Chapter 31: Kirei, Take a Seat
The silver-white long sword, trailing a pale blue wake, assailed Kotomine Kirei. No matter how fast he was, he could not escape the pursuit of this sword.
The strong sense of danger approaching from behind caused Kotomine Kirei's hairs to stand on end, and a bone-chilling cold shot up his spine!
The constantly closing gap of mortal danger made Kotomine Kirei deeply realize that his escape was meaningless.
Just then, another long sword, trailing a golden trajectory from the opposite direction, shot forth and collided with the sword pursuing Kotomine Kirei.
Boom—!
The powerful explosion overturned surrounding cars and houses. The concrete road surface was fragilely blasted into a huge crater.
The aftermath of the explosion swept through the surroundings as a fierce wind, causing Kotomine Kirei's body to be thrown backward.
Even with his 'Shroud', Kotomine Kirei still suffered considerable injuries.
However, the current situation made Kotomine Kirei dare not check the extent of his injuries. The moment he landed, he immediately scrambled to his feet and looked upwards.
A golden figure stood atop the wall. The constantly shining golden armor, the handsome features and crimson eyes, and the scornful smirk on his lips all highlighted the man's kingly temperament.
"Archer? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Master?" Kotomine Kirei asked the golden Heroic Spirit standing proudly on the wall, checking his injuries with a frown.
"This King goes wherever he pleases," Gilgamesh replied casually, then glanced at Kotomine Kirei.
"Pathetic state, where is your Assassin, Kirei?"
"The enemy who appeared this time offers no chance of victory, even with Assassin and me combined. Moreover, Saber's Master also died at that guy's hands," Kotomine Kirei replied with his usual serious and earnest expression.
"Saber's Master, is it..." Gilgamesh frowned, then turned his jade-like crimson eyes forward. The area was already empty, with no trace of anyone.
Shirou had bolted the moment he noticed Gilgamesh's arrival.
After all, if you can't win, you run. Was he supposed to stay there and wait for death?
"Tch! Did he run away..." Gilgamesh spoke with some disdain, then his eyes slightly narrowed, recalling the sword shadow that had streaked across the air earlier.
Ignoring the front, Gilgamesh raised his hand and retrieved a Noble Phantasm from his 'Gate of Babylon' that looked like a magic mirror to Kotomine Kirei. The moment it activated, Kotomine Kirei felt himself enveloped in golden light.
When the light dissipated, Kotomine Kirei found himself back at home.
The glittering Archer was casually sitting on the living room sofa, wearing an enigmatic smile for some unknown reason.
"Kirei, take a seat."
"..."
Normally, when a person smiles, it tends to infect those around them, easing the atmosphere. Unfortunately, Kirei was not the type to enjoy seeing other people's smiles.
Moreover, the smile on the face of the King of Heroes before him only brought up unsettling thoughts.
"Though I haven't seen the Grail yet, I wouldn't care if it turned out to be a worthless piece of junk. I've found something far more interesting than that now."
"Oh... that's quite surprising. Didn't you once mock this world as being full of only counterfeits and ugliness?"
For some reason, Kotomine Kirei felt that today's Archer was different from before.
At least the scorn he usually held for everyone had completely vanished.
Gilgamesh poured himself some fine wine from the 'Gate of Babylon' and said leisurely.
"I am a person who enjoys arrogant opponents. Those who do not dwell on the lowliness of their own ability but harbor grand ambitions. Every time I meet such an opponent, I am very pleased."
Looking at the bewildered Kotomine Kirei, Gilgamesh sipped the red wine from his golden goblet, then took out another wine cup and placed it on the coffee table in front of Kotomine Kirei.
"However, arrogance is divided into two types. One is due to severely insufficient ability, and the other is due to exceptionally ambitious aspirations. The former appears foolish, but the latter is exceptionally rare."
"Regardless, aren't both still foolish?" Kotomine Kirei looked at the red wine in the golden cup before him, hesitating whether to drink it.
"No. Compared to the common wisdom, this rare foolishness is all the more precious, is it not? To be born human, yet to harbor an ideal so vast that human power cannot achieve it,
and to be willing to abandon one's humanity to realize that ideal. This kind of drama is something I can never tire of watching~"
Gilgamesh smiled as if savoring a memory.
Kotomine Kirei actually understood the King of Heroes' feelings at this moment, but he did not show it.
However, Gilgamesh easily saw through Kirei, and his smile broadened.
"Tokiomi's mission for you was to help him gather intelligence on the other Masters and Servants, was it not?"
"Yes. Why?" Kirei frowned. He felt there was a deeper meaning contained within the King of Heroes' smile.
"Exactly. You only needed to pass the information you saw to Tokiomi, yet you chose to fight the fellow who suddenly appeared and killed Emiya Kiritsugu."
Kotomine Kirei's expression subtly changed because he felt the underlying meaning in the King of Heroes' smile was so similar to that of the young man.
This indicated that the King of Heroes had also noticed something different about Kirei.
"And all that information from this time, besides Emiya Kiritsugu's death, which surely couldn't be concealed, you didn't plan to tell Tokiomi any of the rest, did you?"
"..." Kotomine Kirei remained silent.
Stared down by the Heroic King's crimson eyes, Kotomine Kirei found himself unable to lie.
Gilgamesh, meanwhile, seemed to find the situation even more amusing. More than the other irrelevant details, he was concerned about the essence of Kotomine Kirei.
"You speak of fulfilling your duty as a disciple, yet in the end, you don't intend to tell him this crucial information. Could it be that..."
Gilgamesh paused, then spoke.
"Rather than watching your sensei achieve victory, you would rather see him die?"
"How could I be that kind of person!" Kotomine Kirei stated righteously.
He believed his face must be contorted with anger right now, and his words must be perfectly justified.
However, Gilgamesh stared at Kotomine Kirei's face and showed an expression as if he were watching an utterly spectacular performance at a theater.
"You truly... are the greatest clown, Kotomine Kirei!"
Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Kotomine Kirei's heart jolted. He immediately walked toward the mirror in the living room and looked at his reflection.
The corners of his mouth in the mirror were unconsciously turned upwards, outlining a smile completely unrelated to anger, a smile as if he were happy about something.
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