A figure emerged from the smoke. Despite having his left abdomen pierced through, the young man's oppressive presence had not diminished in the slightest. If anything, the blood made him seem even more ferocious.
"That hurt... Kiritsugu, you're still as ruthless as ever!"
It hit him? Then why was there no reaction? What he had clearly used was...
With no time to dwell on the young man's form of address, the Magus Killer swiftly suppressed the surprise in his eyes amid the scattering metal fragments and droplets of blood. He clenched his fist, smashed the small cabinet by the stairs, and pulled out another weapon.
"AUG-A1..." Sakutsuki from his previous life knew little about firearms, but Shirou Emiya from the "Fate/kaleid liner" World Line had perfectly inherited all of Kiritsugu Emiya's methods. He recognized the weapon at a glance.
He drew the bowstring again, creating a blade of magical energy. But this time, Kiritsugu Emiya's speed suddenly increased severalfold. After evading the attack, he made several leaps and vanished into the chapel.
For a man clad in a black coat, the dark chapel with its sharply jutting eaves was the perfect place to hide.
If he reappeared, Sakutsuki would surely be met with a venomous, fatal strike.
So... it was time to clear the battlefield!
Sakutsuki's expression remained calm. His left hand cast Replacement Magecraft, luring Jubstacheit von Einzbern, who controlled the Magic Workshop, into activating a magical energy blast. At the same time, his right hand opened and clenched tightly as he summoned weapons from the Age of Gods:
"Hell Scythe, Dust Saw!"
Magical energy flowed through his entire body, analyzing the structure of the objects in an instant and materializing his understanding of matter—
Even if he had only captured a trace of divine craftsmanship's essence, it still possessed unstoppable power!
The sky was dim. When everyone present looked up, their minds were shaken by the grand and magnificent miracle:
Like outspread wings of dawn, burning with purifying flames, a blazing greatsword said to cleanse and eradicate all matter.
As though carved from emerald, covered in black earth, a boneless greatsword said to carve through a thousand ravines and ten thousand mountains.
An ancient god of war swung his heavy swords and delivered divine judgment from the heavens upon those who dreamed of miracles!
"Rumble!" Amid a thunderous explosion, the chapel's spire was completely erased. The immense blades crossed as they fell, plunging heavily into the ground and dividing the chapel into four sections, surrounding the bow-wielding youth like shields.
"This is...!" Amid the tremendous blast wave, Kiritsugu Emiya rolled out from the ruins and stared in shock toward the underground of the Einzbern estate.
The flow of the Ley Line had actually been severed by those two heavy swords descending from the sky!
But how could a Ley Line possibly be severed by a physical attack? Unless... those two weapons possessed a concept akin to "severance"!
As the magical energy flow was cut off, the Magic Workshop built upon it also lost its suppressive power. Jubstacheit von Einzbern, who had been blown away by the greatswords, staggered to his feet. Reflected in his eyes was the devastated Winter's Castle, as well as the intruder freed from the Einzbern Family's home-field advantage, beginning to chant aloud.
"I am the bone... of my sword."
At that instant, uncontrollable magical energy overflowed from the man's body.
"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood."
"I have created over a thousand blades."
As Sakutsuki continued his self-suggestion, an egg of magecraft gradually formed within him.
"Unaware of beginning,"
"Nor aware of the end."
Countless snowflakes poured in through the shattered window frames.
"Stood pain with inconsistent weapons."
"My hands will never hold anything."
"Stop him, quickly!" Jubstacheit von Einzbern, his clothes in tatters, was struck by flying stones. Blood streamed from his head, and his eyes were filled with terror.
He saw it. He saw the birth of a world!
Kiritsugu Emiya and the many homunculi advanced together. But after breaking through the towering barrier formed by the twin swords, what greeted them was a spacetime field collapsing due to replacement.
And beyond countless lines of defense, the young man's chant had reached its end.
"Yet,"
"My flame never ends."
"My whole body was"
"Still"
Before the final line, Sakutsuki opened his eyes. An incomparably dazzling light bloomed within those golden irises, which seemed more divine than human:
"Unlimited Blade Works!"
The emerald and crimson swords vanished.
The prison of blades confining Irisviel disappeared. The unconscious woman fell to the ground and was caught by a small figure.
Amid the swirling snow, the homunculi looked around in every direction, their red eyes full of confusion.
The Einzbern Family's castle, Winter's Castle, vanished amid the wind and snow as though it had never existed.
But Jubstacheit von Einzbern and Kiritsugu Emiya, standing at the front, already understood what kind of foreign world they had entered.
"Reality... Marble..." Kiritsugu Emiya lowered his gun and looked toward the upright figure on the high slope, letting out a pained groan.
"Fantasy and reality, inner and outer exchanged, rewriting the real world according to my will—the greatest magecraft of all: a Reality Marble."
Along with the young man's low voice, the gray-white Reality Marble gradually filled with color.
Blades rang across the mountains and plains, their sharp aura rushing head-on.
Sakutsuki looked at the two men standing frozen in place and smiled faintly.
"Now then, what do you think of this world of swords, filled with gravestones?"
The contract invitation has arrived, so feel free to keep following and investing~
003: Kiritsugu Emiya
Character Information: Known as the "Magus Killer." Though he was an idealist who wished for world peace, he was a cold and ruthless realist in practice. A man who loved everyone, yet possessed the resolve to "kill any one person." Of course... he was your dear Kiritsugu papa, wasn't he?
Hidden Information:
Innate Charm
Throughout his life, Kiritsugu radiated the popularity particles of a Gal Game protagonist in every setting. Any woman drawn to him would meet an unfortunate end, making him a man seemingly cursed. The only woman to break the misfortune he brought was Taiga Fujimura, known as the Tiger of Fuyuki.
Record Conditions (2/3):
1. Defeat Kiritsugu Emiya (Completed)
2. Experience Kiritsugu Emiya's magecraft, "Time Alter" (Completed)
3*. Withstand an Origin Bullet attack (Completed)
Condition 1 fulfilled. Reward obtained: Modern firearm projection data
Condition 2 fulfilled. Reward obtained: Ability parameter "Agility" restored to its normal value!
Agility: D → C
Hidden record condition 3* fulfilled. Reward obtained: Kawasaki Ninja H2R and instruction manual!
An Origin Bullet... when had that happened?
Sakutsuki knew that term. An Origin Bullet was a Concept Armament that used a person's Origin as a bullet. The Origin Bullets used by Kiritsugu Emiya had been made from powder ground from his left and right twelfth ribs, condensed through soul engineering and sealed as bullet cores into sixty-six rounds. They contained Kiritsugu Emiya's Origins: severance and binding—
There was a subtle difference between that and "destruction and regeneration," because Kiritsugu's "binding" did not mean "repair." For instance, when a severed thread was bound back together, the thickness at the join would change. In other words, the act of "severing and binding" caused irreversible "alteration" in its target.
For Magic Circuits even more precise than electrical circuits, once they were affected by Kiritsugu Emiya's Origin, they would be thoroughly "altered." Such a blow was fatal to a magus.
Then why had he not been affected?
Sakutsuki stared at the deep-blue panel. After a long while, he beckoned with his right hand and projected Kiritsugu Emiya's beloved gun, the "Contender." He spun it effortlessly around his fingers, then lightly leaped down from the high wall and headed toward the side hall.
Before a Reality Marble that could be called a "great forbidden spell," Kiritsugu Emiya and Jubstacheit von Einzbern put up little resistance. Whether calmly or unwillingly, they accepted defeat and managed to preserve their lives within the bleak sword-filled boundary.
The Einzbern Family, which had endured for a thousand years, had officially fallen in this battle and become Sakutsuki's captives. This was undoubtedly earth-shattering news that could cause an upheaval in the magecraft world, but given the Einzbern Family's naturally reclusive nature, the world would likely not learn of it until much later.
With that thought, Sakutsuki passed Jubstacheit von Einzbern, who was directing the homunculi as they cleaned up the aftermath, and knocked on the still mostly intact door of the side hall.
"Excuse me." Saying so, Sakutsuki pushed the door open.
The moment he entered, he saw Chang Wei—no, Shirou's papa—comforting the frightened family. When Kiritsugu Emiya saw Sakutsuki enter with a firearm in hand, he immediately stood and quietly shielded his wife and daughter behind him.
"You're really hurting my feelings, Kiritsugu." Sakutsuki smiled helplessly and handed over the "Contender." "Here, see if it feels right in your hand."
Kiritsugu Emiya could not gauge the young man's intentions and instinctively wanted to refuse. "No need. My weapon is custom-made..."
But when he caught the handgun Sakutsuki tossed over, his words abruptly stopped.
The familiar grip, the familiar weight—even the smell of gun oil was so reassuring.
"This is..."
"I know you use a custom handgun, Kiritsugu." Having accepted all of Shirou Emiya's emotions and memories, Sakutsuki shrugged and revealed a sly smile. "Next, you only need to apply magecraft to the rifling and firing pin, right?"
"..." Clearly, having all his information exposed by an "enemy" made the Magus Killer deeply uncomfortable.
But Sakutsuki's attention was no longer on him—with his golden eyes turning with interest, the young man's gaze fell upon the little girl in a dress hiding behind her mother.
"Illya."
"Ah, yes!" Illya answered instinctively. Then, as though realizing something, she crossed her arms, shut her eyes, and turned her head aside. "I already know! You not only wrecked our home, you even locked up my mother—Shirou is a terrible bad guy! I'm not playing with you anymore!"
"Ah, how can that be?" Sakutsuki put on an expression of great alarm and pressed his palms together. "I'm sorry. I apologize."
"Hmph!" Illya proudly raised her chin at that, but she still refused to let Sakutsuki off. "You have to apologize to my mother!"
"Illya..." Irisviel tugged awkwardly at Illya's clothes, then looked toward her husband.
What if Illya's words angered the young man... The Einzbern Family could not withstand a second round of devastation.
But Sakutsuki was not dissatisfied as she had imagined. Instead, he smiled as though it were only natural and bowed to her. "Then, Lady Irisviel, I sincerely apologize for my earlier offense."
His apology was sincere, and the expression it contained did not seem feigned. Illya finally stopped pretending to be angry. Cheering, she ran over to Sakutsuki and tugged at his sleeve.
"Hey, Shirou, let's go play in the forest. For some reason, the weather suddenly got better today."
"If Illya wants good weather, you can tell your big brother anytime." Sakutsuki crouched and gently stroked her silver hair. "But not today. Your father and I still have some things to discuss, so..."
"Ehh—so that's how it is." Illya dragged out her words unhappily.
But if it concerned Kiritsugu, then there was nothing she could do.
"Bye, Shirou! We have to play together tomorrow!" In the end, Illya obediently took Irisviel's hand and left the side hall.
Only two men remained in the room, now colored by dusk.
"Kiritsugu, I want to ask you something." After waiting for the footsteps to fade, Sakutsuki pointed to his bloodstained left abdomen and spoke softly. "Earlier, you fired an 'Origin Bullet' with the Contender, didn't you?"
He even knew about that? Why was he asking this? Kiritsugu Emiya tensed his body and answered without revealing anything. "Yes. So what?"
"So what...?" Feeling the undeniable pain in his left abdomen, Sakutsuki unconsciously repeated Kiritsugu Emiya's words and remained silent for a long time.
Under the burning sunset, faint blue, crystal-clear light radiated from his hands.
Abnormal.
Abnormal.
He should have realized it from the start.
Abnormal.
"Kiritsugu, I think the Einzbern Family should have equipment for examining the body, right?"
In the early morning, the little girl opened her eyes and gazed out at the unchanging white world beyond the window.
White, white, white.
She had been born in this place. She was the princess of this cold castle.
She had parents who adored her. When the weather was clear, Kiritsugu would take her to play in the forest, while her mother would prepare snacks and food in the castle, waiting for father and daughter to return.
"They lived happily ever after"—that was a sentence she had learned from books Kiritsugu brought back from the outside world. After experiencing all kinds of stories, the protagonists in those books would always end with those words. It seemed that every effort would be rewarded, every journey would reach that dazzling star.
Before you continue