Roland looked at Emiya Kiritsugu with a calm smile. If he had to choose a true protagonist for the Fourth Holy Grail War, it would undoubtedly be this man, expressionless, clad in a black windbreaker, his steady eyes now filled with despair.
Even after the war ends, the legacy of this dead man will continue to echo, leaving behind scars and stories that shape the future.
Among all the Masters, the one Roland least wanted to confront was this very man. But now, with the Spirit Contract in hand, everything else was irrelevant.
"I've already dealt with Hisau Maiya. The Einzbern androids haven't arrived in Fuyuki City yet, but it doesn't matter."
Pointing directly at Kiritsugu, Roland declared,
"Now it's your turn, Emiya Kiritsugu."
The immediate threat forced a change in Kiritsugu's lifeless expression. He had yet to fully recover from the scene he'd just witnessed.
What did he truly feel for Hisau Maiya?
If asked, Kiritsugu wouldn't be able to give an answer. Maiya had long resolved to sacrifice herself for his cause. She never expected vengeance on her behalf, because Kiritsugu simply wasn't that kind of man. He wouldn't be swayed by others' words or circumstances. He would fight, methodically and ruthlessly, for the dream of becoming a "hero of justice."
But at this moment… the killing intent burning in his chest was undeniably real.
"You bastard...!"
His voice was hoarse. Yet it was as if pain had reawakened his broken body, flooding it with renewed strength. Kiritsugu didn't hesitate. Step by heavy step, he walked toward Roland with grim determination.
Roland blinked, briefly surprised by the reckless approach.
But then, feeling the swelling resonance of the Key of All Spirits and the miracle it longed to fulfill, a smile curled on his lips. He stretched out his arms in welcome, eyes alight with madness.
"Oh? You're actually walking toward me? Not running away?"
"Even though your assistant, Hisau Maiya, practically tore herself apart just to reveal my secret, as if she were a student frantically answering exam questions until the very end, still you choose to face me?"
Kiritsugu's eyes were cold, but steady. "How am I supposed to kill you if I don't get closer?"
"Hah… Then by all means, come a little closer."
Roland took a step forward as well. He wasn't afraid of the Command Spells. He was fully confident, not only that he could kill Kiritsugu before he could activate one, but that this man wouldn't use it rashly anyway.
He had faith in Emiya Kiritsugu's nature.
This man's obsession with justice was like a curse. Before breaking completely, he had cast aside his father, his adoptive mother, even his wife was sacrificed without hesitation, for him everyone was measured like numbers on a scale.
While Maiya lived, she was useful. In death, she would become a calculated loss.
Surely, in the face of the Holy Grail, she would be discarded, just another piece in Kiritsugu's grand equation.
If this were only about revenge, he'd have summoned his Servant already.
The two men drew closer, halting just outside each other's reach, like duelists in a Western standoff.
"You're not going to use your Command Spell?" Roland asked.
"There's no point in wasting it on something meaningless," Kiritsugu replied coldly. "But if you're determined to throw your life away in vain, I'll accommodate you."
Roland's easy smile didn't falter. Yet inwardly, Kiritsugu grew more wary.
The Heroic Spirits must've already been summoned. By now, no serious Master would enter the war without one, unless they were completely uninterested in victory or just a lucky placeholder.
But Roland clearly wasn't a clueless amateur. He had not only identified Kiritsugu as the real Master, but had targeted Maiya who was his assistant, first.
Everything about this man screamed danger. A Tactician. A Magus killer. A Manipulator.
A man much like himself.
That made Maiya's death all the more important.
She had revealed his identity as the Seventh Master and exposed his connection to explosions. Her message had made it through. And if Roland's Servant wasn't with him now… that meant he had confidence in fighting solo.
That confidence would be his undoing.
In an one-on-one fight between Masters, Kiritsugu was confident in taking almost any magus on, this was Emiya Kiritsugu's battlefield.
Without warning, Kiritsugu sprang into action.
Using his coat as cover, he drew his pistol and fired.
"You really think that'll work?"
The rate of fire was too slow. Killer Queen effortlessly stepped between Roland and the bullets, swiping at them midair like swatting flies. With a clink, she let one fall from her fingers, letting it hit the pavement with a chilling ring.
Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed. His expression hardened.
So this invisible guardian could physically catch bullets… not even relying on magic?
No wonder Maiya died.
This wasn't some defense relying on magical shield or enchanted talisman but raw, overwhelming speed.
He would need more magic. He needed to deepen his connection to Avalon. Fast.
Without hesitation, Kiritsugu broke into a sprint like a predator on the hunt. He drew a submachine gun mid-run, spraying bullets wildly as cover fire.
Roland ducked behind a nearby wall, protected by Killer Queen. Not a scratch on him.
"Is this all?" Roland scoffed. "You managed to escape the Sheer Heart Assault, and yet you're throwing toys at me? Is this the best you've got?"
Something still felt off.
The Contract Spirit… it wasn't with Kiritsugu. Roland could sense it. So how had he escaped the sheer heart attack?
Was it a temporary boon from the Contract Spirit's artifact?
But no… Kiritsugu's mental state was too stable for that.
This time, Kiritsugu replied.
"That weapon tracks temperature, right?" he said flatly. "Then all I had to do was create something with a higher temperature."
Roland's eyes widened. He turned toward the cracked window.
Outside, the sky burned faint orange through the clouds.
Flames.
The buildings surrounding this abandoned site, wooden structures, old, flammable, were beginning to catch fire.
It would spread fast.
It was spreading.
"…You… set the city on fire?"
Roland's voice trembled slightly, not in fear, but in awe.
Even the villains in most stories wouldn't take it this far. Not so callously.
But this man, he really would burn the world to reach the Grail.
He really was the Ally of Justice.
The one and only Emiya Kiritsugu.
[T/N: Hey there everyone, this is the final chapter of this week.]