Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Wow, I think Emiya Kiritsugu might be the first magus in history to go to jail for arson."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "I don't know if there will be anyone after him, but he is certainly unprecedented."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Arson combined with the crime of causing an explosion... even in Japan, that is a serious offense. He would be locked up for at least half a lifetime; even the death penalty wouldn't be excessive."
Clearly, when everyone saw Emiya Kiritsugu happily receiving a pair of "silver bracelets" (handcuffs), they couldn't help but roast the situation. What happened to the agreed-upon Holy Grail War? How did it turn into a trip to the police station?
Aside from Emiya Kiritsugu, Elysia's method of handling the situation also surprised many. They had never seen Elysia angry before. They originally thought that, given the circumstances, Elysia would inevitably get into a fight with Saber and Emiya Kiritsugu. No one expected it to end this way. It made everyone sigh with emotion: What a wonderful girl. I want to marry her...
Of course... apart from these reactions, some people realized the brilliance of Elysia's move.
Sosuke Aizen: "Truly an exquisite method of handling things..."
Otto Apocalypse: "Ah, indeed. A very clever solution..."
Raiden Mei: "Uh... what solution? Is there some deeper meaning to this?"
Kiana Kaslana: "Mei, ignore them. That's just how Riddlers are."
L: "It is about fate. If she killed Emiya Kiritsugu, Elysia would impact the outcome of the Holy Grail War, thereby indirectly affecting the world. But if she let Emiya Kiritsugu go, she would be quite unhappy. That is why she chose this method to disgust him."
Conan Edogawa: "That's right. Although arson and bombing a building are enough to sentence him to death, given his level and abilities as a magus—plus that outside help—a prison simply cannot hold him."
---o---
[Meanwhile, Emiya Kiritsugu was sitting in the station.
Just as Conan said, the police's handling of the situation was nothing compared to what Kiritsugu was capable of. However, he obediently gave his statement, admitted to the crimes he committed, and then sat in the cell.
This point was unexpected for the audience. In their speculation, Emiya Kiritsugu should have chosen to escape while on the road. Who knew he would actually go through the process like a common criminal?
Emiya Kiritsugu himself didn't care at all. The Supervisor of the Holy Grail War would wipe his criminal record clean. To prevent the leakage of Mystery, the explosion and arson would likely be covered up as a mundane terrorist attack.
The reason he obediently went through the procedure was simply that he was wary of the Miss Pink Elf who might pop out at any moment.
Once he confirmed that Elysia had truly slipped away halfway and hadn't followed him, Emiya Kiritsugu decisively chose to break out. During the escape, relying solely on his own skills without using a shred of magecraft, his series of actions flowed like water. It made people wonder whether he was a magus or a hitman, given his familiarity with modern technology and equipment.
The urgent priority was to determine Maiya's status. After successfully breaking out, Emiya Kiritsugu immediately used his mobile phone to order Maiya to retreat.
However, what reached his ears was not his subordinate's voice, but the roar of metal clashing against metal.
Time rewinds to just after the building exploded, when Emiya Kiritsugu was entering the station...
The building had been successfully detonated, and Kayneth had not jumped out the window to escape. The surveillance mission here was over. Maiya removed the bullets from the gun that hadn't had a chance to be used, placed them in a box, slung the sniper rifle back over her shoulder, and stood up to head for the stairs.
It was at this moment that she detected a hint of abnormality.
It wasn't a standard irregularity, but a more ambiguous change in the atmosphere. For a soldier seasoned by war, this kind of killing intent could be felt very clearly.
"—Your senses are sharp, miss."
Behind Maiya, who had stopped in her tracks, came a low, cold male voice. The sound echoed in the empty reinforced concrete building, making it impossible to pinpoint its source.
Maiya didn't answer or ask questions. She simply remained calm, using her keen intuition to search for the opponent's location while drawing the 9mm pistol from her waist.
Regarding the third party present in this place who had discovered her existence—no matter who he was, that reason alone was enough to make him a target for Maiya to shoot.
"—Hmph. It is good that you have such resolve."
The man hiding in the shadows spoke as if mocking her.
Just then, something was thrown from the darkness of a pillar to Maiya's feet.
Maiya instantly pointed her gun at the object. Upon realizing the thrown item wasn't dangerous, she quickly aimed her gun back at the location where the object had come from. However, even so, Maiya continued to observe the thrown object out of the corner of her eye.
It was the corpse of a small animal.
A bat... This must be the bat she released as a familiar, with which she had lost contact a long time ago.
As for the person who deliberately threw this bat corpse over, there was no need to ask who it was. The other party seemed to have no intention of continuing to hide. Slowly, he walked out from behind the pillar he was using for cover, exposing himself to Maiya's line of sight and gun muzzle.
The man before her, filled with an imposing, oppressive aura and dressed in pitch-black vestments—Maiya recognized him.
"Kirei Kotomine..."
"Oh? I believe this is the first time I have met you. So how do you know who I am? Could it be your intuition?"
Maiya realized her slip of the tongue and felt endless regret in her heart.
Even facing Maiya's gun muzzle, Kirei showed no sign of unease. He continued to speak calmly:
"In that case, you must also know many other things, right? This is an excellent position for observing Lancer's Master..."
This time, it was Maiya's turn to be silent. But her heart was filled with doubt. As one of the Masters in the Holy Grail War... and someone who should be carefully concealing himself, why would Kirei Kotomine deliberately appear in a place like this? What was his true objective?
On the other hand, Kirei shifted his gaze slightly outward—landing on the location of the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, which had been reduced to ruins. He stared blankly for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
"Even so, to destroy the building along with everything else? Can someone who adopts such methods still be considered a magus? Or perhaps, he should not be considered a magus to begin with?"
"I seem to be the only one chattering away. Miss, why don't you say something? Where is the man who should be here in your place right now?"
When asked this point, Maiya made a new judgment regarding Kirei Kotomine: I must kill the man before me.
The sound of Maiya's rapid fire rang out. The power of the 9mm, known as military ammunition, had considerable lethality, but against Kirei Kotomine, it wasn't enough.
Almost in an instant, he pulled out a Black Key and threw it with even greater speed. Simultaneously, his figure dodged nimbly, easily evading the pistol attack. The Black Key struck the small pistol with a ding, knocking it directly out of her hand.
Maiya Hisau immediately retreated back into cover, panting slightly, cold sweat streaming down. She gripped her right hand with her left.
The hand that had held the gun had been sliced open. Clearly, Kirei Kotomine's strike just now hadn't merely knocked the gun away; it had cut her right hand.
Just these two moves demonstrated Kirei Kotomine's formidable combat power.
Although this guy was human, the strength he possessed was terrifying. His reaction speed alone exceeded that of bullets.
Furthermore, Kirei Kotomine gave the enemy no chance to catch their breath. He continued to advance, preparing to take Maiya Hisau down.
However, at that moment, a smoke bomb was thrown in, erupting with smoke that obscured Kirei Kotomine's vision. Maiya Hisau seized the opportunity to turn and rush to the elevator shaft. She jumped directly down the unfinished shaft, disappearing into the darkness.
Kirei Kotomine held Black Keys in both hands, watching the surrounding movement without daring to relax in the slightest, waiting for the smoke to clear. In the high-rise building exposed to strong winds, the dense smoke dispersed after only a few seconds—but those few seconds were enough for the woman to flee the scene.
A smoke bomb appearing out of thin air... Kiritsugu Emiya... is it?
Kirei Kotomine thought to himself. Just then, a cloud of black fog suddenly appeared behind him. A figure clad in black clothes and wearing a skull mask appeared before his eyes.
"Assassin?"
"Yes, it is I."
The Assassin, draped in a pitch-black robe, materialized while kneeling before Kirei. This Assassin was the one who had just asked for permission to report from among the three Assassins monitoring Irisviel and Saber in the forest near the national highway.
"Did I not tell you not to materialize indoors?"
"I am truly very sorry, but I have an extremely urgent matter to report to you."]