Chapter 1174 1174 ‘Family’

Natalia is not affiliated with any organization, but is a bounty hunter who hunts for bounties. Her target is the "sealed" magicians who have valuable research results but have left the Magic Association to conduct secret research. Unlike the "Cathedral Church" that wipes out all heretics in the name of judgment. The Magic Association gives top priority to ensuring the safety of research results.

The most valuable of them are the "magic seals" engraved on the body of the magician. Especially for magic families, the magic seals produced by generations of research can produce more powerful power when transferred to their successors.

Through negotiations with the Magic Association, Natalia let her son Kiritsugu Emiya inherit part of the magic seals recovered from the remains of Emiya Norikata. Although the valuable parts were withheld by the association, only less than half of the "remaining part" was inherited by Kiritsugu Emiya, but for Kiritsugu Emiya, it was enough for him to exert his ability as a magician. And Kiritsugu originally had no intention of inheriting his father's will and continuing to study magic.

For Kiritsugu, magic is not his lifelong career, but just a means to achieve his goals. And this means is just one of the many "means" that the boy learned from the female hunter.

Tracking, assassination, the use of various weapons-the hound's "tooth" cannot be just one. Being able to catch up with the prey and hunt it down under all circumstances and conditions requires mastering a variety of knowledge and techniques.

In a sense, the history of mankind is a history of killing. In order to be able to hunt "two-legged beasts" with the same appearance as themselves, humans have spent countless time and wisdom to study the "killing" technology. And Kiritsugu mastered all of this with his own body.

Those years stained with blood and gunpowder.\n passed in a blink of an eye.

After experiencing too many harsh battles in his sentimental adolescence, Kiritsugu Emiya has completely lost the youthfulness of a boy in his appearance. As an Oriental of unknown age, he was registered as an adult on his three forged passports, and he never aroused suspicion.

However, judging from his appearance, even though he is not tall and his beard is sparse, his gloomy and cold eyes are definitely not what a teenager should have.

One day -

Even when he learned that his mentor and good friend - Natalia was facing the greatest crisis in her life, Kiritsugu still did not show any emotional fluctuations, and still completed his mission selflessly.

No matter how anxious or shaken his heart was, he still could not help Natalia. Because now her battlefield is inside a giant jet at an altitude of 3,000 feet.

The beginning of the matter started with tracking a magician called Odebolzak, who is known as the "Magic Bee Messenger".

It is said that this magician has successfully developed a dead apostle, who can manipulate the magic bees under his control to increase the number of ghouls under his control through poison needles, and is a very dangerous element. And then he changed his name and appearance, disguised as an ordinary person and disappeared for a long time. But four days ago, there was news that the person was found on the A300 flight from Paris to New York. Natalia accepted the difficult task of finding the target among the 287 passengers on the plane and "hunting" him without knowing his face or name.

Her partner, Kiritsugu, did not board the plane with her, but went to New York to investigate Bolzak's disguised identity. The master and apprentice communicated through the radio, and in the closed space at an altitude of 3,000 feet, they quietly and surely locked the location of the prey.

About three hours after the plane took off - the assassination was completed more smoothly than expected. However, this was the beginning of the tragedy.

The "Death Apostle Bee" that Bolzak brought on the plane without the knowledge of the customs officers caused a fatal riot after the death of its owner. The "Death Apostle Bee" that Natalia failed to eliminate in time attacked the passengers one after another, and the passenger seats of the giant jet airliner turned into a living hell in an instant where the ghouls were rampant.

The closed space with no room for escape. Facing the infinitely increasing ghouls, even a strong person like Natalia felt boundless despair. Kiritsugu could only wait helplessly for the communication in the face of the worsening situation. He could not miss any opportunity to prove that Natalia was still alive.

Natalia had repeatedly warned Kiritsugu that one of the major principles was "no matter what means, you must ensure your own survival." With such a creed, Kiritsugu firmly believed that the battle-hardened female hunter would be able to escape danger this time. Two hours passed, and the communication machine was still silent.

Finally, when the light of the stars in the night sky was covered by the blue-gray color of dawn, the wireless communication machine finally broke the long silence, and a tired female voice mixed with rustling sound came out.

"... Can you hear it? Boy... You are not asleep, right?"

"I can hear it clearly, Natalia. We are now the most sleepy before dawn after a sleepless night."

"Of course, if you dared to go to bed last night, I would have killed you first... So, there is a good news and a bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

Natalia smiled and said.

"Didn't we agree to start with the good news?"

"0K. Let me tell you the good news first. First of all, I am still alive. The plane is safe. I just ensured the safety of the cockpit. The captain and the co-pilot set the parameters before they died. I can also do it if I just drive. It is said that the control method is the same as that of a small plane."

"Have you contacted the dispatch desk at the airport?"

"I contacted them. At first, they thought I was playing a prank.\nBut now they are dispatching well."

"... Then, what about the bad news?"

"Well - I was the only one who was not bitten in the end. All 300 crew members and passengers died without a single survivor and became ghouls. The other side of the cockpit, separated by a screen, has completely become a flying city of death. Don't be surprised."

"..."

This is the worst case scenario Kiritsugu expected.

"In this situation, can you... still come back alive?"

"Ah, this door is still strong enough. Although it's shaking now, there's no need to worry about it being broken. The landing method is more uncertain. Can such a huge thing really land safely?"

"...If it's you, it will definitely be fine."

"Are you encouraging me? I'm so happy to hear that."

Natalya smiled bitterly and sighed weakly.

"It's still fifty minutes before arriving at the airport. It's too early to pray now. Boy, chat with me for a while."

"...I don't mind."

So, the two began to chat. First, they talked about the two hours they had no contact. Then they counted the various evil deeds of Bolzak, who had been killed. Finally, the two naturally recalled the magicians and dead apostles they had eliminated in the past, as well as the Shuras they had faced together.

Natalya, who usually spoke very little, became talkative today for some reason. The low roar of the ghouls from the guest seats and the sound of the cockpit door were intertwined. In order to divert attention from that, chatting is the best choice.

"——When you first said you wanted to do this, I was really troubled for a while. And no matter how I persuaded you, you refused to change your mind."

"Am I such a hopeless disciple?"

"No...it's because you are too promising and too talented."

Natalia said with a wry smile.

"…………What do you mean?"

"Because you can make your actions completely uncontrolled by emotions - for ordinary killers, it takes years of training to master this ability. But you are born with this ability. What a surprising talent."

"……"

"However, it is not necessarily the right thing to choose your life path based on talent and ability. Before talent, there is a person's will and emotions, which are the key to determining a person's life path. Without these, a person cannot be called a human. Before thinking about "what you want to do", you first consider "what you should do" and act only based on routine... then this is not a human, but can only be called a machine. It is far from human life."

The words of the mentor who has been watching him grow up all the time are like frost sliding across the boy's heart.

"I... think you are a very cold person."

"Why are you still saying this now? Isn't it? Have I ever been gentle to you?"

"No. I have always been very strict and merciless."

"... Generally speaking, it is the father's responsibility to train boys."

On the other end of the communication machine, Natalia was silent for a while, then sighed helplessly and continued.

"However, I bear a certain responsibility for the fact that you didn't have a father's education. Ah, how should I put it... Anyway, there is no way to shirk it."

I can only teach you some survival skills, and I can't do anything else-Natalia added as if she was self-deprecating.

"...Are you going to be my father?"

"Don't confuse men and women, you are really rude. At least you should call me mother."

"...That's right. Sorry."

Although Kiritsugu's answer was very calm, his expression was extremely surprised.

The wireless call can't see the other party's face, of course, you can't see the other party's expression. So Natalia couldn't know Kiritsugu's current state of mind.

"...For a long time, I have been experiencing those bloody storms alone. I almost forgot the fact that I was alone.

So, ah...haha. This feels funny. It's like a family."

"Me too-"

What is the meaning of saying these words now? Kiritsugu asked himself in his heart and continued.

"——I, too, look upon you as a mother. I feel that I am not alone, and I am very happy."

"...I say, Kiritsugu. In order to avoid embarrassment the next time we meet, let's not talk about this topic."

Natalia's words seemed to reveal her confused expression. She seemed to be unaccustomed to being "shy".

"Ah, the situation has worsened. We will land in 20 minutes. At such a critical moment, I can't make a fatal mistake because of something funny."

"...I'm sorry."

Kiritsugu apologized.

Natalia didn't need to make an emergency landing.

And she wouldn't see Kiritsugu again.

Only Kiritsugu knew this.

Before these ghouls were completely eliminated. Natalia had no chance of survival. There was only one way to deal with this passenger plane full of ghouls, which was to let it crash into the Atlantic Ocean. The operation to eliminate the "Magic Bee Messenger" would eventually cost the lives of Natalia Kaminsky and all the passengers and crew members - Kiritsugu had already prepared for this result.

But for Kiritsugu, he also knew that his mentor would definitely show amazing strength at the last moment. Natalia, who had always insisted on the creed of "surviving no matter what", might avoid the crash of the plane to save her own life. Kiritsugu must also take this into consideration - that would be an unexpected and worst result.

Natalia, who prioritized her own survival, would definitely choose the former without hesitation after weighing the threats that this result could bring.

Landing a passenger plane full of more than 300 ghouls at the airport and releasing these hungry dead - if there is no other way, she will definitely choose this method. It is precisely because he knows her too well. So Kiritsugu has already made preparations for this eventuality in advance.

In order to avoid the expansion of the disaster, the Airbus A300 must not be allowed to land.

This is a fact that cannot be shaken regardless of Natalia's safety.

As early as an hour ago, Kiritsugu ran across most of New York and finally bought a military portable surface-to-air missile on the black market.

Now Kiritsugu is standing on a motorboat floating on the water, waiting for Natalia's plane to appear in his sight. The giant jet airliner needs to circle for a while before landing at New York International Airport. At present, Kiritsugu's position can barely put the plane into the range of his missiles.

When purchasing weapons and choosing the shooting location, Kiritsugu once again doubted his mental structure.

From the perspective of avoiding a greater tragedy, it is also a normal reaction for him to face Natalia's death calmly.

However, what kind of person would he be if he gave up the last "miracle" that could save the woman he loved and killed her with his own hands? ()