Starting from Adopting Sakura in the Type-Moon World Chapter 24

No, except for one Grand Puppet Master—that mysterious, unfathomable woman truly left him at a loss.

Recalling that red figure that had felt like a nightmare and sent a chill down his spine, Emiya Kiritsugu on the shipping container shook his head slightly, quickly pushing it out of his mind, then resumed his earnest search for the other Magus—specifically, the Master of the Blond Lancer below.

Though the other party had yet to show themselves from start to finish, Emiya Kiritsugu's instincts told him they were definitely hiding somewhere nearby, observing the battle while ready to provide magical support to their Lancer at any moment.

After all, during the Holy Grail War, Servants and Masters were only temporarily matched and briefly acquainted; they could never achieve complete trust or perfect harmony.

And as long as doubt existed between the two, things would unfold exactly as he imagined—since a proud, self-centered Magus would never hand over the initiative in battle to their Servant. So... they had to be hiding nearby.

With that thought, Emiya Kiritsugu's movements quickened.

Though the logic was sound, what he didn't know was that this Holy Grail War, thanks to someone's interference, had completely changed the nature of Kenneth, who had originally been careless and lackadaisical, never unleashing his full strength.

As a noble of the Clock Tower's old magical lineage, he was indeed dismissive and contemptuous of rural Magi, but when facing a disciple he had personally trained—one who might one day succeed him—this teacher dared not be the least bit careless.

Ever since taking Rovey as his hypothetical adversary, Kenneth no longer let his pride get the better of him; instead, he was extraordinarily cautious.

Not only had he canceled his original plan to bring his fiancée along for a honeymoon while participating in the magical competition, but this time, before acting, he had specially commissioned Magi from the Intelligence Department to thoroughly investigate this so-called Holy Grail War.

To ensure victory was his alone, he not only guarded against his star pupil but also prepared countermeasures for all other participants, leaving nothing to chance. One could say he was now rock-solid stable.

And knowing more about that distant Age of Gods, he naturally didn't think himself more adept at combat than those ancient heroes. After all, he was merely a Magus, not a Magic Swordsman, so he simply delegated everything to Fionn, letting him fight however he pleased. The mana supply issue had already been resolved with his Mana Furnace, so even unleashing a Noble Phantasm wouldn't affect him.

Thus, he handed all initiative over to his Servant; whenever Fionn deemed the timing right, he could use that mana at will.

As for Kenneth himself...

He decided to exploit the rigid thinking of other Magi to launch a surprise attack, making those clever ambushers truly feel the thunderous strike of a Lord!

So, before arriving at the battlefield, Kenneth had Fionn prepare the ground here, setting up an enticing bait for the other Magi.

Now the trap was laid, and all that remained was to lure the prey in.

This time, he would show every other Magus, in full readiness, just how terrifying a fully prepared and all-out Clock Tower Lord could be!

That brat Rovey dared to say he would die in this rural magical ritual?

What a colossal joke!

He was Kenneth! A peerless genius destined to reach the pinnacle of this era!!

A Color-Rank Magus, a Lord of the Clock Tower... in a mere rural magical ritual, who would dare kill him? Who could kill him?!

Don't underestimate him... Today, he would use his true skill to teach Rovey the simplest lesson: your teacher will always be your teacher.

Now the trap was set, and all he needed was to wait.

Who was the prey and who was the hunter—soon, one test would reveal all.

On the other side, Emiya Kiritsugu, still oblivious to what was about to unfold, crawled under the cover of darkness, climbing a short distance along the shipping container as he calmly analyzed the situation, continuing to search for traces of other Magi nearby.

Soon, having quietly reached the high ground, Emiya Kiritsugu's view opened up, and he finally saw the full layout of the area.

A massive port, complex terrain, and towering steel shipping containers everywhere—it was indeed well-suited as a hiding place.

But... times have changed, Magi.

With that, Emiya Kiritsugu, now commanding the high ground, used his Infrared Night Vision Goggles to sweep along the edges of the steel containers, searching for more concealed positions. Before long, with the help of the goggles, he truly found what he was looking for—the outline of a human figure.

Even if they had used concealment magic, those old-fashioned Magi could never have predicted that such an anomaly would infiltrate this Holy Grail War, nor that someone would use modern high-tech weapons in a magical ritual. They had hidden their mana but failed to mask their body heat.

"Found you! Right here..."

Seeing the red-and-orange silhouette in the Infrared Night Vision Goggles, Emiya Kiritsugu clenched his fists, barely containing a surge of elation.

To confirm further, he switched to the Laser Sight and peered again, seeing a clear target glowing faintly green—a sitting duck in his eyes.

At that, Emiya Kiritsugu couldn't help but mock their stupidity.

Priding themselves on the nobility of magic, utterly refusing to embrace the progress of the times, isolating themselves, ignorant of change—that was how they exposed such a fatal flaw, and how he got his chance!!

As the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu naturally wouldn't let this golden opportunity slip. Without a moment's hesitation, he fitted his Sniper Rifle with a Silencer, adjusted his aim, pressed his eye to the scope, and eagerly pulled the trigger.

Bang—!!

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

As always, a Magus who hadn't prepared in advance could never withstand a sudden sniper rifle attack.

No matter how wondrous or bizarre their magic, their bodies were still mere flesh and blood—they would bleed, they would be wounded, and they would... die.

Having done this, Emiya Kiritsugu couldn't help but smile. After all, that troublesome Blond Lancer below would also be eliminated once his Master was gone.

'That takes care of the Lancer team...'

He thought to himself, then prepared to quickly leave.

"Hmph, such a simple trap and you took the bait? You despicable coward, skulking in the shadows!"

But instead of the scream he expected, what Emiya Kiritsugu heard after firing was a sharp, mocking voice directly reaching his ears, sending a cold sweat down his back—because the source of that voice wasn't elsewhere, but from... below him!!

Before he could dwell on it, in the night-vision scope, the figure that had been standing on the container, hiding in the dark, suddenly burst apart upon being hit, its body swelling like flowing mercury before exploding outright. The fragments from the blast turned into countless sharp silver arrows, locking onto the spot where the voice had just sounded—his location—and shot toward him in a furious volley.

Clearly, those flying mercury arrows had traced the bullet's trajectory back to Emiya Kiritsugu's position.

—Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!!!

A series of harsh whistling sounds rang in his ears, followed by a deadly sense of crisis arriving in an instant. In that split second, the alarm bells in Emiya Kiritsugu's mind began to scream wildly.

"Time Alter — Triple Speed!!"

At this life-or-death moment, Emiya Kiritsugu didn't hesitate for a moment, directly channeling his magical energy to fully activate his Magic Crest. Faced with these flying mercury arrows, he activated Time Alter at triple speed, then abruptly rolled his body, leaping sideways from a height of seven or eight meters just before the attack struck.

Thud!!

His flesh-and-blood body slammed onto the steel container with a dull sound. Having narrowly escaped this attack, Emiya Kiritsugu couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. Then, the bones all over his body suffered a heavy impact—this feeling was no different from being hit by a moving car.

"Ugh..."

Stimulated by the intense pain, he forced himself to stay alert, then dragged his battered body up from the container, limping as he tried to flee this dangerous place.

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

Seeing the container above that had been turned into a sieve by dozens of mercury arrows because it couldn't dodge, he couldn't help but draw in a cold breath, while a faint sense of relief stirred within him. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, he would surely have been pierced by the mercury like that container and died on the spot.

'I was tricked!!'

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

How could he not realize that the target just now was merely bait, meant to lure other Masters into a trap?

He had been blinded by the momentary victory and too overconfident, which led him to fall completely into the snare, paying a heavy price for it.

Feeling the pain throughout his body, Emiya Kiritsugu's heart turned cold. He clenched his teeth and prepared to leave this dangerous place immediately. But the next moment, a figure suddenly appearing below him made his already anxious heart plummet to the depths.

"Oh, look what I've caught?"

That disdainful voice, tinged with a hint of coldness, reached his ears again. In the hazy night, it sounded especially grating.

Chapter 32: Shh, Can We Make Peace? (1/2)

—It's not that you caught me, but that I let you catch me.

"Heh, what a fool."

A sharp, sarcastic male voice echoed through the night, its undisguised malice making Emiya Kiritsugu, who had just narrowly escaped death, tremble inwardly.

However, Kenneth, who had just arrived, had no interest in the thoughts of a dying man. Standing nearby with his hands behind his back, he watched the limping Emiya Kiritsugu above, his contemptuous gaze like that of someone watching a clown in a circus, full of disdain.

"Though I expected that country magicians outside the Clock Tower would be unremarkable, seeing it in person is even more degenerate than I imagined. Modern firearms, and Infrared Night Vision Goggles... heh, using such things at a magical gathering. Did you think I've been completely cut off from the outside world in all these years of research? A shortsighted mediocrity."

As his words faded, the biting sarcasm within them echoed through the night sky.

Unlike the truly isolated Atlas Institute and the Wandering Sea, the Clock Tower—one of the three major organizations of the Mage's Association—is an open, all-encompassing place for magicians worldwide, located in the bustling secular area of London. Therefore, the Clock Tower, situated in a key secular region, could hardly be ignorant of external changes and technological developments.

Although most old-fashioned magicians believed that technological progress was a complete mistake, stripping away much of the mystery and seriously hindering magical advancement, thus despising science and rejecting modern technology, Kenneth saw such total rejectionists as mere mediocrities. As the leader of the El-Melloi Faction, he held a different view on technology and the changing times.

Indeed, technological progress had weakened the world's mystery, but this was the result of the Age of Gods fading and the choice of the primates—something unchangeable, and lamenting it was meaningless.

The weak only complain about their environment; the strong adapt to it.

So he regularly studied external scientific theories and inventions, not to rely on modern technology, but to draw inspiration to improve his magecraft, allowing him to go further in this era.

Thus, trivial matters like heat camouflage and modern ballistic locking were easily countered with his intellect.

Originally, he had prepared this for his beloved disciple, but instead, he caught someone else—and coincidentally, someone who used modern technology.

He thought carefully... and quickly guessed the answer.

"Oh, I know who you are. Firearms, Time Alter—Emiya Norikata's offspring, right? That so-called scum, the Magus Killer."

Emiya Kiritsugu had some renown in the world of mystery, after all, as a scum who had killed dozens of magicians. His Time Alter was also of great research value. His father had been a student at the Clock Tower in his early years, apparently of the same generation as his own teacher, Yulifis.

Before coming, he had the Intelligence Department gather information on the participants, including the news that the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, had recently married into the Einzbern Family. So seeing him here didn't surprise Kenneth much.

Thinking of the bullet that had been aimed at him just now, Kenneth's eyes were filled with biting cold.

Though as a proper magician he looked down on these unorthodox methods, he had to admit the move was impressive. That bullet just now—if he hadn't set up the bait in advance, he might have easily capsized in a ditch. Under that terrifying acceleration, even with protective Mystic Codes, it would have been hard to deploy in time. Any other magician might have faced instant death.

At this thought, Kenneth's gaze grew even colder.

He had initially come with the attitude of attending a magical exchange, never intending to take these country bumpkins seriously, even thinking he could bring his fiancée to the Far East for a honeymoon along the way.

Who would have thought that on the very first night, someone would strike so ruthlessly? What kind of restrained magical exchange was this? It was clearly aimed at taking others' lives!

No wonder that brat Rovey had repeatedly emphasized in his letters: "Don't come to the Far East, don't come, you'll lose your life." If not for those two rebellious disciples, he wouldn't have prepared to this extent. That meant, according to the original plan, with these people's dirty tricks, he might really have died here, right? And following that logic, his initial decision to bring Sola-Ui along... wasn't that pushing his fiancée into a fire pit?!

Combined with what had just happened, Kenneth immediately realized many problems. Thinking of his earlier actions, a chill of dread rose within him.

So...

That unfilial disciple Rovey had known how dangerous this Holy Grail War was, and that was why he didn't want him to come?

Faced with this obvious fact, Kenneth's anger toward Rovey actually dissipated somewhat.

That brat might be heretical, but he still had his teacher in his heart—he hadn't completely fallen. Catching him and re-educating him in time shouldn't be too late.

Still, though his anger had cooled, the necessary lesson couldn't be skipped. He'd just reduce the punishment when Rovey returned.

And for now...

Realizing this was no ordinary magical ritual, Kenneth naturally abandoned his earlier frivolous attitude.

After all, this was no longer a simple magic ceremony—now, he had to strike with full force!!

With that in mind, Kenneth shifted his gaze back to the terrified Emiya Kiritsugu above him and made his next move.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu on the rooftop finally got a clear look at the man below and recognized his identity.

A slicked-back golden pompadour, a classical aristocratic outfit, and a tone dripping with noble superiority—wasn't this the Clock Tower's renowned new Lord of the Mineralogy Department, Kenneth?!

How the hell did he run into this guy?!

His mind immediately screamed: 'Bad luck!!'

In the world of the occult, being ambushed by a prepared Lord was something you could brag about for a lifetime. But the prerequisite was that you had to survive first. So, having already failed his attack, Kiritsugu chose to flee without hesitation.

It had taken him this long just to find the only possibility of saving this world—how could he throw his life away on some meaningless magical duel?! Besides, he genuinely didn't think he had a chance of going head-to-head with a prepared Lord.

His base still had Stinger RPGs, high-explosive grenades, C4, and even special arrangements made at the U.S. military base. He had so many cards left to play in this Holy Grail War—if he died here, he'd never forgive himself!!

However, Kenneth didn't seem to share that sentiment. After all, facing someone who had just ambushed him, he couldn't bring himself to be magnanimous enough to let him go.

"Hmph, trying to run?"

With a cold snort, he flicked his fingers, and three gemstones of different colors—red, yellow, and blue—were casually hurled toward the fleeing Kiritsugu. Each was a high-grade material he had prepared in advance, the finest medium for supporting gem magic, every single one of them something a rural Magus could never afford (looking at you, Tokiomi Tohsaka).

"Come if you want, leave if you want—does it seem that easy? If you're going to ambush me, then be ready to pay the price!!"

"You scum of a Magus!"

With a furious shout, a unique incantation flowed from Kenneth's lips.

"--Three Original Stones."

As the chant ended, the three gemstones—red, yellow, and blue, symbols of the three primary colors—seemed to come to life the moment they flew into the air, blazing with dazzling magical light. Then, they traced three sharp arcs across the night sky, sealing off Kiritsugu's escape routes from three different directions before hurtling straight toward his position at breakneck speed.