While Roland was distracted, Kiritsugu Emiya barged through the door, swiftly stripped off his trench coat, wrapped a grenade with its pin pulled inside it, and hurled it into the air.
Roland's gaze paused briefly, and he took a few steps back. In an instant, a pebble appeared in Killer Queen's hand, ready to strike the airborne grenade.
At close range, his Stand's capabilities allowed it to hit wherever he aimed.
Then the bomb's trigger was swiftly pressed.
The prematurely detonated grenade wreaked horrific destruction in the cramped room, but that was exactly what Kiritsugu Emiya wanted.
Hidden behind the door on the other side, he tightly gripped the weapon he had just drawn from his trench coat.
It was a remarkably simple-looking firearm made of walnut, resembling a gunpowder weapon from the late Middle Ages.
The gun was essentially a single-shot rifle, with a capacity of just one round. To maximize its power, Kiritsugu Emiya had modified it to withstand sniper rifle ammunition, its tremendous firepower fully embodying the principle of a one-shot kill.
Ordinary physical defenses could not withstand such a weapon, and if his opponent increased their magical energy output and committed fully to a defensive spell, that would play right into Kiritsugu Emiya's hands.
The reason this gun served as Kiritsugu Emiya's trump card had never been the firearm itself, but its bullets.
An Origin was something engraved deep within a person, defining the very foundation of their existence.
Origins were not exclusive to magi. They were an innate orientation possessed by all beings, including ordinary people. Awakening an Origin was also the easiest way for an ordinary person to acquire supernatural powers, but even without awakening it, people generally developed related traits in their personalities and inclinations without realizing it.
For example, Shirou Emiya's Origin was "Sword." Though he had little aptitude for ordinary magecraft, it also allowed him to manifest the Reality Marble known as Unlimited Blade Works.
Although Kiritsugu Emiya had not awakened his Origin, he had acquired a way to use it through special means.
He suddenly sprang up, raising the black muzzle toward Roland, who stood beside Killer Queen.
"-It's over."
Kiritsugu Emiya coldly pulled the trigger. Everything had gone as he expected. Faced with the earlier barrage and explosion, this mysterious magus had been forced to commit that unusual guardian spirit fully to his defense.
At that moment, even if the Origin Bullet failed to hit the man himself, the connection through magical energy would allow Kiritsugu's Origin to manifest within his opponent.
Severing and binding.
That was where the name Kiritsugu came from. Anything touched by this Origin would be destroyed, then bound back together without any order.
The struck area would undergo immediate necrosis, and magi suffered even worse. For Magic Circuits as intricate as circuit boards, the consequences would leave the victim completely crippled, with blood vessels and nerves joined together at random.
The more accomplished the magus, the worse their fate.
So far, thirty-seven magi had died to it. This time would be no exception...
"What the hell was that?"
Killer Queen casually knocked the incoming Origin Bullet away. Apparently noticing that the impact felt different, Roland looked at Kiritsugu Emiya in confusion.
"That's your trump card?"
"How is that possible?"
Kiritsugu Emiya's expression froze. He immediately grasped the meaning hidden in Maiya's earlier words.
Kiritsugu understood his own trump card. Origin Bullets were a lethal counter to magi, but conversely, if the target was not a magus, they were merely somewhat unusual bullets.
A deathly silence fell. Kiritsugu Emiya realized he had made a terrible mistake.
"You really are just someone who got lucky?"
"Can't deny that, can I? I really am lucky."
Roland turned his hand over, looking at the mark along its outer edge that resembled an old wound, and frowned in distress.
His Stand had faithfully reproduced the injury caused by the Origin Bullet on his own hand. Though the mark was small, that hand was temporarily out of commission.
Fortunately, he had already found a replacement.
"Looking at it that way, having an external source of magical energy has its advantages."
"You bastard... did you steal someone else's Command Spells?"
Kiritsugu Emiya's face turned ashen, his hand trembling incessantly. He felt as though he had uncovered the truth lurking behind the abyss.
One Master had already died, and the wandering Servant had then found a new Master and transplanted the Command Spells onto him.
In that case, the two serial murder cases he had seen before coming to Fuyuki City were probably the result of this pair indiscriminately targeting ordinary people to obtain magical energy.
"I absolutely cannot let you go."
This pair had no restraint whatsoever. They probably did not even care about the Holy Grail War, merely treating the city as their hunting ground.
If they were allowed to continue, they might cause even greater destruction before obtaining the Holy Grail. An unshakable light shone in Kiritsugu Emiya's eyes, signaling his resolve.
Even if I have to waste a Command Spell...
"Let me go? Looks like you still don't understand the situation, Kiritsugu Emiya."
As though he had heard something amusing, Roland slowly walked toward Kiritsugu Emiya. "You think Killer Queen alone can't reach you immediately, right? Then what if I have two Stands?"
"Look over here!"
The familiar voice rang out behind Kiritsugu Emiya. At some point, the little vehicle, as relentless as a haunting demon, had appeared behind him and was slowly driving toward him.
"I called Sheer Heart Attack back as soon as you arrived. So, what are you going to do now?"
Roland stood in front of him, and the little vehicle was behind him.
For a moment, Kiritsugu Emiya could neither advance nor retreat. His heart pounded violently, and the red glow of the Command Spells on his hand grew ever brighter.
But, as though deliberately toying with Kiritsugu's nerves, Roland suddenly stopped and gave him a warm smile.
"Is wasting a Command Spell here to trade pieces with me really worth it?"
"Of course not. But I don't believe you'll simply let me leave."
His answer was brief and clear. Kiritsugu Emiya had broken his own promises countless times in the past, so naturally, he would not trust his opponent's mercy.
"You really are judging me by your own standards, Magus Killer. Honesty and keeping my word are my greatest virtues. Of course, letting you go just like that when I have the upper hand would leave a bad taste in my mouth, too. So, care to make a deal?"
"That person called Maiya told me your Holy Relic is King Arthur's scabbard, right? It's also why you regained your ability to fight after Sheer Heart Attack's explosion, isn't it? Give it to me, and I'll let you leave."
Listening to Roland's low yet uncompromising tone, Kiritsugu Emiya had no doubt that, now things had reached this point, the slightest sign of refusal would make his opponent summon his Heroic Spirit at the same time as him and use every means available to kill him.
Because he would do the same.
Was trading a Holy Relic for a Command Spell worth it?
"I don't trust you."
"But you don't have a choice anymore, do you? Even if I break my word, all you'll lose is one expendable Holy Relic."
That honest answer made Kiritsugu Emiya lower his head. Command Spells were tools that directly affected his strategy's chances of success, whereas Avalon was merely a Holy Relic with healing and anti-aging effects. Irisviel's magecraft was sufficient to replace it.
If he agreed, he might resolve tonight's trouble and minimize his losses. If he refused, given his opponent's resolve and abilities, regardless of whether Saber could kill Roland after arriving, he himself would certainly die.
Kiritsugu Emiya instinctively felt his trouser pocket, intending to take out a cigarette, but then realized that the person who bought his cigarettes was already gone.
Without another word, he took the golden, enameled scabbard from inside his clothes and tossed it to the other side.
After doing so, he gave a bitter smile. This mysterious enemy was right. At this point, he no longer had any choice.
But before the end, there was one answer he had to know.
"Seventh Master, what is your name?"
"Roland. Just call me Roland."
With light steps, Roland carefully lifted Avalon, as though he were cradling the entire world.
In his eyes, the scabbard shimmered with a crimson light as thick and saturated as blood.
"Contract Spirit: Soul of the Holy Lord, recovered."