"Got you!" ×2
Emiya Kiritsugu and Kotomine Kirei simultaneously declared victory, only to discover that the other had also reached for the Thompson Contender.
Kiritsugu seized the grip and was about to pull the trigger, intending to cripple the last intact arm Kirei had left.
Kirei, however, grabbed the barrel. At the same time, he decisively thrust one finger into the Thompson Contender's trigger guard, preventing Kiritsugu from completing the motion and making it impossible for him to pull the trigger.
It was at that very moment that the wrists of both Kiritsugu and Kirei touched the faintly glowing stone platform.
Blue magecraft runes suddenly rose into the air, and an overwhelmingly vast surge of magical energy instantly illuminated the entire space!
For the first time, Kiritsugu and Kirei were able to glimpse the mysterious interior of Mount Enzō in its entirety.
From an overhead perspective, the entire magic circle resembled a magnificent, long-haired woman in an elegant gown, lying flat upon the ground with her arms slowly spread open, quietly awaiting the descent of something from above.
"What is this?!" ×2
Kiritsugu and Kirei exclaimed in astonishment at the same time.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they discovered that they were already standing in completely different spaces.
"The sea?"
The salty sea breeze, the azure waters, the deep-blue sky with white gulls circling overhead, and the incredibly soft golden sand beneath their feet.
A trace of confusion surfaced in Kotomine Kirei's narrowed black eyes.
Bang!
At that moment, a gunshot suddenly rang out behind him.
The silver-bodied Origin Bullet, engraved with golden patterns, passed straight through the center of Kirei's forehead!
"This is… the end."
Behind Kirei, Emiya Kiritsugu lowered the Thompson Contender after pulling the trigger. His expression remained emotionless, and his voice was utterly flat as he delivered his verdict.
However—
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
A burst of extraordinarily delighted laughter reached Kiritsugu's ears.
To his surprise, Kirei did not immediately collapse after being shot in the head. Nor did the Origin Bullet blow his skull apart, spraying his brains everywhere.
Instead, he trembled with unrestrained delight as he laughed. Turning toward the astonished Kiritsugu, he stretched his mouth into a triumphant grin.
"It seems fate has sided with me once again!"
"In this non-corporeal Mystery-filled space, it appears that we cannot harm one another. What a shame~"
As he spoke, Kirei shook his head dramatically, as though he truly found the situation regrettable.
"…"
Kiritsugu furrowed his brow deeply.
Without another word, he lowered the Thompson Contender and ignored Kirei's smug celebration, instead turning his attention to the mysterious scenery surrounding them—the "blue sky, seaside, and golden beach."
Although the scene bore an intriguingly vague resemblance to Alimango Island as Kiritsugu remembered it, he could immediately tell that this was not the place where his destiny had first been rewritten.
Judging by the crude wooden huts scattered around the beach, this place even seemed to exist in a historical period vastly different from the world Kiritsugu knew.
Japan… several centuries ago?
Kiritsugu quickly arrived at that conclusion.
But a magnetic voice that felt somewhat out of place interrupted his thoughts.
"There's no need to guess. This is Japan five hundred years ago. Look over there."
Kirei gestured toward the distance.
Kiritsugu turned his head and followed his indication.
There, not far from the shore, a beautifully crafted European-style sailing vessel that had crossed the sea from afar was quietly anchored offshore.
The area was still relatively primitive, with no harbor capable of accommodating such a large ship. Its enormous hull therefore could not continue into shallow water and reach the beach.
Instead, three nobles who were clearly people of considerable status had disembarked from the vessel and transferred to a small wooden boat.
As they approached the shore, bare-chested Japanese natives wearing white "loincloths" helped them onto the beach.
There were two men and one woman.
The first man to come ashore was a long-haired figure dressed in traditional Japanese-style clothing, with jewel-like blue-green eyes. He appeared to be a local Japanese nobleman. After reaching land, he instructed attendants who had been waiting in advance to receive the other two passengers.
The second man had purple, wavy, seaweed-like hair and a pair of ruby-red eyes that were both dangerous and captivating. Dressed in a black European-style overcoat, he possessed the melancholy and mysterious bearing of a noble young gentleman.
He seemed to have a particularly close relationship with the sole woman aboard the ship.
After disembarking himself, he did not entrust her to anyone else. Instead, he quietly waited beside the vessel and courteously extended a hand to help the woman ashore.
The woman was by far the most mysterious of the three.
A white hooded robe completely concealed her body and face, yet it could not hide her mature, voluptuous figure.
Although her features remained invisible, a strand of snow-white hair slipping out from beneath the robe nevertheless revealed something about her identity and origins.
The three individuals were clearly people of extraordinary status.
For all three to travel together to this remote and insignificant corner of Japan, they must have had an extraordinary purpose.
"Those are…"
Kiritsugu's pupils contracted in astonishment as he witnessed the scene.
Standing beside him like an old friend who had known him for years, Kirei curled his lips into an amused smile and continued from where Kiritsugu had left off.
"Without a doubt, those three are the ancestors of the Tohsaka Family, the Makiri Family, and the Einzbern Family—the three families who established the Holy Grail system."
"Nagato Tohsaka, Makiri Zolgen, and Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern."
"Looks like we accidentally entered the memory world of some great figures from five hundred years ago. What a delightful journey through time~"
Kirei spread his arms wide, openly reveling in the experience.
Kiritsugu, however, was nowhere near as relaxed as Kirei.
Having hunted countless magi and possessing an intimate understanding of their nature, he could sense very little humanity in those three people.
Each of them had already walked an extraordinarily long road along their respective paths of magecraft. Their strength was beyond question.
But the deeper a magus delved into the world of magecraft, the farther that person seemed to drift from what it meant to be "human."
Moreover—
Kiritsugu sensed something familiar in Makiri.
It was an aura much like his own: the willingness to sacrifice everything in order to accomplish a goal.
The very root of tragedy.
He had an ominous feeling about this…
The two unexpected visitors followed behind the three ancestors like ghosts standing outside the flow of history, completely unnoticed by the events unfolding before them.
They crossed the beach, passed through the jungle, made their way through crowds, and climbed over mountains.
Eventually, they arrived at the very place where Kiritsugu and Kirei currently stood in the real world—
Ryūdō Temple.
"It seems great minds think alike. As the leyline node with the highest Spiritual Foundation in Fuyuki City, Ryūdō Temple is indeed the perfect ritual site for establishing the Greater Grail."
Kirei stroked his chin as he mused with a smile.
And just as he had said, the ancestors of Fuyuki City's Three Founding Families had come here precisely to establish the Greater Grail and initiate the Holy Grail ritual, with the ultimate objective of completing the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel.
"…"
Kiritsugu silently followed the three of them from behind.
The ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
It was not until this group, divided across two different eras, entered a vast chamber that had already been excavated deep within Mount Enzō—a chamber both Kiritsugu and Kirei were intimately familiar with—that the two finally understood the truth.
The place they had been standing in earlier was precisely where the Greater Grail of Fuyuki City was buried!
Could it be that he had known this from the very beginning, which was why he…
The arrogant figure of the Star's Holy Sword wielder simultaneously appeared in the minds of both Kiritsugu and Kirei.
And within this dim chamber, where the Greater Grail had yet to be established, Kiritsugu and Kirei encountered a great existence who stood at the absolute pinnacle of all magi—an existence completely beyond their expectations.
The wielder of the Second Magic, the master of Parallel World Interference; the Second Magician; one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors; the man known by such titles as the "Jewel of the Magic Tower," the "Magic Marshal," "Kaleidoscope," and the "Old Man of Time"—
Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg!
He appeared to be an elderly man, yet his imposing physique and silver mane resembled that of a mighty lion.
The stern old man's face was covered in deep wrinkles, but the firelight from four bonfires illuminated it, revealing a majestic countenance reminiscent of a lion.
The Jewel of the Magic Tower, Zelretch, had already been waiting here for some time.
As the overseer and witness of the Greater Grail—a grand magecraft ritual that could potentially lead to the Root—he had come here long ago to preside over the ceremony.
Nagato Tohsaka, Makiri, and Justeaze all wore solemn and dignified expressions.
Not daring to show the slightest negligence, they quietly approached the magus who had already reached the very summit of the craft.
And yet—
Within this sacred and solemn ritual chamber, where even the sound of a falling needle could supposedly be heard, an utterly discordant burst of ecstatic laughter suddenly rang out.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Hahahahaha!! Ahahahahaha!!!"
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