bitterness of loss once again.

All the emotions that had been building up inside him finally erupted uncontrollably at that moment.

He wailed, grieving the loss of his family; he roared, furiously denouncing the cruelty and injustice of the world.

He has dedicated his life to saving the world and redeeming humanity, working tirelessly day after day for decades, all to fulfill his childhood dream.

His entire life was a constant cycle of loss: his childhood sweetheart, his biological father, his adoptive mother who raised him to adulthood, and the wife he was to sacrifice himself for that wish…

He did nothing wrong, so why does the world always seem to make him lose everything step by step?!

Even now, on the verge of success, on the verge of fulfilling his initial wish to save the world and humanity, this cruel world is about to make him experience loss once again, to witness his only remaining family member die before his eyes, and is unwilling to even give him a chance for redemption.

This cruel scene caused Kiritsugu Emiya to completely lose control of his emotions and shattered the defenses in this man's heart.

He simply couldn't understand why the world had to be so cruel, why he, who insisted on pursuing the path of justice, had to constantly lose in order to move forward.

He cursed and raged at the injustice of the world, accusing God of turning a blind eye. If there really was justice in this world, if there really were miracles, then prove it to Him immediately!

"Kiritsugu..."

Looking at the man kneeling on the ground, crying his heart out, Irisviel, whose body lay on the platform, and who felt the soul of another Servant returning to the Holy Grail, murmured softly to him.

"Irisviel... Irisviel!!"

Hearing his wife's soft call, Kiritsugu Emiya hurriedly crawled to her side and held her hand tightly, seeing the poignant smile on Irisviel's face.

He knew his time had come, and he was about to experience loss once again.

For a moment, Kiritsugu Emiya's inner torment and despair had reached a point of near numbness. He was so sad that he could no longer utter a sound. All he could do was lean on her side and accompany her through her final moments.

Because things have progressed to this point, and it has come to this.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Alice, I..."

He, Kiritsugu Emiya, is the most pathetic man in the world. When facing his wife, all he can do is bow his head and say "I'm sorry" over and over again, but he can do nothing else.

There's no turning back...

Both he and his wife were like that.

He has lost far too much along the way, and his escape route has long since disappeared.

"It's alright... Kiritsugu, don't be sad for me. This is the mission I was created for, and it is also the destiny of the Lesser Grail."

And... I'm already very happy that I was able to help Kiritsugu fulfill his wish in the last moments of my life."

Alice took his hand, a sorrowful yet satisfied smile on her face. She turned her head away, comforting Kiritsugu Emiya while quietly awaiting death.

For her, being able to use her last life to fulfill Kiritsugu Emiya's dream and die in the company of her lover was already the best ending for her as an Einzbern homunculus, but this gentle comfort undoubtedly hurt Kiritsugu Emiya's heart even more.

But at this moment, there was nothing he could do.