Hiss—!
The air surged violently around Shirou Emiya, rushing into his mouth in wave after wave.
Sharp cracks echoed from deep within Emiya's body—no, more precisely, from within his soul itself.
Shirou Kotomine immediately understood: this was a sign that Emiya's soul was reaching its breaking point.
No matter how strong Emiya's willpower was, the integrity of his soul had an absolute limit.
If Emiya's heart was pierced, perhaps his unyielding will could sustain him for a short while, but it wouldn't last long—not because his resolve was weak, but because his body would inevitably fail him first.
From the fierce battle against Esdeath earlier to his journey deep into the core of the Holy Grail itself, Emiya's soul had suffered unimaginable damage.
He had finally reached his limit. Even without Kotomine doing anything further, Emiya's soul would inevitably dissolve into mana, becoming nourishment for the Grail.
Golden streaks began to fracture across Emiya's form—signs he himself recognized clearly.
[Avalon]'s regenerative power was immensely strong, even capable of mending the soul, but it could not restore him to perfection in mere moments, unlike healing physical wounds. Instead, [Avalon] slowly repaired Emiya's damaged soul, resulting in those golden lines etched across it.
But now, under the Grail's relentless erosion, even [Avalon]'s support couldn't sustain his soul's stability any longer.
Yet Emiya knew he had no choice but to stop Shirou Kotomine before his soul completely collapsed.
"[Sword Breathing—Sun Form: Clear Blue Sky]!"
Emiya's breath momentarily halted as he spun in midair, his entire body twisting like a fierce whirlwind. A burning crimson flame erupted along the blade of his sakabatou, making it appear as though freshly forged, blazing with incredible heat.
With an astonishingly swift rotation, Emiya's sword traced arcane and beautiful patterns, resembling a blazing red comet striking toward Kotomine.
Clang—!
Sparks exploded at the moment of collision.
Kotomine quickly twisted his tachi, deflecting the reverse-blade sword that had slashed toward his side.
There was no need for a counterattack—Emiya had almost no time left inside the Grail.
Whoosh—!
However...
"[Trace—On]!!"
At the very instant Kotomine knocked Emiya's sword aside, another reverse-blade sword appeared, grasped swiftly by Emiya in a reverse grip.
"[Sword Breathing—Moon Form: Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit]!"
A flowing silver streak cut through the air like a graceful, luminous crescent, never slowing down as it sliced in from another angle.
So fluid.
So lethal.
Kotomine's eyes widened sharply, forced to rally his strength, swiftly swinging his legendary blade to meet the approaching sakabatou.
Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—!
Clear, metallic clashes echoed rhythmically, almost like a melodic tune resonating through the space, strangely captivating.
But Kotomine had no leisure to enjoy this unexpected symphony.
With each strike, Emiya's attacks grew faster, tracing dazzling streaks through the white void, swiftly overwhelming Kotomine's defense, controlling the rhythm completely.
Clang—!
Fiery sparks erupted again from Kotomine's sword, yet this time Emiya's attacking blade flew away, suddenly powerless.
Emiya's hands, unnoticed until now, had become faintly transparent, his strength clearly waning.
A chance—!
Kotomine's immediately lifted his tachi, slashing decisively toward Emiya's body.
Though Emiya would soon fade naturally, finishing him quickly would expedite the realization of Kotomine's long-held wish.
Clang—!
Another explosive spark burst before Kotomine's eyes.
At the exact moment Kotomine struck, yet another reverse-blade appeared in Emiya's hands, blocking the fatal blow.
"It's over now!"
Emiya was already at the end of his rope. Each [Projection] he created only accelerated his soul's erosion.
Empowered by both [Eye of the Mind (True)] and [Eye of the Mind (False)], Kotomine easily disarmed Emiya of his blades, sending them flying away.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"It's useless. No matter how many weapons you project, you can't possibly stop this!"
Kotomine quietly declared Emiya's fate, staring at the figure rapidly fading away.
"Is that so?"
Facing the blade about to slice into his neck, Emiya showed no panic whatsoever, as if everything had proceeded exactly as he'd planned.
A powerful sense of danger surged through Kotomine's body.
When did he—?!
Those swords Kotomine had deflected moments ago were now surrounding him from every direction.
Emiya's form grew even more transparent, as if he might vanish completely in the next moment.
From his nearly invisible fingertips stretched extremely fine threads. If Kotomine had not been a Servant himself, he might have missed them entirely.
Emiya's transparency wasn't merely from intense combat—rather, in this final instant, he had projected [Cross Tail], severely weakening his soul under the Holy Grail's pressure.
Had he projected something stronger—like [Incursio] or other powerful Noble Phantasms—his soul would've instantly been devoured by the Grail's mana.
It was a desperate gamble—but had Emiya not always made such risky bets?
Kotomine realized this too late—the deflected swords had him completely surrounded, sealed off from every possible escape route.
Emiya silently named this all-encompassing attack style in his mind—
"[Triple-Linked Crane Wings]."
Impossible to dodge. No chance of escape.
Pinned down by six swords, Kotomine could only watch helplessly as the reverse-blades closed in from every angle.
So, after all this, am I the one who's failed?
Seeing Emiya's almost completely transparent figure before him, Kotomine gave a bitter smile of resignation.
"Miracles…always seem to occur around you."
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
With a series of blunt impacts, Kotomine felt his consciousness slipping away.
Perhaps Emiya had intended merely to render Kotomine unconscious rather than take his life outright. However, within the depths of the Greater Grail, losing consciousness meant inevitably becoming nourishment for the Grail itself.
But Kotomine would not blame Emiya. Instead—
Forgive me, Semiramis. I've failed not only my own wish, but yours as well.
With this final thought lingering, Shirou Kotomine slowly closed his eyes.
Thud—!
With a dull thump, Kotomine collapsed heavily onto the bed of flowers. Petals fluttered gently around him as he slipped into eternal slumber.
As for Emiya—at the very moment he defeated Kotomine, his soul also quietly faded away into nothingness.
---
T/N: damnnnnn