Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Talk about speaking of the devil. It seems Fuyuki City is pretty small; you can run into the Lancer team just by picking a random hotel."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Setting the fire was likely to evacuate the civilians and ensure the secrecy of the Holy Grail War. So, who is the one initiating this challenge? Which team from the Holy Grail War is it?"
Otto Apocalypse: "If I am not mistaken, it should be the Saber team."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Hmm? Are you that certain?"
L: "He is not wrong. The Saber team is the most likely possibility. Tokiomi Tohsaka is cautious by nature; he didn't even dare to show his face on the first night, so it is unlikely he would choose to attack proactively in the early stages. As for Berserker's Master, he would prioritize attacking Archer and Tokiomi Tohsaka, not the Lancer team."
Conan Edogawa: "That's right. The fake Caster's Master isn't even a magus, so he wouldn't care about the secrecy of the Holy Grail War. The true Caster goes without saying; there's no need to expose himself on the second night after hiding for so long. As for Rider... that Master of his probably doesn't have the guts to launch a night raid on Kayneth..."
It had to be said that there were many smart people in the comment section. They confirmed the identity of the newcomer almost instantly. And the facts proved them right. The arsonist was indeed Saber's Master, the one who had been scared off by Elysia right at the beginning—Emiya Kiritsugu.
---o---
[Inside the light screen projection, the scene shifted again, moving outside.
Below the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, guests were pouring out of the building while the fire alarm rang incessantly.
Awakened from their sleep by the alarm and guided to the outdoor parking lot, the guests' faces were filled with unsightly expressions—a mix of fear of the fire, the grogginess of interrupted sleep, and the discomfort caused by the cold night air. Amidst the crowd, hotel staff were rushing about in a panic.
At the same time, front desk staff wearing butler uniforms were checking one by one to ensure all guests had escaped, calling out names loudly and waiting for a response.
One of them called out Kayneth's name. Then, someone responded.
"—I am here. Please do not worry."
A resonant voice came from behind the receptionist. However, when the staff member turned around, they looked confused. The person speaking to him was a Japanese man in a black trench coat.
This kind of joke was going too far. The file clearly stated a foreign name, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. What is an obvious Asian man doing joining in the fun?
The angry receptionist was just about to scold him—but was suddenly captivated by the man's gaze.
There was an indescribably strange gravitational pull in the man's eyes. The receptionist could not look away, nor could he speak.
"Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald has already evacuated with his wife, Sola-Ui."
The Japanese man, whom no one knew, spoke in a loud, clear voice.
However, just as the staff member wanted to say something, he stared into the eyes of the man in the black trench coat, zoned out slightly, and a trace of magical energy flashed through his eyes.
"...Is that so? Ah, yes, that is so."
Then, he looked down at his clipboard and crossed out Kayneth's name, indicating that his safety had been confirmed. ]
---o---
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Holy crap, hypnosis!"
Kurumi Tokisaki: "Ara, using that kind of magecraft on a man is so boring~~"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "It is indeed quite dull. Ah, wait, that man... if I remember correctly, that should be Saber's true Master."
Conan Edogawa: "It really is the Saber team launching a night raid. But from the looks of it, Saber doesn't seem to be by his side. Is she hiding?"
L: "He has had very little screen time, so we cannot judge his strength and methods just yet. Let's keep watching."
---o---
[Inside the light screen projection, watching the hotel staff rush off to attend to other guests, Emiya Kiritsugu left the chaotic crowd and walked to a shadowy area some distance away from the hotel.
While checking to ensure no one was watching him, he took a mobile phone out of his pocket.
First, he needed to contact Maiya, who was in a surveillance position.
"Are preparations complete on your end?"
"No abnormalities. Standing by at any time."
Maiya was positioned in a high-rise building currently under construction diagonally opposite the hotel. From there, she could clearly observe the room where Kayneth and the others were located.
Kiritsugu let out a short sigh. With one hand, he fished a cigarette pack from his pocket, and with the other, he punched a series of numbers into the mobile phone.
The number Kiritsugu dialed was a dead line, but no response came from the phone.
The modified communication circuit was not connected to a phone signal, but to the detonators of C4 explosives.
The explosion of the bombs was on a very small scale; the sound didn't even reach outside the hotel.
However, what replaced it, echoing through the night sky, was the terrifying sound of reinforced concrete beginning to disintegrate and collapse.
The evacuees, sensing something wrong with their surroundings, looked at the towering building undergoing a sudden change and screamed in terror.
"The hotel... the hotel is collapsing!"
The high-rise hotel, standing over one hundred and fifty meters tall, maintained its upright posture as it collapsed, looking as if it were being sucked into the ground. Because all the outer walls collapsed inward, not a single piece of debris flew outside. Only the dust generated by the collapse engulfed the surrounding streets.
Directed demolition—an advanced demolition technique mainly used to destroy large high-rise buildings. By destroying load-bearing walls and key pillars, the building is crushed inward by its own weight. It achieves total destruction using the minimum amount of explosives. For Emiya Kiritsugu, who was proficient in all demolition techniques ancient and modern, this art of explosive destruction was something he excelled at.
All buildings in Fuyuki City that served as bases for magi were listed on Emiya Kiritsugu's destruction list, and this hotel was one of them. Because he had obtained the building's blueprints in advance and identified the points to plant the explosives, the actual operation took less than an hour, provided he made full preparations.
Although the evacuees had moved as far away as possible from the potential impact zone of the collapsing building, they were still covered in dust blown by the collapse, plunging them into a panic.
"Maiya, how is it on your end?"
"There was no movement up to the very end on the thirty-second floor. The target did not escape from the building."
The thirty-second floor, where Kayneth was located, lost its support due to the chain reaction caused by the directed demolition. Ultimately, it was equivalent to a free-fall drop from a height of one hundred and fifty meters to the ground. No matter how sturdy the magical barrier was, it likely could not protect the people inside from such immense destructive force.]