gaze of war

The author has something to say: Since then, the plot has completely derailed.

"...No, King of Heroes." After a short silence, Tosaka Tokiomi gave a negative answer.He bowed his head respectfully, and answered the heroic spirit's question as if answering the king's question.

The man lying on his side on the sofa raised his eyebrows when he heard the words: "What. Isn't Kotomine Kirei your trump card? How about you just let the disciple be exposed to unknown dangers?"

"I believe in Kirei's ability. Even in an extremely unfavorable situation, he can use his wisdom and strength to escape successfully and return to my side." Tosaka Tokiomi replied calmly.

The blond-haired, red-eyed man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You're really confident, Tokiomi."

Tohsaka Tokiomi bent down again. "For I have the king's help."

The King of Heroes - Gilgamesh, the demigod king in the ancient times, let out an inexplicable laugh, then closed his eyes, and stopped communicating with Tokiomi on this issue.

Without even raising his face to look at him, Tokiomi bowed and gave a salute, then stepped back and walked out of the room.

The King of Heroes, who was in the room and seemed ready to take a rest, opened his eyes the moment the door closed, his blood-colored pupils were as cold and cruel as snakes.

Do you really not have any worries about the safety of your disciples?The answer is naturally no.

In fact, Tosaka Tokiomi was guessing in his mind the identity of the enemy and the motive for kidnapping his disciple—yes, Kotomine Kirei, the man who became the link between Tosaka and Fuyuki Church, Tosaka Tokiomi never thought of him He would have died so easily before the real Holy Grail War had even begun.

As the "representative" of the church, the man possesses the power of the church and can use magic. Even Tohsaka Tokiomi himself dare not say that he can completely destroy or completely restrain such a monster without disturbing the assassin. .

...Then, is that you, Kirei?

Kotomine Kirei, the "Sender" of the Fuyuki Church—could it be that you want to do something?

When thinking of this, Tosaka Tokiomi had unconsciously begun to consider Kotomine Kirei's intention of "disappearing from the teacher's sight".

Tohsaka Tokiomi developed a sense of distrust towards his disciple.

But now is not a good time to think about it.

The most urgent thing is to confirm Kirei's current state - Tohsaka Tokiomi thought so, and turned to the corner of the corridor where there was no one there.Even if he couldn't see anything, he knew that Kirei's Heroic Spirit Assassin must be hidden there.

"Assassin, send two people to Kirei's workshop to monitor whether there are any abnormalities in Kirei's workshop at any time. In addition, continue to search for traces of other participants, and report their whereabouts and activity status to me. Kirei's status has not yet been confirmed. Confirmed, we must wait for the opportunity."

Assassin bent down deeply.Like black smoke, it dissipated into the shadows.

Tohsaka Tokiomi stood on the spot, thinking for a while with a calm expression.

Then he summoned the familiar using the magic seal engraved on his body as a medium.

[Go to Fuyuki Church. 】

The flames of the oil lamp flickered again in the magic studio, reflecting a smiling face of a man.That was an expression that was almost impossible to appear on the face of "Kotomine Kirei", but it actually existed.Not a smirk with tensed cheeks, or a sneer with a twitching upper lip, but a real smile of supreme pleasure.

There was no one in the room except him.

"What should I call you?"

he asked with eerie fervor.

"Budpo."

—if there were anyone fluent in Celtic, he would have seen at once that the name meant "crow."After "Mad Dog" Cú Chulainn rejected Morrigan's courtship with the reason that "it is ridiculous for a woman to appear on the battlefield and promise victory", Morrigan gave the victory to his enemy, and When he was dying, he turned into a crow and stood on his shoulders.

The crow, the ominous bird that only appears on the side of carrion, is both vengeance and death.

The thoughts and intentions of the goddess who is aliased as Crow are already very obvious.

Whether it is revenge or death, they are all things that can make "Kotomine Kirei" happy.

Morrigan's gaze fell on the priest, whose expression remained unwavering.Whether in heart or expression, this person is completely different from before.If the former Kotomine Kirei was an ascetic who held chains and ropes to lock himself on the thorn called faith, then today's Kotomine Kirei has become something completely different from before.

In terms of words, he is now a true believer—a devout believer in war and death, a fanatic who finds pleasure in this belief, a fanatic of destruction and pain.

"Kotomine Kirei."

Morrigan touched the priest's forehead with his fingertips.

The voices speaking the proverbs changed again—as if countless people were speaking at the same time, even the tone and volume were similar.A swarm of bees buzzed in the priest's ears.

"Destroy the Holy Grail."

Kotomine Kirei bowed deeply towards Morrigan.

"Follow your will, my goddess."

The barrier covering the inside of the magic workshop was lifted.

Of course, this is just the opinion of Assassin and Tohsaka Tokiomi who are watching from the outside.In fact, Kotomine Kirei just stepped out of the "Goddess Domain".It's not something that can be explained by the magic system like enchantment, it's just that when they talked, the interior of the workshop has become a small dimensional domain higher than the present world.

Cannot be observed, cannot be affected.It is such a small world that completely isolates the existence of Kotomine Kirei from the known world, and even the contract witnessed by the Holy Grail cannot take effect.

And the moment he stepped out of the room, the small world returned to the "origin".

Even assassins couldn't perceive any abnormalities in the magic workshop, and Tokiomi's familiar was of course no exception.

However, even if he couldn't find any clues, through the eyes of the familiar, Tosaka Tokiomi still found a huge problem.

Kotomine Kirei—this man, who was like a walking corpse, was different.

His gaze was no longer empty, on the contrary, it was full of creepy enthusiasm.

His steps were no longer heavy, and became as brisk as a young man full of hope.

Kotomine Risei's voice rang in Tosaka Tokiomi's mind.

"As long as it is the order of the church, even if it is a fire pit, Kirei will not hesitate to jump into it. His wife just passed away a few days ago, maybe this is a good opportunity for him to open his heart."

...Have Kotomine Kirei completely shaken off his confusion and found his wish before winning as promised?

In other words, Kotomine Kirei will also become a contender for the Holy Grail.

Tohsaka Tokiomi's heart sank heavily into his chest.

Everything is telling Tohsaka Tokiomi a fact——

Kotomine Kirei, [Can no longer be trusted. 】

In the magic studio with a strong aristocratic atmosphere, a man in a red suit crushed the wine glass in his hand.

"Master." One of the unknown assassins emerged from the shadows.Looking at the figure, it seems to be a girl.Wearing the same mask as the other assassins and the same all-encompassing black tights as the other assassins, the girl knelt down in front of Kotomine Kirei without hesitation.

Kotomine Kirei made a meaningful breath.

"...Materialize? I remember ordering you—"

Assassin bowed his head deeply.

"Please forgive my offense, my master. Because I lost the contact with the master just now, even the contract couldn't trace the master's aura. Therefore, we asked Tokiomi-sama for help without authorization. It's great that the master returned safely. "

...Ah, "teacher"?

Kotomine Kirei's eyes moved to the corner where the magic power still remained.

No wonder.It clearly has the aura of the familiar, but Assassin is not vigilant about it, almost acquiescing to the existence of the familiar.

No, perhaps the name of the teacher was mentioned deliberately, precisely because these heroic spirits named Assassins were smart enough to discover the truth——

The truth that Tohsaka Tokiomi and Kotomine Kirei no longer trust each other.

Suspicion, betrayal, surveillance...?

Perhaps it is because of the ability to face oneself honestly under the guidance of God?

Kotomine Kirei held his breath slightly, feeling an electric current-like tingling passing over his back.Kotomine Kirei couldn't help but look forward to making that man who was rigid like a European nobleman in the Middle Ages feel these negative emotions that belonged to mortals, and thinking of what kind of expression that man would show because of this.

What's more, Kotomine Kirei's purpose of participating in this Holy Grail War has changed from "obeying his father's order and helping the teacher win" to "obeying the goddess' will and destroying the Holy Grail" which is almost the opposite.

This is completely contrary to the purpose of Tohsaka Tokiomi who wants to make a wish on the Holy Grail to gain the opportunity to contact the "root".

The two of them were destined to be enemies.

If you can live to the end.

What kind of expression will that rigid man show when he sees himself destroying the Holy Grail and losing hope of touching the "root"?Is it hopeless?Can't believe it?Crazy or distraught?

——The only thing that is certain is that such an expression will definitely bring him the most grand and sweet pleasure.Kotomine Kirei thought about such a future, and couldn't help smiling.

There was no need to report anything to Tohsaka Tokiomi as a disciple.Kotomine Kirei thought this way, and issued an order to the assassin: "Notify the other assassins and withdraw them all."

"Yes." Assassin in girl form disappeared in a half-kneeling posture.

Using assassins as "eyes" is simply too narrow and stupid.Kotomine Kirei thought happily, even a Heroic Spirit whose mana is equally divided is invincible in sneak attacks.If it is said that it is impossible to confront Heroic Spirits of other combat systems on the frontal battlefield, then—what if the target is changed to the master of Heroic Spirits?

Even the high-level magician in the "Clock Tower" might not be able to defeat the combined attack of the three assassins who completely conceal their aura, right?If three people can't do it, then five people, if five people are still not strong enough, then ten people, twenty people, thirty people -- no matter how strong a magician is, they can't resist the assassination technique of an assassin who is a heroic spirit.

Too wasteful, too stupid, Tohsaka Tokiomi, my teacher.Kotomine Kirei sighed.

To use such a powerful anti-human heroic spirit exclusively for observation and spying, and to place all hope on the frontal battlefield of the hero king Gilgamesh—has this stupid nobleman's dueling habit survived to this day?

Heroic spirits versus heroic spirits, magicians versus magicians, it's like a game.Since KING has 13 points and JACK has 11 points, KING will beat JACK.

Tokiomi Tohsaka is just like that.When he held KING and tried to compete with others, maybe a sharp knife had pierced his heart.

This is not a game, my teacher.

This is a battle, this is a war.

All who stand in my way are my enemies.

I must dedicate the ultimate victory and destruction to my god.

This is my wish, Kotomine Kirei.

Kotomine Kirei looked into the distance.

He bent down as humblely and reverently as every morning and before falling asleep.

Neither the assassins who were watching him nor Tohsaka Tokiomi, who had already begun to sink into a gloomy anger, would not understand Kotomine Kirei's wish.

Thank God for answering my confusion.

Thank God for guiding my path.

Thank God for granting my wish.