Mysterious Attack

"Understood, Royal Sister. I know. Please rest assured, I will not tarnish the reputation of the Pendragon Family, nor will I affect the relationship between the Flame Kingdom and the Pendragon Family. I will work hard, please don't worry."

Hanging up the phone, Artoria let out a breath. That call had been from her Royal Sister, Morgan le Fay.

It wasn't a reprimand, but rather words of comfort and guidance, telling her how to handle the situation.

The two shared an excellent relationship, and Morgan le Fay was the second in line to the imperial throne—far superior to her own position, which was well beyond the top ten.

She held her Royal Sister in high regard.

Because of this, the call left her feeling deeply guilty, as she realized she had caused trouble for her sister, who had even indicated she would fly to Yingzhou tomorrow.

I really am... I haven't made any progress at all...

Artoria hung her head, her mood plummeting so low that even her ahoge lost its spirit.

Yet, amidst her dejection, the young girl felt a surge of longing—a longing directed at that young knight king seen within the light screen projection.

If... if I truly possessed the same power as her, perhaps I would be able to protect my country and my people...

"Come, Emiya Kiritsugu, this is something I cooked for you myself. You must be a good boy and eat every last bit, okay? After all, I worked so hard on this, and it's filled with all my love for you, Emiya Kiritsugu."

In another room, at the dining table, Emiya Kiritsugu sat expressionless, cold sweat streaming down his face as he stared at the indescribable dark cuisine before him. He felt the hand holding his chopsticks trembling slightly.

He looked up to see a beautiful, beaming face turned toward him.

That smile was truly beautiful—fair skin, silver hair, wine-red eyes. Everything was concentrated in this beautiful lady, who was also the wife of Emiya Kiritsugu.

However, on the sofa nearby, Emiya Shirou and Illya, brother and sister, had instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to look at their mother. The two little ones sat shivering in place, feeling that their mother was truly terrifying right now.

But there was no help for it. Father, who told you to cheat? Even if it was just conceptual cheating within the light screen projection, it was still cheating. So, if someone had to suffer, why shouldn't it be you, the father who made the mistake?

The mindset of a devoted son and a devoted daughter was just that simple, unadorned, and dull.

"I never imagined that in some possibility, you would actually be my disciple, Father Kotomine."

In the dining room shared by special guests, Tohsaka Tokiomi looked at Kotomine Kirei across from him and spoke slowly.

Kotomine Kirei set down his spoon and wiped his mouth, his posture calm and composed, showing great refinement.

If not for the empty plate stained with chili oil and tofu residue, which indicated he had just finished a dish of super-spicy Mapo Tofu, one might have thought he was eating a Western meal.

To be honest, Tohsaka Tokiomi felt his facial muscles twitching, but his excellent upbringing kept him composed.

Then, he heard Kotomine Kirei say, "Indeed, I was also quite surprised. Mr. Tohsaka, then, in your opinion, is that video projection real?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi pondered for a moment before nodding. In this world devoid of extraordinary power, he had poured all his talent into modern scholarship, holding a master's degree in Financial Management from Yingzhou University. Thus, he was well-versed in certain scientific hypotheses.

"Parallel worlds, historical revision, memory rewriting—any number of incredible things could cause the story revealed in that light screen projection to be forgotten by the world—including us."

"Although I am not an expert in this field, I have learned a little. From the perspective of quantum mechanics, modifying reality is not an impossibility."

Kotomine Kirei fell silent for a moment. "Indeed, from the perspective of quantum mechanics, modifying reality is a matter of course. But is there truly anyone in this world capable of such a feat?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi shook his head. "I am not sure, but the arrival of the Anomalies has already challenged the worldview we once believed in. If more incredible things appear, it is not entirely unacceptable."

"The key is, why would that light screen projection expose these vanished histories? Merely to let the world know? It is truly difficult to understand."

Kotomine Kirei closed his eyes, raised his right hand, and picked up the cross at his chest, revealing a devout expression. "Everything is the arrangement of the Lord. The great Lord is not something mortals can understand. To speculate on the Lord's will with mortal thoughts is the greatest disrespect and ignorance."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Are you saying this was arranged by the Lord you worship?"

Kotomine Kirei: "..."

There was no answer, but that devout posture said everything.

Tohsaka Tokiomi nodded. He knew there was no point in discussing this with the other man. He was an atheist, while Kotomine Kirei was a devout believer of the Church; their thought patterns were fundamentally different.

However, this also made Tohsaka Tokiomi realize that using his own logic to speculate on the intentions of the existence that released the light screen projection was indeed too arrogant.

Perhaps, just as the text displayed at the beginning of the light screen projection suggested, it was done simply to unearth this buried history.

Although it was hard to grasp, just as humanity could not understand the Anomalies, in this world that was gradually collapsing, any incomprehensible person or event had become a matter of course.

And just as Tohsaka Tokiomi was lost in thought, the lights suddenly went out.

Immediately following, a bone-chilling cold and an instinctive sense of dread surged into his heart, causing Tohsaka Tokiomi's expression to change drastically.

Because all these reactions signaled one thing.

An Anomaly attack!

Anomalies: enemies of humanity, predators of life, creations of chaos and madness.

Humanity cannot understand Anomalies because anomalous phenomena cannot be explained by science.

Anomalies are like a mad mockery of the worldview humanity perceives; they subvert the scientific common sense understood by humans and operate according to their own unique rules.

One of these rules is the cluster effect known as the Anomaly Effect.

Its characteristic is that in areas shrouded by anomalous phenomena, modern lighting tools like electric lamps will extinguish without any logical reason.

It is not a short circuit in the wiring, nor is the lamp broken; it simply goes out inexplicably, only to return to normal once the Anomaly leaves or vanishes.

In addition, all humans in areas shrouded by anomalous phenomena feel a bone-chilling cold and instinctive, intense fear, and naturally understand that they have been targeted by the anomalies.

Incomprehensible, without understanding the reason, it's like encountering an ancestral enemy etched into their genes, or as if the anomalous phenomena are deliberately reminding humans that they have arrived and humans should fall into fear and despair.

This is precisely what is happening now; Tohsaka Tokiomi feels it, and Kotomine Kirei also feels it.

Tohsaka Tokiomi subconsciously pulls out his phone and quickly taps the screen, but he doesn't try to turn on the phone's built-in flashlight, as it definitely won't work.

This is what anomalous phenomena bring that science cannot comprehend: devices that can provide reliable light sources all fail, and only those with unstable and insufficient light sources, like a phone screen, are useful.

After pulling out his phone, Kotomine Kirei tries to turn on the flashlight, and as expected, fails. He can only use the faint light of his phone screen for illumination.

At the same time, a piercing alarm sounds.

"Warning, anomalous entity intrusion detected! Warning, anomalous entity intrusion detected! All units, evacuate immediately! If you encounter anomalous phenomena, follow safety protocols!"

"Warning, encountering... beep~"

The alarm cuts off abruptly, without any warning, leaving only a faint busy signal and static in the air, further intensifying the fear in everyone's hearts.

However, no one dares to shout, because when encountering an anomalous entity attack, shouting only drastically increases the possibility of being attacked, which is pure suicide; silence is the correct choice.

Just then, two staff members from the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office arrive. They are already sweating profusely but maintain their professionalism, saying, "Gentlemen, please follow us. We will escort you to emergency shelter!"

Tohsaka Tokiomi is extremely anxious, but being well-educated, he calmly asks, "Where are my wife and daughter?"

Staff member: "Please rest assured, staff are looking for them. All key personnel involved in the light screen incidents will be prioritized for evacuation and shelter!"

Hearing this, Tohsaka Tokiomi breathes a sigh of relief. He doesn't say anything foolish like wanting to see his wife and daughter immediately, knowing that would only put them all in danger. For now, he will follow the arrangements of the professionals.

As it turns out, Tohsaka Tokiomi was right, because the professionals from the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office immediately summoned all personnel related to the light screen projections for evacuation.

Simultaneously, the elite combat team is already in full gear and in action.

Despite the sudden anomalous entity attack, the countermeasures office does not descend into chaos.

However, the situation is too sudden, leaving everyone feeling bewildered.

Murata Himeko, the director and highest-ranking official of the countermeasures office, frowns and asks her subordinate, "What exactly is going on? Why are we suddenly under attack by anomalous entities?"

A staff member who looks like an assistant glances at the special tablet in his hand, which displays real-time data. Seeing the data, his expression turns grim.

Then, he says to Murata Himeko, "Director, according to the data, this anomalous disaster is not newly formed. It's one we've encountered before. Analyzing it, this should be a Level Four disaster: the Songstress."

Murata Himeko's face instantly pales, and her body trembles violently.

Currently, all countries have their own standards for classifying anomalous entities. Yingzhou, following Flame Kingdom, divides anomalous disasters into seven levels.

Flame Kingdom's approach to such disasters is always straightforward and unpretentious, without any cool codenames, just a seven-level classification.

Level One is low-hazard, which may cause casualties among ordinary people, but the number is usually small, only one to a few.

Level Two is hazardous, capable of causing dozens to hundreds of casualties, posing a significant threat to people's lives and property.

Level Three is high-hazard, capable of directly causing the destruction of a region.

Level Four is city-destroying, capable of destroying an entire city.

Level Five is terrifying, capable of destroying multiple cities and causing millions of deaths.

Level Six is nation-destroying, capable of destroying small to medium-sized countries.

Level Seven is civilization-collapse, which, if it occurs, could lead to the destruction of large countries like Flame Kingdom and even the entire human civilization on Earth.

It's simple and easy to understand, allowing one to clearly grasp the danger level of an anomalous disaster at a glance.

But precisely because it's simple and easy to understand, it instills fear and dread.

The anomalous entity codenamed Songstress is a Level Four disaster, and it has appeared long ago, with its active area being the Yingzhou region.

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