Aftermath of the Explosion

As a member of a distinguished family of Mages, Medea could also see how capable Emiya Kiritsugu was. Compared with Kayneth, who even had the home-field advantage, Kiritsugu stood little chance of winning.

"Don't underestimate him..."

Wang Xiaoming sighed.

"That man is Emiya Kiritsugu. I wouldn't be surprised by anything he did."

None of the Masters qualified to participate in the Holy Grail War were weak. As a Lord, Kayneth's Magecraft ranked among the best of all the Masters. What was more, his talent in the Department of Spiritual Evocation had been on full display this time.

A Servant and their Master were connected by a single causal thread. But Kayneth's genius had allowed him to accomplish the seemingly impossible: separating the supply of magical energy from the authority of the Command Spells, and placing them in the hands of two different summoners. He had kept the Command Spells for himself while transferring the task of supplying the magical energy needed to maintain his Servant's manifestation to his fiancée, Sola. That left him with more magical energy to deal with the other participants.

Kayneth had a considerable advantage against any Master in this Holy Grail War—anyone but Emiya Kiritsugu.

Most Mages in this world instinctively ignored or even looked down on technology. To them, the occult and Magecraft reigned supreme. Science was nothing more than the desperate struggle of ordinary people without talent, and not worth their attention.

As a representative of traditional Mages, Kayneth shared that view. He naturally assumed that all Mages thought the same way he did. But this time, he had encountered Emiya Kiritsugu, an outlier among outliers.

If Wang Xiaoming hadn't "interfered," then the outcome of a battle between a genius from the highest institution of Magecraft and the Magus Killer would probably have been disastrous for Kayneth.

"Maiya, what's the situation?"

After reaching an open area, Emiya Kiritsugu called his assistant to ask about Kayneth's current situation.

"After receiving his second call, Kayneth seemed to have a heated argument with the person on the other end. As soon as he hung up, he started packing."

Maiya Hisau's flat voice came through the phone. She was in another building, keeping watch on Kayneth.

The information had leaked—

That was Kiritsugu's first thought.

Who had learned about this operation, and how? Was he being watched?

Those questions flashed through his mind, but he knew at once that they weren't the most important thing right now.

Kiritsugu immediately reached into his coat pocket, where he kept the detonator.

"Don't move—"

A sharp object pressed against Kiritsugu's back, forcing him to stop.

It was Lancer—

The knight stood behind him, aiming his Magic Spear at the spot over Kiritsugu's heart.

"No matter what means you used to harm my Lord, I've caught you now. Surrender!"

At Lancer's words, Kiritsugu slowly pulled his hand out of his coat and raised it above his head. Then he asked Lancer:

"How did you know I was here?"

"Even now, you're still trying to pry information out of me?"

Lancer had seen straight through Kiritsugu's intentions. The loyal knight would never divulge his Lord's information. And yet, even Lancer himself was still puzzled by his Master's orders.

Ding-a-ling~~

The phone in Kayneth's room rang again.

"Who could it be this time?"

Kayneth was puzzled. The caller ID still showed the hotel's main number, the same as before, so he didn't feel like answering.

But the phone kept ringing, as though it knew Kayneth was in the room.

"Hello?"

Irritated, Kayneth picked up. Wang Xiaoming's voice came from the other end.

"This is Wang Xiaoming. I'm downstairs."

After briefly identifying himself, Wang Xiaoming got straight to the point.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, Saber's Master, is the one attacking you. I suggest you abandon your current workshop at once."

"Tell me... are you underestimating me?"

Kayneth's voice brimmed with anger. He felt gravely insulted. So what if the other man was the Magus Killer? Did Wang Xiaoming think he was so weak that he'd run at the mere mention of Kiritsugu's name?

"No, I'm not underestimating you as a Lord."

Wang Xiaoming answered honestly. "Emiya Kiritsugu is outside the hotel right now. You can send Lancer to investigate."

With that, Wang Xiaoming hung up.

Should I tell you that Emiya Kiritsugu is deranged enough to blow up the building?

Would you even believe me?

Hearing only a dead tone on the other end, Kayneth slammed the receiver onto the table. His fiancée, Sola, couldn't help wondering who had called.

But Kayneth looked so irritated that she didn't ask.

After pacing around the room several times, Kayneth swept out a hand and ordered Lancer, who was patrolling outside:

"Go to the first floor and investigate any suspicious people."

"I see."

Having gotten no answer, Kiritsugu faced Lancer, the most agile of all the Servants. Not daring to let his guard down, he chanted his trump card:

"Time Alter—double accel!" (Time Alter, double speed.)

His body moved faster than his mind could react. Kiritsugu instantly activated Time Alter at double speed, his movements accelerating as he slipped out from under Lancer's spear!

His internal organs began to ache, but he couldn't afford to worry about the damage Time Alter was doing to his body. All he cared about now was escaping Lancer.

"Trying to run?"

With an Agility rank of A+, Lancer saw Kiritsugu moving only a little faster than an ordinary person. That speed was nothing in his eyes!

He thrust—

The moment he caught up to Kiritsugu, Lancer drove his spear toward him in a near-fatal strike!

But he hadn't expected this to be exactly what Kiritsugu was waiting for!

"Time Alter—triple accel!" (Time Alter, triple speed.)

Chanting a spell that was tantamount to suicide, Kiritsugu accelerated once more and narrowly dodged the spear.

"Pointless!"

Even though Kiritsugu had dodged Lancer's attack, Lancer thought it made no difference whether he died sooner or later.

But he didn't know that Kiritsugu had been waiting for the instant Lancer committed to his thrust!

In that instant—

Kiritsugu's hand slipped into his coat pocket and found a button.

Without hesitation, he pressed it—

BOOM—!!!

Aftermath of the Explosion

As soon as Kiritsugu pressed the detonator—

A series of thunderous blasts erupted inside the hotel. One explosion followed another, each louder than the last, then merging into a continuous chain of detonations like firecrackers going off in succession. The flashes from the C4 explosives spiraled rhythmically across the building. They lasted only an instant, but were surprisingly beautiful to watch. The next moment, the once rock-solid structure came crashing down. Every wall collapsed inward, and not a single piece of rubble flew in the other direction. The tower, more than a hundred and fifty meters tall, seemed to be swallowed by the ground, turning in an instant into a neatly piled mound of rubble.

It was an extremely sophisticated demolition technique: a controlled implosion, an advanced method used to bring down large, tall buildings. By destroying the load-bearing walls and key supports, the building was made to collapse inward under its own weight. It achieved complete destruction with the smallest possible amount of explosives. This was a neat, artistic demolition—just the sort of work Emiya Kiritsugu, an expert in all kinds of demolition techniques, loved.

The man responsible for the explosion was now fleeing the scene in a frenzy, his innards on the verge of bursting.

Lancer shot Kiritsugu's fleeing figure a resentful look, then turned back toward the ruined building. Thanks to the Holy Grail contract, he could sense that his Master was unharmed. Even so, the loyal knight hurried back to his Lord's side to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Tsk, tsk. Kayneth's going to be in rough shape after this."

Wang Xiaoming stood on the roof of the neighboring building, watching the entire demolition. He couldn't help commenting.

Wasn't he right? If Kayneth managed to escape unscathed, he'd be lucky. Thirty-two floors was no joke. After escaping from a height of over a hundred meters, he could forget about bringing anything with him.

Tsk, tsk. Three Mana Furnaces, plus all those Mystic Codes...

If he remembered correctly, after this explosion, all Kayneth would have left was a slime...

Having taken his first glimpse of the path to True Magic, Wang Xiaoming now had some understanding of how valuable these things were.

"This man..."

Medea wanted to comment on Kiritsugu's actions but didn't know what to say.

From the perspective of a traditional Mage like her, this method was unquestionably contemptible. But it was also the most effective—

No matter how sturdy your building is, I'll just take it apart from the outside. What are you going to do about it?

Crude, but effective.

"Let's not dwell on that for now. Can you find Kayneth?"

Wang Xiaoming asked Medea.

As their ally, Wang Xiaoming had considered taking advantage of Kayneth's misfortune. But after weighing the options, he gave up on that tempting idea.

There was no helping it. His side was still too weak. A snake trying to swallow an elephant would only burst its belly.

So it was better to offer help in someone's hour of need.

"Over there—"

Medea pointed in a direction from the air.

Because of the night, Wang Xiaoming could only make out a faint speck of light slowly descending from the hotel ruins.

"There's someone over there."

Medea pointed again, this time at the unfinished building across the street.

"And more than one."

That direction meant—

Wang Xiaoming pondered for a moment, then said to Medea:

"Send Kayneth's group a signal."

Kiritsugu's operation had been designed to take Kayneth's life. Even though Wang Xiaoming's "tip-off" had thrown a wrench into his plans, he still had a contingency—

Maiya Hisau, Kiritsugu's most capable assistant.

Her surveillance assignment had already turned into a sniping position. If Kayneth used Magecraft to escape from the top floor, Maiya would shoot him at once.

She was now inside the unfinished Fuyuki Central Tower. Through her specially made scope, she had naturally spotted Kayneth, who had already escaped from the top floor.

The crosshairs slowly followed Kayneth's descending path. Her finger had already found the trigger.

Suddenly, she sensed something was wrong.

Even the air seemed to carry an oppressive tension—

Maiya's body tensed instinctively. Having spent years on the battlefield, she knew the feeling well.

It was killing intent—

She immediately drew her gun back into her arms and turned to face the threat.

"Woman, you've got keen senses."

A voice from the shadows reached Maiya's ears. Now that he'd been spotted, the man stopped hiding and slowly emerged from behind the pillar he'd been using as cover.

"Kirei Kotomine—"

Maiya recognized the stern-faced man in clerical robes at once.