"Seven Masters killing each other—can something so absurd really be called a war?"
Shirou Emiya frowned and raised his head, meeting Kirei Kotomine's gaze.
"You may understand it as a ritual."
Kirei Kotomine spread his hands.
"A ritual to choose someone qualified enough to possess the Holy Grail."
"The Holy Grail you mentioned—that all-powerful wish-granting machine. Is it really the Holy Grail?"
Shirou Emiya always felt that something was off.
A Holy Grail obtained through slaughter—was it truly the Holy Grail?
"Without a doubt, it is the genuine Holy Grail."
Kirei Kotomine nodded, then turned and walked to one side.
"Look behind you, Shirou Emiya."
"Isn't the existence of Servants itself an extraordinary miracle?"
Following Kirei Kotomine's words, Shirou Emiya turned his head and looked at Anno standing behind him.
It did seem to make sense.
Anno, the strongest knight of legend, was standing right behind him.
And the incredibly burly man Sister Jie had summoned—his name was Xiang An, if I remembered correctly. He was probably some kind of general from the Central Plains.
"The Holy Grail possesses such power. Without question, it will grant its final holder endless power. Whether it is real or false is meaningless before the truth."
"But if it possesses supposedly endless power, why does something like the Holy Grail War have to happen?"
Shirou Emiya turned back around, his brows still tightly furrowed.
"If its power is endless, couldn't it simply be taken out and shared with everyone?"
"A very correct answer. But the truth is that there can only be one holder of the Holy Grail."
Kirei Kotomine looked at this fledgling magus.
"This rule was not made by us. It was made by the Holy Grail."
"...Made by the Holy Grail?"
That answer clearly caught Shirou Emiya by surprise.
"Every stage