Kayneth: "Kotomine Shirou, this guy!"
Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Isn't he a participant in the Holy Grail War? How does he also have the authority to supervise it?"
Kotomine Risei: "..."
[Not only did he obtain contracts for other Servants, but he also used his authority as a supervisor to retain the unused Command Seals.]
[The Red Team was not surprised by this scene. After all, they had been mentally prepared.]
["I requested they peacefully give up their rights as Masters and the three-drawn Command Seals. There's no need for concern."]
[Kotomine Shirou smiled. "As for the magical energy needed to sustain the Servants in this world, it's no longer an issue now that we are connected to the Greater Holy Grail."]
[Jeanne: "So that's it. The warning I received from God must have been about you."]
[Kotomine Shiro: "That's hard to say. I've never intended to go against God's will."]
[Jeanne: "You are the Ruler summoned in the Third Holy Grail War."]
[At her words, all the Servants present were visibly shaken.]
[Kotomine Shiro: "Indeed. Before I officially became their Master, encountering you would have been highly inconvenient. After all, you possess Command Seals."]
["If you had discovered my identity, all my plans would have gone up in smoke. I couldn't let anyone obstruct my dream."]
[Jeanne: "So, what exactly is your goal, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?"]
["It's simple, to save all of humanity, Jeanne d'Arc."]
[Kotomine Shirou or rather, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada spoke with solemnity.]
---
Waver: "Amakusa Shirou Tokisada! That's the saint from the late Warring States period in Japan!"
Kotomine Risei: "I never expected it to be him!"
Kotomine Risei was stunned to realize that his counterpart had adopted a saint as his godson. The thought was overwhelming.
Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Ruler? But the records indicate that no Ruler-class Servant appeared in the Third Holy Grail War."
Irisviel: "The same holds true for Einzbern's records."
---
[Time rewinds to the Third Holy Grail War.]
[After suffering elimination early in the Second Holy Grail War, Einzbern was determined to avenge their defeat. To do so, they decided to bend the rules and bolster their forces by summoning an additional Servant.]
[They had two potential strategies. One was to summon an Avenger-class Servant by modifying the Holy Grail system. The other was to exploit the Grail's system to summon a Ruler-class Servant—originally meant to serve as a mediator in the Holy Grail War.]
[After careful deliberation, Einzbern chose the latter. They summoned the closest thing Japan had to a saint: Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.]
Irisviel: "Wait, that's not right!"
Irisviel: "According to the family records, an Avenger-class Servant was summoned, not Ruler."
Emiya Kiritsugu: "I see. Now it all makes sense."
Emiya Kiritsugu: "The divergence between the two worlds, this fundamental split wasn't caused by Darnic but by you, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada."
Kotomine Shirou: "Interesting. Are you suggesting that my existence altered the course of your world?"
Kotomine Shirou: "Then who was the Avenger summoned in your world?"
Irisviel: "I don't know. The records only state that the summoned Avenger was nameless and incredibly weak. It didn't even possess a Noble Phantasm. It was defeated and retired on the fourth day of the war."
Waver: "So simply summoning different Servants caused such a massive divergence between the two worlds?"
Kayneth: "That's the unpredictability of the world for you."
Irisviel noticed that Kiritsugu was deep in thought and asked, "What are you thinking?"
"Oh, nothing," Emiya Kiritsugu replied, choosing not to share the bold theory forming in his mind.
The Holy Grail in the world of Apocrypha wasn't tainted, but in his own world, it had been corrupted. Given that the divergence began with the Servant summoned by Einzbern in the Third War, the conclusion was obvious.
Could the tainting of the Grail be related to the Avenger they summoned?
But Irisviel had mentioned that the Avenger was extremely weak, with no Noble Phantasm or lasting impact. Could such a Servant really corrupt the Grail?
---
[Amakusa Shirou wasn't particularly exceptional in combat, and his magical prowess fell short of Caster's. However, his strategic foresight and cautious planning allowed Einzbern to come within reach of victory during the Third Holy Grail War.]
[Unfortunately, Darnic, a man with no sense of martial ethics, disrupted everything.]
[After discovering the Grail's location by chance, Darnic allied with the National Socialist army and launched a military assault, outright robbing the Grail.]
[The Third Holy Grail War collapsed into chaos.]
[One by one, the Servants fell in combat. Einzbern's Master, Ahad, was also killed in the carnage.]
[With their leader gone, Einzbern fell into decline, and their wealth was seized by the Yggdmillennia clan.]
[As for the other two founding families, the Tohsaka clan had the foresight to retreat early. Though this left their influence diminished, they managed to preserve their lineage.]
[The Matou clan, on the other hand, saw their head—the "old worm"—eliminated by Darnic. They followed Einzbern into ruin.]
---
"Darnic, that scoundrel!"
Seeing the destruction of the three founding families in this alternate timeline, Tohsaka Tokiomi seethed with anger. At the same time, he felt a slight sense of relief knowing that the Tohsaka family had narrowly survived.
---
[After the war, only two people remained on the battlefield.]
[One was Amakusa Shirou, and the other was the then-supervisor, Kotomine Risei.]
[The young Kotomine Risei cut an imposing figure. His physique was far from that of a priest, resembling instead a hardened special forces operative.]
[As for Amakusa Shirou, he was fortunate enough to encounter the Holy Grail during the battle and successfully achieved incarnation, granting him a permanent physical body.]
[However, drained of magical energy, Amakusa Shirou had effectively become an ordinary human.]
[Recognizing his identity, Kotomine Risei took it upon himself to care for Shirou.]
[Thus, Amakusa Shirou became Kotomine Shirou, adopting Kotomine Risei as his father and joining the Eighth Sacrament Society.]
[For the next sixty years, Amakusa Shirou kept a low profile as he worked toward regaining the Holy Grail.]
[When he had bathed in the light of the Grail, Shirou had been convinced of one thing: with its power, he could bring happiness to all of humanity.]
[For sixty years, he persisted. Drawing strength from the Grail's blessing, he stopped aging and lived on to this day.]
[His adoptive father passed away, his brother embarked on his own path, and the years drifted by like fleeting clouds.]
[Finally, after sixty years of preparation, his plans were on the cusp of fruition.]
---
Tohsaka Tokiomi: "So this is the full story of the Third Holy Grail War in the alternate world?"
Sisigou: "You've kept your resolve for sixty years, Amakusa Shirou. I must commend you."
After all, humanity was known for its fickleness. For Amakusa Shirou to maintain his ideals for sixty years was truly remarkable.
Iskandar: "Incarnation! Kotomine Shiro, you've achieved the incarnated body I've been yearning for!"
He couldn't help but feel bitter that everyone but him seemed capable of attaining a physical body.
Kotomine Shirou: "Do you understand now, Chihiro?"
Kotomine Shiro: "I don't seek the Grail out of personal greed. My only goal is the happiness of all mankind. Hand me the Greater Grail. You have no wish that must be fulfilled, do you?"
Chihiro: "That won't work. I'm not alone. If I give you the Grail, my Servants won't stand for it."
Kotomine Shirou: "I see…"
---
[Meanwhile, as chaos engulfed the aerial gardens, another battle unfolded below.]
[After a brief rest, Sieg and Astolfo began their return to Yggdmillennia's castle.]
[Their goal wasn't to join the fight in the gardens but to use the opportunity to free the homunculi imprisoned in the castle.]
[With the Black Servants absent, it seemed like the perfect chance.]
[Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.]
[Before they could sneak into the castle, they were intercepted by Celenike.]
[Seeing her cold, expressionless face, Sieg and Astolfo both felt chills down their spines.]
[Astolfo: "How terrifying! Honestly, being scolded would be less scary."]
[Was Celenike really not angry? Of course not. She was so furious that she had reached the point of terrifying calm.]
[For someone in such a state, any action, even the most unthinkable, was possible. For example…]
["I order you with a Command Seal, Rider Astolfo—kill that homunculus immediately!"]
[That's right. To eliminate Sieg, her romantic rival, Celenike directly used a Command Seal.]
["Danger! Sieg, run!"]
[Astolfo hadn't expected Celenike to act so ruthlessly. His body moved on instinct, raising his lance and thrusting it toward Sieg.]
---
[Video paused.]
[Question: What will be the outcome of this fight?]
Tohsaka Rin: "Wow, another intense scene."
Waver: "Using a Command Seal to kill Sieg… Celenike really has lost it."
Tohsaka Rin: "Too bad the Black Faction isn't online right now. Otherwise, we'd be in for even more chaos."
Illya: "Look at her expression. It's like she just caught another woman with her husband."
Illya: "Sieg, you're such a sinful man."
Sieg: "..."
Waver: "This question might seem straightforward, but the outcome could be unpredictable."
Kayneth: "That happens more often than you'd think."
***
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