Shh, Can We Make Peace?

No—except for a certain Grand Puppet Master. That unfathomable woman truly left him at a loss.

Recalling that nightmare-like red figure that had immediately filled him with dread, Emiya Kiritsugu, perched atop a shipping container, shook his head slightly and quickly cast it from his mind. He then continued carefully searching for the traces of other magi—namely, the Master of the Blond Lancer below.

Although the other party had yet to show themself from the beginning until now, Emiya Kiritsugu's instincts told him that they had to be hiding somewhere nearby, observing the battle while remaining ready to provide Lancer with magecraft support at any moment.

After all, Servants and Masters in the Holy Grail War were only temporary pairings who had known each other for a short time. They could not truly achieve complete trust or perfect mutual understanding.

And as long as doubts existed between them, things would unfold exactly as he expected. After all, proud and self-centered magi would never hand the initiative in battle over to a Servant, so... the other party had to be hiding nearby.

With that thought, Emiya Kiritsugu gradually quickened his movements.

The reasoning was sound, but Emiya Kiritsugu did not know that because of someone's interference in this Holy Grail War, Kenneth—who had originally never displayed his full strength due to carelessness and indifference—had completely changed.

As an old aristocrat of the Clock Tower's magecraft world, he truly had been dismissive of and looked down on some provincial magi. But when facing a disciple he had personally nurtured, someone who might one day succeed him, this teacher did not dare lower his guard in the slightest.

Ever since he had begun treating Rovey as a hypothetical enemy, Kenneth had no longer allowed his pride to get the better of him. He was now cautious to an absurd degree.

Not only had he canceled his original plan of bringing his fiancée along to participate in a magecraft competition while also enjoying a honeymoon, before acting this time, he had specifically commissioned the Intelligence Department's magi to thoroughly investigate this so-called Holy Grail War.

To ensure that he would be the victor, he had not only guarded against his good student this time, but had also prepared countermeasures for every other participant. He had done everything possible to guarantee there would be no mistakes. It could be said that he was as steady as could be.

Moreover, knowing more about the distant Age of Gods, he naturally did not believe that he understood combat better than those ancient heroes. After all, he was merely a magus, not a magic swordsman, so he had directly handed things over to Fionn mac Cumhaill. She could fight however she wished. In any case, he had already solved the issue of mana supply with a Mana Furnace, so even using a Noble Phantasm would not affect him.

Thus, he simply handed all initiative to his Servant. So long as Fionn mac Cumhaill deemed the timing right, she could use that mana whenever she pleased.

As for Kenneth...

He had also decided to exploit the outdated thinking of the other magi and launch a surprise attack, letting those self-righteous ambushers properly experience a Lord's thunderous blow!

Therefore, before arriving at the battlefield, Kenneth had asked Fionn mac Cumhaill to make extensive preparations here and lay out an enticing bait for the other magi.

Now that the trap had been set, all that remained was to invite the prey into the net.

This time, he would show every other magus just how terrifying a fully prepared Clock Tower Lord going all out could be!

That brat Rovey had actually dared say that he would die in this provincial magecraft ritual?

What an utterly ridiculous joke!

He was Kenneth! An unparalleled genius destined to stand at the pinnacle of this era!!

A Color-Rank Magus, a Clock Tower Lord... in a mere magecraft ritual held in the countryside, who dared kill him? Who could kill him?!

Do not underestimate him... Today, he would use his true abilities to tell Rovey the simplest truth: your teacher would always be your teacher.

The trap was already in place. Now, all he needed to do was wait.

Who was the prey, and who was the hunter? A single test would reveal the answer soon enough.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of everything about to happen, Emiya Kiritsugu crawled upward along the containers under the cover of night. Calmly analyzing the situation, he continued searching the surroundings for traces of other magi.

Soon, after quietly reaching a high point, Emiya Kiritsugu finally saw the full layout of the area through his suddenly broadened field of vision.

A massive port, complicated terrain, and enormous steel shipping containers everywhere—it truly was an ideal place to hide.

But... times had changed, magi.

Thus, having secured the high ground, Emiya Kiritsugu used the Infrared Night Vision Goggles in his hand to search continuously from the edges of the steel containers toward more concealed locations. Before long, with the goggles' help, he truly found the target he had been seeking: the outline of a humanoid figure.

Even though they had specifically used concealment magecraft, those old-fashioned magi could never have anticipated that an anomaly like him would enter this Holy Grail War. Nor would they have expected someone to use modern high-tech weaponry in a magecraft ritual. Even if they hid their mana, they had not erased the temperature on the surface of their bodies.

"Found you! Just as I thought, you're here..."

Seeing the red-and-orange alternating silhouette displayed by the Infrared Night Vision Goggles, Emiya Kiritsugu clenched his fists, unable to suppress the surge of joy in his heart.

To confirm it further, Emiya Kiritsugu switched to his laser sight and continued observing. In the end, what he saw was still a clear target radiating pale green light. In his eyes, it was practically a live target.

At that point, Emiya Kiritsugu could not help mocking these people's stupidity.

They prided themselves on the nobility of magecraft, refused to accept the progress of the times, isolated themselves from the world, and failed to understand how the era had changed. That was why they had exposed such a fatal weakness and allowed him to succeed!!

As the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu naturally would not let such a heaven-sent opportunity slip away. Without the slightest hesitation, he fitted a silencer onto his Sniper Rifle and adjusted it. Then he pressed his eye tightly to the scope and, unable to wait any longer, directly pulled the trigger.

Bang—!!

The bullet tore through the air with a piercing crack. At that moment, Emiya Kiritsugu, lying high above, had already seen the outcome.

Just like before, a magus who had not made the proper preparations could never withstand the sudden assault of a Sniper Rifle.

No matter how wondrous or strange a magus's magecraft might be, their body was ultimately only flesh and blood. They could bleed, they could be injured, and they could... die.

Having done all that, Emiya Kiritsugu could not help smiling. After all, the troublesome Blond Lancer below would also be forced out after losing her Master.

That means the Lancer pair is completely dealt with...

He thought this as he prepared to leave quickly.

"Hmph, such a simple trap was enough to lure you in? You cowardly wretch who only dares hide in the shadows!"

However, after the bullet was fired, what Emiya Kiritsugu heard was not the scream he had expected, but a sharp and vicious voice entering his ears directly. It shocked him into breaking out in a cold sweat, because the voice had not come from elsewhere—it had come from... beneath his feet!!

But before he could think further, in the night-vision view, the shadowy figure that had just been standing atop the container suddenly burst apart when struck by the bullet. Its body then swelled like flowing mercury before exploding outright. The fragments formed by the explosion became countless sharp silver arrows, locking directly onto the direction the sound had come from—his location—before shooting toward him.

Clearly, the splashing mercury arrows had locked onto Emiya Kiritsugu's location by following the bullet's trajectory.

—Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

A series of piercing sounds tore past his ears, followed by a deadly sense of danger that arrived in an instant. In that moment, every alarm bell in Emiya Kiritsugu's mind began ringing madly.

"Time Alter: Triple Accel!!"

At this life-or-death moment, Emiya Kiritsugu did not hesitate at all. He immediately circulated his mana and drove his Magic Crest at full power. Facing the incoming mercury arrows, he activated Time Alter: Triple Accel, then violently rolled aside and leapt sideways from a height of seven or eight meters just before the attack arrived.

Thud!!

His flesh-and-blood body crashed onto a steel container with a dull impact. Emiya Kiritsugu, who had narrowly avoided the attack, could not stop himself from coughing up a mouthful of blood. The bones throughout his body had suffered heavy blows. To him, it felt little different from being struck by a moving car.

"Urgh..."

Stimulated by the intense pain, he forcibly pulled himself together. Dragging his battered body upright from the container, he limped as he tried to escape this dangerous place.

He had used Time Alter to evade most of the sudden attack, but the splashing mercury arrows had still inevitably pierced his left leg and right arm, making him bare his teeth in unbearable pain.

Seeing the container above him, which had been riddled through by dozens of mercury arrows because it could not evade, he could not help drawing in a sharp breath. At the same time, he felt a faint sense of relief. If he had not reacted quickly enough, he would have been pierced like that container and died on the spot.

I fell for it!!

Having just experienced a brush with death, Emiya Kiritsugu's mind was exceptionally clear.

How could he not realize that the target from earlier had merely been bait, intended to lure other Masters in?

He had been overwhelmed by that momentary sense of victory and had been far too confident. That was why he had walked straight into the trap and paid such a heavy price.

Feeling the pain throughout his body, Emiya Kiritsugu's heart turned cold. Gritting his teeth, he immediately prepared to leave this dangerous place. But the next instant, a figure suddenly appearing below him made his already uneasy heart plunge completely into the abyss.

"Oh? Look what I've hooked."

That same disdainful voice, mixed with a trace of coldness, entered his ears again. It sounded especially grating amid the hazy night.

It was not that you caught me—it was that I let you catch me.

"Heh, what a foolish fellow."

A cold male voice, sharp and vicious, echoed through the night. The undisguised malice within it made Emiya Kiritsugu, who had just escaped death, shudder inwardly.

However, Kenneth, who had just arrived on the scene, had no interest in the thoughts of a dying man. Standing some distance away with his hands behind his back, he watched Emiya Kiritsugu limp above him. His contemptuous gaze was like that of someone looking at a circus clown, filled with disdain.

"I expected provincial magi outside the Clock Tower to be largely worthless, but seeing one in person, you are even more degenerate than I imagined. Modern firearms, Infrared Night Vision Goggles... Heh, you actually used such things at a magecraft gathering. Did you think that after all these years of research, I had completely isolated myself from the outside world? You narrow-minded mediocrity."

As his words fell, the biting mockery within them continued echoing through the night sky.

Unlike the Atlas Institute and the Wandering Sea, which were truly isolated from the outside world, the Clock Tower—also one of the Mage's Association's three major branches—was an all-encompassing place open to magi from around the world. It was located in bustling London in the mundane world. Therefore, the Clock Tower, situated in such an important area of the ordinary world, naturally could not be ignorant of changes beyond its walls or the development of technology.

Although most old magi believed technological progress was entirely a mistake, one that caused many mysteries to cease being mysterious and seriously hindered the advancement of magecraft, leading them to hate science and reject modern technology, those who rejected it all wholesale were complete mediocrities in Kenneth's eyes. As the leader of the El-Melloi Faction, he had a different view of technology and the changing times.

Indeed, technological advancement had weakened the mystery of this world, but that was the result of the Age of Gods passing and the choice made by the primates. It was something that could never be changed, and lamenting it was meaningless.

The weak only complained about their environment, while the strong adapted to it...

Therefore, he regularly studied external scientific theories and inventions—not to rely on modern technology, but to draw inspiration from them and improve magecraft, allowing himself to go farther in this era.

So, countering something as trivial as thermal camouflage and modern ballistic targeting was effortless with his intellect.

He had originally prepared this for his beloved disciple, yet he had unexpectedly caught someone else instead—and someone who happened to use modern technology.

He thought carefully for a moment... and quickly arrived at the answer.

"Oh, I know who you are now. Firearms, Time Alter—you are Emiya Norikata's son, correct? That so-called disgrace, the Magus Killer."

Emiya Kiritsugu was quite well known in the world of mystery. After all, he was a disgrace who had killed dozens of magi, and his Time Alter itself held considerable research value. His father had also been a Clock Tower student in his early years, seemingly from the same generation as Kenneth's teacher, Yulifis.

Before coming here, Kenneth had asked the Intelligence Department to gather information on the participants. That information included the news that the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, had married into the Einzbern Family not long ago. Therefore, Kenneth was not particularly surprised to see him here.

Thinking of the bullet that fellow had aimed at him just now, Kenneth's eyes filled with bone-chilling coldness.

Though he looked down on such unorthodox methods as a proper magus, he had to admit that this tactic was formidable. If he had not set out bait beforehand, that bullet could truly have caught him off guard. Under such terrifying acceleration, even with Mystic Code protection, it would have been difficult to deploy it in time. Another magus might well have faced immediate death.

At that thought, Kenneth's gaze grew increasingly sinister.

Originally, he had only come with the attitude of participating in a magecraft exchange. He had not intended to seriously contend with these provincial bumpkins at all. He had even planned to bring his fiancée to the Far East for a honeymoon along the way.

Who could have imagined that someone would strike so viciously on the very first night? What kind of friendly magecraft exchange was this? This was clearly an attempt on everyone else's lives!

No wonder that brat Rovey had repeatedly stressed in his letter: "Do not come to the Far East. Do not come here. You will lose your life."

If not for those two rebellious disciples, he would never have prepared to this extent in advance. In other words, according to his original plan, with these people's dirty tactics, he might really have died here? And if that was the case, then his original decision to bring Sola-Ui here... would that not have been pushing his fiancée into a fire pit?!

Combining that with what had just happened, Kenneth immediately realized many things. Thinking about his previous actions, a chill rose in his heart.

So...

That unfilial disciple Rovey had known long ago about the dangers of this Holy Grail War, which was why he had not wanted him to come?

Upon realizing that obvious fact, Kenneth's anger toward Rovey unexpectedly dissipated quite a bit.

That brat might be unconventional, but he still had his teacher in his heart after all. He had not completely fallen into depravity. If Kenneth caught him and reeducated him in time, it should not yet be too late.

Still, while his anger had subsided, the necessary lesson could not be spared. In that case, he would simply reduce the punishment a little after returning.

But for now...

Having realized that this was not a simple magecraft ritual, Kenneth naturally would no longer maintain his former frivolous attitude.

After all, this was no ordinary magecraft ritual anymore. Now, he had to strike with full force!!

Having reached that conclusion, Kenneth turned his gaze back toward the horrified Emiya Kiritsugu above him and made a new move.

And Emiya Kiritsugu, above, also clearly saw the newcomer's face at that moment and recognized his identity.

Golden slicked-back hair, a classical aristocratic outfit, and the lofty superiority of nobility in his words—was this not the renowned new Lord of the Clock Tower's Mineralogy Department, Kenneth?!

Why had he run into this man?!

Then his heart screamed: Damn it!!

In the world of mystery, being ambushed by a prepared Lord was something one could brag about for a lifetime. But that was only if one survived first. Therefore, having already failed, Emiya Kiritsugu chose to flee without hesitation.

He had spent so long merely to find the only possibility of saving this world. How could he possibly throw his life away in such a meaningless magecraft duel?! And he truly did not believe he had any chance of defeating a prepared Lord head-on.

His base still had Stinger RPGs, high-explosive grenades, C4, and even special arrangements he had made at an American military base. He still had so many trump cards left unused in this Holy Grail War. If he died just like this, how could he possibly accept it?!

However, Kenneth clearly did not see it that way. Faced with someone who had just tried to ambush him, he had no intention of magnanimously letting him go.

"Hmph, trying to run?"

With a cold snort, he flicked his fingers lightly. Immediately afterward, three gemstones—red, yellow, and blue—of different colors flew toward the fleeing Emiya Kiritsugu without the slightest care. All three were high-grade materials he had prepared in advance, the finest materials for assisting Jewel Magecraft. Each one was something provincial magi simply could not afford to buy.

"You come when you please and leave when you please? It will not be that easy. Since you wanted to ambush me, obediently prepare yourself to pay the price!!"

"You disgrace of a magus!"

With an angry shout, Kenneth began reciting a unique chant.

"—Three Original Stones."

As the chant ended, the three red, yellow, and blue gemstones symbolizing the primary colors seemed to be granted life the instant they flew into the air, radiating dazzling magecraft light. Then, they traced three blinding arcs through the night sky, closing in from three different directions before shooting straight at Emiya Kiritsugu's position with incredible speed.