My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

Currently, only three Servants remain publicly: Rider, Saber, and Archer.

The Holy Grail War quickly entered its final, intense phase, and all Masters felt that a storm was brewing.

Iskandar, having used the Royal Army twice in a row, was severely depleted of his magic power and could not even maintain his physical form. He could only hide in the mountains near the ley lines with Waver to recuperate.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya was busy moving his base from the suburban castle to a newly developed residential area in the east of the city, claiming it as the final location for the Holy Grail's descent.

Because the Holy Grail must descend where there is sufficient spiritual energy, which is a location where ley lines are concentrated.

There are four places in Fuyuki City that meet the criteria: the Tohsaka family's house and the Fuyuki Church, Enzoyama Ryudoji Temple, and the remaining one is the newly developed residential area located in the eastern part of the city.

As for Tokiomi Tohsaka, his considerations were even more far-reaching.

There are now three factions, and a three-way balance of power is the most unstable. It will inevitably evolve into a situation where the two weaker factions band together to attack the third party. This is a lesson from history.

Of the three forces, he was the most powerful, or at least that's what he thought.

In order to prevent the other two sides from ganging up on him, he naturally took the initiative to strike first, proposing an alliance, or at the very least, sowing discord between the other two factions.

After much consideration, it seems that the Einzbern family, being one of the three founding families, is the easiest to form an alliance with.

Therefore, he sent his familiar to extend an invitation to Irisviel.

The location was chosen at Ryudo-ji Temple. The best place would have been the Fuyuki Church, but the church and the entire mountainside had long since disappeared.

When Irisviel, Maiya, and Artoria arrived at Ryudouji Temple, Tokiomi Tohsaka had already been waiting for them for a long time.

"I am Tokiomi Tohsaka. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for your presence." Tokiomi Tohsaka's refined voice was filled with confidence. He then turned to reveal Kirei behind him. "Let me introduce you. This is Kirei Kotomine. He is my direct disciple and was once my rival in the struggle for the Holy Grail."

This was the first time Irisviel had seen Kirei Kotomine, the dangerous man whom Kiritsugu Emiya had specifically named.

She involuntarily became wary.

Tokiomi Tohsaka sensed Irisviel's wariness and quickly added, "However, that's all in the past now. He has lost his servants, and he has long since given up his sovereignty."

The implication is that he poses no threat.

Tokiomi Tohsaka continued, "This Holy Grail War is finally coming to its final act. As expected, those remaining are the Masters of the 'Original Three Families' and an outsider who joined temporarily. So, what are your thoughts on the current situation?"

Inside an unnamed hotel.

Kiritsugu Emiya listened to the conversation remotely through the eavesdropping device worn by Maiya.

The room was dark, with no lights on, as if only this could soothe his restless mind.

Irisviel replied forcefully, "We have no opinion, because we have the strongest Saber, so there is no need to hide and wait for an opportunity. We can just win fair and square all the way."

Upon hearing this, Tokiomi Tohsaka smiled inwardly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Is Saber the strongest?

In a normal Holy Grail War, the Saber class is indeed the strongest.

However, this Holy Grail War was already abnormal.

Not only did three world-renowned kings appear at once, but even the gods of the Age of Gods were summoned.

Even though the god has left the stage, the remaining three kings are no ordinary people. It's still uncertain who is the strongest.

Tokiomi Tohsaka suppressed his thoughts, glanced at Irisviel, and began to reveal his purpose: "I see. Saber is indeed a powerful Heroic Spirit. However, there are no ordinary people in this Holy Grail War. In my opinion, Rider will probably be the one to win in the end."

Tokiomi paused, a pained expression on his face, and looked intently at Irisviel: "Even if it's only one in ten thousand, we absolutely cannot let the Holy Grail fall into the hands of outsiders. I think we can agree on this point."

Irisviel remained outwardly calm, but in reality, she gritted her teeth and persevered. As more and more servants left, her physical functions began to deteriorate rapidly. Just standing up had already exhausted almost all of her strength.

But precisely because of this, she couldn't let the other party see any weakness. She forced herself to remain calm and replied sharply, "What alliance? That's ridiculous. However, if it's just about changing our priority in eliminating the enemy, I might consider it a little, given your sincerity."

"What do you mean?" Tokiomi Tohsaka gestured.

"We will not take action against the Tohsaka family until we defeat the other Masters. If that is the only agreement, we can accept it conditionally."

"A conditional truce agreement, huh? That's a pretty good compromise." Tokiomi Tohsaka gestured for Irisviel to state the conditions.

"We have two demands. First, you must disclose all the information you have about Rider and his Master."

“Yes.” Tokiomi immediately nodded in agreement.

Seeing the momentum, Irisviel pressed her advantage: "My second request is to exclude Kirei Kotomine from the Holy Grail War."

These words were spoken.

Tokiomi Tohsaka's pupils contracted.

A chill ran down my spine.

It feels like when you get up in the middle of the night and feel your pillow is damp and sticky, then you turn on the light and find that it's not a pillow at all, but a large python with large, black-edged, clouded leopard-like spots all over its body.

Irisviel thought Tokiomi disagreed and added, "Of course, I won't ask you to kill him, but he must leave Fuyuki before this war ends... no, leave the country of Japan, by tomorrow morning at the latest."

Tokiomi Tohsaka's doubts deepened.

What is Kirei Kotomine hiding from the Einzbern family that has put them so on edge?

"Could you please explain your reasoning?" Tokiomi asked Irisviel.

“This agent has a considerable grudge against our Einzbern family. If the Tohsaka camp is going to protect him, then we cannot trust you at all,” Irisviel explained vaguely.

Tokiomi Tohsaka felt a chill run down his spine and turned to question Kirei Kotomine: "What's going on?"

Kirei Kotomine stopped closing his eyes to rest and briefly recounted the incident of attacking Maiya at the foot of the church mountain.

At last.

Tokiomi nodded in agreement to Irisviel's terms.

Chapter 406 Untitled

He saw that Tokiomi agreed.

Irisviel nodded in agreement.

After leaving Ryudouji Temple, Irisviel could no longer hold on and collapsed into Maiya's arms; her physical functions were nearing their limit.

After Irisviel and the others left.

Tokiomi Tohsaka turned around and looked at Kirei Kotomine with displeasure: "I think you should tell me about your grudge with the Einzbern family first."

Seeing that Kirei Kotomine remained silent, Tokiomi continued, "It's regrettable, but there's nothing we can do. You should withdraw from this war, Kirei Kotomine."

"...Yes." Kirei Kotomine was silent for a moment, then agreed expressionlessly.

but.

When he went back to pack his luggage and saw the scattered photos of Kiritsugu Emiya on the table, his usually stern expression revealed a rare hint of resentment.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, who exactly are you? Do you want me to leave here without knowing why?" Kirei Kotomine muttered to himself.

He didn't want to leave like this; he hadn't yet learned how to "cure" his personality flaws from Kiritsugu Emiya, a fellow human being.

"Hmm?" Kirei Kotomine composed himself, looking up at the uninvited guest in the room. "King of Heroes, what brings you here?"

Gilgamesh glanced at Kirei Kotomine with a mocking look: "At this point, what are you still hesitating about? Even if you're clumsy, it doesn't have to be like this, Kirei Kotomine. Even now, the Holy Grail is still calling you, and you yourself still hope to continue fighting."

Kirei Kotomine replied in a deep voice, “Since I was old enough to understand, I have lived only to explore one thing, constantly spending time and enduring pain for it, but all of this has ended in vain. But now, I feel that the ‘answer’ I have been so desperately seeking is within reach.”

“You’ve already reflected on yourself so deeply, what is there to hesitate about?” Gilgamesh said.

Kirei Kotomine remained silent for a moment before revealing the reason: "I have a premonition that when I know all the answers, I will face annihilation."

Jingle Bell!

The phone on the table rang. Kirei Kotomine picked it up and held it to his ear. After a moment, he said, "Received. Thanks for your help."

These are unofficial staff members of the Fuyuki Church. After Kotomine Risei's death, they took orders from Kotomine Kirei.

"Did you receive some report that would excite you greatly?" Gilgamesh noticed the fleeting glint of light on Kirei's face.

"We only found out the hideout of Einzbern's group."

“Haha~, Kirei, you…” Gilgamesh was amused by this contradictory behavior. “You’ve been planning to keep going from the very beginning, haven’t you?”

“I hesitated for a moment… I could have chosen to back down, but in the end, the King of Heroes is still as you said.” Kirei Kotomine rolled up his sleeve, revealing a dense array of Command Seals on it. “I can’t think of any other way but to keep pressing the matter to the end.”

"What is that?"

"A gift from my father." After Kotomine Risei's death, he inherited the Command Seals from his father.

"Oh~, but Kirei, there is a very serious problem now. If you want to participate in the Holy Grail War according to your own will, then Tokiomi Tohsaka will definitely become your enemy."

Gilgamesh seemed to become serious.

"In other words, you are now in a room with an enemy Servant, completely unarmed. Isn't that a rather dangerous situation?"

"That's not necessarily true. I've already thought of a way to beg for mercy."

"Oh~"

"Gilgamesh, let me tell you the truth about the Holy Grail War that you don't yet know."

"What consciousness?" Gilgamesh sat up.

Kirei Kotomine sat down as well and slowly explained, "Ultimately, this ritual held in Fuyuki City is an attempt to open a passage to the Root by gathering the souls of seven Servants as sacrifices. After killing the seven Servants, the Greater Grail can be activated—all seven of them. Do you understand?"

Gilgamesh's face had turned grim.

Kirei Kotomine pressed on: "The reason my teacher was so reluctant to use up his Command Seals is that after all the battles were over, he needed to have his Servant commit suicide."

Gilgamesh's face had turned terribly grim: "So, to put it another way, Tokiomi's apparent loyalty to me was all a lie?"

Kirei Kotomine did not explain directly, but said, "In the end, my teacher is just a magician through and through. Even if he worships Heroic Spirits, he would not have any illusions about an idol."

Gilgamesh laughed in exasperation: "Heh heh~, Tokiomi, you finally showed your worth at the last moment."

"So, what will you do, King of Heroes? After knowing all this, will you still remain loyal to my teacher and punish my betrayal?"

"That's hard to say. Although his loyalty is fake, he is still contributing magic to me. If I completely sever ties with my Master, it will be inconvenient for me to remain in this world."

Gilgamesh looked at Kirei Kotomine, "Oh, speaking of which, there's another Master who only has Command Seals but no partner, and is seeking a Servant to break free from the contract."

"Ah, there is such a person, but I wonder if that man is a Master who could catch the eye of the King of Heroes?"

"No problem. Although it's too rigid and a bit of a shortcoming, it still has potential."

Finally, the two looked at each other knowingly.

……