[117] Kotomine Kirei
"What... What should I do?"
The sky was gradually darkening.
Rito Ishizaki was still conflicted. He gritted his teeth, looking at the camera in front of him...
Should he spread this information? Or should he act like nothing happened?
He didn't know what to do... Two voices were constantly speaking to him in his mind.
One said, "Spread it, or else can you face your deceased friend?"
The other one said, "His death was entirely his own doing. You don't have to drag yourself into it. Live on, not just for yourself, but also think of your family."
"What... What should I do?"
...
After Matou Kariya left, Matou Zouken slowly made his way back to the location of the Holy Grail.
Berserker remained in spirit form, following him.
Now... Fate/stay night hadn't concluded its serialization yet; it was still ongoing, deliberately slowed down by JUMP to maintain the hype.
However, through all this, Matou Zouken gradually remembered his original purpose. But, it was only to this extent...
His heart had already decayed, and mere words couldn't wake him up.
However... there was one thing.
He wasn't planning to leave Fuyuki City.
He had lost everything and staked his final hopes on this Holy Grail War.
The Mage's Association was also after him. Although, contrary to what Tohsaka Tokiomi thought, he did have some roots within the Association. But it had been a long time since he had any contact with them. He didn't know if they were alive or dead.
...
Kiritsugu was in a room in a bustling district of Fuyuki City, quite close to the anime convention being held in the city.
This was the best place to hide, relatively safe compared to Einsbern Castle and other places.
He slightly changed his appearance, distancing himself from his former self.
If anyone saw him like this in the current situation, they would probably think, "This person cosplaying as Emiya Kiritsugu looks so realistic..."
After all, there were hundreds of Emiya Kiritsugu here, some of them even looking like him in demeanor, temperament, and attire.
Well... professional cosplayers.
There was no safer place than this.
Here, he could think about how to dismantle the Holy Grail without worries.
On the other hand, the purpose of summoning Archer was not for combat but for observation.
Observing the actions and abilities of other Servants... When it was time to hinder him from dismantling the Holy Grail, as indicated by his plan, he would act.
Regardless of whether he could win, the Reality Marble had the ability to effectively delay time.
And then, at this moment, he would dismantle the Holy Grail, that was his plan.
In the end, if a victor truly emerged... According to the current situation, when there were only two Servants left, the Holy Grail would appear.
At that moment, he would temporarily give up dismantling the Holy Grail and...
Defeat them!
He couldn't let those people obtain the Holy Grail!
There was no need for a battle before that.
"What's wrong, Archer?" Listening to the sudden contact, Kiritsugu, who was combining his memories from the day, asked.
"Um... a new battle has emerged. This time, it should be a battle between Caster and Assassin."
"Should? Not sure? Well, whether it's Caster or Assassin... they're both Servants with undisclosed true names. Keep a close watch."
"Ah... although I'd like to say it's not a problem, it might not be possible now."
"What's wrong?"
Archer, the Heroic Spirit, put down his bow and said, "The fog is too thick. It's reached the point of obscuring my vision."
Fast forward a bit...
Kazuya hadn't stopped searching for the Servant, or rather, for Kotomine Kirei.
His Command Spells could be said to be his most important target.
After the battle at Ryuudou Temple, Kazuya came to the place he had lost Assassin earlier. He found the tallest building nearby and, after reaching the top, used his paper and pen. Kazuya's eyes turned into hawk eyes.
While monitoring the surroundings to see if he could spot Assassin and Kotomine Kirei, Kazuya drew the insights from his previous battle.
Time slowly passed like this—
Then...
He saw, in the distance... a person slowly walking.
Although not wearing the attire of a priest, that expressionless face and the faint fluctuation of an Heroic Spirit around him could be easily judged—who that person was. It was Kotomine Kirei!
"Finally found him." Kazuya had some emotions. Although he could try to kidnap Pastor Kotomine Risei to force Kotomine Kirei to come out, he thought about it and realized the chances of success weren't high. After all, that guy is a "joyful" priest.
Thinking like this, Kazuya reached to the side, and using alchemy from the Fullmetal Alchemist world, combined with the alchemy naturally present in this world, even the process of clapping could be omitted now.
He directly used alchemy to dig a small hole, put his paper and pen in it, and sealed it up with alchemy.
"Hmm... I'll deal with these things when I get back. For now, let's get the Command Spells—"
In the next moment, Kazuya rushed downstairs, got on the motorcycle placed there, and zoomed off. After all, he couldn't phase through obstacles like a spiritual body, so he skipped the part about traveling directly.
"Master." Assassin said, "They're coming over. A familiar presence. It should be Caster..."
"Caster..." Kotomine Kirei said, looking at the Command Spells on his arm. He covered them with a spell, and normal people wouldn't be able to see them. However, he was not dealing with normal people. For a magus, seeing the truth under the spells was simple. Furthermore, that person was a Heroic Spirit. "It seems Caster's target is indeed the Command Spells on my hand. With this, things are becoming clear."
Caster's combat strength displayed in the battle with Assassin, Saber, and Rider was entirely different.
Now, it was likely that the battle with Assassin was his true strength, and he summoned stronger existences using some spells afterward... using this to fight.
However, this summoning consumed a lot of magical energy. The magical energy of just the Servant and his Master was far from enough. Also, judging from the fact that he didn't kill his own father, Kotomine Risei it seemed that he belonged to the "good" camp of Heroic Spirits and wouldn't target ordinary people. In other words... the magical energy of the Command Spells was the best choice!
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