Chapter 11: My Name Is Shirou Emiya
Everyone: ???
"Holy crap, such good fortune?"
"If I correct my attitude now and become a Hero of Justice, is there still a chance?"
Everyone had been watching with an entertainment mindset.
Who would have thought they'd end up seeing others reap such rewards?
Even more absurd.
To maintain fairness.
The entire process would be displayed exactly as it happened before everyone's eyes.
This ignited envy in all viewers.
Laid out on the table were five total rewards offered to Shirou.
All carefully organized by Juwon, who served as the narration voiceover.
This time his voice was no longer humorous but solemn and dignified: "Shirou Emiya"
"Option One: Gain the ability to perfectly project Excalibur without damage!"
"Option Cost: Permanently sever all ties with Artoria Pendragon"
As soon as this option appeared.
All mystics across the Type-Moon universe were shocked.
The Sword of Promised Victory!
Could one actually project a Noble Phantasm comparable to the real thing?
"Option Two: Gain all functions as a Servant, including Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works"
Option Cost: Permanently sever all ties with Rin Tohsaka
"Option Three: Gain the ability to project the Jeweled Sword!"
Option Cost: Sever all ties with Sakura Matou
"Option Four: Revive five designated individuals"
Option Cost: Designate one person to die
"Option Five: Obtain the Orb Ring Servant Edition, which randomly provides a certain number of Servant cards daily, enabling fusion into composite Servants!"
Option Cost: Lose all potential for magical development as Shirou Emiya.
...
Five rewards.
Unbelievable to those who had witnessed the entire viewing experience.
Even Kuzuki, who taught Shirou's class, watched the boy, concerned whether he would continue pursuing his ideal path.
Not just him.
Across Chaldea and even the Clock Tower.
Extending throughout the entire anime multiverse.
Everyone was shocked when they saw the fourth and fifth options.
A fusion device.
And this was just for Servants within the Type-Moon universe.
What if it were applied to higher-power worlds?
This wish would be understandable for ordinary people.
But for justice-seeking Shirou.
The choice was agonizing.
This fifth option seemed almost mandatory.
Who would refuse trading personal potential for greater talent?
As for the fourth option...
Wouldn't it be perfect to kill Shinji Matou or Matou Zouken from the story?
Reviving cherished individuals—everyone desires this.
Unless divinity overrides humanity, no one could ever sacrifice loved ones for greater causes.
But the first three options...
"Sever bonds to gain immediate combat power?" This behavior was hard for Luffy, who treasures comrades, to accept.
"Friendship and power..." Kakashi remained troubled by the revival option.
"How can anyone justify depriving others of the right to be known just for power? This is wrong!" In the magical girl world, Madoka, who had been watching the edit since waking up, clenched her pink fists earnestly.
"How foolish. So-called emotions are merely shackles preventing the strong from reaching higher realms." The cosmic emperor Frieza sneered: "But judging by the story, this boy's choice will likely align with the 'Protagonist' setting."
Indeed...
Shirou is the Protagonist.
And a protagonist overflowing with justice.
At this moment, he too hesitated.
He wanted all these options.
But the prices to be paid were becoming increasingly unbearable with each demand.
The knightly maiden encountered beneath the moonlight, the unattainable flower quietly waiting with knees drawn in the classroom after school, and above all, the purple-haired girl who accompanied the Protagonist Shirou from the very beginning of this story on that fateful night.
The edited story sequences had made it clear.
They were all soulmates the boy named Shirou could never abandon.
Therefore...
When faced with the choice between severing these bonds or fulfilling the lifelong path laid before Shirou,
The boy no longer hesitated.
"I've made my decision."
"I only choose options 4 and 5."
...
The boy's heart was as clear as a mirror, his eyes free from doubt.
After speaking,
He suddenly froze in astonishment.
That morning, he had been just an ordinary high school student.
But now he had been forcibly designated by the editor as the world's Protagonist.
And now, this absurd editing was granting him the right to choose.
Was this real or false?
If real, how would he face Kiritsugu?
If false, how could he bear this disappointment?
"I want to resurrect Kiritsugu Emiya, resurrect Irisviel von Einzbern, resurrect Tokiomi Tohsaka, resurrect Kariya Matou, and resurrect Aoi Tohsaka!"
"As the price, I wish for the devil named Matou Zouken to vanish from this world forever!"
As he spoke, Shirou's mind recalled his final conversation with Kiritsugu.
Recalled the lonely crimson figure often seen brooding in the classroom corner.
He detested the one who traced this curse back to its source.
The filthy devil named Matou Zouken.
No matter how many evil deeds Shinji had committed, his actions deserved condemnation, but even with all his anger towards Shinji's behavior, it hadn't reached the point requiring extermination.
But Matou Zouken...
If the gods wouldn't punish him,
Then Shirou would deliver divine punishment in their stead!
"Are you certain?" The authoritative voice sounded once more.
This time, Shirou nodded without hesitation.
After he finished speaking,
A miracle manifested instantly.
As Shirou uttered these words, his entire body suddenly tingled with numbness.
Attempting to channel magical energy,
He could only feel an empty shell of a body.
Instead, a warm sunlight streamed through the classroom window, bathing Shirou in its glow.
A shimmering rainbow light faded, and the boy's waist became outlined with starlight-like decorations.
Bathed in sunlight, the outline glowed brilliantly.
The entire process from start to finish lasted but a moment.
When the light dissipated, a ring-like object and a waist pouch containing cards appeared beside Shirou.
Opening it,
The EMIYA card representing the Archer class and the Shirou Emiya card representing the Saber class lay quietly within.
"Feeling any discomfort, Emiya?"
Just as Shirou was at a loss, Kuzuki, acting as his teacher, provided guidance: "Try it out—what they call Heroic Spirit transformation."
"Ah... Okay..."
Shirou had already processed the information transmitted to his mind along with the birth of the Heroic Spirit Ring.
He hurriedly drew a card, exclaiming: "EMIYA-san!"
With these words, he inserted the card into the ring's sensor.
"And then... I'm counting on you, Shirou-san!"
The somewhat chuunibyou-like procedure was performed again before his classmates.
Everyone looked at him as if he were a fool.
But Shirou had no time to care about their reactions.
A holy light emerged.
Suddenly, with a thunderous sound,
Two crimson phantoms overlapped with Shirou's form.
Without any warning, an intense surge of energy erupted, with shockwaves radiating from his feet as the epicenter. The sheer explosive force nearly shattered the classroom!
In the next moment, silver-white strands mingled with his crimson hair, and his physique stood out strikingly.
A presence.
Sharp as a blade.
Each passing second of his imposing aura was suffocating.
Had it not been for Kuzuki's calming influence, everyone present would likely have fled the school in terror.
This scene was also projected across the myriad realms.
Many were offering their blessings.
"How wonderful..."
"This is only tenth place, and the reward is already this incredible?"
"Speaking of which, who exactly is ninth?"
At this moment.
Everyone's focus shifted from Shirou himself as they eagerly discussed who might appear next.
But compared to others' excitement.
Shirou cared more about whether his chosen resurrection reward had succeeded.
He blinked.
Suddenly, five beams of light descended before him one by one.
The light transformed into human forms.
Four unfamiliar figures and one familiar person appeared before his eyes.
Kiritsugu, Irisviel, Kariya, Tokiomi, Aoi.
"Preposterous! How could I not be included?" In the Fourth War, Kayneth protested with a stern face.
But no one around him cared about his feelings, all immersed in the warmth of this reunion.
Just as he was muttering.
Kiritsugu slowly opened his eyes within the beam of light.
The transition from long slumber to awakening made him open his eyes gradually.
Gazing at the crimson-haired figure before him that seemed vaguely familiar, he fell into a daze.
The youth's handsome face matched the childish features from his final memories, and he called out the other's name.
"You are... Shirou?"
"Kiritsugu!!"
"Wait... Irisviel, you too??"
Feeling the warmth of an embrace, Kiritsugu's still-rebooting mind gradually regained clarity.
He looked around at the others present.
The Tohsaka couple and Kariya.
They all wore confused expressions.
It wasn't until Rin and Sakura rushed into the classroom and received explanations that they learned the youth before them had used a special privilege to resurrect them.
After countless years.
Just before the painful cycle of magecraft was about to restart.
This sudden warmth seemed to wash away all hostility from the young men and women about to participate in the Holy Grail War.
"Are you... doing well, Sakura?"
Kariya looked at the child from his memories, now grown into a young woman, feeling both sorrow and infinite emotion.
"Yes, Uncle Kariya."
Seeing the elder who had died trying to save her now resurrected, Sakura's heart held only gratitude and self-loathing for having witnessed Kariya being devoured by the insect swarm without taking action.
She hated herself so much her heart ached faintly.
The pain made her heart creak and groan.
Wait... that didn't seem to be her heart? Why could she hear fragmented whispers of repentance?
Ah.
At this moment, viewers who had watched the complete edited version of "Sakura's Dream" understood.
This was Zouken's main worm body that had burrowed into Sakura's heart.
It was wailing, begging.
Retreating.
Fearing death.
"My eternal dream, my five hundred years..."
"Tohsaka... Einzbern... Makiri..."
The light permeated Sakura's body, restoring her insect-ravaged form to perfect condition, while completely erasing the last traces of the being called Zouken from the world.
At death's door, scenes from five hundred years ago flashed before his eyes.
Back then, Da Vinci was conducting research, occasionally studying together with him.
Back then, Hohenheim was still alive... now both of them had become Heroic Spirits.
And Makiri Zolgen, the Magus, finally met his end...
"You are truly mistaken, Makiri." Da Vinci in Chaldea and Hohenheim in the Pale Silver timeline watched the tragic final departure of their old friend with silent sighs: "No royal authority lasts forever."
During this period.
Several individuals including Tokiomi and Kiritsugu had fully come to understand Shirou's circumstances.
Irisviel was particularly overjoyed—her husband had finally let go of that curse-like ideal at the end of his life.
More importantly, she had gained a son.
After learning the complete story.
The Tohsaka couple brought Rin back to their ancestral home, with Tokiomi needing to rebuild their impoverished family fortunes.
Kariya also took Sakura back to the Matou residence, deciding to remain in Fuyuki temporarily.
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu and Irisviel had reached their decision.
They would take Shirou and Illya away from Fuyuki, never to set foot in these dangerous battles again.
However.
Before this family reunion could conclude, Shirou politely declined: "I still have my own dreams to pursue."
"I want to personally experience the Holy Grail War that father participated in..."
The audience: "..."
Irisviel: "..."
He still wanted to join the war?
Although his earlier refusal to sever ties indicated this intention.
Hearing him actually say these words left everyone incredulous.
For such a high-quality youth, romance could be found anywhere, anytime.
His current choice clearly indicated he merely wanted to see the scenery along the path shown in the recordings.
But... was that really all?
Watching Shirou, Kiritsugu's thoughts drifted back to that summer night long ago.
The initially naive and immature child had grown into the young man standing before him.
His eyes shone brightly, glittering like brilliant meteors.
Though both sought justice, Kiritsugu could feel Shirou's radiant spirit was fundamentally different from his own.
If his own pursuit had been a final song at sunset, then Shirou's passionate idealism was the rising sun.
Even after experiencing the Holy Grail War.
The life of this youth named Shirou would not end in this small far-eastern town.
Therefore—
"Our home might become a bit more crowded from now on." He told Shirou: "But no matter what, on the path to realizing your ideals, even when you feel weary or disillusioned, never give up. Remember that in Fuyuki City, there will always be one final harbor to shelter your heart."
One statement.
Two meanings.
Seeing how Kiritsugu could still see through his thoughts as easily as before, Shirou smiled faintly.
Bathed in the warm sunlight behind him, the silver-red-haired youth revealed a smile even brighter than the sun.
"I'll continue striving forward on my path."
With these final words.
He would go to experience what EMIYA had lived through, to enjoy the life he should have lived in the original timeline, regardless of others' opinions.
He would always remain himself...
"My name is Shirou Emiya."
Whether speaking to the screen or to his classmates nearby.
The youth who had returned to normal hurriedly left these last words.
The screen gradually faded to black.
Leaving only a simple message.
[End of this episode...]