Luring Out the Worms

He was completely unable to understand the situation at hand. He couldn't comprehend either himself or the Rovey that appeared in front of him, and he couldn't even tell if this was a nightmare.

However, Rovey ignored him and instead directly questioned the huge cross in front of him.

"Lord, since you drove mankind out of the Garden of Eden, why touch them? Since you have already discarded them as waste, why send down trials? And why give them another chance after repeated failures? Merciful Lord, all-knowing and all-powerful God, I know, even if you never say it, I know. It is because..."

Risei Kotomine's eyes widened slightly.

"This is not a trial, but a punishment, a punishment you have inflicted on humanity."

"Humanity's greatest Original Sin is that it makes mistakes and naively believes that its mistakes will not be discovered, so it cannot learn a real lesson, allowing tragedies to be repeated time and time again. I know all of this."

Rovey turned around, looked at Risei Kotomine, whose eyes were wide and completely frozen behind him, and continued to speak with a smile.

"Father, I know that you are a sinner too."

His words were like the whispers of a demon, like the pronouncements of Heaven, like the screams of a sinner, and like the accusations of a loved one...

"--Bang!"

The piercing wind slammed the church doors shut with a loud bang, Risei Kotomine out of his daze. An indescribable chill engulfed him, as if dragging him into a bottomless abyss.

Risei Kotomine suddenly looked up at the tall, slender figure on the high platform who had just questioned the gods, his eyes reflecting many distinctly different features.

The man before me was like a man and a woman, an adult and a child, a saint and a sinner, an angel and a devil.

What... what kind of being is this?

'I can tell.'

The whisper continued to echo in his ears, causing Risei Kotomine to clutch his head. Then, in his dazed state, the shadows that filled the church seemed to distort, and countless eyes opened behind the figure, staring intently at him from different directions.

'You are a sinner.'

'He violated dogma and betrayed the sinner within himself.'

'These so-called trials are nothing more than punishments inflicted upon humanity by God, watching them repeat the same mistakes. God doesn't love humanity at all...'

'And you really don't think... your crime will go undiscovered, do you?'

Risei Kotomine's eyes widened as his body trembled uncontrollably, gradually losing the ability to move.

Sin is accompanied by punishment.

When humanity commits sins, God will punish them time and time again.

So, what was his punishment?

He looked earnestly at the voice that was approaching him again, his voice trembling as he sought a final answer.

And at that moment, that figure appeared before him once again.

"Your punishment? Come, I'll tell you right now."

--puff!!

A streak of bright red blood splattered in the church, accompanied by a scream. His sins, along with the flowing blood, returned to the earth, to the world that Xiu had given him.

Looking at the row of bright red Command Seal on his arm, Rovey couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Don't try to get anything more, just leave now."

He turned and pushed open the church door. "Now everyone has made their own choices. This conflict, sparked by the Holy Grail War, is no longer something a sinner like you can control. You, a father and a priest, although you haven't played the right role before, at least from now on, listen to the voices of believers like a true priest."

"And I will bear the rest of your sins alone."

The voice spoke these words, and then the tall, slender figure began to walk further and further away until it disappeared from sight.

Risei Kotomine clutching his severed arm, staring blankly at the door for a long time. Everything that had just happened seemed like a dream to him. If it weren't for the physical pain and the blood, he probably would have really thought it was a dream.

After a long while, he finally sat back down on the bench, looking listless, and lowered his head.

But at this moment, his heart, which had been filled with guilt, became unusually calm...

It was as if some kind of shackle had been removed at this moment.

Not long after, in a park in Fuyuki City.

"Ah~ It seems you've finished over there too, Aoko -senpai..."

Rovey leaned back on a park bench and asked the two people behind him who had also returned after completing their mission, "So, did Emiya Kiritsugu pull any tricks?"

The red-haired woman who appeared from behind did not answer Rovey's question directly. Instead, she took out a gorgeous scabbard with a blue base and gold patterns from her pocket and casually tossed it to Rovey.

"Here you go, this is what you wanted."

After Aozaki Touko's careful examination and Scáthach's several exchanges of Rune, it can be confirmed with 100% certainty that this is the treasure that Rovey wanted, the legendary scabbard— Avalon.

After handing Avalon over to Rovey, Aozaki Touko sat down next to him and lit a cigarette.

"Senior Aoko, smoke less. You've already gone through almost a whole pack since you left home."

Seeing the empty cigarette pack in Aozaki Touko's hand, Rovey kindly reminded her.

However, this only earned him a glare from the other party.

"Are you my husband? Why are you interfering in my personal life? Your body is something you can't protect; you'll have to replace it someday. Even if it's harmful to my health, it doesn't matter to me. Besides..."

"When you're in a bad mood, what else can you do to relieve it if you don't smoke or drink?"

Slowly exhaling a smoke ring, Aozaki Touko said with a touch of melancholy.

Although she had convinced herself to exchange the Lesser Grail for Avalon with Rovey, the feeling of handing over what she so desperately desired was still truly awkward. This forced her to remain there, transforming into a demon in the smoke, to alleviate her current melancholy.

"..."

It was clear that Aozaki Touko was a little awkward, but Rovey just gave a wry smile and didn't say anything more.

Although he was the one who told her the secret about the Third Magic, Irisviel had captured Aoko first. He also understood that Aozaki Touko had truly sacrificed herself for him this time.

I couldn't help but feel grateful for her efforts.

Then Scáthach sat down on the other side of the bench and asked with interest,

"Master, have you finished what you said you were going to do?"

"Yes, things went smoothly on my end too. I got the last piece of the puzzle without any problems."

Rovey nodded. He didn't hide anything from the two people in front of him, directly showing his arm covered with Command Seal, and explained to them.

"Originally, this was my second plan before Avalon was available. But now that we've acquired Avalon, this is a complete guarantee."

"Is this... Command Seal?"

Even the usually composed Scáthach was surprised to see so many Command Seal covering Rovey's arm. Aozaki Touko, standing beside him, looked at him as if she'd seen a ghost.

"More than thirty Command Seal! Where did they come from?"

They asked in surprise.

"Yes, it was given to me willingly by an old priest, who hoped to atone for his sins with it."

Rovey answered casually.

"..."

To this, Aozaki Touko was completely convinced and speechless.

Father, sin, what does this all mean?

Even if they wanted to atone for their sins, they wouldn't hire a Magus like you, would they?

This guy sometimes likes to play this Riddler game too.

However, more than anything else, she feels joy right now.

Because it's not just Avalon anymore, now with so many Command Seal...

Honestly, she had even started to feel sorry for the remaining Servant.

"By the way, you still haven't answered. What's the situation on your end? Have Emiya Kiritsugu and Saber been up to anything?" Rovey asked again.

Scáthach answered this question for Aozaki Touko.

"Emiya Kiritsugu was very calm and composed, seemingly having completely accepted reality. Saber, on the other hand, was both furious at our despicable behavior and astonished to see Emiya Kiritsugu take out her lost scabbard. She was completely bewildered, as if she had been deceived."

Recalling Artoria's expression at that moment, Scáthach couldn't help but laugh and retort.

"King Arthur is really slow-witted. Not only did he not realize that Berserker was his Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot, but he also did not realize that his scabbard had been hidden by his Master. She is really quite pitiful."

"I see..."

Upon hearing this answer, Rovey nodded slightly, and to be honest, he wasn't surprised by the situation.

After all, Emiya Kiritsugu is an extremely self-centered and insecure man, so of course he wouldn't return the scabbard to Saber.

Although having this would greatly enhance Artoria's strength, Avalon can also purify curses and binding forces, meaning that Saber might be immune to the effects of his Command Seal.

They were already at odds, and returning this to Artoria would be tantamount to handing over the initiative. Therefore, even if it meant weakening the Servant's strength, he could not possibly return the scabbard to her.

This was only because he was threatened by Rovey; otherwise, Emiya Kiritsugu would have kept this secret from Artoria until his departure.

Poor King Arthur, he was betrayed all the time.

After listening to Scáthach's story, Rovey shook his head slightly.

"King Arthur, what a hassle... I'll have to help her out again soon because of the contract. I hope she'll be able to see things in a better light by then."

He murmured a few words of reflection, Rovey looked at the sky in the distance, which was gradually turning a pale white, indicating that dawn was approaching.

As the beautiful morning sun rose, he stretched comfortably and then spread his arms to greet the first rays of sunlight.

If things go as expected, this should be the last peaceful day ahead.

Tonight, everything will come to an end.

Since that's the case...

After a moment of thought, Rovey seemed to suddenly realize something, and then he turned around to look at the two women sitting behind him, revealing a smile.

"What's wrong, Master? Is there something important?"

Scáthach asked with some curiosity.

"What happened now?"

Aozaki Touko's expression became tense again.

"Yes, there is indeed something very important..."

Rovey deliberately kept everyone in suspense, then extended his palm to the two ladies in front of him in the morning sun and asked earnestly.

"Ladies, may I have the honor of inviting you to breakfast together?"

Upon hearing this, the three people who were close by exchanged glances and then couldn't help but laugh at the same time.

Dawn has broken, and now all that's left is to wait...

As night falls, their final battle will begin, and all grudges will be settled at that moment.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Luring the Insects Out (5,500 words)

The flames of war are merciless, burning relentlessly across the land.

Endless wars buried the end of a nation.

Death and calamity descended upon this once beautiful land. Everything from the past has turned to ashes.

It's over, it's all over, it's all over.

Along with the glory of the knights, they were buried in the flames of war, vanishing into ashes along with the dynasty.

News of King Arthur's death spread throughout the continent, and even across vast distances, the mourning of an entire era could be heard, as if silently bidding farewell to a king.

"Why, why did everything turn out like this?!"

"Guinevere, my king... Agravaine, ahhhhh... what have I done?!"

Snap!

In the depths of a dream, a non-existent mirror suddenly shatters.