Lancer raised his head, his bloodshot eyes seemingly piercing through the barriers of space to glare fixedly at everyone at the other end of the forest.
Kiritsugu Emiya, Kayneth, Sola... every person's face was clearly reflected in his pupils that were about to go dark.
"Unforgivable... absolutely unforgivable..."
Lancer's voice was no longer clear; it became like the roar of an evil ghost from the Nine Hells, every word carrying endless resentment and hatred.
"You despicable scoundrels... what do you take a knight's honor for?! What have you made of... my loyalty?!"
"I curse you! I curse this filthy Holy Grail!!"
Using the last of his strength, he let out a soul-shaking roar:
"May that Holy Grail be filled with the most polluted malice in this world! May every one of you who desires the Grail fall into the abyss of despair and die a miserable death!!"
As the final shrill curse echoed through the night sky, Lancer's noble body could no longer be maintained, turning into countless golden Spirit Particles and completely dissipating in the wailing night wind.
Only a shocking patch of blood remained on the ground, along with a poisonous resentment that seemed to permeate every inch of Fuyuki City's soil.
A deathly silence followed.
Saber felt cold all over; she felt something deep within her soul shatter with a 'crack' at that moment.
It shouldn't have been like this... a duel between heroes shouldn't have ended in such a manner.
However, more cruel than reality was the despair that followed closely behind.
At the other end of the forest, after confirming Lancer's total dissipation, Kiritsugu Emiya acted like a machine that had completed its mission, expressionlessly holstering his gun and turning to leave.
"Wait! According to the agreement..." Kayneth lay prone on the cold mud, a sliver of hope for survival igniting in his eyes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dull gunshots rang out abruptly, but they did not come from Kiritsugu's direction.
From the other side of the forest, Hisau Maiya, who had been lurking like a venomous snake, held a cold sniper rifle and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
A flower of blood bloomed at the center of Sola's brow as she fell backward, her beautiful eyes still holding traces of concern for her fiancé, but forever losing their light.
Kayneth was hit by several bullets; a Magus's tenacious vitality kept him from dying instantly, but the pain was a thousand times worse than death.
"Emiya... Kiritsugu..." His body twitched violently from the intense pain, his features contorted as he reached out a blood-stained hand toward the receding black figure: "Kill... kill me... please... kill me!!"
"Sorry, according to the contract, I cannot kill you."
Kiritsugu Emiya's steps did not pause for a second, and without looking back, his lonely and resolute figure soon steadily disappeared into the endless shadows... in the forest, the thick scent of blood had not yet dissipated.
Lancer's shrill curse seemed to still linger in the air, turning into an invisible cold current that blew through everyone's soul.
Saber still stood among the fallen leaves on the ground, the invisible sword in her hand hanging powerlessly at her side.
Not a single drop of blood stained her blue and silver armor, but her face was frighteningly pale, and her lips trembled slightly with anger and sorrow.
Even on the corpse-strewn battlefield of Camlann, even facing Mordred's betrayal and her own death, she had never felt a coldness that reached her marrow like she did at this moment.
It wasn't fear of a powerful enemy, but the complete collapse of the chivalric path from the depths of her heart.
"Why..."
Saber's voice was dry and hoarse, as if forced out of her throat, "Why use... this kind of method..."
Irisviel stood to the side, her hands tightly covering her mouth, her ruby-like eyes filled with shock, sadness, and disbelief.
As the Einzbern's perfect homunculus, she could roughly sense everything happening within the boundary near the castle.
Though she knew Kiritsugu's way of doing things, "witnessing" such bottomless tactics still made her feel suffocated.
"Was it really... Kiritsugu..."
"Perhaps the methods were a bit despicable, but... this is war between mortals."
An indifferent voice sounded as Hansen leapt down from the terrace, landing silently beside Saber.
He lifted his eyelids, and his eyes, burning with a faint Platinum Divine Fire, were as calm as a mirror without a single ripple.
"In a sense, Kiritsugu Emiya didn't do anything wrong."
"But..." Saber turned her head sharply, her emerald eyes burning with the flames of anger, "That is a trampling of a warrior's dignity! A desecration of a knight's honor!"
She stepped forward excitedly, almost roaring in interrogation: "If a victory is won by relying on such despicable means, then what meaning does the Holy Grail have?!"
"Meaning?"
Hansen suddenly reached out and grabbed Saber's wrist.
That palm was warm and powerful, like an iron pincer, instantly rendering her unable to move.
He took the opportunity to pull the petite King of Knights toward him, his other hand wrapping around her waist, forcing her to face him.
"Saber, you need to understand one thing."
Hansen lowered his head, their faces inches apart, his golden eyes that seemed able to see through everything staring directly into Saber's eyes.
"Only the winner has the right to talk about meaning."
"Just like Lancer now; no matter how much unwillingness and cursing he has, it cannot change the fact that he is already a loser."
"The winner is king, and the loser eats dust."
"This is reality—the filthy reality you despise."
Saber trembled all over and tried to break free, but found the other's strength as immovable as a mountain.
She was forced to keep her head tilted up, looking at that handsome face so close to her, feeling that domineering and cold aura.
She had no words to reply... the sky gradually darkened.
Einzbern Castle was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive.
The two little girls, Tohsaka Rin and Sakura, had already been coaxed to sleep, and Illya, tired from playing, had returned to her room to rest accompanied by Irisviel.
On the wide terrace, Saber sat alone on the cold stone railing, not having deactivated her armaments.
She stared blankly at the solitary moon in the night sky, her gaze empty and lost.
In her mind, the tragic sight of Lancer before his suicide and Hansen's cold phrase 'the winner is king' replayed alternately like a nightmare.
"Was my persistence... really wrong?"
Saber murmured softly.
For her country and her people, she had discarded emotion and humanity, transforming into a perfect machine of rule.
But what she got in return was the desertion of her followers and the downfall of her kingdom.
Now, she held onto the last of her chivalric path, only to witness it being crushed to pieces by reality.
That wish to use the Holy Grail to save her former country seemed so pale and laughable at this moment.
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