Let's Talk about Evil

...So I can't blame the samurai we fought at the Shimabara Rebellion for killing my compatriots and myself.

...Of course I can never forgive them for what they did. And I have no desire to do so.

But would we have been any more merciful had the tables had been turned? I doubt it.

Demanding that others do things we can't is one of mankind's worst habits.

？！

Hahaha, I can't blame you at all for feeling that way. But I'm not about to stop now.

Fou, fooou.

There have been lots of heroes and such who have tried to resolve the problem of evil once and for all...

...but unfortunately, none of them ever succeeded.

Some of them went about it the wrong way... Some of them got bogged down in the details...

And some of them were mistaken about what the end result of their endeavor would be.

Strangely enough, it turns out that in order to eradicate evil...

...one must resort to the decidedly evil measure of sacrificing the few for the sake of the many.

And of course, in doing so, such an endeavor ceases to be good.

That is the part that tripped up everyone who attempted this, be they hero, genius, or otherwise.

Which is exactly why you shouldn't lose heart. After all, this is the only option you have.

？！

I'm talking about the Lostbelts. You seem to be taking their loss pretty hard, after all.

You may give us orders as our Master, but at the same time you also have your own orders to follow.

？！

Yes, that's true.

Getting used to it would erase one of your key advantages.

Most Servants are merciless, myself included.

After all, whether it's for a greater cause, our country, our loved ones, or ourselves, we wield our blades.

And we would never have become heroes had we not grown accustomed to fighting.

But you're an ordinary person. And as long as you remain so, you'll never get used to that.

One slight misstep on the path to your destination, and you could even end up with lifelong trauma.

However, that willingness to hold your ground even as you get hurt, despite not being a hero...

...is also why you shine so bright.

It's fine if you don't understand everything.

As long as you continue to do what you can, that's all that matters.

Indeed. That's all you need to do.

Simply doing what they can is all any human can hope to do.

Expecting anything more requires us to stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.

？！

Oh my, look at the time. I didn't mean to go on this long. All right, I think I'd better bid you good night now.

Sweet dreams.

...There we go.

I'm sorry, that was more than a little intentional. I expect when he goes to sleep tonight, he'll end up wandering into the rift.

I can't let him depart this world now, so I'm going to tag along and tie up some loose ends.

...Luckily, it should be easy for you to carry me there, right?

Thank you. Now I can finally clean up this mess.

？！

Hello again, Master. Can you see how horribly everything is burning here?

...Oh? You seem suspicious about something. It's almost as though you think I'm responsible for us being here.

Indeed, I am.

That's me. Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, your faithful Servant.

Hahaha, now you seem more suspicious than ever. Hahaha.

Unfortunately, you've every right to be.

？！

This is as much your nightmare as it is mine.

Do you remember seeing this scenery before?

？！

Indeed. Reality Marble: The Hell of Shimabara...

The living hell you once experienced in the Shimousa Province Pseudo-Singularity.

I too experienced something very similar to it back when I was alive.

？！

That would be my doing. Do you remember what we talked about before bedtime?

About Lostbelts, and evil, and all that jazz?

It was through that talk that these memories came back to life and merged with the curses you've been accumulating.

Normally, driving such curses away falls to another Servant, but tonight, I asked him to let me handle it.

...So yes, this was all intentional. I'm sorry I dragged you into it, but...

？！

Oh? You really don't mind? Even though, by all accounts, this is a fairly serious situation?

？！

... ...

Well, now I'm kind of embarrassed.

All right, if you trust me that much, I'll go ahead and tell you everything. No more lies.

But first...

We need to dispose of these riffraff. Let's talk more once this is over, shall we?

？！

Now then, as I was saying.

Over the course of your adventures, Master, you've been unwittingly collecting some...less than desirable things.

I speak of the kind of residual feelings wild beasts can only dream about. In a word: grudges.

And while you may not usually be aware of them, these grudges still find ways to cause you pain.

Of course, Da Vinci and the rest of Chaldea's staff do everything they can to care for your mental health...

But it's just not enough.

And because it's not enough, an Avenger has also been secretly helping you, even as he pretends not to care.

However, there are some things that not even he can do.

As you've escaped Chaldea and gone on journey after journey, you've continued to accumulate curses slowly but surely.

Curses that will destroy a core part of you someday.

So this time, I decided to try handling one of these...let's say karmic debts before it got too big.

Left unchecked, curses can grow into dreadful, powerful things.

But, if I can give this one some form of direction... it might just change into something I desire.

？！

I do. I've always wanted to meet this other being who called himself by my name ever since I heard about him.

Now, what other name did he go by again?

Ah yes. Sorcerer.

Haha, hahaha. Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Foolish. Foolish! How incredibly foolish! I knew my Heroic Spirit self had been reduced to slaving for humanity...

But I would never have dreamed he was this foolhardily ignorant!

Well now, that didn't take long at all.

I don't suppose you could also manifest Onriedo Castle while you're at it?

...I cannot.

All I can do now that I am a mere dreg of my former self is to recreate this very place.

But now, to my surprise...

...that boy there has chosen to throw his life away of his own volition!

I was prepared to spend yearsdecades, if necessaryclinging to life in the darkest recesses of his brain stem, but

Hahaha, I can't imagine that would have worked out for you.

It would've only been a matter of time before you were discovered and scrubbed away...

...or burned to ashes by a certain someone I could name.

Exactly.

A tiny mouse can never hope to defeat a tiger, after all. But now, you have committed a crime of arrogance.

One that resulted in giving me an opportunity with which to manifest my very self!

My next step will be to destroy that boy's mind, turn him into my puppet, and then

？！

Don't be silly. Surely you haven't forgotten that I'm here too, have you?

Everything will be fine. I promise.

In fact...I'll even say this.

Hehe.

According to my calculations...

...I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure to win!

Oh good, you got what I meant. Excellent.

Hahaha, I'm just kidding.

？！

I always wanted to say something like that once in my life.

I never thought I'd get the chance to actually say it loud and proud like that.

Of course, chances like that are few and far between in reality, but here...

Huh?

What in the world are you talking about?

No, never mind that. How can you be so confident!?

You think me an imposter!? Do you make light of me, as a fragment of my former self!?

Not at all.

I'm not making light of you in the slightest, nor do I think you're anything less than a formidable opponent.

I'm just fully confident that I can beat you anyway.

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure how this would go until I came face-to-face with you.

But now that I have, I can say this with complete certainty:

I will never end up like you.

...!

No. No, you absolutely won't!

How could you, now that you've thrown away your revenge, and forgotten these flames!?

... ...

You're wrong there, Avenger.

I've never forgotten these flames or this hell.

All I've done...is make peace with them.

Ridiculous!!!

How can you claim with a straight face that you've forgiven such cruelty? Such despair?

Are you telling me I should just forget it ever happened? That I should wash my hands of it like so much soap!?

I'm afraid you've fundamentally misunderstood me, sorcerer. We may be similar, but you are definitely not me.

Just because I've made my peace with it doesn't mean I've forgotten it, or my hatred.

But my hatred was only reserved for mankind's sins.

Then, we come to everything good in the world.

Until my body completely falls apart, I'm going to keep searching for a way to purge evil and save all of humanity.

...You're no hero. You're not even a saint.

You're just broken! A half-wit chasing delusions! There is no possible way I will fall to the likes of you!

It seems we really are fundamentally the same at heart then, right down to the things we say.

Which means this battle will all come down to the strength of our trump cards. All right, let's get to it, shall we?

My name is Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.

Though you may look like me, if I must destroy you in order to purify your curse...I won't hesitate to do so.

...!

Very well then! If you truly think you're capable of it, then go ahead and try!!!

You... You bastaaaaaard! You're nothing but a damn hypocrite pretending to be a good Samaritan!

Well, I can't say you're wrong there.

But...it's still better than going around doing evil while not even trying to pretend otherwise, don't you think?

Why!? Why don't you loathe them!? Why don't you despise them!?

I have every right to hate the Tokugawa family! Shimabara was hell on earth, in every sense of the word!

Ordering their starving citizens to die... Killing mothers in front of their children...

The Tokugawas exploited us mercilessly for years on end! And you would have me forgive them!?

Yes, it was hell on earth. Which is why I'm going to make damn sure it never happens again.

My goal is to save all of humanity and usher in an era of permanent peace.

I'll admit...your grudge is not without merit.

That anger and hatred are like scars carved into my Spirit Origin. I'll never be entirely free of them.

In that sense, the only difference between you and me is that you're still giving them voice.

But when it comes to hurting my Master, our goals couldn't be further apart.

...I see...

But...that doesn't mean I'm about to give up!

I will never lose to the likes of you! Never!

This is as far as that spirit of yours goes, sorcerer. Come. Let's finish this.

... ...

... ...

... ...

...Phew. For all my big talk, that turned out to be disturbingly close.

？！

Yes, I suppose so.

In my case, I just happened to end up with a mission to save all of humanity.

But if I had never found that mission, and continued to nurture my hatred...I may well have ended up like him.

Or perhaps he's simply another side of me who could have been summoned under different circumstances.

But either way, that's just an empty hypothesis now.

For my part, I've never forgotten that promise.

"Even if we can't understand each other, we can fight together. Even if we must someday part, we can still hold hands."

While I am still trying to save all of humanity, my vow to you comes first.

You know...

...that sorcerer's purity may be the same quality I just lost in myself.

Ah, you'll have to forgive me for that.

Let's just say that in losing some things, we gain others.

Of course.

If I wasn't, I would have left right after humanity had been restored.

？！

Now then, Master, give me your hand, and let's wake up from this nightmare together.

All right, the library is nice and organized. Now I just have to go through the things from Chaldea that have been left lying around...

Pardon me, Lord Amakusa.

Oh, hello, Lord Houzouin. What can I do for you?

Well...

...I'm just about to have a sparring session with Lord Yagyu in the combat simulator.

I see. But I'm afraid I'm not sure what that has to do with me...?

I'm getting to that. Would you mind if I copied your catchphrase during our duel?

My catchphrase?

...Oh no!

I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure to win!!!

Khh...!

H-hearing it from someone else's mouth is even more devastating than I'd imagined!

Wait, hang on. How do you even know about that? On second thought, don't tell me.

It was Master, wasn't it? Hehehe, I can't believe he of all people would blab about that!

...On third thought, I absolutely can! Dammit! I knew I should have paid him to keep his mouth shut!

Well...

I believe all will be clear once you pay a visit to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria!? Crap! I'll go there right now!

...Alas, I'm afraid it may already be too late.

？！

Gaaah! I'm too late!

Damn, Amakusa, that's really golden!

I'm so sorry, Amakusa.

I confess I may have been a bit wary around you, especially since the Shimousa incident.

I had no idea you were capable of saying something like that so earnestly. On behalf of the Fuuma clan, I apologize for my misconception. That was indeed worthy of praise.

That's so cool! We wanna say it too!

"We're ninety-nine point nine percent sure to win!"

That's so logical of you to account for the remote possibility that you might lose, Mentor!

I want to be ninety-nine point nine percent sure of winning too! What's the trick? Is it glasses? Do I need glasses!?

I'm still amazed you actually won after saying something like that.

I mean, that kind of line is just begging for dramatic irony to come and smack you down!

Still, it's so good that I absolutely have to use it in my next book. Arigathanks for the inspiration!

How could I let this happen!?

Hmm, interesting. Veeery interesting.

Being cool and collected is all well and good, but in your case, you always use your smile as a mask to hide your true feelings.

I never thought I would see you panic with such urgency. This has been most entertaining.

Not you too!

What is wrong with it, Amakusa Shirou?

"I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure to win!"

Yes, I have taken a liking to it as well. I think I will continue to say it for the time being.

Please don't...

Oh, worry not. These sorts of fads die as quickly as they begin. You need merely suffer humiliation until this one blows over.

(Sigh)... I guess you're right.

I'll just have to chalk this up as another punishment to endure.

... ...

Besides, to be honest...

I still can't entirely deny that catchphrase's sheer coolness.

Hm? Did you say something?

Oh, it's nothing.

Ninety-nine point nine percent...nothing at all!