Type-Moon: Card Servants Chapter 24

A Man Who Did Not Exist in History

Everyone was making their moves, and Kayneth was no exception. He had spent two days playing around; it was time to get down to business.

"To be honest, this kind of investigative work doesn't suit me at all." Kayneth looked at the bowed Diarmuid with undisguised distaste and said helplessly, "But if you can't find him, there's nothing I can do about it."

Diarmuid lowered his head apologetically. "My Lord, I did my utmost to find Caster, but I found no trace of him. His hiding place may simply be too well concealed."

"No, it isn't that his hiding place is too concealed. It's that you never considered where rats might hide." Kayneth stretched, standing by the hotel window as he watched the sun gradually set. In an even tone, he said, "Lancer, let's go. The rat hunt begins. Let those rats who don't even know how to conceal traces of magecraft learn what magecraft truly is!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

Diarmuid lowered his head, his voice brimming with excitement. He had searched the city all day, yet his Lord had not rebuked him. Instead, Kayneth had worn a contemplative expression before quietly gazing at the city through the window.

Diarmuid had originally wondered whether he was simply too incompetent, causing his Lord to gather his emotions before scolding him. Unexpectedly, his Lord had only lightly criticized him before deciding to personally move against Caster.

"If possible, I would like to see Saber with my own eyes."

As they took the elevator down, Kayneth said evenly to Diarmuid beside him, "That person's Noble Phantasm has shown me further possibilities for developing Magic Crests. And she herself is probably the most dangerous one in this Holy Grail War."

"Why do you say that?" Diarmuid was somewhat puzzled. Ever since that night's battle, his Lord had been paying close attention to Saber.

"Lancer, let me ask you this: do you think she poses little threat?" Kayneth smiled. He enjoyed answering others' questions, though if the question was too foolish, he would lose his temper.

However, his Servant was quite eager to learn, so Kayneth did not mind teaching him a lesson. When they returned... he could even tell Sola that he had given one of history's great heroes a lesson.

"Yes." Diarmuid considered it. When he had encountered Saber, she had indeed seemed to pose no threat whatsoever. She had looked like a fairly accomplished warrior. Though she could fight him on equal footing for a while, if he became serious—

Diarmuid was eighty percent confident that he could kill her! That was his confidence, as well as the instinct he had honed through years of battle.

A warrior's instincts were often exceptionally sharp, and such instincts could likewise bring him victory.

"Her Noble Phantasm seems to be called Judas. Though I find it unlikely to be the one that nailed the Son of God to the cross, all signs suggest that her Noble Phantasm may truly be the weapon that did so."

Kayneth slipped a hand into his pocket, took out a sheet of paper, and casually tossed it to Diarmuid.

Diarmuid immediately caught it. He knew that his Lord was sharing the results of his investigation with him.

"This?!" Diarmuid's pupils contracted slightly as he looked at the information on the paper, clearly not expecting this.

The paper showed a rough sketch of Oath of Judas, along with the family crest engraved upon Judas. Beneath it was the investigation result:—

"I had the Archibald family investigate it specifically. The result was that we found nothing. I had them compare it against historical figures associated with crosses, but unfortunately, there was no result at all." Kayneth shrugged helplessly. At the bottom of the paper, the investigation result read: "None."

"Though it irritates me to say so, my family truly found no records of any family crest resembling the one on that cross. In ancient times, engraving a family crest on a cross was a mark of honor, as well as recognition of one's social standing."

The elevator doors slowly opened. Kayneth snapped his fingers lightly, setting up a Magic Barrier around himself. He had no desire for ordinary people to overhear what he was saying.

"How could that be...? If she were a notable figure in history, then once her Noble Phantasm was revealed, we should be able to roughly infer her True Name from its appearance—especially with such a conspicuous weapon as a cross." Diarmuid was clearly stunned as well. After all, when he had forced Mikaela to reveal her "Noble Phantasm" the night before last, his Lord had specifically praised him for it.

Yet he had never expected that revealing her Noble Phantasm would not expose her identity at all. Instead, it had made her identity even more inscrutable.

"Yes—or rather, no." Kayneth wore a confident smile. Looking at the bustling crowds around them, he sneered slightly. "History contains countless hidden truths. There are matters that even mages like us, whose lineages have endured for generations, do not know. Of course, if I had more time, my family might be able to uncover the true origin of that cross. But with only a single day, it has indeed been difficult for them."

That was right. There had simply not been enough time. Though Kayneth had great confidence in his family, after he gave them the relevant information, they had only been able to conduct a preliminary investigation.

He had assumed it would be a simple task, yet their reply had been "None." In the world of mages, the word "none" carried many meanings. Kayneth was a genius; he would not deny the heroes of history, nor would he deny the efforts of his family.

That left only one answer!

"Though I do not know whether that cross is truly the one that nailed the Son of God to the cross, I know one thing: that Saber is absolutely no ordinary person. She is hiding many things. As a Servant, as a hero from the past, whatever she is hiding must be extremely dangerous!"

Just like the trump cards hidden by his own El-Melloi Faction, in the Clock Tower—a place where power was constantly contested—any family without several visible cards and hidden cards would soon be devoured cleanly by the others.

"However, that is not our concern right now. We are going to subjugate Caster. As for Saber, I am sure the others will also notice that there is something unusual about her." Kayneth smiled proudly. "That rat who thought she had hidden herself so well surely never expected that a small piece of information would expose her extraordinary nature."

"My Lord, I have one final question. Why did seeing 'None' lead you to conclude that Saber was anything but ordinary?" Like an eager student, Diarmuid looked at his Lord and asked.

"The reasoning is simple. Servants are incarnations of heroes from the past. If someone has descended into this world, yet there is no relevant information about her in history, then... either all information about her was suppressed by the people of her era, or she was an ordinary person."

"Those who can become heroes are never ordinary people. Therefore, she must be an exceptionally extraordinary figure!"

PS: "Here's the first update."

Love??

"Then, according to the plan, Madam and I will kill Caster, while you go blow up the Tohsaka family residence."

At Einzbern Castle, Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu prepared to split into two groups. One group would blow up a house! The other would fulfill their promise and kill Caster, the Servant disrupting the Holy Grail War.

"Remember to hide yourselves properly, so I can shift the blame when the time comes."

Watching Emiya Kiritsugu light another cigarette, Mikaela said evenly, "Falling out with Tohno Shiro at this point would bring us little benefit. If you are exposed, our side will have to pay a price as well."

"Negotiation is built upon basic trust. We just 'formed an alliance' with Tohno Shiro at noon, then blow up his house that night—he may suspect us. But Madam and I will be off subjugating Caster. As long as he cannot find any evidence against us, there will be no problem on the surface."

According to the familiars' observations, Tohno Shiro had already packed his things and headed toward the Matou family residence. At the same time... the Holy Church had begun making its own moves. The collusion between the two sides was obvious at a glance.

Though Mikaela did not know how things would develop afterward, this Holy Grail War was clearly entering its most intense stage. He had to set out and subjugate Caster as well.

To be honest, even now he could not understand why Caster had discovered his "identity." Could the man distinguish people merely by scent?

But if he truly could identify others by scent alone, then he would not have mistaken Artoria for Jeanne d'Arc when he encountered her. Though both had Takeuchi faces, their figures were... worlds apart.

Though he did not know how Caster had seen through his "transformation," Mikaela felt a hint of danger. He had to kill Caster to prevent him from discovering anything else strange, then chattering away and revealing Mikaela's information to even more people.

Mikaela's trump card was simple: as long as no one discovered that he could transform into other Servants and powerful beings, he could instantly kill his enemies!

"No problem." Maiya Hisau stood beside Emiya Kiritsugu and said flatly, "The concealment preparations are complete. We will use magecraft to control several people and have them plant the bombs."

"Magic is too risky. It'd be too easy for someone to discover it." Mikaela frowned slightly. He did not like having those "ordinary people" plant bombs; the chances of them being discovered were too high. It would be better to let the two professionals, Maiya Hisau and Emiya Kiritsugu, handle it.

However, Kotomine Kirei had been keeping an eye on Emiya Kiritsugu. He was a veteran Executor; anything they could think of, he could think of as well.

The only ones here who could fight Kotomine Kirei were Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu. As for the other two... even Maiya Hisau, a battle-hardened warrior, was no match for Kotomine Kirei.

Kotomine Kirei had not yet been swayed by Gilgamesh, so there was a good chance he was secretly protecting Tohno Shiro's residence.

Tonight's operation was a small gamble. If it succeeded, Tohno Shiro would lose the home he had maintained for years, along with those troublesome Magic Barriers.

If it failed, things would become somewhat delicate. At worst, Emiya Kiritsugu would be forced into the open, negotiate with Tohno Shiro as the true Master, and expose his dealings with the Holy Church. Then both sides would truly tear away all pretense.

"You seem to have forgotten about Assassin." Emiya Kiritsugu spoke unhurriedly. "A Servant lurking in the darkness is an extremely troublesome opponent. If we go there, he could easily kill us."

"He won't."

Mikaela shook his head slightly and looked calmly at Emiya Kiritsugu. "In this Holy Grail War, Kotomine Kirei is the only one who won't kill you. He might beat you severely, but he definitely won't kill you."

"Why?" Irisviel tilted her head, feeling rather puzzled. Why did she feel like the atmosphere had suddenly become strange?

"..." Maiya Hisau silently closed her mouth. This was beyond the limits of her knowledge.

Emiya Kiritsugu also looked at Mikaela in surprise, unable to understand why he would say that. Kotomine Kirei was, after all, Tohno Shiro's disciple. Since he had discovered Kiritsugu before he even emerged into the open, he should have killed him without mercy.

Because publicly, Mikaela's Master was Irisviel, not him. Even if Kiritsugu were killed, Irisviel could only vent her anger on Tohno Shiro and do nothing else.

Tohno Shiro may have agreed to cooperate with the Einzbern people, but he had never said he would cooperate with a filthy Magus killer. Even if the Three Great Families were brought into it...

What did the people Kotomine Kirei killed have to do with Tohno Shiro?

If they completely tore off all pretenses, there would be no benefit in it, only drawbacks.

"The reason is simple. After that conversation, I could tell that the priest named Kotomine Kirei was in a state of 'wanting nothing and seeking nothing.' But when I mentioned 'you,' a flicker passed through his eyes." Mikaela spoke utter nonsense with a perfectly serious expression.

"A flicker?!" Irisviel looked utterly bewildered. Why hadn't she seen it??? Weren't the two of them together when they went to the Holy Church to cause trouble?

"I see. Is he like me?"

Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to have realized something. He stubbed out the cigarette in his mouth, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "It seems that guy is like the old me. He doesn't know what his goal is."

"The old you?!" Irisviel nearly jumped up like a little rabbit. What was her husband talking about?!!

"Strictly speaking, he has his eye on you. He is currently lost, uncertain what he should do, but your appearance made him feel as though he had found a goal." Mikaela's tone was extremely calm. "The intelligence already makes many things clear. Most of his actions have no pattern, and he is an Executor with very few personal emotions."

"Perhaps he thinks you are like him. Kotomine Kirei probably has no 'wish' of his own for participating in the Holy Grail War, but you also joined the Holy Grail War. He noticed you, so he wants to meet you."

"A guy without a wish of his own? How did someone like that even participate in the Holy Grail War?" Emiya Kiritsugu had more or less understood what Mikaela meant.

Simply put, Kotomine Kirei believed that Emiya Kiritsugu was someone like him, that the two had many similarities. The only difference... was probably that Emiya Kiritsugu had found a wish.

While he... had not.

"So at the very least, he won't let Assassin kill you. Instead, he'll have Assassin watch you and look for a chance to meet you. As for what happens after that, I can't predict it." Mikaela had revealed all the information he could disclose to Emiya Kiritsugu.

In short, just go for it! Blow up the Tohsaka family residence.

Tohno Shiro would definitely find a way to keep Gilgamesh at his side. The only people guarding the Tohsaka family residence would be Kotomine Kirei and Assassin.

Assassin would not kill him, and Kotomine Kirei would meet Emiya Kiritsugu.

If something unexpected truly happened, the worst-case scenario would only be Emiya Kiritsugu using a Command Seal to summon Mikaela over.

"What a pitiful man, trying to use someone else's wish to fill the emptiness inside himself." Emiya Kiritsugu sneered, but said nothing more.

No matter what, the Servant on their side had laid everything about the other party bare. That quietly eased Emiya Kiritsugu's mind.

To be honest, in this Holy Grail War, the person who posed the greatest danger to him was Kotomine Kirei. After hearing Mikaela say this, the sense of crisis in his heart remained, but had already diminished considerably.

His greatest enemy at present was the Lord from the Clock Tower, Kirei Kotomine.

"...You two aren't talking about love, are you?" Irisviel looked at Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu with an extremely complicated expression.

Though she was young, she had already encountered everything she ought to have encountered. No matter how she looked at their conversation... wasn't this the version where the "male lead" fell in love with the "female lead" at first sight?!

"...Iri, watch fewer romance dramas in the future." Emiya Kiritsugu had just taken out another cigarette when Irisviel's words left him completely stunned.

Due to Irisviel's explosive remark, Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu stopped wasting words and left separately with their respective companions.

"Did I say something wrong?" Irisviel followed beside Mikaela, clearly sounding somewhat aggrieved. "Wasn't that a sign of love?"

"..." Mikaela had a headache. Although he had heard in a previous life that Irisviel was a fujoshi who claimed Kotomine Kirei liked Emiya Kiritsugu, he had not expected her thought process to leap so quickly.

What he had said to Kiritsugu was meant to stop him from paying too much attention to Kotomine Kirei. There was nothing worth paying attention to about that man. Rather than wasting time guessing his thoughts, Kiritsugu would be better off thinking about how to deal with Kirei Kotomine without the fiancée buff.

"Let's go. I've more or less guessed where Caster's Magic Workshop is. We should deal with him quickly, then return to the castle." Mikaela sighed. Clearly, he did not want to argue with Irisviel over whether Kotomine Kirei liked Emiya Kiritsugu or not. Arguing about this sort of thing with girls was simply asking for trouble!

"Alright."

Although Irisviel still wanted to chat a little longer, since Aila-chan had said so, she could only obediently listen.

According to his memories, Caster's Magic Workshop was in this city's sewers. However, the smell in the sewers was extremely pungent. Mikaela had Irisviel block off her sense of smell before leading her into the sewers.

"Are you alright, Aila-chan?" After entering the sewers, Irisviel looked at Mikaela, whose brows were slightly furrowed, and could not bear it. "You haven't blocked off your sense of smell yet."

"I need to smell the scent of blood in the air." Mikaela would not block off his sense of smell. Although the stench in the sewers was unbearable, he endured it.

Although he knew Caster's Magic Workshop was somewhere in the sewers, Mikaela could only use memories from his life before last to determine its approximate location. The original story had barely mentioned Caster's base, so even with a rough location, Mikaela still had to find it through his own efforts.

Night had only just fallen, and there were not many people moving about yet. He had come to the sewers partly to verify his own suspicions.

"..."

Mikaela's delicate nose twitched slightly. He seemed to have caught the scent of something. Holding Irisviel's hand, he slowly headed in a certain direction, while his other hand held a card bearing Abigail's likeness.

"Are you going to become someone else?" Irisviel lowered her voice as she looked at the card in Mikaela's hand. "But didn't you say, Aila-chan, that people capable of fighting Servants shouldn't be exposed so easily? Otherwise, they might draw the attention of Tohno Shiro's Servant and cause us to lose this Holy Grail War?"

Both Emiya Kiritsugu and Mikaela considered keeping their trump cards hidden to be absolutely necessary.

Yet Mikaela did not seem to intend to hide his trump card now, which left Irisviel rather puzzled.

"I believe I mentioned that Caster probably set his sights on me because I transformed into this one." Mikaela showed Irisviel the card and said calmly, "At her roots, the little girl I transform into has an extraordinary identity. She is a girl named 'Abigail.'"

"Abigail?" A trace of confusion flashed through Irisviel's eyes. Was there such a hero in history?

"Yes. Her history is rather complicated, so I won't go into detail. Put simply, the one I transform into is the 'Evil God' Caster has been anticipating. The familiars he summoned—the Sea Demons—are far, far beneath Abigail in rank."

"If I had to describe it in one sentence... they're like a company employee and the daughter of one of the company's shareholders."

Irisviel's mouth twitched slightly. For some reason, she felt that Aila-chan's explanation was genuinely easy to understand.

"So, I want to see whether Abigail can make Caster's familiars submit to me. Though that probably won't happen." Mikaela revealed a helpless smile. "Because no matter what, I'm only a counterfeit."

The moment he finished speaking, Mikaela suddenly stopped. He looked down the passage ahead. He had already caught a faint scent of blood, and... several malicious presences were approaching from his direction.

"%＆＆*＃"

A strange sound echoed through the sewers. Irisviel fell silent as well, staring intently ahead. Even she could sense that something was coming.

Several dozen Sea Demons charged out from ahead. They made meaningless noises, seemingly intent on killing Mikaela and Irisviel, the intruders who had entered this place.

They were incredibly fast! The instant they appeared, octopus-like tentacles covered in suction cups as large as fish gills lashed out at Mikaela and Irisviel. Like emotionless beasts, they attacked purely on instinct.