My Fates Codex in Type-Moon

That was precisely why he had donned a cloak and mask, even altering his left arm into something entirely different as he walked tonight.

That was precisely why he had so easily breached the Tohsaka Estate's barrier, and then...

Kariya Matou stopped in his tracks and looked at the figure in the red suit ahead of him. A cruel smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

The next instant, he turned into a shadow, raised the right hand that even he found terrifying, and lunged at Tokiomi Tohsaka.

"Die, Tokiomi Tohsaka!"

No opening with a Noble Phantasm or anything. Uncle Kariya was still too kind...

This was supposedly an author's note, but it was more like an explanation.

First, the same old request—please give the first paid chapter a subscription, friends! I sincerely ask everyone to support the official release and subscribe!

On release day, there would be at least five chapters.

The bonus chapter rules were as follows.

First, bonus chapters for average subscriptions. Bonus chapters would begin at 700 average subscriptions; every additional 100 would earn another chapter, with no upper limit.

Second, bonus chapters for tips. Once the total tips from all readers reached the equivalent of one Alliance Leader, there would be one additional chapter.

Third, once the saved drafts ran out, the chapters would be owed for now. It was exam season lately, after all. He would make them up once the break began, and would also release a few little extras as compensation.

Fourth, these bonus chapter rules would remain in effect long-term.

Fifth, updates would be generally stable from now on: two chapters a day, with each chapter guaranteed to be at least 2,000 words and no upper limit. If there was truly an unavoidable reason, leave would be announced in advance.

As for a reader group and such, that would have to wait until after exam season.

Last but not least, thank you to all the readers for your support throughout this journey. Thank you so very much for reading my work!

Inside the wrecked room, where a large hole had been punched through the ceiling, the glow of a Command Spell flashed and vanished.

When the forced summons took effect, Archer made no move. Instead, he chose to vent all his anger verbally upon his Master.

"You had better give this King an explanation, Tokiomi!" The golden king unleashed his intimidating pressure without restraint, making no attempt to hide his displeasure. "You have once again used that thing to disturb this King's amusement. If you do not have a proper reason, then even if you offer the courtesy due a subject, you shall still face this King's judgment!"

"My King!" Clutching his bloodied right arm, Tokiomi Tohsaka lowered his head in humiliation. "A Servant invaded our grounds and ambushed me. I ask that you judge the matter fairly!"

"Oh? A Servant?"

Gilgamesh narrowed his crimson eyes, appraised the badly injured Tokiomi Tohsaka, and snorted coldly.

"Fool. If it were a Servant, you would never have survived."

Even so, he finally deigned to move, climbing upstairs at an unhurried pace.

Tokiomi wanted to remind Archer that the enemy had already retreated and needed to be pursued immediately, but he feared that this incomparably arrogant king would fly into another rage. He could only grit his teeth in silence and use magecraft to treat his injuries.

It had to be said that Tokiomi Tohsaka had made the right choice—Gilgamesh, who claimed to have "collected every treasure in the world," had more than enough means to track an intruder.

After gathering enough lingering traces, Gilgamesh looked at the two entwined points of light inside a transparent vial, delight gleaming in his eyes.

"The traces of both a Servant and a Master... Interesting. Does this Holy Grail War possess such technology?"

But the Hero King quickly withdrew the interest from his eyes, his cold and detached face filled with contempt and anger.

That contempt was directed at tonight's intruder, that weak and useless wretch.

That anger, meanwhile, fell upon his subject, Tokiomi Tohsaka.

Though limited by the Master's abilities, the intruder had been able to display only a very restricted measure of Servant power, to the point that even a first-rate magus could resist it. But if he had used the power of a Noble Phantasm, Tokiomi Tohsaka would undoubtedly have died.

The fact that he had failed to kill Tokiomi Tohsaka meant that the intruder was merely a coward with nothing but reckless courage.

As for his current Master, to be honest, Gilgamesh had become completely disappointed in him.

He could understand the helplessness of modern magi before Servants, but inside a Magic Workshop, Tokiomi Tohsaka was not without the strength to fight. What was more, even the assassin had already fled in disgrace before Tokiomi remembered to summon him!

What had he summoned him for? To let him, the noble king, witness the humiliating state of his own subject?

What Gilgamesh had wished to see was Tokiomi Tohsaka elegantly restraining the intruder with magecraft while using a Command Spell to respectfully invite him, the king, to grant death to the fool who had trespassed into the king's grounds.

Not a wrecked basement and a subject cowering against the wall without a shred of dignity!

He strode back into the basement. When he saw Tokiomi Tohsaka's face twisted with pain, Gilgamesh's suppressed dissatisfaction erupted completely.

"How disgraceful, Tokiomi Tohsaka. How can this King's subject whimper like a dog wagging its tail? Was such a pitiful creature truly what disturbed this King's amusement?"

"My King..." Tokiomi Tohsaka opened his mouth to speak, but Gilgamesh's expression suddenly calmed.

Beneath that tranquil surface lay a raging torrent capable of shattering one's soul.

"Remember this, Tokiomi Tohsaka."

The golden king dissolved into spiritual particles.

"You have only one Command Spell left."

The golden radiance abandoned the basement. Clutching his wound, Tokiomi Tohsaka stood there blankly, turning Gilgamesh's words over in his mind.

Then, all of a sudden, he began to tremble.

In the dark courtyard, Chinese lanterns glowed with an eerie red beneath the moonlight.

"I'm back."

The door opened to silence. Naturally, no purple-haired girl rose from the sofa with a cheerful cry and ran toward him.

After all, he had personally hypnotized Sakura.

Kariya dragged himself into the living room with steps even more exhausted than the night before, moving like a walking corpse before throwing himself onto the sofa again.

Had he turned on the lights, the white glow would have revealed the bruised and mottled purple of his right arm.

Dream Summoning (Install) itself did not harm its user—but if one forcibly suppressed a Noble Phantasm, even the Servant would be affected, let alone a magus merely borrowing that power.

Noble Phantasm: Zabaniya.

No armor mattered before this Noble Phantasm, which directly attacked the internal organs that no one could train, no matter who they were.

Though China seemed to have martial arts that cultivated the body from within, Tokiomi Tohsaka clearly did not possess such a method.

If Kariya Matou released this Noble Phantasm and used the demon Shaiton stored within his arm to crush the simulated heart, there was no possible reason for Tokiomi Tohsaka to survive.

Yet the second after releasing the Noble Phantasm, Kariya Matou regretted it.

He thought of Rin Tohsaka. The girl had no idea that her beloved uncle was about to kill her beloved father, but once she learned the truth, the pain on that little face would break Kariya Matou's heart.

He thought of Sakura Matou. Even though she had already severed ties with the Tohsaka family, even if she would not blame Kariya, she would still secretly wipe away tears in private... As her guardian, how could Kariya bear to make her cry?

And then there was... Aoi.

She was gentle on the outside but strong within. If he killed Tokiomi Tohsaka, then the ending between him and her would already be decided.

After realizing this, Kariya finally broke free of the fury of revenge. He merely wounded Tokiomi Tohsaka, suppressed the Noble Phantasm, and left quickly.

Although he had not managed to cut off that man's hand and take his Command Spells, the flustered—even terrified—expression of that self-proclaimed "elegant" man in the face of disaster still gave Kariya Matou immense satisfaction.

"Hahaha... Hahaha... Hahahahaha... You're nothing special after all, Tokiomi!"

After his act of revenge, delighted laughter finally echoed through the dark hall.

Suddenly, the phone in his pocket began to ring.

Kariya took out the phone with his still-intact left arm and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kariya..." The young man on the other end sighed helplessly. "Tonight's operation failed, didn't it?"

"Failed? What are you talking about?" Kariya Matou laughed smugly. "I injured Tokiomi, you know. I even forced him to use up a Command Spell. Too bad you weren't there to see that ridiculous expression on his face. Hahaha..."

Amid Uncle Kariya's foolish laughter, the young man's sigh was almost imperceptible.

Giving Kariya the Assassin Class Card had naturally not been intended simply to let him settle a personal grudge.

Sakutsuki's demand for Kariya had been to kill Tokiomi Tohsaka. Failing that, he was at least supposed to cut off Tokiomi's hand and take all of his Command Spells. It would have been even better if Kariya's disguise had driven a wedge between Tokiomi and Kirei, master and apprentice.

Yet Kariya had run off halfway through using his Noble Phantasm. Not only had he failed to kill Tokiomi, he had also put him on guard. It would be impossible to carry out the same assassination next time.

As for the Command Spell he had made Tokiomi expend... Dear, had he forgotten that Tokiomi was allied with the Holy Church? With the threat of the Sea Monster gone this time, who knew whether Risei Kotomine, that hypocritical priest, would simply lay his cards on the table and hand Command Spells directly to Tokiomi?

"In the end, he couldn't even make a proper recording. Kariya really is..." Sakutsuki hung up and sighed, helplessly deleting the video in his hand.

Originally, footage of Assassin killing Archer's Master would surely have been useful in the operations to come, wouldn't it?

With another weary sigh, the golden-eyed young man patted his cheeks, making his expression harmless and innocent before walking toward one side of the woods.

There, beneath the moonlight, the girl knight was helping up the Princess of Winter whom she had sworn to protect.

"Sakutsuki!"

"Don't be nervous, Saber. I came to discuss terms..."

Wine and meat adorned the dining tables, while rows of candleholders shone brilliantly.

The kings, nobles, and aristocrats of Erinn had gathered in Mircolda's grand banquet hall. The banquet had now reached its height.

But tonight's banquet did not permit those brutish men to compete in drinking.

Tonight, even rough warriors would be intoxicated by the elegant fragrance of flowers.

Yes, this was a banquet held to admire a delicate and lovely bloom.

Gráinne, beloved daughter of Cormac mac Airt, High King of Ireland, was finally about to become engaged.

The groom was none other than Fionn mac Cumhaill, son of Cumhaill. A great hero who had gained wisdom from the oil of the Salmon of Knowledge and possessed the power of healing water, he was also the peerless leader of the Knights of Fianna. He was a man whose strength and fame rivaled the High King himself. No marriage could have brought greater joy.

At the old hero Fionn's side stood his son, the poet Oisín; his grandson, the hero Oscar; and the Knights of Fianna's many warriors, each capable of facing a thousand foes alone.

Caílte mac Rónáin the swift-footed, the druid mage Fergus, Goll mac Morna, "the Terror of the Battlefield," and Conan mac Morna, the Gray Lizard.

And Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, renowned far and wide as the peerless bearer of the "Face of Glory."

Every mighty hero capable of holding a pass alone had assembled. Each one revered Fionn, had sworn loyalty to him, and stood unwaveringly devoted. The great heroes admired their leader and dedicated their spears and swords to his command. This was a knight's honor, the true will of the glorious warriors endlessly sung by bards.

He held aspirations for the way of the knight.

He followed this knightly path to the end.

A knight believed that one day, his body would be wrapped in horsehide as he died upon a glorious battlefield.

Until that night, at fate's banquet, when he encountered a delicate flower.

"You will have my love, but the price is that you must bear a Geis. My beloved, please stop this hateful wedding and take me away... Take me somewhere farther than the ends of heaven and earth!"

The young woman pleaded through tears, sincere flames of love burning in her eyes.

It was an infernal fire that would burn his body to ashes... The hero understood that then.

But he could not resist.

The heavy burden of a Geis that tested his honor, and the path of loyal service he believed in—which was more precious? He asked himself that question time and again, but no matter how tangled his heart became, he could find no answer.

Thus, the reason that drove him to act had to be something entirely unrelated to glory.

The hero took the princess's hand, and together they abandoned their brilliant future of honor.

Thus began a tragic love story that would one day be told throughout Celtic Mythology.

Strange and fantastical dreams wound around his mind, becoming Kayneth's only current diversion.