Chapter 653

【Amakusa Shirou: "Saint Jeanne d'Arc, the Holy Grail War is over. I have used the Third Magic to complete the act of saving humanity."】

【"It's not half-baked immortality, but a thorough immortality that abandons the corrupt flesh. And it's not aimed at a single object, but shared by all humanity; regardless of good or evil, passion and private desires will fade, vanity becomes meaningless; it is perfect peace—Alright, Jeanne, I'll ask again, was my approach wrong?"】

【Jeanne: "..."】

【Amakusa Shirou: "It's not wrong, not a mistake; the degree of completion is so high that you can't speak. I think it would have been better if I could have talked to you properly earlier. However, there are some things that you won't have a practical feeling for until they are completed. Even if I explained my purpose early, you would have hindered me just the same."】

【Humanity is saved, no worries, no despair—】

【No problem, cannot refute—】

【But for some reason, she always felt something was wrong.】

【"Jeanne, open your eyes; you can't not understand that what he said is correct."】

【Gilles suddenly appeared in the real world and said to Jeanne.】

【Jeanne: "But, that—"】

【Gilles: "You know my nickname, the notorious Bluebeard. I did many bad things to blaspheme the gods who betrayed the Saint! Let me let you hear the wails of the children! The desperate laments!"】

【Jeanne: "Don't, don't do this... stop..."】

【Gilles: "That's right, they were killed by me, and they were also killed by you! The reason I went crazy is because of your regret for being betrayed! As long as you don't die, I will definitely not go crazy!"】

【Gilles's face shape changed again, turning into the crazy Bluebeard.】

Waver: "What kind of bullshit is he talking!"

Rin Tohsaka: "That's right! Bluebeard, you are the one who caused the slaughter; what does it have to do with Miss Jeanne! You don't shift blame like that!"

Gilles de Rais: "No! This is absolutely not me!"

Gilles de Rais: "Jeanne, this is not me; I would never defile you like this!"

Jeanne: "..."

She was completely numb now and didn't want to talk for the time being.

【Jeanne: "I, I—"】

【Gilles: "Those children cannot be revived! The past cannot be changed, death cannot be treated as if it didn't happen! But the future indeed exists here! Jeanne, the miracle that allows us to atone exists here!"】

【Atonement, can atone.】

【Can escape from the sense of guilt generated by lost lives and lives lost because of oneself, can share the miracle of humanity—】

【Gilles: "The one who saves us is not God! Then we must save people with our own hands! Jeanne, answer me, is this saving humanity!"】

【Jeanne's chest throbbed, trying desperately not to shed tears, but unable to think of words to refute.】

【Even though she felt something was wrong, she didn't know what was wrong.】

【In my heart, what exactly am I rejecting?】

【Gilles: "Jeanne, reach out your hand, accept your defeat, and let us fight side-by-side. No, this is not a battle, but salvation, walking on the journey to save humanity—"】

【Jeanne: "Gilles..."】

【Gilles: "That nameless homunculus would also hope so, right? His death is necessary; it is a necessary sacrifice for humanity to walk toward the expected future."】

【Jeanne: "..."】

Feng Xi: "What a move of a big stick and a sweet date, shaking Jeanne's heart through Sieg, breaking her defenses, then talking nonsense and swapping concepts to brainwash the other side, so that Jeanne agrees with your approach."】

Feng Xi: "Amakusa Shirou, you aren't firmly convinced you are right, so why use this method to make your opponent yield."】

Amakusa Shirou: "I just want to clear a hidden danger."】

Feng Xi: "Then why don't you just kill her, instead of doing something extra."】

Feng Xi: "To put it bluntly, you just want to get approval from others, only then can you be satisfied."】

Amakusa Shirou: "Are you trying to say I need a sense of approval."】

Amakusa Shirou: "Ridiculous, I don't need that kind of thing."】

【Just as she was about to give up completely, a strong sense of disharmony emerged in her heart.】

【Jeanne remembered a scene hazily.】

【"You haven't—"】

【Someone died because of me; that must be a very important person to me, maybe someone even more than that.】

【I should shoulder such a death. Even if I saved tens of thousands of people, I absolutely cannot compensate. I don't want to let saving humanity become the meaning of Sieg's death. His death was caused by me; I was the one who killed him.】

【There are countless deaths in this world.】

【Countless lives produce countless deaths, a chain like hell, but it is by no means necessary for the world. "There is no necessary death in the world." There is no reason for unreasonable death; it is something that must be shouldered by the life that brings about that unreasonable result—】

【"No! That's not it!"】

【Jeanne shouted: "His death is not necessary for the world! It is my responsibility, I must shoulder it!"】