A Den of Old Foxes

"Heh, it seems the Tohsaka Patriarch's skin is even thicker than I expected..."

Emiya Kiritsugu sneered at Tokiomi Tohsaka's hypocritical performance. He looked him over once more before coldly asking, "I'll ask again why the Tohsaka Patriarch wishes to form an alliance. If you want to cooperate, then answer me honestly and share the intelligence you possess. Can you do that?"

"Of course. Since we are allies, there will naturally be no concealment."

Tokiomi Tohsaka smiled. "I trust the Einzbern Family has seen it as well, yes? The immense power possessed by those two Lancers. Without question, they are the greatest threat in this Holy Grail War, the greatest enemies standing in the way of us Three Families."

"You must understand that the Holy Grail War is a miraculous ritual painstakingly constructed by the ancestors of the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern Families. Therefore, the Holy Grail ought to belong to one of the Three Families, not be handed over to outsiders. Thus, I hope the Einzbern Family can cooperate with me out of consideration for our ancestors' legacy. Once the outsiders have been eliminated, we can discuss how to share the Holy Grail."

Share the Holy Grail...

Looking at Tokiomi Tohsaka's sincere smile, Emiya Kiritsugu felt only disgust.

These Magi were rotten to the core. Every word out of their mouths was a lie.

The two Lancers were indeed highly threatening, but the Archer he had summoned was even more dangerous. The power he had displayed last night was enough to crush any Servant in this war.

Kiritsugu knew exactly what Tokiomi was thinking. He wanted to preserve Archer from being eliminated by Fionn mac Cumhaill and Scáthach, unite their forces to dispose of the two greatest threats, then slowly deal with everyone else.

If Scáthach and Fionn mac Cumhaill were truly eliminated, this man would absolutely turn on him at once, tear up their alliance without mercy, and destroy both him and Saber.

"...Share the Holy Grail? Heh heh, Tokiomi Tohsaka, do you really take me for an idiot? Setting aside your Archer's combat ability, you have two Servants on your side. I only have Saber. Do you truly think this cooperation is fair to me?"

"And since this is supposedly the shared wish of the Three Families, why not bring in the Matou Family as well? You probably guessed that one of the Lancers may belong to the Matou Family. Am I wrong, Tokiomi Tohsaka?"

Astonished by Tokiomi Tohsaka's bulletproof thick skin, Emiya Kiritsugu simply stopped calling him the Tohsaka Patriarch and addressed him directly by name.

"It is shameful to admit... As you have seen, two Lancers have appeared in this Holy Grail War. Therefore, I surmise that a participant likely violated the rules and carried out an illicit summoning. If nothing unexpected occurred, that participant was Caster, and the Matou Family's Servant is very likely Caster's Master."

"They are clearly one of the Three Families and a family that helped design the Command Seals and the rules. Yet in order to obtain victory, they violated those rules and employed such despicable means. The Tohsaka Family is ashamed to stand alongside them! As fellow members of the Three Families, we ought to correct their mistake and guide them back onto the proper path."

Even after his intentions had been seen through and his schemes exposed so directly, Tokiomi Tohsaka did not reveal the slightest anger or loss of composure. Instead, he sorrowfully denounced the Matou Family's depravity before Emiya Kiritsugu, as though their fall pained him beyond measure.

"If you are concerned that our side has more lives, then we can sign a contract. Once only the three of us remain, Kirei Kotomine will be stripped of his qualifications as a Master. We can sign it in writing or have a supervisor from The Church witness it. What do you think?"

Having reached this point, Tokiomi Tohsaka stopped pretending and directly presented his terms to Emiya Kiritsugu, using them to demonstrate his sincerity.

He knew very well that after losing the first battle, with King Arthur proving inferior in strength, the Einzbern Family had no better option besides cooperating with him.

It could be called an open scheme laid bare before them.

And this cooperation truly was a win-win situation. It was simply that his chances of winning were greater.

"This..."

Emiya Kiritsugu could only sigh helplessly. After considering it for a long time, he ultimately had no choice but to accept this obvious open scheme.

"I agree, Tohsaka Patriarch. Let us form an alliance. But I hope you will keep your promise."

"A wise judgment, Einzbern's representative. Rest assured, now that we have become allies, the Tohsaka Family will certainly honor its promises."

Tokiomi Tohsaka's eyes lit up when he saw Emiya Kiritsugu agree. He nodded smugly, completely failing to notice the killing intent and chill concealed in Kiritsugu's eyes.

After all, on another World Line, every Master who dared sign a contract with him had died thoroughly...

If possible, Emiya Kiritsugu truly wanted to bury Tokiomi Tohsaka, this enormous threat, right here. After all, entering someone else's territory was like delivering meat straight to the table. It would be foolish not to eat it.

But considering Saber's abysmal record and combat strength, as well as the overwhelming shock brought by that golden Heroic Spirit, Emiya Kiritsugu could only abandon the idea that might get him killed if he tried it and choose to cooperate with him.

Furthermore, after learning that one of Tokiomi Tohsaka's Servants was Assassin, he had already begun making plans.

Irisviel had gone missing, abducted by someone unknown. With no intelligence arriving for so long, he was already deeply anxious. Now that he knew the other side possessed an assassin skilled at gathering intelligence and infiltration, Emiya Kiritsugu could not help but regain hope.

He wanted to ask Assassin whether there was any information regarding Irisviel's current whereabouts and find out who had abducted his wife.

As for who the culprit was...

The suspicions surrounding Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kirei Kotomine before him could now be ruled out.

After all, if the two of them had done it, they could have used Irisviel as a hostage to threaten him. There was no need for them to humble themselves like this in pursuit of an alliance.

So who exactly was the culprit behind that act...?

Emiya Kiritsugu continued pondering. That night, Kenneth had been relentlessly pursuing him, while the two Lancers, Rider, and Rider's Master had all been on the battlefield. They had no time to commit the crime. Now even Assassin, the greatest suspect, had been cleared. Then surely it was...

The Matou Family?

After considering that possibility, Emiya Kiritsugu's expression gradually turned grave.

No matter what, they truly needed to attack the Matou Family and investigate.

"Good. Since we have agreed, there is no time to waste. Shall we join forces and eliminate one Lancer first? We should avoid giving them time to prepare."

Tokiomi Tohsaka suddenly spoke.

He could no longer wait to clear away the threats.

"Hm? You mean we are going to attack the Matou Family right now?"

Emiya Kiritsugu frowned. He felt Tokiomi Tohsaka was being far too hasty.

All seven Servants were currently present. Including the Caster who had yet to appear, there might even be an eighth Servant. Acting rashly would inevitably draw the attention of the other Servants. Attacking the Matou Family directly could easily allow the others to exploit an opening. The two Lancers were the greatest threat, but the other Servants were not pushovers either.

"No. The Matou Family has been rooted here for too long. There are countless defensive wards within, not to mention the possible presence of Caster and Lancer. We cannot rush this."

Tokiomi Tohsaka shook his head and then offered his suggestion. "So we will set our sights on the other Lancer first. We should prioritize eliminating the isolated Servant and Master, then find a way to breach the Matou Family."

"I have already instructed Assassin to gather intelligence on the other Lancer. I believe they will have results soon."

"There is no need. I know where the other one is."

Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly said.

"Hm? That quickly? Your intelligence gathering is even faster than Assassin's..."

Tokiomi Tohsaka froze. He immediately felt that the Einzbern Family might be more dangerous than he had imagined.

"Not exactly. It is mainly because that Master is being far too conspicuous."

Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head. He then took a photograph from his pocket and tossed it directly to Tokiomi Tohsaka, sharing his intelligence.

When Tokiomi Tohsaka received the photograph and saw the familiar building on it, his expression stiffened slightly. He knew this building all too well. He could even name this bustling commercial district at a glance.

"...The Hyatt Hotel. Someone actually dares to show themselves so openly?"

"Tokiomi Tohsaka... He is nothing more than a self-righteous fool."

After discussing the alliance and tactics, once Tokiomi Tohsaka had departed, Emiya Kiritsugu sat in his chair with a cold smile on his lips.

Artoria beside him naturally saw through his true intentions, and her expression became somewhat hesitant.

"Master, can this alliance truly be trusted? And you seem to..."

"That is enough, Saber."

Interrupting Artoria before she could finish, Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head, then put on his coat and prepared to depart.

"The situation is urgent. Irisviel's whereabouts are unknown. I do not have the mood or the time to discuss how to fight with you. You only need to follow my commands."

"Tokiomi Tohsaka wants to use me, true enough. But am I not using him as well? Since he does not mind being used as my weapon, I naturally will not refuse. With that man's arrogance, even if you are inferior to Archer, I am fully confident I can eliminate him."

Ignoring Artoria's increasingly unpleasant expression, Emiya Kiritsugu calmly stated his intention to betray his ally.

Before Saber could argue with him, he had already loaded the Stinger RPG and a large number of high-explosive weapons into the trunk of the car. To ensure nothing went wrong, he had even prepared several powerful timed bombs, C4, and other weapons.

"For now, cooperate with him obediently. I need to use Assassin's abilities to help me find Irisviel's trail."

Emiya Kiritsugu opened the car door, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, and spoke coldly.

"Once we breach the Matou Family and find Irisviel, it will be the day Tokiomi Tohsaka dies."

With those words, he did not speak to Artoria again.

He got into the car, stepped on the gas, and drove into the distance.

Only Artoria remained standing there, staring at his receding figure as she murmured softly.

"Is this... truly the right thing to do?"

In only one day, her once steadfast heart had fallen into confusion.

A Bunch of Old Foxes

Rumble—!!

The violent explosions rang out without end, and the fierce shaking made the entire room tremble.

"Finally, have they come? They really kept me waiting..."

Facing the swaying building, Rovey sat on the sofa in the workshop. As he soothed Sakura Tohsaka, whom he had just forcibly put to sleep with magecraft, he watched what was happening outside through a mirror on the table. Rubble was falling everywhere around the room.

Compared to the terrified and nervous Weber, as well as Kenneth, who was furious upon hearing that someone was bombarding his Magic Workshop, Rovey was clearly much calmer.

Scáthach smiled at the side. With a turn of her palm, two Crimson Magic Spears appeared in her hands. Runes continuously rose around her under her control. At this moment, she had fully entered a state of combat readiness.

The entire building was still shaking violently. Faced with the fierce bombardment constantly coming from afar and the timed explosions around them, even Kenneth, who had been quite confident in his workshop, was panicking badly.

All he could think was, Damn it, damn it, damn it...

This time, he had truly miscalculated.

He had already been willing to judge those bastards with the greatest possible malice, but after personally confronting them, he still realized that he had been thinking too simply.

Those bastards did not care about the rules of keeping mysteries hidden at all. Their tactics were downright thuggish—no, terrorist tactics.

Kenneth had thought Origin Bullets were already the limit of what they would use, but he never imagined that those people would even bring out weapons of mass destruction like timed bombs and RPGs and use them against him, catching him completely off guard.

His carefully arranged workshop had completely lost its purpose under such dishonorable attacks.

They were not even trying to enter the workshop. They wanted to skip fighting him entirely and use the collapsing building to crush him to death.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, you damned bastard! I will not let you get away with this!!"

Rage had already overwhelmed his mind. No matter how unwilling he was, Kenneth knew that he had no choice but to abandon his Magic Workshop, along with countless precious Mystic Codes and three top-grade Mana Furnaces.

The things here were worth nearly a billion pounds, but Kenneth understood that as long as he lived, he could always make more money after returning home. If his life was gone, then everything would truly be gone. He knew which mattered more.

Thus, at this critical moment, Kenneth hurriedly reached toward Sakura Tohsaka beside Rovey, intending to use the Moon Spirit Core to protect her. He then urgently shouted at Weber and Rovey.

"You two idiots, why are you still squatting there like fools?! Run already!"

"Rider, hurry and get us out of here!!"

Weber also hurriedly shouted.

However, Iskandar merely picked at his ear, seemingly paying no attention to either Kenneth's shouting or Weber's command.

That made them even more anxious, and they assumed Iskandar was about to cause trouble at a time like this.

With the situation so urgent, Weber was no longer prepared to argue with him. He raised his hand, intending to use a Command Seal to force him to take everyone away.

But in the next instant, Rovey stopped them.

"Wait a moment, Weber. And Professor Kenneth, the situation is not that bad. Calm down first."

"Rovey? At a time like this, what are you still doing?!"

Seeing Rovey's calm expression, Kenneth roared.

The fire was practically at their eyebrows. How could he still be so calm? If they did not run now, it would truly be too late!

In response, Iskandar spoke up the next moment and answered for Rovey.

"What are you panicking for, Lemon Head? Isn't this your workshop? Use your magecraft to investigate properly. Hasn't it stopped collapsing yet?"

"Though I do not know why, this kid seems to have predicted this situation long ago. So the Queen of the Land of Shadows modified the floors we are on, apparently isolating them from the rest of the building. They are now in a stationary state, so they will not fall for the time being."

As he spoke, Iskandar even pulled open the curtains to make it more convincing.

Amid the dust thrown up by the collapsing building, hundreds of densely packed purple Runes covered the walls, reinforcing the exterior of the three floors they occupied and separating their structure from the rest. Thus, even within the violently shaking building, this area had not been greatly affected.

That was precisely why he had not panicked earlier.

Iskandar knew there was a strategist here, someone who had clearly anticipated this situation and prepared countermeasures.

Since that was the case, there was no need for him to do something unnecessary. He might even disrupt their plan.

"You... predicted this situation in advance?"

Seeing the state outside, Kenneth froze. He then looked at the still-composed Rovey in surprise and asked.

"More or less. I was merely taking precautions against Emiya Kiritsugu. From our clash last night, I could tell that he was not the kind of opponent who would conduct a magecraft ritual fairly."