My family runs an adventurer's guild.

However, the descent of the Holy Grail requires a considerable amount of magical power, so the descent ritual cannot be performed just anywhere.

—If the "Minor Grail" is placed in an inappropriate location and the descent ritual is performed, the result will only be a failed descent of the Grail, and all the previous battles will have been for nothing.

Clearly, since the Holy Grail War has been chosen to take place in Fuyuki City, the Holy Grail can only descend within the boundaries of Fuyuki City.

Throughout the entire city of Fuyuki, only four locations possess the spiritual qualities suitable for the Holy Grail to descend.

The first alternative location is Mount Enzo, which has a natural underground cavern and is equipped with the "Great Grail" system. It is where the various spiritual veins of Fuyuki City converge, and the spiritual energy is the most abundant, making it the most suitable place to hold the ceremony.

The second alternative location is the Tohsaka family mansion, which has the best spiritual vein in Fuyuki City. Although it is still slightly inferior to Mount Enzo, a place where spiritual veins converge, the spiritual energy there is enough to sustain the Holy Grail until it arrives.

The third alternative location is the headquarters of the Holy Church, the Fuyuki Cathedral, which was the old residence of the Matou family. Later, because the nature of the underground spiritual veins was incompatible with the secret magic of the Matou family, the Matou family abandoned it and transferred the land to the Holy Church. Therefore, the spiritual energy there is also very abundant.

The fourth alternative location did not originally exist in Fuyuki City. Instead, it was a newly formed spiritual land that arose after the "Big Three" set up the Holy Grail system, which caused the underground spiritual veins of Fuyuki City to mutate and become distorted. The location is in the Civic Activity Center of Fuyuki City's [New Capital].

In conclusion, even if Kiritsugu Emiya, the "Magician Killer," manages to eliminate his other opponents and win the Holy Grail War, he must still set up an altar and complete the ritual at one of the four locations mentioned above. Only in this way can he summon the Holy Grail, the omnipotent wish-granting machine, and fulfill his lifelong desire.

After a brief deliberation, he decisively abandoned the latter three options and decided on Mount Enzo as the venue for the Holy Grail Descent ceremony.

—Tokiomi Tohsaka, a contender in this Holy Grail War, has just died, his body burned to ashes by dragon's breath. However, his mansion is still considered "enemy territory" by Kiritsugu Emiya. It is believed to be hiding countless traps and mechanisms, and may even be guarded by his wife, children, and disciples. If Kiritsugu Emiya tries to force his way in, it may lead to unnecessary battles, heavy losses, and allow the other two Masters to reap the benefits.

Similarly, the Church of the Holy See, as the overseer, might not allow Kiritsugu Emiya to set up an altar in their Fuyuki Cathedral. Moreover, Kiritsugu Emiya didn't trust the Church of the Holy See either, fearing that they might take advantage of the location to stab him in the back at the crucial moment of the battle.

As for the fourth alternative location, the Fuyuki City Civic Center, while it seems relatively easy to occupy, according to Hisayu Maiya's report, it was one of the main conflict sites yesterday afternoon between the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the US military stationed in Japan. It's unknown how many dangerous unexploded ordnance are scattered there now, and perhaps investigators from the US and Japan, or even the Holy Church and the Magic Association, are still active there.

If we're unlucky enough to run into them, who knows what other headaches might arise—the unexpected events and variables in this Holy Grail War are already overwhelming!

In Kiritsugu Emiya's view, the biggest drawback of using the Civic Center as the site of the Holy Grail's descent is that, as a new spiritual site that was accidentally formed due to human intervention, the amount of spiritual energy contained beneath the Civic Center is relatively small, which may not be enough to support the enormous consumption of the Holy Grail descent ritual.

If the Holy Grail cannot descend to the mortal world due to insufficient spiritual energy at the site of the ritual, then the Holy Grail War will have been fought in vain, and his wife Irisviel will have sacrificed herself in vain—he absolutely cannot accept such an outcome!

You must understand that in order to win this Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu Emiya and the Einzbern family have staked almost everything!

Therefore, after much deliberation, Kiritsugu Emiya ultimately chose the safest location, Mount Enzo, as the venue for the Holy Grail Descent ceremony, despite the risk of being anticipated and ambushed by the enemy. The Holy Grail Descent in the last Holy Grail War took place at Ryudouji Temple on Mount Enzo.

Chapter 74, The Final Three-Way Battle (Part 2) - Ranking Up with Extra Chapters

Fortunately, Kiritsugu Emiya's journey from Einzbern Castle to Mount Enzo was generally peaceful. Apart from the remaining wildfires, choking smoke, some refugees blocking the way, and broken-down vehicles, they did not encounter any enemy resistance or harassment.

Upon arriving at Mount Enzo, Kiritsugu Emiya discovered that, seemingly to escape the wildfire, the monks who originally resided at Ryudou Temple had also fled, leaving not a single bald man on the entire mountain, thus saving him the trouble of driving away any idlers.

So, Kiritsugu Emiya directed the Einzbern family homunculus maids he had brought from the castle to quickly begin work amidst the charred ruins of Ryudou Temple, sweeping away ashes, removing debris, and clearing a flat, solid surface. Then, using materials found on-site, they directly constructed a simple altar from the stones excavated from the ruins of Ryudou Temple and placed the Holy Grail in the center of the altar.

Then, Kiritsugu Emiya hastily set up some traps and reconnaissance spells around Ryudouji Temple—because time was running out, resources were limited, and Kiritsugu Emiya's magical abilities were actually quite average, so it was impossible for him to set up a very powerful magic workshop.

However, he was not originally famous for his traditional magical duels. He could set up a few spells, which was better than nothing, and that was about it.

Meanwhile, the Servant summoned by Kiritsugu Emiya, the golden dragon princess Catherine who serves as the Saber class in this Holy Grail War, was leisurely squatting to one side, squinting her golden dragon eyes, and looking down with great interest at the ruins of Fuyuki City below Mount Enzo.

—Although Fuyuki City is not a major city in Japan, and has been plagued by disasters in recent days, having just been burned by a horrific inferno that killed or forced more than 100,000 residents, leaving behind only charred ruins and rubble, in the eyes of Princess Catherine from a fantastical world, this modern Earth city still exudes a strange and wonderful sense of novelty.

How can I describe this feeling? Well, it's probably similar to how modern tourists feel when visiting ancient Mayan cities or Pompeii!

Unfortunately, this leisurely time of "sightseeing" or rather "inspecting the ruins of Earth's cities" didn't last long—after setting up the makeshift altar and arranging the ritual to summon the Holy Grail, Kiritsugu Emiya turned around and issued his next command to Catherine:

"...Saber, now unleash your full magical power towards the sky and challenge your enemies!"

"...Uh? Are you issuing a challenge to the enemy?" Catherine looked at him suspiciously. "...Aren't you afraid of revealing your location?"

"...Well, since I've challenged the remaining enemies to a duel, why should I hide?"

Kiritsugu Emiya mumbled something, but Princess Catherine, the golden dragon, still looked at him with a strange and suspicious gaze, which troubled him somewhat. Given his cold and aloof temperament, he wouldn't bother explaining anything to a strict, obedient subordinate; he would simply give the order. However, this arrogant and spoiled dragon princess was clearly not the model employee type…

Therefore, in order to avoid any mishaps in the crucial battle ahead, Kiritsugu Emiya hesitated for a moment before deciding to offer a brief explanation.

"...While this kind of challenge and duel, reminiscent of classical knighthood, certainly doesn't fit my usual style, it's not unreasonable to change tactics when the situation is right... Of course, once the enemy comes to fight, you'll be responsible for facing them head-on and confronting their Heroic Spirits. The Einzbern family's homunculus maids will provide support. As for Maiya and me, we'll lie in ambush in the mountains, waiting for an opportunity to ambush the enemy's Master..."

—Alas, just as I thought. Kiritsugu is still the same Kiritsugu, still that magician-killer with absolutely no chivalry whatsoever…

Listening to Kiritsugu Emiya's tactical explanation, Princess Catherine of the Golden Dragon couldn't help but sigh and think to herself, but she still nodded in agreement. Then she raised her right hand, channeled her magic, and a clear and powerful torrent of dragon breath surged violently from her palm, instantly shooting straight into the sky!

And so, while Weber and Kenneth, the sworn enemies and their apprentice, continued their "cold war" in the abandoned factory refugee camp on the eastern outskirts of Fuyuki, staring at each other in silence, the hot war that broke out at Einzbern Castle on the western outskirts of Fuyuki had already been decided.

What they could not have predicted was that Emiya Kiritsugu, the victor of this "hot battle" at Einzbern Castle, did not waste any time after defeating his opponent Tohsaka Tokiomi, and rushed to Mount Enzo in Fuyuki City to set up the final battleground!

—After setting up the position, Kiritsugu Emiya even had Saber openly unleash her magical energy towards the sky, sending a signal of challenge to them!

Thus, the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, whose progress has been greatly accelerated by various unexpected factors, is about to usher in the final battle for supremacy among the three powers!

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An invisible aura of magic shot into the sky from the ruins of Ryudo-ji Temple atop Mount Enzang, swirling violently with turbulent air currents and dust.

To the average person, this seems to be just an ordinary tornado. Although it is indeed rare, it is not anything extraordinary.

However, in the eyes of the heroic spirits and magicians, this aura was like a searchlight beam in the night sky, so dazzling that it was almost impossible to look directly at it.

—This is a challenge signal issued by Kiritsugu Emiya to his Heroic Spirit Saber, directed at the last two groups of mages and Heroic Spirits!

Unfortunately, the remaining two contestants, Webber and Kenneth, did not see Saber release her aura towards the sky.

In other words, Kiritsugu Emiya's seemingly chivalrous challenge was actually a flirtation directed at a blind man.

Hmm? Why is there such a strange and bewildering situation?

The reason is quite simple: the distance between the two sides is simply too great!

—To explain in detail, Mount Enzo, where Kiritsugu Emiya is currently stationed and setting up his forces, is located in the southwest corner of Fuyuki City;

Meanwhile, the abandoned factory refugee camp where Webber and Kenneth, these two sworn enemies, are currently located is in the northeastern part of the outskirts of Fuyuki City.

These two locations are situated at opposite ends of Fuyuki City, with a straight-line distance of over ten kilometers!

In the Holy Grail War, Servants and Masters can sense each other through Command Seals, but the maximum range of this perception is no more than two hundred meters. Even if someone releases their full power, the aura can only travel two or three kilometers at most.

What's worse, the entire city of Fuyuki separates the two sides, so the view of the two rivals, Webber and Kenneth, who are currently in a low-lying position, is severely obstructed by the layers of houses, trees and hills around them.

Author's message

P.S.: Pushing the rankings tonight, four chapters released! More to come tomorrow! Please click, add to your favorites, vote, and even some harsh words!

Chapter 75, The Final Three-Way Battle (Part 2) - Second Update

Furthermore, due to the still-raging forest fires, smoke and ash filled the skies above Fuyuki City, resulting in extremely poor air quality and further reducing visibility in the surrounding environment. Under these circumstances, unless Waver and Kenneth climbed to the top of the abandoned factory's flagpole like monkeys and peered into the distance towards Fuyuki City, they would have no chance of noticing the signal sent by Kiritsugu Emiya from Mount Enzo.

Clearly, due to the close surveillance of the Church's black-clad agents and the interference of a large number of refugee citizens around them, Waver and Kenneth, the two sworn enemies who were currently staring at each other in the temporary refugee camp in the abandoned factory, were not interested in imitating monkeys climbing flagpoles, and naturally did not receive the challenge signal released by Saber by Kiritsugu Emiya.

On the other hand, even with such a perplexing situation, it's not fair to blame Kiritsugu Emiya for being inconsiderate and reckless—because from his perspective, he couldn't have imagined that the last two opponents in this Holy Grail War would be in such a remote corner, and that no familiars would be deployed in the city to monitor the enemy's movements...

In fact, as a skilled traditional magician, Kenneth had originally deployed some familiars in the city for reconnaissance. While Waver Velvet, the young apprentice, wasn't particularly skilled, he still had one or two familiars... The problem was that Fuyuki City had been transformed into a battlefield and a sea of ​​fire in the past few days, with so many and so frequent calamities that they had almost completely destroyed their familiars.

Therefore, Webber and Kenneth, who were in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Fuyuki, staying with the refugee citizens, did not receive this challenge signal.

However, despite this, the challenge signal that Kiritsugu Emiya had Saber release did not completely "sink": although the two people who should have received the letter were unable to receive it due to objective reasons, they accidentally contacted another participant who had withdrawn from the Holy Grail War.

—Just across the Mien River from Kiritsugu Emiya, and only two kilometers from Mt. Enzo, outside the Fuyuki Cathedral, Kirei Kotomine, who had already relinquished his Heroic Spirit and Command Seals to become the overseer of the Holy Church, gazed at the immense magical power rising from the distant mountain peak and fell into deep thought:

"...Deliberately exposing the aura of a Heroic Spirit in such a provocative manner, openly revealing his location to any magician...Emiya Kiritsugu of the Einzbern family, that despicable magician assassin, would actually propose a duel so openly and honorably as a knight? It's a pity that the remaining two contestants are currently too far away from Mount Enzo, and probably won't be able to see this challenge signal!"

Kirei Kotomine pondered this, his mind racing as he considered how he and the Holy Church should respond: Should they remain silent and continue to observe? Or should he act as a mouthpiece, relaying the news to Waver and Kenneth in the abandoned factory, even suggesting they accept Kiritsugu Emiya's "duel white glove" and head to Mount Enzo for the final showdown in this Holy Grail War?

Before his mentor Tokiomi Tohsaka was defeated, Kirei Kotomine, the cheating "supervisor," naturally focused on how to help his mentor win.

However, after receiving news of Tokiomi Tohsaka's defeat and overcoming the initial shock, confusion, and disorientation, he quickly adjusted his mindset and truly assumed the role of the Holy Grail War overseer. He began to analyze the current situation of the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City from the perspective of the Holy Grail War and his own interests.

For the Church of the Holy Grail, it is clear that the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City has escalated from a magical ritual into a local war, and even nearly deteriorated into a second Pacific War. Ending the turmoil and restoring social stability as soon as possible at all costs is the top priority.

Otherwise, the longer this Holy Grail War lasts, the more uncontrollable factors there will be, and the more intractable the problems will become.

In fact, the latest developments alone are enough to give the Church of Sanctuary and the Magic Association a major headache.

Therefore, after their ally Tokiomi Tohsaka was defeated and fell, and their prior plans completely failed, the exhausted senior members of the Holy Grail Church had only one thought: to end this nightmarish Holy Grail War as soon as possible and put an end to all the unforeseen troubles and chaos!

—Well, it's basically similar to the US government in the late 1970s Vietnam War, which was suffering terribly from guerrilla warfare and was eager to extricate itself, or the Soviet authorities in the late 1980s who were deeply mired in the Afghan war and were already overwhelmed.

Similarly, for Kirei Kotomine, who had just inherited the Fuyuki Cathedral and the parish from his deceased father, restoring peace and order to the city as soon as possible and preventing further destruction was also in his interest.

Kiritsugu Emiya's provocation of a duel at the summit of Mount Enzo seemed to offer a shortcut to quickly end this Holy Grail War.

—If this duel goes smoothly, the current Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City might be over today.

For both the beleaguered Holy Church and the desperate Fuyuki refugees, this is a truly momentous occasion, worthy of celebration. As for the equally troubled officials of the US and Japan, they must be feeling a little relieved!

"...In that case, let our men inform Webber and Kenneth to come to Mount Enzo to prepare for the duel!"

After much deliberation and careful consideration, Kirei Kotomine ultimately decided to prioritize the interests of the Church, setting aside his own ulterior motives, and resolutely stated, "...Hopefully, cell phones in the Fuyuki area are still working right now..."

So, a few moments later, Weber and Kenneth, the master and apprentice who were still locked in a silent "cold war" in the abandoned factory on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, which had been converted into a refugee camp, received a "well-intentioned" "enemy situation report" delivered by the church's agents, filled with suspicion and confusion...

—Although lecturer Kenneth and his red-haired fiancée Sora don’t seem to appreciate it much.

"...The contestants from the Tohsaka and Einzbern families have already decided their fate. The victorious Einzbern contestant, Kiritsugu Emiya, has moved to the ruins of Ryudouji Temple atop Mount Enzo after his victory. He is currently having his Heroic Spirit send out a challenge signal, hoping that we will come and participate in the duel."

After hearing the account from a representative of the Holy Church, Kenneth was initially incredulous, then scoffed, "...Heh, what a joke! It seems it was your Holy Church that repeatedly complained to the Clock Tower, saying that I had caused too much of a commotion in Fuyuki City, that I was suspected of leaking secrets of the magic path, forcing me to move to this desolate, backwater place, and even demanding that I never enter Fuyuki City again... And now you want me to cross the city to fight at Mount Enzo? During the day? Is the Holy Church playing me for a fool?"

By the time he finished speaking, Kenneth's tone was almost clenched through gritted teeth, and his fiancée, Sora, nodded in agreement. For this pampered heiress, accustomed to being surrounded by servants and enjoying a life of luxury, the two days spent camping in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Fuyuki City had been extremely difficult. She had never experienced such hardship in her entire life.

In particular, this situation was not their own decision, but rather they were driven there by the Church under the guise of righteous indignation.

What angered her even more was that after she and Kenneth were driven away, Fuyuki City not only failed to find peace, but instead suffered utter destruction. The entire city was like Sodom and Gomorrah, punished by God, reduced to a raging wasteland. As a foreign-born, aloof heiress, Sora felt little pity for the destruction of Fuyuki City and the innocent deaths of thousands of Japanese. What truly infuriated her was that the Holy Church was using such a ridiculous, self-contradictory excuse to target and restrict her! And Kenneth too!

"...Uh...Well...While we did issue such a ban not long ago, prohibiting you and your fiancée from entering Fuyuki City, considering the current special circumstances, even if the magic duel takes place during the day, it's not impossible to make a slight exception..."

Faced with the disdainful looks of Kenneth and Sora, the Holy Church's agent, tasked with delivering the message, felt a surge of anger, wishing he could teach this heretic a lesson. However, neither the harsh environment nor his own meager strength allowed him to act so recklessly.

So, the Church's representative had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue explaining: "...As for the possibility of revealing magical secrets by dueling the enemy Master during the day, you need not worry. Fuyuki City has just experienced a series of calamities; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a ghost town with nine out of ten houses empty. Especially the town of Fukayama on the west bank of the Mien River, which was almost completely burned down by a forest fire, there are practically no survivors left there. Even if you were to engage in a magical duel during the day, there would be no bystanders, not to mention we would be there to clean up the mess..."

The agent thought he had been very polite, but Kenneth, who was already seething with anger, became even more furious upon hearing this.

Chapter 76, An Unexpected Outburst of Courage (Third Update)

"...What? Considering the special circumstances, the Holy Church is willing to make an exception for me and allow me to engage in magical duels during the day?"

"Oh! What are you saying! Haha! How am I supposed to answer that? It's as if the Church isn't shamelessly begging me for help with a difficult problem, but rather I'm kneeling down and begging for permission to risk my life on Mount Yuanzang!"

Instructor Kenneth laughed in fury, "...Your shamelessness is beyond words! I don't even know how to describe your Church! In short, just give up on that idea. I'm absolutely not going to be stupid enough to go and participate in any duel! That's out of the question! Just because that infamous magician killer sets up a place, does that mean I have to be a fool and go straight there to accept the challenge? What a joke!"

His words were filled with deep distrust, which was understandable—because the Church's actions during the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City were completely contrary to "fairness and neutrality," making it impossible for those who knew the inside story to have much trust in them.

Just as the church agent, who had been sent to deliver the news of the Einzbern family's challenge to a duel, was facing the unyielding and icy lecturer Kenneth, he felt completely at a loss.

Another overlooked participant in the Holy Grail War, the young apprentice Waver Velvet, quietly whispered something to the little cat on his shoulder that resembled a Heroic Spirit, then silently fiddled with something before standing up and loudly proclaiming:

"...Professor Kenneth, as a peerless genius of the Clock Tower, isn't your statement a bit too cowardly? Now that you've come all the way to this remote Far Eastern island nation to participate in the Holy Grail War, how can you be afraid and run away from the duel challenges issued by others?"

Although Weber's voice was initially not very loud, seemingly due to a lack of confidence, and carried a hint of youthful awkwardness and timidity, as he continued speaking, his emotions gradually calmed down, and his tone became generous and powerful, "...While we magicians are not reckless knights who boast of their bravery, we should not imitate those thieves who walk in the shadows, or cowards who only tremble under the covers!"

These righteous and stern words surprised Kenneth for a moment; they seemed completely unlike anything he remembered Weber would say. But then a thought struck him, and he figured out what was going on—this despicable student was probably trying to use grand pronouncements and lofty principles to trick him into going out to duel with the Einzbern family, so he could take advantage of the chaos. So he retorted with a cold smile:

"...Oh? That's quite an easy way to put it, Weber! Has this despicable thief suddenly changed his ways and decided to become a warrior, going to Mount Enzo to duel with the Einzbern family's contestants? If so, I'll have to look at you in a new light."

"...That's exactly what I was thinking! Since you, Professor Kenneth, are afraid of the enemy's reputation and refuse to go to Mount Enzo for the duel, then I will do it in your place! In any case, we cannot tarnish the reputation of our Clock Tower in this Holy Grail War!"

Unexpectedly, Webber surprised him once again by readily agreeing to Kenneth's suggestion.

The church agent who was sent to persuade him felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders and was overjoyed. He was about to report back to Kirei Kotomine of the cathedral to show off his success. Although he hadn't managed to trick the great shark Kenneth into going to Mount Enzo to fight Kiritsugu Emiya, the contestant from the Einzbern family, he had at least managed to trick a little white fish named Weber. He could at least get through this persuasion task.

However, Weber then changed the subject and continued, "...However, the reason I accepted the Einzbern family's duel invitation is that I want to have a fair and honorable duel, rather than being ambushed by others halfway through. In order to allow me to embark on this duel path with peace of mind, Professor Kenneth, could you please sign this document first?"

As Weber spoke, he pulled a roll of parchment from his pocket and unfurled it in front of Instructor Kenneth. Kenneth looked closely and immediately recognized what it was: although to others it appeared to be nothing more than a collection of indistinct patterns and subtle symbols, to Kenneth it was a perfectly crafted syllogism written in his most familiar format.

This is a standard clock tower format "self-mandatory certificate".

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Self-enforced certificate.

This is a firewall that barely maintains the bottom line of trust in a magician's society full of intrigue and deceit.

It is one of the most impartial contract spells, its sole purpose being to establish an agreement between two magicians that must never be broken.

Essentially, this is a forced curse imposed on the individual using their own magical crest. In principle, it possesses an effect that cannot be removed by any means. Even if the oath-breaker loses their life, the magical crest will bind the deceased's soul, demonstrating its danger and severity.

In short, on the condition that he agree to go to Mount Enzo to participate in the duel, Weber hoped to receive a guarantee that he would not be ambushed by Kenneth on his way to Mount Enzo to duel the Einzbern family contestants. Otherwise, he really dared not set off rashly.

Faced with Weber's request, Kenneth stroked his chin, lost in thought and long hesitation.

In fact, after the initial surprise and shock subsided, Kenneth quickly saw through Weber's little trick.

—While Kenneth is known for his arrogance and conceit, this doesn't mean he's lacking in intelligence. It's just that sometimes his overly proud personality causes him to overlook certain things in his thinking. And by the time he realizes something is wrong, it's often too late.

Therefore, with his rich experience, he could naturally see that Weber's seemingly resounding and boastful words were, in fact, nothing more than a way to buy time and temporarily avoid a life-or-death duel with his teacher, in addition to masking his inner fear.

With Kenneth's immense strength, and with Webber's whereabouts already exposed, he could have crushed him with just a single finger.