Shirou kicked open the attic door.
Even though he knew his younger brother Rudeus had a bad relationship with him, and Rudeus had never been willing to accept him or get along with him, these problems were nothing compared to the tragedy that was about to happen.
No matter how much Rudeus disliked him, no matter how distant they were, they were now brothers in the same family.
And even if Rudeus wasn't his brother, so what?
For Emiya Shirou, saving others was an obsession.
Maybe he had given up the silly ideal of becoming a hero of justice, but his body had never forgotten this fact that was etched in his heart.
So, he opened the attic door without hesitation and quickly found Rudeus.
"Rudy, come here quickly!"
Seeing Rudeus trembling, Shirou reached out his hand to him without hesitation. Even though the attic, as the source of the fire, was filled with thick smoke and flames, he didn't take a single step back.
"..."
Rudeus was stunned by Shirou's outstretched hand.
It was a hand reaching out to save him, but for some reason, he seemed to see something very scary.
It was a denial of himself.
It was a criticism of his incredibly foolish past.
This was more terrifying than physical abuse. It directly erased the rationality of everything he had done in the past, and laid bare all the mistakes of Rudeus' previous life for all to see.
It could be said that this was something more terrifying than death—admitting his mistakes and foolishness.
Therefore, Rudeus didn't take Shirou's hand, but shrank back in fear, wanting to escape not only reality but also this flawed life.
"Idiot!"
Shirou didn't expect Rudeus not only to refuse his hand but also to try to avoid his help. He wasn't angry; he wouldn't get angry at a three-year-old. He was just worried about the current situation.
Faced with the growing fire and the increasingly difficult situation, he chose to rush into the flames. Even though his clothes were already burning, he didn't stop and went straight to Rudeus.
"Bro...brother..."
Seeing Shirou's appearance, Rudeus spoke instinctively.
He wasn't really calling out to Shirou, but more like calling out to his older brother from his previous life, the one who had worked so hard for him but whom he had let down.
Now, in Rudeus' eyes, Shirou's appearance completely overlapped with that of his older brother.
And when he thought about how his older brother had turned into a demon that day, smashing his computer with a baseball bat and kicking him out of the house, Rudeus couldn't help but tremble inside.
He thought Shirou would definitely be angry like his older brother, angry at his own cowardice, and would directly beat him.
However, the scene he imagined didn't happen.
He didn't feel any pain in his body, but instead felt a warmth he had never felt before.
"Are you scared, Rudy?" Shirou hugged Rudeus. Although he was only an eight-year-old child, he could barely pick up the three-year-old Rudeus with the help of enhancement magic and left the burning attic directly. "Don't worry, because I'm already here, so there's nothing to be afraid of."
"..."
Rudeus was suddenly stunned to hear such words from the boy.
He had never imagined that someone would say such gentle words to him, let alone that someone would face such a terrible situation, such a terrible fire, to appear in front of him and save him.
More than a hero, Shirou was like a god.
Only a god would be so loving and all-encompassing, willing to sacrifice everything to save even someone as cowardly as himself.
"Bro...brother..."
At this moment, Rudeus finally couldn't control his emotions, and tears streamed down his face as he cried in Shirou's arms.
He was both moved by Shirou's actions of saving him at all costs and remorseful for his own cowardice and foolishness in the past.
Both Shirou and his older brother from his previous life had treated him so gently, wanting to save him no matter what.
However, he had failed to give them the response they had hoped for, and instead, under the influence of his cowardly mentality, he had chosen to escape again and again, betraying his brother's kindness.
He had done wrong.
He was simply an incredibly stupid jerk.
Rudeus finally recognized reality and the kind of dull person he was.
At the same time, Shirou didn't pay attention to Rudeus's crying. He didn't know the inner turmoil Rudeus was experiencing, and simply regarded it as a natural reaction to fear.
At this moment, he carried Rudeus down from the attic, but didn't leave the house directly. Instead, he went straight to the living room and found Lilia lying on the ground.
A hero of justice is a hero who saves everyone.
Whether it was Emiya Shirou or Servant Emiya, what they admired and hoped to become was such an existence.
Not a rational person who sacrifices others to save someone, nor a sentimental person who causes others to be sacrificed in order to save someone.
A hero of justice is like the embodiment of an ideal, saving everyone trapped in disaster, even at the cost of their own life.
Although Emiya Shirou had once given up this ideal for his sister Miyu, his body had never strayed far from the ideal of a hero of justice.
People cannot escape their own nature.
Just as Rudeus could never change his cowardly nature, Emiya Shirou could never change his hypocritical nature.
His kindness was fake, and his ideals were borrowed.
Even so, he would become a hero of justice.
That was all.
"Lilia, Lilia, can you stand up!"
Shirou pinched the maid's philtrum, trying to wake her up.
He was only an eight-year-old boy, and he could barely carry Rudeus out of the house, but there was no way he could carry Lilia.
Even if he used enhancement magic, he couldn't do it.
"young master...Shirou..."
Lilia gradually woke up. She had undergone Swordsman training before, and although she had injured the tendons in her legs, making it difficult for her to walk, her physical fitness was not bad. Even in the face of such a terrible fire, she could barely regain consciousness.
Shirou breathed a sigh of relief and helped Lilia to stand up, and they walked out of the house little by little.
Because of Lilia's leg problems, she couldn't run fast and could only move slowly step by step. Shirou had to be as careful as possible about the surrounding environment, especially the beams that had been burned badly, which could fall down at any time, and use the sword in his hand to clear the path as much as possible.
"Bang!"
However, Shirou was still just a child, and his physical strength was limited. Although he could clear the path ahead, he had no way to deal with the flames coming from all around.
Ordinary flames were fine, but even Shirou had no way to deal with the raging fire caused by the buildup of gas that caused an explosion.
Unfortunately, the Greyrat family's house was built in a hurry and didn't consider ventilation and emergency exits at all. A rapid fire began to accumulate and suddenly burst out from the right!
"Not good, there's no time to react..."
Although Shirou's mind caught up, his young body held him back, unable to keep up with the bursting flames.
Servant Emiya's power required some prior chanting to use and couldn't be directly activated without any preparation.
Just as the flames were about to engulf everyone—
"Boom!"
A huge pillar of water suddenly spurted out of Rudeus's hand.
The water flow was like a cannonball, not only extinguishing the flames but also blasting a hole in the wall, further widening the passage.
The boy himself was startled by his own power, never expecting his magic to have such terrible power.