Kirei Kotomine

Kirei Kotomine (言峰 綺礼) is the main antagonist of Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night. He acts the Master of Assassin during the Fourth Holy Grail War, and he later forms a contract with Gilgamesh after Assassin's defeat. Their contract lasts into the Fifth Holy Grail War, and he also deals a fatal wound to Bazett Fraga McRemitz to take control of her Servant, Lancer. While he is an ordinary Master during the Fourth War, he acts as the supposedly impartial mediator during the Fifth War.

Early years
Born in December 28th 1967. Accompanying his father Kotomine Risei to the holy grounds since youth, in 1981 he graduated from the Theological College of Manresa St. Ignacio by skipping two years and as student council president. He could have eventually reached the position of cardinal that way but Kirei joined the Holy Church instead. Following that he transferred various times until got to the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament, the department where his father worked. After a brutal and pious training he even became an Executor, a first-rate murderer assigned to hunt heretics.

Despite his accomplishments he never felt satisfaction on it. Unknown to everyone, Kirei born defective, possessing a warped mind since birth. Despite his best efforts Kirei could not enjoy what other people found happiness, instead he found himself drawn to negative emotions like pain of others. Kirei turned into religion fervor, believing that God may eventually bring him salvation.

Living a troubled and gloomy life, hounded by guilt and sorrow, Kirei understood the distinction between good and evil, he could only revel in committing sins. Like his father, Kotomine Risei, Kirei became a vicar, but he was trained as an exorcist and had an ironic talent for healing other people. With no alternative, Kirei prayed that, through marriage to a woman he loved, he could finally achieve respite from his tortured existence. When Kirei discovered marriage could not change him, he was on the brink of suicide; his ill wife, filled with concern, committed suicide to show to Kirei that he could still feel compassion for others. However, after her death, Kirei was disgusted to realize he would have preferred killing her instead; from that day on, he ceased pursuing salvation altogether. Their daughter, Caren Ortensia, was placed in the custody of her mother's relatives.

Three years before the Fourth Holy Grail War, Command Spells appeared on Kirei's left arm, chosen by the Holy Grail of Fuyuki. Even if he was unable to understand why he was selected, as he lacked any 'sense of purpose' nor any ideal or aspiration, Kotomine Kirei was instructed by his father to be temporary transferred from the Holy Church to the Magi's Association and train under Tohsaka Tokiomi tutelage. Then, three years later at the fighting, he would act under Tokiomi instructions, as his ties to the Church and friendship with Risei makes him a suitable Master to win the conflict under the Holy Church eyes.

Kirei was not only a Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but was also responsible for the monstrous conflagration in the ensuing turmoil following the war's end. As a representative of the Church, it is initially implied that Kirei summoned an Archer but in Fate/Zero is revealed that he actually summoned Assassin only performing a contract to Gilgamesh later in the war. At the end of the conflict, he was one of the few survivors.

Before Fourth Grail War
In the aftermath of the fourth war, Kirei became curious as to the capabilities of the Holy Grail; he decided contingencies in case another war began during his lifetime. After the Fuyuki fire died down, Kirei rounded up the surviving children and imprisoned them within the basement of his Church; he then allowed his Servant to consume their souls and stockpile Mana. While Archer took up residence in Fuyuki City, Kirei joined and participated on several missions for the Mage's Association, additionally acting as a distant supervisor for Rin Tohsaka.

Nearly a decade after his death, Kirei was designated as Manager of the 5th Holy Grail War; at his request, Bazett Fraga McRemitz, a sorcerer-hunter Kirei met on one of his assignments, joined him in the conflict. Kirei then murdered Bazett, stealing her Command Mantra by slicing off her left arm. Using these mantra, he formed an additional contract with Bazett's now orphaned Servant, Lancer.

Appearance
In Fate/stay night, Kotomine is in his mid 30's with slightly long brown hair and blank brown eyes. He wears a black bishop class priest uniform with dark purple coat with golden cross.

In Fate/Zero, during his younger days he was in his mid 20's, he had short brown hair and wore a lower class male priest uniform.

Personality
Not a villain but an evil person. Not inhuman but deviant. Not insane but also not sane. The biggest enemy in Fate/stay Night (Saber route and Sakura route) and Fate/Zero. If Archer is a light embossing of Shirou's defects, then Kotomine could be said to be the wall exposing those defects by darkness. Like Shirou, a void human being. Initial concept was "the guy that you just knew the first time you met him, to be the one pulling all the strings".

During Fate/Zero however, Kirei was calm, serious, and sometimes extremely depressed and emotionless person who thought that joy is actually a sin and he even condemned the same evil acts that he would later do during Fate/stay night, saying that the acts of finding joy in/from the pain of others is monstrous and inhuman. It was after he was acquainting himself with Archer that he became the corrupted individual and villain that he is in Fate/stay night. He was also loyal to Tokiomi during the war until at the end.

Fate/Zero
Kirei actually summoned Assassin while Tokiomi Tohsaka, Kirei's mentor, summoned the Archer-class Servant. Gilgamesh 'kills' one of them in full view of the other Masters. This is in fact a ploy to fool the other masters into thinking that Assassin has been eliminated from the Holy Grail War. The Assassins initially acted as reconnaissance agents for Tokiomi and Kirei.

Kiritsugu recognized Kotomine as the most dangerous of the other Masters from the start and Kotomine knew about Kiritsugu well enough to be interested in him. During the first days of the war, Kirei followed Tokiomi's instructions and stayed in the church as a "defeated Master", but his growing interest in Emiya Kiritsugu lead him to search for him, engaging in some encounters against Kiritsugu's assistant Maiya and his wife Irisviel. Kirei won against them while Kiritsugu was fighting Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, but seeing that Emiya Kiritsugu was a being that could be comprehended by others and not an empty man with the answers he sought, disappointment grew in Kirei, and he retreated.

Intrigued by Kotomine Kirei's participation in the war, Gilgamesh suggests that to overcome his emptiness, Kirei should determine backgrounds and the motivations of the other Masters and Servants as to why they wish to obtain the Holy Grail. Then, he decides that he should observe Matou Kariya’s fate too.

After Caster's fight at the Mion river, Kirei brought Kariya to Matou's underground worm chamber and leaves, only to find the dead body of his father back at the Church. Kirei finds a dying message from him; a secret password that gives Kirei all the remaining extra Command Spells. Kirei sheds tears after seeing that his father cared about him until the end, but he was feeling the exact opposite affection that a normal human being should. He wanted to see him die, just like when his wife died.

Kirei goes back to his room and has a conversation with Gilgamesh, but this time, Kirei is the devil tempting Gilgamesh. Kirei explains him how Tokiomi will use his last Command Spell to kill his own Gilgamesh and open the gate. Seeing this, Gilgamesh accepts Kirei's plan to kill Tokiomi and takes his position as Archer's Master. Tokiomi invited Kirei to his house one last time before Kirei headed back to the Church headquarters. Tokiomi wholeheartedly thanked that he was a loyal apprentice to him and gave him an Azoth knife to him as a parting fit. However, Kirei back-stabbed him with that knife.

Kirei made a deal with Kariya that if he helped him, Kirei will arrange a meeting with him and Tokiomi and also in return for kidnapping Irisviel von Einzbern using Berserker in the guise of Rider, he is promised victory and the Holy Grail. Zouken appeared in front of Kirei and says he must be plotting something interesting. Sensing Zouken as a dangerous threat, he attempts to kill him on the spot but Zouken can't be killed by just being pierced by Black Keys. Zouken chuckles at him saying he feels the same kind of broken personality just like himself as he left. Kirei determines he's one of the enemies that he needs to kill one day. As Zouken said, the "meeting" of Kariya and Tokiomi was an event arranged only for Kirei's amusement, and as Kariya finds Tokiomi already dead and Aoi walks in on him, she misinterprets the situation and blames Kariya for her husband's death. Kariya strangles her, as Kirei and Gilgamesh enjoy the scene.

Kirei transferred his hideout to the underground sewers where Caster used to be, set Irisviel as the vessel to the Grail, and ordered Gilgamesh to go out and intercept the enemies that are coming this way and Kariya's Berserker to fight Saber.

Kiritsugu and Kirei finally have their fateful fight at the center hall. They have nothing to say to each other. Kirei performs Ba Ji Quan mortal blows on Kiritsugu, but Avalon quickly heals his body and the Magus Killer makes a comeback with his Innate Time Control. Kirei tosses all his remaining Black Keys in a spin, so that they will be right over Kiritsugu just as Kirei gets to him - Kiritsugu can either try to dodge sideways or backwards and get punched anyway, or jump away and get slashed by the Keys. Instead, he just stands there, reloads, and shoots Kirei just as Kirei's fist connects and crushes his skull. With the battle in stalemate, the black mud gushing out from the Holy Grail in the room above engulfs them.

After a Grail induced dream, Kiritsugu points his gun at Kirei's heart from behind and Kirei wakes up too. Kirei is surprised that Kiritsugu didn't accept the offer of the Holy Grail. Kiritsugu's answer was that it sacrifices too many things for what it gives. Kirei says that he wanted it even so and Kiritsugu shot him in the heart saying that he doesn't understand Kirei.

In his last moments, the Holy Grail appeared to Kirei; filled with hatred and envy for Kiritsugu, he reached out and touched the cursed artifact. Kirei prayed for an end to humanity; his wish was granted in the form of fire. Amidst the roaring flames, Kiritsugu's Saber obliterated the Holy Grail, allowing its tainted water to soak Kirei's lifeless body, resurrecting him with an artificial, black heart. Kirei wakes up and finds Gilgamesh near him. He seemed to have gained a flesh body from something that flowed to his body through the Master and Servant connection. After looking at the burning town, Kirei laughs out in pleasure. He finally realizes what brings happiness to him in this world.

Half a year later, coming up with a plan to entertain himself, he gives Rin the Azoth knife that killed her father as a gift, saying he received from her father upon completion of his training. The rights to the Tohsaka lands were inherited by Aoi after Tokiomi's death, and subsequently inherited by Rin after Aoi's death. Kirei managed them as Rin's guardian, and because of his foolhardy and coarse management, the majority of profitable properties ended up in the hands of others. It is possible that he believed the wealth was bad for her upbringing due to following the principle of humbleness and poverty.

Fate/stay night
Kotomine Kirei is an antagonist in all three scenarios of Fate/stay night, though he is the only absolute villain in Fate. Kirei is almost always the first to have access to the Holy Grail, though he cares little for it himself; he is more interested in the results of wishes made upon a tainted artifact, especially with individuals who possess pure souls or good intentions.

Fate
In Fate, he apparently remains out of the plot until nearly the end. Shirou goes to Kotomine's place again hoping to get advice but he finds out he was the Master of not only Lancer, but Gilgamesh as well. He reveals that he has been keeping Gilgamesh from the previous war. Since then, he was using orphans from the fire incident to supply Gilgamesh with Mana. He uses the Grail as bait to tempt Saber and Shirou into using it, but they refuse.

In the final day of the war, Kirei and Shirou fight in a cataclysmic final battle, the same as Kirei and Kiritsugu ten years ago. Shirou and Saber (fighting Gilgamesh) use Avalon at the same time and defeat their enemies. Ironically, the knife that killed Kotomine Kirei was the same Azoth knife that he gave to Rin and murdered her father, Tokiomi, many years ago.

Unlimited Blade Works
In Unlimited Blade Works Kirei's goals are unchanged, but he also lends his Archer to Shinji Matou so his presence in the general scope of events is pretty much minimal.

During the war, he's assumed dead by the hands of Caster when she raids the church to get the Holy Grail vessel and obtain a new hideout, but Rin teases the witch saying that if she was not able to find the corpse, that means that Kirei is still alive.

He reappears at Einzbern Castle alongside Matou Shinji, reveals to a kidnapped Rin that he was the one who killed her father ten years ago and orders Lancer to rip off her heart and replace it with the Grail vessel. As Lancer just outright disobey his order, Kotomine uses a Command Spell to make the Servant to kill himself, but as he was proceeding to finish the job, he's killed by a still alive Lancer (thanks to the Battle Continuation skill).

His corpse burns away as a dying Lancer proceeds to burn the place with a Ansuz rune, just after saving Rin.

Heaven's Feel
In Heaven's Feel route, he finds in Matou Sakura a way to find the answer to what he was looking all his life. The "training" that Matou Zouken did to her in the years between wars turned her into a Lesser Grail, the Black Grail of Makiri. With her innate connection to the dark being that sleeps within the Grail since the Third War, he plans to see the Grail completion and the birth of Angra Mainyu, thanks to the Third Magic.

He uses Emiya Shirou's love for Sakura to ensure her safety, and when Sakura is tainted by the shadow inside her, Kirei aids Shirou in a raid against her and Zouken to save Ilya, the White Grail of Einzberns. They manage to rescue Ilya, but are confronted with both True Assassin and Dark Berserker. Kirei has an old score to settle with Zouken, and so stalls True Assassin behind and pins him to a tree using the information he got by observing Lancer's last battle, and then proceeds to exorcise Matou Zouken. Afterwards, however, Sakura arrives and stops his black heart, giving him only a few hours to live.

Near the end, Kirei suddenly appears, intending to stop Shirou destroying something he has desired to witness. He wonders about the behavior and stability of an entity born of evil. After he gave up on salvation and happiness, he questioned the meaning of his own existence. Namely, he questioned how a being like himself was allowed to be born. Kirei sought to find the answer by completing the tainted Grail as he figured that the tainted Grail was a larger version of himself and by watching its birth, he would be able to find the answer to his lifetime question. Contrary to Kiritsugu, Shirou is, like Kirei, an empty human being pursuing happiness. The only difference is that Kirei was unable to find happiness outside evil, so this fight is also a way to release his frustration and envy to normal people. Finally, Shirou notices that he likes Kotomine Kirei, and the two proceed to engage in a fateful fight like the one ten years ago. With their bodies half-dead, the only combat they are able to perform is a hand-in-hand battle.

As Kirei's heart was stopped in the forest, he loses to Shirou as his body gives out first. With his last words, Kirei declares Emiya Shirou as the winner of the Fifth Holy Grail War and the last Master, to then his body crumble lifeless.

Fate/hollow ataraxia
Kotomine is not present in Fate/hollow ataraxia, his role as the overseer of the Holy Grail War was given to Caren Ortensia (who is later hinted to be his daughter). However, he is mentioned during several scenes (most notably during flashbacks by Bazett, as he is the one who betrayed her).

Fate/unlimited codes
He is given the title Executor (代行者) in Fate/unlimited codes.

Carnival Phantasm
Kotomine makes a number of appearances during the series, mostly as a commentator of the Holy Grail War. He constantly complains about the Church not having enough funds to repair the damage caused by the participants of the War.

Abilities
Kotomine Kirei has the qualifications of a Church Executor and specializes in healing by spiritual mediation. He is a first class Executor, but he still cannot match the seventh of the Burial Agency. While he is at his strongest during the Fourth Holy Grail War, he could win even against her. His attack power against spiritual bodies is superb and, while twisted, represents how unshaking his faith is.

Combat
In ranged battle, he is skilled in using the Black Keys, which is shown during his fight with Maiya and Irisviel. A single throw, complete with preparatory movements, could be completed in 0.3 seconds. He could perform four separate throws in 0.7 seconds. His accuracy rate was 100% even when striking down unconfirmed targets. The blades themselves, half-spiritual entities, could penetrate iron.

In melee fighting with just his amazing strength, while utilizing the "Explosive Power" technique from Bajiquan martial arts, Kirei seriously injures Maiya, a dagger-wielding opponent, with just one strike, snapped a fully grown tree to break free Irisviel's alchemist silver wires when he was tied in only a few and using the ‘Eight Postures of the Buddha Guards’ style, the sheer force of Kirei’s strike was able to crush Kiritsugu's thoracic cavity with his lung and heart pounded into a mash of meat and only surviving thanks to Avalon. His frock had been reinforced with bullet-proof materials (Kevlar), and processed to protect against spells and from 9mm bullets.

Even attacked by a blind spot with the Innate Time Control at three times the speed of normal humans, Kirei was able to block every attack using just his left arm as he had reached a certain state in his skills, he wouldn’t need eyesight to detect the enemy’s movement. He could predict the opponent’s next move purely on the brief moment when his arm blocked that of his opponent, rendering attacks from his blind spot pointless.

He is also able to use the Black Keys in various ways like expand them to more than twice their original size. With the extra prana forced into them surpassing the limit of the weapons themselves and holding them in a fan-like formation, neutralizing in an instant the immense destructive power of Kiritsugu's .30-06 Springfield assault rifle.

Magecraft
Thought to love destruction, but just like Emiya Shirou, he's the "creator" type of magus.

Spiritual Healing
His skill at fixing the spiritual/mental body is at Bishop level.

He is able to extract Command Spells, remove all Zouken Crest Worms and transplant Archer arm into Shirou, amongst other complex magical surgery operations.

Baptism Rite
As an Church agent, Kirei is able to perform the baptismal chant, the sole magical miracle that is permitted to be learned in the Church. Within the systematic basis of thaumaturgical theory, the teachings of god are considered the greateast weapon against wandering spirits even if possess weak capacities of physical interference. Is not sufficient to send back entities such as Servants.

Kotomine Kirei used this ten-lines spell against Matou Zouken at the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War, sublimating his body into nothingness and settling his ten years old retalation with the Matou patriarch.

Command Spells
During the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kirei is granted three Command Seals by the Grail, and though he loses them after Assassin is defeated, new seals are granted to him upon the Grail once again deeming him worthy of participation. It is unprecedented among the past participants of the previous Holy Grail Wars, as he is not a member of the Three Founding Families, and all six Masters still live and all six Servants still have their contracts. During the Fifth Holy Grail War, he steals Bazett Fraga McRemitz's Command Seals by cutting of her arm, and allows Lancer the chance to contract with him.

While he uses them to command Assassin and Lancer, he is opposed to using even a single Command Seal on Gilgamesh. It would only bring about the opposite result to force a man with such a huge ego to serve another's will, so he finds the best way to control him is to treat his as if he were an environmental condition rather than a pawn. The weather or direction of the wind cannot be controlled by a sailor, but he can dexterously control his boat using the sail. Differing from other magi who treat Servants like tools and familiars, he treats Gilgamesh like an accomplice with mutual interests. He does ask Gilgamesh for the right to summon him with a Command Spell to protect him from enemy Servants during the final battle of the Fourth War, to which he agrees.

In addition to his own Command Seals on his lower left arm, he also has Command Seals inherited from his father that cover his right arm from the elbow to the wrist. The supervisor of the Holy Grail War is entrusted with the Command Seals recollected from previous Holy Grail Wars, so he has access to a great number of them. Using them as the supervisor, he is able to transfer the Command Seals by taking the Master's hand, chanting a spell, and tracing the mark of the Command Seals with is own hand in order to renew them.

While normally only used to strengthen or restrain Servants, they can be used and forged into highly practical prana that has no alignments. He, as someone with no Magic Crest, can utilize them to perform magecraft upon paying the proper price. In a more efficient manner than trying to control Gilgamesh, he can use them to gain a high chance of victory even against an expert magus. Using them as mock Magic Crests, the magecraft able to be utilized by him, apart from the fact that they are limited and expendable, is enough to rival famous magecraft houses that have collected their Crests through the generations. Due to their nature as one-use crests, they naturally counter Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets by disappearing instead of destroying Kirei's own Magic Circuits.

He mainly utilizes them to reinforce his own body and equipment to a great extent. He surges prana into six black keys, causing them to expand to twice their size. Due to the amount of prana being forced into them, it seems the forceful execution of the spell surpasses the limits of the blades themselves. While they are able to easily neutralize the force behind Kiritsugu's first Origin Bullet, they shatter under the heavy load of prana. He also utilizes his own body to deflect the second Origin Bullet in a movement that Kiritsugu calls the battle prowess of a desperate man due to the fact that such a feat would require extreme willpower. Turning his own body into a lethal weapon, he reinforces his physical abilities to match the bullet. He accelerates his reaction time, multiplies the maximum power output of his right flexor, radius muscle, and pronator teres, and shows the capability to reinforce his bulletproof frock, but lacks the time to accomplish it in that moment.

He uses a defensive Baji Quan skill normally used to nullify an opponent's strike that, when used by his arm that has been transformed into a lethal magecraft Mystic Code, causes a spiral to form in the air. It becomes a spiral of force that roars like a tornado with the power of two Command Seals infused into it. The martial arts move, performed at divine speed, catches the bullet traveling at 2500 inches per second, but it is unable to completely deflect it. It still manages to tear at his Kevlar sleeve and hit his reinforced arm without being turned. As it is forced to bend to the power of the magecraft in his body, the supernatural phenomena of the clash sounds like two mill stones impacting, the scattering sparks seem to distort the laws of physics, and the approximately 3000 pound-per-inch kinetic energy of the bullet is forced off at an angle. Due to his unskilled method, he used too much prana and overly strengthened his arm with the magecraft, so his right arm ended up greatly wounded.

While he only uses his remaining Command Spells to remove the Crest Worms from Sakura during Heaven's Feel, the original plan was to have him use ten of them in order to defeat Zoken and Assassin. Even a human can damage a Heroic Spirit by using that many, but the idea was dropped in favor of having Assassin get caught off guard after using Zabaniya.