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IBHJ Chapter 604
🕑 Added 2023-12-03 01:00:19 +0000 UTCKotomine toyed with the black cup in his hand, his mind falling into reminiscence.
Sixty years ago, in Fuyuki City's third Holy Grail War, he had been summoned by the Einzberns, one of the Three Great Magi Families.
Yet that Holy Grail War had been filled with as many unexpected happenings as this present one.
The greatest surprise had been the appearance of an eighth Servant – the Demon God King, Goetia.
Goetia had easily defeated all the Heroic Spirits, including Kotomine himself, winning the Holy Grail War outright.
But he had not killed them. Instead, after defeating them all, he had taken them as subordinates and granted Kotomine this black cup.
Kotomine still clearly remembered Goetia's words to him:
"You possess a heart to save, yet do not have a King of Magecraft's power. How ironic! That omnipotent king watched on coldly as destruction came, while you, the powerless apostle, possessed a heart to save everyone. Very well, I bestow this cup to you. Go create the utopia you envision in this world."
Then, Goetia had disappeared from this world, taking the other Heroic Spirits with him.
From the moment Kotomine accepted the black cup, an ominous phenomenon known as the "Ring of Darkness" had appeared in the sky.
Kotomine didn't know Goetia's full intentions, but he was willing to struggle for that beautiful utopia.
To save all of humanity - what a majestic wish!
This dream had attracted Kotomine, or rather Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, since the moment he came into contact with the teachings of the Church.
In the Lord's Kingdom of Heaven, there was no struggle for power, no material desires, no cold-heartedness, no sins.
He had simply been yearning for such a beautiful, ideal paradise all this time.
After that, the Shogunate had issued a prohibition on Christianity, stating all who did not renounce their "heretical" faith within two months would be executed.
Unable to endure further persecution, Amakusa had led thirty thousand Christian followers to revolt. The Shogunate dispatched one hundred and twenty thousand to suppress them. Despite being outnumbered four to one by the Shogun's regulars, the Christians saw less than a hundred casualties, while inflicting over four thousand deaths and injuries.
Gaining early victories, the rebels won several more small skirmishes, driving the Shogunate to panic. This caused the Shogunate to attack with overwhelming force. With supplies dwindling inside the city walls and faced with the crushing attacks of one hundred and twenty thousand troops of the Shogunate, the city finally fell.
The entire thirty thousand Christian populace was ruthlessly massacred, with not a single survivor.
Through this tragedy, Amakusa gained an even clearer understanding of the profound evil dwelling within the world of men.
Amakusa could understand the persecution of his faith. He could even accept his own death when the city fell. But for every single follower - innocent men, women, and children alike - to be indiscriminately slaughtered filled him with confusion and pain he could not comprehend.
He came to understand this was not any one person's fault. Rather, it was the result of power and the profound evil dwelling within human nature itself.
In this world, there was good, and there was evil. People could choose one, or the other.
All extolled "good," yet more often mankind chose the comfort of evil. The good praised by men was a flimsy fig leaf, used to cover the wicked acts they regularly committed.
Demanding virtue in others, while practicing vice themselves - such was the hypocrisy of humanity that Amakusa witnessed.
Thus, before his death he had cried out in anguish: "Almighty God! I beseech you, give me another chance! This time I will definitely...I must definitely...grasp all the good in this world within my hands!"
And the Almighty had granted that chance – the Holy Grail War.
Even saints struggled to define the essence of goodness.
So Amakusa did not ponder such definitions of good and evil. He sought only to manifest Eden once more upon this fallen earth.
Through materialization of the soul - destroying the old fallen order - all would be transformed into undying beings. And thus humanity would return to that perfect Garden from whence they came.
In such a world, there would be no lies, no power struggles, no sins... only absolute virtue. All would regard each other with warmth and selfless love.
This was the utopia Amakusa Shirou Tokisada dreamed of creating for humankind's benefit.
Yes, that was all Amakusa wished for - to create a kind and peaceful world.
Even if he must descend into darkness to achieve it, the outcome would still be worth it.
For having witnessed Hell itself, one would yearn for Heaven all the more.
The logic was simple.
And now, Heaven felt closer than ever before!
All he needed was to win this Holy Grail War. This black cup, gifted by the Demon God King Goetia, would absorb the Greater Grail's might. Then, using the lingering Ring of Darkness, he would blanket the world in its light. Thus all souls would materialize as undying beings, recreating Eden reborn.
Amakusa gripped the cup tightly. "God... this time... this time I will not fail! I will grasp all the good in this world within my hands!"
His eyes shone with determination.
At his side, Karna's expression remained tranquil, unmoving.
Amakusa was constructing his territory, preparing a sneak attack against the Black Faction once the bounded field was complete.
"Although Saber's assassination failed, I suppose the Black Faction still doesn't realize the change in situations yet..."
Amakusa smiled.
He would definitely win this time!
...
In the blink of an eye, the last fading sunset rays melted into murky dusk. The sky darkened steadily as the surrounding hills took on a bluish-green hue.
Twilight was at its peak.
The Black Faction had completed their preparations, armed to the teeth and ready to mobilize.
Mash still lay unconscious, clearly exhausted from releasing Galahad's Noble Phantasm earlier. Naturally, Shirou had no intention of allowing her into battle.
He had Gray stay behind to watch over Mash while he took Nero and the others to launch a surprise attack.
However, based on intel from Karna, he also brought Kiara Sesshouin along.
Kiara seemed anxious, but not because of the impending battle. Rather, it was Shirou's revelations about Beast III that troubled her.
"Mister Assassin...is there really another me who's a villain?" she asked, face filled with concern.
"There might be, there might not," he replied simply.
"Then...will I become a villain?" she spoke with difficulty. "Father said villains are bad people."
"As long as you keep smiling happily, you won't turn bad," he reassured.
Kiara thought for a bit. Then she turned up the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Like this?"
He smiled and nodded.
Kiara laughed brightly. "If smiling means I won't be bad, I'll be sure to tell the evil me that!"
"I see," he chuckled. "You'll have to work very hard though. Villains don't often listen to the good guys."
"Is that so..." Still smiling, Kiara tilted her head. "Then I promise to work very, very hard!"
Her expression was resolute. If another evil Kiara existed, she would definitely tell her that villains were bad people.
And why? Because Father said so!
For this battle, Shirou and Vlad had forbidden any Masters from coming. Facing Beasts was truly too dangerous.
Even for Heroic Spirits, the most likely outcome facing a Beast was death.
Moreover, Vlad forbid Avicebron from joining them. He simply wasn't suited for this fight.
Instead, Vlad had the Yggdmillennia Masters order their Servants to boost morale and fighting spirit with Command Spells.
Save for the proud Arjuna, all had received two Spells, magnifying their power.
"It's time," Shirou said.
The others nodded, cheeks flushed crimson in the dusk light. Their shadows stretched long across the ground as they marched towards their enemies...
...
Shirou led the group to a forest bordering the Red Faction’s stronghold.
He glanced over the heroes. “I've given you all maps of the terrain. Proceed with extreme caution, and try to regroup if possible.”
According to Mordred's intel, once inside Semiramis's Reality Marble, they would be randomly scattered across the regions of the Hanging Garden, hence making it impossible to stick together while charging in.
Therefore, he had distributed hand-drawn terrain maps to everyone beforehand, then urged them to proceed cautiously.
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Shirou himself was not worried, however.
None here were fragil Masters, but legendary Heroes whose glory blazed across history. They were comrades of utmost skill and reliability.
"Alright then. Let's head out!" he declared. "May we achieve great deeds this day, and return safely together!"
The heroes nodded, their expressions grave yet resolute.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Let the climax begin.
