My Fates Codex of Type-Moon

The enemy's prolonged chanting did not reassure Kirei Kotomine. Instead, it sent a deeper chill down his spine.

He did not know why Sakutsuki had been bent on killing him from the very beginning, but no matter what, escaping this place was his top priority.

But would Sakutsuki, who had come prepared, really let him get away?

The last Imaginary Numbers particles gathered into a giant arm, stretching between Kirei Kotomine and the stairwell. Only a narrow crack at the doorway remained exposed, becoming the final obstacle that would decide Kirei's life or death.

My whole body was still (Even if this body is false, it still...)

The flow of mana became increasingly steady and majestic. Even Kirei Kotomine, who was only half-competent in magecraft, knew that Sakutsuki's killing blow was nearing completion.

Gritting his teeth, Kirei Kotomine unhesitatingly seized one of the Hassans beside him. With a twist of his wrist, he hurled her toward the Imaginary Shadow!

Unlimited Blade Works! (Swords were born!)

The stairwell shattered. A figure stepped on Hassan's gradually melting body, hunched over as he smashed through the concrete wall. A chunk had been gouged from his waist by Imaginary Numbers particles, blood streaming from the wound as he tumbled miserably down the stairs.

The World Egg expanded in an instant, completely swallowing the floor.

Snowflakes drifted through the air, while the full moon above hung cold and lonely.

Reality Marble: Unlimited Blade Works

A young man in white robes and red garments stood atop a hill, his eyes, so like those of a god, looking down upon the fragile black shadows.

"Ten, fifty... hm, fifty-two people. Counting the ones I took out earlier, that means I only killed twenty-five?"

Twenty-five? Only?

Did he think they were cabbages? He had killed nearly a third of them already!

Though the divided Hassans had different personalities, the stubborn ones had basically all been killed by this slaughtering demon. The remaining fifty-two were no more than prisoners at the mercy of the Reality Marble.

Yet the young man judging them did not make a move. Instead, he muttered to himself.

"Even though it was a beautiful blitzkrieg, the result was still a failure... Tch. I'll be more careful next time."

A blitzkrieg?

The Hassans exchanged glances. Through their shared memories, they understood what Sakutsuki meant.

When Kirei Kotomine had gone alone to find Maiya Hisau, he naturally had Assassin keep watch over the surroundings in case a Servant came looking for him and caught him off guard.

And Saber and Sakutsuki's battle had naturally not escaped Hassan of the Hundred Personas's eyes and ears.

After being attacked by the Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya, Sakutsuki had chosen to oppose Saber and fight her... The chain of logic was simple, clear, and impossible to fault. It was only natural that Hassan of the Hundred Personas had lowered their guard over that battle.

Who could have imagined that when Saber unleashed her Noble Phantasm, Sakutsuki would decisively clash with her head-on, use the mana disturbance to interfere with Assassin's surveillance, then instantly appear beside Kirei Kotomine and launch an assault?

The term blitzkrieg was truly fitting. With his ability to "exchange spaces," Sakutsuki surpassed even Rider in mobility.

"I just didn't expect Kirei Kotomine to use one of Assassin... as a human shield, using her as a stepping stone to escape death. Sigh, it's also because I used too much Imaginary Numbers Magic when sparring with Kayneth. I didn't have enough strength left to completely block the exit."

After revealing how Kirei Kotomine had escaped, Sakutsuki seemed to lose interest in the matter. He lowered his head to look at the remaining Assassins, a strange smile curling across his lips.

As for your Master Kirei Kotomine using you as cannon fodder... what do you Hassans of the Hundred Personas think of that?

After a brief silence, one of the shadow Servants stepped forward and said indifferently, "We, the Shadow Horde, shall dedicate the rest of our lives to our Master. Even if it costs us our lives, we shall not hesitate."

"Oh?" Sakutsuki let out a frivolous whistle, his golden eyes sweeping over the other Hassans of the Hundred Personas. "You all feel the same way?"

A thousand people, a thousand faces. As individual beings split from Hassan of the Hundred Personas, they had inherited different facets of her personality. Some remained calm in the face of danger before an enemy, while others... were willing to bow their heads before death.

But no matter what, they maintained an eerie silence.

Because the killing intent around Sakutsuki was so heavy that it seemed to take form as the evening bell that rang when death came calling, announcing the arrival of a funeral.

Listen. That was an ancient bell.

Its chime rang clear. A towering tide of blades rose behind the young man, sweeping across everything in sight like a tsunami.

"Dong... dong... dong..."

The symphony of swords, spears, blades, and halberds, the roar of axes, battle-axes, hooks, and forks—all of it finally became that sacred rite that proclaimed death.

The evening bell has revealed the hour of your deaths.

Surrender your heads!

Kirei Kotomine fled all the way back to the Holy Church.

His left abdomen had been bleeding continuously due to the erosion of the Imaginary Numbers particles.

But he did not dare treat it. More precisely, he did not dare use magecraft to treat it.

If the traces of magecraft were exposed... that young man might find him.

The image of the golden-eyed young man's ferocious bearing flashed through his mind, filling Kirei with regret.

He had not expected Sakutsuki's desire to kill him to be so intense. Sakutsuki had even abandoned Kiritsugu Emiya, who had nearly shot him dead, just to strike at Kirei. It had been a grave miscalculation.

But why?

Even after willingly sacrificing Assassin to cover his retreat, Kirei Kotomine still did not dare relax. He returned to the protected church as quickly as possible, leaving a trail of dripping blood behind him. By the end, he was even seeing double.

"Kirei? What happened?!"

A blurry yet familiar voice entered his ears. The Executor, weakened by excessive blood loss, could no longer hold himself up. He collapsed to the floor and lost consciousness.

In the instant before he passed out, he felt something within him snap.

That was... the contract.

After a brief commotion, the Holy Church once again fell silent.

Kirei Kotomine walked through the quiet corridor with an indifferent gaze, lost in thought.

The wound at his waist had completely healed. His mentor Tokiomi had spared no expense, using one of his treasured gems not only to heal the wound, but also to make up for the damage the Imaginary Numbers particles had inflicted on his body. Kirei Kotomine was undoubtedly at his peak now.

But from the perspective of the Holy Grail, the Master known as "Kirei Kotomine" was in a dangerous position.

Just moments ago, through the joint confirmation of Holy Church overseer Risei Kotomine and Tokiomi Tohsaka, heir of one of The Three Families and participant in the Holy Grail War, they had been forced to face a painful truth—the core of their early plans, the one-man intelligence network known as Assassin, had just been confirmed destroyed.

The killer: Master Sakutsuki.

The so-called Holy Grail War was, before the final battle, fundamentally a war of intelligence. Assassin's loss was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Tokiomi Tohsaka. It meant he had lost his greatest advantage and could only use the most basic familiars to gather information, drastically reducing his efficiency.

Even so, the elegant man in a red suit did not vent his anger on anyone. He did not even question Kirei Kotomine's unauthorized actions. After his brief lapse in composure, he buried the terrible news in his heart and instead comforted the "despondent" Kirei Kotomine, thoughtfully telling him to return to his room and rest.

Such poise was worthy of the head of the Tohsaka family, which had inherited the family creed of "always maintain elegance."

An ordinary person would surely have been overwhelmed by shame and gratitude, conquered by that man's charisma, and willingly gone through fire and water for him.

But Kirei Kotomine was not that kind of person. Tokiomi Tohsaka's concern was not false, yet Kirei's heart remained as still as dead water.

The priest in his robes stopped walking.

No, there really had been something.

At one moment, ripples had indeed spread across his heart.

But... that had been the moment his mentor learned of Assassin's death and completely lost his elegant composure.

At that time, Kirei Kotomine had noticed an almost instinctive desire within himself.

He wanted to... admire that pained expression more, admire that pain... belonging to someone else.

!!!

His reason finally returned, belatedly. Upon realizing what he had been thinking, Kirei Kotomine's first reaction was not to acknowledge it, but to lock it deep within his heart, in a place even memory could not reach.

"Lord..." He recited scripture instinctively, but such a prayer was even hollower than the wind passing through the corridor.

But no matter what, with the Lord's help, Kirei once again avoided his true nature.

Once the emptiness in his heart faded slightly, the man who had suppressed his thoughts sighed and pushed open the door to his room.

At once, Kirei was seized by an unnatural feeling, as though he had accidentally entered someone else's room.

It was not that the scent or temperature had changed. Rather, the sense of atmosphere around the room had clearly changed. Kirei's originally plain room was now filled with an air of luxury and elegance, as though it had become a chamber within a palace.

The furnishings and lighting in the room had of course not changed at all. It was simply because a man was lounging leisurely against the bench.

"...Archer?"

The golden Heroic Spirit, dressed in a modern outfit consisting of a glossy enamel jacket trimmed with fur and leather pants, held a wineglass and gave Kirei Kotomine a secretive smile.

Like a forbidden serpent coiled in Eden, flicking its tongue.

Golden hair like blazing fire and scarlet eyes like rubies. That person was none other than Tokiomi Tohsaka's Servant—the Hero King Gilgamesh.

Ever since he had been summoned, this Heroic Spirit had relied on his Independent Action skill to wander about as he pleased. Recently, he had become even more excessive, materializing physically, changing into "casual clothes," and strolling brazenly through the streets. Kirei had once heard Tokiomi complain about it in a faintly irritated tone, but he had never expected Gilgamesh to come to his room.

Archer did not care in the slightest about barging into someone else's room. He even poured red wine taken from the cabinet without permission into a glass and sampled it elegantly.

"Though there isn't much of it, the treasures here are more complete than Tokiomi's wine cellar. What a terrible disciple."

"..." Kirei could not tell what the other man wanted. The table was covered with all manner of wine bottles. It seemed Archer had taken out every bottle in the room and was conducting a tasting.

Others might have found it surprising. Kirei had a strange habit: whenever he heard of an exceptional wine somewhere, he would buy it first without hesitation.

The more one cared about quality, the more endless and profound the world of wine became. If so, perhaps some flavor might fill the void in Kirei's heart. If such an encounter truly existed, then drowning himself in alcohol would not be so bad—this monk who had already reached a dead end had once thought so, half-seriously.

But so far, his exploration of wine had never yielded anything. Only the number of luxurious bottles had continued to grow. Naturally, he had never intended to serve those wines to guests, much less an uninvited and unwelcome guest. Even if the other man praised his wine, he had no desire to entertain someone like him.

"What exactly do you want?" Kirei asked patiently.

"Nothing. I simply find you interesting." Archer studied Kirei through his wineglass, his eyes full of hidden meaning.

"Well? Has obeying Tokiomi all this time failed to bring satisfaction to your soul?"

"...At this point, are you beginning to resent your contract, Gilgamesh?" Kirei did not answer Archer's question. He merely returned it coldly.

Even if the other party was the legendary Hero King, Kirei felt no fear. No matter what Tokiomi personally thought, a Servant was still a Master's servant. Whoever this Heroic Spirit might be, as long as he was Archer, he was merely someone beneath Tokiomi. Compared to himself, Tokiomi's direct disciple, they were at most equals in standing. There was no need for excessive humility before him.

Kirei's attitude did not displease Archer. He merely snorted and sampled the wine in his glass.

"The one who summoned this King was Tokiomi, and this body can remain in the present world only because Tokiomi sustains it. More importantly, he pays this King the respects due to a sovereign. It is not impossible for this King to respond to him."

After saying something so proper that it was unexpected, Gilgamesh's unusual blood-red eyes revealed a look of annoyance.

"But honestly, I never expected him to be such a boring man. There is not the slightest bit of amusement in him."

"...It is surprising for a Servant to say something like that."

Kirei was too astonished. The anger he had felt toward Archer's attitude, as well as his suspicion over the true purpose of Archer's visit, gradually faded. In that strange, relaxed atmosphere, Kirei had almost allowed Archer a place in the room.

Thus, they began to talk.

Beginning with Kirei Kotomine's mentor, Tokiomi Tohsaka, they swirled their wineglasses and discussed the Holy Grail, magi, the Holy Church... In the end, they even touched upon the Root and the Inner Sea of the World.

Not only that, as he watched Archer declare, "As long as this King enjoys this great universe that is this King's garden, this King is fully satisfied," Kirei Kotomine vaguely sensed the approach of a certain fate.

Archer had had countless chances to enter this room and speak with him before, yet this king had never done so.

Then why, only now, on this night when Tokiomi Tohsaka had controlled his movements with a Command Spell, had the oldest Hero King come to find him?

"I simply find you interesting." As though he had noticed Kirei Kotomine's question, Gilgamesh repeated his initial explanation. He drained the wine from his glass and asked as if casually, "Kirei, then what about you? What wish do you have for the Holy Grail?"

Hearing Archer ask that, Kirei felt for the first time that he did not know how to answer.

"I—" Yes, this was the greatest question. Why had a Command Seal appeared on Kirei Kotomine's right hand?

"I... do not have any particular wish I want fulfilled..." Kirei's reply carried a trace of bewilderment. At his words, a strange light flickered in Archer's red eyes.

"That is impossible. Does the Holy Grail not gather only those qualified to obtain it?"

"That should be true. But... I do not understand either. I have no ideal I wish to achieve, nor any long-cherished desire I must fulfill. Why was I still chosen to participate in this war?"

"Is that question really so difficult?" Archer chuckled, as though mocking Kirei's tense expression. "You have neither ideals nor long-cherished desires. Then why not simply pursue pleasure?"

"That is impossible!" Kirei's tone instinctively became agitated.