They said no one could withstand the world's malice

"Knowing they are doomed, are they resorting to this tactic to delay?" (The novel website does not skip words.)

Kayneth said this with a mocking smile, his expression appearing completely natural, without any trace of artifice.

Jizi also gave a hum, as if what Arhr had just said was nothing more than a joke.

"I have no obligation to act as a commentator, but Kirei, why don't you try your hand at deduction and let me see if you're up to the task as a spectator?"

Arhr's nonchalant attitude annoyed Jizi. She wanted to attack him forcefully, but the [Ea in Arhr's hand was a tangible deterrent that made her dare not act rashly.

Kirei, having caught up with Arhr's thought process, also reacted—the bleeding from his severed wrist had stopped, and he had received a simple bandage—he leaned halfway out from behind Arhr and said in a calm tone:

"Kayneth El- El-Melloi Archibald, the head of the Archibald Family, a nine-generation lineage—[^^novel][].[U].[]—was hailed as a genius from a young age. A paragon of traditional Magecraft, he considered his achievements a given. His participation in the Holy Grail War was merely to enhance his fame."

This is information about Kayneth; up to this point, it's all very easy information to gather, so Kirei isn't surprised.

He believes that bloodline and lineage are the essence of magic, taking pride in his nine-generation family lineage while belittling Magecraft with shallow bloodlines. He is the master and apprentice of one of the participants in this war, RIR's Astr Weber-Velvet, and publicly humiliated the latter in class, which ultimately led to him stealing the relic that belonged to Kayneth.

Jizi Kirei has made his plan; he intends to use ANR as a starting point.

"So, ANR, you weren't the SRVENT that Kayneth initially wanted; you were just a substitute he had to find out of necessity."

Regardless of whether Ji Jizi was manipulating Kayneth behind ANR, as a self-proclaimed Knight, he certainly wouldn't be without thoughts after hearing these words. Since neither side dared to make the first move in the current situation, he simply turned his head and looked at Kayneth, saying:

"My lord, is this true?" (The novel website does not skip words.)

Jizi didn't have much time to think; she had to get Kayneth to respond as soon as possible, and it had to be reasonable. Fortunately, the conversation had been relatively smooth so far, and even someone with average intelligence could react quickly enough.

"If you're asking about the artifact, that's true," Kayneth said calmly. "But what does it matter? I only chose that artifact because I wanted to summon the most powerful Heroic Spirit possible. However, subsequent developments showed that Heroic Spirit like the King of Conquerors and I were completely incompatible."

"Lord--"

"Only you, ANR, are you the only Heroic Spirit who can become my power? Are you really going to deny the bond we've built up over so many days of fighting together, just because of a few words from the enemy?"

Kayneth's performance was incredibly moving; he spoke words that perfectly captured ANR's feelings, and his expressions were spot-on, resonating deeply with ANR. He held the gun in front of him and shouted:

"Yes, my lord, only you are the one to whom I would willingly offer the Holy Grail. To be misled by the enemy's words, I was far too immature. Please punish me, my lord."

Whew~ Jizi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she had finally fooled them. This was all thanks to her understanding of these characters; information asymmetry was actually the biggest advantage of a time traveler.

But this is only the first hurdle.

"You're quite the talker, aren't you? Hehehe, I'm getting more and more excited for what's to come— Kirei, continue!"

"In the battle at Fuyuki Port, Kayneth Archibald was Kiritsugu Emiya with a sniper rifle and should have died on the spot—" Kirei paused here, glanced at ANR, and the latter also showed a look of recollection, obviously remembering this incident.

"--But he didn't die; instead, he was healed by some unknown force. Between the gunshot and ANR's arrival, there was a several-second gap; no one else happened—except you, Assassin."

Jizi shrugged, indicating that Gu was trying to shift the blame—"Back then you were my Astr, don't you think that's very unconvincing?" (The novel website doesn't skip words.)

Kirei's tone remained very calm. He waited for Jizi to finish speaking before speaking, "You took the initiative to cut off contact with me."

"Just empty words? You need evidence." Jizi had already decided that if I denied it, what could you do about it?

However, some things don't actually need evidence. Just raising a possibility will raise questions.

"Even if you managed to deceive everyone, including me, there's still one oversight," Kirei Kotomine pointed with his unblemished left hand to the Heroic Spirit clad in golden armor beside him, "Arhr, who was standing at the highest point, saw everything."

All eyes turned to Arhr again. He maintained his enigmatic smile, neither confirming nor denying. But for Heroic Spirit —especially Heroic Spirit as noble as him—when someone brings him up as a witness, not denying is tantamount to admitting, because it concerns the hero's reputation, and he would not and would disdain to lie.

"Fine, fine, even if I did do something, so what? If it weren't for me, Kayneth would be dead there. He should be thanking me, shouldn't he?" (The novel website doesn't skip words.)

"But his behavior changed drastically after that. Someone as arrogant as him would normally seek out traditional Magecraft battles, always attacking head-on with absolute strength. However, based on the information I have, Kayneth doesn't seem to have done that."

"Absurd!" This time it was Kayneth himself who spoke. "Since our opponents are gathering intelligence on me, isn't it suicidal for me to maintain my usual style?"

This reason was clearly very convincing, and even ANR, which did feel that something was wrong with its own ASTR, agreed with it.

"Indeed, although Kayneth's personality has changed drastically, there was no direct evidence that Assassin was in contact with him until last night—"

Last night was the most eventful night since the start of the Holy Grail War, beginning with Astr summoning the Great Sea Demon in the middle of the Mion River and ending with the ANR group's surprise attack on the Church, killing Risei Kotomine. Castr was destroyed in the battle and left the stage, while BRSRKR was also indirectly affected and was defeated by the combined forces of SABRA and Assassin this morning.

"--Leaving aside whether Kayneth had the guts to provoke the Church, the fact that he could easily break through the Defensive Barrier outside the church is enough to prove that there is a traitor among us."

"Oh no!" Jizi's heart skipped a beat. Her orders to Kayneth were to attack the Church, and in order to make Kirei Kotomine kill Risei with his own hands and awaken the essence of "malice," she had also transmitted all the arrangements around and inside the church. Even though he was under control, Kayneth still retained his original habits in his actions. His pride as Magecraft made him not choose to let ANR use a gun to break through the defenses, but instead broke the barrier himself.

What should I do? Should I respond? Should I make Kayneth say that he requested intelligence in order to attack the Church? But ANR isn't constantly by Kayneth's side, so how could he not? Assassin and Kayneth haven't had any contact at all.

After receiving no response for a while, Kirei didn't press further. Instead, he casually said, "Besides, Kayneth and his fiancée fought together. May I ask where Sola-Ui is now?"

To avoid causing her any trouble, Jizi had Kayneth cast a spell on her early on, causing her to show signs of illness, and then sent her back to her country. Even if the girl didn't intend to do so, she was still forced into it. There was nothing to criticize here, so Jizi quickly had Kayneth reply:

"Other people's family matters are none of your business, you hypocritical Father."

"There are still many aspects that need further consideration..."

"Enough!" Jizi knew he couldn't let him continue, so he quickly controlled Kayneth and shouted, "You think everything is suspicious because you rely on the Assassin to provide you with intelligence, and you think that's all that matters. Do you think we in Archibald don't have our own intelligence network?"

"..."

"ANR, they're just stalling for time—do you think I'm being manipulated? Haven't we been cooperating well these past few days? Why listen to their nonsense? We just need to keep moving towards the Holy Grail as before."

The main point of the conversation was to keep ANR calm. No matter what evidence Kirei presented, as long as ANR didn't object, everything else was irrelevant. That's why Jizi had Kayneth say that.

"No, my lord—I was just too worried about your safety, that's why..."

"It's alright, ANR. My Magecraft skills as the head of the Archibald Family will not be fooled by petty tricks like mind control. The strongest Magecraft and the most outstanding Knight, the two of us are the most perfect combination in the Holy Grail War. Victory exists for us. Why should we hold grudges because of some idle talk from our opponents?"

"Yes, my lord."

Whether ANR had noticed or suspected anything, Jizi wasn't sure. Perhaps he did sense something was amiss, but subconsciously he didn't want to go that way. This poor Knight only wanted to wash away his shame, to fulfill his loyalty, and to fight well for his lord. Up to now, Kayneth's approval was what he craved most, and he really didn't want to ruin this long-cherished dream.

Finally calming ANR down, Jizi secretly wiped away a bead of sweat from her brow—even though she didn't have sweat glands. The gazes from the Sabr group were a bit irritating; they'd probably won them over. But that was enough. Tonight, they could retreat like this. Whether in the shadows or in the open, ANR would always find an opportunity to take down Kirei, and then...!

"Splash!"

The sound of metal chains sliding suddenly rang out, and several Chains of Heaven extended, binding Tokiomi and quickly pulling him to Arhr's side. Because Jizi thought he had overcome the most difficult hurdle, he relaxed his vigilance and was considering his next strategy, so he didn't react and allowed his opponent to succeed!

All those previous so-called conversations were just a ruse; Arhr's real target was Tokiomi! Jizi cursed Da Li, but it was too late.

Tokiomi Kirei Kotomine struggled to raise his right hand with his right arm, then gently stroked the remaining two Command Seals on it with his intact left hand.

"Ughhhhh!"

A agonizing scream escaped Tokiomi's lips—transferring Command Seals was an extremely complex technique, but Kirei happened to be a member of the Holy Church, and having been trained by Tokiomi, he was quite familiar with the Tohsaka Family's methods of Magic Resistance. Even so, forcibly stripping the Command Seals caused immense pain, Tokiomi awoke from the shock.

Still a little dazed from just waking up, Tokiomi was not quite sure what was going on when he saw a sharp blade growing larger and larger in his field of vision.

"Since you've already taken the Command Seals, you're useless now. Goodbye, Tokiomi."

Arhr didn't use the [Ea, but even the weapons he summoned at random were legendary treasures, more than enough to kill a human.

Stop him!

Seeing Arhr slash at Tokiomi with a knife, Jizi instinctively cried out—she wasn't so determined to save Tokiomi as she was. Was it because her interactions with him these past few days had made her feel that Tokiomi was a bad person, or because of her promise to Rin? Or perhaps it was for personal reasons, not wanting to see a family fall apart like this?

The real reason is no longer meaningful; since she has spoken, Kayneth, under the spell of absolute obedience, will comply.

"Snap!"

The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out, but it wasn't Tokiomi.

ANR stared in astonishment at the precious sword piercing through his chest, bewildered as to why it was here. He had been standing with his lord just moments before. His lord—

Kayneth extended his right hand; a faint red light flashed, and the last Command Seals vanished.

In an instant, ANR understood.

"Assassin--" Blood was gushing from his trachea to his throat, and every syllable was excruciating for him, but even so he roared loudly, his voice filled with anguish.

"Is it fun to manipulate people's hearts? Is it fun to watch my foolish performance from behind the scenes?" (The novel website does not skip words.)

"You just... that..."

"So you crave victory!? So you desire the Holy Grail!? You even dare to trample on my... only sincere wish... Don't you feel ashamed!?"

His beauty was twisted by blood and tears, transforming into a face that was completely different from his previous appearance—a vengeful ghost. In the original timeline, he also cursed everything in the same way, dying with resentment towards the world, the Holy Grail, and the participants in the Holy Grail War. But here, for various reasons, all his resentment was focused on the Assassin— Jizi.

"Unforgivable... Absolute law cannot forgive you! I curse you! I curse your final wish to be calamity! Assassin, you will surely fall into the cauldron of hell, and when that time comes, do not forget my curse, Diarmuid!"

As he gradually lost his physical form and collapsed into a hazy shadow, he continued to utter curses until his final moments. There was no longer the radiant figure of Heroic Spirit, only the howling voice of a malevolent spirit filled with resentment. Srvant-anr was finally and completely annihilated.

"..."

Jizi's face was covered by the Mask again, making it impossible to see her expression underneath.

"Scream!"

The sound of swords being drawn came from behind. Jizi subconsciously turned around and saw Saber pointing her holy sword directly at her, his eyes filled with indescribable rage. If the flames within them were to materialize, they would be enough to burn Jizi to death several times over.

"..."

Irisviel, standing behind Saber, looked on fearfully; Kayneth, standing there dumbfounded without receiving further instructions; Arr and Kirei, his face still splattered with Arr's blood, still completely Tokiomi. Jizi slowly scanned everyone around her before making her next move—

-----------------------ps------------------

P. S. 1. It's not that I'm being incredibly honest by updating twice; I'm just releasing the next update early because something came up.

P. S. 2. The entire Type-Moon World harbors deep-seated malice towards ANR, so don't blame me...

P. S. 3. Director Luo always makes modifications when copying the original work, so please be careful.

45. It is said that the world's malice can be blocked by humans.

45. It is said that the world's malice can be stopped by a member of [*][novel-net].

(http://) "The Fate: Night of Reckless Death" only represents the views of the author, Director Luo. If any content is found to violate national laws, please delete it. http:// is only committed to providing a healthy and green reading platform.

Thank you everyone!