Even with the bond they shared in his memories, that was no reason for Sakutsuki to let Kiritsugu Emiya do whatever he pleased, especially when this time, he had nearly gotten himself killed.
Sabotaging the plan = stopping Sakutsuki from obtaining the Holy Grail = preventing him from saving this body that was about to fade away = harboring killing intent toward him = die!
Not to mention that Kiritsugu Emiya had even laid hands on his cutest, sweetest, most beloved imouto—his little sister!
Heretic detected!
Gan Jiang and Mo Ye swung mercilessly toward Kiritsugu Emiya's arms, only to be blocked by an invisible sword.
"Sorry, Sakutsuki, but I can't let you harm my Master." Saber's golden hair fluttered in the wind, and beneath the moonlight, her valiant yet beautiful face possessed a different kind of charm.
Staring at the retreating Kiritsugu Emiya, coldness flickered in Sakutsuki's golden eyes. He withdrew, the twin swords in his hands vanishing as a black iron bow unfolded. He nocked a sword!
That was right—a sword!
Killing intent became words. Sakutsuki's gaze turned icy as he murmured softly:
"Caladbolg II."
Irisviel was the Lesser Grail, and she was on good terms with him, so Sakutsuki naturally would not attack her. But Kiritsugu Emiya was different—
As a devoted son, removing a few of his old man's body parts and letting him spend his retirement peacefully in a wheelchair would keep him from obsessing over unrealistic fantasies like saving the world. Then he could accept the meticulous care of Sakutsuki and his wife... wouldn't that be wonderful?
The raging storm of magical energy converged at a single point in an instant. Beneath the brief silence lay undisguised killing intent.
Not only Kiritsugu Emiya, but even Saber's expression changed, becoming uneasy and anxious.
"Danger! Irisviel, get back!"
Irisviel? His wife?
Sakutsuki's hand paused slightly.
She was here too?
Was that why Kiritsugu Emiya had seen through his scheme so quickly?
Completely unaware that the food photos he had sent were the cause of this disaster, Sakutsuki watched the last edge of the trench coat vanish around the corner. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, withdrew part of his magical energy, and released the spiraling arrow!
"Broken Phantasm!"
Following the Hyatt Hotel, an office building beside it groaned as it slowly collapsed.
The shattered fantasy swept through every corner of reality. Only a blue-green tempest surged on, stubbornly protecting one corner amid the scene of destruction.
When both buildings had completely become history, Sakutsuki lowered his iron bow and stood silently.
Before him, the young female knight holding a golden sword panted heavily. Behind her stood Irisviel, her expression full of apology.
As for Kiritsugu Emiya, he had long since vanished without a trace.
After her breathing calmed slightly, Saber's holy sword was no longer concealed. She said with some anger, "Do you realize how dangerous that was, Sakutsuki? Irisviel was nearly caught in it!"
At Saber's rebuke, the white-haired young man tilted his head and sneered.
"Ah, what a coincidence. I nearly had my head blown apart by a bullet just now too."
He did not deliberately show the hand that had been pierced through, but Artoria still noticed the horrifying injury. Her blue-green eyes trembled slightly.
"Sakutsuki, you..."
"There's no need for pointless words, Knight King." At some point, Sakutsuki's face had already calmed, as though he had never healed Saber's injuries. He raised his twin blades.
"Kiritsugu Emiya did remind me of something—this is war. I should take back some of my careless assumptions. Things won't simply develop according to my plans just because I want them to."
There was no anger in the young man's voice. As he saw it, anger, shock, grief... these emotions were merely reminders, reminders of one's own shortcomings. After that, one ought to make up for one's mistakes. If one simply indulged in them, one could not continue moving forward.
Just like tonight's operation: if he had not lowered his guard and had kept monitoring the other Masters' movements, this crisis would never have occurred.
"Still, even if I rationally understand my mistake, the frustration in my heart won't fade anytime soon." His Spirit Dress fluttered as the white-haired young man pointed his blades at Saber, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Weren't you going to hold me back? Perfect. I want to vent a little too. How about it, Saber? Care to trade a few moves with me?"
"Haa..." Saber let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Without drawing attention to it, she moved the dazed Irisviel to a safe spot, then raised her brilliant golden sword.
"I'd be delighted."
The next moment, the two figures crashed together violently!
Elsewhere.
This was an unnamed steel-framed floor. Once construction was complete, it would become the thirty-eighth floor of the Fuyuki Central Building.
The project was only halfway finished and was about to begin exterior construction. This mixed-use commercial building, destined to become a landmark of Fuyuki City, still exposed its raw steel and concrete surfaces to the fierce wind blowing through the night sky.
At the same time, this was also Maiya Hisau's assigned position.
"I didn't expect you to blow up the entire building. Someone willing to go that far hardly seems like a magus. Or should I say, he is very good at targeting magi's weaknesses?"
A low, cold male voice echoed through the floor, announcing the arrival of an unwelcome guest. Maiya Hisau tightened her grip on her pistol and stared warily at the man in priestly robes, instinctively speaking his name.
"Kirei... Kotomine..."
That was the anomaly Maiya Hisau had noticed when the Hyatt Hotel collapsed.
It was not an omen such as a smell or sound, but a more abstract change in atmosphere. Only the instincts of a warrior tempered by life-and-death trials could truly sense such a presence.
And an excellent assassin never ignored such a warning.
With her focus sharpened like a blade, she drew a nine-millimeter Glock from the holster at her waist while scanning her surroundings.
Someone had found her—
"Your senses are sharp, woman."
A low, cold male voice came from behind her. It echoed among the steel pillars rising around her, making it impossible to tell where it had originated.
Something traced a slow arc from the shadows between the pillars and landed at Maiya's feet.
Maiya swiftly aimed her pistol at the thrown object. Once she saw it was not dangerous, she turned her gun back toward where the thrower was standing.
Yet the corner of her eye remained fixed on the thing that had fallen at her feet, because she recognized what it was.
It was a bat corpse, with a CCD camera tied around its abdomen. It was the familiar Maiya had deployed, which had gone silent after being sent to wait near Fuyuki Church.
The identity of someone who could toss her this bat carcass was naturally self-evident. The other party seemed to have no intention of hiding either, calmly stepping out from his concealment and standing before Maiya's gaze and gun barrel.
He was a tall man with a troubled expression, radiating an indescribable sense of oppression. His entirely black cassock seemed like the shadows on the ground given three-dimensional form, as though it wrapped all the surrounding darkness around him.
Maiya was not unfamiliar with that man.
"Kirei... Kotomine..."
The Master Kiritsugu was most wary of, and also the most dangerous one.
As for Sakutsuki, Maiya had automatically classified him with the Servants.
"Oh? This should be our first meeting. Is there some reason you know me? Then I think I can roughly guess where you come from." The man responded.
Maiya realized she had accidentally muttered aloud and clicked her tongue inwardly.
Kirei showed no fear whatsoever toward Maiya's gun barrel and continued calmly. "If that is the case, then you should know some other things as well. You know this is the ideal position to monitor the thirty-second floor of the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, and you know who was staying in that hotel."
This time, Maiya said nothing. Instead, she considered why Kirei Kotomine, a Master who had kept himself so well hidden until now, would openly appear here.
Meanwhile, Kirei turned his head slightly toward the outside of the building. He glanced at where the Hyatt Hotel had stood, now completely gone save for a cloud of dust and smoke, and let out a surprised sigh.
"I didn't expect you to blow up the entire building. Someone willing to go that far hardly seems like a magus. Or should I say, he is very good at targeting magi's weaknesses?"
Maiya was startled. She realized this man knew Kiritsugu Emiya's information so thoroughly, just as Kiritsugu knew about Kirei Kotomine.
"Don't make me do all the talking, woman. You only need to answer one question—where is the man who was supposed to come here in your place?"
At that question, Maiya stopped making any guesses about Kirei Kotomine.
There was nothing left to think about except killing this man.
She released the safety and pulled the trigger.
The rapid gunshots rang out without pause, roaring three times in succession.
Nine-millimeter rounds were known as military ammunition. While they had sufficient stopping power, it was not quite enough, which was why firing three shots into the abdomen was common knowledge among professionals. Rather than aim for a small, lethal vital point, it was better to attack a larger, easier-to-hit area and seriously wound the target. This was the iron rule of killing shots.
But the bullets did not strike organs beneath the cassock. They struck the hard concrete floor.
Kirei's evasive movement was unbelievably fast, but no human body could outrun supersonic bullets. What Kirei Kotomine had done was simply move one step faster than Maiya's thought process—he had read his opponent's movements in advance.
He saw the point she was aiming at from her line of sight, then judged when she would fire from the tension in her limbs as she braced for recoil, and used that to evade the bullets.
Whether in the modern world or the world of mystery, this was an ability beyond human limits.
And that was not all—in that instant, the person who flipped away to evade was not Kirei, but Maiya.
Her free right hand was covered in sticky blood. The Glock that should have been in her grasp fell to the ground with a hollow clatter.
Her astonished eyes fixed on a cold gleam of steel embedded in the steel pillar that had been behind her moments earlier. It was this sharp thrown weapon that had silently injured her right hand and knocked away her weapon.
It was a thin blade over a meter long. Though it resembled a Western sword, its hilt was far too short by the standards of swords and blades.
It was a special throwing weapon used by executors of the Holy Church, called a Black Key. The robed man had thrown the sword in the same motion as he evaded the gunfire.
As one of the Holy Church executor's fundamental anti-heretic armaments, Black Keys were naturally powerful. However, they were correspondingly difficult to use, and only masters of exceptional skill could wield them proficiently. Kirei Kotomine, who had undergone self-torturous training since childhood, was flawless in this respect. Even among the Burial Agency, the Holy Church's ultimate military force filled with monsters, there might not be anyone who surpassed him in the use of Black Keys.
Holy Church executor.
Only in such a lightning-fast exchange could Kirei Kotomine's terror truly be revealed.
Maiya Hisau had endured life and death on the battlefield. Her techniques were superb, and she killed without hesitation. She was nearly perfect in every aspect. Yet at the very instant the conflict began, she was wounded, disarmed, and stripped of her ability to fight. Before Kirei Kotomine, she had no ability to resist. He might capture her alive within mere seconds. She could not escape, and she did not even have the chance to kill herself. The disparity in their combat ability was enough to inspire despair.
Had Kirei Kotomine not intended to capture her alive rather than kill her, the person named Maiya Hisau would likely already have been a corpse lying on the ground.
"What is it, Maiya? What happened?"
An urgent question came through her earpiece. Maiya Hisau's ear twitched slightly, but she did not answer.
It was not that she could not, but that she would not. She did not want this dangerous man to get close to Kiritsugu Emiya. The true target of this terrifying executor was not Maiya, but Kiritsugu. Just as Kirei had guessed, she was Kiritsugu's subordinate and acted on his orders. She absolutely could not let Kirei Kotomine obtain proof at this time and place.
"What? You won't call for support? Kiritsugu Emiya should be nearby, shouldn't he?" Kirei had already spoken that name without reservation. He was equally convinced that if Kiritsugu Emiya, the man recruited by Einzbern, was involved in this Holy Grail War, he would certainly act tonight.
But the woman remained silent. Kirei Kotomine, who had already been acting on his own initiative, was gradually losing patience.
He could not kill her. He had to capture her alive. But as long as she could still speak, that was enough. There was no need to leave her hands and feet intact.
Kirei made that cold judgment inwardly and advanced step by step toward the woman hiding behind the steel pillar. His opponent should no longer have a weapon. The disassembled automatic rifle could not be reassembled immediately, and she had no time to retrieve the pistol that had been knocked away.
The outcome was decided.
But at that moment, a white curtain suddenly rushed between him and the prey before him, completely blocking his vision. The acrid stench of chemical reactions flooded his nostrils.
"A smoke grenade!?"
Ahem, I consulted the editor. To maximize recommendations, this book will update once per day from now on. Updates will resume after it goes premium. Please take note.
Kiritsugu Emiya had to be nearby.
Kirei Kotomine was certain of it.
Even though he had never met the Magus Killer, even though his past and that of the man named Kiritsugu Emiya had been two unrelated parallel lines, the moment Kirei Kotomine obtained the information, he felt a tremor from the depths of his soul.
He was watching that man, and he firmly believed that the same abyss was buried within that man's heart.
The Holy Grail that could grant any wish, the Heroic Spirits gathered here throughout history... these things, enough to set one's blood racing, were all less important in Kirei Kotomine's eyes than the existence called Kiritsugu Emiya.
He had endured a hollow, empty life for far too long.
He could not find a true sense of happiness. He had no personal wish. Even his devotion to religion had been in the hope that God would answer the confusion in his heart. Yet the more proficient he became in the study of doctrine and the more refined his skills became, the less he could find the right path he truly sought.
He became a priest because of his father's expectations, and Assassin's Master because of his teacher's wish... It was as though "Kirei Kotomine" could only keep walking through this chaotic mortal world by using the requests of others as fuel.
Had he been born in an age of war, then Kirei Kotomine, who had never uncovered his own nature, would surely have become someone like "Siegfried"—wielding the holy sword Balmung, defeating the evil dragon Fafnir amid the cries of the people, and becoming a hero who endlessly repaid their expectations.
But unfortunately, this was an age of peace. People's wishes were not trampled upon, nor did they need someone to stand up for justice and fight bloody battles on their behalf.
And precisely because of that, the hollow in Kirei Kotomine's heart had continued to grow larger. He could not feel joy, yet he could derive a different kind of pleasure from the ugliness of others—but the teachings he had received since childhood told him that this was not permitted by God.
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