Type-Moon: My Destiny Guide

The magician from the Einzbern family leaned back in his chair, turned his head, and swept his mocking gaze over the kind-faced priest:

"Father, do you think your actions were right?"

"what do you mean?"

Kotomine Risa calmly closed the church door and slowly walked towards the man.

"Of course, I'm referring to your alliance with the Tohsaka family. As the overseer of the Holy Grail War, a priest who must maintain impartiality, you've allied yourself with a participant—"

He remained seated, completely unguarded, yet the words that came from Kiritsugu Emiya's mouth were as sharp as swords: "Those who pursue evil will inevitably die."

"But those who persevere in righteousness will have life," the old priest replied in a gentle tone.

"These are words from the Book of Job in the Old Testament. I never expected that you, a magician assassin, would be able to read our teachings."

"I just flipped through them casually on the way," the man said. "So, what's your answer?"

"Yes, forming an alliance with the Tohsaka family is exactly what I believe in as justice."

The overseer sent by the church, Kotomine Risei, answered without hesitation, and then, with the same decisiveness, threw a punch at the magician who had his back to him.

The response to his fists was the flash of gunfire.

"boom!"

Chapter 158 The Vanished Command Seals and the Prison Visitor

Long ago, the Church already possessed evidence proving that the Holy Grail appearing in Fuyuki was not the same item as the relic of the 'Child of God'. The item that was being fought over so fiercely in Fuyuki was only useful to magicians and had absolutely no connection to the Church.

However, because the Holy Grail in Fuyuki is too powerful, the Church cannot simply stand idly by. After all, it is still a wish-granting machine, and if it falls into the hands of someone with malicious intent, who knows what kind of disaster it might bring.

However, if the Holy Grail is rejected as heresy, conflict with the Mage's Association is inevitable, and the sacrifices made by the Church would be too great.

—It would be better to take a step back and entrust the Holy Grail of Fuyuki to a 'suitable person'.

This is why the Church chose the Tohsaka family, simply because the head of the Tohsaka family, Tokiomi Tohsaka, has always upheld the great vow of 'going to the Root'.

However, this alliance agreement came to an end.

The sound of gunshots shattered the tranquility of the sacred place. The man holding the murder weapon stared at the old priest's body, which had collapsed to the ground but still maintained a punching posture. After a long while, he curled his lip, and the disguise on his face disappeared, revealing the appearance of a young man with white hair and golden eyes.

"It seems that this useless guilt can be discarded."

With a snap of his fingers, a shadowy follower appeared, stepped forward, lifted the old priest's right sleeve, and then brought down his sword.

"Pfft." It was unclear what technique Bai Mao used, but although he severed Kotomine Risei's right arm, not a single drop of blood spurted from the wound.

Shuoyue stretched out her finger and touched her right arm, which was covered with Command Seals, recalling the contents of John 4:24, which she had read on the way.

"God is spirit. Therefore, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth."

As if in response to this statement, all the Command Seals on Li Zheng's cold right hand began to glow faintly again.

As the sacred words were released, accompanied by a sharp pain, Shuoyue watched as the Command Seals, like ants, clung to her wrist. In the dim church, the red patterns resembled blood, radiating an eerie light.

A dozen or so Command Seals—that's the legacy left behind by the participants in the first three Holy Grail Wars.

Now, it all belongs to Shuoyue alone.

"Should I wrap my face in bandages like Xiao An?" Shuoyue muttered to herself, then closed the old priest's unseeing eyes and stood up. "Let's go."

"Yes, Master."

He completely destroyed Kotomine Risei's right arm, respectfully nodded, and disappeared into the sanctuary with Sakugetsu.

Tokiomi Tohsaka discovered his old friend's death an hour later.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, he left the magic workshop and entered the chapel, where he sensed the presence of death.

To learn magic, the first thing to do is to accept and understand death—this is the first lesson every apprentice magician learns. It is for this reason that, at the moment he realized death, Tokiomi Tohsaka then smelled blood and a little bit of lingering gunpowder.

Someone in the church must have done something unforgivable.

Tokiomi Tohsaka gripped his cane tightly, moving cautiously past the worshippers' seats—just before reaching the altar, he spotted Risei Kotomine sitting in the front row of the congregation, his eyes closed.

In the solemn atmosphere of the church, the old priest sat at the very front of the congregation, his body and seat buried in darkness, but his face was illuminated by the sunlight and looked incredibly holy.

"Father—"

The shout that had burst out was suppressed. At the same time that Tokiomi Tohsaka saw Father Risho, he also saw the bullet wound on his forehead and the missing right arm.

Tokiomi Tohsaka knew that on Father Risho's right arm was the Command Seal that Masters longed for.

In other words, the one who killed his old friend was a Master from the Holy Grail War.

As far as he knew, the Command Seals entrusted to Father Li Zheng were protected by powerful divine words, and it was almost impossible for them to be removed by magic without the priest's permission—perhaps this was the reason why the priest's right arm disappeared.

That villain must be racking his brains right now trying to get the Command Seals, just like a stray dog ​​that can't get the fat meat in its bowl—utterly disgusting.

Cursing the murderer with malice and murderous intent, Tokiomi Tohsaka showed no emotion on his face, searching for any trace in the church like a cold machine.

Just then, he noticed the magic runes drawn around the old priest, which were flashing with light when triggered.

"This is... a trigger magic that takes a specific aura as a condition!" Tokiomi Tohsaka recognized the true nature of the magic at a glance, but it was too late.

The timed magic was triggered, and a deep red light, symbolizing "October 1st," rose into the air and shimmered in the sky.

In the Major Arcana of the Tarot, card number eleven represents—

justice.

So, several hours later, all the familiars gathered together again.

This time, however, the church was empty—only four familiars and a corpse remained.

Tokiomi Tohsaka had already gone into hiding, but he did not hide the old priest's body. Since the murderer had already set up the magic, his superfluous act might make him a target of public criticism.

Just as the four familiars arrived, before the group could even begin to communicate, another trigger spell was activated.

What was presented to everyone was a recorded video of the magic trick.

In the incredibly clear footage, the magician assassin dressed in black sat in the congregation, exchanged a few words with Father Li Zheng, then raised his pistol and ended Father Li Zheng's life before the latter could fire.

Under the astonished gaze of everyone, the so-called culprit was easily exposed, and Kiritsugu Emiya was instantly thrust into the spotlight.

No matter how improper the behavior of church personnel may be, their existence is far more significant than the role of an overseer—killing the old priest means slapping the face of the church.

How dare Kiritsugu Emiya do this?

Could it be because of those precious Command Seals?

More importantly—who released that meaningful signal, that light screen that records the truth?

It was as if an invisible hand was pushing this Holy Grail War towards an even more chaotic state.

"So, it was you, Emiya Kiritsugu." Tokiomi Tohsaka knew there were many suspicious points in the image, but that didn't stop him from directing everyone's hostility towards Emiya Kiritsugu. "You're the one who killed the priest!"

Not only him, but even Kariya and Waver couldn't help but turn their gazes to the silent bat, which was Kiritsugu Emiya's familiar.

They were unaware of the Holy Word, so the fact that Father Li Zheng was killed and his right arm was taken away meant that this group possessed a far greater number of Command Seals than other groups.

They had no intention of avenging Kotomine Risei, but the group that possessed numerous Command Seals was the first target they had to eliminate.

Even if it's a misunderstanding, it's still advantageous for them to be the first to leave the scene, especially if they have powerful class-specific abilities.

Faced with the hostility of the three groups, Kiritsugu Emiya didn't say much. Instead, he severed his connection with his familiar and began to silently pack up his equipment.

"Aren't you going to explain? We didn't kill the priest," Irisviel said worriedly.

“It’s pointless,” Kiritsugu replied calmly. “It’s easy to smear someone, but it’s hard to clear your own name. Instead of wasting my breath arguing with these people who are pretending to be ignorant, I’d better conserve my energy and strike first.”

The long-dormant magician assassin's eyes were sharp, his gaze fixed on a certain point on the map.

That was the place that Hisayu Maiya secretly followed the Matou family's Master and found.

In other words, that was the hiding place of Matou Kariya and his Servants.

"Maimi, go find it."

"Yes."

Meanwhile, Kirei Kotomine, who was detained in the police station, also welcomed his first prison visitor.

"How about it? This dark and filthy place is perfect for you, Kirei Kotomine."

? ”

Chapter 159 Kirei Kotomine's Awakening

Accompanied by mocking and pitying sneers, the blinding golden disc player dispelled the darkness in the prison, forcing Kirei Kotomine, who had been staring at the void, to turn his gaze outside the cell.

Even just standing there, the heroic spirit made no attempt to conceal the astonishing sense of oppression emanating from him; the awe and self-discipline one would show when stepping into a modern, violent institution had nothing to do with him.

"We've come this far, what are you still pondering? Even if you're slow to react, there's a limit, Kirei."

"Did Tokiomi-sensei send you?"

"Tokiomi? This guy doesn't have time to deal with your affairs, or rather, he doesn't even know anything about you, right?" Blood-red eyes brazenly scrutinized Kirei Kotomine, as if he had known and was anticipating his next reaction from the very beginning.

What's the meaning? "

“Let me tell you, Kirei—he’s currently handling the funeral arrangements for Priest Kotomine Risei.”

A priest? Kotomine Risei? Kotomine... Risei...?

Father?

When the message he spoke was finally understood, the sensation of tears sliding down his cheek startled Kirei, who involuntarily pressed his face to the ground.

Shedding tears upon hearing of a blood relative's death... for anyone, this should be a natural reaction. But at this moment, Kirei seemed to have stepped into an abyss, falling into a chaotic state of near-fear.

"Absolutely do not look directly at it," a stern voice within me warned.

Kirei Kotomine, you absolutely cannot understand or accept the feelings welling up inside you right now. Because that is—

"Regret?" The Golden Heroic Spirit admired Kirei's empty and struggling expression, a sadistic smile appearing on his lips. "Not because of the death of a loved one, but because of not being there. Oh, that's not quite accurate."

"To be precise, the regret is that—the person who killed my own father wasn't me, right?"

A voice pierced Kirei's heart like a steel needle, breaking through the blockade and confinement he had endured three years ago. Kirei stared blankly at the wetness in his hands and at the tears streaming down his face.

Tears, when was the last time he shed tears?

Yes, it was three unforgettable years ago. That woman, his wife Claudia, reached out and wiped away Kirei's tears, saying, "You love me very much."