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*****
"Are you treating this King as a child? How could this King possibly be threatened like this? How could this King agree to cooperate for mere treasures? This King is destined to purify this world..."
Gilgamesh's heart was roaring in silent, frantic protest, but his mouth had already subconsciously given the answer.
"Fine."
"Are you still going to resist?"
Having settled matters with Gilgamesh, George turned his gaze to Kirei Kotomine.
Kirei Kotomine simply shook his head. "I know I don't have the slightest chance of winning. It is just… somewhat of a pity that I was unable to complete my plan."
This man could take Gilgamesh's Ea head-on and remain completely unharmed. He had no idea how many levels the magus's strength surpassed his own.
He feared that even the Director of the Clock Tower would be no match for him.
Therefore, he currently had no other path to choose besides waiting for death.
However, he was not afraid of dying. He felt no fear of death, only regret that his plan could not be completed, and that he would be unable to savor that ultimate pleasure.
"You're at least self-aware."
George waved his hand, dismissing the Mirror Dimension. He placed his other hand on Kirei Kotomine's head and began to read his memories.
Very quickly, he had finished viewing Kirei Kotomine's entire life. He learned all the intelligence from the Fourth Holy Grail War, the identities of the two remaining Masters, and even made an unexpected discovery.
"I didn't expect this guy to have already modified the Command Spells, allowing him to maintain a contract with two Servants at the same time."
At the very end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine had been shot through the heart by Kiritsugu Emiya.
However, because his Servant, Gilgamesh, had been "corrupted" by the black mud within the Holy Grail and obtained a new physical body, that same black mud had flowed back along their contract and filled the empty space in Kirei's heart, allowing him to survive as well.
After the Holy Grail War ended, and without the Greater Grail to provide magical energy, he began taking in orphans in the name of the Church.
In reality, he used these orphans as sacrifices, replenishing Gilgamesh's magical energy so that he could remain active in the world.
During this period, he also researched and modified the Command Spells, creating the possibility for him to contract a second Servant.
Thus, when the Fifth Holy Grail War began, he ambushed and killed Lancer's original Master, seizing control of Lancer for himself.
With the foundation of Kirei Kotomine's research, George's own progress in that area suddenly accelerated dramatically.
The moment he finished reading Kirei's memories, he had already developed a new, upgraded Command Spell system capable of contracting seven or eight Servants simultaneously.
With a bit more research, he figured, contracting one or two hundred Servants wouldn't be a problem at all.
"Command Spell Transfer!"
He pointed a finger at both of Kirei Kotomine's arms. The two sets of Command Spells were immediately drawn out and absorbed into George's right hand, fusing together with Artoria's Command Spells on the back of his hand.
"I have some bad news for you. The Holy Grail has already been corrupted. Even if you win the Holy Grail War, you cannot use the Grail to grant your wish. So... would you like to consider making a deal?"
After magically immobilizing Kirei Kotomine, George turned to look at Rin Tohsaka and proceeded to share the critical information regarding the Fourth Holy Grail War.
According to the intelligence Kirei Kotomine had gathered, during the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family had summoned an irregular-class Servant: Avenger, Angra Mainyu.
However, Avenger turned out to be unexpectedly weak, no stronger than an ordinary person, and was killed on just the fourth day of the war.
His soul was recovered by the Greater Grail. The Grail's vast, colorless power was then contaminated by Avenger, a being whose very nature was formed from a wish for "All the World's Evils," and was twisted into the cursed power of the black mud.
From that moment on, the Grail lost its ability to grant wishes.
The true essence of the Holy Grail War was to use the ritual as a means to reach the "Root."
The wish-granting aspect was merely a secondary, attached function.
The main principle was that the immense, colorless magical energy gathered by the Greater Grail was capable of fulfilling most wishes; however, extremely difficult wishes were still impossible for it to grant.
For example, a direct wish to enter the Swirl of the Root.
But now that all the colorless power had been transformed into the cursed power of the black mud, the wish-granting function naturally no longer existed.
"No wonder… No wonder Kiritsugu ordered me to destroy the Holy Grail back then!"
Artoria, who was standing behind George, had a look of profound desolation on her face.
She had never understood it. In the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu Emiya had clearly defeated Kirei Kotomine and won.
So why had he ordered her to destroy the Holy Grail with the Sword of Promised Victory?
It turned out that Kiritsugu had already known the Grail was corrupted. If the ritual had been allowed to reach its conclusion, the black mud would have manifested and destroyed all of humanity.
This also meant... that her own wish, the desire to rewrite Great Britain's history, was no longer possible.
"So that great fire… it was caused by the destruction of the Holy Grail."
At this moment, Shirou Emiya's expression was also incredibly complicated.
Kiritsugu Emiya had ordered Artoria to destroy the Grail with Excalibur. He had stopped the descent of the black mud, but that act had also triggered the great Fuyuki fire, which had burned all of his own relatives to death.
But he quickly came to terms with it. If Kiritsugu hadn't given that order, it wouldn't have just been his family who died; it would have been the entire human race.
"So, Father adopted Shirou Emiya out of guilt… and the reason he didn't come to see me was because the family head forbade it."
In the same vein, Illya finally resolved the doubts in her heart, letting go of the heavy burden she had carried.
Her father hadn't abandoned her because he didn't love her. He simply had no other choice.
"What deal?"
Rin Tohsaka finished processing all the information she had just received and looked up at George.
Since the Holy Grail War had become this twisted, there was no longer any point in continuing it.
George casually tossed the immobilized Kirei Kotomine in front of her.
"I will hand your father's murderer over to you, to do with as you please. Whether you kill him or let him go, the decision is entirely yours. And in return, you will transfer your Command Spells to me."
He could have easily taken the Command Spells from Rin by force, but he preferred to achieve his goals through a fair and equitable trade if he could avoid resorting to violence.
Rin Tohsaka did not immediately agree or refuse. Instead, she asked a critical question:
"Since the Holy Grail War can't be continued, why do you still want my Command Spells?"
"Because my goal, from the very beginning, was never to make a wish. The wish I desire is something the Holy Grail cannot grant. I am collecting Command Spells in order to study the true ritual magic of the entire Holy Grail system and find the correct path to the Root. This is the true goal that mages should be pursuing."
George wasn't lying. His ultimate goal was, indeed, to reach the Root.
It was just that before he did that, he wanted to study a few more Noble Phantasms and learn the different forms of magic this world had to offer.
"Alright. I accept this deal."
Taking a deep breath, Rin Tohsaka nodded.
She believed George's words. After witnessing the battle between him and Gilgamesh, she understood perfectly that if George wanted to eliminate her, it would be as simple as flipping his hand. He had no need to propose such a deal.
Moreover, without George's help, just she and Archer alone would have stood no chance against Kirei Kotomine and his two Servants.
"Very good. In that case, you all handle things here. Oh, right, there are still some orphans in the basement. You should rescue them. I am going to go and transfer the Command Spells from the remaining three Servants."
Seeing that Rin had agreed to the deal, George didn't perform the transfer immediately. Instead, he simply vanished from the spot.
(End of Chapter)