A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

Because he understood the strength gap between Tokiomi and Kariya, and in that situation, Tokiomi didn’t need help. If you just take a bystander attitude, it can be said to be a reasonable judgment.

But his subsequent actions were completely out of touch with his responsibilities.

When Kariya fell from the roof of the apartment, Tokiomi may have thought that he had completely won, but did not further verify whether the enemy was really dead. Kirei was surprised by the teacher's boldness. He originally went to verify Kariya's body out of the intention of making up for the teacher's carelessness... But not long after, when he found the figure rolling down the path, he found that Kariya was still breathing.

Of course, if he is a loyal lackey of the Tohsaka camp, he should be obliged to give Kariya a fatal blow immediately. But at that time, what was echoing in Kirei's mind was the conversation with Archer that morning.

His advice is - if Kotomine Kirei wants to truly understand himself, he must not only be Emiya Kiritsugu - no, he must prioritize Matou Kariya's life, death and future over Kiritsugu.

Overall it was an unpleasant conversation. A joke not worth listening to.

But what exactly made Kirei make the choice to break away from the role of a bystander when facing the duel between Tokiomi and Kariya. If you don't think you need to help, there is no need to stay on the battlefield. Wouldn't it make more sense to search for other Masters?

And when the flame controlled by Tokiomi finally captured Kariya... there was no doubt that what he was thinking at that time was not a trace of disappointment?

When he woke up, Kirei had already begun to apply healing magic to Kariya's injured body as an emergency treatment. Then he transported Kariya, who was still in a coma, but his life was no longer in danger, away from the battlefield, hidden from anyone, and secretly sent Kariya to the door of Matou's mansion. These all happened about fifteen minutes ago.

Kariya still had the mark of the command spell on his hand. Although Kirei did not witness the last scene of the battle at Mitogawa, no matter how serious the injury was, Berserker seemed to be still alive.

Kirei walked on the long road that stretched from Miyama Town to the outskirts of Shinto and across Fuyuki, troubled by the questions he had no answers to - why on earth did he do those things.

This is a far cry from buying wine that has unknown flavor. This is not entirely without merit. So far, Kirei had concealed Tokiomi's actions many times, and sometimes even gave him false reports, but these did not directly hinder Tokiomi. There is no conflict between the expectation of confronting Emiya Kiritsugu and Tokiomi obtaining the Holy Grail.

However, prolonging the life of Tokiomi's old enemy Matou Kariya would undoubtedly mean confrontation with Tokiomi.

There is no need to explain at all, this means mutiny. Without any clear intention, he did such a thing. Tonight Kirei clearly crossed the line as a loyal minister to Tosaka Tokiomi.

Could it be that he was being teased by Archer, that King of Heroes?

Compared with the moving feet, the fatigue of the soul is more serious.

Kirei suddenly wanted to have a rare talk with his father Risheng. Although he had always been honest with Kirei, his father could never understand Kirei's distress. But for Kirei, if you think about it carefully, you have never had a heart-to-heart talk with his father.

Even if he disappoints his father, as long as he expresses his feelings without fear - even if it causes a decisive change in his relationship with his father, it may bring new revelations to Kirei.

Kirei held vague expectations in his heart, put aside his worries for the time being, and continued walking back.

············

For Father Kotomine Rimasa, the supervisor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, this was truly an extremely tiring night.

This was his second time serving as the supervisor of the Holy Grail War, but he never dreamed that such an unmanageable situation would happen.

It is precisely because the scale of the series of problems caused is so great that not only the Holy Church, but also the Magic Association is working secretly in order to eliminate the evidence. For both sides of the two major organizations, the situation has developed to the point where they must prioritize how to clean up the mess rather than arguing with each other to demarcate their respective spheres of influence.

Regarding the strange incident in Weiyuan River, which is ostensibly attributed to toxic gases produced by chemical reactions caused by industrial wastewater, this report can temporarily cover up public opinion. The patrolling propaganda vehicles are also constantly calling: Inhaling poisonous gas can cause people to hallucinate, and residents along the coast should go to the hospital for emergency treatment. Of course, all hospitals that can carry out night diagnosis have already incorporated magicians and agents who master the suggestive brainwashing technique, and they are nervously on standby. This should eliminate the vast majority of eyewitness testimonies, but it does not eliminate the source of the rumors.

The procedures for purchasing two F15 fighter jets from an arms dealer in the Middle East have just been completed. This is the result of Clock Tower's contact from them. Although it is a second-hand C-type machine, there is really no time to take care of this at such a critical moment. The two F15s temporarily painted with Japanese flags will be transported to the air force base in the city tonight. All that remains is to use the opportunity to exchange parts with differences and then assemble them into J-type fighters.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces, an organization, is simply on pins and needles regarding its budget. One fighter jet costs more than 10 billion yen, and now there is a scandal involving the loss of two fighter jets at one time. We want to annihilate this fact at all costs. From now on, the only way to negotiate is to use the prepared substitute aircraft as bait, and let the Self-Defense Forces also bear the responsibility of destroying evidence.

By the time the continuous socializing on the phone finally came to an end and I could take a short break, the night was already very late. But Risei immediately thought of the guests waiting in the chapel, and while sighing, he pulled up his chair and started working again, continuing to perform his duties as a supervisor.

"I'm really sorry to keep you waiting. I'm really busy tonight."

Rizheng's voice contained unconcealable exhaustion.

Some artificial laughter came from the dimly lit believers' seats.

"There's nothing we can do about it. You're in a hurry."

Along with the laughter, there was a slight squeaking sound of the wheels of the wheelchair rubbing against metal. The figure emerging from the darkness remained seated.

The figure who was so haggard that he couldn't even stand or walk turned out to be Kayneth Elumeroy, a famous child prodigy in the past.

No one who knew his past situation would have thought that he would fall into this situation. However, there is a strong willpower that can be called obsession in his eyes, and one can vaguely see the stubborn and paranoid character of the former genius magician.

Although Kayneth suffered huge physical trauma that he could hardly regain his glory, through the connections of the Elumeroy family, he made a deal with a puppet master living in Japan and received an astonishing amount of thanks as a gift. In exchange, I managed to keep the skills of my hands, and finally gained the ability to move freely within the range of motion of the wheelchair. The little finger of my right hand, which was embedded in a thick plaster, now also feels pain.

"Your Highness, Father, what kind of judgment will you make regarding my application?"

Contrary to the attentive smile on his face, there was even a half-threatening tone in Kayneth's voice. This may be what drug addicts look like when they ask for drugs before they wear off the effects of the drugs and show symptoms. Risei stared intently at the face of this former magic prodigy, his face showing paranoia and confusion that could not be concealed.

It was definitely not what Li Zheng expected for things to develop to this point. However, a covenant is a covenant after all. Putting aside the idea of ​​secretly forming an alliance with Tohsaka, for the sake of the dignity of the Holy Church, one must keep his word.

"...Indeed, Servant and Lancer played an important role in the battle against Caster. This was also confirmed in the report of the supervisor."

"So there is no doubt that I am qualified to obtain a Command Seal?"

"Having said that..."

Father Li Zheng frowned and glanced at Kayneth as if he felt incredible.

"Of course, as promised, Lancer's Master must be rewarded accordingly...Mr. Kayneth, do you think I can treat you as a Master?"

Kayneth's eyes showed a look of hatred for a moment, but he immediately returned to his cautious and gentlemanly demeanor.

"As for the contract with Lancer, I concluded it in the form of a joint responsibility with my fiancée Sora. I have absolutely no intention of calling myself a Master. Sora and I are one Master."

"But now, isn't Miss Sora responsible for both the supply of magic power and the management of command spells?"

It's hard to explain the expression of Kayneth's gritted teeth as he smiled as an attentive smile.

"For strategic reasons, the Command Seal is temporarily handed over to Sora for safekeeping. However, the control of the contract with Lancer is still in my hands. If you have any doubts, you can directly ask Lancer for confirmation. And the most important thing is, before the handover I am the only one who signed the application form to the church.”

Father Li Zheng sighed. Even digging into the issue and finding faults at this point makes no sense. The real source of Risei's headache was the unexpected situation of having to assign the Command Seal to a Master other than Tokiomi. At this time, even if he was unwilling to add the Command Seal to Kayneth, in the end he had to give the Command Seal that was difficult to part with to his fiancée. Even if he intervenes in the disputes within the Archipelud camp, it will not be of any benefit to Father Li Zheng.

"——Okay. I recognize your qualifications as Master. Come on, Lord Kayneth, please extend your hand."

Risei used skillful techniques to draw secret traces on Kayneth's outstretched right hand, and then engraved one of the command spells accumulated on his right wrist into Kayneth's hand. There wasn't even any pain and the whole process was over in minutes.

"Then please continue to fight a glorious war as Master——"

"Of course."

Kayneth nodded with a smile on his face, then took out the pistol hidden in the wheelchair seat and aimed it at the priest who had turned around.

The dry gunfire broke the silence of the temple of God.

Kayneth didn't even bother to take another look at the fallen old priest, and stared in fascination at the pattern of stigmata on the back of his right hand.

So far, there is only one...compared to the competitors who have maintained their command spells without any loss, they are already at a disadvantage. Moreover, Saber and Rider's Masters have obtained new Command Seals. These circumstances cannot be ignored.

The assassination of the supervisor will definitely cause a sensation, but in this Holy Grail War, the magician who likes to use small props such as pistols has others besides himself. The first person to be named as a suspect would be the dirty rat employed by Einzbern.

Kayneth couldn't suppress the smirk rising in the back of his throat. He was immersed in the ecstasy of qualifying as a Master again. For the act of assassinating the supervisor, which destroyed Rod Elumeroy's dignity and pride, he had no thought of remorse.

············

As soon as he stepped into the chapel, Kirei felt an aura of death.

There was a faint smell of blood, and the remaining, thinner smell of gunpowder smoke. Someone must have committed unforgivable evil in this temple of God.

Although he didn't feel any dangerous aura, Kirei still walked in cautiously, passed through the believers' seats - and when he came to the altar, he found the figure lying next to him.

"Father--"

The outburst of the cry was feeble. As an agent, his well-trained and keenly observant eyes noticed the bullet hole through his back and a pool of blood on the floor when he discovered Father Risei's figure.

Kirei carefully inspected his father's body in a state of complete mental numbness.

He rolled up his right sleeve and checked the number of command spells managed by his father. As expected, one was missing. Risei gave one of the Command Seals he managed to a certain person, and was probably killed by this person later. One of the Masters who succeeded in defeating Caster was dissatisfied with sharing the credit with other people who fought together, so he committed such a crime. You can guess the whole story without any extrapolation.

But even a magician could not take away all the Command Seals from the dead old priest. The command spells kept by the overseers are protected by the Holy Word. Without the person's permission, it is impossible to rob it through magic. Father Risei, the only one who knew the secret holy word, was dead, and the Command Seals that had been preserved from the previous Holy Grail War were no longer effective.

——No, would Father Li Zheng allow such a thing to happen?

Kirei raised his father's right hand and found unnatural blood stains on the fingertips. It looks like a scratch mark. When Father Li Zheng was dying, he dipped his fingers in a pool of blood, which must have left some clues somewhere.

Now that we understand this, it is easy to find the word in blood.

The last words written in red and black handwriting on the floor were "jn424" - if you were a non-Christian, you might think this was a code with unknown meaning. But for Kirei, who inherited Risheng's devout faith, the meaning of this code was obvious.

Holy Book Gospel 4:24. Kirei recited the sacred words stored in his memory word for word.

"God is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when we worship God, we must worship with soul and truth——" ()