Chapter 168: The Premiere of Fate/Zero Chapter Two! (10)
After the Lancer group was eliminated, the pacing of the plot in Fate/Zero suddenly quickened.
First, we have Kirei Kotomine, who discovers his father's corpse upon arriving at the church. Rather than displaying profound sadness at this revelation, he instead feels a deep sense of confusion.
Ultimately, he reveals this to Tokiomi Tohsaka while intentionally omitting the fact that he has already regained his command spells and once again becomes a Master in the Holy Grail War.
Following the death of Diarmuid, Irisviel's body suddenly becomes immobile and is subsequently taken by Saber to a safe house in Fuyuki's Deep Mountain area.
Initially, Artoria intends to take care of her, but is suddenly invited by Tokiomi Tohsaka, who hopes for a friendly meeting to discuss potential cooperation.
After contemplating the invitation from Tokiomi, Irisviel decides to accept. She brings Artoria along to the appointed location, Fuyuki Church.
Both parties quickly engage in negotiations. Tokiomi proposes that they join forces with the Einzbern faction to eliminate the remaining Berserker and Rider.
In return, the Tohsaka family would provide information on the Masters of Berserker and Rider.
Irisviel agrees to this, but at the same time, she insists that Kirei must be excluded from the Holy Grail War and must leave Fuyuki City that day.
Hearing this condition, Kirei is taken aback but is left with no counter-argument.
After some hesitation, Tokiomi requests that Saber not be allowed to use her Noble Phantasm under any circumstances that may endanger the city.
The two sides eventually agree to each other's terms and establish a preliminary cooperative relationship.
Only Kirei, who is about to be forcibly expelled from Fuyuki, begins to entertain his own thoughts.
...
Facing the still-confused Kirei Kotomine, Gilgamesh took the initiative to engage him in conversation.
"At this point, are you still thinking? Even if you're slow, there should be a limit to it, Kirei."
"Since I became aware of the world, I've lived solely for a singular pursuit. I've spent a long time enduring various hardships, only to end up in vain. However, now I feel that the answers are right beside me, and what I've been searching for all along must lie at the end of this Fuyuki War."
"Since you have such clear awareness, what is there to hesitate about?"
"I have a premonition—when I know all the answers, I will achieve complete destruction."
"Don't dwell on those nonsensical thoughts, Kirei. This should be a cause for celebration; your endless pilgrimage is finally nearing its destination."
"Will you bless me, Archer?"
"I have already said that humanity's fate is the ultimate entertainment. I sincerely look forward to seeing you face your destiny."
Upon hearing Gilgamesh's words, Kirei firmed up a decision he had already made long ago.
"After our earlier meeting, I had the Church's people track the Einzbern family, and I've found out where they are hiding."
"What? Kirei—are you telling me you intended to continue participating in the war from the very beginning?"
"I was apprehensive and had the chance to withdraw, but in the end, King of Heroes, as you said, a person like me has no other way of dealing with matters except through constant questioning."
As Kirei spoke, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing numerous command seals he had taken from his father's corpse.
Seeing this, Gilgamesh burst into laughter.
"Hahaha—however, Kirei, if you are intent on participating in the Holy Grail War by your own will, then Tokiomi Tohsaka and I will become your enemies. Don't you think this situation is quite dangerous?"
"Not necessarily."
"Oh?"
"Since I have to oppose Tokiomi, I no longer need to cover for his lies. Gilgamesh, let me reveal to you the truth behind the Holy Grail War that you might not know."
"What?"
"The so-called Holy Grail War, the struggle for the wish-granting device, is nothing but a farce. The ceremony held in Fuyuki was originally intended to gather the souls of seven Heroic Spirits as sacrifices to open a channel to the Root. The supposed agreement to achieve miracles was merely a bait to summon Heroic Spirits."
"You mean..."
"In this war, the only Magus who truly wants to fulfill the ancient wishes of the three families is Tokiomi Tohsaka. He aims to kill all seven Servants to activate the Greater Grail. The reason Tokiomi is so reluctant to use command spells is that he can only use two against other Masters, because the final command must be reserved to order you to take your own life after the war concludes."
Upon hearing Kirei's words, Gilgamesh did not appear angry but instead smiled.
However, anyone could sense the chilling nature behind that smile.
Soon, Kirei and Gilgamesh exchanged knowing smiles.
From this point on, they would officially break free from their past shackles and form a new master-servant relationship.
As for what happened next, it goes without saying that the death of Tokiomi Tohsaka would inevitably come in light of the alliance that had been forged between the two.
Kirei used the dagger given to him by Tokiomi to stab his own mentor to death.
.....
As they watched the unfolding drama on screen, the audience's emotions were once again stirred.
No one expected that the initially clear narrative would take a chaotic turn at this moment.
"What? Tokiomi Tohsaka was just stabbed to death by Kirei Kotomine?!"
"This is absurd! I thought Kirei was the only decent character in this story, but it turns out he's also a villain?"
"Looks like everyone's a villain now! It seems like the only innocent one left is Waver. And isn't Rider just refreshingly bold? I can't get enough of the Rider group's daily antics."
"Sigh, hurry up! I just want to know who will end up getting the Holy Grail. With Tokiomi dead and Gilgamesh switching masters, does this mean Kirei will obtain the Holy Grail?"
"No way! That's just too dark for a story, right? This is going to scare the kids!"
"Who cares? I just want to see the battles; the fight scenes between the Heroic Spirits are the highlight of *Fate/Zero*!!"
"I think watching the Master's scheming against each other is interesting too."
"I just want to see Saber—she's just too beautiful!"
"Exactly, she's my waifu +1!"
"Get lost!"
...
Compared to the regular audience, the attention of the mages was clearly focused on very different aspects.
Rather than the intrigue between the various Masters, they were much more concerned about what Kirei Kotomine had revealed regarding the truth of the Holy Grail War.
"What did Kirei say? That the Holy Grail War is an experiment using the souls of Heroic Spirits to open a channel to the Root? That the wish-granting device is merely bait, while its true nature is the key to accessing the World's Gate?"
"My goodness, that explains so much. No wonder the narrative at the beginning said this Grail could summon Servants and grant any wish. I initially thought it violated the conservation of magical energy, but now it seems we were misled from the start!"
"So the essence of the Holy Grail War is something like this. Does that mean even if one obtains the Grail, they can't fulfill their wish?"
"Not necessarily. Won't the Grail absorb the magical energy of the seven Servants? With such immense magical power, even if it isn't used to open the World's Gate, it would certainly be enough to bring about any conceptual miracle. The Grail is indeed a wish-granting device!"
"From this, it seems the subsequent plot will mainly revolve around the competition for the Grail."
The mages were discussing these shocking revelations, and no one was certain how the story would unfold from here.
.....
At the top of the Mage's Tower, the Archmages reacted with little surprise when they learned the truth from Kirei Kotomine's lips.
After all, they had long suspected the truth behind the Holy Grail War; this confirmation merely aligned with their previous hypotheses.
For the Archmages, the only surprising aspect remained how the souls of the seven Heroic Spirits could unlock access to the Root.
"What exactly is the concept of a Heroic Spirit? How can they possess such immense magical power?"
"Though the story doesn't make it explicit, I believe Heroic Spirits are guardians of the world, created by the world to maintain its existence and to combat threats from beyond."
"Yes, that idea seems plausible. After all, the only thing that could sustain such a powerful concept as the Heroic Spirits would likely be something on the level of the World's Will."
"The World's Will, huh? Do you think our world has a World's Will too?"
"This..."
As the topic came to this point, all the archmages fell silent.
Throughout human history, there have been countless upheavals. Although there has been no clear indication of external interference, there have still been many clearly abnormal occurrences recorded in history.
Moreover, the death of the previous dean is something the assembled archmages could not entirely attribute to human failure alone.
It seems that this world has invisible hands manipulating the course of history.
"In any case, the framework of the Holy Grail War has essentially surfaced now. The important questions that remain are the nature of the Heroic King's trump card, the Noble Phantasm EA, the true identity of Berserker, and the role Kirei Kotomine will play in the unfolding story. Once these three mysteries are solved, the story should reach its conclusion."
The other archmages nodded in agreement at Hohenheim's topic shift, recognizing that this speculation made a lot of sense.
After all, as the pinnacle of human wisdom, the typical plot developments were fairly straightforward for these archmages to analyze. They could clearly discern the essence and core of even the most complex settings once broken down.
However, even so, and even if they could anticipate the subsequent plot, the enjoyment of the film itself still captivated these archmages.
After all, despite being archmages, they were fundamentally a group of reclusive individuals lacking entertainment activities.
.....
After the scene in which Kirei Kotomine killed Tokiomi Tohsaka concluded, he left the Tohsaka residence along with Gilgamesh to begin plotting his schemes.
The film then transitioned to depict the current situations of various parties involved.
Irisviel and Artoria returned to their workshop, preparing to rest up for the impending great battles ahead.
Waver and Iskander set out to replenish the vast reserves of magical energy Iskander had previously expended while using his Noble Phantasm, making their way toward the areas rich in ley lines.
Kariya Matou woke up in the church, still confused about why he was still alive.
Finally, the figure of Kiritsugu Emiya appeared on screen.
But just at that moment, the scene shifted, and the film's camera suddenly panned to a small island in the middle of the ocean.
A boy, somewhat resembling Kiritsugu Emiya, appeared on screen, wearing a radiant smile.
"What is this?"
"Kiritsugu Emiya?"
"He looks so young..."
"Could this be a memory?"
"Are we going to learn about Kiritsugu Emiya's life next?"
The audience began to murmur excitedly, and anticipation filled the air.
After all, the complexity of Kiritsugu's character had already embedded itself as a thorn in the viewers' minds.
Everyone was eager for answers from the film, seeking to understand the origin of Kiritsugu's twisted personality and what ideals he desperately wished to realize.
However, just as the audience awaited a resolution from the film, a flicker interrupted the screen.
Amid intense scenes of battle, it finally settled on a conversation between the boy by a water's edge and a girl.
"Kerry, what kind of adult do you want to become?"
Then, an obviously aged voice responded, "I want to become a partner of justice."
With that, the screen faded to black and was replaced by a line of credits.
"Fate/Zero Chapter 3 will be released in the following spring. Please stay tuned."
In an instant, the entire cinema lit up, the glaring magic crystals momentarily stunning the audience into silence.
After a while, some audience members began to process the situation and couldn't help but curse.
"What?! It ends here?!"
"What the hell? This is way too much!"
"Protest! Protest! Protest!"
"This is ridiculous! To cut off during such a crucial moment—are they trying to torture me?!"
"I feel like I won't be able to sleep for the next few months!"
"This is outrageous! How can you do this to me? Director Durin, you're not a human!"
"Ahhh, just kill me! I'm dying without Fate to watch!!!"
Various cries of despair echoed throughout the cinema.
Watching this scene unfold, Durin hurriedly hid his identity, trying to avoid being recognized.
Unfortunately for him, while the regular audience members were unaware of his presence, the members of the production team quickly located him one by one.
"Durin!!!"
The first to erupt was Helena, her petite figure brandishing her staff as she nearly pressed against him, clearly furious.
Laetitia had participated in the filming process but only in the segment with the giant sea monster; she had intentionally avoided the later scenes for the sake of maintaining freshness.
Who would have thought that Durin would cut off the story at such a crucial moment? The presence of this overclass Lich was now radiating a dangerous aura.
Moreover, aside from cast members like Chase, the other audience members were falling into a frenzied state. After all, Durin's abrupt cut was extremely torturous.
Faced with this situation, Durin could only force a sheepish smile and, taking advantage of the distraction, immediately activated a teleportation spell to make a quick escape!
After all, with the frenzy in the cinema caused by the sudden cliffhanger, even if he wanted to manage the situation, it was beyond his ability to handle.
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