[110] Encounter
"What is this...?!"
Kazuya, who was drawing manga, suddenly stood up and looked in the direction of Ryuudou Temple. "The magical energy fluctuations of Heroic Spirits? Does that mean there's a battle happening at the location of the Holy Grail? This is... not good!"
What made him uneasy wasn't the possibility of the Holy Grail being destroyed, but the fact that he couldn't witness the battle himself.
For him, this was quite frustrating. He didn't have a specific wish he wanted to fulfill in this Holy Grail War, but if there was something he wanted to do...
It was to face and fight every Heroic Spirit.
To witness the battle scenes of each Heroic Spirit with his own eyes!
That's what he wanted. But now, a battle was happening at the location of the Holy Grail, and he couldn't see it.
It was too far away, and it was likely underground. Even if he found a high point and used his hawk eyes, it wouldn't be enough...
Perhaps... he needed to rush over immediately for even a slight chance—
"I need to get there quickly! Damn it... if only I could materialize as a spirit." Kazuya muttered as he rushed out.
Indeed, Kazuya couldn't materialize as a spirit. After all, the physical bodies of Ultimate Life Form were also imperfect, meaning they couldn't transform into birds and fly directly.
He would have to drive there directly.
He had a car prepared downstairs here.
He bought or rather stole this car after transforming into his current appearance. He just threw money and got the car.
That was the process.
Even the place where he currently lived was vacated by the previous owner. He gave them a bunch of money and used a bit of hypnotism to make them leave for a trip. After all, if his location were somehow traced back to his true identity, it would be problematic. Some concealment was necessary.
...
Boom—
"This is... a Reality Marble!"
Matou Zouken, looking at the current situation, had an even darker expression. "I see, so this is the plan they had in mind... Go, kill him, Berserker!"
"Roar—"
Berserker roared and charged towards Archer.
"Hmph—" EMIYA, clad in red, smiled slightly. Countless swords shot up into the sky. While blocking Berserker's path, they flew towards Matou Zouken!
"Die, you old bug!" EMIYA shouted. If it were Illyasviel in that position, he wouldn't have acted even if Berserker's only weakness was there. But now—standing there was that old bug!
Killing that old bug was a walk in the park for him. No, quite the opposite. He would feel very satisfied—
Since that's the case, how could he let go of Berserker's weakness?
Let's kill that old bug, who goes by the name Matou Zouken!
"Damn you, Faker!" Matou Zouken's face turned unpleasant.
"Hmph, your Matou residence has already been burnt down, hasn't it? There's nothing left, and I'm not sure if your Crest Worms are even here, but if I destroy your current flesh, you won't be able to move for a long time. At least until the end of the Holy Grail War, you won't be able to do anything! Matou Zouken!"
"Come protect me, Berserker!" Matou Zouken shouted. Berserker, who had been charging forward, paused for a moment, and after a second of silence, he went to protect Matou Zouken.
However...
EMIYA, clad in red, smiled.
This was already enough.
He only needed to project lower-ranked Noble Phantasms. This way, his Reality Marble could last a bit longer.
...
"Indeed, it's been contaminated, Holy Grail..."
Kiritsugu, looking at the vast cavern in front of him, let out a sigh and began to carefully examine his surroundings.
Although he wasn't sure if directly blowing this place up would work...
But as a precaution, he had to think of other methods. He needed to find the focal point or node. If that didn't work, he would have Archer use his Noble Phantasm to blow it up.
No, as a precaution... in case the Black Mud contaminated Archer.
Let's just blow this place up with explosives!
Even though he wasn't sure of the chances of success, if he failed, the Black Mud inside might overflow. Although the quantity wasn't significant, it could still cause significant damage to the area around Ryuudou Temple...
But as long as the monks of Ryuudou Temple were evacuated, it should be fine. After all, it was said that Ryuudou Temple was now owned by Kurokawa Kazuya. He had bought it. For now, he had the original monks take care of it. Well... that guy was quite rich.
"It's about time..." Kiritsugu began to retrace his steps toward the entrance...
Archer was nearing his limit, and the magical energy fluctuations here should have already attracted the other Servants.
This time, he didn't bring Maiya and Irisviel with him. Only he and Archer came to this side of Fuyuki City. So, even if it was for Illyasviel, he had to destroy the Holy Grail this time!
"Archer, it's about time." After leaving the large cavern, Kiritsugu communicated with his Servant.
"Understood, Master..." The red-clad Heroic Spirit inside the reality marble looked at the two of them and smiled faintly. "You really lived up to expectations, Berserker was killed three times while fully protecting you." Of course, this was because he didn't attack with full force.
After all, his goal was to extend the duration of the reality marble, so he naturally had to save his magical energy. He projected lower-ranked Noble Phantasms that could still inflict damage on Matou Zouken, and occasionally had Berserker attack. This way, it was enough.
Even so, the reality marble still had to withstand external pressure.
Even if Kiritsugu didn't tell him, he would have to release it after about a minute, but now, it was just right.
Displaying that he seemed to be at ease with the situation even without him needing to take action in battle could also make Matou Zouken wary. Otherwise, if Berserker came up and attacked directly, he would be in a difficult situation.
"Well then, let's end this, Matou Zouken." The red Heroic Spirit said and dispelled the reality marble.
"What's this? Are you running away?" After returning to this familiar place, Matou Zouken sighed in relief and said, "Your time limit should be almost up, and the reality marble can only exist for a limited time."
"Who knows, or do you want to try? Do you want to see if I can use the reality marble one more time?" Saying that, he directly dematerialized.
Matou Zouken watched with trepidation as the red Archer disappeared and then smiled, "Heh heh heh, young people nowadays... can't be underestimated."
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