Chapter 30: The Essence of Kotomine Kirei
The distance from the young man suddenly widened, the starry sky in his vision became chaotic, and Kotomine Kirei's body violently slammed into a wall, his entire body sinking into the indentation.
"Urgh... So fast..."
Shards of rock exploded, dust billowed, and upon falling to the ground, Kotomine Kirei forced his seemingly shattered body to stand up.
Kotomine Kirei was deeply shocked by the speed and power Shirou unleashed in that instant.
It was only now that a question arose in Kotomine Kirei's mind.
"Who in the world... are you!?"
Shirou's lip twitched: "Are you people all just repeating machines...?"
The instant the words left his mouth, the 'Kanshou and Bakuya' in Shirou's hands swiftly swung, carving black and white arcs of sword light around him.
Slash—!
The seven Assassins attacking him were easily dispatched, dissolving into black mist.
"What!?"
Even though he knew the Assassins were merely divisions, their individual strength was not much weaker than that of a Magus. Yet, that young man had so easily eliminated seven of them simultaneously.
There was no turning back now.
Feeling plunged into a life-or-death crisis, Kotomine Kirei didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately activated his magecraft.
The 'Black Keys' gripped in his hands were immediately reinforced with prana, extending into even sharper and more slender blades.
All this happened in the instant the Assassins died. Despite his astonishment, Kotomine Kirei's body reacted faster than his mind. The 'Black Key' in his right hand was thrown toward Shirou's body.
From completing the preparatory movement to launching the reinforced 'Black Key' took only three-tenths of a second. Kotomine Kirei's highly trained body, under the enhancement of prana, had already exceeded human limits.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!!!
The 'Black Key' shot out, its sharp blade cutting through the air, arriving before Shirou in the blink of an eye.
However, just as it was about to make contact, the thrown 'Black Key' was suddenly deflected with a metallic clanging sound of collision.
Bright sparks continuously flashed, reflecting in Kotomine Kirei's widened eyes.
Looking at Kotomine Kirei, who was struggling to comprehend the situation, Shirou suddenly thought of something and spoke with an amused smile.
"Are you still lost in confusion, Kotomine Kirei?"
This question made no sense to Kotomine Kirei when he first heard it, and he instinctively wanted to ask back.
"What are you sayi—"
Suddenly, understanding the true meaning of the words, his expression froze, and his pupils contracted sharply.
Kotomine Kirei's father, Kotomine Risei, had him late in life, so he placed great expectations on Kirei. Kirei did not disappoint his father's expectations and always strived to become a person of exceptional character and ability under his father's tutelage.
However, despite never giving up his efforts, Kotomine Kirei never truly understood what his father referred to as "pure and beautiful things," even after becoming an Executor.
The name "Kirei" (meaning clean/beautiful) was a lovely name, but Kotomine Kirei never felt it suited him.
The more he tried, the more confused Kirei became. Therefore, after becoming an Executor, Kirei could not settle in one position because of his inner confusion, wanting to find the path he truly desired.
Kirei was not a genius; he simply put in tens of times the effort of others, but every time his practice was one step away from mastery, he would move on to the next field without hesitation. Thus, he seemed versatile but was, in reality, never first-rate in anything he did.
To find the path he truly desired, Kirei made many attempts, becoming an Executor being one of them. His final attempt was to start a family, like an ordinary person.
Perhaps it was because this was the only woman available, or perhaps he chose her because she was this type of person, but Kirei's wife was a woman afflicted with illness, with only a few years left to live.
Kotomine Kirei married Claudia Hortensia, automatically retired from the seminary afterward, and abandoned the idea of becoming an official priest. His wife spent two years of married life with him, and they had one daughter. The daughter inherited part of her mother's special constitution but failed to inherit the 'Magic Circuits'.
In this marriage, Kirei believed he loved his wife, Claudia Hortensia, and Claudia Hortensia also loved Kirei like a child, willing to heal him.
But in the end, Kirei still failed to find normal human happiness through his wife.
Kirei gradually discovered that the source of his happiness was actually his wife's suffering.
The more his wife wanted to help Kirei return to normal, the more Kirei wanted to see his wife sigh and despair.
At that moment, Kirei felt despair.
"Even the woman who understood me so well couldn't fill my void." This situation led Kirei to finally decide to take his own life, but before that, he wanted to fulfill his duty as a husband and accompany his wife through her remaining few years of life.
However, unexpectedly, his wife chose to commit suicide in front of him to prove that Kirei was capable of love.
Kirei was immensely sad, but his sadness stemmed from not being able to fully enjoy his wife's death.
Years later, he would occasionally recall that moment, wondering if his thought at the time was for his own pleasure, or the sorrow of wanting to kill the person he deeply loved?
Every time the answer nearly crossed his mind, his thought process would stop. His wife's death was meaningless, yet he couldn't accept it as worthless.
Kirei knew his way of thinking deviated greatly from most people, so he always concealed his inner self, never mentioning it to anyone, not even his father, Kotomine Risei.
In fact, Kirei's heart was still confused when he decided to participate in this Holy Grail War.
Perhaps even Kirei himself hadn't realized it, but he too secretly longed for the Grail. The crimson Command Spells branded on the back of his right hand faintly lit up, seemingly resonating with his inner desires.
The fact that something that should have been deeply suppressed and never mentioned to anyone was brought up by this unknown young man before him made Kotomine Kirei feel a chill down his spine. He looked at Shirou in disbelief.
"Is it strange that I would know this?"
Shirou scrutinized Kotomine Kirei's visibly altered expression, immediately understanding something.
"It seems you haven't found the answer yet."
"..." Kotomine Kirei fell silent.
Of course, he desperately wanted to know what he truly desired at every moment.
If he could obtain the answer immediately, that would be the best possible outcome.
Especially facing this young man now, Kirei felt a unique sense that if he asked the opponent, he might actually receive the answer he sought.
But should he really do it... Ask a boy whose name he didn't even know, who suddenly appeared from nowhere, the answer he had been seeking for years?
Kirei believed that escaping his current dangerous predicament was a higher priority than seeking the answer to his inner self.
Several of Assassin's divisions were easily eliminated by the opponent. Kirei's prepared 'Black Keys' and 'Bajiquan' had both proven ineffective. He had no other means of combat left.
In this situation, fleeing was undoubtedly the best choice.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kirei immediately channeled prana into his legs and simultaneously used 'Hu Bu' (Agile Step) to dramatically increase his escape speed.
His figure quickly surpassed the speed of a car, and he was close to escaping Shirou's line of sight.
"At this point, you still want to run?"
Shirou raised his right hand toward Kotomine Kirei's rapidly retreating figure.
Concurrently, in the air above, a pale blue magical light surged, and a silver-white long sword, radiating sharp brilliance, manifested.
With a thought from Shirou, the sword immediately shot out, aiming for Kotomine Kirei's back.
Swoosh—!