In Fuyuki City's only church, several pairs of Masters and Servants had already arrived early.
Among them was a certain down-on-her-luck, money-obsessed young lady—and a future Heroic Spirit whose combat style looked nothing like that of an Archer.
There was also the so-called "nuclear sword hero," Emiya Shirou, along with his Servant—the eternally stoic cowlicked king whose chronic lack of magical energy had left her in a state of severe malnourishment.
And the moment Tohsaka Rin laid eyes on Kotomine Kirei standing in front of Lancer, her anger exploded.
Before summoning Archer, Rin had genuinely believed Kotomine Kirei to be nothing more than a church priest. She had even confided quite a bit of information about her Servant to him.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that his "identity" wasn't just an identity—that he was actually one of the Masters in this Holy Grail War.
As for Rin's fury, Kotomine Kirei responded with calm indifference. He explained that his priesthood was merely inherited from his father, and strictly speaking, he was not a "true" priest—therefore, he fully qualified as a Master.
As for the questions Rin had asked him regarding Servants, he had simply treated them as the prayers of a junior—or perhaps an ordinary believer—seeking guidance from a priest.
That explanation nearly drove Rin into a blind rage. She was this close to grabbing a chair and smashing it into his face—if not for Archer stepping in just in time to restrain her.
Archer himself was deeply perplexed by this Holy Grail War.
As an irregular Servant from the future, he was, much like Ren Kuroda, a walking cheat—someone who knew how events were supposed to unfold.
He had long known that Kotomine Kirei was a Master, and held no goodwill toward him whatsoever.
But just as Ren had concluded, this Holy Grail War differed from the one he remembered. Since they currently belonged to the same faction, infighting was not an option—at least not yet.
Even Archer was suppressing his murderous intent toward a certain younger "hero of justice," planning to first clarify the full lineup of Servants in this war before dealing with his naïve past self.
As time passed, more and more visitors arrived at the church.
And with each new arrival, Emiya Shirou—already nervous to begin with—grew visibly more unsettled.
First came a white-haired little girl, accompanied by a towering dark-skinned giant wielding an axe-sword. Upon entering, she immediately declared herself to be Shirou's older sister and announced that she had come to avenge her father.
These days, even lolis could claim to be your older sister, apparently.
What made it worse was that, based on what she said, Shirou realized—tragically—that she really was his foster father Emiya Kiritsugu's biological daughter.
Judging by age alone, she actually was his older sister…
Then, not long after the white-haired girl Illyasviel appeared, Matou Sakura arrived as well—Rin's younger sister, Shirou's timid underclassman—bringing with her a voluptuous, eye-patched woman who exuded a mature, seductive air.
And judging from the aura radiating off that woman, it was obvious she was also a Servant.
By the time Illya and Sakura had both shown up, Shirou's expression had gone completely blank.
Up until now, he had thought that being inexplicably dragged into the Holy Grail War marked a drastic divergence between his fate and that of ordinary people.
But now?
Damn it—aside from that suspicious priest he barely knew, every Master present was either his classmate, his sister, or his underclassman.
He had thought he was special.
Turns out, if he hadn't summoned Saber, he would have been the only one left completely in the dark.
Fortunately, what finally allowed Shirou to breathe a sigh of relief was that the next Master and Servant to arrive were not yet another long-lost sibling.
Ren Kuroda and Caster arrived last.
The "Master" Medea had fabricated for Ren was, just like herself, a curvaceous woman dressed in a black robe—convincingly real at a glance.
With their arrival, all seven Servants of the seven classes—and all Masters—were finally present.
As the host, Kotomine Kirei maintained his usual cult-leader demeanor. After inviting everyone to take their seats, he first had all Masters reveal their Command Spells to verify their identities, then went straight to the point.
"I believe some of you here are not unfamiliar with the Holy Grail War," he said calmly."By now, you should have noticed that this war differs from the previous ones. Not only has it resumed after merely ten years rather than sixty, but its rules have also changed."
"Although I, too, am one of the Masters, my position as a priest has granted me access to certain inner details of this war.
"Given that we currently belong to the same faction—and that I alone cannot win the faction war—I have called you all here to share this information."
Watching Kotomine speak with such righteous solemnity, Rin sneered openly. She didn't believe for a second that he was acting out of kindness.
Kotomine, however, paid her reaction no mind and continued.
"The seven Servants and Masters of the Red Faction may not be what you imagine.
"Since the battlefield is Fuyuki City, it stands to reason that all of you here are among its finest magi.
"For the Grail to find seven more Masters who meet its criteria within Fuyuki alone would be impossible."
"Therefore, the rules and opponents of this Holy Grail War will far exceed your expectations."
"According to the Grail's response, this war will last one full month—and our opponents will be the Masters and Servants who participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War, ten years ago."
The moment Kotomine finished speaking, the entire room froze.
The information he had just revealed was nothing short of shocking.
For Kuzuki Souichirou and Medea—who knew nothing of the Fourth War—it was one thing.
But for everyone else, the Holy Grail War of ten years ago was burned deeply into their memories.
Rin had lost her father.
Sakura had suffered even worse—being adopted into the Matou household and enduring unimaginable torment.
Illya's father, Emiya Kiritsugu—who was also Shirou's foster father—had been a participant as well.
And Kotomine Kirei himself had been one of the Masters in that very war.
One table of Masters—one imposter, and the remaining five all bound by inescapable ties to the Fourth Holy Grail War.
To remain unmoved was impossible.
"Rin," Kotomine said evenly, turning to her, "while the rules and opponents may be unexpected, you should be pleased to see your father again, shouldn't you?"
He stared at the daughter of his former mentor, trying to find the reaction he desired on her face.
Unfortunately for him, while Rin was momentarily surprised by the idea that her opponent might be her father, she quickly regained her composure.
"So what if it's my father?" she shot back. "Isn't that perfect? If I defeat him, it'll prove that my magecraft has completely surpassed his.
"Besides, my real father has been dead in this world for a long time. Even if another Tohsaka Tokiomi shows up, I won't hesitate."
"If you have the spare energy to worry about me," she continued coldly, "you'd better worry about yourself.
"If I remember correctly, you were also a participant in the Fourth War, weren't you?
"And given your personality, I doubt you'd go easy on anyone.
"I'm quite curious—will you be able to survive at your own hands? After all, you were much younger ten years ago than you are now."
Rin paid Kotomine's provocation no heed, firing back without restraint.
However, not everyone could remain as composed as she was when faced with the prospect of fighting their own father.
Upon hearing that the opponents were participants from ten years ago, the timid Matou Sakura began to tremble uncontrollably.
Whether it was fear—or an unsettling excitement—was unclear.
Illya's original target had been Emiya Shirou. She believed he had stolen the paternal love that should have belonged to her.
But upon learning that Emiya Kiritsugu himself might appear in this war, Illya became ecstatic.
Ten years ago, Kiritsugu had left the young Illya behind in the Einzbern household to participate in the war, bringing Irisviel with him to Fuyuki City.
He never returned.
In the decade that followed, Illya heard that he had adopted a son in Fuyuki—but she knew nothing of what had happened to her mother.
No matter how much she questioned the Einzberns, no one ever gave her an answer.
After Kiritsugu's death, her hatred had nowhere to go—so she directed it at Shirou, whom she believed had taken everything from her.
But now, with the real culprit appearing—
Illya's target shifted instantly.
She could hardly wait for the Holy Grail War to begin, eager to grab Kiritsugu by the collar and demand to know what had truly happened all those years ago.
And aside from Illya and Sakura's intense reactions, both Emiya Shirou and the Servant Archer were deeply shaken as well.
Shirou's desire to become a "hero of justice" stemmed entirely from Kiritsugu's influence.
And Archer's desire to kill Shirou existed because his future self had come to realize just how foolish that dream truly was.
Now, even Archer found himself conflicted.
Should he change his target?
Kiritsugu was his foster father—and the man who had saved him as a child.
Even Archer couldn't bring himself to strike him down.
But if Kiritsugu appeared here…
Perhaps injuring him might change history after all.
..
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