Dating Caster

"Oh? I don't believe we've met, have we?"

Kirei Kotomine raised an eyebrow; in his memory, this was the first time he had encountered this woman.

However, the only response Maiya Hisau gave him was three gunshots.

The bullets spat from the muzzle, which should have been lethal tools for the Grim Reaper to harvest lives, were easily dodged by Kirei Kotomine.

The rapid-fire shots struck the sturdy concrete wall behind him.

The movement Kirei Kotomine used to dodge, even with its incredible speed, could not have been faster than the supersonic velocity of the bullets. The reason this happened was that he had anticipated her thoughts before Maiya Hisau pulled the trigger, acting in advance; more than his physical prowess, it was Kirei Kotomine's tactical judgment that was truly astonishing.

To read the timing of Maiya Hisau's shot and calmly evade the gunfire was a capability that transcended ordinary people, whether in the mundane or the mystical world.

Not only that—the person who had flipped and dodged in that instant was not Kirei Kotomine, but Maiya Hisau.

Her right hand was stained with blood, and the pistol that should have been gripped in it had fallen to the ground with a metallic clatter. Furthermore, her gaze, filled with astonishment, was fixed on the pillar she had been leaning against just moments ago. A blade, embedded deep into the pillar, shimmered with a cold light.

The one-meter-long thin blade was reminiscent of a weapon used in fencing; as a sword, its hilt was exceptionally short. This was a throwing weapon exclusive to the executors of the Holy Church, known as "Black Keys." It was this very weapon that had just grazed the back of Maiya Hisau's right hand and knocked her pistol away—a weapon Kirei Kotomine had thrown while simultaneously dodging the gunfire.

Although it was a hand-thrown weapon, it possessed the power to pierce reinforced concrete. Even so, it had only knocked away Maiya Hisau's pistol, with no intention of taking her life. He had deliberately used such force, likely to both disarm his opponent and shatter her fighting spirit—ideally to capture her alive—after all, Maiya Hisau had yet to answer the question Kirei Kotomine had just posed.

"Not bad skills, quite agile."

Having completely seized the initiative after the reversal of offense and defense, Kirei Kotomine walked over slowly, looking relaxed.

Two more Black Keys appeared in his hands. The long blade portion of a Black Key was a semi-solid construct made entirely of magical energy; when carrying them, one only needed to hold the small hilt. No one knew exactly how many Black Keys Kirei Kotomine carried beneath his wide cassock.

As one of the basic pieces of equipment for an executor of the Holy Church, the Black Key was powerful but extremely difficult to use. To master its power required a highly skilled expert, and it seemed Maiya Hisau had just run into such a rare master.

Maiya Hisau was not a warrior, but a soldier; therefore, she had no glorious combat record to boast of, only her analysis of the battlefield. Kirei Kotomine's combat ability was clearly far superior to her own. In the current situation, lacking both equipment and a favorable terrain or strategy, admitting defeat was the wise choice.

"What's wrong, Maiya? What happened?"

Emiya Kiritsugu's voice came through the earpiece. The mobile phone in her pocket seemed to still be maintaining a connection with Emiya Kiritsugu on the ground. But—Maiya Hisau could not answer now; he could hear her voice. The true target of that terrifying executor was not Maiya Hisau, but Emiya Kiritsugu. Kirei Kotomine's assessment that Maiya Hisau was a subordinate of Emiya Kiritsugu, acting entirely under his instructions, had been fully verified here.

"What's wrong? Not seeking help? Emiya Kiritsugu is nearby, isn't he?"

Kirei Kotomine felt no hesitation when speaking that name, for he was now certain his judgment was correct. If Emiya Kiritsugu wanted to obtain the Holy Grail, he would certainly take action tonight.

The curse effect of Lancer's yellow spear was obvious; the prelude to the war had sealed one of Saber's hands. Given that the remaining six Servants were still fully active, they had fallen into a very disadvantageous position. Therefore, for the Einzbern camp, the top priority was to eliminate Lancer, the primary source of the threat, as soon as possible.

Thus, Kirei Kotomine had cast a net near Kayneth's base, waiting quietly for the attacker's arrival.

But in the end, the person he waited for here was not Emiya Kiritsugu, but someone else. However, Kirei Kotomine was certain that this person was acting on Emiya Kiritsugu's orders. Therefore, the woman he was currently engaging must be the key to finding Emiya Kiritsugu.

I cannot kill her; it would be best to capture her alive. In any case, as long as I can make her talk, it doesn't matter if I break her hands and feet.

After making this cold judgment in his heart, Kirei Kotomine slowly approached the place where the woman was hiding. The opponent should be unarmed by now, and her disassembled sniper rifle could not be reassembled that quickly, while the knocked-away pistol was too far away; the outcome had already been decided.

Bang—

Suddenly, a disturbance from outside caught Kirei Kotomine's attention; it was a signal.

A pattern made of magecraft flickered in the sky over Fuyuki City.

Suddenly, a pungent odor rushed into Kirei Kotomine's nose.

Smoke screen—

Suddenly appearing before Kirei Kotomine was a smoke screen released by a military-grade portable smoke grenade. And in the very instant Kirei Kotomine's line of sight was blocked by the smoke, Maiya Hisau fled rapidly.

Although Kirei Kotomine threw a Black Key toward the sound, it did not hit the target. The intuition of a battle-hardened executor told him that he should not act rashly in the current situation.

Kirei Kotomine held the Black Keys in both hands, watching the surroundings without the slightest relaxation, waiting for the smoke to dissipate. In the building exposed to strong winds, the dense smoke dispersed after only a few seconds—but those few short seconds were enough for the woman to escape the scene.

Alone, Kirei realized he was the only one left in the deserted building, and he snorted, retracting his Black Keys. He had no intention of continuing the pursuit.

Kirei picked up the spent smoke grenade from the ground. Looking at the item in his hand, Kirei Kotomine began to ponder whether the magical signal from earlier was related to the woman's escape.

Meanwhile, Emiya Kiritsugu, who had successfully rendezvoused with Maiya Hisau, looked up at the magical signal in the sky, lost in thought.

Thanks for the recommendation tickets~

Chapter 30. Seizing the Base

"Tsk tsk..."

Having just reunited with Kayneth, and seeing his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, Wang Xiaoming wisely chose not to add fuel to the fire.

It was estimated that this genius from the Clock Tower had learned his lesson this time.

"Thank you for this, Your Excellency."

Although Wang Xiaoming didn't approach, Kayneth sought him out himself. Even though he hadn't listened to Wang Xiaoming's "warning" this time, he still had to acknowledge the favor.

"It's nothing; after all, we are allies now. Besides, I only did what I could."

Seeing that Kayneth's expression was more sincere than before, Wang Xiaoming felt a sense of relief; he figured that after this incident, this person should be easier to communicate with.

It wasn't in vain that he hadn't backstabbed him this time.

"My Lord!"

Following the sound, Lancer suddenly appeared on the scene, kneeling on one knee before Kayneth.

"What is the situation?"

Kayneth asked Lancer about the results of his previous reconnaissance.

"A man with suspicious movements was discovered in the parking lot on the first floor earlier. Due to my subordinate's negligence, he managed to escape after our initial skirmish."

Lancer reported the situation regarding his previous encounter with Emiya Kiritsugu truthfully.

"You let him escape?!"

Kayneth, already in a foul mood due to his home being raided, felt his temper worsen even further upon hearing this news.

"My apologies, it was my dereliction of duty!"

Lancer lowered his head even further, but Kayneth's next words left him visibly shocked.

"I am beginning to suspect that you were intentionally going easy on him!"

"My Lord!"

"The battle with Saber earlier was the same..."

Lancer hurriedly raised his head, wanting to defend himself, but Kayneth, burning with rage, would hear none of it. He waved his hand, intending to continue his reprimand, but another voice, more aggressive than his own, rang out:

"Kayneth, what are you thinking?!"

Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, who had been standing to the side, suddenly erupted.

"Sola?"

Kayneth seemed quite surprised by the outburst from the red-haired beauty.

"Lancer only abandoned his pursuit of Saber's Master to return here out of concern for your safety."

After saying this, Sola glanced at the kneeling Lancer:

"Lancer, isn't that right?"

"..."

Lancer simply kept his head bowed, offering no reply.

Kayneth seemed to have no way to handle his fiancée. However, backing down to Lancer was out of the question, and the situation remained at a stalemate...

Wang Xiaoming, who had originally intended to watch the show, saw that the situation was turning sour. This deadlock was clearly not in his own interest, so he had no choice but to speak up and break the awkward atmosphere.

"Ahem..."

In an instant, everyone's gaze shifted to Wang Xiaoming.

"We are in this situation, and you still have the heart to argue? Do you really want to wait until Emiya Kiritsugu wipes us all out in one go?"

Wang Xiaoming did not hold back, his opening words sharp and heavy.

"Kayneth, are you telling me that the only thought a genius from the Clock Tower has after encountering these setbacks is to complain?"

"..."

Kayneth's face turned pale, then flushed, but he could find no words to refute him. His behavior just now had truly been beneath his standards.

However--

Kayneth's gaze shifted back to Sola. At this moment, Sola's eyes were entirely fixed on Lancer; she had no time to spare for Kayneth.

"Tsk—"

The look Kayneth cast toward Lancer was filled with malice.

"The most important thing right now is to find a base, isn't it? Or do you intend to sleep on the streets tonight?"

Seeing this scene, Wang Xiaoming felt a headache coming on, but since it wasn't his place to interfere in other people's domestic affairs, he had no choice but to change the subject.

However, the most pressing matter was indeed finding a place to stay. Wang Xiaoming looked around at the group:

Kayneth, Sola, Medea, Shirou...

They couldn't just go find another abandoned factory to hole up in.

"So, are there any good Spirit Vein Land locations nearby?"

The choice of a base location had conditions. The best spots were those situated atop a spirit vein. Although the location at the Hyatt Hotel hadn't been great, Kayneth had brought three magic furnaces to provide for the base and the daily consumption of the bounded field.

As for now—

The three magic furnaces had already been reduced to ash. Finding a Spirit Vein Land would not be an easy task.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a Spirit Vein Land."

Wang Xiaoming scratched his head.

"There is a ready-made base, it just depends on whether you have the guts to take it."

"Your idea is truly..."

Kayneth gazed at the mansion situated on the land in the distance, his heart filled with astonishment at Wang Xiaoming's suggestion.

No person with a normal train of thought would ever consider attacking this family.

Different from the luxury and solemnity of the Tohsaka residence that Wang Xiaoming had seen through his scouting magecraft, one could feel the oppressive, bone-deep, dark atmosphere of this mansion just by glancing at it.

"A nauseating amount of magical energy."

This was the assessment Medea gave with a frown after seeing the mansion.

The Matou family—

One of the three founding families of the Holy Grail War. It was also the destination of Wang Xiaoming and his group.

Judging from Wang Xiaoming's memories, the Matou family was perhaps the easiest participant to breach in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

As long as Lancer held back that Knight of the Lake, Wang Xiaoming didn't believe his side couldn't crush that Old Worm!

As for Matou Sakura—

Wang Xiaoming cast his gaze toward Shirou.

It seems having an extra child bride...

Isn't bad either.

"The Matou family is also one of the Masters participating this time, and their Servant is Berserker."

Wang Xiaoming's words made everyone involuntarily recall that berserk black Servant from the battle at the warehouse district.

"However, I think it shouldn't be much of a problem for Lancer to go up against Berserker. Besides, the situation of Berserker's Master isn't very good right now; otherwise, he wouldn't have lost control and attacked Saber during that previous battle."

Wang Xiaoming left one thing unsaid—

Not to mention that Berserker's true identity is Lancelot.

Legend has it that as one of the tales branching from Celtic Mythology, the story of his romance with King Arthur's queen, Guinevere, is modeled after the famous tragic love story of the Fianna elite warrior Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and the Irish princess Grainne mac Cormaic, the fiancée of his lord Fionn mac Cumhaill.

Therefore, this natural incompatibility in their affinity also significantly increased Lancer's chances of winning this battle.

However, Kayneth had no leisure to worry about such things now. The battle at the hotel earlier still left him feeling disgraced, and at this moment, Kayneth desperately needed a victory to wash away his humiliation.

"Lancer, I don't need to say much more about this battle, do I?"