Chapter 258

Chapter 258: Chapter 258

The moment Kiriya saw the enormous golden Greater Grail before him—still looking suspiciously like a gigantic egg—his delight was impossible to hide.

"An untouched Greater Grail... a pure Greater Grail."

For sixty years, it had remained buried within the leylines, continuously drawing in and accumulating magical energy.

Even from Kiriya’s current perspective, the power contained within it felt as vast and bottomless as an ocean.

With that much energy, pushing his Sharingan all the way to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan should pose absolutely no problem.

And if he allowed himself to be a little more optimistic...

What if there was enough to reach even farther?

What if he could touch the realm of the Rinnegan?

The goal he had pursued for so long was finally within reach, with the opportunity for his next breakthrough standing directly before him.

There was no way Kiriya could remain calm.

Almost unconsciously, he stepped toward the Greater Grail.

Clang!

A blade flashed between him and his destination.

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada moved into Kiriya’s path, his tachi ringing sharply as he raised it in warning.

"Master of Black, if you desire the Greater Grail, then you will first have to step over my corpse."

There was no hesitation in his voice, only immovable resolve.

Kiriya finally dragged his attention away from the Grail and frowned at the person standing in front of him.

"Oh. Right. You’re still here."

The irritation on his face was unmistakable, as though he had just sat down to enjoy an exquisite cake only to discover a cockroach crawling across the table.

"Move. You’re blocking my Grail."

Even after sixty years of patience and endurance, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada still felt his emotions stir at the sheer contempt in Kiriya’s expression.

He suppressed the irritation rising within him and answered as calmly as he could.

"Master of Black, the Greater Grail is not your private possession. It is hope itself—the hope through which all humanity may finally be saved."

"Huh?"

Kiriya stared at him in bafflement.

’Is this guy seriously about to give me a sales pitch?’

And sure enough, Amakusa tightened his grip around his sword as his voice gradually grew more passionate.

"It is because humanity remains bound to the flesh that desire exists. For power, for wealth, for resources necessary to survive, people slaughter one another and perpetuate endless conflict. Countless sins and countless forms of ugliness are born from that simple fact."

His eyes gradually brightened.

"But what if the soul itself were materialized and no longer depended upon a physical body for continued existence?"

At that point, genuine longing entered Amakusa’s expression.

"Desire and vanity would disappear. Humanity would no longer need to compete or struggle against one another, and all conflict would finally come to an end."

His voice rose as he clenched one fist.

"Mankind would obtain an eternal peace without suffering and without death!"

Amakusa looked directly at Kiriya.

"Knowing that such a future is possible, do you still intend to stop me?"

The only answer he received was an utterly cold stare.

"Me? I’m a pretty simple guy. I like good food, beautiful scenery, and spending time getting close to cute girls and gorgeous women. Then you come along with this bullshit ’salvation’ of yours and tell me I’m supposed to lose all of that because you decided desire is inconvenient?"

Kiriya’s expression gradually darkened until there was something almost feral in his eyes.

"So I’ve got one question."

"Who the hell gave you the right?"

"For the salvation of all humanity, a small sacrifice is—"

"Sacrifice my ass!"

Kiriya exploded forward before Amakusa could finish.

His fist smashed directly into the priest’s cheek.

BOOM!

The blow snapped Amakusa’s head sideways so violently that his neck almost bent out of shape, launching him across the chamber and sending him skidding over the floor for a considerable distance.

Kiriya lowered his fist and looked down at him.

"Before deciding that I’m part of the sacrifice, did you ever ask me?"

He pointed toward himself, then gestured toward the world beyond the Hanging Gardens.

"Did you ask any of the humans you’re supposedly saving?"

"Did you ask the world whose leylines you’re about to drain dry?"

A mocking smile spread across his face.

"No, right? You didn’t ask anybody."

"You suffered through a few tragedies, decided humanity was awful and the world was broken, and then convinced yourself that your personal answer had to be the correct one."

Kiriya’s contempt only deepened.

"So your brilliant solution was to make the decision for everyone, cut away every human desire that causes problems, and declare that everything would be peaceful afterward."

He laughed without humor.

"When you strip away all the grand speeches, you’re just a coward."

To Kiriya, there was nothing profound about Amakusa’s worldview.

Someone encountered suffering, became disillusioned with humanity, and decided that the only answer was to fundamentally rewrite the entire species.

How was that any different from some melodramatic idiot who experienced a little injustice and concluded that the whole world deserved to be destroyed?

"Shut up!"

Amakusa roared, his eyes turning bloodshot.

"You understand nothing!"

"Yeah. That’s right."

To Amakusa’s surprise, Kiriya accepted the accusation immediately.

"I don’t understand some grand dream about saving all humanity, and I definitely don’t pretend to understand some perfect theory of eternal world peace. I’m just an ordinary person when it comes to things like that."

His tone became calmer, but the edge in his words only sharpened.

"What I do understand is that if someone is hungry, you feed him. You don’t cut out his stomach so he’ll never feel hunger again. If people want children, they find someone they love and start a family; you don’t castrate everyone and call the problem solved. If people have conflicts, you deal with those conflicts—you don’t erase the entire world just because solving problems is troublesome."

Kiriya gave a derisive laugh and pointed his sword toward Amakusa.

"That’s really what this is, isn’t it?"

"You think dealing with human desires, contradictions, greed, love, hatred, ambition, and everything else is too complicated, so you decided to skip straight to the easiest answer and remove the entire problem at the source."

"You don’t have the courage to face human desire, accept that it exists, and find ways to live with it. Instead, you’re running off toward some twisted shortcut and still insisting that doesn’t make you a coward?"

Each sentence struck Amakusa like another blade driven into his chest.

The physical damage from Kiriya’s punch had already been repaired by his abilities, but the blow against his beliefs was something entirely different.

For sixty years, this ideal had been the foundation of his continued existence.

It was the reason he had endured.

The reason he had planned.

The reason he had continued walking forward after the end of his first life.

To have someone stand before him and dismiss that entire ideal as cowardice hurt far more than any sword wound could have.

"I am not a coward."

Amakusa spoke through clenched teeth.

"The reason I was allowed to return to this world was because the Lord answered my prayer."

The more he spoke, the more conviction returned to his voice.

His hunched posture gradually straightened, as though he were rebuilding the faith Kiriya had just shaken.

"Yes. The Lord answered me."

"I successfully summoned Assassin. I obtained the Greater Grail. Everything required for my wish was placed before me."

Amakusa’s eyes burned with certainty.

"That proves the Lord permitted my actions."

"I am right."

Kiriya looked at him for several seconds, and the contempt in his gaze gradually transformed into something almost resembling pity.

"Then you’re in even worse shape than I thought."

Amakusa froze.

"Because I showed up."

Kiriya spread his hands.

"I wrecked your plan, killed your allies, stopped you from modifying the Grail, and turned sixty years of preparation into a complete disaster."

He tilted his head.

"So what does that prove?"

"Maybe your Lord didn’t send you back here to save humanity."

Kiriya smiled.

"Maybe He sent you back so somebody could finally beat some sense into you, teach you to face reality, and get you to stop indulging in ridiculous fantasies."

Thump.

Amakusa’s reconstructed confidence cracked.

Thump.

Another sentence struck like a hammer.

Thump.

The foundation of certainty he had only just rebuilt began splintering all over again.

"No..."

Blood appeared at the corner of Amakusa’s mouth.

"That’s impossible."

Then something seemed to occur to him.

His grip tightened around his sword, and he suddenly charged.

"As long as I kill you, the Greater Grail will still be mine!"

His eyes burned with desperate conviction.

"If I defeat you here, that will prove the Lord still approves of my ideal!"

He never reached Kiriya.

Shhk!

Amakusa’s body suddenly went rigid.

He lowered his gaze.

A sword had already pierced through his heart.

Disbelief filled his eyes.

Kiriya stood directly in front of him.

"You lost."

He pulled the blade free.

Blood poured from the wound in a heavy stream, and with it went the last of Amakusa’s strength. His knees struck the floor as he stared blankly downward.

"Was I... really wrong?"

Kiriya looked at him for a moment.

"Next time around, read more books before trying to save the world. That’s not exactly a job for someone working with half an education and a one-track mind."

Then he swung his sword again.

The blade took Amakusa’s head cleanly from his shoulders, but Kiriya did not stop there.

Several additional sword lights flashed through the air, reducing the remains into fine pieces before a massive fireball engulfed everything and burned the body to ash.

This time, there would be no miraculous survival, no hidden contingency, and no final return.

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was truly finished.