Discussion

Yu Feng cleared his throat. "This Holy Grail War is different from the previous ones as well. Classes that should have had only one representative have several this time."

"Likewise, aside from our faction, there aren't many Servants left. There's No Second Strike, Li Shuwen, a Berserker-class Servant. I believe everyone knows him fairly well, so I won't say much more. There's Cú Chulainn, the Celtic hero. Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes from ancient Mesopotamia. And a Caster who has yet to show himself. Other than Caster, whose identity remains unknown, I believe everyone already knows the identities of all the Servants in this Holy Grail War."

Artoria nodded slightly, a grave look flashing across her face as she was the first to speak about Gilgamesh. "Gilgamesh will be difficult to deal with. His Gate of Babylon is filled with Noble Phantasms. Normally, a Servant is already fortunate to possess several Noble Phantasms, but he has nearly countless ones."

Shirou, who had been leaning against the doorframe without speaking, suddenly opened his mouth. He glanced at Yu Feng and said, "I can hold back Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, though not for long."

Yu Feng glanced at Shirou. Indeed, Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works could hold back Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.

Of course, that was assuming Gilgamesh did not get serious. If he pulled out divine artifacts like Heggnir's Sword from his treasury or directly unleashed his Noble Phantasms, then Shirou would have no problem holding Gilgamesh back.

But Gilgamesh had not gotten serious many times during this Holy Grail War, either.

If he truly wanted to get serious, he would have long since taken out all the divine artifacts in his treasury. He might even pull out the Holy Grail itself and make some wish like ending the Holy Grail War outright.

Since Shirou had said that he could hold back Gilgamesh, Artoria had no objections.

Artoria said, "As for that Berserker, Li Shuwen, I can suppress him. One of his abilities is countered by mine, so there's no need to worry about him for now."

Indeed, Li Shuwen's Circle Realm was countered by Artoria's Instinct. Li Shuwen's Circle Realm could conceal all traces of his presence.

Artoria's Instinct, meanwhile, allowed her to predict her opponent's movements, or briefly glimpse fragments of the future. Suppressing Li Shuwen would not be much of a problem.

As for Cú Chulainn, there was no need to mention his strength... Anyone here could deal with him.

Uncle B, wouldn't you agree?

Little Mo, right?

"In this Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine's goal is not the Holy Grail. He definitely has something else in mind. He does not want to obtain the Holy Grail, but has some other purpose. Though for now, I still don't really understand what they're after," Yu Feng said slowly.

Little Mo clicked her tongue. She had always stayed far away from things that required too much thinking.

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Rather than waiting around here, why not take the initiative and strike first!"

Bazett, who had remained silent at the side, suddenly spoke.

Yu Feng gave Bazett another look. Clearly, she still harbored resentment over losing her arm. It made sense—Bazett and Kirei Kotomine had once faced life and death together, only for Kirei Kotomine to backstab her without hesitation. No wonder she said something like that.

Rin Tohsaka also agreed with Bazett at this moment. "Bazett is right, but we still need to figure out how to deal with them."

It seemed that Rin Tohsaka had begun to suspect something about Kirei Kotomine. Otherwise, she would not have said such a thing.

"Then..."

Before Yu Feng could finish, Medusa suddenly interrupted him.

Medusa spoke up abruptly. "I will not interfere in the battle between you."

This seemed to be a decision Medusa had made only after careful consideration. Otherwise, she could have simply stated from the start that she would not get involved.

Sakura Matou froze beside her, then looked at Medusa with an anxious expression. "Rider!"

Yu Feng looked at Medusa, thought for a moment, and smoothed things over for her. "Sakura, it's fine. Rider probably has other plans. There's no need to force her."

Hearing that, Sakura Matou looked at Medusa. Medusa gently shook her head at Sakura. Sakura's lips moved, but in the end, she gave up on trying to persuade Medusa.

"Then once we've figured out their strength, we'll take the initiative and attack. It's settled!"

After deciding what to do next in the Holy Grail War, everyone returned to their respective rooms.

Naturally, the rooms had been personally arranged by Rin Tohsaka.

In her room, Rin Tohsaka stared at the ceiling before softly murmuring, "Kirei Kotomine..."

"Could it be... you?"

With that, she fell into a deep sleep. Beside her, Shirou also emerged from spirit form. He looked at Rin Tohsaka's sleeping face, then at the bright moonlight beyond the curtains.

"This Holy Grail War will end with Yu's victory."

A thoughtful look flashed through Shirou's eyes.

"Then the reason I was summoned here was not for the Holy Grail, but for that guy."

"As for him, should I..."

"Hmph, Yu, if you hadn't summoned me before, I wouldn't be hesitating like this now. Then, Shirou Emiya, let me see your resolve!"

Meanwhile, in Yu Feng's room.

Yu Feng looked at the ceiling and suddenly spoke.

"Little Mo."

Little Mo appeared at his side and looked at Yu Feng irritably. "What is it? Honestly, whenever you call me, I have to appear. Why do I feel like I'm your servant?"

Yu Feng couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is that so? Then just treat him like a servant."

"You saw what happened just now too, right? Emiya—no, that Archer guy."

A look of confusion appeared on Little Mo's face. "Huh? That guy? What about him?"

Yu Feng thought for a moment. "No, it's nothing."

"Kirei Kotomine, Zouken Matou... what exactly are you planning?"

With doubts about the two of them lingering in his mind, Yu Feng gradually fell asleep.

Late at night, at Ryuudou Temple, the clouds parted to reveal the moon. Moonlight spilled over the temple.

At the main gate at the foot of Ryuudou Temple's mountain stood a man dressed in old-fashioned Japanese clothing. He had dark blue hair tied in a ponytail and held a long sword that looked like a clothesline pole.

As if sensing something, he looked toward Ryuudou Temple.

"Honestly, what are these guys even doing? This disgusting presence..."

A helpless expression appeared on his face.

"This Holy Grail War is strange too. It's one thing for two Assassins to appear, but they can even turn an Assassin into a Berserker."

"Forget it. It has nothing to do with me. I'm just a gatekeeper."

As he spoke, the man sat down on one of the steps of the long staircase.

"Come to think of it, I really want to try some of the food from this era."

Inside Ryuudou Temple.

Kirei Kotomine looked at Li Shuwen, who was immersed in Black Mud with a face full of agony. A flicker of delight passed through his expression.

"Well, King of Heroes? How are they doing?"

"Hmph, Kirei. If you ever make me retreat at a Crucial Moment again, you won't be standing here unscathed."

"As for the ones you mentioned, don't you know perfectly well yourself? Why ask me? Or did the Black Mud fry your brain ten years ago too?"

Gilgamesh had changed into casual clothes. He held a wineglass filled with scarlet liquid.

Gilgamesh gently swirled the wineglass and shot Kirei Kotomine a cold glance.

"But one thing is worth mentioning: with just you people, it's impossible to defeat those lot. Their strength is not something this black mud mongrel can compare to."

Gilgamesh glanced at Li Shuwen, disdain flashing through his scarlet eyes.

"Heh, of course he can't compare to them. Of course." Kirei Kotomine stared at Li Shuwen, apparently lost in thought.

"Hmph." Gilgamesh snorted and glanced at Kirei Kotomine.

"Mongrel." With that, Gilgamesh tossed the wineglass into the Black Mud and left.

After Gilgamesh departed, Kirei Kotomine fell silent.

"Is it really alright to let that King of Heroes stay here?"

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was none other than Zouken Matou.

Zouken Matou looked at Kirei Kotomine and asked.

"No. Soon enough, he'll become just like this one. He will no longer be the King of Heroes we know. I just wonder what his expression will look like then." At the thought of Gilgamesh's expression at that time, a pleased smile rose uncontrollably onto Kirei Kotomine's lips.

Kirei Kotomine looked at Li Shuwen in the Black Mud and gave a soft chuckle.

Zouken Matou let out a sinister laugh. "True enough. But before that, we need to clear out a few little bugs."

At those words, the scarlet Command Spells on Kirei Kotomine's hand flashed. "You needn't trouble yourself with that. With these Command Spells, he won't get very far."