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Chapter 183: The end of the ideal!
🕑 Added 2025-08-04 03:05:03 +0000 UTC【 Returning to Red A, Saber still couldn't figure out the reason why the future Shirou Emiya wanted to kill his past self. “Why would an established ideal deny the past self?” 】
【 Facing Saber's question, Red A seemed a little indifferent, but still explained, “I am different from you, who became a Heroic Spirit purely from your own radiance. I became a Heroic Spirit by dedicating my life after death! At best, I am a Counter Guardian.” 】
【 “You said Counter Guardian?!” Saber was slightly surprised, “I heard that Counter Guardians become a part of the Counter Force to protect humanity. Even if the experience is different! They should still be Heroic Spirits.” 】
【 “Then you're wrong, Saber!” Red A continued, “Counter Guardians are not beings who protect humanity, they are merely janitors.” 】
【 “Let's put it this way, I followed my ideal and became a hero of justice. But in the end, all I got was regret!” 】
【 Red A, standing above the hall, looked down at Shirou Emiya below, “Having made a contract with the Counter Force during my lifetime, I became a Counter Guardian after death, fighting against those who disrupt the world's balance as the Counter Force of humanity!” 】
【 The scene showed the grown-up Shirou Emiya, making a contract with the blue glowing light of the Counter Force, becoming a Counter Guardian, which is the current Red A! 】
【 “Follow the order, kill... kill... kill everything! Slaughter human lives as if they were nothing, thereby saving thousands of times more people than the number of deaths.” 】
【 After becoming a Counter Guardian, Red A was sent by the Counter Force to battlefields in different eras. In order to save thousands of times more people than the number of deaths, he could only personally eliminate those who caused the incidents. 】
【 “As long as I am needed, I will fight countless times... endlessly repeating... repeating... and repeating!!” 】
【 The scene showed a devastated city, where Red A personally killed one human after another, and was then sent to another era, repeating the cycle... His figure appeared on every battlefield. 】
【 “Endlessly, I was not dreaming of a world without conflict. I merely wished that in the world I knew, no one would ever cry again.” 】
【 In the twilight, Red A sat under a withered tree, looking at the twilight sky. The surrounding area was filled with human corpses, and Red A's heart was full of exhaustion. 】
【 。。。。。】
~Projection of All Worlds~
“......”
The viewers in other worlds were silent after seeing this scene.
The boy who dreamed of becoming a hero of justice never expected that after achieving his ideal, reality would be so cruel.
Everyone clearly understood what a so-called janitor was...
All he wanted was to save, but the world forced him to kill. He didn't want others to cry, but the world forced him to make others cry.
From a rational perspective, there was nothing wrong with this!
His killing indeed saved more people, but the inherently kind Shirou Emiya could not emotionally bear this method of exchanging killing for justice.
Traveling through various eras, regardless of good or evil, right or wrong, black or white... eliminating all humans involved in crises!!
This kind of cleaning, fighting violence with violence, was a slaughter that went against Shirou's ideal of saving others. Carrying that unrealistic ideal was the beginning of the tragedy of the boy named Shirou Emiya.
~Type-Moon World, Fourth Holy Grail War Worldline~
“Huahahaha! His future self wants to kill his past self?! There is no concept of death in the Throne of Heroes, does he naively think that Heroic Spirit Emiya will also disappear?!”
Gilgamesh sneered with his arms crossed.
There is no concept of death in the Throne of Heroes, nor is there time...
Moreover, you are a being who directly signed a contract with the Counter Force to become a Counter Guardian. Want to strike?!... That's impossible.
Go back and be a diligent worker.
“This King has said it before, heroes of justice are nothing but unrealistic ideals, but it did provide this King with a good show! I must say, it was truly enjoyable.”
As he thought about it, the anger in Gilgamesh's heart from being headshot by Red A subsided a lot, and he continued to watch the screen with a sense of amusement.
~Type-Moon World, Kaleid liner Prisma Illya Worldline~
“Heroic Spirit Emiya... doesn't want to kill his past self, but to change the unrealistic ideal of the past Shirou Emiya.”
Perhaps because he gave up his ideal, Big Hero Emiya could understand some of Red A's thoughts.
Red A clearly understood what the end of that ideal was. It was precisely because he understood his own mistakes and the past self's obsession with that ideal!
Red A didn't want Shirou Emiya to continue down that path with such an ideal...
That's why he ruthlessly attacked, hoping to force him away from that ideal; otherwise, he would repeat the same old path as him.
“So at that time, he responded to my prayer?!”
Big Hero Emiya subconsciously touched his right arm.
He knew that at that time, there was also Red A's power responding to his prayer.
~Type-Moon World, Fifth Holy Grail War Worldline~
Shirou Emiya silently watched the future that Red A showed him by persisting.
He had always adhered to an ideal: “Save everyone, hurt no one.”
But Red A never truly did what he wanted, even once, nor did he “save everyone” nor “hurt no one.”
The slaughter carried out for the sake of saving went against his original wish...
“However, the wish itself is not wrong; even if it is difficult to achieve, it is still one's lifelong pursuit as a human.”
This is Shirou Emiya's current thought. Even on a cruel path, he will still persevere to the end.
。。。。。
【 Returning to reality, Red A also walked out of the shadows, “Then I finally realized that the ideal Shirou Emiya held was nothing but a selfish idealism.” 】
【 “It is impossible to save everyone, to save everyone means to sacrifice a small part of the population! You have an impression of this, too, Saber!” 】
【 Saber was stunned for a moment, then she and Shirou Emiya simultaneously remembered a certain person's figure. 】
【 “The seats of happiness are limited, and those who cannot obtain happiness must be quickly eliminated! This is what a hero does.” 】
【 “This is the ideal that this man deeply believed in, what a hero of justice does. Saving the majority is being a hero of justice, right?” 】
【 “So while praying that no one would die, he killed for the sake of the majority. While saying he didn't want anyone to be sad anymore, he brought despair to even more people.” 】
【 The raging fire in his memories flashed by, and Red A fully stepped out, projecting Kanshou and Bakuya in his hands, looking at Shirou Emiya: “This is me, the true identity of Heroic Spirit Emiya. Don't you think it would be better for this world if such a man died now?” 】
【 。。。。。】
~Projection of All Worlds~
“This is the famous trolley problem, isn't it? No matter how you choose, someone will die; the difference is whether you save the minority or the majority...”
“Are you sure this won't trigger the grandfather paradox?! Your future self killing your past self, without the past, where does the future come from?!”
Having always sacrificed a small portion of people to preserve the majority, Red A, as a Counter Guardian, could only constantly violate his original intention of making everyone happy, forever working for the Counter Force as a janitor of history!
That's why Red A began to be unable to bear it. After thousands of repetitions, all that remained in his heart was endless emptiness.
~Type-Moon World, Fourth Holy Grail War Worldline~
Kiritsugu Emiya listened to the familiar words, clutching his head in pain.
Of course, he knew who Red A in the video was talking about, but he never expected that the culprit was himself.
“What kind of belief did I instill in that boy...”
He still hasn't forgotten that Shirou Emiya's ideal was borrowed...
Shirou Emiya was merely inheriting his ideal and blindly going forward...
So the future Heroic Spirit Emiya has been constantly killing in the name of justice, even though he is tired and pained by his own existence...
If this era's Shirou Emiya continues, he will only go down the same path as him...
。。。。。
【 “Kill yourself! Shirou Emiya.” Red A looked at the silent Shirou Emiya beside him; even to himself, he was still ruthless. 】
【 Red A looked at the still silent Shirou Emiya, “What's wrong? Now that you know your true identity, what are you still troubled about?” 】
【 Saber beside him couldn't stand it anymore, “Archer! You haven't betrayed your ideal, you've just been betrayed by the ideal you were supposed to protect. You've lost your way, haven't you?” 】
【 “Otherwise... you wouldn't even think of killing yourself to atone.” 】
【 “Hahaha, no, that's a huge joke.” Red A closed his eyes slightly and chuckled, “Atoning for myself?! Don't be silly, Saber.” 】
【 “Indeed, I have been lied to and betrayed countless times. Such a man who fought for others with all his might could not be understood by others.” 】
【 “In the end, I was arrested as the culprit of the conflict and sent to the gallows.” 】
【 Saber broke out in a cold sweat. Why would Shirou Emiya, who walked the path of justice, meet such an end? It was somewhat unbelievable, “That's not true... Archer, your ending...!” 】
【 The gallows flashed through Red A's memories, “If I had sinned, I would have paid for it then.” 】
【 “Initially, I didn't desire to receive thanks from others, nor did I hope to be praised as a hero.” 】
【 “I just hoped for an ending where everyone could be happy. But that wasn't achieved. Neither during my lifetime nor after death.” 】
【 “I know that Counter Guardians are automated devices. After death... the existence that becomes a Counter Guardian becomes a tool to protect human history.” 】
【 “Even if it's for people in distress, this can be accepted.” 】
【 。。。。。】
~Projection of All Worlds~
“So Shirou Emiya, who had always been firm in this belief, was ultimately sent to the gallows by the very people he saved, as the culprit of the incident...”
Everyone was somewhat stunned, never expecting that this kind-hearted boy would meet such an end. Perhaps this is the inherent weakness of humanity.
It was truly a cruel twist of fate, allowing this person who desperately wanted to fulfill everyone's wish for happiness... to be framed and sent to the gallows as the main culprit of the war, despised by everyone.
Even after death, he still held onto this unrealistic dream, but it was only then that he truly saw reality.
The most effective way to maintain world peace is not to rescue after an accident occurs, but to personally eliminate the people who cause the accident before it happens.
In the long years after becoming a Counter Guardian, he achieved his dream in a contradictory way. From the result, destroying the source was much more efficient than the so-called post-accident rescue, and it actually saved more people.
But after taking countless lives, the kind-hearted Shirou Emiya's heart became increasingly weary... Although he did save many people, emotionally, he could not accept hurting hundreds of people to save thousands of people.
Author-san: This passage of Red A's self-narration can be said to be the essence of the entire play.
