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

Compared to the pure white magical space where Justissa and the Jewel King were, the environment and colors here were noticeably darker.

At this moment, a man is walking along the dimly lit coastline, clutching a cross tightly in his hand.

"You really want to fulfill Kiritsugu Emiya's wish? Or is it..."

Ignoring the tempting voice from Satan in his ear, Kirei Kotomine continued walking until he saw Irisviel standing quietly at the end of the dark line, smiling at him.

"...Do you really want to drive him to the brink of despair? Do you so desperately want to see him break down?"

Kirei Kotomine asked expressionlessly.

When he and Kiritsugu Emiya fell into this dark world, he already knew the answer in his heart, and the sudden appearance of Irisviel now only confirmed his thoughts.

"You're really strange... You were the most confused, the most lost, and the most eager for desires at the beginning, but what's wrong with you now? Even if I made you relive the scenes of regretting not killing your wife, killing your teacher, and trying to kill your father, why is your heart still unmoved? Haven't you ever had the thought of changing that past, of denying that past?"

Seeing Kirei Kotomine, who was completely different from Kiritsugu Emiya and did not dwell on his past experiences but instead moved forward step by step, even Irisviel couldn't help but feel surprised and confused.

"Have you transcended your desires?"

"...Transcendence? That kind of word belongs to Buddha and the holy son. I, a former fallen person, am not qualified to claim it. I have only come to understand some things and realized what it means to live and what is right. I also know that the past cannot be changed. If I were to arbitrarily change or deny it, what difference would that make from denying my present self?"

When faced with Irisviel's question, Kirei Kotomine calmly replied, "That is not only my past, but also my sins, and the path I came from. Therefore, I will not attempt to deny or change it, or deceive myself into becoming a perfect person."

"No one is perfect, but people can strive to become closer to perfection. Perfection is achieved when everyone can accept everything about themselves, whether good or bad. If they can correct the bad and maintain the good, then everyone can be a perfect person."

"You bastard..."

A flicker of surprise crossed Irisviel's eyes. "Isn't this complete enlightenment and transcendence? Honestly, I was planning to include you along with Kiritsugu Emiya, but it seems impossible now. Your heart is as hard as a rock, completely unyielding..."

"distortion?"

"..."

Irisviel: "Kirei Kotomine, you're so smart it's disgusting."

"Perhaps, it's just that I've figured out a lot of things, but compared to me right now."

Kirei Kotomine countered, "Why are you so fixated on Kiritsugu Emiya?"

"Why...does this question need any special reason?"

Irisviel smiled slightly, then opened her arms. It was a familiar figure and face that Kirei Kotomine had seen not long ago, but at this moment, compared to that flawless lady, the one in front of her made him feel ominous.

"Of course it's because... I'm also Irisviel, aren't I?"

"No, you are not."

“Oh? Why deny my existence outright? Father, I cannot communicate with people without adopting someone else's persona, and now I have completely assimilated Irisviel, so I am Irisviel.”

"I see..."

Kirei Kotomine nodded, roughly understanding what she meant.

"However, what I just said was not to deny your existence, because you were born from the assimilation of the Holy Grail with it. Even if you possess all of Irisviel's memories and everything, you are still not her. Because..."

“The real Irisviel would never bring Kiritsugu Emiya to a place like this; she would only want him to stay away from here,” Kirei Kotomine said with utmost seriousness.

"So even if you are very similar, you will still find it difficult to understand the emotions involved. You are not Irisviel."

"Your clear logic is really disgusting... Father, how about quitting your job and becoming a psychologist or detective?" Irisviel smiled. "I'm starting to hate you."

"Is that so..."

Kirei Kotomine shook his head, ignoring what the other man said. He continued to stare blankly at the vast sea, then asked, "Where did you take Kiritsugu Emiya? Didn't he come out?"

"Hehe... Yes, unlike the priest who has completely transcended his past, Kiritsugu Emiya is still immersed in that past, staying where he should be."

【Irisviel】 chuckled softly, then tiptoed to Kirei Kotomine's side, and spoke gently.

"Make the choices he should make, answer the questions he should answer..."

"I see... I understand now."

Kirei Kotomine nodded silently, and then without warning, he punched Irisviel in the stomach.

boom! !

With a dull thud, a large hole was blasted through Irisviel's body, but what flowed out was not blood, but a reddish-black liquid.

"As expected, they are not real humans."

"Haha, Father is so heartless and cold-blooded..."

Kirei Kotomine still didn't answer. He just said in silence, "You're torturing Kiritsugu Emiya. That man is far more desperate than you imagine. Right now, he's on the verge of collapse. If you continue making choices, he will definitely destroy himself."

"Is that how you see Kiritsugu? That's not necessarily true. What kind of path do you think he took to get here?"

Even after Kirei Kotomine suddenly pierced through her body, Irisviel still smiled and said to him, "Kiritsugu has been running all the way here. Everything in front of him has been pushing him, so Kiritsugu Emiya could only keep running and running. For him, it was a marathon that made him cough up blood. Now he has nowhere to run. In order to obtain that last remaining miracle, he has no choice but to beg it to work and give him salvation. So this time, he cannot escape, and he must make his final choice."

"You're just trying to murder him."

"...If you can't speak, you don't have to, Father."

Seeing Kirei Kotomine standing before her, unmoved by reason and unable to be disturbed by anything, Irisviel felt helpless. So she simply shook her head and pointed out a direction for Kirei Kotomine to leave.

"Forget it, you have nothing left to test now. Nothing and no tragedy can shake an enlightened being. I understand that much."

"So, you can leave directly along this path and return to the outside world. Do whatever you want. You have made your decision and choices regarding your life. The rest will belong to Kiritsugu Emiya."

"...No, I won't leave."

Hearing Irisviel's suggestion, Kirei Kotomine shook his head. "I must do the right thing. There is still a lost sheep waiting for me to save. As a priest, I cannot sit idly by and turn away, because that would not be right."

"correct……"

Irisviel looked at Kirei Kotomine, who remained calm and unmoved, and sighed helplessly, "You're as solid as a rock. But do you think you can save him with your own strength alone?"

"I don't know, but I will do my best to give him peace."

Kirei Kotomine said very frankly.

"..."

Looking at the calm-faced person in front of her, who clearly intended to stay here, Irisviel felt somewhat helpless. After thinking for a moment, she spoke again.

"Fine, since you don't want to leave, come along with me and watch Kiritsugu's choice. After all, you were the first person I chose, and you are a qualified person. In fact, you are more suitable to be the bearer of the evil of this world than Kiritsugu Emiya."

"..."

Kirei Kotomine did not answer this question.

He simply stretched out his arm and let Irisviel lead him into a world even darker and more chaotic than this coastline...

Chapter Ninety-One: You're stronger now!

—The Gate to a Demonic Realm Overflowing with Death (Gate oof skye)

This is the greatest Noble Phantasm that Scáthach, summoned in the Caster class, can unleash. The effect of this Noble Phantasm is to temporarily summon a massive gate leading to the vast otherworldly realm of shadows, which is severed from the world.

All living beings within the area of ​​effect will be sucked into the Shadow Realm, the domain under Scáthach's control. Those who fail to meet the magic or luck requirements will be sucked into the gate and die instantly. Those not recognized by Scáthach are also unable to set foot in the Shadow Realm while still alive.

Even if she successfully resists using her Noble Phantasm and other magical powers, she will still suffer a lot of damage due to the rapid absorption of magical power. It is a terrifyingly powerful Noble Phantasm, and it is also one of Scáthach's hidden trump cards.

She is the warrior queen of Celts, a living god-slaying hero, and one of the most powerful figures in human history. In terms of pure strength, even against exceptional Servants like the King of Conquerors and the King of Heroes, Scáthach, as the queen of the Land of Shadows, would not have any fear.

Although she wasn't appearing as the original form from the Land of Shadows this time, as a Servant, her strength is top-tier. However, unfortunately, top-tier doesn't mean invincible.

As a Servant, being restricted by class and Master is a common problem. Even a hero like Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, who is highly functional and does not consume much magic power, is still limited by class and Master. This is especially true for Scáthach, whose class is Caster.

However, Scáthach was lucky to meet a special Master like Lovi, who was not only exceptionally talented but also had such a steady attitude that even she herself found it a bit exaggerated.

This contrasts sharply with Tokiomi Tohsaka, whom Gilgamesh encountered, which annoys the King of Heroes. Why did he have to meet Tokiomi Tohsaka instead of that interesting kid, Lovi?

Although Tokiomi Tohsaka is a competent magician, his mediocre talent and malicious intentions have weakened the King of Heroes' strength.

As for Kirei Kotomine, who was an agent but ended up becoming a halfway through his career, he is not even as good as Tokiomi Tohsaka. Although he is perfectly capable of providing for the demons, he is a limitation when it comes to fighting with his full strength.

That's why Gilgamesh offered up his Holy Grail at the last moment to save his demons—to prevent himself from being restricted by these Masters who were holding him back.

Logically speaking, Scáthach is far superior to Gilgamesh in terms of Master, and they are both top-tier Servants in terms of strength, so she shouldn't be suppressed so badly. But unfortunately, at this moment, she is in the same situation as the King of Conquerors, and her Noble Phantasm has been completely countered by the King of Heroes.

Because of the huge incompatibility issue, Scáthach had virtually no chance of winning against Gilgamesh in a life-or-death battle where she used every means at her disposal. That's why she devised a plan to trap Gilgamesh.

If Gilgamesh had been replaced by another Servant of the same rank, Scáthach wouldn't have had such a frustrating fight today. Even if Enkidu had appeared here, she was confident she could have killed him in the Land of Shadows. But unfortunately, the opponent was not the Chains of Heaven, but the Wedges of Heaven.

And now things are indeed going exactly as she and Lovi predicted. As she activates her true Noble Phantasm—the Gate of Skye, a realm overflowing with death—the Hero King before her is also preparing to repeat his old tricks, once again unleashing his strongest Noble Phantasm, which destroyed the sandy world of Iskandar, the King of Conquerors.

The strongest Noble Phantasm in Sumerian mythology, possessing unparalleled destructive power against any Realized Boundary or even the entire world—Enuma Elish.

Just as its name suggests, this is the greatest source of power in Gilgamesh's hands, a sword whose function is to 'tear the world apart'.

Although Luo Wei didn't quite understand the divine power and principles involved, he knew that this sword possessed terrifying power output equal to, or even surpassing, that of the Excalibur in Artoria's hand.

The light that burst forth was no different from creating the world and splitting the heavens and earth, because the terrifying wind pressure faults that erupted from it could even tear the entire space into pieces. The power used was by no means the red light that could be seen in the performance, but rather the use of the fault blades of spatial collapse to crush all enemies along with the world.

Just as Gilgamesh chanted, "Around the mortar of stars, the hells of heaven are the end of creation!"

That was something from a planet that existed before the creation of the world, when it was still a hellish place.

Its true name, like that of its close friend Enkidu's Noble Phantasm, comes from the Sumerian creation epic (Enuma Elish).

The power of this Noble Phantasm will decide the outcome of the battle. Its destructive power far surpasses that of the Excalibur, which is not fully unleashed, and is even greater than his own Demon Spear.

Scáthach realized this as soon as she drew Ea, the barrier of the entire Land of Shadows began to tremble, and cracks appeared in the entire Otherworld.

The terrifying power that the Ea sword in the hands of the King of Heroes could unleash was even more outrageous than the five-star bombardment sword in the hands of the Sun God. No wonder Lovi, even after possessing so many Command Seals, was unwilling to confront the King of Heroes head-on.

Because if it were a head-on collision, she would be crushed in terms of both compatibility and maximum power output.

but……

Although the sword Ea in the hands of the King of Heroes, Ea: The Star of Creation, is a genuine sword that splits the heavens and the earth, and its maximum output can destroy the distortion of space in the world, making it comparable to one of the top outputs on this planet, this does not mean that this Noble Phantasm is truly invincible.

Within this worldview, there still exists the strongest defensive means to block this power that created the world, known as the Anti-Purification Defense. It is a Noble Phantasm that can be released by using the power of suppression, and it is also a top-tier Noble Phantasm that can withstand the star that separated heaven and earth.

Gilgamesh's close friend, Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven, was able to contend with his Eastar, the Star of Heaven's Creation, precisely because he possessed the concept of the Purification Noble Phantasm.

Besides these, the world also possesses the Bodhi Tree of Enlightenment of the Awakened One, the Great Composite Temple of Radiance of Ramses II's Noble Phantasm, the Paladin Galahad Knight, which, although not a defense against purgation, can still withstand the Ea, or the Ideal City Shield in Matthew's hands, and... the scabbard of the Star Holy Sword, named Avalon.

This is also the only anti-purification defense artifact that Lovi can find and find a way to use.

Although it is the scabbard of the holy sword, it is also the gate.

Because behind it lies the ideal world of Avalon, far removed from the mundane world, possessing a real, absolute defensive domain that even the Hero King's Ea sword, capable of cleaving through the world itself, could never penetrate... an absolute defense.

At this moment, when faced with this power that created the world, it will once again unleash the strongest protective power it once possessed during the time of King Arthur.

……