Author's Note: So! Before we get started with our regularly scheduled chapter (or slightly irregularly scheduled chapter, as the case may be), I would like to present the first-ever omake of "Fate/Gender Reversal." Basically, it's an F/GR version of the thirteenth bad ending of the visual novel, and it was written by Ascarde with some editing done by me.
"Saber," Kotomine's voice tore him from his thoughts, "kill your Master. Do that, and your wish will come true."
Saber's head shot up to look at the priest. What...? he thought, stunned. Was it that simple? If Kotomine was to be believed, the Holy Grail was now within his grasp. If he obtained it right now, his wish would be fulfilled. A new king would be selected in his place. This king would not allow himself to lose his agency for even a second. Britain would become a peaceful kingdom.
And all it would take was one blow from Excalibur.
A choice and decision no one could blame him for.
Before he was even consciously aware of what he was doing, almost like he was watching it happen to someone else, Excalibur rose and fell. Blood splattered the floor of the underground chapel.
Saber stared with blank shock and amazement at the blood dripping along the length of holy steel.
Silence. Silence from Lancer, from Kotomine, from Gilgamesh listening in the shadows just up the stairs. Only the steady drip of blood, his Master's—Shira's—blood, disturbed the quiet as it dripped mournfully like tears onto the floor.
He had only considered it for a fraction of a second.
But that fraction of a second had been enough.
It immediately was replaced by Shira's confession, and images flashed through his mind. The summoning, the date, the confession, the kiss, the...rejection. Every single precious moment he had with the girl who was lying on the floor, blood pooling around her neck.
"Wha—" Saber gasped, staring vacantly at Shira's unseeing eyes, her throat carved by the sword he clutched in his hand. Instantly, he dropped Excalibur, that worthless, worthless blade. He fell to his knees and cradled Shira's cooling body to his own, the pristine silver armor being stained irreparably.
There was nothing proud in his figure. The life of the woman who loved him with all her heart was ended by the very blade that lay at his side. He felt its tip pointing at him like a judge issuing his final verdict.
"No...no, Shira...!" Desperation crept into Saber's voice. He fed his mana into Avalon with more urgency than he had ever felt, but he couldn't feel anything. No healing light, no regeneration...nothing.
Lancer grimaced and turned from the sight. Then, unreasonable, unrestrained fury burst forth within him. She so clearly loved him, he could see it, Kotomine could've seen it, the whole damn world could've seen it! Except, it seemed, Saber. And Saber tossed aside what he could've had for a possibility.
Kotomine smiled where no one could see him. To see the once proud King of Knights surrender to despair and watch his delicate mind fracture and splinter...there was no greater joy he could've possibly asked for.
Gilgamesh stared on silently, his crimson eyes flashing. He took some measure of satisfaction that Saber's cute little Master was dead and he was now free to bathe him in the tainted mud and break him at his leisure. But it would not be fun. From Saber's vacant appearance, he doubted that anything would reach him, and he may even take some relief should he decide to simply kill him. He snorted, before walking away and slamming the church door. He lost sight of his ideals; hell, he'd be surprised if Saber even knew what he was supposed to be doing now. Breaking an already broken toy would be just repetitive.
Kotomine put a heavy hand on Saber's shoulder, prompting him to look up, his blue-green eyes watering. "Well done. That lamentation is indeed enough to reach the Holy Grail." He smiled benevolently. "Now, Saber, King of Knights, what is your wish?"
He took the golden cup in a daze, before crying to the heavens. Kotomine's smile grew even wider, Lancer left the chamber, and Gilgamesh had already left the building. The cold, unfeeling stone of the underground chapel was all that was left, and it felt like a tomb.
Appropriate for his Master.
DEAD END
Tiger Dojo! A strange hint corner!
Ascarde: First omake I've ever written! What d'ya guys think?
Ilya: I never expected the knight in shining armor to kill the maiden, especially not after her confession.
Ascarde: Well, I—
Taiga: *staring at Shira* In the original Fate/stay night, this ending was achieved by turning Saber off and having a low affection score at the end. I don't even know how you managed to get Saber's affection score low enough to get to this end! You confessed to him, flags were everywhere, WHAT HAPPENED?!
Ilya: Oh, Ascarde here decided that there was too much fluffiness and not enough BAD ENDS, so he wrote one himself.
Taiga: *flatly sighs* Since this is all following a script, I can't help you out here, but I can try.
Ilya: Here's one that's pretty obvious; don't go to Kotomine Church alone! You haven't traced a weapon yet except Avalon, and even that was in the spur of the moment! You're lucky that Lancer didn't decide to use his Gae Bolg; you would've been dead in the water!
Taiga: Now shoo! I don't expect to see you again unless one of the readers decides to take reality and rewrite it again!
Ascarde: But rewriting reality is one of my favorite pastimes...
Saber is seen huddled in the corner, a dark cloud of despair over him. His arms are wrapped around his knees, and he's rocking back and forth, facing the corner. His eyes look haunted.
Chapter 23: The Final Showdown, Part One
It was slow going, what with Shira leaning on Saber for support, but they made it back to the Emiya estate that evening, the former's wound fully healed by the time they got there. At once, they headed to the front door and Shira slid it open, hoping to find Rin and tell her everything that had happened at Kotomine Church.
Once she and Saber were inside, though, she knew instantly that something was wrong. All the lights were off, and the house was eerily quiet, as silent as the cemetery. But it was not only the darkness and silence that let Shira know that something must have happened while she and her Servant were gone.
It was the heavy scent of blood.
"Tohsaka!" Shira exclaimed, hurrying into the hallway with Saber about two paces behind her. She threw the door to the dining room open—and gasped at what she saw.
The room was a disaster, almost as if a tornado had blown through it. The table was thrown off to the side, the vase of flowers had been knocked over from where it usually stood on top of the cupboard near the door, and the doors on the other side of the room were kicked down. Bits of the table, shards of glass, flower petals, and scuff marks were scattered across the floor. And worst of all, Rin, her hair, face, and clothes stained with dark red blood, was sitting down, clutching at her deeply wounded stomach, and leaning heavily against the far wall, which was smeared with blood that slowly dripped to the ground.
"Rin!" Saber gasped, sounding as appalled as Shira felt.
"Where've you been?" Rin's voice was raspy and weak. "You took so long...I was almost going to fall asleep..."
"Don't talk!" Shira raced over to her; how long had she been bleeding like this? "Saber, we need towels and a wash bowl!"
Without a word, Saber ran to the bathroom to carry out her order. Shira turned away from the sight of Rin breathing raggedly. Bandages—she needs bandages! The redhead walked to the cupboard, sweeping the glass away with her hand, and opened the cupboard's door.
"It's okay; I've already treated myself," Rin rasped as Shira found the first aid kit. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't...able to protect Ilya."
"Ilya?" Shira sharply turned her head in Rin's direction. "It was Kotomine, wasn't it? He kidnapped her?"
Rin gave the tiniest of nods. "He had me fooled. I never suspected...that the seventh Master...was Kirei."
And why would she have suspected him? Rin may have claimed that she'd be happy to have had nothing to do with Kotomine when she'd taken Shira to the church during that fateful night, but the man had been her teacher, even her guardian. Rin had to have trusted the man at least a little if the fact that he was a Master—let alone that he was capable of beating the daylights out of her—had blindsided her.
"Save your strength," Shira told the black-haired girl as she knelt down in front of her. "We can talk about this later."
Rin shook her head. "Not really. There are a few things you really should know. These are my last bits of advice, Shira, so pay attention."
Must you say it in a way that makes it sound like you're dying? But Shira silently bobbed her head.
"Number one," Rin began, holding up her index finger. "Kirei's main objective is Ilya. I'm sure he knew all along that she's the vessel to call forth the Grail."
"A sacrifice," Shira commented darkly as Saber returned with a hand towel and a bowl filled with water, "just like Caster wanted to do with Sakura."
"What he wants to use is her heart," Rin said, allowing Saber to wipe the blood from her face with the wet towel. "Magi are nothing more than typical humans who have magic circuits, but Ilya is the opposite. She's magic circuits that have a human form. But I don't think Kirei will kill her right away, because the path to the Grail won't open until there's only one Servant left.
"Here's number two." Two fingers were held up. "I think Kirei went to Ryudou Temple. It's the best place for the Holy Grail to manifest. And one last thing...no matter what you do, you're no match for Kirei. But you're still going to fight him, aren't you?"
"Of course I am," Shira said firmly. There was no other choice; Kotomine had taken Ilya and was planning to summon the Grail, which she and Saber now knew was corrupt. Whatever wish that priest wanted granted, it wouldn't be anything good.
But there was another reason why Shira had to face Kotomine, and it was more personal than simply because he was a dangerous Master who had to be stopped. Kirei Kotomine was the man who was responsible for the fire ten years ago, who murdered countless people with that inferno, and who was using those poor orphans as fuel for Gilgamesh. As the survivor of that fire, who else but Shira Emiya ought to be the one to take him down?
Something that looked like a smile flitted across Rin's face. "Here; you should take this." She pulled out a small dagger and held it out for Shira.
"An Azoth Dagger," Saber said from beside his Master as he stared at the weapon.
"It's a magical staff in the shape of a knife, a ceremonial dagger that a magus receives when they come of age," Rin explained lowly.
Shira took the Azoth Dagger and examined it as Rin continued speaking.
"It's pretty weak stuff compared to my gems, but I charged it with mana whenever I could. Just say the word 'läβt' and your mana will flow into the blade."
"Are you sure?" Shira asked.
"I'm sure," Rin assured her. "I knew I wasn't going to beat Kirei, so I hid it from him, but I want you to take it." She paused, and when she next spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper and suddenly sounded exhausted. "Do you need anything else? Because I feel really, really sleepy right now."
Shira smiled warmly. "It's alright, you can rest now. I mean, as long as you're okay."
Rin was silent for a few more seconds. "Here's something else, and it's not a request." Her blue eyes shone with a little of her usual fire. "Shira, you have to win this, even if it kills you. But if I wake up and you're dead, I'm not coming to your funeral."
Perhaps she should have been offended by that last sentence, but as Rin's eyes finally fluttered shut, Shira couldn't help feeling amused.
Yep; Tohsaka will definitely be okay.
Saber furrowed his brow slightly, taking in what Shira had just said as they faced each other in the storage shed. "Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?"
Shira nodded. "Avalon is your scabbard, so it's only right that I give it back to you."
"It is true that my mana will increase if Avalon is returned to me," Saber admitted, "but it still won't guarantee that I will be able to defeat Gilgamesh. And once the scabbard is removed from your body..." His voice trailed off.
"I know," Shira told him. "If I get hurt, I'll stay hurt. Still, I think I've been relying on that thing too much, anyway. People die if they're injured badly enough, and that's only normal."
There was nothing Saber could say to that. He looked down, closing his eyes. After a momentary pause, he opened his eyes and looked up at Shira.
"Very well, then," he conceded. "I will need to borrow your mind in order to do this."
"Better make it fast," Shira said. "We don't have much time."
Wordlessly, Saber stepped closer to Shira, and she closed her eyes in concentration. As he pressed a hand glowing with mana to her chest and plunged it into her body, she let herself focus solely on the image of Excalibur's scabbard. Taking out Avalon should be similar to the steps needed for projection magic; all Shira had to do was gather the pieces of the scabbard infused with her body and return it to its original form.
The mental image of the golden Avalon shone clear and bright, but she increased her concentration. If Shira really was going to return this scabbard to Saber, her visualization of it had to be perfect, flawless, complete. In the back of her mind, she knew she must be sweating from the effort, but she couldn't stop, not until Avalon was a reality.
Another image appeared; she saw her Servant as she had seen him in her dreams—a proud, gallant King who fought tirelessly with Excalibur in his hand and Avalon at his hip. Shira wasted no time in engraving the image of the scabbard that had protected him and led him to victory after victory into her mind and heart, as if it was something precious that she should never forget, no matter how this War ended for them.
And just like that, the process was over. Shira's eyes snapped open, her breath coming out in pants. She sank to her knees, suddenly aware of the sweat pouring off of her, feeling drained and strangely empty after having Avalon separated from her body.
"Amazing," she heard Saber say, his voice hushed. She looked up at him to see that he was staring at the glowing, golden scabbard in his hands, his eyes wide with awe. "This is perfect."
Well, that was the plan, Shira thought, smiling slightly.
It was as if the mountain had become a living organism. Despite it being a winter night, the wind coming down from the entrance to Ryudou Temple was unnaturally warm—humid, really—and the shaking trees were like human lungs. Yet, even with the warmth, Shira felt her skin erupt in goose bumps with every step she took.
"The concentration of mana is so dense here," Saber commented. "I expect this means the summoning of the Holy Grail has begun, or it has ended. Either way, Gilgamesh must have defeated Lancer."
Shira wiped cold sweat from her brow, then turned to face her Servant. "Saber, when we make it to the temple, I'll go after Kotomine while you take care of Gilgamesh. Neither of us can leave our opponent to help the other. Only one of them needs to die to stop them from getting the Grail."
"Understood," was all Saber said, nodding curtly.
There was nothing left to say, so Shira and Saber proceeded to walk up the stone stairs that led to Ryudou Temple. The closer they got to their destination, the denser the air, the presence of mana growing stronger. Sweat continued trickling down Shira's face, her senses heightened in anticipation of confronting their last and most powerful opponents.
There were so many ways this could play out. If Shira died but Saber killed Gilgamesh, then Kotomine would be unable to obtain the Grail. If Saber died but Shira defeated Kotomine, then Gilgamesh would fade away from this world. If Shira and Saber died...well, she didn't want to think about that.
But if they were able to defeat both Kotomine and Gilgamesh, that meant they would be free to destroy the Holy Grail. And after that happened...
It will be time for us to say goodbye.
The thought pierced through Shira's mind, as cold and unforgiving as steel. Even if the fifth Holy Grail War ended in victory for them, Saber would still disappear. He would go back to his era, take his place among legends, and die. The death of the King of Knights, struck down at the end of his final battle...it was something that Shira could not save him from.
She felt her heart painfully constrict in her chest. Saber was still there, walking beside her on the stairs, but even what little distance there was between them felt too large a gap. Just how much bigger would that gap be after everything was said and done? Much, much too big—separated by time, space, death...
I can't do this. Those four words repeated over and over in Shira's head, becoming more hysterical with each repetition. I can't do this! I can't do this! They had just found each other, damn it! They had fought together, trained together, and protected each other. They had shared meals, the estate, their pasts, even a bed that night in the ruins. He was her first date, her first kiss, and her first—only—love.
It had been little over two weeks since Shira met Saber, and two weeks would never be enough time to spend with him. Even if she'd realized her feelings for him the instant she first gazed up at him, even if they'd acted on their love much earlier than they did, the time they had would still not be enough.
For half a second, Shira seriously considered stopping, grabbing Saber by his arm, and begging him to turn back and run away with her. Half a second later, they were only a few steps away from reaching Ryudou Temple, and the redhead cursed herself for even entertaining something like that. Kotomine and Gilgamesh had to be defeated, the Holy Grail had to be destroyed, and Ilya—she cursed herself again for temporarily forgetting about the situation the little girl was in—had to be rescued. Running away wouldn't solve anything.
"Saber," Shira heard herself say, turning to face him. The blond fixed his eyes on her, as composed as ever. If he was as upset over their parting in the much too near future as she was, it did not show on his face. Too many years of hiding emotion, she thought, and she envied him for seeming so strong when all she wanted to do was fall apart.
Letting this man go would be the hardest thing she ever had to do. But what choice did she have? None. So instead of asking him if they could run away together, she managed to curve her lips upward and said, "Let's go. This'll be our last battle, so good luck."
"I promise not to disappoint you, Shira," Saber replied solemnly. "And I wish you luck as well."
And with that, they ascended the remaining steps to the temple's entrance, to the unnatural red light filling the mountaintop. Within that light was the heady pressure of mana coming from the back of the building.
"There you are, Saber. It's about time you showed yourself."
Standing before them, as casually as if the overwhelming taint of the Grail had no effect on him, was Gilgamesh.
"The portal to the Holy Grail has just begun to open," he said unnecessarily. "This curse is the contents of the Grail, the Third Element which keeps us Servants in this world." Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed coldly as he stared at Saber. "It is that very curse that you subjugated me to ten years ago. This time, I intend to return the favor—I will bathe you in that mud and make you succumb to my will."
The golden-armored king's gaze drifted to Shira, and the smile that slowly spread across his face was nothing short of sadistic. "Oh, you've brought your Master as well?"
Saber tensed, a dark scowl marring his features as he tightened his grip on the invisible Excalibur.
"I have business with Kotomine," Shira snapped before he could tell Gilgamesh to not even think of looking at her like that, her hand curling into a fist. "I have nothing to say to you."
"What a shame," Gilgamesh said carelessly, "because I have something to say to you." Behind him, the Gate of Babylon was activated, but no swords appeared. Instead, Gilgamesh retrieved a flask with a bubbling potion held within.
"You see," he continued, "what better way to break Saber than to force you to swallow this potion? It will make you hopelessly addicted to the pleasures of the flesh. I'll pin you down and shove so much down your throat, you'll be begging for me to be inside you." His eyes were wide and wild at this point, making him look insane. "You will become my willing sex slave!"
Saber was grinding his teeth, his rage mounting with every sentence Gilgamesh spoke. He was gripping Excalibur so hard that it was a miracle it hadn't broken. Oh, he had never wanted to unleash his holy sword's full power so much...
Shira, meanwhile, did nothing but give Gilgamesh a glare of pure contempt. Perhaps she should have been scared out of her wits, but she was much too angry to be scared. Besides, showing any hint of fear would be giving that sick bastard the satisfaction of knowing he could intimidate her, and that was something she refused to do.
A few seconds later, she and Saber turned to look at each other, and Shira smiled sweetly as she stroked his cheek. "Kick his ass."
That was the last thing she said before hurrying away to the back of the temple. Saber watched her go, then switched his attention back to Gilgamesh. His opponent had returned the potion to his vault, and the hilts of at least fifty swords appeared behind him. Saber gave Gilgamesh enough time to pull out a blade before he kicked off from the ground with a battle cry.
Sparks flew as Excalibur collided with the enemy sword. Saber proceeded to rain a flurry of blows on Gilgamesh, who effortlessly blocked every one of them. The knight jumped back a little, then charged forward, swinging his weapon. Again, his opponent parried the attack as easily as if it had been nothing more than an insect. Undeterred, Saber continued with his strikes, his swings quick and furious. Soon enough, Gilgamesh retreated slightly, then delivered a strike of his own. Saber evaded the swinging sword and leapt up to counterattack.
Gilgamesh lifted his sword in the nick of time, so Excalibur hit the blade rather than his face. With a smirk, he deflected Saber's weapon, causing the younger Servant to reel backward to the ground. Saber raced forward with his sword raised, but again Gilgamesh blocked it, the force of his blow sending Saber back to the stone floor.
Before he could get to his feet, Gilgamesh had rushed towards him, his sword aimed at his neck. Immediately, Saber lifted Excalibur, blocking the fatal strike. He tightened his grip on his sword, exerting more force against Gilgamesh's blade in an attempt to deflect it, but his savagely grinning enemy would not budge. Finally, Saber kicked Gilgamesh in the torso, knocking him away, then stood up and charged forward.
The golden king regained his bearings, parrying Saber's blow. What followed was the clanging of metal on metal as the two swords clashed with each other again and again.
"You know, this is turning out to be a rehash of ten years ago," Gilgamesh said over the sound of the fight. "Surely you didn't come here without a plan."
Instead of answering, Saber swung Excalibur with a yell, disarming Gilgamesh and sending his blade flying into the air. But the Gate of Babylon shimmered, and Gilgamesh pulled out another sword, running towards Saber. The knight blocked the attack, and the next few minutes passed with the two Servants continuing to cross swords. The pattern of attacking, blocking, and counterattacking ended at last when Saber slashed at Gilgamesh's sword, breaking it in half.
The knight jumped back out of striking distance, stooping a bit as he tried to catch his breath. In contrast, his opponent stood tall, showing no sign of fatigue.
"You never learn, do you, boy?" Gilgamesh asked rhetorically. "You'll never be able to defeat me, and that girl will never defeat Kotomine. If you had only stuck to your goal of obtaining the Grail, this battle would have ended victoriously for you." A small smirk tugged at his lips. "As it is, you're completely outmatched."
Saber straightened up, his expression fiercely resolute. "I made the right choice. No matter what happens, I will not lose to you. And Shira will not lose to a knave like Kotomine."
Gilgamesh shook his head as if dealing with a witless child. "It would seem that the only way to convince you is if you suffer an undeniable defeat." From the Gate, countless swords moved forward, awaiting their master's order. "Try dodging this. If you're lucky, they'll only impale your arms and legs."
There was barely enough time for Saber to brace himself before the swords shot forward like bullets. He frantically avoided each blade that came his way, dodging, blocking, repelling, evading. It was like a dark parody of a ballet, where a single misstep had dire consequences.
Finally, Saber eluded the last sword. He doubled over, breathing hard and still clutching Excalibur in his trembling hands. When he looked up, he saw that more swords had appeared from behind Gilgamesh, and he quickly jumped back—
But he wasn't fast enough to avoid the rain of Noble Phantasms that were flung at him. Pained yelps escaped from his mouth as he was hit again and again, the power of the swords chipping at his silver armor and sending him face first to the ground. He grimaced as his wounds made themselves known to him; they were nothing Avalon could not heal shortly, but as Shira once told him, pain was still pain.
He was struggling to get up when he heard Gilgamesh's footsteps walk towards him.
"What's wrong, Saber?" Gilgamesh asked mockingly, bending down and grabbing the knight by the roots of his hair to force him to look up. "Do you finally understand you've been defeated? Or," he smiled wickedly, "is it the thought of that Master of yours writhing beneath me that has you so worked up?"
Of all the nerve! "Enough, Gilgamesh!" Saber snarled, glaring hatefully into those inhuman red eyes. "Not another word about Shira!"
The golden king was amused by this. "Or what? Her virginity was mine the instant I declared it, and as the King, when I see something I want, I have no problem taking it. But," Gilgamesh straightened up and roughly pulled Saber into the air, ignoring the latter's grunt, "if you want her so badly, I suppose I could loan her to you after I've had my fun. All you would have to do is swear undying loyalty to me."
"I will never bow to you!" Saber proclaimed harshly. "Have you forgotten that I am also a king?"
Gilgamesh scoffed. "A country is nothing but a king's property, and if a king can't control his property, then the country has no need for someone as powerful as a king. You, Arthur Pendragon, are a child playing at being a king. No wonder you woke up to find that your people had turned against you."
"Interesting," Saber's voice dripped with venom, "because if I recall correctly, King of Heroes, your own people despised you!"
So saying, Saber clenched the hand that wasn't holding Excalibur into a fist, drew it back, and punched Gilgamesh squarely in the face. Gilgamesh let go of Saber with a yell, reeling backward as the knight regained his footing. Saber got into a battle stance as his opponent turned to face him, looking angry for the first time.
"You impudent little—!"
Saber didn't let Gilgamesh finish the insult. He poured his mana into Excalibur, releasing Invisible Air and revealing the glowing, golden blade. Gilgamesh merely sneered, the Gate of Babylon shimmering as he pulled out Ea. Saber did not allow himself to flinch at the sight of his enemy's most powerful weapon, only tightened his grasp on Excalibur's hilt.
"You've been a thorn in my side long enough." Gilgamesh lifted Ea to be at level with his head and pointed it at Saber. "Away with you, boy."
Ea began to spin, swirling with mana, and Saber raised Excalibur into the air.
"ENUMA ELISH!"
"EXCALIBUR!"
The Noble Phantasms were activated, and two lights—one red, one gold—burst forth.
The first thing Shira noticed once she got behind Ryudou Temple was the lake. That large body of water, normally so pure and clear, was blackened by tar falling from the void in the red sky. And there Ilya was, stripped and barely alive, strung up at the edge of the black void like a sacrifice.
And standing with his back to the void was Kirei Kotomine.
"Welcome, Shira Emiya," he said. "It would seem that you are the last Master, the one who survived to the bitter end."
"Let Ilya go!" Shira exclaimed furiously.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that," the priest informed her, not sounding apologetic in the least. "The Holy Grail may have appeared, but the portal is not yet stable. Because the Einzbern girl is the vessel, she must endure this until there's no life left within her; otherwise, my wish will not be fulfilled."
Kotomine chuckled darkly. "The power of the Holy Grail is endless, and it will create nothing but disaster. The Grail contains every evil known to man, and soon it will curse every aspect of this world." He smiled cruelly. "Impressive, isn't it?"
Shira's eyes narrowed. "So your wish is to use the Grail to create a catastrophe. What I don't understand is why."
"Because it pleases me," Kotomine said, as calmly as Kuzuki had been when admitting his own sociopathic nature. "All pleasure created by humans is a byproduct, an impurity. It is only at the moment of death that humanity has any value. Their whole lives lead to that last opportunity to rise up and shine in the heavens. That last moment of sparkle is my wish."
Shira opened and closed her mouth soundlessly, utterly dumbfounded as she listened to Kotomine's speech. How insane was this man?
He spread his arms out grandly. "You people like to feed off of peace and tranquility, but I prefer to devour nothing less than the light of the stars. And if you think about it hard enough, the fire ten years ago wasn't such a tragedy."
The redhead finally found her voice. "How dare you—!"
"It requires a hell on that large a scale to open the human soul," Kotomine interrupted, "and let the brilliance of our humanity shine through. All those people died screaming because there was something they wanted fulfilled, correct? I know I have a twisted way of showing it, but no one loves our species more than I do. Therefore, I am the only one who is truly worthy to possess the Holy Grail."
"In other words," Shira began, sounding calm enough, "you get satisfaction when people die." Her body tensed. "Let's see how happy you are about your own death!"
She sprang forward and took off running, several ideas of how to kill the priest in front of her rushing through her head. She had only made it halfway to Kotomine when tendrils of black mud shot towards her like whips. She dodged the mud coming for her and continued to run, the distance between her and the priest decreasing with each step—
But Shira skidded to a halt upon seeing another glob of mud thrown at her face, and she ducked to avoid it.
"Well, you seem to be in a predicament," Kotomine remarked casually as she continued evading the black sludge. "Unless you can close that gap, there is no way you can defeat me."
Shira screamed as a tendril of mud snaked around her arm, which erupted in a hot, burning sensation.
"Go ahead," Kotomine continued with a hint of a smirk, "put your life on the line. Perhaps at best, you'll get within striking distance."
The girl frantically shook the mud off of her and rubbed at her still burning arm, already missing Avalon's healing power.
"You know, I had high hopes for you." Kotomine's voice prompted Shira to look up at him. "When I learned that you were Kiritsugu Emiya's daughter and wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps, I was ecstatic. I never dreamed that I would have the chance to kill Kiritsugu Emiya, yet here I am, fulfilling a desire that went unfulfilled ten years ago."
"Tell me, Kotomine, why do you hate my father so much?" Shira demanded.
"People tend to hate those similar to themselves," Kotomine said. "Kiritsugu and I were very much alike, so everything he did annoyed me. In fact, I'd say that it's the same as the hatred you feel for me."
Shira's brows furrowed at this insult to her adopted father. "My dad was nothing like you!"
The priest gave her a patronizing smile. "You'd like to see it that way, wouldn't you, little girl? After all, your father was a man virtuous enough to let me go. I caused a devastating fire, and even though he had defeated me, he chose not to take my life." His expression darkened. "But to have my life spared by a coldhearted magus was an unpleasant fact that I could never forget.
"However," he went on, smiling again, "sparing me was not his real mistake. His real mistake was believing that by destroying the Grail, he had finally put an end to all the fighting. He lived out his days ravaged by my curse, confident in the belief that he needn't tell you anything, and within a few years, he passed away."
Kotomine's smile became more twisted as he spread his arms out again. "He died with a false sense of accomplishment—the ridiculous notion that he permanently ended the Holy Grail Wars!"
"Ravaged by my curse"...? Shira's eyes widened in horrified realization. Kiritsugu's death hadn't been the effect of an illness or something; it had been—!
"Are you saying," her voice shook with a mixture of terror and fury, "that my father's dead because of you?!"
"Indeed, I am," Kotomine confirmed. "Do you mind if I ask you what his last moments were like? Did he push all of his responsibilities on the shoulders of his young daughter and pass away believing his mind was at ease?"
Shira glared and kept her mouth tightly shut, resisting the urge to react to the priest's taunt.
But Kotomine didn't seem too interested in whether she replied or not. He lifted his hand to the mud dripping from the void, the black sludge filling his palm.
"Here's your reward, Emiya," he said. "You're about to meet the same fate your father did."
The redhead maintained her silence, clenching her fists at her sides.
"Angra Manyu." Kotomine's eyes flashed as he closed his hand around the mud. "Accept and suffer All the World's Evils!"
The mud was thrown, and Shira's world went pitch black.
Author's Note: The whole sex potion idea belongs to NewAgeOfPower. At first, I was pretty skeptical, but after thinking about it awhile, I decided that it made a lot of sense for Gilgamesh to have what's pretty much the prototype of a date rape drug inside the Gate of Babylon, and not just because he's supposed to have the prototypes of nearly everything in existence. See, unless Gilgamesh got off on hearing the screams of virgin brides as he raped them, he probably had to use some kind of magical potion to get them to submit to him. After all, the droit de seigneur was what finally ticked everyone off enough that the gods created Enkidu to be Gilgamesh's BFF, so do you honestly think any of those brides would have consented to sleep with Gilgamesh out of their own free will?
In summary, Rin is bleeding like a stuck pig, Saber performs open surgery on Shira, Kotomine and Gilgamesh are fighting over who's the bigger douche, and Shira's gonna need to take her clothes to the cleaners after this is over.