Fate Stay Night - Medea Caster route

TRUE END- PART 4.

"So, can we proceed with the plan?" Kotomine Kirei calmly asked as he watched the witch.

"Have patience Kirei, it is yet too soon." Medea said as she watched the priest. "Saber has just died, we have to wait a bit before the vessel of the Grail fully takes its physical form." She continued before she returned her attention to the puddle of blood present at her feet. "Anyway, have you managed to confirm if the ritual worked and it will appear here? Or shall I send some of my familiar at the other point where it can take form?" Medea asked. "...Well, now that I've taken care of Saber, I should kill Rider to speed up the process..." She then muttered as she watched the back of her left hand.

"There is no need for any of that, as Saber arrived here the vessel of the Grail started to take form on the altar that we have specially created. I came here to tell you this." Kirei answered.

"...Perfect." Medea just said after a moment as she raised her head, she had made a good decision at speeding up the process by providing the Grail with more energies from the leylines.

Yes, this action surely had affected the population of the city, but since she was not taking too much energy the only negative effect the population could suffer for now was a malaise and some fatigue.

'I'm there Shirou... just wait for me.' She then thought.

"...Well, since we have some time to our disposition, I have one question for you, Caster." Kirei then said after a moment, as he started to walk toward her.

"What is it?" She asked him as she returned her attention to him.

"What have you felt when you ordered Saber to kill herself, after you revealed to her that you already murdered the girl she sought to protect?" Kirei asked as he carefully observed her. Unlike the first time he had met her, at the moment was not able to see through the woman.

Medea silently watched the priest for some very long moments before she answered his question.

"Other than some displeasure I felt nothing else. Yes, she had been a good friend, but that was it." She then said with a simple shrug.

"...Hmm, I see." Kirei just said after a moment.

The priest had hoped for the woman to feel something more intense, but just like he had expected she was cold and ruthless... like her legend described her to be.

"What is it with that reaction Kirei? I'll let you know that I'm not in the mood right now." Medea then said as she watched him. She knew that she should not show her irritation to the man since that was what he wanted, but she could not help herself but do so.

"I didn't intend to offend you, Caster, truly, I was just curious." Kirei then sincerely said with a smile.

To say the truth Kirei had been more than satisfied just by seeing Saber's demise, a long time had passed since the last time he had assisted at some tragic ends like hers. Not only the Servant had been betrayed by someone she trusted and she had been forced to kill herself, apparently from what he had heard the Servant had made a promise to her deceased Master, who she had failed to defend, to protect the Minor Grail of the Enizbern... another task that she had also failed to do.

When from behind the door Kirei saw how the Servant begged for forgiveness to her Master, after she had cursed Caster with all of her remaining strength, a sense of vile satisfaction filled his chest. Even if he had not been the one to make the Servant suffer the way she did, he still felt an incredible pleasure to see her wallowing pathetically in her blood.

As he thought about it Kirei realized that it had been worth the wait all this time… and to think that this was just the beginning...

"Just what are you thinking?" Medea asked, the more she watched this man acting like that the more she got irritated.

"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about what you said earlier to Saber... this world is cruel." Kirei said as he looked down on the puddle of blood present in front of his feet. "Only a world cruel like ours would let the heroes who fought with valiance and courage to protect the innocents, lose everything and die alone in such a pathetic manner, while it let the villain win and get away with all the things they did... truly, this world is terrible." Kirei said as he raised his head and watched Caster.

"...Indeed," Medea agreed after a long moment. "to think that this world let people like Shirou and Saber die is... baffling. Both of them did what they did because they had to. They put their life on the line. They put their mission above their feelings and desire. They did what they could to stop this war before it caused more deaths than the last one... and how did they got rewarded in the end?" Medea asked bitterly, confused by the sudden and cruel end of those two people, both of which in the end had been caused by her, in a way or the other. "...The fact that this world let people like us exist, let alone win and triumph, I find it nauseating." Medea confessed to the priest.

"To our great misfortune we cannot escape this anguish, since it is what we are." Kirei said with a smile. "But do not think like that, Caster, you have to remember that in the end morality is just a social construct, a fiction, something used by the herd of inferior men to hold back the few powerful ones from doing whatever they want, or follow their true nature." Kirei continued as he turned around.

"...Is that what you think? Huh, and I thought that you would have said something about collateral damages." Medea said. It seemed that she had to yet fully understand the speech pattern of the man.

"Well, collateral damage can be justified Caster, that, if the gain outweighs the cost. Just how much do you think the life of a single person is worth?" Kirei asked as he started to walk toward the temple.

"...Shirou deserved better... he deserved better than all of us." Medea said after a moment before she started to follow Kirei.

"Was he that precious to you?" Kirei asked.

"Yes." Medea immediately answered. "...Well, this is not a matter that someone like you can understand, and I also think that you don't want to, but the truth is that you can feel unreserved love even for someone you barely know... and I can say that I knew Shirou very well." Medea then continued.

"...I see." Kirei said with a nod.

The two of them then kept walking in complete silence toward Medea's workshop, and while they did, Medea watched the man that was walking in front of her, as she recalled the events of that same night.

Medea, after she had taken Illya from the castle, brought her to the temple, which she had already made her new base after she had taken the rights over Fragarach.

At that point, there were only the two of them at the temple, since Medea had gotten rid of all occupants.

After Medea had taken Illya to the temple and made her sit in the living room she went into the kitchen, and some minutes later she came back with a tray of tea and some cookies for the two of them. Then, just like she had told and promised earlier to the child, she spoke to Illya about Shirou, and she answered every single question the little girl had about her deceased brother. The two of them spoke for many hours, in fact, Illya asked so many questions that they seemed to never end, but it did not bother Medea, instead not only she liked speaking with the cute child, the constant flow of questions helped her from distracting herself from the things she was about to do and commit.

Around 3:00 of the morning, Illya started to get tired and sleepy, so after Medea noted that Illya could not keep continuing the conversation she took her in her arms and brought her into a bedroom, and made her rest there. After that, Medea remained with Illya until she fell asleep, she then kissed the little girl on her forehead and after she thanked her for the company and her sacrifice, she vanished from the room, since she had someone else to ask for help right now.

After she teleported herself in the sky above the temple she started to fly toward the church on the other side of the city, and as she did, Medea recalled her first meeting with the priest.

That day, after Saber had told her to take care of the war supervisor so that the Tohsaka girl may buy time from both the Church and the Clock Tower, she went to the church ready to subdue, capture, and brainwash the man... but things didn't exactly go that way.

The first time she arrived there she immediately used a spell to find and locate all kind of forms of life present in the church, and other than a single human presence there were some weaker life forms in the basement, which were probably some dying animals since their vital force was very weak. After confirming through her familiar that the person present in the building was the priest Caster used another spell to detect and destroy any kind of magic trap and defense present there, as she prepared a bounded field to make the man likely escape attempt impossible. No matter what kind of defenses there could have been or how strong they may have been, almost nothing of the modern era could be compared to even one of the most simple spells of one of the best mages coming from the Age Of The Gods...

But as she did all of that Caster realized that there was a single problem... there was nothing.

After her spells confirmed that other than a bounded field there was no other defense or trap of any kind, Caster raised an eyebrow in surprise. This was kind of strange... if not very suspicious.

She had just arrived and the situation had already revealed itself to be very strange. Why would the supervisor of the war remove all the different kinds of defenses and traps it had when the war had yet to officially end?

Before he died Shirou had asked her to have some familiars to keep an eye on him, and she did remember the presence of some defenses there. As she thought about it, the supervisor until now had done nothing strange, or at least, he had done nothing that attracted the attention of her familiars... no, as she thought about it the man had done nothing other than spending his day in the church and sometimes going in a Chinese restaurant... and at this very moment, the church had been stripped of almost all of its defenses...

Caster just reached two conclusions, this was either a trap, or it was some kind of invitation.

'...Huh, how intriguing.' She thought at the times.

Caster, after making some other controls and having deployed numerous Dragon Warriors all around the church, came down from the sky and simply floated toward the building. After she opened the main entrance and entered she started to listen to the sermon that was being recited.

"...For the revelation awaits an appointed time it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay..." Kirei read aloud, before he closed his bible and posed it on the pedestal, and started to turn around to face the one who had just arrived at his church.

'I had started to wonder for when someone would finally come for me.' Kirei thought as he turned around.

Kirei, after assisting all the events of the war, and seeing that not even the King of Heroes had returned, had figured out that sooner or later it would have been his turn, and he knew that there was little he could have done to repel the powerful enemy that was about to come. So, for this reason, he had stripped the church from almost all the traps and defenses it had, to make those who observed him understand that they were invited to come whenever they wanted since he had the intention to speak with them.

After he turned Kirei started to carefully watch Caster... but after he started to do so, he remained quite surprised.

He was not surprised that the one who came was a Servant, but the thing that did immediately attracted his attention was the woman herself. Almost as soon he posed his eyes on her he immediately recognized her as a person similar to him, someone evil and malevolent, someone you could never trust... in fact, if he had to use a word to describe the woman in front of himself he was sure that the expression 'witch' would be more than a perfect fit for her, since her look was so distinguished.

As a very long moment passed the two people present in the church silently watched each other in the eyes, but at one point, a smile formed on Kirei's lips.

"Welcome, oh grieved one, how may I help you?" He then asked as he broke the silence.

Caster was now frozen in place as she observed the man. Now that she was in front of the priest not only she immediately understood what kind of evil and vile person the supervisor of the war was in reality, but she could also sense that he was not really alive... and the man, for some very strange and irritating reason that she could not understand at the moment, somehow had reminded her of Shirou.

"Servant, have you you come here to claim the Grail?" Kirei asked. "If it's so, then, as the war supervisor, I must inform you that only 3 of the 6 Servants who have been summoned have died so far." He then said firmly. "Perhaps, you have come here to ask on how-"

"I know about the true nature of the Grail, devil's priest, you cannot fool me." Caster then said as she interrupted the man, after she had snapped out of her initial thoughts.

She didn't know who he was nor what his goals were, but the man could not hide from her that he was somehow directly connected to the curse present in the Grail.

"...Oh, interesting." Kirei said with an emotionless expression after a long moment. "Then, if you're not here for the Grail, may I ask you the motive of your presence in this sacred and neutral place? Could it be that you came here just for this humble servant of the Lord who happens to be the supervisor of the war?"

"You figured out your situation quickly, priest." Caster said before she started to float toward him. "Do not resist, and I can guarantee you won't feel a thing." She then continued, as over 20 Dragon Warrior armed with swords and bows appeared around both her and Kirei.

"...I see, I appreciate your advice." Kieri said with a nod. "But before you do what you must, since you know about its corruption, may you tell me what you intend to do with the Grail?" He then asked.

"I'll destroy it, that abomination is far too dangerous to be used." Caster answered.

"...But why you should do it? I'm sure that the flawed artifact could prove itself very useful for someone in your peculiar position, Caster." Kirei said with a sympathetic smile. "The Grail, even if corrupted, it is still a powerful wish-granting device that can perform miracles, and with no doubt, it will be able to grant your wish... I'm sure that someone like yourself will be able to use it at its full potential." Kirei said, as he watched Caster slowing down and then stop moving toward him. "Tell me, oh Caster Servant, isn't there something you desire more than anything else? Something you're willing to commit unspeakable acts to obtain?" He then asked.

Caster said nothing, she just silently observed the priest as she started to consider his words... if it was worth using the Grail to bring Shirou back.

"...That sure is a strange reaction, for someone who intends to reject the Grail because of its corruption, don't you think?" Kirei said after some moments.

Once again Caster said nothing, but as she stood still she lowered her head in reflection.

"If you want to destroy the Grail, then why are hesitating right now, Caster? Are you not the one responsible for all the events of this war? So why you don't finish all of this once and for all?" Kirei kept asking. "...Could it be that at the moment you have something else in mind? Perhaps, a very deep and concealed desire it's stopping you from doing your duty. Doesn't this make you think that in the end, even if it will make your wish come true through death and destruction, it will be worth using the Grail and obtain what you crave and desire the most?" Kirei asked.

Caster at hearing the man's words immediately gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as a wave of ruthlessness and cold anger suddenly invaded her, but after a moment, she took a deep breath and sighed. A moment later she started to float toward him once again.

"I'll make sure that from now on you will stop to talk that much, priest." She then just said with an irritated tone.

The vile man could tempt her as much as he liked, but there was no need for her to use the defective Grail since she would surely be able to bring Shirou back with her skills alone. The day before she had even received Avalon from Saber which she will use as a catalyst, and that same day she had already started the preparatives for the ritual to recall Shirou's soul in the body she had specially made. At that moment Caster was incredibly optimistic, she was sure that in less than a week she would be able to bring Shirou back.

"...I see, it is yet too soon." Kirei commented before he turned away from Caster and began leafing once again through his Bible. "Oh well, since there is nothing I can do to stop you from doing what you want, I just want you to tell you this: Whenever the time shall come, and you'll need my help, ask, and it will be given to you." He then said.

Kirei other than being the supervisor of the war, in the end, has always been a priest, and as a priest, it has always been his duty to take care of all the Christian rites that took place in that church. These ranged from baptisms to funerals, and it had been thanks to those last ones that he had started to be able to recognize the kind of look the people who were into in mourning had... the same look that the woman at his back also had.

But the most important thing that he had noted in her was that deep down in the woman's eyes there were traces of anger, resentment, and sorrow, a combination that could be very dangerous... but it was the kind that still had to fully mature and explode since there was something that was blocking their growth: Hope.

As the saying went 'Hope is the last thing you can lose', and Kirei knew that no matter how thin and faint that glimmer of hope may have been, even if it was a lie and an illusion, until it existed and kept on giving it could keep pushing forward a person forever...

But the best thing about it was that when the person realized their foolishness and how the thing they clung to for so much time was a mere illusion, the backlash could reveal itself to be quite powerful, and sometimes, deadly.

For now, it seemed that the woman was resisting quite well, just like she resisted the temptation to use the corrupted Grail, but she had shown that she could at least be tempted. As he thought about it Kirei was sure that that one last blow to her confidence, or whatever else was the sole reason for that thread of hope to exist, should do the job... the problem was when, and if, said blow would come.

But Kirei at the moment had a feeling that just told him to wait, and he had no problem with it. All this time long he had done nothing but waiting, and as the patient man that he was, he could wait some more.

The seed at this point had already been planted, and he now could only hope to assist in first person at its blossoming.

As he felt Caster getting closer and closer, Kirei finally found the verse he had been searching for.

'So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.' He managed to read in time with a smile before he felt his body being paralyzed and his sight become foggy.

Caster, after she had used her magic on the man and put him under her control, ordered him to go to the home of the Tohsaka girl and assist her with whatever she needed help with. After that, she just left the place, and as she started to return home she kept thinking about how with her next ritual she would have surely brought Shirou back...

Or that was what she thought at the time. At present, as Medea flew toward the church she thought once again on how she had exhausted all her options in bringing back Shirou, and now the only thing left that could have permitted her to save him was the Grail... and who could assist her more that the supervisor of the war, who was also connected to the cursed artifact?

After she arrived once again in front of the church, Medea entered that so-called 'holy place', and after she did once again she heard one of those sermons the man seemed to love recite.

"...But whether I live or die is not important, for I don't esteem my life as indispensable. It's more important for me to fulfill my destiny and to finish the ministry my Lord Jesus has assigned to me, which is to faithfully preach the wonderful news of God's grace..." The hypnotized Kirei Kotomine recited aloud. Whenever he was of no use for no one Kirei kept on going on with his usual routine even if he was under hypnosis.

As Medea walked toward the man, in the meantime Kirei silently turned around to observe the woman with his hollow and dull eyes.

"It seems that you had been right all along, priest." Medea said as she arrived in front of him, before with a wave of her hand she partially lifted the powerful spell she had put on the man's mind. "Assist me, and do your duty as war supervisor." She continued.

At that moment Medea watched Kirei's hollow eyes return to 'life', and after the man observed her for a brief moment, he suddenly spread his arms and firmly preached:

"Rejoice, Caster. Your wish will finally become true."

Medea snapped out of her thought when she finally arrived in front of her workshop, the place in which earlier with Kirei's assistance she had prepared an altar for the vessel of the Grail to materialize upon, and then left him to finish the rest of the ritual when she had to get rid of Saber.

Kirei opened the door and stepped aside to let Caster enter first so that she could admire the result of his hard and honest work.

Medea stepped into her workshop, and a smile appeared on her face when she set her eyes upon the little altar in the center of a magic circle, which had been made with Illya's crimson blood to recall the artifact.

And now, the vessel, the physical manifestation of the Grail was there, right on the altar in front of her.

"You've done fine work Kirei," Medea complimented the man as she watched the magic circle meticulously created. "I made a good choice in asking your help."

"It is my duty as Supervisor to assist the 'winner' of the war with the best of my abilities, so there is no need to thank me, Caster." Kirei replied as he walked to her side. "Now, it's time. Claim the Grail Caster, and fulfill your wish." He continued.

"...Yes, but before that, where is Illya's body?" Medea asked as she thought about the girl's final moments.

After she had returned to the temple with the priest and took him in her workshop Medea returned to the room where Illya rested, then with one spell she cut off of all of her senses and nerves, and with another one, she made sure that she would not wake up anymore... this that was the least she could do for the poor child. Then, after she and Kirei had finished preparing the special altar that would help her contain the dangerous curse of the Grail, Medea took Illya's command seals, and then just to be sure she used a spell that instantly and painlessly killed the child, then she had left her body to the man when she sense Saber arriving.

"After I drained all of its blood I covered its body with a vail, then I put it aside just like you asked. Should I go and retrieve it?" Kirei said.

"...No, there is no need." Medea just said, before she started to approach the Grail, as Kirei silently observed her from behind.

As she walked toward the artifact Medea could swear to hear someone whispering something incomprehensible, and as the closer she got to it, the stronger those whispers started to become. When she got right in front of the little altar she stopped, and instead of interacting with the wish-granting device, she started to study the vessel of the Grail as she walked around it. After some long minutes of detailed and meticulous study and analysis, Medea concluded that the vessel, even if filled with malice, in its current state was safe for her and that nothing bad would have happened as and after she would have interacted with it... but unfortunately, she discovered that it could not be fused with another artifact, or even modified.

Medea after a moment made a copy of herself appear to her side, and handed her Rule Breaker, with which the copy would strike and destroy the Grail if something happened to go wrong.

After that she slowly raised her left hand and touched the cup, and right in that instant all of the whispers stopped and she heard the familiar voice of a child that gently told her:

"It's time for you to wake up."

Medea suddenly opened her eyes, and in a state of confusion, she silently watched the familiar ceiling of her room in the Emiya residence.

After watching the ceiling for an undetermined amount of time, she slowly started to get up from her futon, and after she watched herself to note if there was something wrong with her body, she started to look around her room to note if there was something strange.

'...What happened? ...When did I arrive here?' She thought as she got up.

After a bit, Medea got out of the room, and she slowly and carefully walked in the corridors of that silent house as she observed every detail of them, that, until she reached the living room, where she sensed the presence of a living being. Medea then opened the door and entered, just for her to see Illya being sat at the table.

"Good morning Caster, I see that you've finally made it." The young girl greeted her with a smile.

"...I see, so this is a dream or some kind of projection... no, we are in the Grail, isn't that right?" Medea said as she ignored the child she had murdered earlier and started to observe the room. "And who should you be anyway? Angra Mainyu? The one who resides in the Grail and corrupted it?" She then asked.

"...Well, kinda. I have no form and personality, so unless I do not 'possess' the hollow shell of a Grail vessel I cannot communicate with others." 'Illya' said with a carefree tone.

"I see." Medea said before she sat down at the table and watched Illya. "So, do I have to tell you what my desire is, or as we are speaking it's being realized?" She then asked.

"No, you have to first offer your prayer to the Grail for your desire to become true." Illya said.

"Then, I desire the Grail to rewind time and bring me back 10 years in the past, the night when the fourth Holy Grail War ended. And no, I do not wish that you make me shift in another timeline, I desire to save my Shirou, not another version of him." Medea said.

After Medea expressed her desire Illya just silently watched her for a long minute, without saying anything in response.

"...Well, what is it? Is my desire being realized, or you about to tell me that the Grail does not yet have enough power to make my wish become true?" Medea asked before she started to think.

It was strange, with the souls of Lancer, Archer, Berserker, Saber and the other Servant, which she had noted had the same power of three heroic souls, the Grail should have more than enough power to do whatever she asked.

"Are you sure about this desire of yours, Caster? Or maybe what you desire is something more simple?" Illya then asked.

"...What do you mean by that?" Medea asked after a moment as she rose an eyebrow.

"Good morning Caster." Medea then heard a familiar voice saying after the door behind her suddenly opened.

In that instant, as she recognized that voice, everything froze for Medea. After very a long moment, and after she had gathered enough courage, she started to slowly turn her head around. When she saw Shirou smiling at her, Medea's heart began to beat again.

"...Caster? Is there a prob-?" Shirou started to ask as he noted Caster's strange expression, but before he could he got interrupted by Caster who suddenly jumped to hug him.

"C-C-Caster?!" Shirou exclaimed, confused and embarrassed by the woman's sudden action.

"...gods... it's like you are really here... Shirou..." Medea just said as she hugged him tightly. At one point while she hugged him she lowered her head and pressed her right ear on his chest. The live sound of his heart beating gave her a sense of comfort she had forgotten that she could feel in that past month.

"...Caster, did something happened?" Shirou asked as he started to get a bit concerned by Caster's behavior.

"...Yes, Shirou... I'm sorry... it's just that... I... I had this terrible nightmare..." She said as she hugged him even more.

"...Oh, I see." He said with a comprehensive tone.

"...In that nightmare I left you to die... alone... they made you into pieces... " She said as she gritted her teeth. "...and then... I did some terrible things..."

"Ehm... c'mon Caster, it was just a nightmare in the end." Shirou said before he started to pat her on her back and tried to comfort her. "There is no need to react like this, you don't have to worry, it was just the figment of your imagination." He continued.

"...Yea, you're right, all of that never happened..." She said as she broke off from the hug and watched Shirou with a smile. "Shirou, could you kindly make breakfast alone? Today I... I'm sorry, but I do not feel like it." She continued as she looked down.

"No problem, just sit down and relax, I'll take care of everything." Shirou said with a kind smile before he turned and headed toward the kitchen, as Medea stood still and watched him go.

"Isn't this what you really want, Caster?" Illya asked. "Why you should go back in time when you can have right now the life you always desired and deserved? Just ask, and the Grail will bring back to life everyone you want, and you'll be able to live in peace in this city." Illya said.

Medea kept silently watching Shirou's back as he started to cook.

"What are you waiting for, Caster? Do it, save Shirou, and you will finally have what you always-"

"Silence." Medea suddenly said. "I already told you what I want, and your duty as lesser Grail is to listen to my request and fulfill my wish."

"...Why are you acting like this?" Illya asked. "Medea, now you can have the life you always deserved. You can live the life that you would have lived if Jason and the Gods never forced you to-"

"I'm not doing this for myself, but for him." Medea said, as she pointed toward Shirou and she looked down on Illya. "So just fulfill my wish, if not, I'll destroy the Grail and then kill you."

"...Oh? You're doing this for him? Huh, doing something for another person instead of yourself sure is a selfless act... something very uncharacteristic for someone selfish like you." Illya said. "Perhaps, Medea, you should remember of all the unfortunate and terrible things that happened in-" Illya started to say before Medea walked in front of her and strongly grabbed her by the hairs with her left hand.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Medea asked as she watched her in the eyes. "I know what kind of games you want to play, but they will not work with me you fool. Do you think that if you show me my past life you will be able to break me down and convince me to do what you want? Do you think that if you make me relive the moments of whatever damn thing I did until now you'll be able to change my mind?!" Medea asked as she started to rise Ilya, or whatever that thing was, from the ground.

"W-w-why? Don't you remember that you are the real victim Medea?! You've always been! Think! The gods took everything away from you, so why you don't-" Illya said.

"Because I am not the real Medea, that woman died thousands of years ago... I'm just a person who happens to be her copy, and I have a debt that must be repaid!" Medea said. "You should know that those tricks have no effect on me, and then, who you want to convince that we were the victims? The very moment Medea decided to kill our children just for the sake to have vengeance on Jason, was the moment we consciously became what everyone both wanted and feared us to be: The Witch Of Betrayal!" Medea exclaimed. "Yes, for a time we've been the victims. We've been taken from our homes and forced to do unspeakable acts against our will, but that does not justify what we have done later on! Tell me, if a murderer like me is a victim, then what my children were?! Fruit of unrequited love, who in their short life had never been truly loved by neither of their parents! They ended up being abandoned by their father as soon the chance of a better life appeared in front of him, and then they got slaughtered by their mother as if they were cattle! If I'm a victim, then what they were?!" Medea asked before she dropped Illya on the ground. "...All the people I ever loved and cared for have died, but tell me Avenger, who was the one responsible for their deaths?" Medea asked.

"...It was you." Illya said as she massaged her head.

"Good, I see that you figured it out. Now, I know that you want to be freed by the Grail to destroy the world, Avenger, but if you do not realize my wish I'll destroy the vessel and I'll make it outright impossible. Think, if you do what I told you, maybe, you'll have a chance of doing it. A slim chance is better than none."

"...Medea ...you see ...I tried to change your mind because what you asked cannot be fulfilled." Illya said then after a moment.

"...What?"

"The Grail with enough power is only able to achieve only the Third Magic, or make you reach the Root, if that is what you want, but things like the manipulation of the timeline are beyond its ability. And also, you yourself do not have the ability to travel or manipulate time, so even if the Grail gave you the power necessary you would achieve nothing."

"...Then why you didn't say it earlier?! Damn it!" Medea said angered.

She should have known that she could have not trusted a defective artifact made by modern mages! But she still had hoped that it would have worked!

"I-" Illya started to say.

"Gods, then I really have killed both Saber and Illya for nothing..." Medea said as she put a hand to her forehead. "...And now... what should I do?" She asked herself before she started to think.

"...Well, you still have the option to bring back to life everyone and live a peaceful life with Shirou." Illya said after a moment.

"...And what? I'll just end up forcing my desire on him and make him live the way I want, while I free you from the Grail. That is not what I want... yes, I do want him all for myself... but I do not want to repeat Medea's original mistake... I have to put the happiness of those I love before mine... and I want Shirou to live a happy life... I want him to be free." Medea said, as she turned her head toward the kitchen... just to note that now Shirou was nowhere to be seen.

No, she was not even in the living room anymore.

As she started to look around herself Caster immediately recognized the destroyed and the bloodied road where she was standing, this was the place where Shirou had died that night. But at one point, as she kept looking around, she saw something that took her breath away.

"But you have already let Shirou die and murdered both Saber and Illya, so why you, of all people, are suddenly being so moral and noble? With all the things that you have done until now where is the problem in being a little bit more selfish, Medea?" Illya then asked.

Medea remained dead silent as she looked down the road, as she saw the scattered chunks of human flesh, and recognized in that mess Shirou's head that was still attached to his destroyed torso.

"You said that you love him, but if you truly cared for him that night you would have been with him, and he wouldn't be in those conditions, isn't that right? And tell me, what will you do after you'll have saved him? You told 'me' about his distorted mind and peculiar nature, and we both know that if you will not always keep him on a leash sooner or later he would risk getting killed... and you do not want that to happen again, right? If you truly care for him you should grant him a happy, secure, and long life... and let me help you with this desire of yours, Medea."

"I... I can't do that..." Medea said as she looked away from Shirou's remains.

"Why? Remeber Medea, you've done things viler than this... and right now you have the freedom to do whatever you want, you have the freedom that you have always been denied. In the end freedom is what you do with what's been done to you, isn't that right? Then make this world suffer the same way you did, while you finally obtain your happiness!" Illya said.

"But that would be too selfish..."

"Selfish? No, no, no. Medea, have you already forgotten? You're doing this for Shirou, not for yourself. Remember how the real Medea chose her vengeance over her own sons? Look! You are proving to better than her! You are choosing Shirou over the world! That is one of the greatest acts of love one could ever make! I'm sure that if he was here he could understand."

"...No... he wouldn't..."

"...Yes, Shirou wouldn't condone the killing of innocents, but he is not here, so why should you care?" Illya asked s she inclined her head a little.

"...You're right... if I cared from the start nothing of this would have happened..." Medea admitted as she turned her head to watch what remained of Shirou, before she strongly gritted her teeth.

"Don't be so hard with yourself, you're now doing this for him, so this must mean that you're still a good person." Illya said with a smile.

As Medea watched those shreds she realized once again just how cruel and merciless the world was, and for this reason, she clenched her fists with anger, until her knuckles started to glow white.

At that point, as Illya watched Medea, she noted how while frowning the witch reached her conclusion, and with it, her new and ruthless resolve.

"Yes, this is no time for weakness... but it seems that as always I have to do everything by myself!" Medea then said.

"...So? Have you decided?"

"Yes. This world that wants to see us fail and suffer... I reject it!" Medea declared.

"Ask for your wish then." Illya said with a smile as she saw Medea turning to face her.

"Avenger! Form a contract with me, lend me your power, and I'll let you destroy this world!" Medea exclaimed.

"...What?" Illya asked after a long moment.

Kirei at the moment was silently watching Medea and her copy.

After Caster had touched the Grail she seemed to have frozen, over 5 minutes have passed since then, and yet, even now she was still as a statue.

At one point the priest started to wonder what was happening, but while he was thinking on a possible explanation he saw how Caster's copy suddenly moved and returned to Caster her deformed knife before it disappeared. After that, around a minute later, Caster suddenly lowered her left hand and took some steps back from the Grail.

"...So? Have you managed to express your wish, Caster?" Kirei asked as he carefully watched her.

"...No," Medea said as she turned to face the priest. "but very soon I'll make up for it." She continued as she showed the back of her right hand, where Kirei to his great surprise noted a black set of commands seals take form.

"...Are those...?" Kirei started to ask after a moment, as he felt that the black seals were connected to the curse present in the Grail.

"Yes. The Grail is not able to do what I wish, but since I have the knowledge I have decided that I'll create an artifact on my own. Yeah, I'll need an absurd amount of power to both create it and sustain the artifact, but you do not have to worry Kirei, Avenger offered himself voluntarily to assist me with it." Medea said.

"...Does this mean that you are about to free him?" Kirei then asked.

"Yes, and once free he will provide me with a... good source of power." Medea said as she turned her attentions to the Grail.

"...That is..." Kirei started to say after he realized what Caster wanted to do, as he started to understand the scale of the disaster he was about to assist.

"Kirei, do you know which is the most populated country in the world?"

"...Why you ask?" The priest asked.

"I'll use a command seal to send him there, so that he will be able to obtain more power as fast as possible. I'm also sure that as we are speaking the Counter Force is observing Fuyuki, ready to react and send here a Counter Guardian to destroy everything at the first signal of the birth of Angra Maniyu... and we do not want that to happen, right?" Medea asked. "They will never expect Avenger to suddenly appear in another country of the world, and by the time they will send someone, Avenger will already have created Chaos and will already have grown more powerful with each life that he has claimed." Caster said as one of her Command Seals started to glow on her right hand, as she raised it in front of herself. "...Anyway. By the power of my first Command Seal, Avenger, I order you to free yourself from the Grail." Medea said.

After that order, the Grail suddenly and loudly cracked, but after a long moment, only a little river of black mud started to flow from it.

"Good, you're keeping yourself under control," Medea said satisfied as she watched the Grail. "But remember what I told you, Avenger, you have to gather power as fast as possible and curse as much as you can everything you come across, the land included... make it dead. If you will not do it, you'll not be able to attract Gaia's attention."

'...Gaia's attention?' Kirei thought a bit impressed. Just what did Caster had in mind?

"I'm still waiting for an answer, Kirei." Medea then said as she turned toward him.

"The two most populated countries in the world are China and India. I advise you to start from the first and then proceed towards the second." Kirei immediately answered.

"Have you heard Avenger?" Medea then asked. "I think that after destroying the majority of Asia you should move toward the Middle East, then it will be up to you if to go toward Europe or Africa." Caster continued before another Command Seal started to glow. "By the power of the second Command Seal, Avenger, teleport to Beijing, and bring death upon this world!" Caster said aloud.

After Caster imparted her order the air around the Grail started to distort, and after a moment a strong light blinded both Kirei and Caster. When the two of them recovered their sight, they saw how that Grail had disappeared.

"Do not disappoint me, Avenger, I have great expectations from you..." Medea then said.

"...So... what is your next step?" Kirei then asked.

"I'll start to work on the design of the artifact that will be able to manipulate time. It will surely take time, but I think that as soon Avenger will start to supply me with the power I'll need I can already start to create something better than this... or simply improve it." Medea answered as a copy of Fragarach appeared in her hand.

The powerful mystic code present in her hands was already capable of manipulating both time and fate, maybe the first thing she should try to do should be to make it more powerful, and expand the limits of how much time it could rewind.

"Do you think you'll be able to do it?" Kirei asked as he watched the lead ball.

"...Did you really asked me that question? You disappoint me Kirei." Medea said with a surprised tone of voice after a moment. "By this point, you should have understood that my magecraft is comparable to what you people call Magic... and you should have understood that with enough power there is little that I can't do." She continued.

"I see... anyway, do you think that you can keep Avenger in check until the very end?" Kirei then asked.

"I'm sure that now that he is free Avenger has other things to think about, other than to kill his Master, the one who also freed him." She said as she turned around and walked to a work table.

Kirei stood silent and still as he kept watching the woman who was now giving him her back.

"...Is there something else you want to say or ask before I'll start to work?" Medea then asked.

"...no, I have nothing to say. I just remained a bit surprised, since I didn't think that things would have turned out like this." Kirei admitted.

"...Neither did I... but I have no other choice." Medea said. "...Well, if I'll be able to do what I want, then we can say that all of the things that are about to happen never truly happened in the first place, right?" She asked.

"...Right." The priest affirmed with a nod after a moment.

"Good. Anyway, remain here at the temple Kirei, later I may need your assistance or some advice." Medea said.

"As you wish." Kirei said with a nod before he turned around and left the workshop.

After Kirei left the workshop Medea turned her attention back to Fragarach and started to study the artifact in greater depth and detail.

'Now let's show to this world what the Witch Of Betrayal is capable of...' Medea then thought as she watched the artifact capable of manipulating both time and fate.

'What was it that pushed you to this point, Caster? The war? An horrible realization? The temptation of the Grail? Some kind of twisted reasoning? Or simple selfishness? ...Oh well, it does not matter anymore, for now, it is too late.' Kirei thought while he walked.

As the priest walked into the temple he was in a great mood. The knowledge that his wish had finally become true, and that he was about to assist to the destruction of civilization, albeit perhaps temporary, filled him with joy and pleasure he never felt before. Things didn't exactly go the way he expected them to do, but still, the result did not change much in the end.

With a smile on his face, Kirei entered the living room of the temple and took the remote of the TV, and after he sat down he turned on the electronic device and went on the news channel. He then remained there, as he waited with patience for any news on the incoming disaster.