Facing this modern battlefield ravaged by war, Shiki felt a strange sensation stir within him.
It felt like returning to the first world he had experienced, though he had only spent a few short years there.
In that twisted world where technology and magic coexisted, he had likewise been forced into one brutal battle after another.
That time had been filled with pain and struggle, but Shiki had also gained much from it.
He had not only mastered all kinds of combat techniques and developed supernatural abilities, but more importantly, he had held onto the mental bottom line of an ordinary person through hardship.
"Hey, Kiritsugu Emiya, and Kirei Kotomine. Tell me, do battles really make you happy?"
Shiki's voice echoed through the empty lower level, carrying clearly into every corner. No matter where those two were hiding, they could not possibly ignore the question.
Yet the only response was a barrage of dense gunfire. Whistling bullets tore through the air and rushed toward Shiki.
Shiki sighed softly. His figure flashed like a ghost, easily dodging the bullets that threatened him. He spoke again, confusion in his voice. "Or are your so-called ideals and wishes really more important than everything else?"
Ideals and dreams certainly held an important place in Shiki's heart.
But he had always believed that if he encountered something more precious than his ideals, he would choose the latter without hesitation and change his dream.
And Shiki simply could not agree with Kiritsugu's seemingly noble wish.
"Ha! Eradicate all war in the world and become an ally of justice? Don't make me laugh, Kiritsugu Emiya!"
Shiki's voice was like a roar, a massive sound wave rolling forth alongside trembling air.
War had followed humanity like a shadow since the birth of human civilization.
From ancient struggles for survival to primitive societies fighting over resources; from capitalist societies gaming for profit to clashes between civilizations, the history of human civilization could be called a history filled with conflict.
What difference was there between eliminating war and eliminating humanity itself?
Could Kiritsugu Emiya truly not see that?
And that so-called "ally of justice" was even more absurd to Shiki.
"How can words like 'ally of justice' come out of the mouth of a murderous maniac like you? Huh!"
Shiki's heart was filled with fury.
Kiritsugu measured human lives in his own way, as though weighing objects on a scale. In his eyes, lives seemed to be nothing more than cold numbers.
Killing was wrong.
That was a conviction Shiki had set for himself long ago, as well as the mental bottom line he refused to cross.
Anyone he killed would have crossed that line first, and their death could not cause his conscience to change. He absolutely did not want to become a madman who had lost his reason or a murderous demon.
"Sacrificing the few to save the many, measuring lives on a scale—is that your justice?"
Choosing to sacrifice a few to save the many had appeared in countless stories and real cases. There was nothing inherently wrong with it.
But the problem was that Kiritsugu Emiya should not have decided on his own who would be sacrificed and who would be saved.
Everyone was an independent individual. No matter how great the gap in strength, status, or ability, they should all be equal on a spiritual level.
This was a principle Shiki had always upheld. Whether facing Heroic Spirits with brief, false lives or powerful Otsutsuki aliens and demon gods, he never believed their spirits stood above those of humans.
Yet Kiritsugu made choices on behalf of others in his own way, which undoubtedly trampled upon the equality of human spirits Shiki cherished.
"Answer me, Kiritsugu Emiya. Is your spirit nobler than everyone else's? Or do you stand higher and see farther than everyone else, placing yourself in the position of judge and executioner?"
Shiki's question echoed through the air, but still received no answer. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm the anger in his heart.
He had lost his composure somewhat. He knew that they were all people with unwavering wills; no one would easily change their position over a few words.
"Forget it. There's nothing for us to talk about," Shiki muttered. "This farce should end too."
At this moment, he could already feel that his contract with the Black Knight had been severed. The power of the Mystic Eyes' Animal Path had returned to him as well.
That meant the Black Knight had exited the Holy Grail War.
Although the Command Spells on his hand remained, they were merely a source of magical energy that the Winter Saintess had preserved for some purpose.
"Sir Lancelot, congratulations. You have fulfilled your wish and dream."
Shiki was genuinely happy for the Black Knight.
He imagined that when the Black Knight's wish had been fulfilled, he must have left this world with a smile on his face.
Unfortunately, the distance was too great. Shiki could not receive the Black Knight's Mind Communication. The Animal Path did not possess that ability, and the contract in the Holy Grail War was not powerful enough for that.
"Then it's time to put an end to things on my side as well."
Shiki's Mystic Eyes shimmered with multicolored light. He saw Kiritsugu and Kirei hiding behind load-bearing pillars. Though he did not know what they were preparing, it no longer mattered.
The enormous difference in strength between them could never be bridged by strategy alone.
Shiki walked forward steadily. When he reached the center of the lower level, his gaze swept coldly over the surroundings before he let out a sneer.
"Boom!"
In an instant, a chain of explosions erupted all around him.
The violent blasts shattered the entire floor slab, and Shiki fell with the broken concrete into the underground parking garage.
"Now!"
Seeing this, Kiritsugu and Kirei immediately pressed the triggers in their hands.
The traps they had carefully arranged in the parking garage activated at once. Five driverless cars sped toward the falling Shiki from every direction, and then the bombs planted inside them detonated one after another.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Deafening explosions rang out through the underground parking garage, their power nearly comparable to aerial bombs.
The immense shockwave tore apart the lower floor slab directly, and the entire building began to tremble on the verge of collapse. As the load-bearing pillars were blown apart, the Civic Hall rapidly collapsed in less than two minutes, sending up clouds of dust.
The tremendous disturbance had exceeded the control range of the Idle Bystander-D dispersal Spell. Nearby residents turned on their lights one after another and looked out curiously to see what had happened.
When they saw the brand-new Civic Hall instantly reduced to ruins, they stared at each other in shock, secretly wondering if there had been another gas explosion at the hall.
Within the Civic Hall's ruins, Shiki's Mystic Eyes glimmered in the darkness.
Amid the billowing dust, a faintly visible spherical barrier protected him.
"That was dangerous. That explosion just now."
Shiki sighed sincerely. If not for Avalon's protection, he would likely have been blown to pieces by explosives of that magnitude coming from every direction.
With his current abilities, he was still somewhat powerless against bombs of such a large yield.
Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine had probably brought every explosive they could get their hands on just to deal with him. Their methods were truly ruthless.
The force field around Shiki gradually strengthened, and his body slowly floated upward as he drifted toward a nearby passage.
Earlier, Kiritsugu and Kirei had retreated through this passage.
Looking through his Mystic Eyes, Shiki chuckled softly. His figure flashed, and he swiftly entered the passage.
At the far end of the passage, Kiritsugu and Kirei were running for their lives.
They passed through the underground waterways and emerged from a hidden exit.
Kiritsugu's assistant, Maiya, had already been waiting there and hurriedly pulled the two men out.
Kiritsugu panted heavily and urgently asked Maiya about what she had observed. "Maiya, does he still show signs of life?"
Maiya quickly picked up the detector and notebook in her hands. "Kiritsugu, he's still alive. The instruments show that he may not be injured, but thermal readings indicate that his body temperature has dropped somewhat. It is likely a sign of excessive magical energy consumption."
Hearing that his opponent was not dead, Kiritsugu's brow furrowed tightly. "Even three hundred kilograms of explosives couldn't kill him..."
"Heh. Even a top-tier Grand Magus would find it hard to withstand that much explosive force. Kiritsugu Emiya, it seems we can only proceed with Plan C."
Kirei, standing nearby, also frowned. This boy was far more troublesome than they had imagined.
All the explosives within the Holy Church, along with everything Kiritsugu had gathered from the black market, had failed to cause the boy any substantial harm. Such an enemy was practically no different from a Servant.
Kiritsugu swiftly began replenishing his weapons and equipment, while Kirei, unwilling to fall behind, also busied himself preparing for battle.
"Maiya, did you find anything else?"
Maiya picked up the notebook filled with data and quickly said, "Kiritsugu, he has a new ability. He can form a field around himself with a radius of about five meters. I discovered that after using it, there is roughly a five-second gap. That may be a weakness we can exploit."
"A ten-meter range, and a five-second gap... Thanks, Maiya. Leave first. We'll prepare to execute Plan C."
Maiya gently dropped the notebook, kissed Kiritsugu on the cheek, and whispered, "Take care, Kiritsugu." Then she turned and quickly left.
Kiritsugu gave no response. He loaded a drum magazine into his submachine gun, picked up the notebook from the ground and glanced through it in haste, then casually threw it aside.
Kirei watched all this from the side, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile. "Kiritsugu Emiya, if you give up pursuing the Holy Grail now, perhaps you can still run away with your lover and start over."
Kiritsugu gave Kirei a cold glance and said icily, "My beliefs and ideals cannot be dismissed with a few empty words."
"Then your life is truly pathetic, Kiritsugu Emiya," Kirei mocked.
Kiritsugu retorted without yielding, "And aren't you exactly the same, Kirei Kotomine?"
Their verbal sparring came to a temporary stop because hurried footsteps echoed through the passage.
"Execute Plan C. We don't have a Plan D. If we fail this time, we'll never have another chance."
Kiritsugu said grimly.
"Of course I know."
Kirei replied. The two men pulled back their gun bolts at the same time, standing ready for the life-or-death battle about to begin.
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