Chapter 35: Raid on the Hotel

My name is Illya.

Tokiomi is raiding the Director's hotel.

154:53:12

"Teacher, the guardian homunculus of the Binding Chamber has been destroyed."

In the stairwell leading from the twenty-second to the twenty-third floor of the Hyatt Regency Fuyuki, Kirei Kotomine, dressed in vestments reinforced with defensive magecraft, took the lead to scout the path. Close behind him followed Tokiomi Tohsaka, carrying his cane and maintaining his usual relaxed, elegant demeanor, while Ryunosuke Uryu, clutching a string of ruby bracelets, brought up the rear.

"Oh?" Tokiomi glanced back at the bracelets in Ryunosuke's hands, most of which were shattered. "How many Command Spells did Kiritsugu Emiya expend?"

In Tokiomi's view, the most appropriate course of action was to remain at the Tohsaka estate, commanding his disciples and the army of Servants remotely, unless the King of Heroes himself demanded his presence on the front lines.

An ancestral home managed by a mage family for generations could even be compared to the legendary mage towers of old. Had Tokiomi been presiding over the estate, that "Magus Killer" would never have even made it past the front gate.

"Only one Command Spell was consumed," Ryunosuke replied, analyzing the defensive magecraft and homunculi corresponding to the broken rubies. "He seems to possess some kind of self-acceleration formula. Furthermore, he showed no interest in your treasures, Teacher, and his own mana reserves appear vast. I apologize; this was a miscalculation on my part."

"Hmm, acceptable. Do not reproach yourself," Tokiomi comforted his disciple.

Although this gifted student had persuaded him to leave the estate by arguing that the Einzbern faction might expend three Command Spells, Tokiomi had been prepared for a fruitless outcome; he was, after all, well aware of the Magus Killer's reputation.

First were the omnidirectional detection spells surrounding the estate; if triggered, the intruder would face a powerful magical assault inescapable without the summoning of a Heroic Spirit.

Next were the various mystic codes, materials, and consumables stored by the Tohsaka family. Should an intruder grow greedy and touch them, they would be trapped in a cage highly resistant to magical influence.

Then there was the army of ruby homunculi that constantly drained a magus's mana. They would absorb a magus's energy while under magical attack until destroyed; even Tokiomi himself could not clear out all these cumbersome guardians before exhausting his own reserves.

Finally, there was the heavy hitter in the Binding Chamber and the lone lurking Assassin. The arrangement of such traps had even earned praise from the stoic Kirei, and it seemed only that last line of defense had truly accomplished its purpose.

Five layers of security, and only one had succeeded. Of course, this was partly because all the traps were set to be "non-targeted." A cunning beast might proactively dismantle hunting traps, but it would never touch the one specifically laid for it.

154:51:09

The three Tohsaka disciples had reached the twenty-third floor via the stairwell, but the stairs leading upward had been completely destroyed. After a slight frown, Kirei turned to open the security door leading into the hotel interior.

In that instant, Kirei lashed out at the empty space beside the door. Three sharp, green-glowing weapons suddenly appeared in his otherwise empty fist.

"Clang!"

The attack did not miss. Those mystic codes known as "Black Keys" struck a hard object with force, yet the area within the young priest's line of sight remained empty.

*Squelch—*

Unsurprised, Kirei instantly withdrew his hand, pivoted, and struck from a different angle. This time, a strange sound like tearing fabric or paper filled the air. Simultaneously, a deformed skeleton, draped in translucent white burial shrouds and consisting only of an upper torso, materialized. Kirei's first strike had hit its massive, razor-sharp, pale claws.

"I heard the 'Genius of the Clock Tower' was proficient in spiritism and alchemy. It seems this is a special familiar he crafted himself," Tokiomi commented dismissively. "I was wondering why the previous floors only contained ordinary magical traps and mass-produced familiars."

It was clearly a vengeful spirit summoned via spiritism and modified through alchemy into a form that, while unsightly, was highly convenient for sneak attacks. Unfortunately for the creator, Kirei had been a superior Executor before entering this war; such hidden spirits were as conspicuous to him as ink blots on white paper.

"However, at this level—Teacher, look out!" Ryunosuke, watching his senior apprentice dismantle the strange skeleton with ease, was just about to add a mocking remark when he suddenly realized something and raised both hands.

*Pop! Pop! Pop!*

Dozens of invisible claws lunged at the three of them, only to be intercepted by an abruptly appearing water-curtain shield. They could neither advance nor retreat, and as the water mist swirled back, the forms of the attackers were revealed—a swarm of bizarre skeletons identical to the one just destroyed.

"Ugh, so many of them..." Ryunosuke muttered in distress, waving his hands to maintain the defensive water barrier.

"Teacher, please head inside the hotel; leave this to us." On the other side, Kirei had already opened the security door and summoned three more Black Keys into his other hand, apparently intending to continue slaughtering the strange bone frames.

"You have done well, but there is no need to flee in such disarray." Tokiomi raised his cane, and the massive ruby embedded in it began to emit a dazzling light.

Kirei had been an Executor; while he mastered much magecraft, he was accustomed to combat styles that dealt direct damage. Ryunosuke lacked long-term training; while he could utilize the correct magecraft in theory, his casting speed often struggled to keep up with the specific changes of real-time combat.

Of course, these were mere trifles, and teaching them how to compensate was his responsibility as their mentor.

The blinding light from Tokiomi's cane illuminated the stairwell. Beyond the skeletons already revealed, several more hiding in the corners were exposed. In the next instant, the glow of the flames vanished, but the red hue staining the skeletons grew even brighter.

"Go in. It appears the core area of the mage workshop lies upward from here." Tokiomi turned back, resting his cane on the floor once more.

*BOOM!*

Behind him, all the skeletons ignited simultaneously. Within two or three seconds, before they could make any other move, they were reduced to ash.

154:32:08

On the thirty-second floor of the Hyatt Regency, Kayneth was watching Tokiomi's assault with Sola and Waver via a crystal ball.

In front of them, in addition to the crystal ball showing the trio's current movements, a three-dimensional wireframe diagram of the magical nodes on the entire floor was projected into the air via projection magecraft.

From it, one could see that as they breached each floor, they immediately cleared all magical formulas and familiar summoning circles, confirming they could not be reused before continuing upward. Although this increased the time taken, it prevented the pincer attack they had planned.

The 3D wireframe, which used green and red to distinguish whether magical nodes were deactivated, was slowly but steadily turning from red to green, floor by floor.

"Hmph. I thought he was just a backwater magus, but he has a few tricks up his sleeve," Sola commented casually, watching with indifference.

"His two students aren't bad either. At first, they were flustered and even counter-productive, but now they've become quite proficient," Kayneth added with a nod.

"Are we just going to watch them fight their way up?" Seeing the surveillance point in the crystal ball shift again as the monitoring spells were destroyed, Waver couldn't help but ask. "If so, what's the point of the mage workshop?"

"If this were a standard battle between magi, we would have already missed several opportunities to strike," Kayneth said, glancing at Waver. "However, this magical competition has a special rule—every participant possesses a 'Servant' who holds an overwhelming advantage over other participants. Have you seen their Servants appear along the way?"

"I don't think so... they've been doing it all themselves," Waver scratched his head.

"Before participating in anything, one must thoroughly analyze all available information. For instance, these Heroic Spirits can undergo spirit form and move while ignoring spatial restrictions," Kayneth pointed to the three Tohsaka disciples displayed on the crystal ball. "Every time they destroy the protective magecraft of a workshop floor, it means their respective Heroic Spirits can appear there without hindrance."

"You didn't know, did you, little Waver?" Sola toyed with a lock of hair hanging over her forehead. "Those Assassins, who have no limit on their numbers, have already raided this place once, though they were weakened to the point where even Kayneth could take on three at once."

"Uh, Sola? I can still handle a standard Assassin one-on-one," the genius lecturer explained, feeling embarrassed as his claim was debunked.

"Hmph, I was clearly praising you." Sola tucked her hair behind her ear. "And little Waver, haven't you noticed our own Servants aren't here either?"

"I suppose so?" Waver looked around. Neither the big, brain-flicking King of Conquerors nor the serious and polite Lancer were present; only Luna was by their side.

"They are likely playing hide-and-seek with Tokiomi's Servant inside the hotel in spirit form," Kayneth pointed to the floor beneath them. "Even within a mage workshop with significant interference, Servants in spirit form can sense one another. Once they materialize, they will be immediately attacked by our Servants. Unless they choose to come find us without relying on their Servants' power—which is exactly what I am aiming for."

"But could this be their strategy?" Waver pointed to the trio in the crystal ball as they breached another floor. "To have the less powerful Servant lure away Rider and Lancer, and then settle the outcome with their own magical prowess?"

"Heh, a magic duel? That would play right into our hands. Kayneth will show them the true gap between a Clock Tower genius and a backwater magus!" Sola sneered.

Though he wanted to warn his mentor's wife not to underestimate their opponents, seeing the expressions of agreement on the faces of his teacher and Luna, he ultimately swallowed his words.

Well, even if he couldn't beat a full-fledged magus or an Executor, he should at least be able to handle that young man who had only recently started learning magecraft.