Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Arcueid thought for a moment and answered casually.

The southern coast?

Samael, whose location sounded vaguely familiar, had no time to think it through when a blinding beam of blood-red light exploded atop the mountain.

"boom!"

Amidst the deafening sound, invisible, transparent ripples spread out. The mountain peaks and broken branches within the vortex floated and fell slowly at dozens of times the normal speed, as if everything had become a series of lag-like images.

hum!

At the same time, the space trembled and a visible sense of rupture appeared. A dark and violent aura swept in all directions to the west, and a strong smell of blood filled the air.

Samael couldn't help but look up at the eerie blood-red light above the mountaintop, and at the pure white, light-shaped gate that slowly opened amidst the chanting of hymns, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Another apostle who is almost a true ancestor...

And then there's the Vatican's most treasured séance...

Wow, Eminmego Island is really lively tonight...

Chapter 45 The Ghostly Scene of Father Bidding Farewell and Son Laughing (4.8k long chapter)

Rewind half an hour to the magic workshop on the mountaintop.

The group of church agents who had surrounded the target stared at the hunting target in the center, whose body was riddled with dozens of black keys, whose blood had almost dried up, and who should have been dead long ago, yet had risen from the pool of blood. Their pupils contracted sharply.

"laugh!"

Before the agents could recover from the shock of this sudden change, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound in the air, all the lights were extinguished, plunging the magic workshop into darkness, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.

"puff!"

Immediately afterwards, a scarlet shadow streaked through the darkness, followed by a series of clanging noises and the dull sound of flesh being torn apart. The heavy stench of blood that filled the air, along with the twisted and struggling figures, was enough to send chills down one's spine.

The agents hurriedly chanted sacred words, summoning light, and relied on one another for psychological comfort.

On the field, an even more horrifying scene came into view.

The hunted prey, now seemingly resurrected, was digging its fangs into the carotid artery of a captive in his arms, effortlessly biting through the muscle and sucking the captive's fresh blood.

Caught off guard, the unfortunate hunter turned prey. As he rapidly lost blood, his body convulsed, but as his muscles grew cold and stiff, he could not control himself. He could only open his terrified eyes and look pleadingly at his companions, letting his life force be drained away little by little.

At this moment, with the influx of life force and the replenishment of fresh blood, the dozens of black keys stuck in the target's body were squeezed out of the muscles inch by inch, and fell to the ground with a crisp tremor.

"I never expected you would force me to use my last resort, which was originally prepared for those people from the Mage's Association..."

With a deep, suppressed groan, Emiya Norikami threw the dried-up corpse in his left palm to the ground. He slowly rose from the blood mist and mess on the ground. His right hand, which had been pressed against his chest, opened up, and an empty glass syringe slid to the ground and shattered into a pile of crystalline fragments.

A strange, lingering crimson shimmered eerily among the shards of glass.

Dead Apostle Potion? This guy actually had a backup plan!

As Kotomine Riki stared at the sudden turn of events, his pupils contracted, and he immediately understood the reason why this man had come back to life.

Before he was assassinated, he injected himself with a research sample hidden in his hand, turning himself into a Dead Apostle.

Emiya Norikaze casually removed his glasses, revealing a pair of scarlet eyes. His originally gloomy and calm aura turned violent and bloodthirsty as he slowly spoke to the pursuers.

"If you want to kill me, are you prepared to pay the price?"

The overwhelming sense of oppression made Kotomine Risei and the others feel cold in their hands and feet, as if facing a formidable enemy, their hearts sinking to the bottom.

Not a lowly undead, but a disciple who rivals the true ancestor!

In reality, becoming a Dead Apostle through blood-sucking is much simpler than becoming a Dead Apostle who can control his blood-sucking urges. Many magicians can do it by abandoning humanity and some self-restraint. Because human lifespan is limited, in order to gain more time, many magicians have gone down this evil path and transformed themselves into Dead Apostles.

However, the strength of a Dead Apostle is greatly influenced by the strength and potential of the host.

For example, Granzog Blackwing, one of the twenty-seven famous Dead Apostles in the City of a Thousand Years, was a magician with perfect talent before his self-conversion.

Similarly, the Church's fallen agent, the scoundrel Roya, also quickly transformed into an extremely powerful Dead Apostle after becoming a Dead Apostle, ranking among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles, and repeatedly evaded Arcueid's pursuit.

As a magician of the designated seal executor level, and possessing the extremely rare talent of time magic, Emiya Norikazu could, if he so desired, use the blood sample obtained from the True Ancestor Roa to become a Dead Apostle similar to the True Ancestor.

However, this choice has a serious drawback: not only will one be subject to Roya himself, but one will also be unable to suppress the urge to drink blood. If one cannot control oneself, one may gradually become a mindless beast, just like those fallen True Ancestors and Dead Apostles.

These things are simply unacceptable to a pure researcher who intends to get to the root of the problem.

Moreover, he has a son. Even if he succeeds by chance, he might not be able to gamble twice with the same attempt.

Therefore, whether it was human arrogance, the pride of a magician, or even his last remaining conscience, Emiya Norikaze never made up his mind to transform himself into such a failure. He always thought about improving the potions he had, forging himself into a perfect vampire who maintained reason and self-control, and then engaging in his long research to observe the laws of the origin and the end of the universe.

But unexpectedly, after hiding for so long, the church and association still managed to find it.

What Emiya Norikaze didn't expect was that his disobedient and foolish son would become the cause of his downfall, leading the pursuing hounds up the mountain without warning.

Faced with a group of agents skilled in combat and close-range suppression, even if Emiya Norikaze possessed extraordinary abilities, he could not escape this meticulously woven net.

Moreover, at that time, his own son was still in their hands. As a parent, even if he didn't want to admit it, he ultimately couldn't let go of the last bit of tenderness in his heart.

However, judging by the timeline, Kiritsugu should have already escaped, right?

Emiya Norikaze glanced at the deep night outside the window, a flicker of emotion crossing his eyes before fading into silence.

Since that's the case, let me try out this improved version and see how it goes, so I can complete the final research.

The ferocious crimson quickly filled Emiya Norikaze's eyes. His frail body, which rarely left the house, cracked and popped, his muscles bulged, and scarlet blood surged and spread around him.

"laugh!"

A piercing sound of air being torn apart followed, and in the instant that Emiya Norikaze stomped forward, the surrogate felt the ground beneath his feet tremble. Before the blood shadow could reach his body, a fierce wind rushed towards him, making his cheeks sting. Some of the weaker hunters even had a drop of blood seep from their skin under the wind pressure.

"The Lord is my rock, my stronghold, my refuge; He will not let me suffer harm!"

The agents were horrified and immediately chanted sacred words, their bodies radiating a golden light to protect themselves.

boom!boom!boom!boom!

Instantly, a series of sonic booms exploded in the air, and several people were sent flying backward, coughing up blood, their faces pale.

However, Emiya Norikaze's arms also burst into clouds of blood mist, his left hand fell limply to his side, and his chest was hit by several black keys in the fierce battle in the darkness.

The Agents are a special secret force trained by the Church to eliminate dissidents. Their combat effectiveness is beyond doubt. All those who join them are seasoned veterans. Countless heretics and fallen people have died at their hands.

Therefore, let alone facing a mere disciple who is close to a True Ancestor, they would dare to rush up and fight even if they faced a True Ancestor.

"The winds of heaven are blocked by walls, and the doors that open on all sides are closed. The Holy Spirit of the Kingdom of Heaven descends from the crown to serve the light and save the Lord's flock from harm!"

At this moment, more agents who were free to act realized that the encirclement was out of control. They gathered together, chanting divine incantations, and a light-shaped gate adorned with jewels and gold slowly opened in mid-air.

A holy, phantom-like figure composed of ether particles and bearing wings gradually solidified above everyone's heads.

Summoning the spirit!

Having risked losing half his arm to barely break through the encirclement, he was now forced to use his most desperate methods. Emiya Norikazu's brows furrowed, his right hand resting on his chest, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust, a resolute intent flashing within them. He opened his lips and murmured.

"Time alter, square accel (proper time system, four times the speed)!"

In an instant, concentric circles of gray-white ripples spread outwards from Emiya Norikaze, causing everything around to slow down and distort, as if frozen in time in a painting.

At the same time, Emiya Norikaze's heart, which was working beyond its capacity, was about to burst, causing the veins on his forehead to throb and pulsate like earthworms. His thirst for blood almost overwhelmed his remaining rationality.

go!

With his extensive experience in escaping, the magician made a decisive move, stamping his feet and charging forward, breaking through the sluggish encirclement of the agents, and heading straight down the mountain.

However, just as Emiya Norikaze was about to break through the encirclement and escape, accompanied by gentle and deep chanting, the Church's living saint walked down the mountain path and blocked the escapee's path.

"Like Jacob's ladder, it illuminates my dreams. The spiritual veins connect, piercing the world; the Heavenly Cup is activated, bringing an end to all things!"

Amakusa Shiro's gaze was cold and unfocused. The two beams of red and blue light that had gathered in his hands suddenly shot out, striking the target's chest and causing an explosion that lit up half the sky.

A shower of blood fell, and the man, half of his body mangled and bloodied, used the force of the explosion to turn and run without hesitation.

But at the same time, the magic workshop, which had been slowed down four times, stopped pausing. The spirit that served the light descended gracefully amidst the ethereal chanting of hymns. A luminous javelin then coalesced between its fingers and then flew out with lightning speed, piercing through the night sky.

The figure in the darkness paused for a moment, then suddenly accelerated again, disappearing completely from everyone's sight and perception under the cover of night.

"Father, there's no need to chase after them."

Amakusa Shiro raised his hand to stop his colleague who rushed out of the Magic Workshop. He glanced back at the deep night sky, lost in thought, before turning to Kotomine Risei, who seemed slightly hesitant, and whispered something in a low voice.

Kotomine Ryougi understood and immediately ordered his subordinates to treat the wounded and bless them to purify the blood and qi on their bodies, so as to prevent these agents from being contaminated.

Of course, due to the principle of eradicating evil completely, all the corrupt documents and materials in the workshop, except for a few valuable ones that need to be handed over to the Eighth Secret Society for archiving and organization, must be destroyed.

As the blazing flames rose from the mountaintop, the sins and filth that once thrived in this region vanished into thin air.

"By the way, Father, someone asked me to give this to you."

Beneath the flickering flames, Amakusa Shiro gazed at the body melting into the flowing flames, offered a sincere prayer for his fallen comrades, and then took out the ouroboros emblem to report to Kotomine Risei on their previous encounters on the road.

Kotomine Ryougi looked at the peculiar emblem, his pupils contracted slightly, his expression became serious, and he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"What else did that person say?"

"Let us be responsible for clearing out the hopeless zombies and sending the injured and uninfected who still have hope to the church for treatment."

Amakusa Shiro glanced at the elusive angelic figure floating in mid-air, bowed slightly, and answered truthfully.

"Do as he says. Take the combatants who are still able to fight and start clearing the area."

After a moment's hesitation, the usually stubborn old man finally bowed his head and ordered everyone to disperse their magic, so that the angel they had painstakingly summoned could be returned to Heaven.

Unfortunately, the situation had developed far beyond the capabilities of the church's dispatch team.

Putting everything else aside, they couldn't afford to offend just the two True Ancestors of Millennium City with their small numbers, let alone the Dark Council, which hadn't made any major moves in a long time...

"Tsk, the council is actually getting involved in the affairs of Eminmego Island. I'll go and meet the owner of this badge."

With a mixture of apprehension and resentment, the old man straightened his clothes, put his hands behind his back, got up, and headed down the mountain toward the church.

Meanwhile, somewhere hidden in the southern part of Eminmego Island.

A staggering figure, accompanied by the dripping sound of liquid, leaned against the stone wall and arrived at a dim cave. Looking at the motorboat left in its place and the small figure standing in front of the cave entrance, he was stunned for a moment, then frowned and scolded.

"Kiritsugu, why aren't you leaving yet!"

"Dad, why are you doing research on Dead Apostles?"

The boy, with short, black hair and wearing a red vest, looked at the firelight in the distant village, lowered his eyes, and murmured a question.

"The magic of the Emiya family is to accelerate or stop the flow of time within an inherent barrier that is not interfered with by the world. I have now thoroughly studied it. However, if I want to go further and glimpse the path to the law, according to my idea, I need to accelerate the flow of time infinitely within an extremely small barrier with almost zero resistance. Only in this way can I reach the origin that should appear after the end of the universe by observing it."

Seeing his son's persistent questioning, the man sighed for some reason, leaned back, and offered a rare, serious explanation.

"However, although the theory itself has a great chance, it would take hundreds of years to complete the experiment. In order to solve the lifespan problem, I need to use some special means to extend my own lifespan."

"Dead Apostleification? Does Dad plan to turn me into someone like Xia Lei in the future?"

The boy clenched his fists, his voice trembling slightly, as if he were in fear.

"What nonsense are you talking about? A Death Apostle who can't control his vampiric urges is a failure. Our Emiya bloodline doesn't need such a defective product to tarnish the great cause of exploring the root."

Emiya Norikaze was completely unaware of the unusual tone in his son's voice and answered casually.

For…the root cause?

The boy murmured the two words, and gradually recalled that bright smiling face and the familiar faces twisting and wailing under the firelight. His hands trembled uncontrollably.

"We'll talk about this later. Kiritsugu, come here..."

As soon as Emiya Norikaze opened his mouth, for some reason, he shook his head violently, took a slight step back, and withdrew the hand that had been about to greet his son. His voice also became dry and irritable.

"Alright, let's push the motorboat out first. We need to get out of here and wait until we're in a safe place before restarting the experiment, revising the theory, and getting closer to the root of the problem."

"Dad, there's no need to run away anymore..."

However, just as Emiya Norikaze was pounding his head, trying to calm the urge within him, his son, who was supposed to put down the motorboat, appeared before him, head bowed in thought.

"laugh!"

At the same time, as the boy hesitated, his shoulders relaxed, and a flash of cold light unexpectedly stabbed towards Emiya Norikaze's abdomen.

The man's face was filled with disbelief, but then his bloodshot eyes, which were filled with shock, inexplicably relaxed and slowly closed.

"when!"

At the critical moment, a pebble flew through the air, knocking the dagger from the boy's hand and abruptly ending the tragic patricide.

"who!"

From the trees on one side of the cave entrance, the air twisted and writhed, and a silver-haired female hunter carrying a Remington rifle emerged, gazing intently at the source of the sound, and shouting loudly.

"it's me……"