Problem Child From Honkai of Type-Moon

Walking down the road, Kiritsugu Emiya found himself reminiscing about the Holy Grail War, which felt almost like a game, a bit surreal.

Now that the Grail was within reach, Kiritsugu felt a flash of inspiration in his mind but couldn't quite grasp it.

Did something go wrong?

I, Saber, Kariya Matou, Berserker, are all here.

The contract is fine too.

Is it Saber?

"Where's Irisviel!"

Fu Yuan sensed his mental state and was a bit flustered himself. He looked around, only to realize they hadn't brought the most important thing with them from the start.

"..."

"..."

Kiritsugu Emiya felt a pang of melancholy. When had he become so foolish!

He suddenly wanted a smoke, but couldn't find any.

Fortunately, compared to the bewildered expressions of the others, his poker face at least made him seem less awkward.

"So, should we go back?"

"...Let's hurry!"

The group felt a sense of melancholy. Einsbern Castle and Ryudoji Temple were at opposite ends of the city. What was the point of them rushing earlier!

Einsbern Castle:

Irisviel tucked the two little ones in after finally coaxing them to sleep. She was about to take a break in the living room when she found Fujino still awake.

Feeling a bit helpless, just as she was about to try and coax another child, Fujino pointed to the forgotten 'rb... Irisviel.'

It was only then that Irisviel sensed the immense Magic. Her previously drowsy mind instantly became alert.

Looking at the Lesser Grail, which was emitting black, solid Magic, she felt a bit foolish.

She looked at the Lesser Grail, from which Magic was already leaking, with a sense of confusion.

So, what was she supposed to do?

She didn't understand!

"Master, aren't you going to deal with it?"

The group gathered in the hall with awkward expressions, especially looking at the Lesser Grail that was still spewing black mud, they all had a sense of foreboding.

Fu Yuan stared at the scene for a long time, but then it made sense. In the original story, it wasn't necessary for six people to die before it manifested.

"..."

Although Kiritsugu felt this wasn't something he should be doing, looking at Fu Yuan's serious gaze, for some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of panic.

It was as if something was about to shatter.

Perhaps he already had an idea of what was happening, but he forced himself not to think about it.

He walked slowly, as if doing so could delay the inevitable, but the distance was ultimately short.

However, before he could even touch it, his mind went blank. When he came to his senses, he was no longer in the living room.

He was surrounded by black objects, constantly emitting resentment.

However, the attack he had imagined didn't come. Instead, a slender figure appeared before him.

She said many things, many things he had deliberately forgotten. Kiritsugu wanted to turn and leave.

But he still held onto a sliver of hope, even the smallest possibility, he didn't want to give up.

Seeing how resolute, or rather numb, his heart was, the figure stopped its pointless words.

Next was the multiple-choice question.

The scene shifted again. This time, it was at sea, and Kiritsugu's role was that of a repairman.

Two ships, one with three hundred people, the other with two hundred.

"Both ships simultaneously developed a fatal hole in their hulls, and only Kiritsugu possessed the technology to repair ships. While repairing one ship, the other would sink. So, which ship would you choose to repair?"

"...Of course, the one with three hundred people."

"After you make your decision, the two hundred people on the other ship detain you and demand, 'Repair this ship first.' What would you do?"

"This..." Before he could answer, a machine gun appeared in Kiritsugu's hand.

The gun suddenly fired bullets like an automaton. Kiritsugu could only stare blankly at everything before him. One bullet pierced four people, and in an instant, all two hundred were shot dead.

"Correct. This is Kiritsugu Emiya." Kiritsugu motionlessly watched the ship, laden with corpses, slowly sink into the sea. Every corpse on deck seemed to be someone he knew.

"Then, the remaining three hundred people abandoned the damaged ship and continued sailing in two new ships. This time, one ship had two hundred people, and the other had one hundred. But again, large holes simultaneously appeared in the hulls of both ships."

But the moment he turned around, someone grabbed him. He looked back at their fearful expressions, the terror of death.

Two hundred and one hundred... one hundred twenty and eighty... eighty and forty...

"This... is what you want me to see?"

Kiritsugu felt sick at this low-level game. He questioned the entity that called itself "the Consciousness of the Holy Grail."

This kind of moral blackmail was precisely the principle he had always followed.

But why did his heart ache?

"Yes, this is your truth, the answer made by Kiritsugu Emiya's heart, the wish that the Holy Grail, as a wish-granting machine, must fulfill."

"No! ...No!"

Looking at his blood-stained hands, Kiritsugu screamed.

"This is not my wish! I wish there was another way... that's why I can only rely on 'miracles'..."

"Isn't this the miracle you wished for?"

"What a joke! What kind of miracle is this!?"

"It is a miracle. The wish you hoped for but could not achieve on your own will be realized on a grand scale that humans cannot accomplish. What else is this if not a miracle?"

The remaining five people were all the most important people to Kiritsugu. But he still had to make a choice, whether to save two people or three.

He screamed in despair as he pulled the trigger, hitting Emiya Kenshin's face.

Natalia Kaminski's brains also splattered instantly.

"You want to... descend upon the world and do this to all of humanity? Is this how you fulfill my ideals?"

"Precisely. Your wish is the most suitable form for the Holy Grail. Kiritsugu Emiya, you are truly worthy of the title 'all the evil in the world'."

With three people left, whether to save one or two, Kiritsugu gripped the hilt of the knife with trembling hands. His tears had already run dry.

With eyes as hollow as a ghost's, Kiritsugu tore apart Maiya Hisau's body.

Repeatedly, he repeatedly swung the dagger.

Just like that, only two people were left in the world.

There was no need to weigh them on a scale anymore.

No need to calculate equal value.

This was the last hope, bought with the lives of four hundred and ninety-eight people.

Having completed all this, Kiritsugu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like a walking corpse, enveloped in the warmth of the fireplace.

In the nostalgic, peaceful, and warm room, his "wife" and "daughter" smiled. In other words, this was the stable world he had sought.

Outside, Irisviel looked at Kiritsugu with great concern, while Fu Yuan crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

No more fighting, no more hurting anyone.

A complete paradise.

"You're back, Kiritsugu."

With a face full of joy, Illya hugged her father's neck with her small hands.

In the northernmost city, where snow fell heavily, there was such peace. His blood-stained life had finally welcomed such unimaginable warmth.

If such a peaceful children's room were the entire world, then no arguments or conflicts would ever occur.

"—Right? Do you understand? This is the wish the Holy Grail has granted for you."

All that remained was happiness.

On this planet, where everything had been destroyed, the last three humans should be able to live happily ever after like this.

"...I can't find any walnut tree buds anymore..."

Outside the window, the white snowy landscape was gone, replaced by swirling black mud.

Gazing at this scene, Kiritsugu muttered to himself. At this moment, Illya in his arms smiled and shook her head at him.

"Mhm, it's okay. Illya is happy as long as she can be with Kiritsugu and Mom."

Stroking the head of his beloved daughter in his arms, Kiritsugu's tears gushed out.

"Thank you... Dad loves Illya the most too. I swear, this much is true..."

His hands did not stop moving.

As if they were not controlled by his brain, like a programmed machine, Kiritsugu pressed the muzzle of the Contender against his daughter's small chin.

"—Goodbye, Illya."

The girl's head exploded with the gunshot.

On Kiritsugu's tear-streaked cheek, pieces of flesh with silver hair were stuck. (Silver hair, that's right, I was influenced by Magic Girl Illya earlier.)

"What have you done!?" Kiritsugu pinned his wife, who rushed forward like a demoness, beneath him and grabbed her slender neck with his hands.

"The Holy Grail is something that shouldn't exist…"

Regardless of what was inside this body, Irisviel's personality, coexisting with it, still genuinely existed.

The despair and pain of having her daughter killed, and the hatred for the husband who killed her daughter, were undoubtedly Irisviel's true emotions.

Kiritsugu stared directly at her, accepting this fact, and at the same time, he used all his strength to grip his wife's neck.

"…What are you doing… Why are you refusing the Holy Grail, and us… My Illya!… Why are you doing this!?"

"—Because, I—"

The voice that came from his throat was so hollow, like a wind blowing through an empty space.

There was no sadness, no anger.

This was natural; Kiritsugu Emiya's heart was already empty.

He had abandoned the miracle he pursued and given up on benefits that completely contradicted his original intentions.

At this moment, there was no way anything could remain in his heart.

"I will—save—the world."

Just one thing, that was the belief he had carried through to the end.

But why did that sentence sound so hollow?

His trembling hand broke the woman's cervical spine.

Again, the scene changed.

—An illusion that had invaded his deep consciousness; looking back, he realized it was just the blink of an eye.

'It's time to wake up from your unrealistic dreams…'

Fu Yuan listened to the ideals he had spoken of earlier. How should he put it?