"Danger."
Kazuma Satou motioned for Shido Itsuka to be careful. Both of them were ready to activate their Craft Essences and Noble Phantasms at any moment, but neither attacked first.
Because Kirei Kotomine's name had not appeared, according to the updated rules, that meant neither side had entered the combat phase.
Kazuma Satou stepped forward, recalling the phrase some veteran had given them during the first closed beta.
He was prepared to use that safeword the moment anything went wrong.
Kirei Kotomine, standing beneath the statue of the Virgin Mary, heard the movement and calmly turned around. When he saw them, the corners of his mouth rose slightly before returning to stillness.
"You are the chosen messengers the Lord spoke of?"
"Then let me tell you a story."
Kazuma Satou and Shido Itsuka exchanged looks.
So this was the new storyline Shirou Emiya had mentioned.
They had no idea what this story would reveal, but it had to contain important information.
In any case, listening first could not hurt.
"At the end of the eighteenth century, a group of Westerners set foot upon this land."
Kirei Kotomine's deep voice carried through the church.
"One was Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, while another was Makiri Zolgen. Both walked paths beyond those of ordinary men—they were magi."
"The local mage family, the Tohsaka Family, made contact with them, and together they began a plan ultimately aimed at reaching the Root."
"..."
Kazuma Satou listened carefully, but he did not think too deeply about it. There were too many terms whose meanings he did not understand, so he simply committed them to memory.
To be honest, the only phrase he vaguely recognized was the Tohsaka Family.
That was because it was a resource point marked on the map. He had never even heard of