Kiritsugu stared with listless eyes at the tainted flames that had engulfed a massive part of Fuyuki city.
While many would claim that it was not his fault, that the ritual was a ruse from the very beginning, rigged by the Church and the various Magic cabals to eliminate those that they considered a threat towards their goals, Kiritsugu would never stop blaming himself for his own part in this hell on earth.
A hell for which he paid dearly to bring forth, something that cost him everything.
Well, almost everything.
Shifting the body in his arms to allow her to rest in a better position, Kiritsugu started walking out of the flames while clutching his wife's unconscious form.
It was only luck that Kiritsugu managed to get past Kirei, one of the greatest exorcists of the Church to get his unconscious wife before she was sacrificed. Just in time to observe the devil that was responsible for this tragedy nearly succeeded in his quest. Thankfully, a few well-placed Light Bullets from his 'borrowed' light pistol while using his time-slowing magic allowed the human to kill the Devil.
From there, it was not particularly hard for Kiritsugu to find the main magic circle underneath the Ryuudou Temple on Mount Enzou, placed upon the leyline, and destroy it with the help of another 'borrowed' artifact from the Church.
What happened next was something that no one anticipated, as he destroyed the magic circle, all of the magic that was accumulated into the thing by the ritual spilled out, taking the form of a demonic fire, cursed with evil energies resulting from the tormented souls of the people that were sacrificed for it without his or the other participant's knowledge, that engulfed the city of Fuyuki, leaving only a small part of the city untouched as the majority was consumed.
Being at the epicenter of this, Kiritsugu did not manage to escape the cursed flames, but thankfully, he managed to erect a rushed Barrier to protect himself and his wife from the flames, even if temporarily, even though he did not escape unscathed from being briefly exposed to the evil energy of the flame.
Thus, Kiritsugu started to wander aimlessly in the ruins of the aflame city, staring in despair at his handiwork, the weight of his wife's body being the only consolation to the broken man.
And yet, his despair would not remain for long.
As the Mage Walked through the flames, he saw something that should not have been possible.
The cursed flames of the ritual, Thousands of tormented souls' negativity turned into demonic fire capable of turning even the strongest of Devils into ash, stopped in its tracks as it was being counteracted by another kind of fire.
The black flames of the Evil energies and curses were like waves, raging intensely and battering against whatever was stopping it, relentless in its assault and unmatched in its destructive power.
And yet, the bright red flames refused to budge. As if an unmoving mountain that stood tall in the face of the ocean waves, forcing the waves or cursed fire to divert past it. like a boulder splitting the river stream.
What truly caught the attention of Kiritsugu, was not the flames that were countering the cursed flames, but the source of the flames.
A child. A boy who was probably as old as his daughter with brown hair and red eyes was staring blankly at his surroundings while holding onto a baby with black hair who was sleeping peacefully. All the while, the red flames continued to erupt from the boy's location, yet they failed to so much as singe the fabric wrapping the baby.
Carefully, Kiritsugu approached the boy whose eyes immediately snapped to him, his red eyes suddenly alert as he unconsciously held the baby close to his body. As if in response to his emotions, the Red flames suddenly surged in intensity and power as they started to push back the black flames.
Kiritsugu immediately stopped moving, waiting. And sure enough, the flames slowly started backing down, allowing him to get closer as the boy continued to watch him like a hawk.
With a wry smile that showed his bitterness and hope, Kiritsugu started to speak.
"Hello. I am Kiritsugu."
The boy's eyes suddenly lit up, as if in recognition before confusion and doubts started to appear on his face. But soon enough, the boy spoke.
"…Issei. This is Miyu."
With their names now etched in his memory, Kiritsugu wasted no time and got to the point.
"I see. Issei, I want to help you and the baby. But, I need to get close to you for me to do anything. Can you create a gap for me in these flames?"
"…No. If I open the barrier, the flames of the grail will get in."
'Grail? What grail?'
Kiritsugu started to worry about the boy's mental state but this was not the time for it, so he filed it away for another time.
"Issei, I have a barrier of my own covering my body and my wife's body, creating a gap just big enough for us to pass through, and my barrier will make sure that the black flames will not get in."
And yet, despite Kiritsugu's words, issei refused to budge.
Then, things started to become tense.
The baby girl, Miyu, suddenly started to squirm in Issei's arms, her attempts at crying in discomfort coming out in small mewls and coughs due to the flames choking the baby. Her skin started to turn red in some places and blue in others, a combination of intense heat and lack of oxygen.
The Issei and Kiritsugu's eyes widened as the child and the adult both realized what was happening.
"Issei. Please open the flames. I can help her!"
This time, the boy did not fight as a tiny gap opened up in the flames. Kiritsugu did not waste any time and directly rushed in while his barrier kept the evil flames from getting in. The moment Kiritsugu and Irisviel passed through the boundary, the flames surged back into existence, forcing back the evil flames.
Kiritsugu immediately set his wife down, sure of the fact that the red flames would not harm her since he felt no heat from them after passing into the boundary.
Wasting no time, he reached within his body to retrieve another artifact that he had found in his long career. An artifact that was once considered to have been lost to time by both the family of its original owner and the rest of the factions in the world.
Golden light filled the area as an ornate scabbard materialized in his hands.
Avalon, the scabbard of the Holy Sword, Excalibur.
Kiritsugu immediately placed the scabbard on the baby when it immediately dissolved into motes of light and disappeared into the girl.
The result was immediate as the complexion of the girl returned to normal and her breathing eased. Her pained mewls stopped as she tiredly opened her eyes, revealing golden eyes that started to watch her surroundings curiously.
"….Thank you."
Kiritsugu was startled at the voice and turned to Issei who continued to look at the baby in his arms before looking back at Kiritsugu.
"..It is alright. But, I think we should leave here quickly. "
"….But where will we go?"
The boy looked at the ruins that surrounded him, the remains of a house that was probably the home of the two children.
"…I won't lie to you, Issei. You have two options. I can drop you two off with the paramedics who are no doubt trying to get into this place to save people. You two will probably be put up for adoption or placed in orphanages. Or, you can come with me."
Kiritsugu omitted the fact that the chances of the two children being separated were very high if Issei chose to go to the orphanages. But they would be safe, living a life away from the darkness of the moonlit world.
He would have told Issei the entire truth, but he held back since he wanted Issei to make a decision without having to fear the consequences. That, and he wanted the child to chose the latter option, to come with him. So that he could make up for ruining the lives of these children with his actions, no matter how small they may have been.
And just as he hoped, Issei raised his hand and pointed to him, indicating his decision.
On that day, The Emiya family gained two new members.