Tribute to the Demon King

His tattered windbreaker covered in black stains was blown in the air by the heat.

The man walked erratically, like a sleepwalker, stumbling along the burning street.

"That is--"

Kiritsugu's pupils shrank suddenly.

With just a glance, he immediately recognized the man's identity.

That was Emiya Kiritsugu himself.

It was as if watching himself in the mirror acting spontaneously, Kiritsugu felt extremely absurd in his heart.

Although he didn't know what happened, the other Kiritsugu in his eyes seemed to have his soul taken out, completely losing the motivation and support to live.

That's...abandoning the ideal self.

Kiritsugu couldn't help being silent.

If Darius hadn't helped him get out of the illusion, maybe he would have become like this.

What kind of folly did the man named Emiya Kiritsugu repeat in the past.Kiritsugu, who caused disaster in order to save others, must be the real loser.

So……

Emiya Kiritsugu's heart moved, and a possibility appeared in his mind.

It's not enough just to have the illusion of the Holy Grail to be able to fall into such despair.

I want to save the world - this sentence is not just empty talk, not just a wish, but constitutes the cornerstone of Kiritsugu's personality.

Then, there is only one possibility for Kiritsugu to fall into such a decadent situation.

Could it be... Is this disaster actually caused by me?

Kiritsugu murmured in disbelief.

In front of his eyes, the man who had witnessed despair and thus lost his soul repeatedly looked at the surrounding ruins.

Contrary to his feeble footsteps, his aura when he looked around was as terrifying as an undead wandering in a scorching hell.It was obvious that he was looking for something, and he was not afraid of dying in a sea of ​​fire to find that thing.

At that moment, Kiritsugu's heart seemed to be touched by something.

If that guy is himself... what is he looking for?

Involuntarily, Kiritsugu followed.

Not surprisingly...

What he was looking for were survivors.Even if there is only one survivor, a survivor who can allow himself to live for atonement.

In order to save others, he caused disaster and destroyed countless lives—this was enough to completely destroy Emiya Kiritsugu.

Finally, as if he had found something suddenly, the man plopped down on the ground, digging desperately in the ruins, even the skin on his hands was burned, his wrists and knees were cut, and his fingers were injured by heavy objects. Can't care.

Then, he carefully carried a red-haired boy out of the ruins.

"……thanks, thanks……"

The man seemed to be grateful for something, and as if he was praying for something, he murmured repeatedly in a low voice: "It's great to find you...Thank you..."

The hopeless and empty eyes finally faded from his eyes.

With tears in his eyes, he showed a happy smile from the bottom of his heart as if he was thanking someone.

Finally—in a real sense, a person was saved.

Emiya Kiritsugu watched this scene not far away, his eyes gradually softened.

"That's him, Shirou."

With some longing, Kiritsugu subconsciously took a step forward.

"...Hello, Kiritsugu."

A familiar voice came from behind Kiritsugu: "For you, that place is hell."

Even without turning his head, Kiritsugu could recognize that it was Archer's voice.

"Maybe it is... because of my own fault, so many people died. I was a man who deserved to go to hell."

While speaking in a low voice, Kiritsugu continued to step forward: "But the remaining useless life, even if it's just saving one more person... is worth it."

Shirou probably tasted endless despair because he inherited the ideals of his stupid father.

He carried his ideals on his shoulders, used it as a sword to walk his whole life, and fell into the hell full of sighs and blood after death...

However, Shirou is different from himself.

From Kiritsugu's steps as the center, the world suddenly rippled like water.

The burning ruins turned into a courtyard under the moonlit night in an instant.The scorching air was instantly blown away by the icy night wind.

"I'll do it for you."

The red-haired boy raised his face, and said something like an oath to the man sitting beside him: "Leave it to me, Daddy's dream."

- That's right.Kiritsugu reconfirmed that at least in this point, Shirou was different from himself.