---o---
The case was solved.
So the Red Archer's true name was Emiya Shirou, and he really was Emiya Kiritsugu's son.
Albeit an adopted son. But as the successor to Emiya Kiritsugu's ideals, he was, in every sense, his child.
When the audience outside the light curtain first learned of this, they were still quite shocked. After all... according to Solomon's clairvoyance, under normal circumstances, the victor of this Holy Grail War was supposed to be Team Saber, which meant Emiya Kiritsugu.
And from the memories flashing through Emiya Shirou's mind in the light curtain, it seemed that even after winning the Holy Grail War, the future Emiya Kiritsugu lived a rather miserable life.
His fanatical ideal, and the resolve behind it, was almost unimaginable. He killed his father and mother figure—for the sake of an ideal named 'justice', Emiya Kiritsugu's methods were nothing short of chilling.
Yet even so, the audience couldn't say that he was wrong. Admittedly... all of Kiritsugu's actions clashed with their moral compass as normal people.
But without Emiya Kiritsugu, who knows how many more people in this world would have died meaninglessly for some ridiculous reason.
In the Light Curtain's comments—
Light Yagami: "Justice... what a profound term. However... Emiya Kiritsugu's mistake was that the world he lived in was too dangerous. But I, as the god of the new world, will carry out my justice!"
In the world of Death Note, Light Yagami was already planning to become a new god. His sense of justice was no longer pure, but he still firmly believed he was in the right.
Garp: "Sacrificing the few to save the many... The Marines have done such things in the past. But there has never been anyone willing to slay their own family to save others. While I don't agree with such methods... Emiya Kiritsugu's resolve for justice has already surpassed most Marines."
In the world of One Piece, Garp was uncharacteristically serious. He had never thought that justice could become a form of obsession. If a 'justice' like Emiya Kiritsugu's were to appear among the Marines, would it be for the better or for the worse?
Kevin: "...Sacrificing the few to save the many is not as simple as it sounds. Sometimes, we can't even manage to save a single person. The path of justice... is inevitably a path of thorns."
Justice and world salvation were similar in a sense. But Kevin's resolve was far beyond Emiya Kiritsugu's. Kiritsugu still had the chance to give up. Kevin did not. Everything he shouldered, everything he bore, had already destined him to walk the path of no return called 'hero'. He... must become a hero who saves the world!
---o---
[Inside the Light Curtain—
Elysia's Crystal Flower materialized in Emiya Shirou's hand. That pure crystal flower symbolized Elysia's own flawless heart.
Only those acknowledged by the young lady would be gifted this symbolic crystal flower.
At the very end of her life, during that final ball, Elysia had also gifted her crystal flowers to all who attended.
Although only four people attended that final dance, they all cherished this gift from Elysia with all their hearts.
And that crystal flower was not merely a simple memento or decoration. It was born from the body of the Herrscher of Origin, a crystal flower imbued with the power of her Authority.
The power it contained was enough to rewrite the reality of Irisviel being a vessel for the Holy Grail and save her.
Now, as long as Irisviel held this crystal flower, this... this Holy Grail War would reach its final conclusion.
Although he didn't know what Elysia needed the Lesser Grail for, it was surely for something extraordinary, something inextricably linked to the power within her known as Honkai.
Thanks to the Counter Force and Solomon, Elysia's understanding of their world was already quite deep. Yet, neither Emiya Shirou nor the omniscient King Solomon could truly peer into the world behind the power of Honkai.
Therefore, Shirou wasn't entirely clear on why Elysia was so confident that obtaining the Holy Grail would allow her to eliminate the Outer God.
However... as a worker for the Counter Force, all he needed to do was follow Elysia's words. Right now, she was his direct superior.
With this thought in mind... Shirou was about to ask Kiritsugu to lead him to Irisviel's hiding place.
But just then... the unexpected happened!
BOOM—
A massive explosion erupted from the city in the distance. This wasn't a shockwave from the battle between Elysia's Companion Honkai Beast and the Outer God, but a different power entirely.
It was a fluctuation of magical energy that Emiya Shirou was incredibly familiar with, a power that had saved his life on multiple occasions!
This magical energy... Saber... Without even turning around, Heroic Spirit Emiya already knew it was the magical energy fluctuation that Saber emitted during battle.
Saber...? Is she fighting someone? The monsters couldn't cause such a huge commotion, and the Outer God was still being held back by Elysia.
The sudden boom caused Emiya Shirou to look over, his mind racing. Then... a bone-chilling coldness suddenly crept into his heart.
As if he had forgotten how to move, Emiya Shirou's body went rigid, his forehead covered in beads of sweat. That magical energy... there was no mistaking it.
The Black Mud of the Holy Grail! To be precise, it was the Black Mud formed from the original, corrupted Holy Grail!
That Black Mud was the bane of all Servants. Even the 'strongest Servant', Gilgamesh, could not resist it. Although Heroic Spirit Emiya wasn't the true Archer of this Holy Grail War, he was equally powerless against the Black Mud that symbolized All the World's Evil.
Why...? Shouldn't the Holy Grail still be inside Irisviel? How could this be happening? Could it be...
As if a certain possibility struck him, Emiya Shirou froze, his eyes filled with an unprecedented rage. That Old Worm... he just doesn't stay dead!
Placing a fragment of the Holy Grail inside Sakura... even if it was just a small piece, it was still magical energy that symbolized All the World's Evil! Its darkness was second only to the evil radiated by the Outer God!
Although he had long known that Sakura had suffered unimaginable torment... Emiya Shirou still couldn't suppress the rage welling up from the depths of his soul!
He made up his mind. Though his appearance this time was a bit late, he would save Sakura, even if it cost him his life!
"Old Man! If you want to save Mom's life, give this crystal flower to her! I'll go help Saber!"
Having made his decision, Emiya Shirou tossed the crystal flower towards Emiya Kiritsugu and, filled with rage, dematerialized and left the area.
Emiya Kiritsugu hurriedly caught the crystal flower Shirou had thrown. This was the flower that could save his wife's life. If it shattered, Kiritsugu would probably die from anger at himself.
Of course... as a gift from Elysia, the crystal flower itself couldn't be shattered or destroyed by conventional means. It just looked fragile. That was precisely why Shirou had tossed it without a second thought.
---o---
Meanwhile, perhaps influenced by fate, Saber, who should have been the first to reach Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel, had run into an unexpected person.
Sakura Tohsaka... or rather, she should be called Sakura Matou now. Although Saber didn't know her, the evil magical energy emanating from Sakura and the monster corpses strewn all around her were a testament to her extraordinary nature.
If not for the Old Worm's torment, Sakura Matou would have undoubtedly become a genius magus on par with, or even superior to, Kayneth!
After all... her magical attribute was the incredibly rare [Imaginary Numbers], and her innate talent was far beyond ordinary. Not just any magus could withstand the magical energy of a level like 'All the World's Evil'.
At this moment, Sakura Matou stood in the middle of the street, her eyes completely lifeless, as if she were already dead. Her body was surrounded by shadow-like black figures and a black mud that pulsed with malice.
Her vacant, soulless eyes made Saber's pupils constrict. Such a despairing state... what kind of inhuman torture had this child endured?
It wasn't just Saber; audiences across the multiverse watching the light curtain felt their hearts ache for Sakura's plight, especially the Tokiomi Tohsaka and Aoi Tohsaka from the original timeline.
No parents who deeply loved their daughter could remain unshaken by such a sight. They could only be thankful that in their world line, Sakura had not yet been adopted into the Matou family.
At the same time, in another room, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, was educating his own little Sakura. He had brought out many game-like treasures from his omnipotent Gate of Babylon to teach her the meaning of pleasure.
Since he had decided to take care of Sakura, Gilgamesh would not hesitate to bestow the finest treasures upon the girl before him.
But upon seeing the scene in the light curtain, the King of Heroes was filled with immense fury. If not for the child beside him, he might have erupted on the spot. It seemed he had let that worm die too painlessly.
At the very least, he should have reenacted everything Sakura had suffered on that disgusting body of his...
[Inside the Light Curtain—
Although Sakura Matou radiated an evil aura, in reality, that power was only on the level of an ordinary second or third-rate Servant.
If Saber got even slightly serious, she could easily cut her down!
The problem was...
Staring at the black shadows and black mud surrounding Sakura, Saber's expression was grave. With her A-rank Instinct, the Knight King could clearly sense the power within them.
Although it wasn't overwhelmingly strong, if she were to step into it... she would die!
This was what her Instinct told her, and Saber trusted her feelings implicitly. Therefore... she would absolutely not take a single step into the shadows or the mud!
BOOM—
Just as Saber was analyzing the situation, the Black Mud that had been circling Sakura suddenly shot towards Saber at an unimaginable speed. It was so fast that it nearly matched some Heroic Spirits known for their speed.
With King Arthur's power, it was absolutely impossible to escape its range. However... as an experienced knight, Saber did not hesitate to reveal the holy sword in her hand. The Barrier of the Wind King was unleashed with the sword, howling towards the Black Mud like an unstoppable gale.
Because of this, Saber successfully tore an opening in the Black Mud just as it was about to pounce on her, and she passed through it with an incredibly difficult maneuver.
RUMBLE~~
On the other side, a rumbling sound arose from the black shadows lingering around Sakura.
The shadows, like tentacled monsters, extended countless tendrils, each imbued with an anti-Servant property, and swept towards Saber.
Saber, however, fought back against the shadows without retreating an inch. She attacked them with overwhelming force, forcing the shadows to continuously teleport to dodge.
Although it had a suppressive effect on Servants, it wasn't enough to injure Saber. The threat from the shadows was far less than that of the Black Mud.
With a burst of magical energy, one of the black shadows vanished under the holy power.
But these shadows were also supported by the Grail fragment and had a near-infinite supply of magical energy. Soon, another one appeared to block Saber's path.
The two sides clashed continuously. Even with the Black Mud harassing her from the side, Saber always had the upper hand.
However, this stalemate was clearly not what Saber wanted. She was truly sorry, but for the sake of the bigger picture, she had to eliminate the girl before her as quickly as possible!
So, after being forced back by the Black Mud once more, the magical energy in the air instantly surged, beginning to concentrate in the holy sword in Saber's hand.
She was preparing to release her Noble Phantasm!
Sakura's past may have been tragic, but Saber had no time to dwell on it now. She had to get to Irisviel's side as soon as possible!
And the simplest and most effective way to deal with the shadows and the Black Mud was to cut down the girl before her!
Even though this was a release of her Noble Phantasm while the holy sword was still under its restraints, it was more than enough to eliminate the girl, the shadows, and the mud all at once.
With a slight apology in her heart, Saber swung down the light of her holy sword without hesitation!
But just as the light of the holy sword was about to fall, a figure appeared in front of Sakura Matou.
"Projection, start!"
In an instant, the magic circuits in his body burned as if they were boiling. A shield that looked like a blooming flower appeared out of thin air, protecting Sakura.
And it was none other than the defensive Noble Phantasm that had appeared before, Rho Aias!