My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Moments later, accompanied by the trembling of the ground and the rising dust, the entire hotel collapsed like dominoes, leaving behind only ruins and rubble.

Yes, it seems to have also collapsed several other buildings nearby, causing a chain reaction... which led to the fire and explosion!

The blaring of police cars and air raid sirens, along with the screams and shouts of citizens, echoed through the night sky.

For a moment, faced with such an unexpected scene, Tokiomi Tohsaka was stunned once again... Uh, why do I say "once again"?

A magnificent 32-story reinforced concrete skyscraper was brought down by a single dragon's breath?

And so Kenneth's magic workshop, the Clock Tower's genius lecturer, was easily destroyed in one blow.

What a shoddy construction project! How much kickback did the construction company take to build this thing?

It's fortunate that it collapsed only after a spell was cast to "drive away bystanders." If it had collapsed during an earthquake at a normal time, how many unfortunate people would have died?!

Well, of course, what we need to be most concerned about right now is not the construction quality of the Hyatt Hotel, but the life and death of Kenneth and his followers.

Could it be that with this easy blow, I've really knocked Kenneth's team out of the competition?

That would be so lucky!

"...Kirei! Quickly bring me your father's spirit artifact plate! I need to confirm whether Kenneth is dead or not!" He suddenly turned around and shouted.

—As the supervisor of this Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, Father Kotomine Risei possesses a magical artifact temporarily borrowed from the Holy Church, called the "Spirit Plate," which is a "Holy Grail War-specific" device. It has the function of displaying the attributes of Heroic Spirits.

Although the identity of a Master can only be confirmed through individual declarations by the mages, the "Spirit Disk" can display some basic information about the Servants that have been summoned, as soon as they appear in Fuyuki City, the land of Japan.

The defeat and disappearance of Servants can also be displayed on this thing.

However, the problem is that the spirit artifact plate that Father Kotomine Risei once possessed is not currently in the hands of his son, Kotomine Kirei.

"...I'm sorry, teacher, the spirit artifact plate was taken onto the helicopter by my father this afternoon and has already been destroyed in the crash..."

While Japanese RPGs often feature indestructible weapons with "infinite durability," in the world of Type-Moon, even if such artifacts truly existed, they would be far beyond the reach of clergy in a small place like Fuyuki City.

Therefore, the spirit artifact plate that Father Kotomine Risei possessed, like himself, could not withstand this plane crash—after all, it wasn't a black box.

No matter how powerful the Holy Church was, it couldn't get Kirei Kotomine a new spirit artifact plate that very night.

"...The Spirit Artifact Plate is destroyed...tsk tsk, there's really nothing I can do. Kirei, send your ghost Assassin to scout ahead and see if Kenneth and his Servant are dead?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka pursed his lips and continued giving the order, "...Let's hope we're really lucky today!"

"...Ah, but, teacher, my Assassin doesn't have the ability to become invisible. The citizens will see me and mistake me for a female ghost!"

"...It's alright, there aren't many people on the streets at night. Besides, there's already enough trouble in Fuyuki City today. Even if another urban legend about a female ghost walking at night were to emerge, it wouldn't matter much...I can't exactly make you investigate yourself, can I?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka explained, "...In any case, Kenneth is a magical genius of the Clock Tower, and comes from a noble family. He possesses many powerful magical artifacts, and his combat strength is incomparable to that of a newcomer like you in the world of magic."

"If you fight him, you probably won't stand much of a chance..."

"...Alright, you're right...Yes, teacher!"

However, what Tokiomi Tohsaka didn't know was that his long-range bombardment did not achieve the fruitful results he had imagined.

Because, at that moment, lecturer Kenneth and his fiancée Sora were not at the Hyatt Hotel at all...

Moreover, these two targets were inadvertently forced out of the hotel by his overzealous apprentice, Kirei Kotomine...

—Who told Kirei Kotomine to cut off all the water, piped gas, and electricity to the Hyatt Hotel?

Chapter 50, Director Ken Did Not Die in the Explosion (First Update, Third Update Today)

Meanwhile, a few blocks away from the Hyatt Hotel, in a small Japanese restaurant with a sign that reads "Midnight Diner," the hungry Kenneth, Sora, and Dormouse Momo are awkwardly trying to eat curry rice with chopsticks at a window seat...

—A few hours earlier, at dusk, after easily "repelling" the invading enemy with a lullaby, the "victorious first battle" lecturer Kenneth, before he could even celebrate his victory with his fiancée, awkwardly discovered a truly embarrassing situation:

It seems their dinner plans for tonight are in jeopardy!

Although it is a fortress-level magic workshop, Kenneth has set up a considerable number of traps, mechanisms and summoned evil spirits in his luxurious suite. Combined with his personal barrier and magical costume, it can be described as a solid fortress that integrates offense and defense.

However, due to the requirement that "magic must remain mysterious," magic battles in the Type-Moon world are always quick and decisive, with almost no precedent for prolonged battles or such a mindset.

—Who would come up with the tactic of trapping an opposing magician and starving him to death?

If I actually brought it up, people would laugh themselves to death!

Therefore, apart from a few bottles of beer and wine as display items, his magic workshop had no food or water at all!

Previously, he and his fiancée Sora would order food from their room or eat at the hotel's restaurant.

The problem is, after such a big news story today, with so many people dead, the Hyatt Hotel will obviously not be operating anymore.

Even after rescuers evacuated the hotel with survivors and bodies, he and Sora reluctantly ventured into the kitchen, intending to cook themselves a simple meal.

Unfortunately, starting in the evening, the Hyatt Hotel's water, piped gas, and electricity were all cut off—how were they going to make dinner?

Even if there are still some ingredients in the kitchen, without water, electricity, or fuel, you can't exactly use magic to cook, can you?

Not to mention how degrading this would be for a prestigious magical sect, Kenneth doesn't even know anything about these kinds of "life skills spells"!

—This is the Type-Moon world where "magic must remain mysterious," not Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter world where witches wave their wands and cook!

Even a "magician-cooking expert" like Shirou Emiya can't make a pot tap dance while cooking delicious food by waving a magic wand! (laughs)

However, whether it's an ordinary soldier or a magician, they can't fight a war on an empty stomach.

Left with no other choice, Kenneth took Sora and risked leaving the Hyatt Hotel, planning to go out for dinner and buy some canned biscuits to stock up.

For safety's sake, he and Sora disguised themselves as much as possible, wearing hats and coats.

Meanwhile, the still-unconscious Dormouse girl, Mengmeng, was dressed in a loose-fitting hooded children's outfit to cover her round ears and little tail, which were different from those of humans...

And so, Kenneth, holding his fiancée Sora's hand and carrying the soundly sleeping Dormouse girl Momo on his back, walked onto the streets of Fuyuki.

If an uninformed passerby were to take a look, they would probably think it was a family of three foreign tourists strolling around.

The problem was that, due to various hesitations and dawdling, it was already quite late when they left the hotel.

Furthermore, Kenneth and his companions were unfamiliar with the streets of Fuyuki City and had no idea where to find a restaurant.

Even worse, due to the fire, multiple car accidents, paranormal events, and "terrorist attack" in Fuyuki City this afternoon, many neighborhoods were either burned to the ground or without power and water, making it impossible for restaurants to do business.

Even restaurants that weren't directly affected felt uneasy seeing police, Self-Defense Force personnel, volunteers, and Red Cross medical staff coming and going, and seeing bodies and wounded being carried out constantly. Most chose to close early that night.

Therefore, by the time Kenneth and his family of three had wandered the dark streets of Fuyuki for a very long time and finally found a "midnight diner" that was still open, and were able to eat a hot meal that, although not to their liking, was at least hot, it was already the middle of the night.

Then, before Kenneth could even finish his plate of curry rice, he stared in disbelief out the window of the small restaurant as the Hyatt Hotel, where his magic studio was located, the tallest skyscraper in the city, collapsed instantly under a fireball that fell from the sky!

The scene was so shocking that Kenneth remained stunned for a long time before finally managing to let out a groan of grief.

"...Oh...no...my magic workshop, ahhhhh—"

Watching his magic workshop, which he had painstakingly built with countless efforts and wealth, vanish in the blink of an eye, devoid of any aristocratic elegance or heroic spirit, along with the collapsing building, Kenneth felt as if he had been struck by a massive, devastating blow, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"...This...this...they're actually using train-mounted artillery to bombard buildings in the city?! Is the enemy waging a world war?"

Although not as flustered as Kenneth, Sora was equally surprised. "...Is there going to be a carpet bombing next?"

"...That shouldn't be cannons, but some kind of long-range projectile attack magic. But such power is not something humans can wield."

Kenneth took a deep breath, barely managing to calm himself, and explained to Sora with a livid face, "...it's very likely Archer's doing."

—After the initial shock, Kenneth was immediately filled with lingering fear:

If it weren't for the fact that the hotel had no water or electricity and I had to take Sora out to eat, I probably would have been buried under the rubble along with the collapsed building by now.

Even so, the losses caused by this disaster still broke Kenneth's heart: his entire magic workshop was gone!

All those gems, evil spirits, and magical artifacts he brought were completely destroyed in an instant! Heaven knows how long it will take to gather them all back!

Especially during this Holy Grail War, he certainly wouldn't have the resources and energy to set up a magic workshop of the same level!

And this is only the first day of the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City! How are we going to fight the battles that follow?!

Thinking about this, Kenneth felt his heart pounding and his mind racing.

When he first set out from England, his arrogant and disdainful self-confidence, along with his contempt for the native magicians of the Far Eastern island nation, quickly dissipated under the harsh blows of reality.

Therefore, after hastily finishing the last few bites of rice on his plate, and disregarding the decorum of a nobleman and magician, Kenneth "snatched" a bunch of canned food and biscuits from a nearby closed grocery store, he left the city center as quickly as possible with his fiancée and Dormouse Girl.

"...Hey? Kenneth, why did you just leave like that? Why didn't you go back to the Hyatt Hotel?"

Seeing Kenneth's anxious appearance, Sora, the red-haired beauty, was somewhat puzzled. "...Although our magic workshop is completely destroyed, all those tools and equipment couldn't possibly be completely destroyed, right? Perhaps we can still salvage some usable items from the ruins!"

"...No, we have to move to another place. We absolutely cannot go back! That Master who destroyed the Hyatt Hotel with a ranged attack will definitely set up an ambush near the hotel ruins if he finds out we're still alive, waiting for us to walk right into his trap!"

Kenneth sighed and replied, "...The conditions at the new base will probably be a bit worse, so you'll have to endure a few tough days..."

Meanwhile, at the same time, in the long-abandoned Tohsaka family villa, an uninvited guest quietly broke in...

Author's message

P.S.: After carefully reviewing Squirrel Girl's information, I realized that the Marvel universe probably can't write about her, because just like Spider-Man, she only awakened her superpowers in high school. "Invincible Squirrel Girl" Doreen also only discovered that she could communicate with squirrels when she was in high school, after being bullied by her classmates and hiding in the woods.

According to the storyline, Squirrel Girl is much younger than Spider-Man, at least six to eight years younger. Even in Avengers: Infinity War, she was still in elementary school, and in Thor 1, she was probably still in kindergarten. Therefore, just as there is no elementary school Spider-Man in the Marvel universe, there is also no kindergarten Squirrel Girl—this idea has to be abandoned.

Otherwise, it would turn into a ridiculous scenario like in a crossover anime novel I read many years ago, which used "crossover" as its selling point. It would involve Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri traveling to the Conan world when they were in first grade and competing in deduction with Shinichi Kudo (not Conan Edogawa from ten years later).

Chapter 51, Matou Kariya Strikes

On the same night, in Fuyuki City, in Fukayama Town, at the Tohsaka family villa abandoned by Tokiomi Tohsaka.

"...Come out! Tokiomi Tohsaka! Fight me like a man! Come out now! Where are you?!"

Stepping over the cracked, leaning courtyard wall and gazing at the Tohsaka residence, now reduced to a pile of rubble, Matou Kariya called out with a bewildered expression.

Beside him crouched a reptile about the size of a dog, its expression as bewildered as its owner's.

— Eager to try, they sneaked into the enemy's lair under cover of night, but didn't see a single enemy. What's going on?

In the original Fate/Zero manga, Kariya Matou lacked magical talent and relied entirely on the "Crest Worms" implanted in his body by Zouken Matou to convert his life force into magical power. The price was that his body became as weak as a terminal cancer patient.

Therefore, during the process of summoning the Heroic Spirit, Matou Kariya himself had already suffered some damage.

Unfortunately, due to the old insect's deliberate misleading, he summoned the Berserker, which consumes the most magic power, making Matou Kariya's physical burden even worse... As a result, after the summoning was completed, Matou Kariya collapsed and recuperated for several days until the Knight King arrived in Fuyuki from Germany, at which point he barely regained his mobility.

However, in this mutated spacetime, the Berserker summoned by Kariya Matou changed from the towering Lancelot Knight into the dog-sized pseudo-dragon Ernest, which naturally reduced the burden on his body considerably.

Less than 24 hours after the summoning was completed, Matou Kariya had largely recovered and was barely able to leave the Matou residence to come and attack the Tohsaka family.

—Although Matou Kariya didn’t have much confidence in his pseudo-dragon Berserker, which was too small, he still had to fight Tohsaka Tokiomi, whom he hated the most, no matter how slim the chances of winning were.

If you don't even have the courage to fight head-on, then what's the point of the Holy Grail War?

However, Tokiomi Tohsaka had already gone to the church to mourn his old friend Risei Kotomine, and was not in his villa, which had been reduced to ruins.

Therefore, after easily traversing the courtyard of the Tohsaka residence, all Matou Kariya could do was stand in the desolate moonlight, staring blankly at the empty ruins before him:

Where exactly is Tokiomi Tohsaka, this "mistake of the world," now hiding?

"...Tokiomi Tohsaka! Come out now! I'm going to fight you to the death! Tokiomi Tohsaka! Can't you hear me?! Please answer me!"

In the evening breeze and under the moonlight, Matou Kariya wandered among the bricks and rubble, roaring and shouting. He vented his anger and fear on the deserted ruins, making his face, already half-human and half-demon, which had been destroyed by the Marking Insects, appear even more ferocious and terrifying.

Even the sudden collapse of the Hyatt Hotel, the only skyscraper in the area, on the other side of the Weiyuan River, failed to attract his attention.

After all, the only reason he was willing to damage his body and risk his life to participate in the Holy Grail War was to defeat Tokiomi Tohsaka.

That lucky man, despite winning the heart of the most important person in his life, was unable to protect that person or bring them happiness.

So, in order to "save" Sakura and Aoi, he had to slap Tohsaka Tokiomi hard across the face no matter what!

As for the other five participants besides Tokiomi Tohsaka, Kariya Matou currently knows little about them and is not particularly interested in them.

In short, he only had one enemy in his eyes: Tokiomi Tohsaka. As for other enemies, he simply couldn't care less.

Therefore, having just recovered some strength, he disregarded the fact that his servant was really unhelpful and couldn't wait to come and spy on the Tohsaka residence. After discovering that the place was already deserted, he immediately lost his mind and barged in without a care.

However, no matter how desperately Matou Kariya shouted and cursed in the ruins of the Tohsaka family estate, he received no response.

After roaring for a while, Matou Kariya finally felt discouraged and frustrated, and had no choice but to find a rock to sit on and rest, panting slightly.

In short, the Tohsaka family is now deserted, and even their house has become ruins. I wonder if it was because of the Holy Grail War that things turned out this way.

At first glance, it seems that Tokiomi Tohsaka has either been killed and forced to leave the stage, or he has moved to another location and established a new base.

So, what should Matou Kariya do? Should he go looking for Tohsaka Tokiomi, whose fate is unknown, or should he seek out other Masters to fight?

The problem is that the actual master of the Matou family, "Old Bug" Zouken Matou, did not provide him with any information about other participants, except for instructing Kariya Matou to change the spell and specify the summoning of Berserker. Nor did he reveal the information about the Holy Grail War that the Matou family had collected.