Chapter 1197 The Significance of 1190 War

Chapter 1197 The meaning of war

Now, Archer went out because he hated being stuck in the damp underground. Kirei knew that Archer would come over when necessary, so he didn't feel any uneasiness. Only for this King of Heroes, Kirei did not treat him as a familiar, but as an ally with the same interests.

In other words, there are other more effective ways to use the command spell received from Risei. For Kirei who does not have a magic seal, even if it is a consumer type, there are many ways to back up magic. Now, even if he fights against a skilled magician, he still has a great chance of winning.

Tonight, the battle between the last Servants will determine the direction of the Holy Grail. As a bystander, all Kirei had to do was wait for the opportunity. As a Master, what he should consider is the strategic battle outside of the Servants - in that war, there is Kirei's most powerful enemy.

Emiya Kiritsugu. If anyone else could seize the advantage from Kirei at this stage, it would be him.

Kirei had been looking forward to the confrontation with him. However, since the other party is a complete assassin, the kind of encounter he hopes for cannot be realized. To create a head-on confrontation with Emiya Kiritsugu, one must always think about the situation and continue to ensure the upper hand. Once Kiritsugu seizes the initiative, Kirei will definitely be killed from behind without even seeing his opponent. In that case, it's all meaningless.

It is certain that Emiya Kiritsugu was unable to capture the situation of this reservoir. Otherwise, Ryuunosuke Umasu would have been eliminated earlier. As long as he hides here, he will not be attacked suddenly by Kiritsugu. Now all you have to do is make your opponent anxious and clueless. The venue for the duel will be decided by Kirei.

To make Kiritsugu's predictions of acting rationally come to nothing, he had to take the initiative to appear in front of Kirei - this goal was already clear. Then just wait for nightfall.

Hearing the painful groan, Kirei cast his gaze towards a corner of the darkness. Lying on her back was the Einzbern doll kidnapped by Berserker. She was not lying there naturally, but a simple magic circle was placed on her to allow the surrounding magic to flow in. Although the site is not a ley line, in the past, because Caster greedily devoured the souls of his victims here, the remaining magic power from that time still accumulates here. Regardless of whether this kind of supply is comfortable for her, as long as the situation is stable, it is enough.

Of course, there would be no inconvenience even if her abdomen was opened now and the "Holy Grail" was taken out. However, Kirei now hopes to get a chance to talk to her. It was for this reason that he wasted time supplying her with magic power.

"Woman, can you hear me?"

"..."

While breathing weakly, the android opened its eyes. Her empty eyes lost focus and her vision was significantly weakened, but she could still identify the enemy's voice.

"Kotomine...Kirei, just as I thought, it was you who did it..."

"The Holy Grail War is about to be decided. Perhaps, I will be the one to fulfill your Einzbern family's long-cherished wish."

Although there is no pride of victory, this can be said to be an outcome that can be conservatively estimated.

"You still have such an uncooperative attitude. Are you so dissatisfied with me?"

"Of course... there is only one person I want to entrust the Holy Grail to... and that is definitely not you, agent."

Although it was difficult to even speak, the hatred and momentum in her voice made Kirei frown.

"I don't understand. You are just a puppet carrying the Holy Grail. Compared with winning or losing, completing the ritual should be the ultimate goal. At this point, why are you still obsessed with a specific Master?"

"Yeah, how could you possibly understand...you don't even have the desire to place your hope on the Holy Grail."

The hateful ridicule made Kirei even more confused - is this woman really a doll? Why do artificial humans without souls have these emotions?

"Kotomine Kirei...you are a vain man who doesn't even understand the meaning of this war. You will never be able to defeat that person...Be prepared mentally, my knight, my husband will definitely destroy you... "

"…Why did you say that about me?"

What confused Kirei even more was the content of her words. Why can this puppet see his sincerity so accurately? Tokiomi, not even his father and wife could do this.

"Humph, are you scared? Well, let me tell you... your heart has been seen through by Emiya Kiritsugu. It is really because of this that he is wary of you and regards you as his biggest enemy... Kiritsugu will definitely pounce on you more coldly and ruthlessly than anyone else, so be mentally prepared..."

That’s it—Kirei nodded with satisfaction.

If it is that man, or if there is someone who understands me, that person must be the same type of person as me.

Emiya Kiritsugu lived up to his expectations. Although he had never met her once, he made the most appropriate evaluation of Kotomine Kirei.

"Thank you, woman. For me, this is good news. The man Emiya Kiritsugu is exactly what I imagined."

However, Kirei's answer was filled with ridicule.

"...What a stupid man. You want to say that you understand Emiya Kiritsugu?...Hmph, don't make me laugh. He is obviously a man who cannot even reach his heels."

"--What did you say?"

The sudden sound made him tremble. This sentence was hard for him to forget.

"That's right... Emiya Kiritsugu can see through you, but you can't guess him... Kotomine Kirei, you don't have anything that exists in that man's spirit."

Before the mocking words could continue to flow out, Kirei grabbed her slender neck. Even if the fight to the death in the Einzbern forest were to take place again, the anger and confusion that arose in Kirei's letter now was incomparable to that of that time.

"...I admit that, indeed, I am an empty person. I have nothing."

His roar seemed calm at first, or rather, he was agitated later on.

"But, what's the difference between me and Kiritsugu? With that man who would only devote himself to a meaningless war - not get anything from it, just repeat the killing! So deviant from the norm, so futile, he is not a confused person or something ?”

Kirei asked in a hoarse voice.

His questioning was like the roar of his soul in distress after going through all the imaginable tests but not getting the answers he sought.

"Doll, if you can answer it, please tell me. Why is Emiya Kiritsugu pursuing the Holy Grail? What is that guy's wish that he placed in the wish machine?"

Kirei provocatively released his grip on the android's neck. Allow her to breathe in response. It contained a silent warning that would make her stop breathing if she got an ambiguous answer.

Even so, the woman still showed no fear. She squatted under Kirei's knees, looking weak and desperately sucking in oxygen as pitifully as a hanging thread. Even so, the way she looked at Kirei still contained a victor's mockery and sense of superiority.

It was almost as if it was Kirei who was bending the knee.

"Okay, let me tell you - Emiya Kiritsugu's long-cherished wish is to save mankind. To end all wars and bloodshed and achieve eternal world peace."

To Kirei, this was just a joke. After a few seconds, he laughed uncontrollably.

"--what is this?"

"You can't understand it. That's the difference between you and him, whether you have faith or not."

Is this woman really talking about the character Emiya Kiritsugu? Kirei had doubts about this. Who is Emiya Kiritsugu pretending to be in front of this doll?

"...Woman, what do you mean to Emiya Kiritsugu?"

"As a wife, I gave birth to his children. During these nine years, I watched his heart and shared his troubles... I am different from you who have never seen him once."

Could it be that the nine years, or rather this period, were just spent in lies? Kirei also had such doubts. However, his intuition believed that this was impossible. What existed in this woman's heart was undoubtedly her trust in Emiya Kiritsugu. It is unimaginable to form such a solid personality based on empty lies. This woman was originally just an ordinary doll.

The focus of anger began to shift away from the woman in front of him. Kirei let out a worried sigh and sat on the chair next to him.

"Irisviel von Einzbern, have you been a good wife during these nine years? Have you won the love of Emiya Kiritsugu?"

"...Why do you care about this?"

"I don't understand the bond between you - you are proud of Emiya Kiritsugu as your husband and trust him. It's just like a real couple. However, if Emiya Kiritsugu is a man who pursues the Holy Grail, you won't It should be just a tool to fulfill his wish. He has no reason to give you love."

"...If you laugh at him for being stupid, I won't forgive you."

These are firm words that only those who possess something that cannot be blasphemed would say.

"...I have no father or mother. I am not the product of love. Therefore, I cannot understand what a 'good wife' is. Even so...the love he gave me is everything to me. No one can insult this."

"Then you are a perfect wife. Irisviel."

Kirei said as if making a disinterested judgment. This was neither a compliment nor a sarcasm.

"But, precisely because of this, I cannot understand Emiya Kiritsugu. Since I love you as my wife, why... are you talking about eternal world peace? Why should you sacrifice the person you love for such a meaningless ideal?"

"...This question is really strange. A man like you who even admits his own meaninglessness...actually laughs at the meaninglessness of other people's ideals?"

""As long as a normal-thinking adult, anyone would laugh at it. "

A completely different anger than before was what swelled in Kirei's heart.

"Struggle is human nature. To eradicate it is no different from eradicating human beings. Isn't it meaningless or something? Emiya Kiritsugu's so-called ideal - it cannot be called thought from the beginning, it is just a child's dream talk!"

"...Because of this, he can only rely on miracles..."

Irisviel said this while trying her best to remain calm.

"He lost everything for the ideal he pursued... In order to save the contradiction of those who cannot be saved, he always endured punishment and was deprived of everything around him... I am also such a person. So far, he has More than once, I was forced to make the decision to abandon the people I loved..."

Kirei stood up from his chair and stared at Irisviel with a bottomless gloomy gaze.

"You're saying it's not just about this one time - it's about this man's way of survival?"

"Yes, Kiritsugu is too gentle. Even if he knows that he will lose him one day, he still does not hesitate in his love..."

For Kirei, these answers were enough. He had completely lost interest in the artificial man in front of him.

"……I see."

He grabbed the woman's neck with his strong fingertips, blocking her blood flow.

Looking at the other person's weak and painful expression, Kirei said calmly.

"I finally understand. This is Emiya Kiritsugu."

Kirei threw the unconscious woman aside and stared blankly into the dark space.

Judging from the results, Kirei was wrong from the beginning - his questions were answered, and his expectations turned into disappointment.

Emiya Kiritsugu was not searching for the truth in meaningless disputes.

That man just reduced everything meaningful to nothingness.

It’s not that he has no wishes, but because he has such a whimsical wish, he falls into the chain of nothingness. This futility, this waste, stupid and hopeless.

Kiritsugu might be able to see through Kotomine Kirei's empty heart, and he might be afraid of that emptiness and be wary of it. However, he never imagined the meaning of having such emptiness. Kirei's crazy desire was something he couldn't understand at all.

Emiya Kiritsugu's life can be summed up as giving up everything over and over again.

The joy and happiness that man gave up. Even if it is just a fragment, in Kirei's eyes, it is worth protecting with his life, and even willing to die for it.

For a man who cannot find even a small piece of these joys and happiness and continues to be confused, Kiritsugu's living situation exists in his own envy and longing.

How can it be tolerated that those insatiable hungers, the unfillable deficiencies, are so belittled and fooled? How can you prevent him from hating you?

The gloomy emotions welling up in his heart made Kirei's smile become distorted.

He finally understood the meaning of war.

I have no interest in the Holy Grail. It doesn't matter even if you don't have any intention of realizing your wish.

If I could personally crush the ideals of this man who focused everything on miracles - even the Holy Grail, which was worthless to me, would still have meaning in seizing it.

The excitement of the approaching battle made Kirei's hands tremble. The high-spirited fighting spirit burned in his chest, as if he was about to pull out the black key and pierce everything in front of him.

In the dark space that reeked of blood, Kotomine Kirei laughed loudly. The beating of the soul has never stopped in the past few years.

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