Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 952 - : Ally of Justice (Part 1)

The heroine who appeared in the second half of the movie called herself Natalia Kaminski.

She was wrapped in a deep black raincoat that didn't match the tropical southern night at all, yet not a drop of sweat ran down her face. Her pale face was expressionless and extremely cold, making one wonder if there was any blood flowing in her veins or if her body temperature was the same as a normal person's.

The person who saved Kiritsugu from a hellish scene was such a person.

Her target was also his father, Emiya Norikata. She saved him to find Norikata's hiding place—though, at that time, she didn't yet know Kiritsugu's true identity, only thinking of him as an ordinary child on the island.

From her, Kiritsugu learned the truth about everything.

Shirley had turned into that state because of his father's potion. The peaceful life on the island was shattered because he had failed to heed Shirley's plea that night, failing to muster the courage to pierce the heart of the girl he loved with a dagger.

If he hadn't run away back then, even if it left a lifelong, indelible scar, even if it meant he would never sleep peacefully again—it would have at least prevented the deaths of others.

In hi's heart, it was he who had destroyed this place, the place he had once considered his home.

He needed to atone.

He had already made one mistake; he couldn't afford to make the same mistake again.

There would be no more running away from now on.

He had to bring an end to it all with his own hands.

He asked Natalia to lend him a gun.

A .32 caliber. She assured him that as long as he stayed calm and shot from the closest distance, even a child could hit the target. The rest was up to Kiritsugu.

He hid the gun in his pocket and returned to the house deep within the forest late at night, where his father welcomed him with a relieved expression.

As soon as his father saw Kiritsugu, he embraced him. The sensation of his father's hands on his shoulders and back was one Kiritsugu hadn't felt in a long time—so long that even he couldn't remember the last time his father had hugged him.

His usually strict father rarely showed such genuine affection, but even a simple embrace was enough for Kiritsugu to feel the love his father had always hidden.

His father had already sensed the danger and planned to take him away from the island, to start anew in a safe place.

From his father, he once again confirmed the truth. Once again, he confirmed that his father wouldn't stop his research and that the results of this research would eventually be used on him.

His father's tone was sad, but it lacked any regret or guilt. In his eyes, these sacrifices were necessary.

Everything was for the Emiya family's wish; everything was for the obsession of a magus.

He wouldn't be discouraged by sacrifices of this level. No matter how many times he had to repeat it, he would continue to try until he achieved a result that satisfied him.

It was clear now.

Kiritsugu pulled the gun from his pocket and aimed it at his unsuspecting father.

Bang—a gunshot rang out, brighter and clearer than he had expected.

His father, shot from behind in the neck, fell forward. Kiritsugu didn't stop; as he approached, he fired another shot at the back of his head, then another. He stopped briefly, then fired two more shots into his father's spine.

His mind was confused, and his heart was indeed struggling.

His father had loved him and had expectations for him. And he had loved his father, had been proud of him.

This love and familial bond even overshadowed the sight of the fishing village burning in the fire and the image of what Shirley had become before her death.

But when he picked up the gun, his hands moved as if everything had already been prearranged, as if it had all been programmed in advance. His body completely ignored the turmoil in his heart, mechanically completing the task with precise efficiency.

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If this could be called a talent, it was a truly bitter irony.

Even more ironic was the fact that he hadn't felt it when he was acting, but once it was all over, once he saw his father's corpse, he realized that the gun in his hand was unbearably heavy. He couldn't even lift it, not to mention release his grip.

Kiritsugu, who had killed for the first time, who had committed patricide, fell into a bizarre state of emptiness, his inner void even affecting his body.

The one who pulled him out of this state was still that woman in black, Natalia Kaminski.

She had broken through the forest's bounded field and arrived ahead of everyone else, complaining to Kiritsugu.

"The bounded field here wasn't nearly as strong as you warned. I broke through it easily. If I'd known it was this weak, I wouldn't have bothered giving this thing to you, kid."

To this, Kiritsugu responded indifferently.

"You breaking through was just luck. If you want a 100% chance of killing him, I had to do it myself."

Before Natalia had arrived, Kiritsugu's father had been preparing to leave. Even the slightest miscalculation and his father could have escaped to another place to continue his research, repeating the hellish cycle all over again.

Luck couldn't be relied upon. Kiritsugu couldn't let him escape—that was why he had convinced Natalia to give him the gun.

"As a reason for a child to kill their parent, that's about as lousy as it gets."

Natalia cursed angrily, while Kiritsugu, with a face that had cleared up after crying, simply said:

"You're a good person."

Natalia sighed as she stared at his face and then picked up Kiritsugu's father's corpse.

"I'll take you off the island. From here on, you'll have to figure things out on your own—do you have anything you want to take with you?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing at all."

Because everything was already inside him, and what couldn't fit had disappeared along with Shirley's death.

As for the rest, they were things that shouldn't be taken away—like the corpse Natalia was carrying.

It was because of this thing that the island had been destroyed, its residents all killed.

It was because of this thing that the girl he loved had ended up in that state.

The girl had once said to him:

"Kerry, your father is an amazing man, I respect him. His knowledge and discoveries are incredible; any one of them could overturn the world."

In fact, up until today, he had always thought the same.

But now? Was the path of magecraft something to expect anything from? And what was a magus anyway?

There was more to what the girl had said.

"When you grow up, Kerry, what kind of adult do you want to become? If you inherit your father's work, how will you use it? The power you'll gain in the future will be enough to change the world, you know."

At the time, he had been too embarrassed to answer, so he mumbled something vague.

Shirley didn't mind and just flashed a playful smile that made his heart race.

"Well, then, let me see what kind of adult you grow up to be. I'll stay by your side until then."

Shirley never got to hear his answer, nor did she get to see what kind of adult Kiritsugu would become.

It might be a little late, but now, I'll give you the answer.

Watch me, Shirley.

I won't let this tragedy repeat, and I won't make the same mistake.

If I can change the world, if I can grasp a miracle, I want to become an ally of justice, no matter what the cost.

Before leaving the island that held countless beautiful memories and had buried his innocent past, Kiritsugu made a resolution and set off toward the vast unknown.