Chapter 1162 Last Words

Because he understood the difference in strength between Tokiomi and Kariya, and Tokiomi did not need help in such a situation. If he simply took a bystander attitude, it could be said that it was a reasonable judgment.

But the subsequent actions were completely out of his duty.

When Kariya fell from the roof of the apartment, Tokiomi might have thought that he had completely won, and did not further verify whether the enemy was really dead. Kirei was surprised at the teacher's boldness. Originally, he went to verify Kariya's body with the intention of making up for the teacher's carelessness... But not long after, when he found the figure rolling on the path, he found that Kariya was still breathing.

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

His advice was - if Kotomine Kirei wanted to truly understand himself, he must not only consider Emiya Kiritsugu - no, he must prioritize the life and death and future of Matō Kariya over Kiritsugu.

Overall, it was an unpleasant conversation. It was a joke that was not worth listening to.

But what on earth made Kirei choose to leave the role of a bystander when facing the duel between Tokiomi and Kariya? If he thought he didn't need to help, there was no need to stay on the battlefield. Wouldn't it be more meaningful 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 use healing magic as an emergency treatment on Kariya's injured body. Then he transported Kariya, who was still in a coma but no longer in danger of death, away from the battlefield and secretly sent him to the door of the Matou residence. All this happened about fifteen minutes ago.

Kariya's hand still had the marks of the Command Seals. Although Kirei did not witness the last scene of the battle of the Mion River, 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 crossed Fuyuki, worrying about the questions he had no answers for - why did he do those things?

This is a far cry from buying and hoarding wine of unknown flavor. This is not an act without benefits. So far, Kirei has acted without telling Tokiomi many times, and sometimes even gave him false reports, but those did not directly hinder Tokiomi. The expectation of confronting Emiya Kiritsugu does not conflict with Tokiomi's obtaining the Holy Grail.

However, prolonging the life of Tokiomi's nemesis Matō Kariya undoubtedly means opposing Tokiomi.

There is no need to explain, this means betrayal. Without any clear intention, he did such a thing. Tonight Kirei clearly crossed the line of being a loyal vassal of Tōsaka Tokiomi.

Could it be that he was tricked by Archer - the King of Heroes?

Compared to his feet that were moving forward, the fatigue of his heart was more serious.

Kirei suddenly wanted to talk to his father, Risho, which was rare. Although he was always honest with Kirei, his father would never understand Kirei's distress. But as for Kirei, thinking carefully, hasn't he never had a heart-to-heart talk with his father?

Even if it would disappoint his father, as long as he spoke out his true feelings without fear - even if it would bring about a decisive change in the relationship between himself and his father, perhaps it would bring Kirei a new revelation.

Kirei held a vague hope in his heart, temporarily put aside his worries, and continued to walk back.

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

This was his second time as the supervisor of the Holy Grail War, but he never dreamed that such a difficult situation would occur.

Precisely because the scale of the series of problems caused was too large, in order to destroy the evidence, not only the Holy Church, but also the Magic Association was secretly working. For both parties of the two major organizations, the situation has developed to the point where - rather than arguing with each other to demarcate their respective spheres of influence, they must give priority to considering how to clean up the mess.

Regarding the strange things in the Mion River, it was superficially attributed to the toxic gas produced by the chemical reaction caused by industrial wastewater. This report can temporarily cover up the truth. The patrolling propaganda vehicles are also constantly calling out: Inhaling poison gas can cause hallucinations, and residents along the coast are requested to go to the hospital for emergency treatment. Of course, all hospitals that can perform nighttime diagnosis have been mixed with magicians and agents who master the suggestion brainwashing technique, and they are on standby nervously. This should eliminate most of the eyewitness testimonies, but it cannot eliminate the source of rumors.

The procedures for purchasing two F15 fighters from the Middle Eastern arms dealer have just been completed. This is the result of the Clock Tower's contact. Although it is a second-hand C-type aircraft, there is really no time to take care of these at this critical moment. The two F15s that were temporarily painted with the Japanese flag will be transported to the Tsukiji Air Force Base tonight. The rest is to take advantage of the opportunity to exchange the different parts and then assemble them into a J-type fighter.

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 in which two fighter jets were lost at one time. I want to ignore this fact no matter what. 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 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 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 would surely cause a sensation, but in this Holy Grail War, there were other magicians besides himself who liked to use small props like pistols. The first suspect would be the dirty rat hired by Einzbern.

Kayneth could not suppress the smug smile that welled up in his throat. He was immersed in the ecstasy of obtaining the Master qualification again. He did not feel any remorse for the assassination of the Supervisor, an act that had tarnished the dignity and pride of Lord El-Melloi.

·············

As soon as Kirei stepped into the chapel, he felt a breath of death.

A faint smell of blood, and the remaining, even thinner smell of gunpowder. Someone must have committed an unforgivable evil in this temple of God.

Although he did not sense any dangerous aura, Kirei still walked in cautiously, passing through the believers' seats - when he came to the altar, he found a figure lying next to him.

"Father -"

The shout that came out was weak and powerless. As a proxy, his well-trained and observant eyes noticed the bullet hole in his back and the pool of blood on the floor at the same time he spotted Father Risei's figure.

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

He rolled up the sleeve of his right hand and checked the number of Command Seals managed by his father. As expected, one was missing. Risei gave one of the Command Seals he managed to someone, and was probably killed by this person afterwards. One of the Masters who made contributions in the process of defeating Caster was dissatisfied with sharing the credit with others who fought together, so he committed such a crime. There was no need to infer to guess the whole story.

However, even a magician could not take away all the Command Seals owned by the dead old priest. The Command Seals kept by the supervisor are protected by the Holy Word. Without the permission of the person himself, it is impossible to snatch them through magic. Father Risei, the only one who knows the secret Holy Word, is dead, and the Command Seals preserved from the previous Holy Grail War to the present are no longer effective.

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

Kirei raised his father's right hand and found unnatural blood on the fingertips. It seemed like a scratch. Father Risei dipped his fingers in a pool of blood before he died, so there must be some clues somewhere.

Now that we understand this, it is easy to find the bloody words.

On the floor, the last words written in red and black handwriting are "jn424" - if it is a non-Christian, it may be considered a code with unknown meaning. But for Kirei, who inherited Risei's devout faith, the meaning of this code is very clear.

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

"God is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we who worship the gods must worship with soul and truth -"()