A Hero of Justice

After school that afternoon.

Lin Xiao returned to the apartment Yukino had provided, carrying sukiyaki ingredients from the supermarket.

"Whew... dealing with girls is even more exhausting than fighting monsters."

Just as he was about to get up and head to the kitchen to make something to eat, the Myriad Worlds Chat Group, which had been silent for half the day, suddenly rang with a crisp system notification in his mind.

[ Ding! A new Fate Node fluctuation has been detected! ]

[ "The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero" has joined the group chat! ]

The people who had been chatting idly in the group were instantly drawn in by the notification.

[The Underdog Who Wants to Be Hokage]: "Oh! Another newcomer! Welcome, welcome! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the man who will become Hokage!"

[Smile Under the Wisteria Flowers]: "A Hero of Justice? What a youthful, idealistic name. Welcome to the group, Mr. Newcomer."

Yet, in the face of the group members' enthusiasm, the newcomer's response was exceptionally wary.

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "Is this... some kind of telepathic magecraft?! Whatever your intentions are, come at me if you have to, but please don't drag innocent ordinary people into a battle between magi!"

Meanwhile, in the Fate world.

In Fuyuki City, inside the dojo of the Emiya Residence, the red-haired boy Emiya Shirou gripped a length of steel pipe, sweat pouring down his face as he vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

Inside the chat group.

Seeing the keywords "magecraft," "Fuyuki City," and "ordinary people," Bruce Wayne, seated before the Batcomputer, frowned slightly.

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "Magecraft? It seems this is another parallel universe with supernatural powers. But the newcomer appears to have some kind of obsessive fixation on the word 'justice.'"

Watching the mood in the group, Lin Xiao raised a brow, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"A boy who wants to become a hero of justice and knows magecraft... Emiya Shirou? Now there's a heavyweight 'idealistic lunatic.'"

[He Is Simply God]: "Relax, Emiya Shirou. This isn't Fuyuki City. This is a chat group that transcends endless dimensions of the universe."

Seeing the golden ID at the top of the rankings speak, Shirou, who had been on high alert, froze.

[He Is Simply God]: "I not only know your name, I also know about the fire ten years ago that nearly burned down all of Fuyuki City.

"When that man named Kiritsugu Emiya dug you out of the ruins, the almost twisted survivor's guilt in your heart."

The words struck the Emiya Shirou of the Fate world like lightning. The steel pipe in his hand fell onto the wooden floor with a clang.

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "Having endured a tragedy and walked down an obsessive path called 'justice' because of survivor's guilt..."

Inside the Batcave, Bruce Wayne muttered to himself. Those few words were like looking into a mirror, piercing precisely into the core of his soul as Batman.

[The Underdog Who Wants to Be Hokage]: "Big Brother Lin Xiao, will this new Big Brother Shirou also face something really tragic in the future?"

[He Is Simply God]: "Tragic doesn't begin to cover it. The justice he pursues is a kind of pathological self-destruction. To save the people in front of him, he would not hesitate to treat himself as something expendable."

[ Ding! The group owner has uploaded a memory copy Fate—Emiya Shirou! ]

[He Is Simply God]: "@The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero, this copy records one of the possible future branches you may follow on a certain timeline.

"See for yourself. See what the 'hero of justice' you admire will ultimately become after enduring countless betrayals and killings."

The group fell silent at once. Everyone immediately opened the glowing memory copy.

More than ten minutes later, the Myriad Worlds Chat Group had sunk into deathly silence.

[Snow Queen of the Service Club]: "'Because he didn't want to lose anyone, he could only choose to sacrifice himself'... This kind of kindness so extreme it was almost cruel, this hypocritical goodness, truly was a one-way road destined to lead to despair."

Batman, far away in the DC Universe, clenched his teeth hard. When he saw the future Heroic Spirit Emiya wanting to return to the past and kill himself because his ideals had shattered, Bruce seemed to see a future version of himself—one who might likewise completely collapse from clinging to his principles.

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "Lin Xiao. You uploaded that copy not only for him, but for me as well, didn't you?"

[He Is Simply God]: "Don't make this about yourself, Bruce. You two may both be severely traumatized, but you're much smarter than him. You even made yourself a clone to guard against the future."

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "..."

[He Is Simply God]: "@The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero, then answer me now. After seeing all this, will you still insist on being that 'hero of justice' who dies for others and ultimately even denies himself?"

The Fate world.

Inside the dojo in Fuyuki City, the red-haired boy stared fixedly at the screen in the air, gasping for breath. He had seen the so-called Holy Grail War. He had seen his despairing future. Even if it was only a possibility, the pain of betrayal felt so real.

Yet, when he recalled the smile on Kiritsugu Emiya's face during that fire—the smile that had seemed as though he had found salvation after saving him... the boy's gaze remained as stubborn as steel.

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "Even if the future in that possibility really is like hell. Even if this ideal is merely borrowed hypocrisy... I still believe that everyone being able to live happily is an incredibly beautiful thing! So... even if I know I'll regret it, I will never believe that wish is wrong!"

Looking at the reply in the group, Lin Xiao sighed helplessly.

Just as expected. The bones of this sword were truly hard. It would not bend even a little.

[He Is Simply God]: "You've got backbone. Since you said that, and since you've joined my group, I absolutely won't allow a group member to end up with such a stifling future."

[He Is Simply God]: "But before that, I need to confirm the timeline on your side. Shirou, have you recently run into a foreign little girl with white hair and Red Eyes on the street who called you Big Brother? Or is there someone named Shinji Matou at your school who asked you to stay behind and clean the Archery Dojo?"

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "That foreign little girl... I did run into her after school this evening. As for Shinji, he really did ask me to clean the Archery Dojo tonight. I was just about to head out."

Sitting on the sofa, Lin Xiao could not help but grin.

[He Is Simply God]: "All I can say is, you came at exactly the right time. Go to school. After you finish cleaning the Archery Dojo, the ritual known as the 'Holy Grail War' will begin with you tonight. According to your original fate, you'll be hunted tonight by a Lancer wearing a blue bodysuit."

Lin Xiao had originally planned to let Shirou proceed as usual and summon Saber. But then an extremely crazy—and extremely interesting—thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

The summoning mechanism of the Holy Grail War relied on a "catalyst" to connect to the Throne of Heroic Spirits.

What if... the catalyst was his own light?