According to the Holy Church's intentions, Tohsaka Tokiomi was meant to claim the final victory.
His own task was merely to guide Tokiomi to victory. At present, aside from the red Saber, he could not see any major obstacles ahead.
If he excluded that sin-filled scene in his mind, this was simply a dull mission with nothing to look forward to.
That was also Kirei Kotomine's conclusion after three years.
—The reason Kirei Kotomine had become Tohsaka Tokiomi's disciple was because he had been chosen by the Holy Grail three years ago. Since then, he had been preparing for the Holy Grail War.
"Lord Kirei."
Just as Kirei was caught in painful turmoil, a shadow silently appeared at his side.
It was Assassin.
"What is it?" Kirei asked.
"Yes. I discovered something strange outside the church and came to report it."
As he spoke, Assassin respectfully presented a bat's corpse.
Its neck had just been snapped, and its body still retained a trace of warmth.
"A familiar?" Kirei asked.
"Yes. Although it was outside the boundary, it was clearly placed there to monitor the church."
"I understand."
The church was neutral territory during the Holy Grail War. If anyone interfered with it recklessly, the overseer could punish them by reducing their Command Spells and forbidding them from fighting for a certain period.
"Has someone grown suspicious because I lost Assassin?" Kirei pondered as he took the dead bat from Assassin's hand.
"What is this?"
At that moment, he suddenly noticed an electronic component the size of a palm taped to the bat's abdomen.
"A button battery... a wireless CCD pinhole camera... This is not a magus's method."
Kirei's current teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi, was someone who deeply rejected technology.
Yet this magus was using electronic devices?
Such unscrupulous methods immediately made