The Church

"But since you've already asked, as a goddess, I have no reason to disappoint you~"

As Ishtar's voice faded, a golden longbow, roughly the height of a person, appeared beside her.

--[Maanna], a divine ship that roams through Mesopotamia mythology, and also an interstellar portal connecting Earth and Venus.

And Ishtar's originally crimson eyes shone brightly due to the flow of magic—

"Let you experience firsthand the power that shattered [Mount Ebih]."

According to Mesopotamia mythology, Ishtar went straight into the Mount Ebih, gaining more divine power with each step, and finally grabbed the summit of the mountain range and thrust his spear into the heart of the earth's veins, causing the complete collapse of the Mount Ebih.

Such behavior would terrify even the gods.

Her Noble Phantasm was born from this legend.

"You're probably the only one who would shamelessly recount their embarrassing moments."

Feeling the immense magical power rising from the sky, Enkidu on the ground murmured.

But since even that useless goddess is getting serious...

-- Tremor

At that moment, the ground beneath Enkidu's feet suddenly began to shake.

However, compared to the intense and irregular collapse of an earthquake, this rhythm is more like a low hum in response to someone.

So, who has the authority to elicit such a response from the earth, or even the entire planet?

"Thank you for your help again..."

Feeling the immense magical power surging from his feet, Enkidu murmured to himself.

As a "Divine Construct," Enkidu, who has gained the earth's approval, is naturally qualified to mobilize the magic flowing beneath his feet.

Enkidu, raised his head and looked up at the sky, where the goddess in the clouds also gazed down at the doll below.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next moment should have been a full-scale clash of their Noble Phantasm. However—a bolt of crimson lightning crashed into the battlefield with a reckless and chaotic momentum.

It was a torrent of magic that stretched across them, seemingly separating the sky from the ground. Then, they heard a roar like that of a lion.

"--[Clarent Blood Arthur (Clarent Blood Arthur)]!!!"

"That was a surprise attack, wasn't it?!"

Ishtar, covered in dust and dirt, immediately complained to the "mastermind" behind the scenes.

"Um, sorry."

Looking at that face that was exactly like Tohsaka Rin's, Shirou's first instinct was to apologize. However, it wasn't until he realized that the person in front of him was actually a genuine goddess.

Although it was Tohsaka's body that was occupied...

Just as Shirou was silently grumbling to himself, another voice drew his attention back—

"So, can you give me an answer?"

This was the first thing Enkidu said after leaving the battlefield.

Why stop the fight between us?

Although his voice remained calm, Enkidu's serious expression revealed that if things weren't done as he said, this guy probably wouldn't let it go easily.

"Because you violated the rules of the Holy Grail War."

Ruler, who had been standing by and watching for a long time, finally spoke.

Magecraft must remain a mystery.

Regardless of whether it's during the Holy Grail War, this is an ironclad rule that all Magecraft must abide by.

Moreover, if we really let these two continue fighting like this, not to mention whether it will spread to the city, just based on the momentum they showed just now, the magical energy generated by their respective Noble Phantasm would probably be able to be observed even in distant foreign lands—at the Clock Tower of the Mage's Association headquarters.

"Forget it, let's not fight anymore."

After Ruler explained, Ishtar sighed and then said somewhat listlessly.

"I'll keep you as a piece of scrap metal to get through the winter."

Upon hearing Ishtar's words, Enkidu showed a surprised expression for the first time.

"... That's really strange, Ishtar. To be honest, this is the first time I've seen you suppress your murderous intent. What happened to make you so diplomatic?"

"You worthless doll..."

Seemingly quite adept at "flirting" with goddesses, Enkidu knew he had a slight advantage this time, judging from the bulging veins on Ishtar's forehead.

Meanwhile, in the Holy Church—

Caren, who was performing her daily prayers, looked at the "tattoo" on the back of her left hand that was emitting a faint red glow, and silently recited in her heart:

"Assassin..."

(Above)

Chapter 404. Church

The Holy Church is one of the two major powers in the mystical world, on par with the Mage's Association.

In this world, there exist [heresies], which are those who are different from the truth. The vast organization that specializes in "hunting down heretics" is called the Holy Church.

They praise the teachings of God and do not approve of anything that contradicts their doctrines. While outwardly ignoring heresy, they harbor a fierce resistance to it internally.

They materially exclude things that do not exist in the Lord's teachings, advocating the extermination of Demon and the elimination of all heresy.

Meanwhile, the Holy Grail War being held in Fuyuki City could not escape their notice.

Due to being uninhabited for a long time, the entire church was permeated with a damp and decaying smell. Although a thorough cleaning had been carried out when we first arrived, it was clearly not yet a habitable environment.

We should try to persuade that saintess to come again.

With this thought in mind, the nun ended her daily prayers.

Caren Hordesia has been appointed by the Holy Church as the overseer of this Holy Grail War. Unlike the Kirei Kotomine father and son, although she is given the title of "Executor" by the Church, Caren does not have the corresponding strength and authority.

There were others in the church who were more qualified to be the "overseer," but the reason she was ultimately chosen was probably due to the "mercy" of the Holy Grail...

"Assassin, how's the situation?"

Caren had just stepped out of the chapel, asked the figure waiting outside the door.

Assassin, one of the seven Servant who participated in the Holy Grail War, is a class specializing in covert operations and assassination techniques. This is one of the "assets" that allowed Caren to stand out from the crowd of candidates.

"It has been confirmed that the participants in the battle just now were Lancer, Enkidu, Archer, and Ishtar."

Standing in front of Caren, Assassin whispered the information he had just obtained.

"Heroic Spirit from Mesopotamia mythology? No wonder there was such a commotion..."

After hearing Assassin's information, Caren seemed thoughtful.

Because Assassins possess the unique ability of [cutting off the aura], which is not found in other classes of Heroic Spirit, they are unmatched in stealth operations. That's why Caren assigned them to intelligence gathering.

That being said, the two names that came out of Assassin's mouth were quite unexpected.

"We weren't discovered, were we?"

"Thanks to the sun's protection, no one noticed my movements."

Assassin shook his head in response.

The response was a little strange, though. Logically, an assassin skilled in stealth should operate in the shadows, but this one seemed to be an exception?

"Understood. Then let's continue gathering intelligence. The Spirit Artifact Panel shows that all seven Servant have arrived; the Church needs to know all their information as soon as possible."

After learning that he had not been exposed, Caren gave Assassin another order.

"Knew."

After receiving Caren's orders, Assassin prepared to leave in spirit form, but before he could take any further action, a magical aura suddenly appearing outside the church diverted his attention.

Not only Assassin, but even Caren sensed the other party's undisguised arrogance.

It's not far away, and it's getting closer.

The other party's actions were clearly aimed at the church.

"It should be Servant... Could it be that they sensed your presence, Assassin?"

Based on the magical aura emanating from outside the church, which was vastly different from that of humans, Caren, having made her judgment, turned her questioning gaze to her Servant.

Then, she heard—

"Master..."

"Um?"

Upon hearing Assassin's voice, which sounded as if he were enduring immense pain, Caren's masked face showed emotion for the first time.

"Though it may be disrespectful, if you don't want to see this church destroyed later, please use your Command Spell to stop me now."

"Hey, Master, is this the place?"

Having climbed to the top of the platform, Agamemnon shifted his gaze from the towering building before him to his Master.

"That's right. According to the rules of the Holy Grail War, Magecraft needs to register with the Holy Church after becoming Master."

Standing beside Rider, the Master recalled the information about the Holy Grail War he had previously researched while answering his Servant's questions.

Only...

But when he turned his gaze to the building in front of him, his expression became hesitant.

The stone brick walls were covered in moss, giving the building an old and decaying appearance. If it weren't for the signs of recent cleaning visible on the path leading to the church, he probably would have turned away immediately.

"Let's go then."

After receiving a definite answer, Agamemnon ignored his Master, who was lost in thought, and walked toward the church door on his own.

"..."

As Agamemnon's figure receded into the distance, a strange look flashed in the eyes of the Master who was left behind.

Pushing open the church doors, a spacious and solemn chapel comes into view.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the moment Rider's Master stepped into the chapel, he felt a chilling aura surrounding him.

"Rider..."

After instinctively taking a few steps forward to Agamemnon's side, the Master relaxed. However, he didn't pay too much attention to it, since this was still the territory of the Holy Church, and it was understandable that there were some spells targeting Magecraft.

Besides, I have Rider, Servant, by my side right now, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

Seemingly noticing the commotion in the chapel, a figure slowly emerged from the inside of the altar.

"You are the supervisor of this Holy Grail War, aren't you?"

Looking at the striking young woman before him, Rider's Master introduced himself.

"Fevo Razzey, Magecraft from the Clock Tower, and also Rider's Master in this Holy Grail War."

"Caren Ordesia, the administrator of this church."

After Favor's voice faded, the girl dressed as a nun uttered her name in a cool, detached voice.

There are rules in the Holy Grail War that require all participants to register and report to the Overseer at the start of the Holy Grail War.

However, since this was a rule set by the Holy Church itself, the Master who were Magecraft scoffed at it.

So, it's no surprise that Fevre Lazer, from the Clock Tower, came knocking this time—

"O O O O Ombudsman of the Holy Church, Favor Razer hereby requests your cooperation..."