Shinji Matou at Your Service

The Holy Shroud, which is cloth wrapped around the remains of a saint, carries the concept of the saint and is thus imbued with various miraculous powers. It functions as a natural conceptual weapon. Depending on the deeds and beliefs of the saint during their lifetime, the properties of the Holy Shroud differ.

Some shrouds can block magical energy or conceal magic circuits, others can defend against physical harm or magical backlash (like the one Kotomine Kirei gave to Shirou in the Heaven's Feel route). Some can enhance magical resistance or produce effects similar to Mystic Eye Killers (as seen in Tsukihime, where Shiki uses a shroud to cover his eyes when he cannot suppress his Mystic Eyes). The special ability of the Holy Shroud of Mary Magdalene is to restrain men.

Of course, there's no doubt that Caren is a woman, so normally, the shroud's effect wouldn't work on her. The reason it did work is that it wasn't targeting Caren herself but the aura around her, the power of the demon—perhaps the demon is male, or maybe the faith concentrated in the Holy Shroud has the power to restrain demons. Soon, Caren returned to normal—except for her bloodshot eyes, which were glaring intently at Shinji.

"Tell me, Matou Shinji, where did you meet Kotomine Kirei? And how do you know about me?"

"Mr. Matou, Kotomine Kirei is a heretic that Caren has been pursuing, with whom she has an irreconcilable grudge. If you have any information, please tell us, and we will offer a corresponding reward."

It was Ciel who added this explanation, not only clarifying the reason for Caren's outburst but also indicating their willingness to exchange information. Combined with her timely intervention to stop Karen's rampage, it's clear why Ciel is considered the only decent member of the Burial Agency.

The members of the Burial Agency are all quite abnormal, with the more prominent members being even more extreme. They are so detached from normal human society that they can't integrate into it at all. Thus, general social activities are managed by Ciel and the old priest, who is the left-hand familiar of Merem Solomon, the Rat King. The old priest handles the headquarters' affairs, while Ciel operates externally, sometimes as a spy, sometimes as a messenger—just like she is now.

This was exactly what Shinji wanted to hear. He stroked his chin, pretended to think for a few seconds, then nodded, "Alright, no need for any reward. An exchange of information is enough."

"Deal," Ciel agreed without hesitation, and the madness in Caren's eyes subsided slightly.

"The reason I know Kotomine Kirei is simple. My surname is Matou, and I'm from Fuyuki City. Kotomine Kirei's father, Kotomine Risei, was the priest at Fuyuki Church and the supervisor sent by the Church to oversee a certain magical ritual. My family, the Matou, was one of the organizers of that ritual, so I had some interactions with Father Risei and met Kotomine Kirei a few times. I heard Caren's name during one of those encounters, although it's been a long time, so I don't remember who mentioned it—either Father Risei or Kotomine Kirei himself. And Caren, you do bear a resemblance..."

"I don't! I don't resemble that heretic at all!"

Caren gritted her teeth, cutting off Shinji's words. Her appearance had been inherited from her mother, but she was still Kotomine Kirei's daughter and had inherited some of his traits, like her usual expressionless face and her demeanor during combat.

"I've investigated all that. In 1994, during the Holy Grail War, Kotomine Risei died unexpectedly. After Kotomine Kirei handled the funeral, he left Fuyuki and didn't return to Japan for a long time. I want to know if, during those ten years, he ever returned to Fuyuki City, or if you've seen him elsewhere."

"No. As far as I know, he never returned to Fuyuki. The church overseen by Father Risei was taken over by another priest. When his teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi, passed away, he didn't show up either. I only just learned that he never returned to Japan. Honestly, I'm curious—why didn't he go back? Father Risei lived in Fuyuki for decades, it's where Kotomine Kirei grew up, and it's his father's final resting place. Doesn't he have any attachment to it?"

"Attachment? How could a demon like him have any attachment?"

Caren's face was full of scorn; perhaps only when talking about Kotomine Kirei does she show such emotional fluctuations.

"If he had an attachment, would he have treated my mother like that? If he had an attachment, would he have committed such evil deeds?"

"Wait, a demon?"

Shinji knew the crucial part of the story was coming, so he pretended to be shocked. "No, that can't be right. From what I remember, he was always very serious, not very fond of smiling, but not difficult to get along with. Many believers even called him a saint. How could someone like that be a demon? What exactly happened?"

"That was just his facade! You were all deceived! He—"

Even in her fury, Caren remained rational. She turned to Ciel, who nodded in agreement, allowing her to continue.

Everything began in 1994. Tokiomi drove Kotomine Kirei away to form an alliance with the Einzberns. For some unknown reason, Gilgamesh didn't awaken Kirei's true nature, allowing him to leave Japan by plane.

Kirei's destination was Italy, where he planned to follow tradition and return his father's relics to the headquarters of the Holy Church. He then settled at the Church's headquarters.

Afterward, Kirei worked for a time in the Eighth Sacrament organization, as he had before he went undercover at the Mages' Association (under the pretense of apprenticing under Tohsaka Tokiomi). Then he switched back to being an Executor, and after that, he transferred to other departments. No matter what job he took, he never stayed long.

Many people felt sorry for him, thinking that such a person, born into a prestigious family (educated at the St. Ignatius Seminary), and so disciplined, could have reached the top of the Church if he had focused on one path. Even the position of the Pope wasn't out of the question.

Others believed he didn't care about positions and was using various methods to train himself, a practice associated with legendary saints. They thought that once he completed his training and settled down, he would soar to great heights.

Whether out of regret or expectation, everyone in the Church held Kirei in high regard. They even recommended him for advanced studies at the Vatican, the Church's public face, after he had worked in every department except the Burial Agency.

It was at this point that tragedy struck. While training as a quasi-saint in the Vatican, Kirei suddenly went mad one night and began destroying everything around him. Although he was quickly subdued by the nearby Knights, the damage was significant.

Afterward, the Knights conducted various checks and interrogations but found nothing unusual. Kirei showed no signs of demonic presence, and that night, his destructive impulse seemed to come out of nowhere. In the end, they concluded that he had been possessed by a demon and was not in control of his actions.

Given his past achievements, the Church spared him from the death penalty, instead sentencing him to life imprisonment, where he would atone for his sins through penance and prayer.

His place of penance was the Cistercian Monastery, the same one where Caren resided.