Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

The ancient serpent frowned slightly, first glancing down at the ravaged battlefield below, then flapping its twelve serpentine wings, pulling Mash along, and heading straight for the colossal creature in the center of the city that was constantly releasing shockwaves.

They've left?

As the three people in the ruins watched the terrifying figure in the sky abandon them and rush towards a new goal, a sense of relief at surviving a catastrophe welled up in their hearts.

At the same time, above the writhing pile of steel and concrete monsters, a meteorite enveloped in layers of red and black ethereal light, trailing a long fiery tail, plummeted straight down from the sky.

"Boom!"

The violent explosion, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, unleashed a chilling shockwave.

As the smoke and dust dissipated, the hundred-meter-tall monster was torn to pieces, turning back into lifeless construction debris.

Standing atop the ruins, Samael suppressed the magic flowing through his body, bent down and picked up a piece of orange-yellow crystal from a crack in the bricks, frowning as he looked at the strange magical patterns inside with their straight lines.

This looks a bit like... a circuit board.

A moment later, a strange thought popped into Samael's mind, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

As Mash helped push aside a piece of concrete buried in the tank, Waver crawled out of the pit, covered in dust. When he looked up and saw those iconic vertical pupils, he felt a sense of relief.

"What are you doing here? Sa..."

"Fujimaru Ritsuka, the Master of Chaldea, has been ordered to investigate the cause of the Singularity in Snowfield City."

Samael promptly interrupted his acquaintance's revelation, smiling as he extended his hand.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka? Nice to meet you..."

Weber immediately understood and changed his tune, shaking hands with the person opposite him in a friendly manner, while secretly cursing in his heart.

This guy has changed his identity again, but with him around, we should be fine this time.

Then, Weber, who had relaxed, slumped to the ground, glanced around, and asked in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"Cough, did that thing dry up?"

"No, it must have gotten away."

Samael shook his head, casually tossed the cracked orange-yellow crystal to Weber, and shrugged helplessly.

"This doesn't seem to be its true form, but rather a neural synapse with certain combat and surveillance functions."

"So, just how big is that thing?"

"Who knows, it might be able to fit the entire Snowfield City."

"Tsk..."

Weber glanced at the wreckage scattered among the ruins and immediately felt a headache coming on.

Samael reached out and pulled his old friend from Fuyuki City up from the ground, brushing the dust off him as he asked him questions with curiosity.

"Speaking of which, how did you get targeted by this thing?"

"It's probably because of the Holy Grail again..."

Weber rubbed his temples and smiled wryly, then began to recount his and Iskandar's unfortunate experiences, finally offering his own analysis from a professional perspective.

"The Holy Grail War in Snowfield City should be an imitation of the [miracle] in Fuyuki City. However, even if the nature of the spiritual veins in different places is very similar, there will still be subtle differences. If there are Servants who participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City as models and materials, their replica rituals will be closer to the original, and the effect of the Holy Grail will be more significant."

"You guys are really unlucky..."

Samael patted Weber on the shoulder with a look of sympathy, then a hint of curiosity appeared in his eyes.

"By the way, weren't you just being entangled? How did you survive the oxygen-deprived environment of the thermobaric bomb?"

"Of course it's water electrolysis. It's not like I didn't take high school physics classes..."

Seeing the onlookers watching with amusement, Webber tossed out two empty water bottles, rolled his eyes, and...

It turned out to be the case.

With Iskandar's protection, the high temperature, high pressure, and shock wave of the thermobaric bomb can be isolated, and oxygen can be temporarily generated by the lightning on the two sacred bulls to dissociate water. Although it may not be able to restore the air to normal levels, it should be enough for a short emergency.

With his doubts answered, Samael nodded thoughtfully.

The polar combat suits that Chaldea uses to withstand extreme cold, heat, and oxygen-deprived environments were also made by this group of people. It seems that magicians are not all rigid and inflexible.

Okay, that's scientifically sound.

If we have Kunlun's cyber cultivation, why can't we have the clock tower's scientific magic?

"Senior, they escaped!"

Just as the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Mashu, who was on guard duty, pointed to the floating light patterns on the ruins behind them and urgently reminded them.

"Who?"

Upon hearing that there were still enemies, Webber, who had just narrowly escaped death, became tense.

Samael didn't turn around, but just smiled and waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned.

"It's nothing, I just ran into two magicians named 'Hartress' and 'Rafe' on the road..."

"Director Hartress? Professor Rafe?"

"There's also a woman who calls herself Faker..."

Hephaestion?

Immediately, not only Weber, but even Iskandar, who was comforting the sacred bull, couldn't sit still and looked at Samael in astonishment.

The ancient serpent's eyes flickered, a sinister glint appearing in them, and it slightly raised its right hand.

"Just to be on the safe side, should we just kill them?"

"no!"

Weber and Iskandar's expressions changed, and they hurriedly rushed forward to grab Samael's arm, simultaneously vetoing the idea.

Samael, who was stopped by the joint forces, was in a dilemma.

"Those three were about to attack me..."

"It's a misunderstanding, there must be a misunderstanding!"

"What are they doing sneaking around Snowfield City? There's definitely something fishy going on! Just in case..."

"A guess, just your guess!"

"Aren't you the same? Even if you want to exonerate them, you need to provide evidence, right?"

"Don't worry, leave it to us. We'll make sure we find out what they're up to!"

Upon hearing this, the ancient snake's expression changed. It raised its hand and placed it heavily on the shoulders of the two people, its eyes filled with a gratified smile.

"Okay, it's settled!"

"..."

The sudden turn of events caught Webber and Iskandar off guard.

Something seems off.

Weber glanced at the empty ruins behind him, his eyes flashing, and tentatively spoke.

"Snowfield City is so big, if they deliberately hide, I'm afraid we..."

"It's alright. I placed a mark on them during our fight just now."

Samael smiled slightly, reached out and took out a black snake scale, placing it in Weber's palm.

That dull surface was faintly glowing in a certain direction.

Looking at the still-warm snake scales on their hands and the smiling face in front of them, Webber and Iskandar's lips twitched violently, and their foreheads were covered in black lines.

I've been tricked by this guy again...

Chapter Sixty-Seven: I Am Your Father

The die was cast, and the belatedly realizing what had happened, Weber and Iskandar, under the smiling wave of a certain scoundrel, had no choice but to dejectedly embark on the path of being forced to work.

Watching the two figures walk further and further away, Mashu finally realized what was going on.

"Senior, did you do this on purpose?"

Samael winked sarcastically, smiling without saying a word.

Although physically eliminating those three unstable factors would be the easiest way for him to solve the problem, it would also pose the greatest hidden dangers.

On the one hand, the destruction of their physical bodies might mean they don't have any backup plans for reincarnation, since both Rafe and Hartres are meticulous people.

This time, the enemy wasn't completely wiped out, and they became wary. It won't be so easy to wipe them all out again.

On the other hand, even if they were to be completely wiped out by his own hand, the trail would be cut off, and no one would know what their purpose was in coming to Snowfield City, what their plans were, or whether they were necessarily related to the formation of the singularity.

If left unchecked, this will be an extremely serious hidden danger.

Therefore, instead of eliminating the three of them directly, it's better to play the long game and catch the bigger fish. We should figure out the whole story before deciding how to proceed.

This way, everything will be foolproof, and you can also do Webber and Iskandar a favor.

Without a doubt, Waver has a deep affection for magic and the Mage's Association, and a strong sense of respect for his teachers. For example, his former teacher Kenneth was far from friendly to him, and even nearly killed him during the Holy Grail War.

Even so, Weber still felt guilty and respected towards his teacher who had taught him.

In fact, to "atone" for his sins, he joined the El-Melloi family after the war, taking the blame for his dead teacher and shouldering a huge debt.

Although Professor Rafe and former department head Hartles did not have a deep relationship with Weber, Weber was somewhat interested in finding out the details of the matter, given that it involved the Clock Tower and that Hartles was his mentor.

Faker's situation is even simpler. As Iskandar's most trusted shadow warrior, she is not only an important subordinate to the conqueror king, but also a friend and sister.

Now that Hephaestion has gotten himself into trouble, his close brother and monarch certainly cannot let it go unchecked.

In this way, two excellent tools make their dazzling debut.

Almost the instant he saw that it was Weber and Iskandar in danger, Samael had already conceived his next plan:

They sent Webber and Iskandar to infiltrate the enemy team as spies to secretly investigate the true purpose of Rafe and his two companions, and to monitor and prove their innocence.

That's why he deliberately held back and let Rafe and the other two escape.

Of course, there is another important reason:

We're too familiar with each other, I feel awkward making a move.

Hartres, the half-brother of Adano Hishiri, is in a sense his "brother-in-law";

Rafe, Olga Marie's close elder, and Orange and Aoko's rare friend in the Clock Tower, was an unsung hero who destroyed his personality to defend humanity.

Faker, Iskandar's shadow warrior, his most trusted henchman...

So, they're all related by blood or marriage. It's hard to explain if they just killed each other without a legitimate reason.

So, I'd like to trouble you two to make this trip for me and for everyone.

Samael glanced at Weber and Iskandar's tragic and melancholic figures, muttering to himself, a pleased smile playing on his lips.

As the two hastily hired laborers disappeared into the end of the ruins, the ancient snake lowered its eyes, its gaze falling on the amber crystal and a dozen silicon wafers in its hand.

One group came from the reinforced concrete monsters from before, while the other group was left behind by Weber and Iskandar before they left, and came from the mechanized infantry that roamed the city.

Both have similar circuits engraved inside.

The ancient snake played with it for a while, sensing the faint, strangely interwoven currents within it, its dark eyes gleaming eerily.

Things are getting more and more interesting.

"boom!"

Just as Samael was deep in thought, a violent explosion came from three blocks away. The surging magical energy stirred up a chilling shockwave, and the two colliding figures flew backward like cannonballs, each heading towards different areas.

"senior!"

Mashu picked up her cross shield, gave a deep gesture, and looked eager to try.

The ancient snake came to its senses, saw the longing in those purple eyes, and smiled and nodded.

"We'll each take one side, and contact each other immediately if there's any news."

"Ok!"

Upon hearing the order to split up, Mashu nodded excitedly, her little face filled with excitement.

The Master is so capable that she, as a Servant, felt completely uninvolved throughout the entire process, but now she finally has a chance to prove herself.