Across the heavens, I am the Avatar Sword Master

A silver-white Mercedes-Benz 300SL was parked near the church.

This was originally a vehicle that Kiritsugu Emiya prepared specifically for Irisviel and Saber so that they would have a means of transportation after entering Fuyuki City. Now that Irisviel has disappeared, it has become Kiritsugu Emiya's temporary vehicle.

After turning off the engine, Emiya Kiritsugu sat in the driver's seat, took out the cigarettes he bought from the vending machine, opened the cigarette box, and the white smoke made him feel dazed.

His eyes were dim and empty, as if through the white smoke one could see that he was looking for something he had lost.

With trembling hands, he took out a lighter from his pocket and pressed it several times before a faint flame flickered in the night breeze.

He put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it with fire, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a thin puff of smoke.

He pulled out a portable signal receiver from the passenger seat and stared at the flat information on the instrument's display screen in a daze.

His face was pale and haggard, on the one hand because the continuous use of [Inherent Time Control] had put a great deal of strain on his body and he still hadn't recovered yet, and on the other hand because of the loss of Irisviel and Maiya.

Kiritsugu Emiya leaned against the tree trunk, his body trembling slightly, his mind and body enduring great pain.

He knew that he couldn't let his mind wander now, so he closed his eyes tightly, trying to suppress the pain in his heart, but he couldn't get rid of the strong feeling of sadness and loss.

My thoughts were tangled like a tangled mess, my brain was in a mess, my heart was filled with uneasiness, and I was staring at the church in Fuyuki City in the dark night in a daze.

Even if he could have dealt with Lancer's Master, wouldn't he still end up "carelessly losing the battle" and "losing both the lady and the soldiers"?

The messy traces left in the forest, the broken trees, and the blood on the ground all told me that Irisviel and Maiya had encountered an accident.

Pain, self-blame...

When Emiya Kiritsugu thought of the consequences, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Fortunately, Emiya Kiritsugu still found some clear and directional traces on the battlefield.

It was a strange weapon, and its appearance was shaped like a cross.

Kiritsugu Emiya was familiar with this weapon; it was the equipment used by the Holy Church to exorcise demons. When traveling, one only needed to carry the hilt of the sword. The blade was generated by magic power and was suitable for use as a throwing weapon. It focused on interference with spirits and was weak in physical attacks.

"Kotomine Kirei..."

Kiritsugu Emiya's fingers kept shaking, and the cigarette burned rapidly at his fingertips. He didn't come to his senses until his fingers were burned by the burning cigarette butt. He threw the cigarette with only the butt left to the side of the road and continued to stare at the signal receiver in front of him.

During the battle at Beigang, she and Maiya accidentally discovered Assassin, who had apparently been "defeated", through a telescope.

Although he was killed by Archer in front of all his familiars, he appeared in North Port intact, secretly monitoring the Holy Grail War.

This is an interesting thing.

Although he was once a student of Tōsaka Tokiomi, they parted ways due to his participation in the Holy Grail War.

But this is most likely an excuse to fool others.

Assassin's defeat, which officially marked the beginning of the Holy Grail War, was just a show performed by the Holy Church and the Tohsaka family for others to see.

The collusion between the Tousaka family and the Holy Church is very clear.

So, if Kotomine Kirei kidnapped them, then where did he take Irisviel and Maiya?

Were they hidden in a church that seemed to be a "neutral zone" or were they hidden in the Tohsaka mansion?

Emiya Kiritsugu habitually placed his fingers near his temple and silently said in his heart: "Saber, how is the situation over there?"

After concluding the Command Seals contract, the Master and the Servant can communicate with each other through telepathic means.

The moment Emiya Kiritsugu sent the information in his mind, he received a response from Saber.

"There is nothing special going on in the Tousaka Mansion, and no signals from Irisviel have been detected nearby."

Irisviel had a device button hidden in her pocket.

That was to prevent her from losing the signal transmitter that was handed to her personally.

He had taught Irisviel how to use the signal transmitter. She only needed to press a button to start the signal transmitter, and it would tell him her current exact location.

But up to now the signal transmitter has not sent out any signal, which made Kiritsugu Emiya start to get impatient.

Kiritsugu Emiya knew that Irisviel, as the carrier of the Lesser Holy Grail, was an important resource in the Holy Grail War and would not be wasted easily.

As long as she was alive, she had a chance to tell herself where she was.

But Maiya is different. She is his assistant and depends on Emiya Kiritsugu. To others, Maiya is not worth being rescued.

Ever since he took Maiya as his assistant, Emiya Kiritsugu cast a spell on one of her hairs and buried it in the subcutaneous tissue of his little finger.

It also made Maiya bury a strand of her hair between the other’s fingers.

If one party's magic circuit stagnates, that is, if the vitality is weakened to the point of being on the verge of death, the other party's hair will burn, sending a warning to the other party.

While searching for them, Emiya Kiritsugu could feel a pain in his little finger.

This means that Maiya was on the verge of death for a period of time.

Although the hair buried in his little finger didn't completely burn in the end, Emiya Kiritsugu didn't dare to delay any further, as he was eager to know the exact location of Irisviel and Maiya.

Thinking of Maiya, whose life or death was also uncertain, Kiritsugu Emiya felt even more irritated.

Originally, it was the most suitable person to do the surveillance work. If Maiya was still there, she could completely control those modified familiars to complete the reconnaissance mission.

But now Irisviel and Maiya are both in an uncertain state of life and death. Even if Saber and himself are incompatible, in order to rescue Irisviel, he must order Saber to complete this task.

But Emiya Kiritsugu also knew that Saber's personality was not suitable for tasks such as surveillance and infiltration.

Saber is not Assassin, and she cannot cut off her breath. If Saber were to sneak into the Tōsaka residence, she would not be able to pass through the fortress-like magic barrier set up by the Tōsaka family without making any noise.

In the end, it could only turn into a violent attack on Tousaka Prefecture.

Moreover, there is a mysterious and powerful special Heroic Spirit in the Tousaka Mansion who can use multiple Noble Phantasms - Archer.

What's more, Saber is injured, and attacking Tōsaka Mansion by force is not a good option.

All they could do was ask Saber to try to restrain her magic power and take another signal receiver to detect if there was any signal from Irisviel near the Tōsaka Mansion.

I went to the church to check the situation.

Once Irisviel's exact location is determined, the next battle plan can be formulated.

Kiritsugu Emiya took out another cigarette from the cigarette box, lit it, and stared at the display screen of the signal receiver, praying that Irisviel's signal would appear on the receiver.

The contours of his face appeared even deeper against the green light and smoke projected by the instrument.

However, the signal sent by Irisviel never appeared on the screen of the signal receiver.

Just when Emiya Kiritsugu was considering whether to force his way into the church to check the situation, a pigeon-sized bird-shaped familiar made of silver silk threads landed on the windshield wiper in front of the car window and pecked the glass with its beak, making a "tapping" sound, which attracted his attention.

Looking at this familiar familiar demon, Emiya Kiritsugu widened his eyes, opened his mouth in disbelief, and was so excited that he was speechless for a moment.