My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Well, besides that, Kirei Kotomine also reluctantly sent his useless female ghost Assassin to infiltrate the ruins of the Hyatt Hotel last night to scout out Kenneth's movements. In the end, it proved to be a complete blunder.

—This utterly useless and pathetic female ghost, Assassin, not only failed to track down Kenneth and his girlfriend, but was also witnessed by many citizens, police officers, self-defense members, and firefighters at night, causing various "Western ghost legends" to spread throughout the city. The church agents who rushed to clean up the mess and erase memories were so exhausted that their hands cramped.

Anyway, those responsible for covering up the traces and cleaning up the mess are now full of resentment and about to explode!

Kirei Kotomine was at a loss for what to do, so he could only sigh and turn to look at the spoils of war in the corner of the room:

A bronze dragon statue, its exterior gleaming with gold, and its size roughly that of a pet cat or dog.

In reality, it is a heroic spirit sealed away by the enemy...

If Kirei Kotomine is not mistaken, its class should be Berserker...

Chapter 56, Kuyu Maiya's Misfortune (Bonus Chapter, Please Add to Favorites and Send Fierce Votes)

"...Knock knock! Kirei! There's news from the Mage's Association! Unfortunately, it seems Kenneth isn't dead yet..."

Next, as usual, accompanied by the tapping sound of his cane, Kirei Kotomine's mentor and ally, Tokiomi Tohsaka, walked in with elegant steps. "...Sigh, when the Hyatt Hotel collapsed, he didn't seem to be in his luxury suite..."

"...I'm sorry, teacher, I should have checked Kenneth's location last night..." Kirei Kotomine said, bowing deeply.

"...It's alright, Kirei. Nobody could have predicted that the Hyatt Hotel would collapse so easily! Let Kenneth cling on for a few more days! Kirei, I'm already overjoyed that you managed to take the heads of two Masters in one day!"

Tokiomi Tohsaka waved his hand dismissively, his satisfaction growing with each glance at his prized disciple, Kirei Kotomine.

While the useless Assassin summoned by Kirei Kotomine is undeniably ineffective from every angle—practically nonexistent in combat and even disastrous in intelligence gathering—Kirei's own activity and good fortune completely compensate for these shortcomings.

—On the very first day of the Holy Grail War, without even using Assassin, he slashed and killed two Masters!

In the entire Fuyuki Holy Grail War, there were only seven Masters participating at most.

If Kirei Kotomine continues his slaughter at this rate, wouldn't he be able to win in just two more days?

Of course, the two Masters killed yesterday were actually rare rookies and weaklings. As for the remaining enemies in this Holy Grail War, even if they are not elite veterans, they are at least not as amateur as those two dead men. If a real fight were to break out, they probably wouldn't be so easy to deal with.

However, Tokiomi Tohsaka was somewhat prepared for the tough battle that lay ahead: in any case, his Archer was far stronger than Kirei Kotomine's Assassin, and his magic skills were far superior to those of his apprentice, Kirei Kotomine.

Since Kirei Kotomine, a student who summoned a useless Heroic Spirit, was able to perform so well in this Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, how could he, as the teacher, with the most top-tier divine equipment, possibly lose to someone else?

Hmm, as long as I continue with the normal fighting style, Tokiomi Tohsaka is absolutely confident that he can defeat all the remaining opponents!

Unfortunately, the entire process of this Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City was completely and utterly abnormal from the very beginning.

Within minutes, an urgent call from a police informant nearly made Tokiomi Tohsaka jump up in a fit of rage!

"...What? That monster Caster just went out and killed someone in broad daylight again? What does it think of the Mage's Association's rules? This Caster has already lost its Master, yet it's still so arrogant?! Hey? What? There are unidentified armed men exchanging fire with Caster in the street, and now even Self-Defense Force armored vehicles have been deployed? And US soldiers stationed in Japan have been killed?"

—The calamities that befall Fuyuki City during this Holy Grail War continue...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Fuyuki City, east bank of the Miwa River, Shinto

Wearing a long gray trench coat, Hisayu Maiya walked solemnly through the desolate street, dragging a huge and heavy rolling suitcase.

—She is the Saber Master of this Holy Grail War, and the assistant to Kiritsugu Emiya, the son-in-law of the Einzbern family.

Despite being a beautiful woman with regular features, Hisayu Maiya never wore makeup, and her slender eyes often gave off a cold feeling. Although her silky black hair may have captivated many men, a single sharp glance from her would make any man give up any attempt to get close to her.

Cold, stern, and sharp, like a gleaming blade, that is the kind of woman Hisayu Maiya is—a woman who emerged from the flames of war.

The reason why Hisayu Maiya is here now is because she was ordered to infiltrate Fuyuki City as an advance team member before Kiritsugu Emiya arrives to join the battle. Her mission is to gather intelligence and procure weapons in order to increase Kiritsugu Emiya's chances of winning the Holy Grail War.

The relationship between Hisa Umai and Emiya Kiritsugu could be described as "master and apprentice," or "partners," or even maliciously speculated by some as "lovers"... And there does seem to be a subtle, indescribable affection between them.

In short, although she has a Japanese name and her appearance seems to be of Asian descent, Hisamu Maiya is not Japanese. Instead, she is a battlefield survivor rescued by Kiritsugu Emiya from a Southeast Asian battlefield (possibly Cambodia), who then gave her the name "Hisamu Maiya".

Over the years of sharing life and death experiences, Kiritsugu Emiya gradually taught Maiya Hisau Maiya all the combat experience he knew, and Maiya Hisau Maiya also did her best to be his assistant, following him through life and death on various battlefields and taking care of various chores for him when he was too busy to be in two places at once.

Since Kiritsugu Emiya got married nine years ago and retired to Einzbern Castle with Mrs. Irisviel, temporarily withdrawing from the front lines, she has been traveling all over the world according to his instructions to prepare for this Holy Grail War.

To be honest, even Mrs. Irisviel, Kiritsugu Emiya's wife, probably didn't understand her husband as well as Maiya Hisau did.

In this Holy Grail War to compete for the "omnipotent wish-granting machine," Hisayu Maiya had already infiltrated Fuyuki City well in advance.

—Like a venomous snake lying still, it helps its master scout out every movement on the battlefield, ready to strike and hunt at any moment.

However, the first day of the Holy Grail War had barely passed, and even before Kiritsugu Emiya and the Saber he summoned had arrived from Germany, Maiya Hisau already sensed that the whole situation was rapidly spiraling out of control.

First, there was Caster, who didn't play by the rules, who actually used magic to wreak havoc in public, causing chaos throughout the city.

Then, Kenneth, the clock tower instructor who was entrenched in the Hyatt Hotel, unleashed the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits during the day, using a city-level skill to instantly hypnotize the entire city, causing terrible chaos and disaster.

Then, last night, someone shelled the Hyatt Hotel, directly collapsing the tallest building in Fuyuki City, killing hundreds of citizens and causing widespread panic.

As a result, starting yesterday evening, the entire city of Fuyuki has been in a state of chaos and out of control, making it very difficult for Hisayu Maiya to gather intelligence.

Especially last night, she detected at least a dozen sounds that seemed to be magicians fighting, but apart from the battle that broke out at the Tohsaka family mansion, the rest were just ordinary thugs taking advantage of the chaos to loot.

In addition, the large influx of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and police officers who began maintaining order in Fuyuki City last night has also caused considerable trouble for Hisayu Maiya's secret operation.

—Since the defeat in the Pacific War, in postwar Japanese society, where the spirit of martial spirit has been completely emasculated, militarized control has become a political minefield and taboo that cannot be easily touched.

In addition to slow information feedback, bureaucratic inefficiency, and the Japanese people's consistent inability to respond to unforeseen emergencies, the central government in Tokyo has yet to issue a curfew or martial law order for Fuyuki City.

The problem is that even just the police and Self-Defense Force members roaming the streets, along with the US military soldiers stationed in Japan who came to Fuyuki to join in the fun and see the novelty, have already greatly disrupted Ms. Hisa Maiya's arms smuggling plan.

Fortunately, both the US military stationed in Japan and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces were novices who had not been tested in combat for many years, and they never expected that someone would smuggle weapons into Fuyuki at this time.

Moreover, these armed personnel who entered Fuyuki were themselves an excellent source of weapons—in the frequent fires, explosions and landslides in Fuyuki, many police officers went missing or died in the line of duty, and their sidearms often mysteriously disappeared.

Well, due to the chaotic situation in Fuyuki City and the bureaucratic system's habitual cover-up, Tokyo is currently unaware of this.

In short, by the time Kiritsugu Emiya was about to arrive in Fuyuki, Maiya Hisau had successfully overcome numerous difficulties and collected far more and more powerful firearms and ammunition for this Holy Grail War than planned... Of course, many unlucky souls also lost their lives as a result.

For Hisayu Maiya, who had spent years fighting on the brutal battlefield with her hands stained with blood, simply killing no longer evoked any guilt in her.

However, just as Hisayu Maiya, with a relaxed and calm mood, was dragging a suitcase full of guns and ammunition towards the meeting place she had arranged with Emiya Kiritsugu—a hotel in the New Capital Commercial District of Fuyuki City—she noticed something was wrong.

This hotel is closed!

Although Fuyuki City is currently in chaos, with many shops forced to temporarily close due to their owners fleeing, at least when she came to book a room this morning, the hotel was still open, and nothing particularly unusual happened in Fuyuki City that morning.

If that's the case, why did the hotel close its roller shutters after only a few hours?

So, could it be like the villas and shops we passed by before, where some robbers broke in?

Hisayu Maiya immediately became alert and pulled out a handgun she had just acquired—a Shin-Nanbu M60 police revolver—from her pocket.

She looked around and found the street empty, with no one seeming to notice her. So, Kuyu Maiya took out a master key, tiptoed to unlock the hotel door, and carefully went inside.

However, what happened at the hotel was far worse than she had imagined.

—The next moment, Hisayu Maiya smelled an extremely pungent and strong stench of blood, which instantly assaulted her senses from the dimly lit room…

sex

The inn where Hisayu Maiya and Emiya Kiritsugu had arranged to meet wasn't a high-end luxury hotel. Basically, only the lobby and reception were decent; it was more like a cheap business hotel. From families of illegal immigrants and gangsters engaged in illegal transactions to teenagers having sex, the guests here were a diverse and eclectic mix, representing all sorts of people.

That is why Hisayu Maiya chose this place as the location for her secret meeting with Emiya Kiritsugu, hiding their identities.

However, the hotel lobby at this moment has become a terrifying slaughterhouse filled with the smell of blood!

The doors and windows around the hotel lobby were closed, and the curtains were drawn, making the lobby very dark.

Even so, through the sliver of light peeking through the curtains, Hisayu Maiya could still clearly see a crudely drawn magic circle on the hall floor, piled high with layers of corpses. Among them were hotel guests and staff, police officers and self-defense forces members, and even a blond American soldier… Everyone's expression was terrified and contorted, their eyes wide open in death.

Blood gushed from their necks and chests, now flowing across the entire ground. A viscous, putrid, and extremely unsettling evil magic lingered above and around the magic circle, clearly indicating that an extremely cruel blood sacrifice had just taken place…

However, even in the face of such a hellish scene, Hisayu Maiya remained completely unmoved.

As a woman who grew up in a war-torn country, she personally experienced countless cruel and bloody killings and witnessed all sorts of scenes of corpses strewn across the fields. The mere sight of piled-up corpses was just a daily occurrence in Hisayu Maiya's life, and it would never shake her spirit.

What truly terrified her was the question of where the perpetrator of the aforementioned tragedy was.

"……call out--"

Accompanied by a faint sound, a beam of pale green magic light suddenly shot out from the corner of the corridor not far away.

Relying on her battlefield-honed instincts, Hisayu Maiya jerked back, narrowly avoiding a fatal attack. Simultaneously, she raised her pistol and fired repeatedly, not aiming to hit the enemy, but merely to disrupt their vision. Then, with lightning speed, she pulled out several stun grenades and casually tossed them forward. At the same time, she rolled away, dodging another attack spell from the unknown enemy.

Then, Kuyu Maiya, clutching her suitcase, rolled away from the room door she had just pried open and onto the street. A deafening roar echoed from the hotel behind her, followed by a blinding flash of white light and billowing dust that sent the ground trembling slightly.

However, Hisayu Maiya breathed a slight sigh of relief.

—It should be safe for now.

Although I couldn't see my opponent's identity clearly, I was able to confirm from our brief exchange that he was definitely a magician.

Since he is a magician, regardless of whether the other party is benevolent or evil, he must adhere to the principle that "magic must be concealed" and cannot openly abuse magic in front of ordinary people. The explosion just now has clearly alerted the police and self-defense forces, and the other party must now consider how to escape.

In short, after escaping the hotel that had become a blood sacrifice site, Hisayu Maiya believed that she had temporarily gotten rid of the threat.

However, just as she pried open a car parked on the side of the road and was about to drive away, she was horrified to find that a monster holding a magic wand—well, it seemed to be Caster, who had caused a ruckus in Fuyuki City yesterday—was walking out of the hotel and raising his magic wand at her from dozens of meters away!

Next, a huge fireball fell from the sky in full view of everyone.

“…Boom!”

Chapter 57, Kiritsugu Emiya's Horror

Around noon that day, when Kiritsugu Emiya quietly arrived in Fuyuki City, he immediately felt a familiar atmosphere that seemed strangely familiar.

The familiar recipe, the familiar smell, the familiar smoke and blood, the familiar gunshots and explosions, the familiar terror and screams.

That intense atmosphere of destruction was just like his experiences on countless brutal battlefields in the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Hearing the gunshots ringing out in the distance like popping beans, seeing the continuous black smoke and flames, the police cars and ambulances blaring their horns, and the terrified citizens fleeing the city in droves... Kiritsugu Emiya felt as if he had come to Palestine or Colombia again.

But this is neither the Middle East nor South America, but Japan, which has been calling itself a "peaceful country" since World War II, okay?

Just as Kiritsugu Emiya was lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang, and then he heard Maiya Hisayu's voice.

—There was a lot of static on the phone, and you could vaguely hear gunshots and curses, which seemed to be near a firefight in the city.

Hisayu Maiya's voice was also hoarse, as if she were injured, and her tone was full of frustration, "...I'm sorry, Kiritsugu, there was an accident at the hotel where we were supposed to meet. Most of the weapons I just acquired have been used up or lost...I didn't expect Caster to be so crazy..."

"...I can't believe it's that monster Caster causing trouble again...Tsk tsk! Does this guy really enjoy courting death that much?"

Kiritsugu Emiya couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. The thing he hated most was encountering an opponent who didn't play by the rules.

However, reality is always more absurd and illogical than fiction, leaving him feeling deeply helpless.

"...Don't worry about Caster. Don't be fooled by his current antics; he's just courting disaster. Someone will take care of him soon enough—after causing such a mess in Fuyuki City, there are definitely people more anxious than we are! As for now...the original battle plan is completely scrapped. You should leave Fuyuki City as soon as possible and come with me to the airport to pick someone up!"

For some reason, Hisayu Maiya remained silent for a moment after hearing this before responding.

"...So, we're protecting Mrs. Irisviel just in case? I understand!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, Caster, whom Kiritsugu Emiya described as "self-destructive," or rather, the kobold sorcerer Quark, felt quite good.

For a spellcaster like him, killing ordinary people who don't understand magic is an incredibly easy thing.

Even fully armed ordinary soldiers are nothing more than clay chickens and earthen dogs in front of him.

—With just a few [Confusion] and [Domination] spells, Quark easily took control of a hotel, killing and sacrificing everyone inside, including an American soldier who couldn't control himself and was patronizing prostitutes…

What pleased Quark even more was that the magic power he gained through mass killings and blood sacrifices, while seemingly of poor quality, was absolutely abundant in quantity, enough for him to establish a positive cycle of "casting spells to capture people - blood sacrifices to replenish magic - continuing to kill," and it seemed that even casting a few legendary spells would not be a problem.

Well, although due to an accident, when he completed another blood sacrifice, a woman escaped from the slaughterhouse, which also exposed Quark's blood sacrifice.

However, Quark, who had already replenished his mana, didn't care about being exposed at all.

Those mortals who do not understand the mysteries of magic, even if there are hundreds or thousands of them, are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs in front of Quark's magic!

So the kobold warlock Quark just walked out casually, first raising his wand and bombarding the female witness who had escaped, then, without caring whether the woman was dead or not, he drew a magic circle on the road and used the injured who had been blown up to sacrifice her.

Of course, this time humanity's counterattack was much faster and stronger, and they even deployed metal-made war chariots.

But this was of no use to Quark—all he had to do was find a secluded corner, avoid the first wave of gunfire and shells, and then cast a few [Confuse] and [Dominate Human] spells. These human soldiers, who had absolutely no mental defenses, were bewitched and began killing each other without warning.

The machine gunner opened fire on his own men, the sniper killed his comrade, and the armored vehicle turned around and ran over the infantry protecting the flank...

Then, as the friendly fire and chaotic battles escalated, perhaps due to the spread of panic, other human soldiers who were not bewitched by the kobold warlock Quark's spells also inexplicably began to fight each other.

Gunfire and explosions filled the streets and alleys of Fuyuki City. Cars were blown up and burst into flames, which then spread to the houses. Quark couldn't help but laugh out loud. With a gleeful mood, he threw more fireballs, igniting the cars parked along the street one by one, sending flames soaring into the sky and spreading everywhere.

Meanwhile, the local residents of Fuyuki City, who had been inexplicably struck by this undeserved disaster, were already gripped by hysterical panic and collapse.

There was no way around it; in just one day and one night, far too many "exciting" things happened in this city.

These shocking scenes around us are simply too much for the residents of this peaceful country to bear!

What's worse, all of this happened so fast and so suddenly that they didn't even have time to adjust!

Yesterday's street gunfight could be loosely explained as a terrorist attack launched by the Japanese Red Army.