The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"The Holy Grail War?"

Kirei Kotomine remained expressionless for a long time, simply listening quietly to Tokiomi's story.

In the narration of this patriarch of a long-standing family of magicians, the Holy Grail War, its rules and constraints, gradually come to light.

Before long, he understood what the Holy Grail War was, but he couldn't understand why Tokiomi had come to him.

“Normally, someone like you who has absolutely no connection to magic would not have had the opportunity to participate in this war. It is an extremely rare phenomenon that you were allowed to join this time.”

After Tokiomi finished speaking, Kotomine Risei, who was standing next to him, also spoke up to add to the discussion.

"Of course, it is also an unwritten rule to keep the battle in the shadows."

"..." Kirei Kotomine remained silent.

If that were all there was to it, it would be far too simplistic.

Since rules are necessary, there will inevitably be people who want to exploit loopholes in them.

Kirei Kotomine turned his head and stared intently at Tokiomi.

"Hehe, looks like you guessed it."

With his hands behind his back, Tokiomi and Kotomine Risei began a two-person comedy act.

As both sides added details, Kirei Kotomine realized why he had been brought here.

"So I was just dragged in to make up the numbers?"

Upon instantly learning the truth, Kirei Kotomine's slightest emotional fluctuation subsided.

"What's the point of all this?... It doesn't matter."

He agreed to Tokiomi's request without raising the slightest objection or condition, which was incredibly smooth.

"Then, I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

Tokiomi extended his hand and shook hands with Kirei Kotomine, then invited him to have dinner at his home.

However, Kirei Kotomine said that he still had luggage at the hotel and hadn't brought it, so he didn't agree.

Then, the man with the stiff gaze left the magnificent mansion along the garden path...

Watching his departing figure, Tokiomi and Kotomine Ryougi exchanged a glance.

"Did something happen to him?"

"Oh? Well, his wife passed away recently, and he seems to have lost all attachment to the world. Hopefully, this experience will help him pull himself together."

Kotomine Rise sighed, then began discussing the details of the Holy Grail War with Tokiomi.

At this moment, the two masterminds behind the scenes, who were absolutely certain of victory in this Holy Grail War, could never have imagined the stiff-eyed man...

What crazy things will they do...?

---

Clock Tower.

Young Weber was once again challenged by his mentor.

After being ridiculed repeatedly, he suddenly had the illusion that he was being treated like a fool.

However, in reality, his mentor, Kenneth Elmero Archibald, really thought of him as a big, ignorant fool.

"Ugh! Why does this teacher hate me so much?!"

In his bedroom, Weber rolled around on the bed in anger.

He couldn't understand why the lecturer could accurately identify his mistakes in every single lesson.

What I can't understand is that even though my views were objective enough, I still got a barrage of criticism.

"In the end, you just look down on me, don't you?"

Finally, after careful and lengthy deliberation, Waver decided to participate in the Holy Grail War.

Even though it was said that if he participated in this war, he would likely die in a foreign land, he felt that he was so capable.

They should be able to get out unscathed, right?

---

A guest arrived at the Tohsaka family mansion.

He was Tokiomi's friend, but when he arrived, Tokiomi didn't pay him much attention, and didn't even bother with any formalities before going off to work on his Holy Grail project.

Even so, this friend only sighed and then started talking to Tokiomi's wife, his childhood friend, Aoi Tohsaka.

The two sat facing each other in the sunlit garden courtyard. Aoi Tohsaka smiled gently, while her friend across from her looked worried.

After a moment, he removed his hood and slowly said:

"It's obvious he doesn't like me."

"That's not it, Tokiomi just... values ​​magic more."

Aoi Tohsaka smiled as she faced the man before her, paving the way for her husband.

Because he was born into a family of magicians and was the head of the family.

Like most magicians, Tokiomi had an almost obsessive passion for magic.

But the person in front of me, named Matou Kariya, is quite the opposite.

Despite sharing the same background as Tokiomi, he and Tokiomi embarked on completely different paths.

Because of their inability to understand each other, Tokiomi harbored a great prejudice against the eldest son of the Matou family.

The reason they can still maintain a semblance of harmony is simply because the two families haven't completely fallen out yet...

As Aoi Tohsaka was lost in thought, she suddenly felt someone tug at her skirt. Looking down, she saw it was Rin.

"Isn't that Rin? She's grown so tall already!"

Although he couldn't understand Tokiomi, Matou Kariya still had a good impression of the two children in the Tokiomi family.

However, looking at the timidity on Rin's face, he suddenly thought of a question.

Where is Sakura?

"She..." Tohsaka Aoi hesitated, then intermittently revealed the fact that Sakura had been adopted by the Matou family.

Then, Kariya Matou froze...

Despite his childhood friend Aoi Tohsaka's continued attempts to explain the rationale behind his actions, he still couldn't understand it.

"Don't worry, Rin. I'll bring Sakura back for you."

In the end, this man, who would rather give up everything for his family than be devoured by insects, decided to sacrifice himself in exchange for a girl's future.

But he probably never imagined the cruel future he would face...

---

On a moonlit night, the participants in the Holy Grail War took out their respective relics.

On the meticulously drawn magic circle, they chanted the incantations needed to summon heroic spirits.

"Your body is entrusted to my command; my fate is tied to your sword!"

"Respond to the call of the Holy Grail, heed this will and this principle, answer me!"

"I am the one who accomplishes all good deeds in the world, and I am the one who gathers all evils in the world."

"Seven days of being entangled in the three great spiritual words."

"Appear beyond the wheel of suppression, guardian of the scales!"

Amidst the light, Heroic Spirits representing their respective classes appeared within the summoning circle.

They came for all sorts of desires, and they formed alliances with all sorts of people to participate in this war.

They firmly believed that they would win the war!

However, since there are rules, some people will try to exploit loopholes in them.

Among them are Masters and Servants.

Some of them joined just to have some fun.

Some people, however, came with the determination to win this war no matter what the cost.

Having a strong desire to win is certainly a good thing.

But if it comes at the cost of world destruction, it seems a bit too crazy.

Since some people are exploiting loopholes in the rules, others will naturally have to uphold them.

Otherwise, the church and the Magicians' Association wouldn't have been able to do anything.

Of course, besides these two forces, there is another force that is often overlooked but will also uphold the rules.

That is the Holy Grail.

When a Holy Grail War takes a very unusual turn and the outcome is uncertain, a Servant will descend in the name of Ruler.

In a church far removed from any Servant summoning point, a scorching wave of heat arose without wind.

As the flames rose and fell, a girl wearing a Valkyrie cloak and a white cape slowly appeared in the moonlit church.

"Phew... another trip begins."

Kiana looked around and found herself in a simply decorated church.

She quickly surveyed the layout of the church and breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that it was not a typical church in another world.

"This time, we've finally arrived in a modern world."

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on arriving in the new world! The system has prepared an identity for you – the adjudicator of the Holy Grail War!]

[This identity's primary responsibility is to oversee the normal operation of the Holy Grail War. Privileges include: enemy detection capabilities, the ability to identify true names, and divine judgment.]

[Friendly Reminder: Using your identity as a medium to intervene in the Holy Grail War will allow the host to trigger reward quests more quickly!]

"The Judge...? The Holy Grail War? I..."

At first, Kiana felt confused after hearing these words.