Interlude: Art

"BOOM!"

The massive explosion impacted the eardrums of everyone present, the blast wave flipping parked cars on the street. Kiritsugu Emiya, who hadn't managed to get far, was naturally caught in the shockwave. Fortunately, his body, honed through years of battlefield experience amidst the roar of gunfire, allowed him to maintain his balance and minimize the damage from the blast.

What happened? The explosives were supposed to be precisely calculated. The result should have been the precise destruction of the reinforced concrete of the building's exterior wall, a directed blast that wouldn't even transmit the sound of the explosion beyond the hotel.

But reality was a deafening explosion, a towering blast wave, and all-consuming fire. The Hyatt Hotel had been reduced to rubble, the asphalt on the road itself overturned. Not to mention the police who had set up a cordon, and the hotel guests who hadn't managed to escape.

Someone had seen through his plan and exploited it. That was the only possibility, yet the most impossible one. Besides Maiya, no one knew the plan... Wait, no one? What about non-human entities? The elusive and stealthy Assassin, or perhaps the even more mysterious and eerie Caster? He couldn't tell for sure now; he'd have to analyze the collected information later. For now, he needed to contact Maiya, confirm if the primary target was achieved, and then withdraw.

"Maia, what's the situation over there?"

"There was no activity until the last thirty-second floor. It seems Kayneth didn't escape the hotel." A deep, cold male voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Who are you, and where is Maiya?"

"That woman escaped under the cover of a smoke grenade. I didn't expect you to ally with Caster, Kiritsugu Emiya. No wonder he would act in a way that completely disregards the agreements between Magus. It actually makes sense once you consider your actions."

"What?"

The other party unilaterally cut off the call. Although he received confirmation that Maiya was safe for the moment and that this extraordinary explosion was Caster's doing, Kiritsugu Emiya was still bewildered. Who was the other party, and what kind of agreement did they have with Caster?

Unable to make sense of it, Kiritsugu Emiya met Maiya at their pre-arranged rendezvous point several tens of minutes later and returned, bewildered, to Einzbern Castle.

On the thirty-eighth floor of the Fuyuki Central Building, which was merely a skeletal frame, Kirei Kotomine stood on the steel observation deck, gazing at the chaotic scene below of ambulances, injured people, and police.

Caster's breach of contract after fulfilling their agreed-upon terms, exposing Assassin's existence to all participants without reservation, now had an explanation. It meant that he and Kiritsugu Emiya must have had some other secret agreement. Otherwise, how could he explain that after requesting the Holy Church to place explosives in the Hyatt Hotel, Kiritsugu Emiya then blew up the building? Indeed, anything related to Kiritsugu Emiya always became... Was this what Archer mentioned as interesting?

What would he gain from this Holy Grail War? He felt a strange, incomprehensible emotion, an emotion that people with normal emotional reasoning typically called anticipation.

Author's Notes

Do you know what schools do to prevent students from causing trouble during holidays?

Lots and lots of homework!

That's a rather basic tactic, as some prodigies can finish ten thousand characters of manual copying within the first two classes of the morning.

You'll have exams when you come back from the break!

That's right... Due to exams, the promised eighteen thousand characters for this week likely won't be completed... I apologize, this is all I could manage.

To the 64 book friends who have collected it so far, thank you very much.

Once again, regarding updates, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be eighteen thousand characters per week, released on Friday or Saturday (due to school, this is the only time I can get out and visit an internet cafe...). Special circumstances might lead to extra updates (like the Qingming Festival holiday).

Because of this, managing and replying to the comment section... I reply to those I can see on my mobile client. For those I can't see... Thank you for popping up, letting me know I'm not alone.

When I decided on this update pace, I didn't expect this book to achieve much. As long as it brings you a smile after reading, I wouldn't dare hope for recommendations (though it would be great if I got them, I wouldn't have the face to ask).

That's all for this week. See you next week.