"What? Surprised to see me?"
Hansen stepped over the rubble on the ground, the dimensional rift behind him slowly closing.
With his left hand in his pocket and his right holding Saber's hand, he was followed by a dazed Irisviel and three adorable, doll-like little girls.
"Alice... Illya..."
Kiritsugu Emiya lay prone on the ground; in his lifeless eyes, which had lost their luster, were reflected the silver-haired woman and the red-eyed little girl.
"Papa!"
Seeing Kiritsugu covered in blood, Illya let out a cry of alarm and tried to rush over, pulling her hand away from Irisviel.
But in mid-air, a large hand precisely grabbed her by the back of her collar, lifting her like a kitten.
"Don't be in such a hurry; the battle isn't over yet."
Hansen held the flailing Illya in the air like a kitten, his gaze sweeping over Kiritsugu on the ground before finally landing on Kirei Kotomine standing nearby.
The latter clutched the wound on his abdomen and leaned against the wall, letting out a laugh that sounded like a broken bellows. "Cough, cough... So this was your goal, Ruler?"
"You intend to seize the Holy Grail in front of everyone?"
His voice remained steady, but deep within those hollow eyes, a certain frenzied anticipation flickered.
"Seize it?"
Hansen raised an eyebrow as if he had just heard the funniest joke of the century.
He casually pulled the golden lesser grail from his coat and tossed it up like an empty soda can. "This piece of junk? Only you locals would fight over it."
"My wish isn't something this thing can grant. If you want it, you can have it."
Clang—
The golden cup hit the ground and rolled a few times.
The omnipotent wish-granting machine, which carried the long-cherished desires of countless Magi and had sparked four brutal wars, was discarded like trash.
The golden cup rolled several times on the dusty concrete floor, eventually coming to a stop in a small depression.
This toss was as if Pandora's box had been opened.
In the next moment, the hole of the Holy Grail, formed by absorbing enough magical energy from Heroic Spirits, was completely torn open.
The residual blood belonging to Irisviel that stained it began to boil and expand rapidly at that instant!
Glug, glug... The sound of extremely viscous and nauseating churning echoed in the silent underground cavern, sending shivers down one's spine.
That golden cup was no longer a sacred vessel; it had become a spring connected to the deepest depths of hell.
Ink-black mud gushed out from it, even emitting a roar similar to a creature's growl.
No, that wasn't mud.
It was a curse!
Slaughter, envy, greed, gluttony, lust... It was the collection of all negative emotions from six billion humans throughout history, a curse capable of drowning any shred of reason—
"all the worlds evils" (Angra Mainyu)
Sizzle—!
The moment the black mud hit the floor, the hard ground melted instantly like a hot knife through butter, giving off pungent white smoke with a strong smell of sulfur.
Just the overflowing aura caused those present to feel a wave of intense nausea and dizziness.
"This... this is..."
Saber's emerald pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks.
Her instincts as a Heroic Spirit screamed in alarm; she instinctively spread her arms, shielding the three children and Irisviel behind her with her slender back.
"Quick! Get back!"
Even from dozens of meters away, she could clearly feel the malice contained within that black mud.
If even a single drop of that stuff touched her, her very saint graph as a Heroic Spirit would likely be instantly corrupted, turning her into a monster that knew only how to kill!
Sizzle... The black mud expanded wildly like a flood, instantly corroding the ground and emitting foul-smelling black smoke.
It spread rapidly like living oil, with countless distorted, pained, and wailing human faces surfacing and bursting on the black mud's surface, letting out shrill screams like a night parade of a hundred demons from hell.
"Hehe... Hehehehe..."
Watching this scene, Kirei Kotomine's shoulders began to shake violently.
He covered his face with his hands, an uncontrollable ecstasy leaking through his fingers.
"Wonderful... simply wonderful..."
Kirei Kotomine's once-hollow eyes were now filled with an intoxicating radiance, as if he had found the truth he had been searching for all his life.
"I see... so this is the true face of the Holy Grail?"
"Not a crystallization of miracles, but a breeding ground for all evil, the end that negates all life!"
"This... is the answer I have been searching for!"
"This is what I wanted to see—true pleasure!"
In stark contrast was Kiritsugu Emiya not far away.
The man who had sacrificed everything to save the world, who had personally killed his mentor and foster mother for the sake of so-called justice, and who had even prepared to sacrifice his wife and daughter, was now slumped on the ground like a pile of boneless mud.
Kiritsugu Emiya stared blankly at the spreading black mud, at the source of calamity capable of destroying the world.
Was this what he had pursued at the cost of his humanity?
"This is... a miracle?"
His voice trembled with an endless sense of absurdity and brokenness. "It's a lie... it's all a lie..."
"Aaaaaah—!!!"
Kiritsugu broke down.
He clutched his hair tightly and slammed his forehead against the ground, letting out a roar of despair like a wild beast.
At this moment, his convictions completely collapsed.
By now, the black mud had occupied most of the cavern and was still expanding like a world-devouring tsunami, seemingly on the verge of swallowing everyone present.
The invisible sword in Saber's hand had already manifested. Under the golden radiance of Excalibur, her expression was more solemn than ever, even carrying a hint of determination.
By now, she knew that the cruel truth Hansen had told her before was actually real!
This so-called Holy Grail War was a complete scam from start to finish!
"Ruler! Something like this... something like this must not be allowed to exist in this world! It must be destroyed!!"
"As you wish, my King."
Hansen turned his head, a reassuring smile appearing on his handsome face.
"Dirty work like this that might stain one's clothes is best left to the head of the household."
Saber was taken aback, a faint blush appearing on her face. "What did you sa—"
Before she could finish, Hansen had already taken a step forward.
Sizzle—!
Like a shark scenting the freshest flesh, the black mud climbed wildly up Hansen's trouser legs, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive black maw that completely submerged him!
"No—!!!"
Saber's and Irisviel's eyes widened in shock, and they let out heart-wrenching screams almost simultaneously.
Before Illya could realize what was happening, Tohsaka Rin, terrified, had already covered Sakura's eyes, while she herself stared pale-faced at the darkness that had swallowed Hansen.
"Hmph, utterly foolish."
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