Chapter Forty-Five: The Meeting of the Twin Dragons

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My name is Illya. Kiritsugu and Tokiomi have started fighting!

12:49:42

Sola was somewhat displeased with Kenneth’s request that she remain behind at the secluded mountain mansion. After all, she now had her own Servant, who was equally qualified to participate in the Holy Grail War. Though they had not received Command Seals, Luna would not disobey her, right?

However, this usually obedient fiancé, who normally complied after a slight stern word, refused to yield this time—especially after guessing the condition under which Luna could unleash her Noble Phantasm.

“[Galahad, Caster told me my true name is Galahad],” Luna answered when questioned by the two after Caster had agreed to leave and gained self-awareness, subsequently becoming a heroic spirit’s lunar spirit fluid.

Galahad—the legendary knight under King Arthur, son of the perfect knight Lancelot, and the one who ultimately found the Holy Grail.

Even though the "Grail" contested in Fuyuki was not the same as that of Arthurian legend, his identity would undoubtedly aid in achieving ultimate victory.

From this, it could be inferred that the Berserker must be one of the Round Table Knights, and among them, as paragons of purity and honor, only Mordred and Lancelot had deeds of madness—one a regicide, the other a traitor—Lancelot being the more likely candidate.

Speaking of Noble Phantasms, legend holds that Galahad’s weapon is a massive cross-shaped greatsword. Though likely a powerful offensive Noble Phantasm, such a weapon and its related release conditions were hardly enough to make loyal Luna decide to keep them secret.

Therefore, the conclusion was that to unleash her Noble Phantasm’s true name, Luna needed Kenneth or Sola to unknowingly cooperate passively; if they knew the conditions, it would become deliberate collusion, rendering the Noble Phantasm unreleaseable.

Based on historical legends, it seemed she needed to rescue her Master from a dire "desperate situation"—one that the rescued could not have entered intentionally or escape by their own power at any time.

According to Sola’s plan, joining a rescue operation for the Einzbern faction would naturally fulfill this condition. After all, Tokiomi controlled a large number of Assassins; getting discovered and hunted by them would provide an opportunity for Luna to intervene—helping the Einzbern faction, weakening Tokiomi’s Assassin numbers, and enabling Luna to unleash her true name—killing three birds with one stone.

However, Kenneth firmly rejected this plan: “Even if Luna can’t release her true name, I won’t let you fall into such a situation. This is non-negotiable.”

Hmph, it was rare for Kenneth to insist on something before her, so this time, Sola would listen. Sitting in the mansion’s most secure control room, bored, she watched surveillance footage from various locations within the crystal ball.

“You tell me not to take risks, yet you went charging in yourself. Men can’t be trusted, right, Luna?” she said to the silver-haired girl beside her, gazing at the magical projection at the gate of the Tohsaka residence.

By the way, was Galahad really a girl? That armor was bold even by modern standards.

“[I have lowered Lord Kenneth’s command priority],” Luna blinked in reply.

When neither noticed, on another crystal ball showing the surroundings of the mountain mansion, several figures clad entirely in black with pallid white masks darted past.

12:45:13

Emiya Kiritsugu had been tracking Tokiomi Tohsaka for some time.

This magician, dressed in a burgundy suit and carrying a ceremonial staff, maintained an air of grace and composure even while walking through the forest, occasionally adjusting his appearance as if he were attending some high-society banquet rather than a life-or-death Holy Grail War battlefield.

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Truly worthy of the Tohsaka family, who enshrined “always maintain elegance” as a baffling family precept.

Kiritsugu thought that Tokiomi’s disciple, the former Holy Church executor Kirei Kotomine, was extremely dangerous. He was desireless, yet diligent, with no ordinary aspirations. The fact that such a person qualified for the Holy Grail War meant his wish must transcend human understanding, requiring miraculous power to achieve—perhaps the destruction of the world.

Moreover, it was suspicious that Tokiomi, head of a mage family, accepted the son of a Church official, who was fundamentally opposed to magi, as his disciple. Even more so since the Church oversaw the war—and with the near-total bias toward the Tohsaka faction in the newly introduced “Alliance Victory” rule.

But those were trivial details. If Kiritsugu could force Tokiomi out of the game now, any hidden conspiracy would collapse. And the middle-aged man in the red suit certainly did not look capable of dodging bullets.

Waiting a moment longer, Kiritsugu fired the Contender pistol he had been aiming steadily at Tokiomi as the latter discovered a new magic barrier node and prepared to destroy it.

This first shot was also the strongest: a single bullet’s kinetic energy and destructive power could pierce most bulletproof vests. And if Tokiomi had some kind of accelerated casting ability, forming a magical shield strong enough to resist that force, Kiritsugu’s bullet, imbued with his “Origin,” would still disrupt the opponent’s magical circuits as it had done thirty-seven times before.

Pfft! Thud!

A hit! And the target had fallen!

Confident in his Origin bullet, Kiritsugu emerged from the shadows to confirm the result—only to be stunned to see the elegantly mustachioed man, Tokiomi, smiling back at him.

Then what had he actually hit?

Looking down, Kiritsugu saw a figure in black with a mask lying on the ground, straining to reach out as if to be saved, but slowly and resolutely dissolving into spiritual particles.

Had he hit an Assassin?

Kiritsugu felt both frustrated and relieved. Had he been spotted before firing, the target might have fled in panic. Even if he had hit Tokiomi, being hunted by an Assassin was troublesome.

Clap, clap, clap. Tokiomi applauded slowly and elegantly.

“Not bad. I thought you were just a dirty assassin, but you’ve clearly studied magecraft,” the refined magician said, glancing at the half-vanished Assassin with an unreadable expression. “If struck by that thing, you’d probably end up as useless as your past targets.”

Kiritsugu had no intention of replying. There was nothing to say to a proper mage. They pursued the path of magic, trampling ordinary human worlds without care. Their worldviews were utterly incompatible, and any conflict between them could only end one way—

He drew the light machine gun hidden in his clothes and opened fire on Tokiomi. Simultaneously, Mai fired from another direction.

After a failed sniper shot, Kiritsugu immediately switched to suppressive fire from two angles. This was originally intended as a fire net against Kirei Kotomine or Ryunosuke Uryu, neither of whom guaranteed success, let alone the head of the Tohsaka family, whose depth of magic was unknown.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

It was neither the sound of a hit nor of a magical shield blocking the bullets. Kiritsugu stopped firing and looked toward where Tokiomi had been standing.

“What...?”

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There appeared a massive, translucent red sphere. It was not perfectly round but composed of many crimson polygons, forming an all-around magical defense array.

These polygons consisted of groups of five, six, or thirteen tiny floating ruby fragments, linked and arranged by activating the spells embedded within them. The eerie noise heard after Kiritsugu and Mai’s gunfire was the sound of bullets instantly melting upon striking the array.

Conventional firearms were useless. Kiritsugu immediately realized that even his Origin bullets might not penetrate this magical defense array to disrupt the opponent’s magical circuits.

Because the array was not a single whole, even if he “cut” and “reconnected” to break one corner, the impact on the mage would be minimal. Moreover, the array might not even be maintained by Tokiomi himself but by enchanted gems.

His proud technique had been so easily countered that, even with his experience, Kiritsugu momentarily did not know what to do.

Magic based on gems truly deserved to sustain a whole family through patent fees alone.

“A mage is born with ‘power.’ Generations of accumulation and research are all to gain greater ‘power’,” Tokiomi said elegantly, slightly bowing. “Though I don’t understand why you gave up such power for those dirty tricks, I will still observe the proper rituals of orthodox magecraft and destroy you with the strongest magic directly.”

What a strange ritual that was.

Seeing Mai retreat immediately according to their plan after a failed shot, Kiritsugu dropped the machine gun and picked up the Contender loaded with Origin bullets, preparing to engage in a proper mage duel.

If long-range attacks were useless, why not put the gun’s muzzle right on his forehead?

“[Flame Dragon, roar!]”

Tokiomi spun his staff, and the large ruby atop it spewed forth a torrent of flames that quickly formed into a roaring dragon of fire, snapping and clawing at the opposing mage assassin.

Kiritsugu leapt aside just in time to escape the flames. The now targetless fiery dragon turned to chase him, while a new flame dragon emerged from Tokiomi’s ruby staff.

“[Innate Time Control: Double Speed]!”

Under the assault of two flame dragons, Kiritsugu, moving at a speed far exceeding normal limits, slipped through a gap and fired a shot at Tokiomi, which was again blocked by the defense array.

The two flame dragons, responsive to their master’s will, and the mage assassin moving at superhuman speed, engaged in fierce offense and defense among the trees. Though their magical attributes were completely different, both mages understood each other’s methods.

Whoever landed the first hit would end the fight.

Both sides thought the same.