Baptism Rite

Her prayers were a Baptism Rite for completely annihilating their existence.

“The Lord’s blessing is deep, His love is eternal and constant.”

“Why… Why are you…!?”

“This is natural providence… You should already understand. You have all been transformed by your inflated hatred and the despair of the people you killed. Not one of you can be separated from the concept of ‘Jack the Ripper’ anymore.”

“You dwell in the deserted wasteland, not knowing the path to your proper place.”

They were all molded together as one into ‘Jack the Ripper’.

Not a single one of them even had a name of their own. They were not recognized as individuals by the world.

“Hunger, thirst, the soul withers.”

“No! No, we, we are—!”

“Then do you all have individual names?”

The children’s breathing halted. That was a forbidden question. These children, who had been thrown away while still a fetus, had no names.  Even if humans had names, mere cells did not.

“Speak His name and be saved. Speak the name of the One who will guide you to your proper place.”

“In that case—”

…

“He satiates the thirsty souls and satisfies the hungry souls with good.”

The chant solemnly and smoothly began extinguishing the children’s existence. This wasn’t the normal second death of a Servant, but a literal erasure. They were being removed from the axis of the cycle of rebirth, and they would no longer be summoned as ‘Jack the Ripper’ in any other Holy Grail War.

It was both salvation and not salvation. Becoming a Servant meant gaining a second life, but to them, this was effectively their first life.

Holding hands with each other, the children stared at Ruler.

“Give salvation to those who suffer and are bound in iron within the deep darkness.”

They were disappearing. They weren’t ascending to heaven, nor sinking into the darkness; they were merely dissolving into the world like mist.

“Ah—”

As she chanted, Ruler didn’t let her grave and solemn expression break at all. If she cried, the children would know that she was saddened by their death, and they would probably leave behind lingering regrets in this world. That’s why Ruler remained standing there firmly like steel.

“Now, let your shackles be broken, and be freed from the deep darkness.”

“We don’t want to die—”

She nearly crumbled at the children’s whisper—but she didn’t allow her posture to break. Without the slightest tremble, she simply continued ‘disposing’ of the children dispassionately.

“Grant salvation to those who have fallen ill from acts stained in sin and who are troubled by injustice.”

The children began disappearing one after another, and at the same time, the nightmarish London also began disappearing.

This place was reconstructed from their memories, so if they disappeared, this city’s existence would inevitably be rejected.

And then, everything was in darkness. There was only one young girl left. She stared at the holy maiden with pure eyes.

“We’re going to disappear?”

“Yes. That is natural providence.”

“Is that so? Yeah, that’s right. We can’t return anywhere or be anywhere.  We spun in circles, ran in circles, and weren’t able to reach anywhere.”

After murmuring that, the girl laughed and then asked a final question.

“—Are you sad?”

“…No. You all are merely returning to your proper place. There’s nothing to be sad about.”

The holy maiden replied in a hard voice.

“So, I won’t cry.”

The holy maiden didn’t cry. She covered her heart with a thick shell, and calmly crushed the children underfoot. She had no right to feel sad.  As someone who wasn’t judging their sins, but simply couldn’t allow their existence—she had no right to mourn.

“A song of joy for the just, and silence for the unjust.”

She recited the holy words.

The little girl, without smiling or looking sad, accepted it with empty eyes.

“——Pax Exeuntibus: Grant peace to these departing souls.”

“…How sad.”

Leaving behind those words which pitied the holy maiden, the final girl vanished—and the fog cleared away. Ruler’s knees didn’t bend or collapse. She didn’t cry, and she didn’t let out a single sob. She did not show any pity or compassion for the children who weren’t even allowed to live.

Sympathy simply called forth victims. If she lost herself in it, everything would be wasted.

She had killed with her own hands the victimized children who sobbed out ‘We just want to go back’. It was no one’s fault and no one could be blamed; it was simply an act of murder carved in sin.

Blood flowed out from her tightly clenched lips.

Ruler had personally tasted the heavy karma of humans just now.


Volume 4, Chapter 1, Page 80-81, 84-86