25. Chapter 25

It was now morning, Saber was now running toward the temple as fast as she could, and as she did, she was strongly grinding her teeth.

'What a fool that I've been!' She thought angrily as she ran as fast as she could.

It had happened so suddenly that Saber didn't know what she had to do after she reached the temple, other than killing Caster as soon she posed her eyes on her.

That morning, after she had woken up and had walked around the house, she realized that Caster did not return home. It had passed almost an entire day from when she had suddenly disappeared after she had that discussion with Sakura.

As she thought about it Saber sighed again, she thought that Sakura had been a bit too harsh toward Caster, even if she was saying the truth, Sakura could have been a bit more 'gentle' at telling her what she thought about her... maybe if she did, Caster wouldn't have reacted the way she did.

After that moment of reflection Saber went into the kitchen and she started to prepare herself a cup of tea, and as she made it she started to think if she should go out and search Caster and see how she was doing, and after a bit, she started to think if she should ask someone help her.

After she poured the tea into her cup she went to the table and sat down. Saber started to think about who she had to ask for help, maybe Rider and Illya would be willing to help her, but just when she was about to take a sip from her cup of tea, she crushed it with her hands.

In that instant Saber had felt her connection with Illya being cut.

In those brief instants, Saber widened her eyes and had started to panic. She started to ask herself what had happened, she asked herself why her connection with Illya had been cut, she asked herself what did just happened to her...

But when a moment later she felt herself being connected to a new powerful Master, a familiar Servant... she gritted her teeth, and she snapped.

"CASTER!" Saber shouted in anger as she got up and immediately materialized her armor and her sword.

Saber in a single instant got out of the home and looked around as she tried to feel her connection to Caster, after a moment she closed her eyes and she concentrated on her connection... after a second, she felt that Caster was at the temple.

'Why I did not felt a thing?!' Saber asked herself as she started to run toward the temple.

Saber, in that single instant, when she felt herself being connected with Caster, had already figured out what had happened, she immediately understood what Caster was about to do.

But it was strange, Saber through her connection with Illya should have felt her being scared for her life when she got kidnapped, or at least she should have felt that she was in danger... so why she did not felt a thing?! Why?!

As she kept running Saber was feeling in herself anger and fury she had not felt for a very long time. Just the mere thought that she would've failed to protect Illya, just like she had failed to protect both Shirou and Irisviel, and not being able to keep the oath she had made to Shirou before he died, was making her go almost blind with rage... but she had to contain herself as much as possible, she could not make any kind of mistake now.

As she ran toward the temple Saber started to note that the streets were almost deserts and that there were very few people, she also noted how not even one of them was giving her any kind of attention even when she jumped from a building to another...

'I should have expected it, damn it!' Saber thought.

Saber knew who the Caster was, she knew what kinds of things she was ready and be willing to commit to reaching her objectives... but she didn't expect her to try to use the Grail. Caster should be the first one to know that it was corrupted and that it would bring only death and destruction, so what kind of intention did she have? Did she really wanted to use it? Was there some other reason she was doing what she was doing? Could it be that since she failed to protect Shirou now Caster wanted to kill Illya in revenge?

...Yea, that was one possible explanation.

For now, Saber could just hope that she had not acted too late.

After some minutes Saber arrived in front of the temple, and after she felt the powerful bounded field that surrounded it, she realized that she could enter it just from the main entrance.

After a moment, Saber began to climb the numerous steps that would have brought her to the temple, and as she did, she was thinking.

Soon she would surely meet Caster since through her connection to her she could tell that she was near and she was waiting for her, so, what should she do now? Should she try to talk things out with her? Until now Caster had demonstrated herself to be a reasonable person, so she may be able to speak things out with her...

But now Caster not only she had taken Illya, but she also had the intention to sacrifice her to use the corrupted Grail.

Those were already two unforgivable acts that had to be punished by death.

As she kept climbing the steps toward the temple Saber started to grip the hilt of her sword incredibly hard. Even if Caster had reached a point where she was desperate enough to bring back Shirou, to the point where she was willing to sacrifice Illya and use the Grail, she could not let her do it, she had to stop her.

After Saber climbed all of the steps she finally saw Caster, the woman had her back turned toward her as she faced the temple.

"Oh, good morning Saber," Medea said after a moment before she started to turn around to face Saber. "I see that you're finally-" She started to say.

In that single instant Saber had already gotten in front of Caster, and with a single swift swing, she had instantly beheaded the woman.

After a moment Saber lowered her sword, and as she did at the same time both Caster's body and her head soundly struck the ground before they started to slowly disappear.

Saber, after watching Caster's body disappearing, took a deep breath and she closed her eyes, she started to concentrate on her connection with Caster... and just like she feared with all of herself, the connection was still intact.

"As expected." Saber then suddenly heard from behind herself. "You're quite violent today Saber... well, it's not that I can blame you." Medea continued.

"Caster, I order you to stop now!" Saber shouted as she turned around, just to see that once again Caster had her back turned to her, while she was at the main gate of the temple as she faced the city.

"There is no reason for you to try to fight me, Saber, there is no way that you can't beat me now, you have already lost, give up." Medea told her bluntly before she turned her head around a bit to watch her. "You lost as soon I managed to put my hands on Illya, I'm sorry, but there is nothing that you can do anymore." She continued as she showed her the numerous command seals on her left hand.

At hearing Caster's words and seeing the command seals Saber gritted her teeth. At this very moment, Caster had her life in her hands since she had become her Master, a mage like her usually would not be able to kill her thanks to her high resistance to magic, but now Caster had something that could: The command seals.

"...Caster, why are you doing this?" Saber asked her. "Shirou wouldn't want any of this to happen." She continued.

"...Believe me, Saber, I don't like this path either, but unfortunately, it's the only one left for me." Medea said as she turned her head toward the city.

"Listen, Caster, I know that you want to bring Shirou back," Saber said as she started to walk toward her. "but you have to remember that the Grail is corrupted beyond any limit, you said it yourself, it can't be used safely. If you use it whatever that thing will bring back, I'm sure that it will not be Shirou." Saber said before she stopped for a moment. "But let's just say that it will, let's just say that it has the slim chance of being able to bring him back, what do you think it will happen after that Caster? Whatever resides in the Grail will be freed, and Shirou... Shirou will surely try to kill you as soon he discovers what you have done. You knew him just as much as I did Caster, he wouldn't want to see us fight, and he surely wouldn't want to see innocent people being killed by the Grail after his sister got sacrificed just to bring him back. That night Shirou died to put an end to the war, he died to make sure that no other innocents would die anymore, so please Caster, I know that you hate me with all of yourself, but I'm not asking you to do it for me, but do it for Shirou, do not let his death being meaningless." Saber said as she reached the side of Caster... or her copy, she now couldn't tell the difference.

Medea started to open her mouth, but she stopped for a moment before she said: "What? What are you saying, Saber? How did you jump on that conclusion?" She asked as she turned her head toward Saber. "How could I ever hate you when you were the one to suffer the most from Shirou's death?"

"...Just what are you talking about Caster?" Saber asked her a bit confused.

'Are you not doing this to make sure that I will not be able to fulfill my promise to Shirou and protect Illya?' Saber thought.

"Did you thought that I would never notice Saber? You can try to hide it even from yourself as much as you want, but I can see the truth beyond your mask. That night when Shirou died, not only you lost your Master, you lost a friend, a pupil, an ally, and a protege, you lost someone you could trust. And you not only you had to silently suffer his death, but you also had to see how the others too reacted and suffered, as you felt responsible for what had happened, when it was never your fault in the first place." Medea said as she inclined her head a little. "Just how could I ever hate you?"

"...Then if you do not hate me why are you doing this Caster? The corrupted Grail will not be able to bring back Shirou and you should know it." Saber said.

"...Saber, I just want to tell you that you're wrong, I don't want to bring Shirou back." Medea said as she returned to watch the city.

"...Wait, really?" Saber asked, both confused and surprised.

"Yes, not only what you said earlier was correct, nothing for him would change in the end... I do fear that if no one does something for him his fate will always be the same... but I can't let it happen, it is for this reason that I've decided to save him." Medea answered calmly.

"...You want to save him? What do you mean by that?" Saber asked a bit confused before after a very long moment she frowned. "...No... no... you wouldn't dare, wouldn't you?" Saber asked as she strongly gripped her sword.

"Yes, I want to save him when everything began for him." Medea answered.

"Caster, do you realized that what you're trying to do is impossible?!" Saber snapped with anger and indignation. "I'm sure that the Grail is not an artifact that can reverse time! But the most important thing is that you will make all of the actions that Shirou did meaningless! Is this what you desire Caster?! After all the things that have happened, after all the things that Shirou did, after he reached his resolve to the point he was ready to kill even his best friend, do you want to undo everything and make everything meaningless?! Are you really that selfish Caster?!" Saber said angrily.

"...You think that I'm just selfish, huh, what a surprise." Medea calmly said. "Have you forgotten my legend Saber? Have you forgotten what I was able to do after I was able to make up my mind?" Medea asked as she looked down to watch her hands. "When my children wept, cried and begged me to stop, as they swore to me that from that moment on they would have been good and that they always love me, you think that their pleas managed to stop or make me hesitate from dragging them by the hair and cut their throat in front of Jason when he arrived? Tell me, Saber, since you know both who I am and what I did, did the pleas of mercy of my children worked to stop me? And tell me, what makes you think that yours will work?" Medea asked as she turned to watch Saber. "...I know that you want to keep your promise you made to Shirou to protect Illya, I'm sorry, but I do not care about it." She then continued.

Saber said nothing, she just watched the witch with a very angry and indignant look.

"Good, you finally remembered what kind of person I am..." Medea said with a satisfied smile as she turned once again her attention toward the city. "This damn world is really cruel sometimes, do not you agree with me, Saber?" She then asked.

"...Yes, this world really is cruel," Saber said after a moment as she intently watched Caster. "especially when it gives a second chance to people who never deserved one in the first place." She continued with a snarl.

"Yes, you're absolutely right Saber, after all the thing I did in life after I re-obtained my free will I never deserved a second chance... and yet, that night, not only Shirou gave me said chance, he then even accepted me for who I was and what I did, and he on his own volution offered me his help. Tell me, Saber, how should I repay him for such an act?" Medea then asked her.

"You can't anymore." Saber bluntly told her. "You tried your best until now, and yet you were not being able to bring him back, so we can say that now Shirou is good as dead, there is nothing else you can do for him. Caster, I know that you want him back, but you have to remember that Shirou that night died for his ideals, he died to protect the innocents and those he loved, and he died with honor. The only thing that you could and should do from now on is to mourn his death and respect his will and his desire. Please, do not let his death being meaningless." Saber continued.

Medea remained in silence for a long moment before she spoke again.

"...Yes, you're right, Shirou died with honor as he followed his ideals to protect those he loved and the innocents, but what were the results, Saber?" Medea asked. "He died, that's it, that was his miserable end. All of his dreams, all of his desire, all of the actions he did until now, simply stopped mattering the very moment he was made to pieces. As you can see the world keeps moving on without him, even without knowing that he had ever existed, and soon all the people that loved him will do the same... is this what a knight like you can call a reward, Saber? Shirou has done many things to stop the Grail war, that sweet boy fought and killed all of his enemies until he ended up giving even his own life, and I would dare to say that by doing that Shirou has managed to save this cruel and ungrateful world... and how was he rewarded for such an act? He had been made to pieces, he got erased from this earth by his Servant, and right now he does not even have a grave." Medea said with a sad tone before she stopped for a long moment and a little bitter smile appeared on her lips. "Heh, that sure was such a beautiful, honorable, and rewarding way to leave this world, wasn't it, Saber?" Medea then asked her.

"...Think what you want Caster, but we both know that as soon you put your hands on Illya, with the intention to use her to bring him back, Shirou began to turn himself in the grave and started to curse the day he saved you." Saber said as she frowned even more.

"...Once again you're right Saber, but as you said before, I'm a very selfish person, so I do not care. I was able to kill my own children since my desire to see Jason suffer was much stronger than the love I had for them... but this time, I can say that my love for Shirou is much stronger than my desire to respect his will and his death... isn't that beautiful, and in some sense, romantic?"

"You find this beautiful?! May you be cursed, you damn witch!" Saber snapped in anger as she pointed her sword toward her.

"...Yes, that's what I've always been, a damn witch, as always I'm the villain... but I'll tell you the truth Saber, if it is for Shirou, I do not even mind being one." Medea said with a little genuine smile as she turned to observe the horizon.

"You will never be able to save Shirou! You can convince yourself as much as you can Caster, but the Grail is not an artifact that can turn around time! Yes, it may be an extremely powerful artifact, but it too has its limits!"

"...About that we'll have to see, I cannot be too sure until I put my hands on the complete version of the Grail that has enough Heroic spirits souls." Medea said.

"If it doesn't work what will you do Caster?! Not only you will fail to save Shirou, but you will also have killed Illya and spitted on his grave for nothing!"

"...You do not have to worry about that, I'll just find another way. There are no limits to the things I'm willing to commit."

"...Just why are you willing to do such things, Caster? Shirou wouldn't want any of this..." Saber said as she started to get despearte, the thought that she now was powerless and had no way to stop Caster scared her.

"...I can only say that now saving Shirou is now my only goal, my only reason to live. And as I think about it, you're in my same situation. You can't save your kingdom since the Grail is corrupted, the war has finally been stopped, and now other than your oath to protect Illya and keep said promise to Shirou, you too have no real reason to keep existing in this world." Medea said.

As she said those words Medea once again thought on how she should have died that cursed night, she remebered how Shirou made the great mistake of saving her... and once again, she thought on how now it was her obligation to save him in return.

"...Just what kind of intention do you have Caster? You speak about saving him, what do you think it will accomplish doing it?" Saber asked both angry and confused.

"Since you want to know I'll explain you now. Close your eyes Saber, and try to remember the night of the end of the fourth war." Medea said before she closed hers.

Saber didn't listen to her, she had seen that memory many times already, there was no need for her to divert her attention from Caster.

"Can you still see that sight Saber? Can you still see the buildings burning? Can you feel the burning heat of the fire? Can you smell the smoke and the burned meat? ...Can you still see them, Saber? Can you still see all of those charred bodies that went as far as the eyes could see?" Medea asked her.

Saber didn't answer her questions.

"Can you still feel the weight of every step that Shirou did as he tried to run away? Can you still feel all the pain that invaded his body? Can you still feel all of his guilt as he left to die his family and all of the people he knew as they cursed him?" Medea asked before she opened her eyes.

Saber kept not answering her.

"There is a difference between the Shirou we knew, and the one that was running away to survive the fire... can you tell me what is it?"

Once again, Saber did not answer.

"His will to live." Medea simply told. "What happened to it? Why at one point he was willing to leave everyone and everything behind to save his life, while now he threw his life away just to make sure that the war would end and no other innocents would die?" She asked as she turned to watch Saber.

"...It was because of his survivor guilt, his dream, and his desire to protect the innocents." Saber finally answered.

"Yes, you're right, but do you think that there was another motive for why he stopped caring about his life?" She asked.

"..." Saber didn't respond, she just sharpened her eyes.

"Tell me, Saber, do you think that a weapon can value his own life and existence?" Medea asked.

In that instant Saber frowned even more and asked: "Just at what kind of point do you want to arrive?"

"You see, I think that not only Shirou started to value his life as less important because of his survivor guilt, his distorted vision on the value of human lives after he got saved, and his desire to save others, I think that when he became the incarnation of sword it also influenced him a bit to care less about himself..."

"...And?"

"Have you noted how other than wanting to help others he had no other desire? No other purpose?" Medea continued. "Just what could be the greatest happiness a tool could have other than being used or having a reason to be used?"

"...So, you're saying that you want to go back and prevent Shirou from getting involved in the incident and becoming the incarnation of sword?"

"No. If I would do it I would never save Shirou, I would save the person that Shirou was before the incident... when I'll go back I'll... I'll have to let the old Shirou die so that I can save my Shirou, the incarnation of sword."

"...Why should you do it? Why you don't limit yourself to go back to the day he saved you or the night he died?"

"Because Shirou, even the day he saved me, let alone at the end of the war, was already misguided... and I only worsened his situation and distorted him."

"Misguided? What do you mean? Stop being vague and go right to the point Caster." Saber told her.

"...How strange, why are you so interested in wanting to know what I will do Saber?" Medea asked her with a bit of curiosity.

"Because I hope to find a reason to convince you to stop yourself from doing anything." Saber admitted.

Saber at the moment was more than sure that, in reality, Caster was not even at the temple, and that right now she was speaking with another one of her copies. Caster was not the kind of woman who would take any kind of risk, even a little one, and since now she had become her Master, Saber could not even fight her back properly.

She could only hope to convince her to stop herself from doing something irreparable...

"...I see." Medea said with a nod. "So, usually the objective of all living being, humans included, is to simply live, no more nor less, but I think that when Shirou 'died' in the incident not only he 'lost' his life, he then obviously lost his 'reason to live' since he was on the verge of death, or, in better words, part of himself had already died as it been consumed by that cursed mud. But then, as we both know, before he could pass on he had been saved and 'brought back to life', but to 'bring him back' Avalon had to repair or recreate his soul, which thanks to Avalon got the shape of a sword. You now understand where I'm going?"

"Yes, since he had 'lost' his life he had lost the reason to live, and when he became the incarnation of sword, he didn't acquire, nor reacquire, a reason to live, he had no purpose." Saber said as she nodded and started to think.

"Exactly," Medea said with a nod. "but at one point he had found a reason to live, or in better words, as a weapon, he had found a reason to fight."

"...You mean that when Kiritsugu passed him the dream of being a hero of justice, Shirou had finally found a purpose?"

"Yes, and not only it was perfect for him since by nature Shirou is selfless, he both had found a reason to help others, which also brought him happiness, and especially, he had found a reason to fight."

"...You think that his nature as a weapon influenced him way more than we first thought?"

"Absolutely yes," Caster said. "before the war Shirou, since he could not yet act as a hero, had no real purpose. It was for this exact reason he was the kind of person that would help others when he had nothing to do, just to keep himself occupied, but if it was a question of protecting someone, which meant a possible chance of conflict, Shirou was the first one to arrive on the place, ready to act. For example, as soon he discovered that there was a war he immediately asked if he could fight with me, as he made clear that his only intention was to protect the innocents. I'm sure that even if we never met that night he would have gotten involved in the war anyway, maybe he would have fought for something different, like his dream, his ideology, his loved one... no matter the reason, he just needed something to fight for. "

"...So, you're saying that even if it was unconsciously, what Shirou wanted all this time long was a reason to fight?"

"Kinda, but it was just partially. I think that it was just that part of his nature, the sword that resided in him, that deep down needed and carved for conflict."

"Then why you say he was misguided? More than misguided you can say that he followed his instinct and nature." Saber said.

"What I mean by misguided is that he had never been understood by his father, and for this reason, he had not been correctly... raised, or refined, in his case." Medea said. "Shirou, until the war started, other than helping and saving others he had no idea on what to do... and unluckily when he found me, I gave him the idea on what he had to do... or in better words, I revealed him who he had to fight and to kill to save the innocents."

"..."

"Not only I used magic on him to get more prepared and willing to kill, but I also convinced him on how all the participants were monsters that would have killed many innocents people if no one stopped them. And then, when you arrived, not only you told him about the events of the last war, and confirmed his fear about the ruthless mages, we even revealed to him how the incident that took everything away from him had been a result of the last war... at the times we both felt that justice rage taking life in him."

"I see." Saber said with a nod, as she remembered that moment.

"Could you imagine what would Shirou have become if he survived this war, Saber? War change people, surely, but... it changed him too much, and because of me, he became too merciless against his enemies."

"...Why are you speaking about it as if it was a negative thing?"

Caster said nothing, she just turned to watch Saber with a surprised expression.

"Why do you think that it is a negative thing not showing any mercy at people who willingly put in danger innocent people? And why you say that he was too merciless Caster? Do you think that he could have gone around speaking with the other participants and convince them that the magic Grail that could fulfill any wish, in reality, was a corrupted lie all along? This was a war Caster, a very ruthless one, not a diplomatic place where people came to talk. All the participants when they took part in it were ready to kill, and especially, to die. All mages for all of their lives are reminded that they will walk with death for all of their life, isn't that right? And you say that he is too merciless, but remind me, Caster, didn't he spared Rider and Sakura's sister? If he was too merciless he would have killed them without thinking twice."

"But... but you believed us when we told you about the state of the Grail."

"Yes, but I did it only because I had taken part in the last war and still had my memories about it. The fact that Kiritsugu, a man who was desperate just as much as me to obtain the Grail and its power, for some unknown reason had ordered me to destroy it, was the only proof and example that I needed to understand the true nature of the Grail. Now tell me, how should Shirou have acted knowing that the mages who took part in this war would use the civilian population to their advantage? Your master, the agent of the Clock Tower, and Shinji and Zouken were the kind of people who never cared about the civilians and used them whenever it seemed fit. What he should have done? Spare them? And I'm not sure what action and decision Illya, Rin, and Lancer's Master would have taken during the war, but I'm more than sure that unlike Shirou they wouldn't have gone out of their way to save the innocents. Out of all the participants Shirou was the only one who cared about the safety of the innocents, Caster. I'm sure that after the war he would have gone all around the world to bring righteous justice and punish the evil ones." Saber said.

"...But Shirou before he met me would have never done any of this, I'm sure that he would have found a way to resolve all of this peacefully." Medea said.

Saber observed Caster for a very long moment before she asked: "Really? And what can you tell me about Archer?"

Medea just flinched at Saber's question.

"Shirou may have resolved this conflict peacefully, but we both know that only a few of them can be, and surely at one point in the future, he would be forced to kill ALL of his enemies, that he liked it or not. I do not know much about Archer, before and after Shirou's death I just had some glimpses of him in my dreams, but I can still say that Archer was not the kind of person who saved people, right? Do you perhaps know what happened to him?"

"...Archer... he was an alternative version of Shirou who became a Counter Guardian..." Medea answered as she lowered her head.

"Don't you see Caster? Do you really think that our Shirou would have become a Counter Guardian like him? Do you really think that he would have become someone who instead of saving the innocents would have killed them?" Saber asked.

"But I distorted him too much Saber! Don't you realize?! Shirou's objective changed from saving the innocents to killing the culprits! If he survived he would have passed an entire life of retribution and vengeance, and I'm sure that until his grave he would have never rested! He would have kept on fighting evil until he crumbled! In the end, he would have lived a miserable life as left behind his humanity and he became a toll of death, a real sword in all and for all!" Medea said as she frowned.

Saber remained silent as she watched Caster with a strange and confused expression. She really couldn't understand what was the problem in leaving one's humanity behind. When she extracted Caliburn she had made the decision to become the perfect King and be nothing else, so where was the problem if Shirou wanted to become the bane of all evil?

This was like one of those moral dilemmas: the trolley problem.

Usually, a person would have only 2 choices: Do nothing, and let the trolley kill the 5 people. By doing so, the person would have spared the only other person present the other tracks, while it let the other 5 die. The other choice, instead, was to pull the lever and make the trolly kill the other person that was on the other tracks. By doing so, they would have saved the 5 people while they murdered/sacrificed a single person.

If she had to make a comparison between this war and that problem, what Shirou did instead had been to kill the people who tied all of those other people on the tracks, before they could even start the trolley. By doing so he prevented any innocent to die in the first place. So, why Caster thought that it was wrong for him to act like that when he had taken the best decision?

"Is that what you wanted Shirou to become?! Shirou would have kept on moving onward to his next battlefield, and he would have kept fighting until his own justifications and limits changed even more!" Medea continued.

"Caster, this war proved to us that Shirou could have become what he always wanted: A hero. He could have become a real tool of justice that would have kept on protecting and saving the innocents. This war had proved to him how he could end the madness of the Grail War. This war had proved to him that he had the power to end the savages who never cared about human lives!" Saber exclaimed. "Do you think that he would have ever permitted the sight he saw that night to happen ever again? Do you really think that he would have permitted that expanse of charred corpses that went as far as the eye could see to happen?! Caster, you can think that you distorted him as much as you want, but we both know that Shirou would never ignore the cries of the innocents. The truth is that what you think and define as vengeance against the evil ones, in reality, is simple and crude justice!"

"...Tell me what you want Saber, but it doesn't change the fact that I still changed him too much... he wasn't like that before... I swear. Do you remember that night where he killed both Shinji and Zouken, Saber? Do you remember how you were the first one to notice that he was satisfied after he had slain an maimed and pacified Shinji? ...Just the mere thought that the gore of the evil had satisfied him... makes me shiver."

"...Just what makes you really shiver Caster? Is that seeing the evil ones die brought him satisfaction? Or that right now if he was alive he would find somekind of satisfaction in killing you?" Saber asked her with a frown.

There was a long silence after that, Caster did not answer her, and she just turned her head around.

"...As expected, deep down you know that what you're doing is wrong." Saber said before she sighed. "Caster, I do not know what kind of person Shirou was before he summoned me, but as soon I saw him I knew that I've been summoned by a strong individual: A warrior. Shirou as a warrior could not accept this war! As a warrior, he could not accept the loss of human lives! And as a warrior, he fought until his very end to stop this war, and he won. Shirou, in the end, has fulfilled his duty... we can say that he had been forged at the end of the fourth war, and he died in the fifth as he brought an end to it forever. We can say that stopping this war had been his real duty all along... and he has done fine work." Saber said as she lowered her head. "So please Caster, I beg you, do not let his death being meaningless... do not let me fail him once again..." Saber continued as she raised her eyes watched the hooded Caster who now was watching the city with a sad expression.

After half a minute of silence Saber turned around and started to walk toward the temple, she now was sure that now Caster would not stop her from saving Illya if she was there, but just when she was about to open the main entrance and enter the temple, as the door started to give her a strange feeling, Caster called her.

"...Saber." Medea called her.

"What is it?" She asked as she started to open the door.

"I've alread told you that there is nothing you can do anymore, Illya peacefully passed away while you were coming here. I swear to you that she didn't suffer a thing, I made sure of it."

At hearing Caster's words Saber froze still in place. The disbelief, horror and shock that she was now feeling could not be descibed.

"C... Ca... Caster...!" Saber then said after a moment, as she gritted her teeth and the sacred sword in her hand started to tremble with incredible rage.

"...I know that none of you has ever done something wrong, the two of you have been just victims of circumstances, but as I said before, I have no choice."

"HOW COULD YOU DARE!" Saber shouted with anger as she suddenly spun around and started to dash toward Caster, ready to-

"Kill yourself Saber." Medea coldly ordered her as she used all 3 of her command seals.

In that instant a single sound of flesh being pirced and blood being splattered could been heard, before everything else fell silent.

...

...

...

After an incredibly long moment, after she had suddenly stop dashing toward Caster, Saber turned her attention away from the woman and looked down to watch her chest, just to see the bloodied hilt of her sword, with which she had automatically stabbed herself in her heart.

The sensation of pain that Saber was feeling could not be descibed... not because it was too intense, but because she could not feel anything. What could not be really descibed at the moment was the anger and the hatred Saber was feeling for Caster, for how strong and intense it was.

The woman- No, the witch, the damn traitor who she was now watching with anger not only had forced her to kill herself, she had already murdered in cold blood Illya, the one she to Shirou swore to protect no matter the cost, before she could even arrive there!

"Both you and Illya have been precious people both to me, and to Shirou, but to make it possible for Shirou to be rescued the two of you had to die... I'm sorry." Medea said as she saw Saber falling on one knee, as Saber kept watching her with hatred. "I have to save Shirou no matter the cost. The fact that Archer, a version of Shirou who never met me, had been left alone by everyone and ended up on such a road, is proof that Shirou has to be saved... I do not expect you to understand me, but I cannot let you stop me."

"...Caster...!" Saber growled with anger, as she watched the witch with hatred, while blood started to leak from her mouth.

Medea said nothing and just kept silently looking down on the dying Saber.

"MAY YOU BE CURSED, YOU WITCH! YOU DAMN TRAITOR! BACKSTABBER! I NOW SEE THAT SAKURA WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG! SHIROU SAVING YOU HAS BEEN THE GREATEST MISTAKE OF HIS LIFE!" Saber shouted in anger as she tried to get up, but failed, and almost fell on the ground. "YOU SAY THAT YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR SHIROU WHEN IN REALITY YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE DOING ALL OF THIS JUST FOR YOURSELF! IF YOU CARED ABOUT HIM YOU WOULD NOT MAKE EVERYTHING HE DID MEANINGLESS! THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE!" Saber kept shouting, before she suddenly started to cough blood.

Medea kept looking down on her with an emotionless expression.

"REMEMBER THIS WORDS OF MINE CASTER! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT! YOU WILL PAY FOR ALL OF THIS! AND MAY FAIL IN YOUR SENSELESS AND BLASPHEMOUS QUEST YOU WITCH!" Saber shouted before she lost all of her strength in her body and fell face-first on the hard ground.

After she fell on the ground, Saber watched in complete silence the pool made of her own blood getting larger, and as she did, the emotions that she was feeling started to alter. Saber could feel how her hatred, hostility, anger, and aversion for Caster started to change in great senses of dismay, regret, sadness, and disappointment.

As her breath became weaker, and she started to slowly fade, Saber remembered the day she had sworn to Shirou to protect Illya. She remembered how she watched him in the eyes and vowed to him that she would have protected the sister that he really wanted to love and care for before he died. She remembered how she promised him to protect her for him, for Irisviel, and for Kiritsugu... and now, once again, she had failed her duty.

"...Shirou... you trusted me... and I failed you again..." Saber said faintly, as her eyes started to get watery. "...please... find the strength to forgive me... I beg you..." She asked him with her dying breath, as a strong sense of shame she had never felt before invaded her very soul.

As Saber died and her sight became dark, she realized that nothing had ever changed for her, this was yet another proof of it. No matter what she tried to do or become, no matter how hard she tried, she was nothing but a failure that could only fail and disappoint the ones she wanted to help...

Medea stood still as she watched Saber die and disappear, and she remained there in silence, as she now watched the pool of blood where Saber laid some seconds before.

"I know that, Saber, I know that I can't keep running forever..." Medea's copy said as it slowly disappeared, before a moment later, from above, the real Medea appeared and slowly descended near the puddle of blood.

After that, as Medea observed what remained of Saber, a long moment of silence invaded the place... but then it got suddenly interrupted by some applause.

Medea snapped out of her thoughts and raised her head and turned it around, just to see the entrance of the temple being open and a smiling Kirei Kotomine looking at her as he applauded her.

"That has been such a beautiful scene, Caster. You have my most sincere compliments." The priest said as he smiled even more, before he lowered his hands and he put both of them behind his back. "Now, can we proceed with the plan?" He then asked her.