Exchange of Hostages

At dusk, inside the Emiya residence's new house.

Emiya Kiritsugu sat across from his wife, Irisviel, his face filled with shock and complicated emotions.

Just minutes ago, he had learned that the Holy Grail might already be contaminated and utterly incapable of granting any wishes. His mind was now in complete chaos.

After all, for the so-called ideal of "bringing peace to the world," this man had abandoned nearly all his moral boundaries. As long as he could achieve final victory, even sacrificing some lives was acceptable.

This was evident from his complete indifference toward the French Marshal and Uryuu Ryunosuke's slaughter of children in Fuyuki City.

If killing one person could save two, then the Magus Killer would pull the trigger without hesitation, no matter how innocent that person might be.

By the same logic, if all humanity could be saved, then forget a few dozen children—even if every resident of Fuyuki City, or even the entire island nation, were wiped out, he could accept that price in his heart.

Extreme!

Narrow-minded!

Self-righteous!

That was Emiya Kiritsugu!

A man who wanted to realize the utterly unrealistic dream buried in his heart through the most pragmatic, cruel, and unscrupulous means.

After a long silence, the Magus Killer finally took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Then, in a slightly trembling voice, he asked, "How credible do you think Berserker's words are?"

"I don't know! But I really can't think of any reason for him to deceive us. After all, he recognized from the very beginning that I am the vessel of the Holy Grail. If he truly wanted the Holy Grail, he should have abducted me directly. With Berserker's strength, Saber could never have been his match, even with the scabbard." Irisviel's tone was filled with intense