Chapter Summaries

Matou Kariya performed a Servant summoning for the Matou Family, hoping to summon their ancestor Lawrence. Instead, the ritual summoned Caster Manlio Ferdino Springer, who learned that the family had failed to summon Lawrence in three previous Holy Grail Wars.

• Matou Shinji asked Matou Byakuya why Kariya was summoning a Servant before the Holy Grail War, and Sakura asked which Servants the Matou Family had summoned in earlier attempts.
• Matou Kariya used a portrait of Lawrence painted by Manlio as the catalyst and completed the summoning ritual.
• A childlike Servant appeared and introduced himself as Caster Manlio Ferdino Springer, leaving the Matou family members stunned.
• Matou Zouken collapsed, Kariya knelt in disappointment, and Byakuya hurried to help his father.
• Manlio learned that the Matou Family had repeatedly failed to summon Lawrence and comforted Kariya.

Kirei Kotomine drove Sakumura Anno to Eaglefall Cliff, where Anno hoped to find his sword, and learned that Anno remembered Okita Soji as his wife and wanted to locate her blade. Meanwhile, Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel discussed White Knight Anno’s Holy Relic and Kiritsugu’s distrust of Kirei, leaving the Holy Grail War’s uneasy partnerships in focus.

• Kirei Kotomine asked Sakumura Anno why the Holy Grail had chosen him, but Anno did not answer before they reached Eaglefall Cliff.
• Sakumura Anno explained that he wanted to see his sword and asked Kirei Kotomine about Okita Soji, whom Anno remembered as a woman and his wife.
• Kirei Kotomine said Okita Soji’s sword, Kashu Kiyomitsu, was kept at Sakumura Kanna’s former residence, and Anno proposed visiting Kyoto.
• Irisviel examined White Knight Anno’s Holy Relic, and Emiya Kiritsugu told her it could still function as a Mystic Code and should be kept with her after summoning the Servant.
• Emiya Kiritsugu described Kirei Kotomine as the opponent he least understood and said he trusted himself more than any Servant or tool.

Manlio settled into the Matou residence and planned to speak with his Master about their teacher, while Sakumura visited the site of his past leap and confronted the memorial built there. He left his three old blades in place, destroyed his inaccurate statue, and departed after carving a message for the sculptors.

• Manlio chose a room beside Matou Kariya’s and told Matou Shinji and Matou Sakura that he wanted to discuss his teacher with his Master.
• Kirei Kotomine accompanied Sakumura to the tourist site built where Sakumura had once jumped from a cliff.
• Sakumura leaped to the cliff and found Crane Feather, Pheasant Feather, and Poison Feather still embedded in the rock, but left them there as relics of the site.
• Sakumura tore down the statue that did not resemble him and threw it off the cliff.
• Sakumura carved a complaint about the poor sculpture into the ground with Pheasant Feather, then left Kirei Kotomine puzzled.

Kirei Kotomine and Sakumura Anno traveled to Kuji, where Sakumura explained his impulsive destruction of a statue before they set off for Kyoto. Meanwhile, the Matou family discussed their ancestor Lawrence, and Tohsaka Tokiomi prepared to send his wife and Rin away before the Holy Grail War.

• Kirei Kotomine asked Sakumura why he had thrown a statue off a cliff, and Sakumura said he had acted because the sight annoyed him.
• Matou Kariya and Matou Byakuya read news about Sakumura Anno's statue being found at the bottom of a cliff and discussed what Kariya had learned from Manlio about Lawrence.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi worried that Kirei and Sakumura might cause trouble in Kyoto after seeing the news report.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi confirmed that Rin had finished preparing to move to Zenjo with her mother, and he promised Rin that he and Kirei had a thorough plan for the war.

On the way to Kyoto, Sakumura and Kirei Kotomine discussed anime and dating games before visiting Sakumura Kanna’s former home in Mibu Village. There, Sakumura found Okita Soji’s Kashu Kiyomitsu, drew it, and returned it to its display case.

• Sakumura asked Kirei Kotomine what anime and games were, and said he wanted to try Tokimeki Memorial.
• Waver Velvet discovered he had become a Master, then set out to gather supplies to summon a Servant.
• Two days later, Sakumura and Kirei visited Sakumura Kanna’s former residence in Kyoto.
• Sakumura recognized Kashu Kiyomitsu as Okita Soji’s sword and cut open its glass display case.
• Sakumura drew Kashu Kiyomitsu, admired it, and returned it to the case rather than taking it.

Sakumura and Kirei Kotomine visited Kyoto University, where Sakumura found a statue depicting him as a kindly, one-armed professor. They took a photo beside it before leaving the campus.

• While playing Tokimeki Memorial, Kirei Kotomine asked where Sakumura planned to go the next day, and Sakumura mentioned Senso-ji and Kyoto University.
• Sakumura and Kirei Kotomine toured Kyoto University, where female students approached Sakumura for his contact information and Kirei helped him escape the awkward situation.
• Outside the foreign languages department, Sakumura recognized a statue of himself as the One-Armed Professor and admitted he disliked its gentle smile.
• Sakumura asked Kirei Kotomine to take a photo of them beside the statue, and they posed with the statue as the only one smiling.

Reports of vandalism at sites connected to Sakumura Anno led the Matou, Tohsaka, and Einzbern families to suspect a Holy Grail War tactic and prepare for possible opponents. Meanwhile, Kirei Kotomine and Sakumura spent the evening playing Tokimeki Memorial, where Sakumura tried to help Kirei win over the heroine.

• Matou Kariya, Matou Byakuya, and Matou Shinji discussed whether the attacks on Sakumura Anno's former residence and statue were connected to the Holy Grail War, and Kariya went to consult Manlio.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi suspected Assassin was using the incidents as a smokescreen and examined the ancient Mesopotamian shed snake skin he planned to use as a Holy Relic.
• Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel considered whether Sakumura Anno or one of his enemies had been summoned, and Kiritsugu said they should prepare their weapons and arrange their Servant's summoning.
• Kirei Kotomine told Sakumura he had placed first in his grade in Tokimeki Memorial, then named Yoshio Saotome as his favorite character before choosing heroine Shiori Fujisaki.
• Sakumura noticed Shiori Fujisaki's bomb icon and advised Kirei Kotomine not to choose the same date location twice in a row.

Kirei Kotomine dreamed through Sakumura Anno’s turbulent life, witnessing his killings, losses, and relationships without understanding the feelings that drove him. He woke in the inn, still puzzled by Sakumura but unable to suppress his reaction.

• Kirei watched Sakumura behead Day-Hiding Demon at Black River Mountain and later assassinate Elder Abe Masahiro.
• Kirei saw Sakumura’s political struggles, his adoption of Koike Kanna, and the bond that endured despite her father’s death at his hands.
• Kirei watched Sakumura kill Tokugawa Iemochi and fight his former Shinsengumi companions as the Bakumatsu upheaval claimed more of his friends.
• Sakumura mourned his beloved, went to Ezo, and killed Hijikata Toshizo before retiring to Mibu Village and becoming a university professor.
• Kirei watched Sakumura raise a final toast beside Saito Hajime, then leap, and woke still unable to understand his life.

Sakumura Anno watched Kirei Kotomine struggle to find happiness by suppressing his nature, then pursue it through marriage to Claudia Hortensia. Claudia’s death revealed that Kirei found happiness in others’ misfortune, and Sakumura woke from the vision still focused on him.

• Sakumura judged that Kirei’s nature was monstrous and feared it would eventually erupt, though he chose to keep watching rather than kill him.
• Kirei sought happiness through religion, magecraft, martial arts, and his work as a Holy Church executor, but none of them satisfied him.
• Kirei married the terminally ill Claudia Hortensia, who understood his nature and loved him without reservation.
• Claudia gave birth to Caren Ortensia, and her health declined until she reached the end of her life.
• Kirei admitted he could not love Claudia and tried to kill himself, but Claudia took his dagger and killed herself instead.
• Kirei realized he had wished to be the one to kill Claudia, then left her body behind as Sakumura Anno opened his eyes.

On the drive back to Fuyuki, Sakumura Anno feared Kirei Kotomine’s hidden evil while Kirei became fascinated by Sakumura’s past. Meanwhile, Manlio prepared a concealed space around a Matou property, and Matou Kariya equipped himself for battle as the Fourth Holy Grail War approached.

• Kirei Kotomine drove toward Fuyuki with Sakumura Anno and asked why Sakumura could not understand his feelings.
• Sakumura considered killing Kirei, fearing what the priest might do if he discovered his true self, but recalled Claudia Hortensia and questioned whether she had truly been tragic.
• Kirei reflected on Sakumura’s memories and their similar experiences, then smiled as the pair continued toward Fuyuki.
• Manlio explained that his Caster abilities were strongest in positional warfare, where he could conceal and alter space, but that his direct combat skills were weak.
• Matou Kariya prepared for battle by equipping himself with a large assortment of Jewel Magecraft Mystic Codes.

Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel discussed the rival Masters and the factions supporting them before Kiritsugu summoned Saber Anno using the White Knight's holy relic. Anno pledged his loyalty, and Kiritsugu began planning how to use him to win the Holy Grail War.

• Emiya Kiritsugu warned Irisviel that the Holy Grail War was fought between factions and reviewed the resources and motives of the Tohsaka and Matou Families.
• Emiya Kiritsugu identified Kirei Kotomine as the Master who concerned him most because of his troubling past.
• Irisviel gave Emiya Kiritsugu the holy relic of White Knight Anno, and Kiritsugu placed it on the summoning circle.
• Emiya Kiritsugu summoned Saber Anno, who appeared with overwhelming power and pledged his loyalty to his Master.
• Emiya Kiritsugu proposed arranging their battle plan and regarded Anno as a weapon whose effectiveness mattered more to him than his opinions.

Kirei Kotomine returned to the Tohsaka residence with Sakumura Anno, who chose not to kill him because he believed Kirei could still coexist with humanity. At the Einzbern church, Anno warned Emiya Kiritsugu not to involve innocents and learned that he would protect Irisviel during the early stages of Kiritsugu’s operation.

• Kirei Kotomine and Sakumura Anno arrived at the Tohsaka residence, where Anno assured Tohsaka Tokiomi that no one had followed them.
• Kirei Kotomine ordered Sakumura Anno to guard the residence, and Anno took up a concealed position on its roof.
• Sakumura Anno reflected that he had spared Kirei Kotomine because Claudia’s death had not eliminated the possibility that Kirei could be saved.
• At the Einzbern church, Anno warned Emiya Kiritsugu not to involve innocent people, but Kiritsugu told him to focus on his duties as a Servant.
• Emiya Kiritsugu assigned Anno to protect Irisviel during the early stages of the operation and gave her a fragment of the Holy Sword used to summon Anno.
• Anno told Irisviel that the fragment’s remaining holy light was too dangerous for her to activate directly.

Waver Velvet and Tohsaka Tokiomi completed their Servant summonings, bringing Rider and Gilgamesh into the Fourth Holy Grail War. After hearing that Tokiomi had summoned Gilgamesh, Sakumura warned Kirei Kotomine to avoid him, but Kirei noted that Gilgamesh was his teacher’s Servant.

• Waver Velvet summoned a powerful, red-haired Rider in the forest southwest of Fuyuki City.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi summoned a golden-armored Servant while Risei Kotomine and Kirei Kotomine watched.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi celebrated with Kirei, declaring that they had already won the Holy Grail War.
• After learning that Tokiomi had summoned Gilgamesh, Sakumura recognized him and warned Kirei to stay away.
• Kirei pointed out that avoiding Gilgamesh would be difficult because he served Tohsaka Tokiomi, and Sakumura called the young Gilgamesh the war’s most dangerous figure.

Sakumura Anno helped Kirei Kotomine with Tokimeki Memorial before the pair prepared to scout Fuyuki City as the Holy Grail War began. Elsewhere, Anno spoke with Irisviel about Emiya Kiritsugu and wondered what had made him the way he was.

• Sakumura worried that Gilgamesh might lead Kirei astray and resolved to guide and restrain Kirei's true nature.
• Sakumura took over Kirei's doomed Tokimeki Memorial game, ranked first in his grade, and still failed to raise the heroines' Affection.
• Kirei asked Sakumura to scout Fuyuki City and reported that six Servants had been summoned, with several Masters' locations known but most groups still unaccounted for.
• Sakumura and Kirei set out to investigate the eastern side of Fuyuki City while keeping close enough to support each other.
• At the Einzbern castle, Anno watched Emiya Kiritsugu play in the snow with Illyasviel and asked Irisviel what had turned Kiritsugu into the person he was.

Anno told Irisviel that his wish was for Britain to enjoy lasting peace and stability, while Ryuunosuke Uryuu accidentally began a Servant summoning while attempting to call a demon. The summoning circle lit up, and a small shadow appeared at its center.

• Anno refused to judge the king he had served and said Irisviel and Kiritsugu were noble for seeking peace through the Holy Grail.
• Anno told Irisviel that he wished for Britain to have lasting peace and stability.
• Ryuunosuke Uryuu drew a summoning circle with human blood in his apartment, intending to test a book on demon summoning.
• Ryuunosuke asked a tied-up child to let a summoned demon kill him, then his elbow struck a bookcase and his Command Spell appeared.
• The summoning circle lit up, and a small shadow appeared in its center.

Waver struggled to keep Iskandar focused on the Holy Grail War while preparing their base. Elsewhere, Sakumura searched the streets with Kirei and spotted a convention after recognizing a Tokimeki Memorial poster.

• Waver ordered Iskandar to respect their base and avoid endangering the elderly couple sheltering them.
• Iskandar ignored Waver's complaints, ate pancakes, and watched television while Waver resolved to set up their magical territory.
• Sakumura accepted a maid café flyer and asked Kirei whether he had found traces of magical energy, but Kirei reported nothing.
• Sakumura noticed a convention poster for Tokimeki Memorial and recalled his frustrating experiences playing the game.

After Berserker was summoned, Kirei Kotomine ordered Assassin to attack the Matou Family’s seaside villa and begin the Holy Grail War. Assassin unleashed a lightning Noble Phantasm on the villa, leaving the outcome of the strike unresolved.

• Sakumura returned with flyers, and Kirei Kotomine told him Berserker had been summoned and the Holy Grail War had officially begun.
• Kirei Kotomine ordered Assassin to attack the Caster group’s base on the western shore.
• At the Matou Family villa, Matou Kariya and Manlio discussed the familiars watching their base and prepared for the war.
• Kirei Kotomine ordered Sakumura to release his first Noble Phantasm against the villa.
• Sakumura invoked New Feather Wheel—Separate Wing, First Form and sent a massive pillar of lightning toward the villa.

Waver witnessed an attack on the Matou Family's base and identified the hidden assailant as a likely Japanese Servant wielding a katana. After the attacker struck again, Alexander revealed he had joined the assault to stir up the Holy Grail War, leaving Waver protesting as they rode away.

• Waver detected a Servant attack on the Matou Family's base and told Alexander that the hidden attacker had wielded a katana and seemed to cut down lightning.
• Alexander urged Waver to take action, while Matou Kariya and Manlio confirmed the first attacker had retreated and wondered who the Japanese Servant was.
• Manlio sensed another attack, and he and Matou Kariya reinforced the territory barrier as a thunderous blow struck it.
• The attacker vanished again after the second strike, leaving Matou Kariya and Manlio bewildered and expecting a sleepless night.
• Waver accused Alexander of attacking without permission, and Alexander explained that he wanted to intensify the confusion rather than merely watch from the shadows.

Sakumura chose to rescue Rei Ijuin in the game, intrigued by the young man’s hidden storyline, while Kirei arranged new familiars after the previous ones were destroyed. At the Tohsaka Residence, Gilgamesh warned Tohsaka Tokiomi not to disappoint him, and Tokiomi resolved to ask Kirei about the destroyed familiars while remaining confident in his plans for the Holy Grail War.

• Kirei told Sakumura that the familiars placed near the other factions had been destroyed, and Sakumura ordered him to place new ones farther away.
• Sakumura explained that Rei Ijuin was not his rival in love and chose to rescue him to uncover more of his storyline.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi learned that the familiars had been destroyed, and Gilgamesh mocked him for letting the situation slip beyond his control.
• Gilgamesh left to explore the era, warning Tohsaka Tokiomi to show him treasures worthy of his collection.
• Tohsaka Tokiomi decided to ask Kirei about the familiars and reassured himself that the Holy Grail War remained within his expectations.

Anno and Irisviel prepared to travel to Fuyuki after Kiritsugu left ahead of them, while Kariya and Manlio tried to identify the Servants who had attacked them. Ryuunosuke Uryuu’s demon-summoning ritual brought forth Ibaraki Douji, who reacted angrily when he mentioned Shuten Douji and invited her to inspire his killings.

• Anno noticed that Kiritsugu had secretly left for Fuyuki before Irisviel and him, and Irisviel suggested he had gone to make preparations.
• Kariya and Manlio discussed the night’s two attacks and guessed that a Japanese Saber who cut lightning and a Rider associated with a cow or ox cart had attacked them.
• Ryuunosuke Uryuu complained that the demon he had summoned was killing without eating its victims.
• Ibaraki Douji revealed herself as the summoned oni and demanded to know what Ryuunosuke meant by Shuten Douji.
• Ryuunosuke asked Ibaraki Douji for inspiration for more interesting killings, and she threatened to eat him.