The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Using an external observation magic device, he easily took in the intruder's face.

"A strange magician... and the daughter of the hour, Sakura?"

Upon seeing Sakura's face, Kotomine Risuke initially showed a surprised expression, but then a smile returned to his face.

Unexpectedly, just after Tokiomi Tohsaka asked him to use the church's intelligence network to help find his daughter, the mastermind behind it all delivered himself to his doorstep...

After quickly adjusting his priest's robes, Kotomine Ritsu turned and walked towards the church door.

As Hachiman Hikigaya approached the church door, it opened automatically from the inside.

"Please come in, unfamiliar magician and... daughter of the Tohsaka family."

An elderly man's kind face appeared inside the door.

He smiled slightly at the two of them, opened the door, and then turned and walked into the church on his own.

"do you know him?"

Upon hearing that the old man recognized Sakura's identity, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately became wary.

"I don't know him. The church and magicians have a terrible relationship!"

Sakura shook her head, indicating that she didn't know what was going on.

"I see. Then I guess I'll have to be careful later."

Upon hearing Sakura's answer, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded, then took Sakura's hand and followed her into the church.

In that brief moment, he had already scanned the entire church and the elderly people through the system.

There were no traps, and the old man's strength was quite poor...

Chapter 205: I was inexplicably chosen.

Upon entering the church, one is immediately struck by the enormous cross and the huge crystal chandelier overhead.

"I thought churches would be lit by candles..."

"Haha, wouldn't that be such a waste? Besides, it's not convenient for my old bones to climb that high to change the candles..."

Kotomine Ritsu, who was walking ahead, heard Hikigaya Hachiman's words and turned around with a slight smile.

He then invited the two to sit down in the empty seats.

"May I ask what brings this gentleman to the church so late at night?"

"It's nothing serious, I just came to bother you for one night to avoid being watched by some insects."

As they were talking, Hachiman Hikigaya took out the food he had just bought from his system space and handed it to Sakura beside him.

"Oh? There's absolutely no magic fluctuation?"

Hachiman Hikigaya's sudden ability to telekinetically retrieve objects stunned Kotomine Rissatsu.

There are people in this world who can retrieve things from another dimension without using magic, but they are definitely a minority!

Could it be that the man before me is some important figure in disguise...?

Kotomine Ryougi thought about it for a while and then dismissed the ridiculous conjecture.

How could those important figures deliberately disguise themselves as someone like Hachiman Hikigaya and come to him a year before the Holy Grail War even begins?

It's likely that Hachiman Hikigaya was just a lucky guy who stumbled upon a special magical inheritance along the way.

"Don't worry, we'll only be here for one night, then we'll leave..."

On the other side, after handing the purchased food to Sakura, Hachiman Hikigaya noticed Kotomine Riji's furrowed brows and assumed that his opponent was worried that their presence would cause unnecessary trouble.

As they were talking, suddenly, Hachiman Hikigaya felt a mysterious and irresistible force burrowing into the back of his right hand.

He felt a sharp prick on the back of his hand, followed by a strange pattern appearing on it.

"This is... a cursed seal?!"

Completely surprised that the cursed seal would suddenly appear on Hachiman Hikigaya's hand, Kotomine Risuke exclaimed in astonishment.

"A cursed seal? You mean that thing?"

Upon hearing Kotomine Risei call out the name of the pattern in his hand, Hikigaya Hachiman showed Kotomine Risei the cursed seal in more detail while asking why the cursed seal appeared on him.

"You seem to know nothing..."

After staring at Hachiman Hikigaya with a complicated expression for a while, Kotomine Rise sighed, temporarily suppressing his idea of ​​tricking him into joining the alliance, and carefully explained the cursed seal and information about the Holy Grail War to him.

"So, the purpose of this is to allow seven magicians to summon seven Heroic Spirits, and then have them fight each other for the so-called Holy Grail over seven days?"

After listening to Kotomine Risei's explanation, Hachiman Hikigaya, who had a general understanding of the Holy Grail War, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He couldn't understand how those magicians were thinking when faced with the so-called Holy Grail War.

So you have to fight and die to get that supposedly all-powerful wishing cup?

This thing sounds fake.

If the Holy Grail could truly grant any wish, the world's strongest people would have fought tooth and nail to get it, wouldn't they?

How could the Holy Grail really choose seven candidates and then select the recipient from among them?

"That sounds pretty boring..."

I have absolutely no intention of participating!

It's probably better to go home and get back to your own world as soon as possible; the magicians in this world seem a bit off their minds...

Thinking this, Hachiman Hikigaya mentally checked with the system to see if he could take Sakura with him when he traveled through time.

After all, this world is even more abnormal than his. Since the other party can no longer go home and has no one to rely on, it's better to go back with him.

"Unable to return."

The system clearly informed Hachiman Hikigaya of the result.

"Due to interference from an unknown force, spatial jump is not possible. It is recommended that the host remove the source of interference from their body before attempting the jump..."

"Interference from an unknown force? Is that what you mean?"

Upon hearing the system's reply, Hachiman Hikigaya examined the so-called curse mark on the back of his hand once more.

"Um, Mr. Kotomine, is there any way to get rid of this thing?"

Since you've become a candidate for the Holy Grail, shouldn't you be able to give up that identity?

"I'm sorry, it's not possible!"

However, to Hachiman Hikigaya's disappointment, when faced with his question, Rie Kotomine paused for a moment before shaking her head decisively.

"but......"

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya was feeling somewhat helpless about having to participate in that insane competition, Risei Kotomine spoke up again.

"but?"

"Although I cannot relinquish my status as a participant, I do have a way to guarantee your absolute safety during the competition!"

"Absolutely safe?"

Anything that claims to be absolutely safe is absolutely unsafe...

While inwardly complaining, Hachiman Hikigaya wore an expression of interest on his face.

He wanted to see what this old priest was really up to.

"That's right!"

Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's interested expression, Ryougi Kotomine smiled and nodded.

"In the end, the Holy Grail War is just a war between seven Heroic Spirits. When the Heroic Spirits they summon have been defeated, the magus who is the Master will choose to seek refuge in the church."

"Therefore, if you really don't want to participate in the Holy Grail War, you can simply withdraw by transferring your cursed seal to me after you summon your Heroic Spirit."

"Um... Mr. Kotomine, didn't you just say that we can't abstain?"

"What I meant was that you can't forfeit before the Holy Grail War begins, but transferring the cursed seal is allowed after the war starts."

Staring at Hachiman Hikigaya, who looked quite naive and knew absolutely nothing, Ryoukotomine replied with a smile.

"What will happen to the heroic spirits I summon?"

Looking at Kotomine Risei's expression, Hikigaya Hachiman was basically certain that the old priest was plotting how to trick him.

However, he was still curious as to why the other party would do this. Could it be that he had already colluded with one of the other six contestants?

"The summoned Heroic Spirits are naturally being temporarily controlled by me, the Overseer during the Holy Grail War. But rest assured, as the Overseer, I will absolutely not participate in the battle."

Of course, if it's handed over to someone else, things might be different...

Kotomine Ryou was silently reciting in her mind.

Chapter 206 Tokiomi Tohsaka's Obstruction

"It would be a miracle if I didn't feel at ease..."

Looking at Kotomine Risei's honest appearance and the cunning mind beneath, Hikigaya Hachiman silently complained to himself.

He was certain that this so-called church supervisor was in cahoots with the other contestants!

If he were to foolishly hand over the Heroic Spirit and the Cursed Seal, there's a very high chance that Kotomine Risatsu would turn on him and have the Heroic Spirit kill him.

Although the exact strength of the so-called Heroic Spirits is still unclear, Hachiman Hikigaya has no intention of fighting them without any information.

Having confirmed that Kotomine Risei was the traitor, Hikigaya Hachiman decided not to stay at the church any longer.

After all, according to what Kotomine Risei said before, once the participants were determined, the Servants could actually be summoned in advance.

With his identity as a contestant already exposed, Hachiman Hikigaya still dares to linger in front of the traitor, Risei Kotomine. He's not that bold.

After standing up and politely indicating that he needed to think about it, Hachiman Hikigaya pulled Sakura along to leave the church.

Kotomine Risei did not stop them, but gave him a complicated look before letting the two push open the wooden door and walk out.

"The Holy Grail War won't start for another year..."

Holding Sakura's hand, Hachiman Hikigaya once again stepped out of the church's territory and began to think about where the two of them should go next.