Kirei

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Kirei Kotomine
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Holy Church; initially cooperates with Tokiomi Tohsaka, later allies with Gilgamesh 8 36
Occupation/Role	Holy Church Executor; Master of Assassin/Hassan of the Hundred Faces; Holy Grail War participant 8 17
Status	Deceased; killed by Justicia after she manifests from the Greater Holy Grail 45
First Appearance	Chapter 1 (mentioned) 1

Background

Kirei previously undertook joint missions with Xi Jianxi, working as a Holy Church Executor alongside a Mage's Association magus. Xi Jianxi regarded him as fundamentally “off,” finding ordinary emotions difficult to perceive in him even then 1 35.

After his wife Claudia Hresvelgr died, Kirei judged himself unable to care for their two-year-old daughter, Kallen Ostia, and entrusted her to Xi Jianxi in Italy. He did not seek to reclaim or interfere in Kallen's life afterward, believing Xi Jianxi would give her a better future 1 8 18.

Kirei spent his youth attempting to overcome what he considered a congenital defect: an inability to experience morality or stable happiness normally. His asceticism and marriage to Claudia were efforts to live an ordinary, loving life, but neither resolved the emptiness he felt 34.

Personality

Before entering the Garden of Lost Will, Kirei maintained a restrained, morally disciplined exterior. He could not understand Xi Jianxi's ordinary humanity or his devotion to raising children, but still prayed that Kallen would grow up safely under Xi Jianxi's care 8.

The illusion within Lost Will forces Kirei to confront Claudia's death and grants him the opportunity to alter the memory. Rather than saving her, he kills her himself and discovers exhilaration in taking a life, identifying this pleasure as what had filled the void within him 34.

Afterward, he openly embraces cruelty, becoming fascinated by Kiritsugu Emiya's suffering and pursuing the corrupted Holy Grail without concern for the devastation it may cause 32 36 43.

Abilities & Skills

Executor Combat Training

Kirei possesses exceptional physical conditioning and close-quarters combat ability, sufficient to overwhelm Kiritsugu despite Kiritsugu's accelerated time magecraft 17 18.

• Dodged coordinated automatic-rifle fire and destroyed weapons with thrown Black Keys 17.
• Pursued and severely injured Kiritsugu after being disoriented by a flashbang 18.
• Uses powerful strikes intended to disable opponents' limbs 18.
• Was physically outmatched by Xi Jianxi, who blocked and redirected his attacks with relative ease 18.

Black Keys

Kirei wields Black Keys, Holy Church weapons formed and enhanced through magecraft 17 37.

• Throws them as ranged weapons or uses them in close combat 17.
• Can use them as curved, shuriken-like projectiles 17.
• Applied special incantations to immobilize Risei before killing him 37.

Magecraft

Kirei studied magecraft under Tokiomi for two years and can enhance his vision for combat and tracking 17.

• Possesses practical knowledge of Rune magecraft from missions with Xi Jianxi 8.
• Learned Speak With Dead, a necromantic spell, from Xi Jianxi; he used it on Risei's corpse to learn how to obtain the Church-held Command Spells 38.
• The spell can only be used by someone other than the deceased's killer, according to Xi Jianxi's explanation 38.

Assassin's Surveillance Network

As Assassin's Master, Kirei uses Hassan of the Hundred Faces' shared vision to conduct covert reconnaissance 8.

• Assassin's multiple personalities manifest as numerous separate individuals through its Noble Phantasm 8.
• Kirei and Risei use Assassin's feigned withdrawal to conceal continued intelligence gathering for Tokiomi 8.
• Later expends all of his Command Spells to compel Assassin's bodies to ingest corrupted Grail matter, turning them into obedient enhanced killers 43.

Relationships

• Kallen Ostia — His biological daughter. Unable to raise her after Claudia's death, Kirei entrusted her to Xi Jianxi and chose not to visit her afterward 1 18.
• Claudia Hresvelgr — His late wife. Lost Will reveals that Kirei's grief over her death concealed his desire to experience her death himself 34.
• Xi Jianxi — Former mission partner and Kallen's guardian. Kirei respects Xi Jianxi's practical nature and ability to care for Kallen, though the two later become enemies 1 18 32.
• Risei Kotomine — His father and the Holy Grail War's Church supervisor. Kirei murders him with Black Keys after questioning what he meant to him 37.
• Tokiomi Tohsaka — His magecraft teacher and covert ally during the early war. Kirei betrays him, severs his Command Spell-bearing hand, and takes his body for use in the Grail's descent 8 38.
• Gilgamesh — His later ally. Gilgamesh encourages Kirei to confront his nature and assists his abduction of Irisviel 32 36.
• Kiritsugu Emiya — The focus of Kirei's obsession. He seeks confrontation with Kiritsugu and takes pleasure in seeing Kiritsugu's ideals and composure collapse 17 32 43.
• Hassan of the Hundred Faces — His Assassin-class Servant and intelligence network 8.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Covert Tohsaka Agent

Kirei publicly claims that Assassin has withdrawn from the Holy Grail War, while secretly continuing to gather intelligence for Tokiomi through Assassin's shared vision. He reports on the battles involving Saber, Berserker, Lancer, and Xi Jianxi 8.

He infiltrates the Einzbern forest to confront Kiritsugu, evades Kiritsugu's traps, and inflicts severe injuries on him before Xi Jianxi intervenes. During their confrontation, Kirei refuses Xi Jianxi's invitation to visit Kallen 17 18.

Lost Will and Self-Discovery

Kirei becomes trapped in Morgan and Xi Jianxi's Garden of Lost Will, where he relives Claudia's final day. By murdering her within the illusion, he recognizes that witnessing and causing death gives him the fulfillment he had sought throughout his life 34.

He escapes the illusion by lacking the regret and desire that bind its other victims, breaching the Garden and forcing Morgan to release it 35.

Betrayal of the Church and Tohsaka Family

After abducting Irisviel and stealing the Lesser Holy Grail's heart, Kirei allies openly with Gilgamesh 36.

He murders Risei with Black Keys, then deceives Tokiomi with news of Risei's death before severing Tokiomi's hand and taking him as a vessel for the Lesser Holy Grail's core 37 38.

Attempted Grail Activation and Death

Kirei uses his Command Spells to empower Assassin with corrupted Grail matter and attempts to activate the Greater Holy Grail at Ryuudou Temple. His stated aim is to bring forth “All the World's Evil” and learn why it chose him 43.

After Gilgamesh's defeat provides enough power to advance the ritual, Justicia manifests from the Greater Holy Grail. She kills Kirei by tearing out his heart, then turns her attention toward Morgan as a greater source of power 45.

Notable Quotes

“If I'm going to die anyway, I want to kill them myself.” 34

“The soul seeks pleasure, just as a beast seeks the scent of blood.” 37