My Fates Codex in Type-Moon

God, what should I do?

Day after day, the priest prayed devoutly, until at last—he found what he believed was the answer in one person.

Find Kiritsugu Emiya, and uncover the meaning of his own existence through him. To Kirei Kotomine, this took priority over everything else, even himself.

Even Kiritsugu Emiya would never know that the moment he set foot in Fuyuki City, an enormous net woven from countless shadowy Heroic Spirits had already ensnared him.

That was precisely why Kirei Kotomine was here.

Through Diarmuid's legend, the curse of the yellow spear had already been revealed. With the other six Servants still alive, Saber had one hand sealed in her very first battle. She could very well be the first to be eliminated; her situation was already hanging over a precipice.

Kiritsugu Emiya would certainly recognize this crisis. Eliminating Lancer, the source of the curse, as quickly as possible was undoubtedly Einzbern's top priority.

So Kirei had cast his net beside Kayneth's base, waiting for the attacker to come knocking. He had assumed the person who appeared would be Kiritsugu Emiya, but it had been someone else. Still, Kirei was certain she was connected to Kiritsugu. This woman he was pursuing was the key to finding Kiritsugu.

However, the perfect chance to capture her alive was ruined by a smoke grenade that came out of nowhere.

Smoke from a military portable smoke canister rapidly spread out, blanketing the area. As Kirei stopped because his vision had been obscured, swift footsteps echoed across the concrete and faded into the distance.

Kirei had originally intended to follow the footsteps and fire Black Keys, but at the last moment, he dismissed the idea.

Someone else had thrown this in front of Kirei to cover that woman's escape... Naturally, there was no third person on this floor. In other words, the smoke canister could only have been thrown in from outside the building.

If he carelessly fired his Black Keys, regardless of whether that woman lived or died, his own position would be exposed as well.

If the third party outside the building launched a sniper attack then, even Kirei Kotomine would struggle to survive while shrouded in smoke.

But if it had been thrown from the ground at this floor...

Kirei Kotomine walked to the edge of the floor and looked down as far as he could, ignoring the violent wind whipping his priestly robes about.

The Hyatt Hotel had already vanished, while another building had inexplicably collapsed. There were no longer any buildings of comparable height nearby.

If it had been thrown from the ground at this floor, the height difference was over one hundred and fifty meters. Even with a grenade launcher, landing a shot so precisely would be extremely difficult. If it had been a hand-thrown smoke grenade, then that joke was anything but funny.

But Kirei was an Executor who hunted heretics. He had long grown accustomed to fighting enemies who defied common sense, so this level of absurdity was hardly worth being startled over.

The streetlights below flickered on and off, and a vast expanse of darkness lay between their pools of light. The magus obstructing him was somewhere beneath that darkness.

As long as he confirmed that, tonight's trip had not been in vain.

Suddenly, the battle-hardened instincts of an Executor sounded a frantic alarm.

Kirei Kotomine flipped away. Red and blue arcs slashed down past him, pulverizing the spot where he had just been standing.

Before he had even regained his footing, Kirei Kotomine flung six Black Keys toward the attacker. He threw them in three consecutive volleys, taking a total of one second—an even more advanced technique than firing a single volley in 0.3 seconds.

The six Black Keys split into three groups, pursuing, restraining, and intercepting. But that was only the beginning. The robed man planted his left foot the instant he completed his recovery, advancing rather than retreating as he prepared to rapidly close the distance and unleash his true killing move.

But when he clearly saw the attacker's face, he forcibly halted mid-step. As his body creaked against the recoil, Kirei Kotomine raised his right hand without hesitation. Three blood-red markings lit up.

"By my Command Spell, I order you!"

015: Artoria Pendragon (Saber)

Character Information: In life, she was the king from the legends of ancient Britannia, also known as King Arthur. Called the knight among knights, the Knight King. She drew the sword that chose the king from the stone, disguised her gender, and lived as the ideal king Arthur. Yet after civil strife devastated her country, she became convinced that she was unfit to be king and wished to use the Holy Grail to choose a new king for her homeland... So how could someone like her possibly fall in love so easily?

Hidden Information: Insufficient conditions

Record Conditions 3/5:

1. Gain King Arthur's recognition (Completed)

2. Defeat/Kill Artoria Pendragon

3. Help Artoria resolve the knot in her heart

A pale blue screen flashed before Sakutsuki's eyes and vanished, signaling that one of the conditions had been met. His expression did not change as he casually threw away the twin blades in his hands, then leaped backward, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and released the string!

At the same time, a golden figure broke through the spinning blades. Azure eyes fixed on the incoming arrow as Excalibur traced a stunning arc, cleaving the supersonic projectile in half!

Then magical energy surged forth. The Knight King's petite body contained savage strength as she crushed the ground beneath her feet and closed in on the white-robed, red-clad youth in an instant. A raging wind gathered along her blade.

"Strike Air!"

"Nine Lives!"

The frenzied tempest cleared the space within dozens of meters, but behind the enormous, heavy black axe blade, the youth had already vanished.

At some point, he had disappeared.

Happy Children's Day, everyone~

It was a black axe-sword spread wide like wings, taller than most humans. Perhaps only a nearly three-meter-tall giant could wield it freely.

That was why, when Sakutsuki swung this savage weapon, the impact it created was more overwhelming than ever before.

What Saber had unleashed was a variation of the Noble Phantasm Wind Barrier: a wind blade released in one sweep by instantly unleashing compressed air to scour away her enemy—Strike Air.

Yet the violent tempest was torn apart by the axe-sword's high-speed ninefold barrage. The lethal wind blades were reduced to chaotic currents of air without any power at all. Even Saber had not expected the youth's arms, so slender compared to the axe-sword, to be capable of wielding such a monstrous weapon.

Style: Nine Lives.

The Noble Phantasm most trusted by the Heroic Spirit Heracles, once used to destroy the immortal Hydra.

Whether through weapons held in hand or various martial techniques performed barehanded, in a sense, the Style: Nine Lives was a technique given form as a Noble Phantasm. It was similar in principle to A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands, yet it could draw out a weapon's power to the utmost, displaying forms ranging from anti-personnel and anti-army attacks to even siege-breaking force depending on the circumstances.

If used with a sword, it manifested as nine slashes in an instant. If used with a bow, it became nine dragon-shaped tracking lasers.

Sakutsuki's Projection Magecraft had been inherited from Shirou Emiya. It was a cheating form of magecraft that could even read and reproduce the original owner's skills while copying an item. Thus, even Sakutsuki could use the great hero Heracles's secret Style, and still had enough leeway to leave the battlefield and disappear beyond Saber's guarded range.

After confirming that Sakutsuki's presence had vanished, Saber's ahoge swayed slightly. She sheathed the golden, shining Sword of Victory and returned to Irisviel's side.

"Are you all right, Irisviel?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, Saber."

But there was little joy in Irisviel's expression. She gazed into the distance at the axe-sword slowly dissolving into magical energy, her ruby-like eyes filled with worry.

"Are you worried about Sakutsuki?" Saber asked. "Then why don't you say so?"

The worry on her face turned to guilt. The innocent Princess of Winter lowered her head and remained silent.

What was Irisviel looking at?

Curious, Saber imitated Irisviel's posture, but all she could see was a flat stretch of concrete.

After a long while, a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz finally sounded.

"I don't have the right to look at that child." The silver-haired woman, an artificial human whose emotions were more delicate than anyone's, spoke quietly. "He's helped us so much... but we still have no choice but to become his enemies."

That was Irisviel's conflict, and the reason she had remained silent from beginning to end.

Since his abrupt appearance a year ago, Sakutsuki had never shown any hostility toward Irisviel. Even now, one year later, when they were both participants in the Holy Grail War, that youth had continued silently protecting her and Saber... at least tonight, that was the case. If Sakutsuki had not intervened, they would have faced Lancer's spear and Berserker's frenzied assault.

But there was only one Holy Grail. Irisviel knew they had reasons they could not avoid fighting over, and she had prepared herself for it. Yet she had not expected Kiritsugu to act so decisively, blowing up the entire hotel during Sakutsuki's battle against Lancer's Master. The moment Sakutsuki appeared, he had launched an assassination attempt, and judging from Sakutsuki's condition, he had likely come within a single step of succeeding.

On one side was Sakutsuki, who had never harmed her. On the other were the Einzbern family's long-cherished wish and her husband. Caught between them, kind-hearted Irisviel naturally felt anguish.

Saber silently watched the woman she had sworn to protect and quietly sighed in her heart.

Had she not been the same in the past? She had not minded the feelings between Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot, but the members of the Knights of the Round Table had not forgiven them for their actions... In the end, she had been forced to send Guinevere to the stake as king, leading to every tragedy that followed.

Before Sakutsuki and Kiritsugu Emiya decided the outcome between them, even she could not free Irisviel from this pain.

The golden-haired girl knight raised her head, her azure eyes reflecting the cold moonlight.

All she could do was follow her oath and silently protect this pure Princess of Winter.

In the midst of the silence, she suddenly thought of something.

After finishing his battle with her, where had that youth with golden eyes gone?

"By my Command Spell, I order you!" Kirei Kotomine raised his right hand high and rapidly recited the incantation like an automated machine.

"Assassin, appear at my side immediately!"

One of the Command Spells engraved on Kirei Kotomine's right hand erupted with brilliant light, unleashing magical energy beyond all reason.

For the group of Assassins moving throughout Fuyuki City, the instant Kirei Kotomine gave the order, their sense of space was completely stripped away, casting them into a "movement" where they could no longer tell east from west, north from south.

This was something only a Command Spell specialized in "controlling Servants" could accomplish. At a speed reaching a fraction of the speed of light, in an "instant" so fast it nearly overturned causality itself, the Command Spell allowed the Assassins to cross spatial distance and move between two points.

Between Kirei Kotomine and the attacker, a great mass of black-robed figures emerged—what the Command Spell designated was "Assassin," and even though Zabaniya had split her into hundreds of individuals, they were fundamentally still the same Servant.

Though it had happened suddenly, the Assassins' combat training let them instantly assume battle stances as they warily assessed the attacker before them.

Golden eyes shone brilliantly in the night, as though blazing with searing flames.

The Master, Sakutsuki.

Though he was a Master, he was a freak who could clash with Lancer and exchange blows with Hero King Archer!

White robes fluttered and red garments swayed. The black-and-white soft armor reflected the same colors of the yin-yang twin swords, and sharp arcs flashed past the Assassins' eyes.

Facing Servants, the youth neither dodged nor retreated, launching a fierce assault as though he could hardly wait!

The Assassins apparently had not expected the youth to be so ferocious. In their stunned state, several heads flew into the sky, becoming souls claimed by his blades.

"Trace On!"

The first pair of blades flew from his hands, spinning through the black-robed figures in a slaughter. Sakutsuki crossed his hands and clenched them fiercely, and new blades appeared in his grasp, carrying him on a rampage through the Assassins.

"Split off eight people to cover my retreat. The rest of you, delay Sakutsuki's advance. Remember, do not confront him head-on."

Kirei Kotomine issued his orders the instant he summoned Assassin. Though Servants stood beside him and his own combat strength was formidable, he had no intention whatsoever of fighting Sakutsuki. His sole focus was on escaping.

"You want to leave? Did I agree to that?"

Effortlessly evading several throwing knives and a dagger, then casually smashing one Hassan's skull with the flat of his blade, Sakutsuki watched Kirei Kotomine begin to retreat. A cold smile suddenly curved across his lips.

"Sword Barrel Full Open!"

He employed a combat style resembling the Hero King's. Countless weapons howled toward Kirei Kotomine, and his willingness to expose this trump card only made his determination to kill Kirei Kotomine clearer.

At the same time, Sakutsuki spoke, his low chant shaking the magical energy around them.

I am the bone of my sword.

The Assassin class was, by nature, specialized in stealth and weaker than other classes in every parameter.

And the Hassan of the Hundred Personas summoned by Kirei Kotomine had further split herself into separate individuals through the Noble Phantasm Zabaniya. Though the number of individuals increased, the total amount of power did not—based on that, the more she divided herself, the weaker each individual became.

Worse still, if one of those divided individuals died, it did not return to Assassin's main body. It was directly destroyed, because this was not a system where a superior "main body" generated inferior "duplicates." Every Assassin existed on equal footing.

Therefore, every duplicate that died weakened Hassan of the Hundred Personas by another fraction. If they were merely gathering intelligence as usual, that would have been fine. But now, Kirei Kotomine had used a Command Spell to send every Hassan before a killing god wielding two massive blades.

Sakutsuki, an anomaly among Masters, an absolute monster who could even go head-to-head with Lancer at his peak.

Once this guy entered the midst of the Assassins, there was simply no better way to describe it than mowing down grass.

The Hassans were suffering, but the Hassans said nothing.

After all, to the "Assassin Sect," an employer's orders were absolute. Since Kirei Kotomine had hired—summoned—them, Hassan of the Hundred Personas, as one of the Old Men of the Mountain, had to faithfully carry out his orders.

Even if it was a certain-death mission.

Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.

Kirei Kotomine was retreating rapidly, but the sword rain tearing through the sky ripped apart the black robes around him. With every step he took, a gap opened beside him, forcing more Hassans to fill it with their bodies.

Unaware of beginning,

Nor aware of the end.

- Yet,

my flame never ends.