Caster Extermination Battle (I), 4k Mega Chapter
The area around Fuyuki Church had been completely sealed off. Using the Tohsaka Family's influence, they had pushed through traffic control measures. Roadblocks from the Metropolitan Police Department cut off every road leading to the church, forcibly isolating this land from the world of common sense.
But it was useless. An unknown force had dyed a vast stretch of sky an intensely murky gray-black, like dirty water mixed with leaden ash. Beneath it hung gray mist, much lighter in color than the sky. The fog enveloped the entire church and its surroundings, and if one got close enough, twisted tentacles could vaguely be seen dancing within it.
It was practically a haunted realm from a horror story.
As they stared at the dark, dense fog in the distance, the mages present all wore grim expressions.
After the signal summoning the Masters had been sent out, the Masters and their Servants who could make it arrived one after another at the edge of the blockade.
A man dressed in a black priest's robe stared expressionlessly at the place where he had once lived and worked. The holy ground that had once gathered worshippers had become a wasteland overrun by monsters. An unprecedented sense of absurdity welled up in Kirei Kotomine's heart. He stood quietly beside the roadblock, recalling the days gone by and praying for his father.
There were no tears, no wails—only quiet prayers.
What a strong man. That was probably how outsiders saw him.
Unfortunately, that was not the truth.
This abnormal man questioned himself. The church had been destroyed, and his father had been killed. But why did he feel no pain? Why could he not shed tears? Kirei Kotomine struck his left chest in confusion, wanting to question himself, but the blows gave him no answer. All he felt was emptiness.
As if a piece of his heart were missing.
Kirei Kotomine had recently become the arbiter of this Holy Grail War. The previous arbiter, Rin Tohsaka, had gone missing during Caster's attack. Kirei Kotomine had ordered all of Assassin's clones to head for the church and rescue his father, but soon afterward, he had lost contact with Assassin as well.
The situation was already obvious. Caster's Master had violated the rules of the Holy Grail War and the code of mages. He had exposed Mystery to ordinary society, then attacked the neutral Holy Church and killed the arbiter, Rin Tohsaka.
He did not dwell on questions of the "heart." This was not the time for philosophy or emotions. He turned to the Masters who had already arrived and slowly spoke. "As you can see, the Holy Grail War, which can grant all of your wishes, is now facing a grave crisis. The Grail was originally meant to grant power only to those who sought it and to Heroic Spirits. Yet a traitor has emerged among us. He and his Servant have disregarded the rules of the Holy Grail War and revealed Mystery to the public."
"Caster's Master must die," declared a Grand Mage from the Clock Tower. "He should never have revealed Mystery before ordinary people."
As soon as he finished speaking, the mage turned toward another Master and coldly said, "Li Zihan, do you not know to greet your teacher when you see him?" Two masses of mercury floated in the air beside him, while behind him stood the peerless knight of the spear.
The boy holding a Grimoire with an orange-red cover and pale gold binding smiled brightly. He scratched his cheek, thought for a moment, then said, "Hello, Professor Kaineth."
Waver felt that his classmate was asking for death. He had deliberately gotten the Lord's name wrong. To a Lord, that was an absolute insult.
But Kaineth merely snorted and continued in his infuriatingly arrogant tone, "Where is your Servant? Don't tell me he is too weak to take the field. If that is the case, I will allow you to surrender to me. Of course, once the war is over, you must return to the Clock Tower and accept punishment."
Kaineth truly could not understand why Li Zihan had left the Clock Tower back then. Granted, he had no mage's self-awareness and often violated the Clock Tower's taboos, so by all logic, he indeed could not remain there. But he was the disciple Kaineth had regarded as his successor. As long as his offenses were properly covered up, they could be treated as though they had never happened. Even if they were discovered and he was punished, it would only amount to several decades of confinement. In a mage faction with such a long history, what the hell was a designated sealing? It was just something that could be revoked in a few months.
Kaineth had wanted to challenge this rebellious disciple to a magecraft duel on the spot, beat the bastard until his face was swollen black and blue, then drag him back to the Clock Tower. He would teach him, through a rather "kind" method of education, what responsibilities a faction heir bore.
Of course, it would not matter if his disciple refused to repent. There were plenty of outstanding women in the faction suitable for bearing children. The terrifying magecraft genes in his body could be passed down through other means, allowing him to contribute to the faction.
Everything had been perfect. Kaineth had long since devised a flawless plan.
Unfortunately, something had gone wrong midway through. He had picked the wrong target. Kaineth was still quite depressed about it. There was actually another mage here capable of using a Bounded Field! And another heretic accustomed to using modern equipment!
According to Intelligence Division reports, Li Zihan had changed identities and wildly stolen mana from spiritual veins throughout the Far East. Then he had kicked an iron plate, losing a large number of Mystic Codes and familiars while suffering severe injuries himself. His strength had been greatly reduced.
What did it mean when an opportunity could not be missed? If he did not deal with this rebellious disciple now, was he supposed to wait until Li Zihan had replenished his armaments, created a large number of familiars, and built a magecraft workshop before fighting him?
At that moment, Kiritsugu Emiya foolishly crashed right into him and took a savage beating in Li Zihan's place.
Thanks to Kiritsugu Emiya's efforts, Kaineth had used too many of the jewels he had prepared for dealing with his disciple while beating up the Mage Killer. Now, he was no longer confident that he could defeat his disciple.
"Actually, Berserker is pretty strong," the boy said seriously. "Professor Kaineth, would you consider surrendering to me?"
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