Chapter 222: The Caster Who Comes Knocking
"You… what are you trying to do?!"
Looking at Hikigaya Hachiman's smile, Tohsaka Rin instantly felt a bad premonition in her heart.
She increased her struggling, trying to break free from Hikigaya Hachiman's grip.
However, before she could struggle much, a loud rumble from her stomach suddenly made the surrounding air fall silent.
"...Pft..."
"No laughing!"
Seeing Hachiman trying to hold back laughter, Rin, flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment, lunged at him using both hands and feet.
"Alright, if you're hungry, then it feels like you should go home and eat. Don't follow me again!"
With that, Hikigaya Hachiman set Tohsaka Rin back down on the ground.
"Wait…"
Seeing that Hikigaya Hachiman had let her go so easily, Rin couldn't help but doubt whether her earlier assumptions had been wrong.
After all, Fuyuki City didn't only have Hikigaya Hachiman as a mage. What if those bad deeds were done by some other mage?
"Is there something else?"
Hearing Rin's call, Hikigaya Hachiman turned back, patient but cautious.
"Well… do you know about the recent serial murder case?"
Clenching her fists, Rin looked at Hachiman with a nervous heart.
"The one they showed on TV? I know a little about it."
It was related to Caster, which made Hikigaya Hachiman pause and ponder for a moment.
"Just a little?"
Hearing Hachiman's answer, Rin's face showed clear disappointment.
At the same time, she realized she had really followed the wrong mage.
The mage responsible for the serial murders was still wandering in Fuyuki City, while she had been foolishly tailing someone else all afternoon...
"Did you ask about this because you ran into some trouble?"
Hachiman didn't believe that Rin, dressed like a grade schooler, would care about something so trivial and follow him around for an entire afternoon.
"No, it's nothing. I really caused you trouble earlier, I'm very sorry! If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now!"
After saying that, Rin nodded to Hachiman and then turned and ran off into the distance.
"She should be fine, right?"
Watching Rin's retreating figure, Hachiman thought for a moment before giving up the idea of following her.
After all, Rin's body contained magical power far exceeding that of ordinary humans, and in the special situation of the Holy Grail War, it was better to keep curiosity to a minimum.
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Back at the hotel.
After having dinner with Sakura, Hachiman spread out a map of Fuyuki City on the table again.
The map marked places he had already searched and locations where Caster might be hiding.
Just as Hachiman was considering whether to continue exploring at night, a magical aura unique to Caster suddenly appeared around the hotel.
"Master!"
Sensing Caster's presence, Karna immediately summoned his weapon.
"Try not to hurt civilians."
Considering the situation at the Einzbern house last night, Hachiman agreed to let Karna go out, but he also decided to evacuate Sakura from the hotel.
"Understood."
Karna nodded and then disappeared from the room.
At the same time, on top of a building near Hachiman's hotel, Gilles held a grimoire and, smiling, summoned dozens of magical beasts slowly approaching the hotel.
A flash of red light passed, and the seven beasts at the forefront were instantly cut in half, dissipating into magical energy.
"They're already here?"
Seeing Karna easily take down his seven beasts, Gilles narrowed his eyes.
Although Lancer's master had not appeared, he had a tinge of doubt in his heart. However, for now, he could only leave that mage to Ryunosuke Uryuu to deal with.
Even with Lancer's strength, it would be difficult to guarantee a certain win, despite all the preparations he had made!
"..."
After another sweep that eliminated three more blocking beasts, Karna silently advanced toward his target.
However, just as he took down the last beast between him and Caster, dozens of beasts suddenly appeared from surrounding buildings.
Moreover, each of these beasts held a human hostage in their tentacles.
"!"
Karna, whose spear had been aimed at Caster, hesitated instantly.
"What's wrong? If you can't strike, I'll leave first, you know."
Caster, wearing a smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded, said and turned to leave.
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his chest.
Looking down, he saw a spear tip slowly retracting from the wound in his chest.
"Too bad, you chose wrong~"
With that, the surrounding air began to warp, and Caster, who had been pierced, transformed into a beast struggling in its death throes.
"Ran away again?"
Karna silently retracted his spear and turned toward the beasts holding hostages.
Whether intentionally or not, despite Karna choosing to eliminate Caster rather than rescue the civilians, the beasts did not shred the humans in front of them. Karna was able to rescue each hostage one by one.
By the time Karna cleared all nearby beasts and prepared to track Caster again, Caster's magical aura appeared once more.
This time, even more civilians were taken hostage!
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Hachiman, holding Sakura's hand, walked through the empty streets.
From Karna's report, he had understood that Caster was trying to divert Karna's attention as much as possible.
But why was Caster doing this?
He was no match for Karna himself, and the other five participants were also enemies.
Even if Karna was deceived, Hachiman had no reason to worry about encountering any danger with his own strength.
Moreover, Hachiman's command seals had not been used even once...
"Ah, finally, I've been waiting for you, sir."
Just as Hachiman wondered what Caster intended, a smiling man suddenly jumped out from a nearby alley.
"As expected, a real gem!"
Seeing Sakura beside Hachiman, Ryunosuke trembled with excitement.
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