It's normal for an evil god to raise an Abyss.

"Saber, I'm sorry to bother you. Draw two overlapping six-pointed stars with a diameter of six feet at that location. The one facing this way is the front."

Irisviel pointed to a corner of the warehouse and said to Saber.

"I understand... But, Irisviel, can I ask a question?"

This request was not complicated, but Saber's doubts came from other aspects.

"You seem to have been avoiding touching anything today. Is this my own fault? If it's about driving a vehicle or picking up items, then it's really nothing to worry about. But you don't even plan to draw the important magic circle yourself. There must be a reason, right?"

"..."

Irisviel sighed helplessly.

"I'm sorry, I really don't need to hide anything from you. Saber, now extend your hand. I will try my best to shake your hand. Okay?"

"Ah, that's no problem."

Although she did not understand the reason, Saber still reached out her hand and held Irisviel's hand.

Then, Irisviel’s fingers trembled only slightly. The strength of her fingers was not enough to shake hands, let alone to simply grasp.

"I'm not kidding you, I really used all my strength just now."

Irisviel forced a smile, and seemed to feel somewhat exhausted from having used up all her strength.

"It took all my strength just to open my fingers. It was impossible to hold or hold anything in this state. I was exhausted when I got up in the morning and changed my clothes."

"What happened? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Saber asked anxiously, after all, she had never heard of this strange disease.

And Irisviel just shook her head as if it didn't matter.

"This is just a defect in my structure. I blocked my sense of touch. Although this will suppress my spiritual power to a great extent, fortunately it will not have much impact on other activities. This is also one of the advantages of artificial humans."

“…” Although she still didn’t quite understand, Saber knew she shouldn’t ask too many questions.

“So, I still have to trouble you, my lord knight.” Irisviel smiled again.

"These are what I am supposed to do, my princess."

The originally tense atmosphere turned into a peaceful one, and the two continued to build the temporary workshop.

"It seems someone is approaching here." Saber sensed something.

"Oh, it should be Caster's Master. It seems that she will come to visit today. However, we haven't tidied the room yet. Would it seem that we are not hosting her well?"

“That little girl? I’ll go open the door.” Saber still had some impression of the little girl whom she had only met once.

Saber stood up and prepared to go open the door. After all, Irisviel’s current state was indeed more suitable for sitting quietly.

"Wait, Saber, I'll join you. This is also necessary hospitality."

After Saber slowly opened the door, a little head popped out from the side of the door.

"Hello, sisters~" Abigail said in a sweet tone and bowed slightly politely.

"You are welcome to visit us, but we have just moved here, so our hospitality may not be adequate."

Irisviel was polite but with a hint of apology.

Seeing Abigail, Irisviel and Saber were in a good mood as well. A polite and well-behaved child is naturally likable.

"Ah, it's okay, it's okay. Sister Xue also asked me to bring some desserts. Let's eat together, sisters~"

Abigail said with a smile as she lifted the packed bag.

Chapter 40 Kiritsugu's Sad Wish

Xueyue climbed up the stone steps of Yuanzang Mountain and soon saw the historic mountain gate.

After passing the mountain gate, there is an equally ancient temple - Liudong Temple.

Although it looks quite old, the temple does not feel desolate as it still has some worshippers and is maintained by people.

There was a man sitting on the steps in front of Ryudo Temple.

His black hair was a little messy, his eyes looked dead, and he was smoking. There was no doubt that this was the person Xue Yue was meeting - Emiya Kiritsugu.

When Emiya Kiritsugu saw Xueyue appear, he took a deep breath, exhaled the last puff of smoke, then threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with the sole of his shoe.

"You came."

"Of course I'll come."

Perhaps because she felt that this kind of dialogue was too much like the stream of consciousness of Gu Long's novels, Xueyue added,

"I thought you would be more pleased about the arrival of your allies."

Kiritsugu's expression did not change. If Xueyue didn't know him well, she would probably think he was expressionless. Kiritsugu did not seem to react to Xueyue's words, but instead brought up another topic.

"I thought that the person coming to meet you this time would be your Master."

However, having said that, Kiritsugu had long expected that it would be Caster who would come to the appointment. Regardless of the fact that it seemed that Caster was basically helping her Master make decisions in this war, for a little girl like that, it would be much better to get along with Irisviel and Saber than to talk to a "gloomy adult" like himself, so Kiritsugu was not surprised to see Xueyue.

"'My Master'? Well... since we are allies, and to make communication easier in the future, I will tell you that, in fact, I am the Master~ You can just call me Xueyue."

Xueyue removed the disguise of the Command Seals on her hand as she spoke.

Visible surprise flashed across Emiya Kiritsugu's face, but his good expression management allowed him to return to his original expression in the next second.

The Command Seals on Xueyue's hand did not look fake, and now she had revealed them without knowing why. Of course, there was another crucial issue, which was the strength of the other party. With strange abilities, the first thing that came to mind was a magician or even a sorcerer, but as far as Kiritsugu knew, there should be no one in this world who could face off against a Servant. So, who exactly was Xueyue, or what was she?

Xueyue noticed Kiritsugu's fleeting surprise, and then the other party's brainstorming made Xueyue feel a little proud.

"Don't make blind guesses. I am not from this world, so I have no interest in the Holy Grail that you are obsessed with."

Xueyue casually dropped another "breaking news" that was enough to shock Emiya Kiritsugu.

Although it is outrageous, considering the current situation, Xueyue’s self-narration is the most appropriate answer.

Emiya Kiritsugu analyzed the situation and came to this conclusion.

"Even if you have no desire for the Holy Grail, what about your Servant?"

"You mean that kid Abi? She doesn't have a wish to give up the Holy Grail either. Well, I've answered a lot of questions. Now it's my turn to ask you, Emiya Kiritsugu. What is your wish for the Holy Grail?"

Kiritsugu's question to Xueyue was not a difficult one to understand. As allies, it was necessary to understand the wishes of both parties. Since the other party had already made their attitude clear, there was no need for him to avoid the question. Besides, his own wishes were not a [conspiracy] that needed to be hidden.

"As for me, I want there to be no more war in this world. I want this Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City to be the last bloodshed of mankind!"

Then Kiritsugu saw Xueyue's reaction.

It was not doubt, nor was it ridicule, nor was it the reaction of ordinary people when they hear a seemingly fantastic wish, but rather a gentle sigh as if they heard an expected answer.

"That is indeed a great enough ideal, a world without conflict. So, let us make an assumption."

Xueyue asked a new question that seemed unrelated.

"If there are only 500 people left in the world, they are on two boats, one with 300 people and the other with 200 people. Both boats are facing the risk of sinking. You are the only one who can repair the boats, but repairing one boat means giving up the lives of everyone on the other boat. In this case, what will you choose?"

"I will prioritize saving more people." Kiritsugu answered without hesitation. His goal was to try his best to save the lives of more people.

"At this point, the 200 people on the ship are forcing you to repair their ship first, but this also means you will abandon the other 300 people, so what will you do?"

“…Kill those 200 people.” Kiritsugu hesitated for a moment and came up with the answer.

"Okay, so the damaged ship is abandoned, and the remaining 300 people are divided into two ships, one with 200 people and one with 100 people. The same situation happens again. This time, what choice will you make?"

“…” Kiritsugu sensed the “truth” and “absurdity” of the question and remained silent.

"According to your approach, you will definitely give up 100 people. If you repeat this cycle a few times, when your family becomes a minority, you will also abandon them without hesitation."

"..."

"Then, look back and see who is the minority and who is the majority in the end, the people you killed, and the people you saved if you continued to kill fewer and save more? Isn't this the path you are on, Emiya Kiritsugu?"

"What exactly do you want to say?" Emiya Kiritsugu stared at Xueyue with some anger.

"I mean, you're just making things worse by doing this, and your method is just like drinking poison to quench thirst."

"Of course I know, that's why I prayed for the miracle of the Holy Grail. If this wish can be fulfilled, I won't have any complaints even if I become 'all the evil in the world'."

"Then how can you ensure that the Holy Grail can fulfill your wish? Or let me ask it another way. In your subconscious mind, how will the so-called miracle fulfill your wish?"

Emiya Kiritsugu wanted to open his mouth to refute, but an idea that popped into his mind stopped him, and this idea made him shudder.

Chapter 41 Kill One Person to Save the World

Seeing Kiritsugu's reaction, Xueyue smiled with pity and a hint of malice:

"Look, isn't the answer obvious? Even if you really get the Holy Grail, the miracles in the Holy Grail will only work in a way that you can understand."

"People have all kinds of desires. Where there are desires, there will be conflicts. When conflicts escalate, they will eventually evolve into wars. It is a fantasy to expect a so-called miracle to make everyone lose all desires and pursue truth, goodness and beauty. So the Holy Grail will of course choose a more convenient, distorted, and easiest wish to achieve - killing everyone in the world. As long as humans disappear, there will be no more wars. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

The cold "Future" slowly came out of Xueyue's mouth.

“Impossible…” Kiritsugu’s mouth trembled, and his tone gradually became higher, a little hoarse, “This is… a joke…”

"This is what I saw, the future of a parallel world. Why, do you want to experience the illusion in person? Oh, maybe not. After all, you have already seen that kind of hell, right?"

Xueyue's words may sound too absurd to ordinary people, but to a paranoid idealist like Kiritsugu, they hit the sore spot of his thinking. As long as he thought about it, this was an irrefutable "prophecy." Kiritsugu said he didn't believe it, but his belief had already suffered a great blow.

For some reason, Kiritsugu was sure that the girl in front of him did not perform any kind of suggestive magic, but her confident tone and determined eyes made people believe her words involuntarily. It felt like... an ignorant student facing an authoritative teacher.

“So, people from the other world, are you here just to solve this?” Kiritsugu held his forehead and squeezed out these words.

If my wish would lead to the destruction of the world, then it is only natural that someone would approach me and try to stop me.

“No~ I’m just reminding you that the destruction of this world has nothing to do with me. Don’t take yourself too seriously… If you don’t believe in evil and continue to want to obtain the Holy Grail, then I don’t mind helping you erect a monument on that piece of wasteland, with the words [Sinner of Humanity - Emiya Kiritsugu] written on it, to help you complete the useless ‘atonement’. I can still do this little bit of performance art for you.”

Xueyue shook her head, her tone somewhat teasing.

"Of course, we can actually have other solutions..." Xueyue said slowly.

"So, what is it? Tell me quickly!" Kiritsugu heard the hidden meaning and didn't care about anything else at this moment. He stood up and grabbed Xueyue's shoulders, asking anxiously in an interrogative tone.

"I know you are anxious, but don't be anxious. It hurts. Let go first..." Xueyue frowned, and her shoulder seemed to be really hurt by being grabbed.

Kiritsugu seemed to realize that it was not a good idea for a 1.75-meter-tall man to hold a young girl's shoulders. He coughed lightly and loosened his grip on her shoulders. As if he didn't know where to put his hands, he reached into his trouser pocket, took out a cigarette case, and lit it.

Taking a deep puff of cigarette, Kiritsugu felt that he had calmed down a lot.

"It's very simple to make the world free of war. As long as you, Kiritsugu, have absolute military power, no one will dare to start a war. Once there is a sign of war, it will be extinguished. Then, won't you get the peace you want?"

"I hope you're just kidding. I don't have that ability, and even if I did, I would never become that kind of character."

"Because that's a tyrant to some extent, not a partner of justice, right?"

"..."

"Haha, I think you have already discovered that your ability is not enough to change the world. Even the miracle of the Holy Grail will only give you an ending you don't want. From this perspective, you are really a very troublesome person, Emiya Kiritsugu."

“What exactly do you want to say…” Kiritsugu’s annoyance was already revealed from the shaking of the cigarette.

"Killing one person to save the world is not killing one person to benefit the world; killing oneself to save the world is killing oneself to benefit the world. To weigh the pros and cons of a matter is called seeking. To seek is wrong. To choose the lesser of the harmful is seeking for righteousness, but it is not righteousness."

Xueyue further explained,

"If changing the world is too difficult for you, then change yourself. Since you cannot become a god, why do you arrogantly put all the lives of people on the scale? Even if you kill a few and save the many, the results you can get will be very different if you hold different philosophies. There is no interest relationship between the interests of the minority and the majority. The choice between them is never in line with morality or justice.

You must have made this choice countless times. You do have a trace of conscience, and you count all those who were not saved as your own sins. But this conscience only makes you more miserable and more afraid to make a choice. In fact, it makes you sacrifice a few people again and again for fear of unpredictable consequences. This kind of conscience is useless. "

"This is a vicious cycle. One day, the minority you killed will become the majority, and the best outcome for the world is obviously that you commit suicide. Then at least you won't kill so many people. The belief you hold is not justice or protection, but just that of an unjust executioner."

Kiritsugu sat back on the steps, his head lowered so that his expression could not be seen clearly. He stopped smoking the cigarette in his right hand and let it gradually burn out without throwing it away.

There was a sound of metal rolling to the ground. It was the dagger thrown by Xueyue. It flipped a few times and rolled to Kiritsugu's feet.

"Think carefully about what choice you want to make... If you want to commit suicide, I have prepared for you. I will take care of Irisviel and Illya. This is the last care I can give you."

"..."

Kiritsugu, who had been silent all this time, finally took action. He threw away his cigarette butt and slowly picked up the dagger on the ground.

With a "puff", it pierced into his left forearm fiercely, and blood gushed out immediately.

"hiss……"

The severe pain made Kiritsugu's brows twist into a knot. He gritted his teeth and threw the bloody dagger to Xueyue's feet, squeezing out a few words from between his teeth.