My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

Kirei Kotomine began to tell Tokiomi Tohsaka about the situation at the church.

After listening, Tokiomi Tohsaka remained silent for a long time, his eyes filled with sadness. He looked at Kirei Kotomine with an apologetic gaze: "I'm sorry, Father Risei..."

"Teacher, there's no need to feel guilty. It was all my father's own wish." Kirei Kotomine said calmly as always, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.

“Father Risei is like another father to me. We should carry on Father Risei’s legacy and win the Holy Grail War.” Tokiomi Tohsaka said, patting Kirei Kotomine on the shoulder, his face showing no trace of the sadness he had just shown.

"Teacher, where is Berserker?"

“Berserker isn’t invincible either. Gilgamesh’s Anti-God Noble Phantasm from his treasury hasn’t been lost. That’s the trump card to defeat Berserker.” Tokiomi Tohsaka said this with great certainty, but in reality, he wasn’t so sure.

"Yes, teacher, what do we do now?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka thought for a moment and then instructed, "Continue to monitor the Matou family and the other Masters. Report to me immediately if anything happens."

After finishing his sentence, Tokiomi Tohsaka left the room and returned to the magic workshop in the basement, which was his favorite place to stay.

"Yes." Kirei Kotomine watched Tokiomi Tohsaka leave the room before turning and leaving himself.

But when they passed the next room, they saw Gilgamesh dressed in modern clothes, lying on the sofa, holding a wine glass in his only remaining hand, leisurely sipping the red wine in the glass, his expression elegant, showing no trace of the disheveled state he had been in when Hui almost killed him.

Gilgamesh looked at Kirei Kotomine with some surprise: "Oh~, how did you manage to survive the attack of that god?"

"It's nothing, it just so happened that we weren't teaching at the time."

Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh smiled knowingly: "Really? I didn't expect you to be such an interesting person."

He suddenly became interested in Kirei Kotomine. He had initially thought Kirei was a boring guy like Tokiomi, but after seeing what this man did today, he realized that the other man was such an interesting guy. He was a guy who didn't even grieve when his own father was killed!

"interesting?"

“Otherwise, a Master protected by the Church wouldn’t leave the Church so easily, especially at such a coincidental time.” Gilgamesh’s lips curled up as he took a sip of wine.

"That was just... a coincidence. But what about you? Did Berserker shake your confidence? Drinking alone here." Kirei Kotomine's voice was a little urgent.

Gilgamesh seemed not to hear the provocation and said to himself, "You know, although thousands of years have passed in the world, the taste of this wine is the same as in my time."

At this point, Gilgamesh paused, looked at Kirei Kotomine, and said, "God still treats human life as worthless as grass, and I, who have dealt with God my whole life, why would you think I would be afraid of her? You mongrel."

"then you……"

“I’m just bored,” Gilgamesh coaxed.

"Bored? Why are you bored?"

"Tokiomi summoned me so that I could remain in physical form in the modern world. More importantly, he treated me with the respect due to a subject, so I had to repay him. But I never expected him to be such a boring man."

"Are you dissatisfied with Tokiomi-sensei's arrangements?" Kirei Kotomine assumed Gilgamesh was upset that Tokiomi had used a Command Spell to force him to return earlier.

"Hmph, reaching the [Vortex of Origin]? His wish is truly boring."

"The desire to reach the Root is a thought that all magicians have, and it is not something that outsiders can judge. The process of reaching the Root is to transcend to the 'outside' of the world, while those of us who are interested in the inside of the world can only understand it as a boring wish," Kirei Kotomine explained.

“I see. Indeed, I am content with simply cherishing this universe that serves as my garden. As for the realms I cannot reach, I have no interest in any ‘Root’,” Gilgamesh said matter-of-factly.

“But the Holy Grail isn’t a device specifically designed to pursue the ‘Root.’ Since it’s called omnipotent, it also hides infinite possibilities for changing the world’s inner workings,” Kirei Kotomine said.

"So, the other Masters' motivations for pursuing the Holy Grail are different from Tokiomi's?"

"Master Tokiomi is a typical, and also the most conservative and traditional, magician. Everyone else pursues the inner world, that is, worldly interests, prestige, desires, and power..."

"Isn't it great? It's all things I like."

"You are indeed the king who reigns supreme over mortals, Gilgamesh." Kirei Kotomine flattered Gilgamesh with a straight face.

Gilgamesh merely smiled slightly and countered with a question to Kirei Kotomine: "And what about you, Kirei? What do you desire for the Holy Grail?"

Kirei Kotomine was taken aback: "I...I have no wish."

“That’s impossible. Even gods have desires. How can you, a mere mortal, dare to say you have none? Besides, isn’t the Holy Grail only meant to summon those who are qualified to obtain it?” Gilgamesh said, looking into Kirei Kotomine’s eyes.

Kirei Kotomine looked bewildered: "That's how it should be, but even I don't understand why I, who have no ideals or aspirations, was chosen to participate in this war."

"If you have no ideals or aspirations, then why not just pursue pleasure?" Gilgamesh continued to tempt.

Kirei Kotomine's expression changed, and he said seriously, "Are you kidding me? Pleasure? You want me to indulge in that kind of sinful depravity?"

"Sin? Depravity? Your thinking is really jumping around. Why would pleasure be associated with sin?"

"This one……"

"I see. Pleasure gained through evil deeds may be sinful, but people can also gain pleasure through good deeds. What is the reason for concluding that pleasure itself is evil?"

"I have no joy in my heart. I have been searching for it but have never found it."

“Impossible!” Gilgamesh suddenly sat up straight. “Kirei, true pleasure is the form of the soul, not a question of whether it exists or not. It is a question of whether one recognizes or does not recognize.”

"Kiri, you haven't seen the true form of your own soul. That's why you say you feel no joy in your heart."

Kirei Kotomine was suddenly struck by this feeling, which contradicted his long-held beliefs, and he instinctively resisted: "You, a servant, want to proselytize to me?"

"Don't be ungrateful, you bastard. These are the words of a king who has described all the luxuries and pleasures in the world."

Upon hearing Gilgamesh's words, Kirei Kotomine fell silent.

Gilgamesh continued, "Kiri, you should learn what entertainment is. Let me think... Oh, right, how about you start by entertaining me?"

"I don't have time to waste on having fun."

“Don’t say that. You can do it in your spare time during the work that Tokiomi gave you.” Gilgamesh paused and continued, “Speaking of which, Kirei, your job is to send spies to monitor the other five Masters, right?”

"so what."

"Don't just investigate their intentions and strategies, but also their motives, and then tell me. By the way, focus on investigating the Berserker's Master. I really want to know what kind of desire could resonate with the gods."

Kirei Kotomine frowned: "Berserker... will take time."

"It's alright, I will wait patiently." After saying that, Gilgamesh turned into a spirit and disappeared.

The forest on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.

This is the site of the Einzbern family's castle.

Because this place is far from the Fuyuki Church, it was not affected.

Even so, the once lush forest showed no trace of its former self.

Under the extreme cold, the branches of trees were covered with ice crystals, and the stems of grass were strung with crystal-clear pearls. As for the wildflowers, their bright petals were covered with a layer of frost, obscuring their original beauty.

The cold wind howled, and snow fell in abundance.

The big tree swayed in the cold wind, its branches whipping through the air like wildly dancing whips, and the leaves on top fell as soon as they were blown away by the sudden drop in temperature.

The ground seemed to be covered with a thick quilt. Looking around, everything was white and quiet. Although there were few animals in the forest because it was close to the city, now there was not even the sound of insects chirping.

Deep in the forest, there lies a hidden castle protected by a barrier.

Beyond the barrier lies the Einzbern family's castle.

The castle has a medieval appearance, built with solid slate blocks, and is square in shape. There is a watchtower at each of the four corners, and a beautiful flower bed in the center.

The castle walls were covered in asphalt from long disuse, but the interior was magnificent and brightly lit, with running water and electricity.

In a room on the second floor of the castle.

The room was heated, and a rectangular table was placed in the middle.

Irisviel, dressed in winter clothes, saw Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya return through the crystal ball.

Chapter 387 Strategy

On the table in the room was a map covered with dense markings.

In addition to the map, the personal information of the other Masters and related investigation results were compiled and placed on it.

Irisviel breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Kiritsugu Emiya return safely.

She loved this man who appeared cold on the outside but was actually very kind on the inside, not to mention that they had a child together.

Behind Irisviel, Artoria stood silently to the side.

With a creak, the door opened, and Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya walked in.

"How is it?" Irisviel stepped forward warmly and gently brushed the snow off Kiritsugu Emiya's clothes.

She was petite, only as tall as Kiritsugu's chin, and her graceful figure showed no signs of having given birth. At this moment, her noble air had been replaced by gentleness and virtue. The way she carefully brushed the snow off Kiritsugu's mountain was just like a virtuous wife serving her husband who had just returned home.

"The church and the area it was located in have completely disappeared." Kiritsugu Emiya said solemnly, his voice low, and he exhaled hot breath.

Upon hearing this, Irisviel's pupils contracted, and her slender hands trembled slightly.

In her eyes, the church was an existence that even her Einzbern family dared not provoke, but she never expected that its branch would be destroyed.

This is not just a slap in the face, it's a direct declaration of war.

Artoria, standing behind Irisviel, asked, "How is the disaster situation outside?"

Kiritsugu Emiya glanced at Artoria with his cold and indifferent face, but did not answer her.

He knew without a doubt that Artoria was about to display her outdated chivalrous spirit once again.

His goal is to save all of humanity, not just the hundreds of thousands of people we have now. In this process, certain sacrifices are inevitable.

Artoria frowned slightly when Kiritsugu ignored her.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward.

Irisviel quickly tried to smooth things over: "Kiritsugu, why has the weather suddenly become so cold?"

“It’s Berserker’s Noble Phantasm against stars.” Kiritsugu Emiya’s voice carried a hint of horror.

Maiya glanced at Saber, then at Kiritsugu, and added, "This time, the Noble Phantasm used by Berserker seems to be an ice-attribute ability. The temperature in the upper part of the mountain where the church is located dropped to more than 200 degrees below zero Celsius. The city at the foot of the mountain was also affected. As for the residents there... I did not see a single survivor."

As Wu Mi finished speaking, even though she was ruthless and a mass murderer, her voice softened as she recalled the human-shaped ice sculptures she had seen all over the street.

Bang!

Artoria angrily slammed her fist on the marble table, cracking and denting it.

His face was filled with righteous indignation as he roared, "Damn it, that evil god!"

Artoria turned to Kiritsugu, her voice urgent: "Master, we can't wait any longer. The evil deeds of that evil god are intolerable. We should strike first before more people are harmed."

Her voice was clear and crisp, carrying a rare strength and beauty in a woman, full of justice and drive.

Upon hearing this, Kiritsugu Emiya's cold and ruthless face flashed with a hint of surprise, and he couldn't help but glance at Artoria a few times.