Fate/Zero:Act 2 Part 3

222:24:48

Uryuu Ryuunosuke disliked splatter movies. He did understand the necessity for that kind of amusement in itself, though.

Not just horror, but war movies, panic movies, and all the way to adventure movies and dramas; why does fiction keep painting man's death tirelessly?

That may be, because the spectators can minimize their fear of death by observing a fictitious imitation of "death".

Humans find pride in "wisdom" and dread "ignorance". Hence if they can "experience" and "comprehend" a given fear, then it is a victory that resembles the conquest of that fear.

However, "death" is merely... something that you can't experience while you live. Therefore it is impossible to understand its true meaning. That's why humans can only guess the essence of death by observing other people's death, and make up a virtual experience.

Indeed, for the civilized society to respect human life, this virtual experience cannot but rely on fiction. Yet, where war makes your neighbor minced meat with bombing and land mines, nobody watches horror movies.

Similarly, it is important to be entertained by fictional physical pain, mental stress or any kind of sorrow. When experiencing bodily sensations by yourself becomes too risky, you can overcome and remove uneasiness by observing those who do taste those sensations. ―That's why a silver screen or a cathode-ray tube bring tears of screams, grief and anguish.

That is good. That's understandable. Once, Ryuunosuke feared "death" like any ordinary person. Viewing the special make-ups of slaughtered bodies, the red ink of blood splashes and the realist acting reproducing a "stale death" with screams, death was minimized and fear was overcame; Ryuunosuke was an amateur of horror movies.

Depiction of cruelty in fiction has a bad influence on young people, that much can be said; but to Uryuu Ryuunosuke, this is highly ridiculous nonsense. Because if blood and screams in splatter horror had been at least a little more realistic, he wouldn't have become a homicidal maniac.

This is, really, nothing but the result of an earnest curiosity. Ryuunosuke just had to know what "death" was. The vivid red of the haemorrhagic artery, the touch and the warmth of what was inside the abdominal cavity. The agony of the victim getting these pulled out until death, the musical tone of the screams. There really was nothing that could beat that.

People say murder is a crime. But let's think about it. Aren't there 5 billions of humans crowding on this Earth? Ryuunosuke knows well how outrageous a number that is. Because he counted the gravels in the park when he was a kid. Of course he got discouraged after ten thousands, but he doesn't forget the frustration he felt that time. There are five hundred thousand times that many humans. Furthermore, it is said that the number of births and deaths everyday can be counted by the tens of thousands. What weight can Ryuunosuke have by becoming a murderer? Beside, by killing people one by one, Ryuunosuke can perfect each of their death thoroughly. Occasionally, he enjoys making sure the "process of death" takes up to half a day. With this incentive and experience, the information volume brought by one death can be much more important, compared to what you can get by living a too short life. From Uryuu Ryuunosuke's reasoning, can't you say that homicide is a more productive action?

With that creed, Ryuunosuke wandered around in various places, accumulating murders. He didn't fear the law. The feeling of being imprisoned and handcuffed ―however many men it would actually require for that― was something he definitely "understood" to the point of not fearing it; he had "observed" enough deaths by hanging or on the electric chair for that. But his reason for escaping the law was, simply, because there is nothing to gain from being taken away from freedom and life in prison; hence he considered that living a life seeking everyday pleasure was better, that it was the right choice for a healthy man.

He is satisfied by squeezing the best out of the lifeforce of those he kills, of feelings such as the attachment for human life, anger and affection. To let his victims know the exact time and circumstances of their death, that in itself had a deep meaning as rich as a miniaturized life.

When on the verge of death, very common people will behave strangely, and on the other hand, people seen as exceptional will die in an extremely banal way― observing such patterns in humans, Ryuunosuke pursued death; and while being an expert in death, he greatly studied its complete opposite, life. The more he killed people, the more he understood the lives he took.

That knowledge, that discernment in itself was a kind of dignity, a style.

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