Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Just as everyone was stunned, a figure walked out from the beach under the moonlight, pressed down on his trembling shoulders and the hand that was rummaging through his body for a pistol, and whispered softly.

“Kid, you don’t need to rush to bear this sin, because he’s already beyond saving.”

Under the moonlight, Emiya Norikaze, slumped in front of the stone wall, neither admitted nor denied it, but the blood energy in his body grew increasingly faint and weak, and the light in his eyes gradually went out.

Yes, after enduring the heavy blows of a living saint and an angel, he was completely exhausted and had only managed to get here by sheer willpower.

And now, that breath has almost completely dissipated.

At this moment, the three adults and one child gathered on the field looked at each other, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Chapter 46: Kiritsugu is in danger! (4.3k)

After a brief silence, Samael helplessly spread his hands, his face full of innocence.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm just passing by..."

"Then why did you come here to cause trouble!"

Natalia rolled her eyes and snorted at her teammate who had only made things worse.

"It's better than you instigating a child to murder his own father, isn't it? That's inhuman!"

Samael leaned against the cave entrance with his arms crossed, his gaze disdainful.

"That was his own choice, what's it to me!"

"So, in order to get this commission, you readily agreed and even handed over a gun?"

"Otherwise what? Are you expecting him to go there with a small dagger, get killed by his own father, and then have me collect his body?"

Natalia argued vehemently, giving the middle finger to the amateur who lacked "assassination common sense" and "self-protection awareness."

You hand a gun to a child who has committed patricide? Your logic is clearly flawed! He's already accomplished patricide at such a young age; won't he become psychologically twisted later in life?

What about assassination common sense? With a teacher like you, it's no wonder that Kiritsugu Emiya went from a passionate young man who shouted that he wanted to become a hero of justice to a cold-blooded magician assassin with a perpetually stern face and a paranoid personality.

Samael rolled his eyes at the female hunter who possessed some of the "scumbag" and "funny" traits of a succubus, and gave her a friendly gesture.

"If we let him go, even more people will die because of him..."

Just as the two best friends were arguing, the thin figure in the cave raised its drooping head and murmured something.

"Like Xia Lei..."

And Simon, and everyone in the village…

The child named "Emiya Kiritsugu" grew increasingly somber, and his bright eyes became increasingly dull and lifeless.

But that small body was like a wound-up toy, steadily and resolutely picking up the shot-down pistol from the ground, skillfully disengaging the safety and cocking it, and pointing the gun back at his father, without the slightest tremor in his hand.

"stop!"

However, before Kiritsugu Emiya could make a move, the slowly rising gun barrel was pressed down by fingers and palms from behind.

"Although your father isn't exactly a saint either, don't try to pin all the blame on him."

Samael glanced at Emiya Norikaze, who was slumped in front of the stone wall, grinned to reveal eight neat, white teeth, and offered a "friendly" smile before turning to plead for his lawyer.

"First of all, Xia Lei took the Dead Apostle Potion herself, something your father didn't expect."

Furthermore, the anomalies in the village, including Father Simon's death, cannot be blamed on your father and Charlotte. They are the result of a vampire named Roya, who left behind conversion and sacrificial rituals.

The ancient serpent sighed slightly, then looked at the pitiful magician, shook its head and sneered, its gaze deep and unfathomable, as if it could see through the very essence of the soul before it.

"Of course, Xia Lei's progress to this point is inseparable from your father's guidance. And according to your father's habits, after the drug is completed, it will most likely enter the human testing phase. As his assistant, Xia Lei is basically a test subject that he has selected in advance. And something like tonight was bound to happen sooner or later."

Emiya Norikaze raised his head, first glancing at Samael with surprise, then without arguing, he lowered his head and tacitly accepted these speculations.

Because he had indeed done similar things before, and more than once...

Otherwise, he wouldn't have attracted the attention of the Magic Association and lost his wife's life because of it.

As a pure magician, these are necessary sacrifices made in pursuit of the root, which need not be hidden or avoided.

Kiritsugu Emiya's body, which had been frozen like a sculpture, gradually swayed and trembled. His gaze flickered and struggled for a moment, but was then filled with gloom again. His tightly pursed lips murmured dryly.

"He deserves to die..."

"There are two things I need to tell you. You might want to listen before you make a decision..."

Samael patted the boy's trembling shoulder, turned to look at Emiya Norikaze in front of the stone wall, and whispered softly.

"First, after the crisis of the Dead Apostles broke out, he could have run away earlier, but in order to wait for you, he deliberately postponed his departure from the island until night, even though it greatly increased the risk of his exposure."

Secondly, in order to escape the encirclement of the church's agents, he had actually taken the Dead Apostle potion and developed a vampiric urge to drink your blood. Even just now, for a brief moment when you first met, he had the urge to devour you to prolong his life, but ultimately, he restrained himself.

Samuel paused, looked up at the village and mountaintop that seemed to have returned to silence under the night sky, and shook his head in thought.

"Perhaps it's because he's your father..."

At this moment, Kiritsugu Emiya's hand holding the gun trembled uncontrollably, and even his dark eyes were filled with pain and turmoil, with tears gradually streaming down his face.

Yes, he is his father.

That single woman, carrying him like a burden, living a life of constant hiding and raising him—her closest relative…

The man who, even after leading the church's agents to the mountaintop, had few complaints and was still willing to risk his life to hold off the pursuers and buy time for his escape...

Even after taking the Dead Apostle potion and developing a vampiric urge to suck his blood, his father still overcame his instincts and gave up the chance to prolong his life...

But why, why is it that his own father is him?

A mad magician with blood on his hands, a fanatic willing to sacrifice humanity and those around him in pursuit of truth!

Kiritsugu Emiya was bewildered, the pain in his heart turning into poison flowing through his blood.

The helpless boy looked around blankly, his empty gaze finally settling on the figure standing in the moonlight.

What should I do?

“Emiya Norikaze deserves to die, but it’s not your place to kill him.”

Samael pondered and whispered, then reached out and took the gun from Kiritsugu Emiya's hand.

This time, the child's actions were neither resistance nor obstruction.

"Adults should handle their own affairs. This is not a responsibility for a child like you, so you don't need to do anything."

The ancient snake casually returned the gun to its rightful owner, tossing it to Natalia, who was watching from outside the cave with her arms crossed. Then, it turned to look at the boy in front of it, who still seemed somewhat conflicted and worried, and smiled helplessly.

"Don't worry, escaping from those church agents and a living saint won't be so easy. In order to get away, your father's life force is already on the verge of extinction. Even if he drinks your blood, he won't last long and his body will still collapse. Perhaps that's why he's willing to let you go, his son."

Upon hearing this, Kiritsugu Emiya was slightly startled and couldn't help but look up at the "Good Father" sign in front of the stone wall.

Meanwhile, Emiya Norikaze, sitting opposite his son, struggled to lift his drowsy head. He didn't make eye contact with his son, but instead gave a deep look at the insightful visitor in the moonlight.

This time, he guessed right again.

If given a choice, Emiya Norikaze would certainly not mind sacrificing his son to ensure his own survival.

Sensing the meaning in that gaze, Kiritsugu Emiya's heart trembled. The remorse he had felt for the sin of patricide vanished in an instant. Overwhelmed with emotion, he clenched his fists, his teeth grinding a bloody line against his lips. He looked up at the man who seemed both familiar and strange, and asked angrily.

"Is that so-called root cause really that important? Is it enough to make you abandon your humanity and sacrifice everything around you?"

"Of course! To grasp the principles of law and to explore the origins of things is what we pursue throughout our lives! It is also the long-cherished wish of the Emiya family for generations, and the mission of us magicians. As long as we take that step, whether it is to save humanity, rule the world, rewrite destiny, or observe the truth at the end of the universe, it is all within our grasp."

Emiya Norikaze answered matter-of-factly, his eyes calm as still water, unmoved by his son's question.

If his son is a necessary step on this path, he will not hesitate to place his son on it, making him the cornerstone of his journey to his roots.

Emiya Kiritsugu pursed his lips, staring intently at his father whom he had never understood before, like a grown-up wolfhound, his neck red and his teeth clenched as he retorted.

You won't succeed!

Yes, there's no chance anymore...

The man raised his arm, looking at his skin, which was gradually cracking like shattered porcelain, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with deep regret.

But then Emiya Norikaze smiled, his blood-red eyes gazing intently at the small, thin figure before him.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound echoed in the cave, and a cracked arm suddenly reached out and grabbed Kiritsugu Emiya's slender wrist.

Seeing the dying man suddenly rise up, Natalia's pupils contracted, and she drew her Remington from behind her, intending to make Emiya Norikaze lie down as soon as possible.

However, the dagger in Natalia's hand was pressed down by fingers extending from the side.

"Don't worry, he's about to die, he wouldn't drag his son down with him."

Samael murmured lazily, casually gesturing with his lips to ask his mischievous friend to be more patient.

At the same time, the figure slumped in front of the stone wall forcibly pulled Kiritsugu Emiya in front of him and murmured solemnly.

"Summon the twin wings, imprint and control, first, sixteenth stop, inscribe the sacred covenant, one, two, three, four, five, six, endless, shrinking and growing, growing and shrinking, twin wings arose... incantation seal replicated..."

As the rhythmic chanting played, the magic crests on Emiya Norikaze's arm peeled away one by one and transformed back into their original forms, becoming inscriptions on Emiya Kiritsugu's arm.

Immediately, Kiritsugu Emiya's magic circuits were gradually transformed and expanded to adapt to the operation of the new magic crest.

As the magic circuits are the magician's latent nerves, they are extremely fragile and sensitive. This pain of being filled and bursting caused Kiritsugu Emiya, who was granted the magic crest, to convulse, his muscles to spasm, and cold sweat mixed with light red blood to pour out.

Emiya Norikaze looked at his son standing before him, pale-faced and trembling, yet still clenching his teeth without uttering a sound of pain, his stubborn eyes fixed on him. He nodded in satisfaction.

"I may have no chance now, but I still have my son! Kiritsugu, as long as you are here, the Emiya bloodline will not be extinguished, and our pursuit of our roots will never cease! The law will surely be in our hands!"

"You and I are different!"

Even as the pricking sensation in his brain intensified with each passing wave, Kiritsugu Emiya gritted his teeth and angrily refused to meet his father's expectations.

"You have the blood of a magician flowing in your veins, inheriting the destiny of the Emiya family. You cannot escape it..."

Emiya Norikaze's chanting grew increasingly faint until it finally vanished. His body, having lost its support, crumbled and peeled away inch by inch like burnt-out charcoal, turning into a pile of ashes on the ground.

A genius of time magic has fallen, but he still holds high hopes for the new generation to whom he has placed his hopes.

"I will not become like you! I will not! I will not! Absolutely not..."

The boy kept repeating his answer, resisting the fate and sin imposed on him by his father, stubbornly scratching at the shimmering magic seals on his arm, leaving streaks of blood on his skin.

Natalia, who was at the cave entrance, clutched her chest, her face contorted with pain.

"Kid, this magic crest is very expensive, can you please not waste it like this! If you don't want it, I might as well just cut off your arm!"

Magic markings are similar to invisible nerves; they can't be removed in such a crude and violent way. Of course, this is just a money-grubber's grumbling.

However, Kiritsugu Emiya believed it to be true and immediately picked up the fallen dagger from the ground, gritting his teeth as he slashed at his own arm.

"Alright, alright! I've given you the stuff, I'll take the loss on this order, okay?"

Such a fierce reaction made Natalia's lips twitch. She immediately snatched the dagger from Kiritsugu Emiya and waved it away impatiently.

Then, the resentful bounty hunter glared angrily at his unscrupulous teammate who had caused him to lose money, and gritted his teeth and snorted coldly.

"Anyway, you're the one who caused this mess, so the losses are on your tab, and this kid is yours to do with as you please!"

Immediately, Natalia, filled with anger, turned and left this place of sorrow.

However, before leaving, the woman unceremoniously took most of the stolen money and some valuables that Emiya Norikaze had stored in the motorboat in advance to make up for her losses.

As for the remaining small portion, it's meant to be the kid's survival fund; as long as he doesn't starve, that's fine.

After all, having gained such a great advantage, one should be content.

It's important to know that, aside from the research findings on the Dead Apostle Potion, the most valuable thing on Emiya Norikaze is his magic crest.

Feeling somewhat cheated, Natalia got up and headed to the mountaintop, clearly turning her attention to the magic workshop there, hoping to salvage some scraps to recoup her losses from this job.

This woman is really obsessed with money...

Samael watched Natalia's angry retreating figure, raised his hand to his forehead, and was both amused and exasperated.

At this moment, with Natalia's departure, only two figures, one large and one small, remained in the silent cave, and the atmosphere became somewhat stagnant.

As the sea breeze gradually dispersed the traces left by the man named Emiya Norikaze, Emiya Kiritsugu's originally suppressed feelings inexplicably eased.

"Thanks……"

After a long silence, the boy composed himself, took a deep breath, bowed his head to the man in front of him, and sincerely thanked him.

In any case, it was he who stopped himself from committing patricide, thus sparing himself the burden of that sin.

Samael smiled, unconcerned.

"Kiritsugu, right? I have good news for you. Shirai is still alive..."