Chapter 5: True Name Release

Chapter 5: True Name Liberation

"No, what intense resentment. That park." Lolita pointed at the park not far away and said, "Could that be the final battlefield of the previous Holy Grail War...?"

"Huh?" Looking at Lolita in surprise, Tohsaka Rin nodded and said, "You guessed it? Yes. Perhaps no one knows anymore how the Holy Grail War actually came to be; the only thing known is that this great fire was caused by the Holy Grail War, and this was the final battlefield. The fire burned continuously for a whole day and was only extinguished when the rain finally came. After that, although the city was rebuilt, only this place remained unchanged. A scorched wasteland with nothing left—only death remains..."

According to Schuster's memories, this was the final battlefield of King Arthur and the King of Heroes from the last Holy Grail War. The Grail had descended, but its true form was not an omnipotent vessel, but rather all the evils of this world. Although the Holy Grail was ultimately destroyed, the curse it poured out transformed this place into hell.

Stepping onto this land, Lolita could feel the thick, oppressive curse even more acutely. Though to a magus this was merely magical energy, Lolita could sense that thousands of lingering resentful spirits wandered here. Bound tightly by the curse of all the evils of this world due to their excessive grievances, they could neither pass on nor attain salvation.

"Ten years ago, my father also participated in this war..." After a moment of silence, Tohsaka Rin spoke up.

However, Lolita did not reply. Long-sealed memories slowly awakened, and the slowly revolving wheel of time opened the gates of memory.

Lolita's face was dark, her beautiful features filled with pain.

I remember... The memories hidden within this body were continuously awakened─── After waking up, I found myself in the middle of a burning wasteland; it must have been a massive fire. The streets I was so used to had become ruins, just like the battlefield remnants seen in movies─── And this situation did not last much longer. By around dawn, the fire gradually began to weaken. The towering walls of fire slowly lowered, and most of the buildings had collapsed. Amidst all this, I found it quite unbelievable that only I remained completely unscathed. The only one alive in the surrounding area—was it because I was lucky, or because the house was built in a place with good Feng Shui? I had no idea why, but regardless, I alone was still alive. Since I had survived, I thought I had to keep living. Because staying in this place was dangerous, I started walking aimlessly, not out of fear of turning into charcoal like the people collapsed nearby. Surely, my will was dominated by a feeling far stronger than the fear of becoming like that? Even so, I still held no hope whatsoever, because surviving until now was already a miracle; I didn't think for a moment that I could be saved just like that, because no matter what, no one was coming to rescue me. By no means could anyone escape this world of blazing red. Even a child as small as I thought this way; this scene was a literal hell. Then I collapsed. Was it because oxygen ran out, or had my body's respiratory function ceased? In any case, I fell down, looking at the darkening sky. Around me were many people shrunk into charcoal-like figures, and dark clouds shrouded the heavens, letting me know rain was imminent. That was fine; once it rained, the fire would end. Finally, I took a deep breath, looking up at the rainclouds, unable to draw in even a shred of air. I only thought: how painful it is! Corpses piled up like mountains, people breaking down one by one. At that moment, everyone was crying out for help, yet no one was saved. It was agonizing—the pain of watching oneself die bit by bit. So painful, so painful, that even living was painful, making death seem like a much easier release. With hazy consciousness, I reached out without any particular meaning, not to beg for rescue. It was simply at my very end. I thought the sky was so far away... Then my consciousness faded, and the raised hand fell to the ground... No... It should have fallen... A large hand grasped my weakly drooping hand. That man had run into that fire simply wanting to save someone, and then he found me. I still remember that face; the man's eyes were shedding tears, genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart because he had found someone still alive. ───Because he looked overwhelmingly, impossibly happy, it almost made one feel that the one being saved wasn't me, but rather that man? Then, the man looked as though he were thanking someone, making me—even on the verge of death—feel a sense of envy as he rescued me, a stranger's child...

...

"Emiya Kiritsugu..."

Pressing her head, Lolita spat out the man's name...

The terror and anger brought by the Red Archer's memories swept over her like a tide...

Suddenly, her lungs felt devoid of oxygen, as if she were breathing only dry carbon dioxide. Her blood felt as though it were flowing backward, rampaging through her body like a derailed train. Pain surged like a tidal wave, causing Lolita to clutch her chest in agony and drop to her knees on the ground.

"Ugh, ahhh—!" Hastily casting a barrier with her hand, Lolita groaned in torment: "Ahhh—!"

"Archer!" Tohsaka Rin rushed over anxiously, wanting to approach: "What's wrong with you? Are there enemies?"

"Ah— Don't... don't... don't come over!" Thick, dark demonic energy began to billow from Lolita's body. However, for one who had traversed countless battlefields and never retreated in defeat once, this was still within her threshold of endurance. In agony, she said, "N-no enemies, it's just myself... Ah—!"

A wave of pain, several times more intense than before, struck her. Lolita let out a sharp cry. A gem radiating a purple-blue light appeared on her chest, continuously releasing demonic energy that enveloped her whole body...

"Ah... ah..." With each surge of demonic energy, Lolita let out a painful groan.

"Ah—!" Following her longest, piercing scream, Lolita finally ceased her moaning. To Tohsaka Rin's eyes, the black aura enveloping her entire body was reabsorbed inward. Lolita simply breathed quietly, her entire body soaked in cold sweat, though her clothing was thick enough to prevent any inappropriate exposure.

Looking at the girl kneeling on the ground and breathing steadily, Tohsaka Rin's first instinct was to go over and help her up, but both a magus's intuition and a woman's intuition warned her never to approach.

"Boom!" A small shockwave rippled outward as Lolita slowly stood up. Her back was turned to Tohsaka Rin; had it been otherwise, Rin would surely have seen the murderous intent burning in Lolita's crimson eyes.

"Hoo—" Taking a deep breath, Lolita turned around and said, "I'm fine