"Hehe... Can you let me speak to her again?" Meruem glanced at the sleeping Sakura, then looked up directly at Kiritsugu and said.
"Sorry, I can't trust you." Kiritsugu Emiya's words were blunt; simply put, no. That is, he didn't trust Meruem. He casually took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and took a deep drag.
"You have one minute to consider."
Everything was finally back on track, but why did he still feel so uneasy?
"Kiritsugu Emiya!" Before Meruem could speak, Artoria could no longer suppress her anger and glared at Kiritsugu Emiya furiously.
"As your Servant, am I so unworthy of your trust? Is the Holy Grail that important to you? Important enough to use such dirty tricks! Is your wish that important to you? Kiritsugu! Answer me!" Artoria stared intently at Kiritsugu Emiya with burning eyes.
However, Kiritsugu Emiya treated her as if she were air.
"Thirty seconds left!" Finally, Kiritsugu Emiya spoke, but it wasn't the answer Artoria wanted.
"If I voluntarily exit, can you guarantee her safety?" Meruem didn't even bother to look Kiritsugu in the eye, simply gazing tenderly at Sakura.
"Sign this, and I can guarantee it. As a Heroic Spirit, you should know what this is." Kiritsugu Emiya took a parchment scroll from his coat and threw it towards Meruem, as if it had been planned all along.
"A Self-Geas Scroll?" This is a magical contract used in the magus world to bind agreements that absolutely cannot be broken. It's the contract scroll that commonly appears in novels.
Binding target: Kiritsugu Emiya. By the command of Kiritsugu Emiya's Crest, on the premise of fulfilling the following conditions, the oath shall become a precept binding the target without exception. The oath pertains to the fifth-generation heir of the Emiya family, Kiritsugu, son of Noritaka, regarding Sakura Matou as the subject, permanently prohibiting any intent or act of killing or harming her.
Condition: Servant KING commits suicide.
"Well? Ten seconds left to decide." Kiritsugu Emiya looked at Meruem with his lifeless, colorless eyes.
"Hehe... as you wish!" Meruem chuckled lightly, picked up the pen, and signed his name on the parchment scroll.
"King of Knights, I don't blame you. I told you before that your Master isn't suitable for you." Meruem said this to Artoria.
"One last piece of advice, Kiritsugu Emiya: Heaven watches what people do. Those who play with conspiracies will eventually fall into the conspiracies of others." As he spoke, he revealed an incredibly eerie smile at Kiritsugu.
Then...
The sharp spear tip pierced into Meruem's chest. Blood gushed from the wound like a sluice gate opening, flowing endlessly. That was the core of a Servant's manifested mana. "Sakura, goodbye..."
Finally, in his dying moments, Meruem looked incredibly tenderly at Sakura, who showed no sign of waking up, and closed his eyes forever.
After a Servant dies, they return to the Throne of Heroes. However, since they participated in the Holy Grail War, the souls of the deceased Heroic Spirits need to return to the Holy Grail first. Meruem's body turned into motes of light and vanished before everyone's eyes.
Artoria could only watch helplessly as Meruem dissipated in front of her, feeling powerless and frustrated.
"Bang." At this moment, a gunshot rang out again.
It came from behind!
Artoria quickly turned around and saw a scene she would never forget. For the first time, Artoria, the King of Britain, witnessed someone capable of such despicableness. It caught her completely off guard.
"Why! Why! Why did you kill her! She is just a child! And didn't you just promise KING?" Artoria's voice sounded heart-wrenching, her throat hoarse.
Sakura's body lay in a pool of blood, several bullet wounds visible on her body. Maiya Hisau held a smoking pistol in her hand.
Not just Artoria, even Kiritsugu Emiya's wife, Irisviel, covered her mouth in disbelief. "Kiritsugu, why did you do this?"
"I didn't kill her. I promised him, and the contract proves it. But I never promised that others besides me couldn't do it." Kiritsugu Emiya's voice remained calm; everything that happened had no effect on him whatsoever.
Of course, Kiritsugu Emiya was answering Irisviel's question.
"But what difference is there from you killing her!" Artoria gripped the holy sword tightly, veins bulging on her forehead, looking ready to attack at any moment.
The anger in Artoria's heart at this moment was beyond description. If not for the last bit of reason remaining and Irisviel tightly gripping the corner of her clothes, Artoria might have already slashed at Kiritsugu.
"Sorry, Irisviel. This is your first time seeing my method of killing, isn't it?" Even now, Kiritsugu Emiya showed no remorse, instead revealing a rare tenderness as he looked at Irisviel.
"You should explain to SABER!" Let alone Artoria, even Irisviel found this hard to accept. Don't forget, their own child in the Einzbern castle was just about this age. Why could he be so cruel?
"If only the Servant is killed, that Master might form a contract with other masterless Servants." The explanation Kiritsugu Emiya gave was somewhat far-fetched and hard to accept.
She's just a child; do you need to worry so much? Kiritsugu, isn't your vigilance a bit excessive?
"Is this your answer? Kiritsugu Emiya. Then... why did you summon me? KING was right; perhaps I really misjudged you. No, I definitely misjudged you." Artoria's words were unusually calm at this moment.
She had completely given up on Kiritsugu Emiya. Just like Kiritsugu Emiya's attitude towards her. Why get angry at a stranger? Right now, Artoria only wanted to end this damn Holy Grail War as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, on the roof of the old Matou house, unnoticed by anyone, a pair of eerie eyes filled with concentric circles watched them under the pale moon.
The owner of those eyes wore familiar white clothes and held a little girl in his arms who looked identical to the one who had just been shot multiple times.
"So... the game begins. Kiritsugu Emiya, are you ready?"
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