Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"If not, that's good... The Matou family is the only one of the three families that did not participate in this Holy Grail War. The head of that family has been operating in secret." Shiomi told everyone seriously, "As a magus who is also unclear about the purpose, I hope that you can also pay attention to it in secret."

Irisviel nodded silently, thinking back to the intelligence Kiritsugu had about Fuyuki. As one of the three families, the Matou family had also been the focus of attention.

"The Matou family has no successor, and it is very likely that they are trying to find a shortcut when they can't find a solution."

Shiomi, who also knew this information, informed everyone before setting off.

Also, Shiomi is ready to find time to go to the Matou family to "say hello" to Matou Zouken.

Chapter 73: The Empty Church

Since obtaining the Command Seals and having to participate in the Holy Grail War, Shiomi Tenki has spent two years investigating every aspect of Fuyuki.

Whether it's the spiritual vein conditions of Fuyuki or the family of magicians who have lived here for generations.

Shiomi had done a thorough investigation of Tōsaka, Matou, and the Einzbern who owned a real estate called a castle in the forest outside the city, to the best of his ability.

As one of the possible places where the Holy Grail may descend, and with its history of descent, the Cathedral Church naturally warrants more attention.

However, the church, which was usually deserted, exuded an even more desolate atmosphere than usual, which made Shiomi feel that something was wrong.

It's not just because it's still deep winter.

After using detection magic to survey the area around the church, Shiomi nodded to Altria who was traveling with her, and the two of them pushed open the door and walked cautiously into the church.

"Come to think of it, during the combat meeting before departure, from your tone, it seemed that you knew the man named Kotomine Kirei?"

Altria asked this as they walked through the courtyard toward the chapel door.

"As a magician of the Magic Association, I have performed some missions that required cooperation with the Holy Church in the past. Among the Holy Church agents I worked with at that time, there was Kotomine Kirei." Shiomi did not hide the fact.

If things remain vague at this point, it will cause a fatal rift in the alliance that was formed based on special circumstances.

Perhaps for Kirei and Gilgamesh, this would be more in their interest.

"I see." Altria understood.

The magician community is neither big nor small, existing in the shadow of human society. They deal with mysteries all their lives, and since they are all Orientals, it is not surprising that they know each other.

"It's just that I don't know Kotomine Kirei very well. We only have a personal relationship based on work." Shiomi continued, "In terms of strength, Kirei is also considered a leader among the agents."

Altria looked at Shiomi who opened the door, "But compared to you who is a human magus and can challenge a servant alone, there should still be some gap, right?"

"...I am an accident." Xi Jian could only smile helplessly.

The church chapel still had the same furnishings, no changes at all compared to yesterday or two years ago.

"Compared to my situation, how are you doing, Saber?" Shiomi asked. "Although I'm not quite sure, when I saw you today, I felt like you were less confused."

Altria looked around the chapel, paying close attention to other auras nearby. "I can only say that it was thanks to the two of you."

She said this and looked at Xi Jian, "Is that magic trick yours or Sister Wang's?"

"What do you think?" Xijian squatted down and checked under the podium.

Very clean, without even a speck of dust.

"It should be Sister Wang's magic." Altria said. She didn't know Morgan very well, so she couldn't figure out what kind of magic it was.

However, given the situation at the time, even though she had A-level magic resistance, she was easily interfered by Morgan's magic. Perhaps when they were working together before, Morgan took advantage of the opportunity to enter the castle and left a backup plan that might be useful.

There was nothing unusual in the chapel, so Shiomi and Altria went from there to the back of the church.

Shiomi knew very little about the overall situation of the church. He roughly knew that the back was where church staff had offices, accommodation and rest, and it was said that five meters underground, there was a chapel that was wider than the chapel.

Presumably, the one above ground was used to receive citizens, and the one underground was used for secret activities of the cathedral church.

But that was secondary. As soon as they entered the dark corridor of the work area at the back, Shiomi and Altria both smelled the distinct smell of blood.

As a magus and sword servant who was used to seeing blood, it didn't make him feel sick.

But this only shows that the situation has reached the worst point, as Shiomi inferred.

Pushing open the half-open office door, there was a large pool of blood on the floor, which had stained most of the carpet. It was a cold winter day, and there was not enough ventilation and light here. Under Shiomi's lighting technique, one could even see that the carpet was still wet with blood.

"This is..." Altria frowned.

Shiomi squatted down to examine it. "Based on the bloodstains and the season, the time of death cannot exceed five hours."

"Is it the bloodstains left by the Overseer?"

"That's probably the case, and they just moved the body without enough time to clean up the blood." Shiomi analyzed quietly, "Father Kotomine Risei was originally an agent of the Holy Church. He was killed so easily. There should be no other murderer except his son who would never be on guard."

As he spoke, he stood up and took a few steps backwards, and Altria also dodged.

Shiomi stretched out her hand, and magic power circulated around her body through the magic circuit before being released quietly.

A bluish-white light enveloped the bloodstains, and after a moment, countless light particles rose up and gradually took the shape of a person.

Although it was just a silhouette, one could tell it was Kotomine Risei.

The figure stood at first, then suddenly froze, and finally fell forward to his knees on the ground.

This result repeats itself over and over again, just like the playing of a video tape.

"A magic that shows the state of the dead before they die?" Altria asked, "Is it some kind of necromancy?"

"It's not necromancy." Shiomi crossed his arms. "If there is a body, depending on the situation, sometimes you can even show the outline of the murderer. Although I don't think it has much meaning right now."

Altria nodded. "Well... judging from the way he fell, there is no doubt that he was attacked from behind without any defense..."

She said, placing her hand on Shiomi's back to demonstrate, "Using a weapon to penetrate the body, causing a fatal wound, and then death on the spot."

"Anyway, there's no need for a demonstration." Xijian grinned.

Altria smiled confidently, "This is a small token of my gratitude to you and the Queen for attacking us at night. Please attack us head-on next time."

“I don’t think there will be a next time.”

Shiomi walked away from her and searched the room a little.

In addition to the information about the Templar Church, this room also contained various documents related to the Holy Grail War. To be on the safe side, Shiomi went through them carefully, but found nothing worth collecting.

Kotomine Risei is dead, and all that's left now is to determine Tokiomi's possible whereabouts, and then we can start searching for Kotomine Kirei and Gilgamesh.

After explaining this to Altria, the two turned around and prepared to leave the church.

Chapter 1: Encounter ()

"Although this is a bit inappropriate at this time, can you please let me ask you a question, Shiomi?"

Altria asked as they walked out to the chapel.

"It depends on what you ask. If you're asking about my magic or my secret weapon, I'm sorry I can't answer you." Xijian looked as if it was a matter of course.

"Of course I know that as a magician, I must always hide my background." Altria shook her head, "What I want to ask is about the king sister."

Xi Jian raised his eyebrows slightly. He didn't expect the question to be in this area. "Then ask it."

Then, after he gave his promise, Altria exhaled.

“…Is that Morgan really the Morgan I know?”

The question raised by Altria left Shiomi confused for a moment.

It was not an inquiry into the Servant's information, nor was it curiosity about her private life, but simply... a question about "is she really her?"

"I don't quite understand what you mean." Shiomi stood in the sunlight that shone into the chapel through the window.

"I'm sorry, there's something wrong with my description." Altria apologized earnestly, "It's just from the initial battle with Morgan, to the subsequent cooperation between the two sides, and some things after that..."

Morgan is undoubtedly Morgan, even Altria would not think that someone is pretending to be him.

But there was no doubt that she sensed something else from that Morgan.

It seems to be the same person, but not entirely.

The Knight King had this doubt due to his natural keen intuition, and he couldn't help but want to confirm it with Morgan's Master.

Xi Jian was silent for a while before speaking, "There are two things I want to ask you."

"please say."

"Morgan looks a lot like you... Did she look exactly like you when she was a girl?" asked Xi Jian.

Altria frowned, "I was adopted by Hector since I was born. I rarely saw my sister until I drew the Sword of the Chosen at the age of fifteen and succeeded to the throne."

"Then... the second question." Shiomi turned back to look at Altria, "In your time, was there a place in Britain called the 'Land of Rain'?"

The second question made Altria even more confused. "It does rain frequently in Britain, so it's not surprising that the entire country is called the Rain Country. But if a single place is called that, I've never heard of it."

"Really?" Xijian gradually understood.

However, perhaps because she seldom talks about the customs and culture of Britain with others, Altria added one more sentence.

"Speaking of rain, I remember that in my time, there was an archipelago called Orkney in the sea north of Britain. It was said that it rained all year round there. I was only stationed there briefly once or twice for political or military affairs, and during that time, the rain never stopped in that area."

Shiomi nodded quietly, then thanked her, "Thank you for answering my questions. Some things are more appropriate to ask people from that era."

"I hope this helps."

"As for Morgan's matter." Xi Jian thought for a moment, "She is who she is, so please don't worry too much. At least... she won't betray you."

Altria laughed immediately, "I understand. Since you have full faith in the Queen, I shouldn't waste my words on you. Please forget the question just now."

Saber understood Shiomi's words as him protecting Morgan.

He wanted to explain, but when he walked to the door of the chapel and put his hand on the door, the feeling coming from outside, the breath that was above the chill of winter, made Xi Jian's heart shudder.

Altria also quickly put away her chatty attitude and leaned against the door with Shiomi on the left and right.

He stretched out his arm and slowly pushed the door of the chapel open a crack.

The arrogant and disrespectful golden figure stood at the open door of the church, without even wearing golden armor.

Gilgamesh.

The two of them confirmed the sudden appearance of this servant at the same time, and Artoria switched into military uniform almost instantly.

"It doesn't look like a sudden interception." Shiomi looked at Altria.

"That is to say, it is impossible to retreat through the back door before he shows up." She agreed with Shiomi's opinion, "There is a Servant here, and a Master who is equal to the Servant. If they work together, they should be able to retreat temporarily."

With the true names of all parties exposed, only Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm remains unknown.

Perhaps the treasury that holds countless treasures is his treasure, but what after that?

Just like other servants, he should have a killer move that has not yet been revealed.

The original plan was to find out the whereabouts of Kirei and the King of Heroes and then launch a surprise attack together, but the other party obviously did not intend to wait and launched the attack first.

"The remaining question is, who is he coming for?" Xi Jian stretched out his hand, and a red spear appeared in his hand.

Altria was slightly surprised, "That is... a treasure?"

He is not a Servant, but he possesses a Noble Phantasm.

Could it be that, like Alice Fell and the others, they found something passed down from the past in this era?

"We'll talk about this later. Let's go out."

After exchanging glances with Saber, the two of them opened the door and walked out.

"Oh? As Kirei said, they came to the church to gather information." Gilgamesh put one hand in his pocket, "Saber, and the God Slayer."

As the words fell, more than a dozen golden doors opened, and various prototype treasures slowly appeared.

"The terrain here is open, which is not conducive to fighting against long-range flying props." Shiomi glanced at the side of the church and reminded Altria in a low voice, "Let's use the first wave of attacks to lure him into the woods over there."

"I understand. Please be careful." Altria held the invisible sword. She thought to herself that perhaps she needed to release the true name of the treasure.

For some reason, if Xi Jian Tianxi died in battle here, she didn’t know how to face Morgan’s expression at that time.

Obviously... I have never interacted with that person as a sister or brother, even for a single day.

“Forget it. Although it’s too early now, there are only two servants who have left. Only if one or two more disappear, the thing can start to work.” Gilgamesh raised his hand, and the treasures extended a little more. “If you don’t want to die, struggle with all your might, bastard.”

With a gentle wave of his left hand, the treasure flew towards the two of them like raindrops.

The explosion raised thick smoke, covering Shiomi and Altria. Gilgamesh stood there leisurely. He was disappointed that they were destroyed by just this attack.

Suddenly, a spinning sickle flew out from the smoke and went straight for Gilgamesh.