Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

Kayneth: "Emiya Kiritsugu!!!"

Kayneth was livid. It was one thing to target him, but to involve his fiancée? That was unforgivable.

Diarmuid and Sola-ui looked equally furious. This was the first time they truly felt disgusted by Kiritsugu's actions.

[The video continues.]

[In the abandoned building's square, Artoria and Diarmuid were locked in intense combat, their fierce duel captivating the audience.]

[But up on the rooftop, Kayneth wasn't nearly as entertained.]

["Useless fool. Instead of confirming victory, shouldn't you have just escaped with your Master by now?"]

[Kayneth muttered in frustration as he hid, finding fault with everything Diarmuid did.]

["Rescuing Sola-ui is the top priority right now, but this guy…"]

["You idiot, can't you even make a basic judgment call?"]

[Kayneth's disdain for Diarmuid was palpable.]

[His criticisms weren't entirely without merit. Diarmuid had, indeed, abandoned his disabled Master to engage in a duel with Artoria—a poor decision given the situation.]

["Click, click, click…"]

[Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed. A bullet landed at Kayneth's feet, jolting him out of his thoughts.]

[Kayneth looked up, eyes widening in horror. There, just a short distance away, stood Emiya Kiritsugu, who had somehow snuck up behind him, Sola-ui lying unconscious and wounded at his feet.]

[Kiritsugu pointed a gun at Sola-ui, raising a finger to his lips in a silent demand for Kayneth's cooperation. The message was clear: stay quiet, or she dies.]

[Kayneth's face contorted with rage, but for Sola-ui's sake, he kept silent.]

[Then, Kiritsugu tossed him a contract.]

[It was already filled out, Kayneth only needed to sign.]

["This is…"]

[Kayneth's eyes scanned the contents, his face pale with shock.]

[The contract was simple: Kiritsugu promised not to harm Kayneth or Sola-ui further, in exchange for Kayneth using his Command Seal to order Diarmuid to commit suicide.]

[Kiritsugu's gun remained pointed at Sola-ui's head the entire time. This wasn't a negotiation, it was blackmail.]

Diarmuid: "Emiya Kiritsugu, this is a disgrace to the knight's code of honor!"

Artoria: "Kiritsugu, how could you stoop to this…?"

Waver: "This man… he's terrifying. I have to stay vigilant."

Tohsaka Rin: "Me too."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "I always knew of his ruthless reputation, but seeing his methods firsthand…"

Gilgamesh: "Hahaha, what a delightful show."

[Under Kiritsugu's ruthless coercion, Kayneth ultimately signed the contract.]

[Faced with a choice between the Holy Grail War and his fiancée, he chose Sola-ui.]

[But as he signed, tears began streaming down Kayneth's face.]

[This once-proud mage looked utterly broken, his expression hollow and defeated.]

[Whether he was crying for his own failure or for Diarmuid, only he knew.]

[With tears staining his face, Kayneth gave the order.]

["I use my remaining Command Seal to order you, Diarmuid… take your own life."]

["Ghh…!"]

[In the middle of his duel with Artoria, Diarmuid suddenly plunged his own spear, the Gáe Buidhe, into his spiritual core, a look of stunned disbelief frozen on his face.]

Waver: "Teacher… he actually cried…"

Iskandar: "It seems the blow was too much to bear."

Kayneth: "…"

He felt utterly humiliated. This would add yet another stain to his already tarnished reputation.

[Diarmuid's self-inflicted injury shocked not only himself, but also Artoria, who had been fighting him, and Irisviel, who was observing nearby.]

[It took them a moment to realize what had happened, but as Kiritsugu and Kayneth emerged from the building, the truth dawned on them.]

[Kiritsugu had kept his word and released Sola-ui.]

[Sola-ui clung tightly to Kayneth, trembling as if she would never let go.]

[Kayneth, meanwhile, looked utterly broken, muttering the words of the contract under his breath.]

[What he'd been through had shattered every ounce of pride he'd once had.]

[Kayneth was a ruined man.]

["You monsters… you'll do anything to win, won't you?"]

[Diarmuid, realizing what had transpired, dropped to his knees, blood trickling from his eyes, his face twisted in rage and betrayal. The once-noble knight's composure was gone, replaced by sheer anguish.]

["You… you would stoop to such despicable means to win the Holy Grail… and trample over my one wish…"]

[Diarmuid's bloodshot eyes focused on Artoria, as though she were complicit in this betrayal.]

[In his eyes, all his dedication and loyalty had been thrown away, wasted.]

[Artoria wanted to explain, but words failed her.]

["I curse you… I curse every one of you…"]

["Foul spirits who crave fame and power, desecrators of a knight's honor…"]

["My blood, my very soul, shall stain your dreams!"]

["I curse the Holy Grail… may your wishes bring forth only disaster!"]

[With one final, despairing roar, Diarmuid disintegrated into ashes, consumed by his anger and sorrow.]

Chihiro: "This is heartbreaking. Diarmuid lost from beginning to end…"

Kayneth: "…"

Kayneth wanted to refute it, but he had no words. Chihiro was right.

In the entire course of the Holy Grail War, he had been at odds with the Saber faction since the very start. Apart from the first encounter where Diarmuid's Noble Phantasm outmaneuvered Artoria, everything had gone downhill.

No wonder he seemed so utterly defeated in the video.

Had he himself been in Diarmuid's position, it would have been equally unbearable.

Waver: "Still… does anyone else remember the second Q&A video where it showed a vision of Fuyuki City burning? Didn't that come after Diarmuid cursed the Holy Grail?"

Tohsaka Rin: "Oh, right! Could it be that Diarmuid's curse actually worked, and that's what caused the disaster?"

Diarmuid: "???"

Diarmuid, already overwhelmed by rage and grief, now found himself bewildered.

Was that even possible?

Chihiro: "Well, it sure looks that way. Pretty ironic, isn't it?"

Though the truth behind the Holy Grail's corruption was far from Diarmuid's doing, anyone unfamiliar with the details might indeed draw that connection.

It seemed Diarmuid's final words had gained a sort of infamy.

Waver: "So… Diarmuid is also a curse specialist?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Perhaps this was Diarmuid's hidden ace all along?"

Gilgamesh: "Heh, cursing the Holy Grail… perhaps he's more formidable than we thought."

Iskandar: "Indeed, I may have underestimated him."

First Emperor: "I must admit, I didn't expect it either."

Kayneth: "Diarmuid, I had no idea you were capable of this."

Diarmuid: "My lord, please don't listen to their nonsense. I have no such abilities."

Diarmuid: "That was simply the outcry of a broken man. Nothing more."

Tohsaka Rin: "Oh, come now. The truth is out, there's no need to pretend anymore."

Goddess Venus: "Right? There's no shame in admitting it."

Diarmuid: "..."

It seemed he was trapped by his own "curse."

[The video resumed.]

[Kiritsugu, his face expressionless, lit a cigarette, paying no mind to Diarmuid's dying curse.]

[The video paused.]

[Question: Who will ultimately kill Kayneth and Sola-ui?]

Sola-ui: "I… die?"

Kayneth: "And I do as well?"

Waver: "Ahem, well, sir, I sort of expected it. After all, you were… fated to die before the Holy Grail War ended."

Kayneth: "…Was that necessary to point out?"

Now, Kayneth felt thoroughly humiliated. But he was more concerned with the identity of his future killer.

Was it Emiya Kiritsugu?

No, that didn't make sense—they had a contract, after all.

Though Kayneth was well aware of Kiritsugu's ruthlessness, the binding power of the self-geas scroll should have held him to his word.

Perhaps… Tohsaka Tokiomi or Kotomine Kirei?

Yes, it had to be one of them.

Tohsaka Tokiomi seemed less likely, given his need to consider the Mage's Association and Kayneth's El-Melloi lineage.

No, it had to be Kotomine Kirei. Ruthless, detached, just like Emiya Kiritsugu.

Kayneth: "It was Kotomine Kirei who killed me!"

Kotomine Kirei: "???"

Kirei was baffled, wondering how he had suddenly become the main suspect in Kayneth's mind.

***

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