In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

Kenneth barely suppressed the urge to strangle Yanan and sneered, "Is that so? Then you've come at a really bad time. If it had been fifty years earlier, you might have had a chance to realize your ambitions."

Hearing the sarcasm in Kenneth's words, Yanan simply smiled indifferently and turned his attention back to the newspaper.

Suddenly, a news article caught his attention.

[The suspect in the Fuyuki City serial murder case, Ryunosuke Uryu, has been apprehended...]

Chapter Six: The Mystery of Ryunosuke Uryu's Death

Fuyuki City, Police Headquarters.

It was late at night, but the headquarters was still brightly lit, with busy police officers coming and going and phones ringing incessantly.

"Hey, Fujiwara, you did a great job this time. You actually managed to catch that serial killer. That's a big achievement."

"I heard that during the meeting this morning, Chief Yagami praised you for a full ten minutes in front of everyone, and even planned to give you a spot to study at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department next year. You might have a chance to be promoted to inspector in the future."

"If that's really the case, Fujiwara, you're really going to be rich."

Fujiwara's face lit up with undisguised joy, but he still said modestly, "No, no, I was just lucky and happened to run into you."

"Haha, kid, stop being modest. You managed to subdue that serial killer without getting hurt. That's something no ordinary police officer could do."

"Isn't the point that Fujiwara found the killer's hiding place? So many of us have been deducing for so long and haven't found any clues, but Fujiwara found it as soon as he made a move. You usually seem so unassuming, but you've solved a major case. You've really fooled us all."

Fujiwara felt elated by his colleagues' praise. He had been at the police headquarters for three years since graduation, and everyone treated him like a nobody. The highest-level case he had ever been involved in was a home invasion robbery.

Now, because he caught the murderer, he suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention, and this wonderful feeling was so irresistible to him.

"By the way, Fujiwara, could you tell us how you solved this case? You could at least share some of your experience with us." The speaker was a woman who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. She was wearing a white turtleneck sweater and a khaki trench coat on her upper body, and light blue jeans on her lower body. She had a clean and neat demeanor, and her beautiful and dignified face was adorned with a friendly smile. At first glance, one couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards her.

“Sakurai-senpai…” Fujiwara’s face instantly turned bright red. Sakurai was his senior. When he first joined the company, he was assigned to Sakurai’s subordinate. During that time, Sakurai patiently explained a lot of useful knowledge to him and gave him a lot of help.

It was from that time that he developed special feelings for this generous and kind-hearted senior, but because he had not achieved anything, he could only bury this admiration deep in his heart.

But now things are different. An opportunity to show himself to his beloved is right in front of him. Looking into those bright, expectant eyes, Fujiwara felt as if the blood in his veins was boiling.

But then, as if struck by a sudden thought, his face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Sakurai-senpai, the head of the department told me that the details of this case cannot be revealed to anyone."

"Is that so? That's such a shame." Sakurai's face showed a hint of regret.

Fujiwara lowered his head, his fists clenched tightly on his knees.

"Excuse me, is Officer Fujiwara Aino here?"

A strange voice suddenly rang out. Fujiwara subconsciously looked up and saw a handsome man with his hands in his pockets walking towards them. Although he was only wearing a simple hoodie and jeans, he exuded an air of nobility.

He must be the heir to some high-ranking family in the political or business world... Fujiwara thought to himself, then stood up respectfully: "Hello, I am Fujiwara..."

The sound stopped abruptly. Fujiwara seemed to suddenly realize something and looked around in horror, only to find that no one except himself was paying attention to the man!

He was such a unique person, shining like a star in the crowd, yet everyone ignored him as if he didn't exist!

An indescribable fear gripped Fujiwara's heart like a cold, demonic claw. Without hesitation, he drew his sidearm and aimed it directly at the man: "Stop! Who are you?!"

As he spoke, he glanced at his colleagues around him. Everyone was still chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened, and they didn't react at all to Fujiwara suddenly pulling out a gun in the police station.

It was as if he had fallen into a frozen wasteland, and the bone-chilling cold permeated every corner of Fujiwara's body.

“Don’t be so nervous, they’ve just fallen for a little suggestion spell.” Yanan smiled gently. “For some personal reasons, I don’t want others to know I’ve been here, but rest assured, I just want to ask a few questions. Would you mind cooperating?”

boom!

The gunshot rang out, and the powerful recoil made Fujiwara's wrist go numb. The police station conducts live-fire training every year, so his marksmanship is not too bad. Moreover, at such close range, even a seven or eight-year-old child would not be able to miss.

The bullet, accompanied by a fleeting spark, shot out from the muzzle, tracing a straight horizontal line through the air at a speed beyond the limits of human vision. However, at that moment, a small black hole suddenly appeared in front of Yanan, swallowing the bullet and disappearing without a trace.

"I already said I meant no harm, can't you be a little more understanding?" Yanan showed a hint of helplessness on his face, snapped his fingers with a snap, and a crimson feather fell from the void, coming into Fujiwara's view.

Seeing Fujiwara Aino's expression gradually become blank, Yanan asked calmly, "Tell me about how you captured Uryu Ryunosuke."

"Yes." Fujiwara's tone was robotic and flat, his eyes devoid of any gleam. "Three days ago, on my way home from get off work, as I passed the cherry blossom avenue, I suddenly smelled blood. Because the case of the serial killer was making headlines throughout Fuyuki at the time, I didn't ignore this anomaly. Instead, I followed the smell to a house called Suzuki. The closer I got to the house, the stronger the smell of blood became. I knew then that something must have happened inside, so I just shot the lock off and rushed in. And then, and then..."

Fujiwara's face twisted slightly, as if he couldn't bear to recall that hellish scene: "What I saw was a child's body lying in the corridor, looking as if it had been devoured by some ferocious beast. Bones, fascia, flesh, internal organs... were scattered everywhere in a mess. The only intact thing was the head. But the expression on his face gave me the feeling of that kind of deep-seated fear, like seeing hope only to fall into despair the next second."

“At that moment, I realized that the person who did it had deliberately left the head behind. Even now, I dream about this scene every night when I have nightmares.”

"Don't worry, you'll forget about it soon." Yanan nodded slightly. "And then?"

"I vomited for a long time, then remembered my job and mustered up the courage to go back in and search. I went into the living room on the first floor. It was very dark inside, and visibility was poor. After I turned on the light, I saw a bucket of blood on the floor, next to which was a strange magic circle. There were two corpses in the room. One was the male head of the Suzuki family, who was lying on the sofa. He had a large wound on his throat, and the bucket of blood must have been taken from him. The other was the serial killer lying on the magic circle, Ryunosuke Uryu..."

"Wait!" Yanan frowned slightly. "You mean, when you found Ryunosuke Uryu, he was already dead?"

“Yes.” Fujiwara nodded. “Chief Yagami instructed me that I must not tell anyone about this. No matter who asks about it, I can only say that I killed the murderer.”

Yanan had absolutely no interest in these trivial matters. After a moment of contemplation, he continued to press, "Where did Ryunosuke Uryu's fatal wound come from? Was there anything unusual about his body, such as any strange markings on the back of his hand?"

Because Yanan's question was quite specific this time, Fujiwara pondered for a long time before giving his answer: "Ryunosuke Uryu's fatal wound came from his heart. Someone must have shot him from behind. He didn't have any seals or anything like that on his hands."

A gunshot wound to the heart, no stamp... Yanan's eyes narrowed slightly: "By the way, what was the condition of the room at the time? Were there any traces of it being trampled by a wild animal like an elephant?"

“No, it’s just ordinary signs of a fight. It was probably left when the male head of the Suzuki family fought with Ryunosuke Uryu,” Fujiwara said.

Anan nodded thoughtfully, then casually waved his hand, using Feather Dust to suppress the image of the child's corpse in Fujiwara's memory to the deepest part of her subconscious, and then erased the memories related to himself. He then turned and walked away.

The moment Yanan stepped out of the police station, the strange atmosphere that had lingered there vanished instantly. Fujiwara shuddered, blinked in confusion, scratched his head, and muttered to himself:

"That's strange, didn't someone call me just now?"

"Hey kid, what are you daydreaming about?" An older police officer suddenly slapped Fujiwara hard on the back. "Did you hear what Sakurai just said?"

Fujiwara grinned and said, "What did you say?"

She said she wanted to invite you to her house to throw a celebration party just for you, and asked if you wanted to go.

Fujiwara froze for a moment, staring at the smiling Sakurai, his face instantly turning bright red. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and shouted:

"I go!"

Chapter Seven: A Classic Reappearance

Kenneth stood on the street opposite the police station, his hands behind his back, watching Yanan slowly cross the street and walk towards him.

“You can even master the original runes, yet you can’t even use the most basic suggestion magic. I really don’t know how you learned magic.” He looked at Anahn with a complicated expression.

“That’s why I said I only know a little about magic,” Yanan said with a smile.

Kenneth's lips twitched slightly, and he vaguely felt his stomach starting to hurt again.

He immediately decided to skip the topic and asked, "What exactly are you trying to do, coming to a place like this so late at night?"

"I just wanted to confirm some information." Yanan walked unhurriedly back the way he came, his hands in his pockets.

Fuyuki is even more deserted at night than during the day. There are hardly any people on the streets, and the vehicles on the road are sparse. Only a few streetlights stand alone on both sides of the street, shrouded in the thin, cold moonlight.

Kenneth frowned slightly, stepped forward, and stood about half a body length in front of Yanan. He said with a hint of sarcasm, "If you're trying to tell me you've been hired by the police department, then I really have to congratulate you. You're one step closer to your dream of saving the world."

"To be honest, I think saving the whole world is much easier than saving Fuyuki City." Yanan shook his head with a smile. "Now I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"When I eat dessert, I usually start with the most delicious part. Let me tell you the good news first."

"The good news is that one group of Masters and Servants has already left the game."

"What!?" Kenneth stared at Annan in shock. "How did you know!?"

After arriving in Fuyuki, he and Anaen did not encounter any other participants in the Holy Grail War, nor did they sense any unusual magical fluctuations. Everything seemed calm and peaceful, but a group of participants had already been eliminated without a word.

“An ordinary person named Ryunosuke Uryu has infiltrated this Holy Grail War. He’s a pervert who enjoys killing and once killed his own sister who took good care of him.” Anaen’s tone was flat, revealing no emotional fluctuation.

Kenneth frowned deeply. Even among selfish magicians, such a madman would be considered an absolute heretic; at least they wouldn't kill simply for the sake of killing.

"Ryunosuke Uryu's ancestors were magicians, and he himself also has the blood of a magician. By chance, he discovered the documents left by his ancestors in his family's warehouse, and then, by a twist of fate, he summoned the seventh servant of this Holy Grail War - Caster, Gilles de Rais."

"That French Grand Marshal?" Kenneth's eyes showed a thoughtful expression. A cold-blooded executioner who tortured and killed more than three hundred children, and a perverted serial killer who enjoyed killing. No wonder these two guys would get together.

“According to my original plan, I intended to deal with these two guys first.” A cold glint flashed in Yanan’s eyes. He could not tolerate these two freaks continuing to live in this world, both psychologically and physiologically. “But now, Ryunosuke Uryu is dead, and judging from the situation at the scene, he was killed after he summoned Caster.”

His certainty that Ryunosuke Uryu had summoned Caster stemmed from the death scene that had left a deep scar on Fujiwara. Anyone who has seen Fate/Zero will never forget the scene where Gilles de Rais, upon being summoned, used a sea monster to torture and kill children.

Sadly, this scene has played out again.

"The scene?" Kenneth paused slightly. "You mean, someone killed Caster's Master right in front of him?"

Yanan nodded slightly: "That's right, and what's even stranger is that there are no traces of Caster fighting with the enemy at the scene."

Kenneth finally sensed something unusual. Caster was, after all, a solo Servant. Under normal circumstances, only other Servants could defeat him. But even if the difference in strength between the two sides was huge, he couldn't just stand by and watch his Master die in front of him without any resistance.

Without a Master, a Heroic Spirit has no way to exist in the mortal world. Even if they have the ability to act alone, they can only delay things for a few days at most.

“Actually, these aren’t the things that puzzle me the most.” Yanan frowned slightly. “What I can’t understand the most is why the killer would do it at that exact moment.”

At first, Kenneth didn't understand what Yanan meant, but when he realized it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Yes, why did the murderer make his move right after Ryunosuke Uryu summoned Caster?

This could absolutely not be just a simple coincidence. Judging from the circumstances of Ryunosuke Uryu's death, it was clearly premeditated!

The murderer had been eyeing Ryunosuke Amusei for a long time, waiting for him to obtain the Master qualification and summon Caster before killing him!

But how could he be so sure that the Holy Grail would choose Ryunosuke Uryu? You have to understand, even the three founding families who created the Holy Grail system couldn't predict such a thing.

Could it be that...

"There's another guy with clairvoyance in this Holy Grail War!?" Kenneth's expression gradually turned grim; he finally understood what Anaen meant by the bad news.

“Gilgamesh himself also possesses the ability to see into the future, but given his personality, it’s impossible for him to do such a thing.” Anan looked up at the silvery-white full moon hanging high in the sky, his eyes narrowing slightly. “It seems that to find out who eliminated Caster, we’ll have to resort to some risky methods.”

......

......

Fuyuki City, Shindu Ward, Wharf and Warehouse Area.

Yanan sat on the edge of the container, tossing a crystal ball-like object up and down in his hand, from which pure and immense magical power continuously emanated.

"Can't you at least be a little more careful? The Magic Core is extremely precious!" Kenneth's exasperated voice echoed in his ears.

“This magic furnace core was obtained by trading my runes, why are you so nervous?” Anahn pursed his lips.

Kenneth, standing on another container in the distance, had a shifty look in his eyes. He couldn't very well say something like, "The core of this magic furnace will be mine after the Holy Grail War is over."

"Hmm? Finally, a fish has taken the bait?"

As if sensing something, Yanan looked up ahead and saw two figures slowly walking towards them under the cold moonlight.