The Miracle Called the Holy Grail

She now had a few trump cards in hand, which could be divided into two groups:

Alcides, "Twelve Trials," "Twelve Glories," "Hundred-Beast Slayer," and "Heavenly Wind Usurper."

Emiya Shirou, "Projection Magic," "Broken Phantasm," and "Inherent Domain."

Only the enemy's abilities remained unknown. The premise was that it might be the person who had thrown countless weapons from the shadows to attack Miyu on the day she was captured—someone possessing many Noble Phantasms.

After all, the King of Heroes sounded like a rather wealthy fellow.

Twelve Trials provided an extremely high margin for error. No matter how powerful her opponent was, she would have eleven extra chances to fight.

As for Hundred-Beast Slayer, it was simply very useful.

Twelve Glories, meanwhile, offered versatility. Although many of its animal-summoning Noble Phantasms were not particularly impressive and posed insufficient threat to powerful Servants overall, several of the Noble Phantasms alone were terrifying.

For example, that outrageous Noble Phantasm related to the eleventh trial and the Golden Apple...

Of the two, Projection Magic and Heavenly Wind Usurper were actually rather unusual. With those two in hand, no matter what type of opponent she faced, she could come up with a response.

If all else failed, she could drag them into her Inherent Domain, overwhelm them with the number of Noble Phantasms, then use Heavenly Wind Usurper to forcibly take their Noble Phantasms and smash them in their face.

There was just one thing she did not understand: could Noble Phantasms plundered by Heavenly Wind Usurper be used for Broken Phantasm?

Ritsuka began studying it carefully.

"Ugh, my ass hurts so much."

At dusk, Kishiya had already awakened. Ritsuka sent him to the Anorectal Hospital, where his stomach had just been pumped.

Even with his inhuman body, after enduring such an enormous ordeal, he ultimately could not hold on. Kishiya's screams had been truly terrifying.

Lying face-down on the hospital bed with his butt raised, the handsome old man kept groaning.

"Kishiya, are you saying you threw the guy who poisoned you into a parallel world?"

Ritsuka's head was full of question marks.

First, regarding Kirei Kotomine: after Ritsuka asked where Father Mape had gone, Kishiya said that in a moment of impulsiveness, he had thrown that bastard into another world.

Second was Kishiya's strength, which utterly shocked Ritsuka.

The power to manipulate parallel worlds was truly unimaginable, far beyond the limits of her understanding.

"That guy is a demon..."

Whenever he recalled the bottle of Mapo Water that had been handed to him while he was enjoying his meal—a bottle that had appeared completely harmless—Kishiya gritted his teeth in hatred.

Damn it! You bastard!

"A parallel world... That really is an outrageous term... A parallel world..."

After pouring Kishiya a glass of water, Ritsuka suddenly froze. She had thought of something.

If she possessed the Holy Grail and won this Holy Grail War, she could save Miyu through a wish. But she had not carefully considered how to use it.

But what if she chose to use the Holy Grail's power to send Miyu out of this world, which was destined to perish?

Restarting this world might not necessarily succeed, but could a wish merely to send one person away be fulfilled? After all, the Holy Grail seemingly only granted one wish.

"Right, Kishiya, could I ask you to..."

"You want me to send your sister out of this world?" Kishiya, who had been resting face-down on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes. "No, after sending that demon away, I temporarily can't use my magical energy anymore. Do you want to save the Holy Grail's power to revive Matou Sakura?"

Ritsuka fell silent.

She suddenly wanted to grab Kirei Kotomine by the collar and give him a fierce punch.

That bastard could have done anything, but he had to leave the person who could replace a wish only able to groan face-down on a bed in the Anorectal Hospital!

But this was still because of her. If Sakura had not become involved with her, she might not have been killed. Ritsuka could have simply abandoned the Holy Grail War from the start and left Fuyuki City...

"Kishiya, do you know where Miyu is?"

"...I do know that. Have you really prepared yourself... to stand against every human in this world?"

For humanity's continuation, Miyu was the only possibility.

Saving Miyu meant choosing between one person and everyone else. Kishiya stared at the silent Ritsuka.

"There's no choice to be made. Even if Kiritsugu were here, I'd knock him down with one punch and save Miyu."

"You've really decided, then. All right... Your final destination is halfway up Mt. Enzou."

Having learned the location of her target, Ritsuka rose from her chair and headed for the door.

After stepping outside, Ritsuka turned and bowed to Kishiya. "Thank you, Kishiya."

She swiftly left the hospital and rushed at full speed toward Mt. Enzou, which she had bombarded not long ago. This time, Ritsuka could not sense anything.

With a faint sigh, Kishiya sat up from the hospital bed, rubbed his butt with a savage expression, and then vanished from the spot.

As if he had never existed in this world...

The Miracle Called the Holy Grail

Walking to the middle of Mt. Enzou, the scene of her long-range strike from not long ago remained unchanged.

After searching around, Ritsuka entered a long, narrow cave. There was a peculiar magical energy inside; merely sensing it slightly even eased her pain, if only by a little.

"Hah~ I reached the critical point earlier than expected."

She clenched her right hand, her pale, slender fingers marked with a few wounds tightening together.

The battle had accelerated the replacement process. Her aura was undergoing earth-shaking changes, while the tearing pain inside her body had instead eased somewhat.

All signs indicated that she might only need to fight one more battle—or wait one more day—before both body and soul would perish.

"Good, I made it..."

The Crystal Dice lit up. Inside the pitch-black cave, there were other light sources for illumination, so the appearance of the Crystal Dice did not seem abrupt.

She took out a stack of seven Class Cards and tucked them into her clothes.

She wore a somewhat tattered coat and Sakura's scarf. The cold scarf was gradually warming again.

There was some standing water in the narrow cave. Ritsuka walked straight through it without caring in the slightest that stepping in it dirtied her pants.

There was only one thing she was worried about now.

Tap, tap, tap—

Her footsteps were exceptionally clear in the silent cave. A figure appeared, blocking Ritsuka's path.

Their gazes met, and Ritsuka's beautiful eyes turned slightly cold. "Long time no see, Julian."

Those familiar dark circles and that suppressed gaze made Ritsuka feel, for a moment, as though she had returned to the recent past, when she had confronted this Student Council President at school.

This guy had probably counted as her friend not long ago, hadn't he?

"I don't have time right now. We can settle our score when we get the chance... Give Miyu back to me."

Although she wanted to immediately kill the man who had caused Kiritsugu's death, she did not have time.

The head of the Enzō family definitely possessed existences stronger than most of the cards that had appeared in this Holy Grail War. If they truly fought, she did not have much confidence in winning now.

Julian definitely still had stronger methods he had not used.

If she burned herself out during battle, everything would come to nothing...

"You've already made your decision? A decision to betray the entire world for those laughable personal feelings?!"

Julian's expression was filled with disgust as he glared into Ritsuka's eyes.

In a sense, he also had his own selfish desires, but the premise of those desires was saving all humanity.

Of course, Ritsuka did not know any of this. Otherwise, she would definitely have refuted him directly.

Your sister is a sister, but mine is not?

Something along those lines.

Julian sneered. "What utterly vile evil!"

"..."

It was evil. Ritsuka had known that long ago. By the justice Kiritsugu had upheld, what she chose was undoubtedly true evil.

Comparing the many and the few, choosing the greater side without the slightest emotion.

"There was once a man who, like you, pursued a miracle that could save all humanity. In the end, he obtained that miracle too."

"Whenever he had to choose between everyone and a minority, he always chose the greater side."

Kiritsugu Emiya. The image of her adoptive father flashed before her eyes, and Ritsuka smiled bitterly in helplessness.

When Kiritsugu handed the choice to her, that man had truly let go of his obsession. Unfortunately, she had betrayed Kiritsugu's trust and made the wrong decision, allowing Miyu to be taken away.

Julian's eyes widened as Ritsuka walked past him—

"That man, in the end, asked me to take good care of Miyu!"

She wanted to save both everyone and the minority, but if she could only choose one, she would not abandon that minority for everyone else.

Because that was her only remaining family!

Passing Julian, who had blocked her way, Ritsuka turned her back on him and was not attacked.

Perhaps he believed victory was already assured, or perhaps he simply disdained a sneak attack.

After all, even if she won the Holy Grail War, it would be useless. As long as Miyu remained in this world, he would have countless chances to seize this miracle capable of granting "any" wish.

The Holy Grail War could be held countless times, but Ritsuka could not afford to lose even once...

Idiot. How could I possibly leave Miyu in this world?

With that thought, the girl with orange-red hair walked toward the interior of Mt. Enzou at the end of the hollow passage. A huge circular magic formation stood at its center.

Some strands of hair at her forehead had already turned nearly white. Her body was filled with pain enough to drive someone mad, and Ritsuka felt her nerves beginning to weaken. The overwhelming fatigue that suddenly surged through her nearly swallowed her whole.

Her body swayed uncontrollably. Looking at the girl lying on the platform, Ritsuka slowly let out a breath.

Her fair, slender fingers brushed across her cheek, lightly wiping away the bloodstains with an indifferent expression.

She only wanted her little sister to feel at ease.

A beautiful girl lay upon something like an altar, sleeping peacefully.

As Ritsuka gradually approached, her footsteps echoing through the cave awakened the girl like a sleeping beauty.

Miyu opened her amber eyes and instinctively reached out toward Ritsuka—

"...Big sister?"

Ritsuka smiled in relief.

None of her efforts had been wasted. So long as she could protect the girl before her, even if she exhausted her life and drained every last bit of her strength, it would be worth it. This was also the only thing she could do now.

Protect her little sister. That was the promise she had made to Kiritsugu.

"Miyu, I'm home."

Saying the words she had once spoken to Miyu whenever she returned home, Ritsuka smiled sweetly and grasped Miyu's small hand.

Her palm was slender and fair, so delicate that it felt unreal. Miyu was indeed naturally beautiful.

A world that needed to sacrifice a girl of this age to reverse its fate of certain destruction and be saved was truly broken.

Though she and Ritsuka held each other's hands, Miyu did not look happy. Instead, she appeared somewhat despondent.

Perhaps Julian that bastard had told Miyu something before this, such as how she was merely a tool the Emiya family had raised with a purpose, a Divine Child and wish-granting machine...

Tears gradually filled the little girl's eyes.

"Why did you come back? I'm just a tool that you and Mr. Kiritsugu took in, a Divine Child who can grant wishes, I..."

"That's not true."

Finally unable to hold on any longer, Ritsuka plopped down onto the ground. To keep Miyu from worrying, she still wore a gentle smile.

Ritsuka, whose entire face seemed to be written with nothing but exhaustion, reached out and stroked Miyu's head. Their foreheads lightly touched as she tried to use her own emotions to influence Miyu.