One of the Command Seals on Shirou Chiko's hand suddenly dimmed.
At the same time as Kischur Zelretch cast his magecraft, he severed the mana channel that had been hidden within the Command Seal all along... Looking at the bright red Command Seals on his hand, Marisbury's eyes revealed a thoughtful look...
Command Seals... This seemed like quite a worthwhile subject of research...
His armor shattered, and his expression turned feverish...
As Shirou Chiko, controlled by Zouken Matou, used a Command Seal whose power clearly far exceeded that of an ordinary one.
At that moment, the bare-chested Berserker radiated an aura... like that of a Demon God.
"Roar~~~!"
With a thunderous roar, the armor all over Berserker's body shattered under the Command Seal's effect. His face was covered in thick beard, his eyes were blood-red, and he looked like a man-eating tiger.
With a bang, he kicked a massive crater into the ground. Then, like a meteor, his exposed muscles crushed every Noble Phantasm in his path as he raised his war blade and charged straight at Gilgamesh.
The enormous tiger-headed war blade came crashing down.
In Gilgamesh's astonished gaze... blood burst from his right shoulder like a fountain.
In reality, less than a second had passed from Zouken Matou controlling Shirou Chiko to activate the Command Seal to Berserker bringing down that strike.
Yet in that fraction of a second, relying on that specially made Command Seal, Berserker had instantly turned the tables.
"Mongrel~ I will tear you to pieces..."
A Servant was still a Servant... Even though his entire right shoulder had nearly been cleaved off by the war blade, Gilgamesh still cursed with remarkable vigor.
However... when facing Berserker at such close range, Gilgamesh had not chosen to drive him back or open up distance immediately. Instead, he chose to spew trash talk. That was an absolutely critical mistake.
Mistakes came with a price.
Berserker raised the war blade in his right hand, then sent his left fist crashing out like a battering ram... Gilgamesh's entire face seemed to cave in from the blow, and he was launched like a cannonball into the forest beyond the battlefield.
And that was not the end of it. Berserker swung the right hand that had just raised the war blade... The weapon flew along Gilgamesh's trajectory like a guillotine, aiming straight for Gilgamesh's slender neck.
If nothing unexpected happened... perhaps in the very next second, the arrogant tyrant Gilgamesh would be separated from his head.
Just as Gilgamesh crashed through a cluster of massive trees and landed in a heap of ruins in a miserable state.
The war blade following close behind immediately filled Gilgamesh's furious vision, its edge slicing straight toward his neck...
At that critical moment...
The Mysterious Servant who had sat across from Gilgamesh last night suddenly appeared before him and, as easily as taking something from a bag, caught Berserker's full-powered thrown war blade with one hand.
"Arrogant, foolish, reckless... Gilgamesh... You are far too unsightly in this era!"
"Shut up... Take me back... I will personally pass judgment on these mongrels..."
Without saying anything more to Gilgamesh, the Mysterious Servant saw that Artoria and Berserker were about to arrive. He immediately flicked his cloak, then vanished with Gilgamesh into the forest outside Einsbern Castle.
Only Berserker's war blade, stained with a king's blood, remained behind...
Watching the Mysterious Servant vanish alongside that Golden Flash, Artoria, who had arrived before Berserker, could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
If Gilgamesh had given Artoria a pressure of one hundred just now... then the Mysterious Servant had made her feel pressure far beyond Gilgamesh's...
Rin's jealousy, Tokiomi's betrayal...
Very unhappy. Rin Tohsaka was very unhappy.
It was that mountain villa again, and that room filled with all kinds of equipment, capable of monitoring most of Fuyuki City.
Looking at the person not far away who held her younger sister tightly in her arms and occasionally whispered into her ear before letting out a bell-like laugh... Rin Tohsaka did not know why, but she felt extremely, extremely annoyed!
Where did that girl called Kurumi Tokisaki even come from... Sakura is clearly my little sister. Sakura should clearly be sitting beside me right now...
With such thoughts in mind, the more Rin Tohsaka looked at Kurumi, the more displeased she became.
If Aoi Tohsaka had not been sitting beside her, the still straightforward and innocent Rin Tohsaka might have already gone over to pick a fight with Kurumi.
Sakura, who was currently whispering back and forth with Kurumi, did not notice what her sister was thinking.
Of course, even if she had noticed, Sakura would not have done or said anything.
After all, ever since she had gazed upon the Tohsaka Family that day... she would never become Tohsaka Sakura again.
"Sister Kurumi..."
"Sakura... What is it?"
"That Mysterious Servant who appeared just now... I have a bad feeling about him... Based on the Servants who have appeared so far, that person should only be Assassin, but he felt far too powerful..."
Assassin was too powerful... It was not that Sakura looked down on the Assassin class, nor did she think the Assassin class should not have powerful figures.
It was simply... logically speaking, among the seven Holy Grail War classes, Assassin was theoretically ranked near the bottom in direct combat ability... Yet the aura that Assassin had displayed just now was simply too strong.
That guy could not possibly be Old Man, could he... Hehe, how could that be? How could a Grand Servant possibly appear in a Pseudo-Holy Grail War...
Although Kurumi had obtained a great deal of information about this world and the ongoing Holy Grail War from Sakura in bed last night.
Still... half a night had only been enough to explain things in broad strokes. Therefore, Kurumi had no real concept of what it meant for Assassin to be too powerful...
But since Sakura had said so... then... "Too powerful? Sakura, should I get rid of him for you right now?"
"Wait... Sister Kurumi, there is no rush. You do not have much time right now... For the moment, stay by my side and protect me!"
Kurumi smiled and rubbed her cheek against Sakura's, then hugged the girl in her arms a little tighter. Casually, she turned her head and glanced at the jealous Rin, then, while Sakura was not paying attention, revealed a trace of mockery at the corner of her lips.
All of this happened in a flash. Right after Kurumi mischievously teased Rin just a little.
Kurumi immediately turned back, bringing her face close to Sakura's ear again, and spoke with "gentleness" and delight.
"Sakura, I will always remain by your side and protect you..."
"Mhm... I also welcome Sister Kurumi staying by my side. As for that Assassin... Sister Kurumi, please have one of your clones notify Orochimaru and have him investigate."
The overlapping shadows of Sakura and Kurumi wriggled faintly.
Then, a Kurumi who radiated an icy aura and carried herself with the lofty bearing of a queen stepped directly out of the shadows.
Looking at that clone... a clone clearly born during her own chuuni phase... Kurumi's face flushed slightly, and she then closed her eyes in despair.
"Hmph... Such a trivial matter actually requires the Dark Queen to act... How utterly incompetent."
Shinji and Tsuruno, who were watching the Holy Grail War broadcast in the room with Sakura, naturally did not dare say anything about what had just happened beside her. Aoi Tohsaka had no position to say anything either.
But Rin Tohsaka was different.
She glanced at the clone heading out of the room, then looked at Kurumi, who had buried her face in Sakura's shoulder with an embarrassed and ashamed expression... A meaningful smile immediately appeared on Rin Tohsaka's face.
While a comedy called youth was unfolding on the Matou Family's side...
At the Tohsaka Residence... an entirely opposite scene was playing out...
Letting out a weary breath... Looking at the Servant before him, who had mostly recovered, Tokiomi Tohsaka had expended a great deal of mana to heal Gilgamesh, and anger and resentment naturally rose within him.
Gilgamesh was indeed powerful. In theory, if he became serious, there were almost no Servants who could oppose him.
But... in the eyes of Tokiomi Tohsaka, a traditional magus... a Servant was merely something akin to a familiar... It was a tool, and winning the Holy Grail War for him was what it should do. That was also its mission...
But Gilgamesh...
"King... Please, in your future actions, be sure to inform your subject beforehand and discuss them with me..."
"Tokiomi! Are you trying to restrain your King in the name of a subject?"
"...I would not dare. Your subject merely hopes that an accident like today's will not happen again... After all, winning this Holy Grail War is what Your Majesty should be considering!"
Gilgamesh looked at Tokiomi Tohsaka as though he were looking at a dead man.
If Gilgamesh had previously only found Tokiomi Tohsaka boring and intended to use some small measures to turn him into a qualified court jester...
If this clown Tokiomi Tohsaka proved satisfactory, then after Gilgamesh had played enough, he certainly would not begrudge rewarding him with a broken cup...
But now... Tokiomi Tohsaka had thoroughly disgusted Gilgamesh.
"Enough. Remember your place as a subject!"
Seeing that Gilgamesh was still being "stubbornly obstinate," Tokiomi Tohsaka, already furious over Gilgamesh's unauthorized actions, seemed to throw caution to the wind.
Tokiomi Tohsaka revealed the Command Seals on the back of his hand, seemingly intending to use them to threaten Gilgamesh...
"King... If you..."
Just as Tokiomi Tohsaka truly intended to threaten Gilgamesh with a Command Seal.
The Mysterious Servant, who suddenly appeared between the two of them, directly ended their conversation.
"Hassan... Why are you here? Did Kirei have something to tell me... Urgh... It was... Kirei... who betrayed me...?"
A vicious greatsword pierced through his chest. A moment earlier, Tokiomi Tohsaka had been trying to conceal his anger with elegance, but now he widened his eyes, blood spilling from his mouth as he knelt upon the thick carpet of the Tohsaka Residence in utter disbelief.
Hassan did not answer Tokiomi Tohsaka's final question.
He pulled out the vicious greatsword and allowed Tokiomi Tohsaka to collapse, closing his eyes.
The Servant named Hassan turned to look at Gilgamesh, whose face now bore a pleased expression.
"That is enough. Tokiomi Tohsaka cannot die..."
Yes, Hassan had not appeared to kill Tokiomi Tohsaka... He had come to save him!
Kirei's awakening... Feel "transgression"
Gilgamesh slowly walked over to Tokiomi Tohsaka, who seemed already dead.
He turned to glance at the tall Hassan, then with a crack, Gilgamesh's dress shoe crushed Tokiomi Tohsaka's left hand bearing the Command Seals, shattering it from the wrist onward...
Hassan, who had just stepped in to stop Gilgamesh from killing Tokiomi Tohsaka, did not stop Gilgamesh from torturing him. He simply stood there, almost entirely unmoved.
After all, he only did not want Tokiomi Tohsaka to die. As for Tokiomi Tohsaka losing a hand, that was not within his considerations.
"Mongrel... Take this mongrel and get lost. I do not wish to encounter you again in this Holy Grail War."
Silently lifting Tokiomi Tohsaka from the floor with one hand, Hassan, who had not come to Fuyuki City for the Holy Grail in the first place, remained unconcerned by Gilgamesh's foul words.
As Gilgamesh wished, he carried Tokiomi Tohsaka away and vanished directly before him.
Not long after Hassan took Tokiomi Tohsaka away from the Tohsaka Residence, there was a boom.
As though several tons of TNT had detonated... The Tohsaka Residence, once impressive enough to serve as a tourist attraction, was reduced after the explosion to nothing but a ruined courtyard and a crater as though it had been blasted by naval artillery.
The Tohsaka Family mansion was utterly destroyed by Gilgamesh, together with the few strokes of Command Seals that had fallen to the ground, beneath his cold gaze.
A Chinese restaurant in an alley somewhere in Fuyuki City.
Kirei Kotomine, completely unaware of what had happened at the Tohsaka Residence, sat in the poorly attended little shop, mechanically stuffing spoonful after spoonful of mapo tofu, as scorching and spicy as lava, into his mouth.
Very quickly, in scarcely the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Kirei Kotomine spooned down the entire plate of hell-grade mapo tofu, enough to send an ordinary person straight to the hospital after finishing it.
It was truly an astonishing sight...
However, the only living person in the shop besides Kirei Kotomine, the owner, seemed long accustomed to it.
"Father Kotomine, would you like another serving today?"
He pulled a handkerchief from his chest pocket and wiped his mouth. Aside from a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, Kirei Kotomine was as expressionless as ever. He shook his head, placed several yen notes on the table, and left the shop without looking back.
After leaving the somewhat cluttered alley and returning to Fuyuki City's bustling main street, Kirei Kotomine, whether lucky or unlucky, happened upon a car accident that had just occurred.
He stopped and looked at the twisted, mangled vehicle embedded in a lamppost, at the driver inside whose body had become a bloody mess, and at the crowd gathered nearby, whispering among themselves.
Kirei Kotomine felt nothing in his heart at the sight, yet he did not know that a faintly twisted smile had already appeared on his face...
"Kirei."
"Why are you here?"
Dressed casually, Gilgamesh had used some Noble Phantasm to reduce his presence because he did not wish to draw attention from these "ignorant rabble." Smiling, he patted Kirei Kotomine on the shoulder.
"I came to find you."
"Find me? Did my teacher have something to tell me?"
"Ha? Tokiomi... Do you truly think that Tokiomi can command me?"
Before you continue