On the ground, in the tall grass near the abandoned drainage pipes.
Although the battle here was not as grandiose as the one in the sky, its peril was even greater.
"Hah... hah..."
Sumire Kamado gasped heavily. The baseball bat in her hands had been chipped and pitted by the slicing mercury, and the pale blue magical energy wrapping around it flickered intermittently.
Her tracksuit was slashed in several places, blood staining her sleeves, but her ruby-red eyes remained locked dead ahead.
"To think you can still move. Tokiomi said you were just an ordinary person who recently stepped into the world of magecraft. Truly unbelievable..."
"Young girl, if you use a Command Spell to order that Servant to commit suicide, I can let you go."
"Your talent is outstanding; I can arrange for your enrollment at the Clock Tower."
Kayneth's eyes were filled with disbelief.
He clearly hadn't expected this little girl, whom he viewed as nothing more than an ant, to survive the strangulation of Volumen Hydrargyrum for this long.
Every time the lethal silver blades were about to strike, she managed to dodge by a hair's breadth, as if she could predict the flow of the future.
Even in the midst of a life-and-death struggle, he couldn't help but feel a desire to spare such talent.
"It's not over yet... old man!"
Sumire gritted her teeth, squeezing out the magical energy within her body and channeling it into her legs.
She could never betray Mr. Asuka.
"In that case..." Kayneth's gaze turned cold as he sharply flicked his fingers. "Then don't blame me!"
Volumen Hydrargyrum transformed once more, lunging toward her.
*Hum!*
At the same time, several black shadows emerged from the darkness behind her without warning.
They were slender figures wearing pale skull masks, gripping pitch-black daggers, silently thrusting toward Sumire's back.
Assassin's clones.
Since Tokiomi Tohsaka had decided to end the Avenger faction here, he naturally wouldn't rely solely on Kayneth.
Assassin's clones had long been lurking on the sidelines, waiting for the chance to deliver a fatal blow.
"Sumire! Behind you!!"
Haruri, who had been using her Mystic Eyes to cover Sumire and desperately maintain their defense, threw herself forward recklessly, attempting to block the daggers with her own body.
*Pfft!!*
But the Amplification Worm had already extracted too much of her magical energy tonight, causing her to cough up a mouthful of blood and slump to the ground.
The demonic worms were growing restless, and her physical condition was rapidly deteriorating.
"Mom?!"
Sumire whipped her head around, but caught in the pincer attack between Volumen Hydrargyrum and Assassin, she simply couldn't defend against both.
Despair instantly enveloped the mother and daughter.
*Bang!*
At the moment of absolute doom.
A muffled yet distinct gunshot abruptly cut through the chaotic battlefield.
The maniacal laughter on Kayneth's face froze.
He felt a violent impact on his side, as if he had been viciously punched.
Immediately after, an agonizing pain capable of tearing the soul apart instantly spread throughout his entire body along his Magic Circuits.
"Gah... Aaaah! AAAAAAAAH!!!!"
An utterly bloodcurdling scream erupted from Kayneth's mouth.
A specialized bullet known as an Origin Bullet had struck his body.
This was a unique ammunition designed specifically against magi; the more powerful the magus, the greater the agony they suffered!
Kayneth's proud Magic Circuits transformed in this instant into countless sharp blades torturing his soul.
The power of severing and binding contained within the bullet followed his surging flood of magical energy, instantly invading the deepest depths of his soul.
*Crack! Snap!*
Every single Magic Circuit within Kayneth's body snapped in that instant, only to be forcibly and haphazardly bound back together.
Nerves scrambled and circuits ruptured; the massive magical backlash directly obliterated half of his internal organs.
*Pfft!*
Kayneth violently spewed a massive mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments, collapsing to his knees and convulsing in agony.
The Volumen Hydrargyrum that had been suspended above Sumire's head lost its magical energy supply in an instant, splashing down into a puddle of ordinary, lifeless mercury that splattered across the ground.
Amidst this sudden turn of events, Sumire Kamado found a path to survival between Assassin's blades, dodging the encirclement with a few quick flashes of movement.
"Wh... what happened?"
Sumire supported her mother, staring blankly at the magus who had been so arrogant just moments ago, now rolling on the ground in agony.
But this was no time to admire the sight.
Several of Assassin's clones had already surrounded them once again!
On the rooftop of a residential building five hundred meters away.
Kiritsugu Emiya expressionlessly pulled the bolt of his rifle, ejecting the scalding casing.
"Target silence confirmed," he muttered.
Through his sniper scope, he cast a cold glance at the incapacitated Kayneth, then swept his gaze over the terrified Kamado mother and daughter.
In that split second earlier, he had made an extremely ruthless judgment.
Although Sumire Kamado displayed astonishing combat intuition, her magecraft techniques were far too crude, earning her a threat rating of D.
Such a Master could be easily eliminated later using his time acceleration magecraft; there was no rush to deal with her.
Kayneth, on the other hand, as a Color-ranked Magus, posed a much greater threat.
Tonight, with that Spearman away from his side, it was the perfect opportunity to strike.
Therefore, he hadn't hesitated to deliver a precious Origin Bullet to Kayneth via his customized sniper rifle.
"This is... the work of the Magus Killer."
Kiritsugu shifted his scope, aiming it at Sumire Kamado.
"Now then... next..."
However, just as he was about to pull the trigger, an intense sense of crisis pricked his nerves.
*Whoosh—*
A fierce killing intent tore through the air, hurtling straight toward his back with lethal momentum.
"Time Alter: Double Accel!"
Kiritsugu's pupils shrank. He instinctively discarded his sniper rifle and activated his time magecraft, rolling several meters away while practically glued to the ground.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Three Black Keys embedded themselves deeply into the concrete where he had just been lying, piercing inches into the stone.
"Good reflexes, Kiritsugu Emiya," a flat, deep voice called out.
Kiritsugu quickly rose to his feet, instantly chambering a round in his Calico submachine gun and aiming it at the source of the voice.
From the shadows of a shipping container, a tall man dressed in a black priest's habit slowly stepped forward.
He held several Black Keys between his fingers, his hollow, lifeless eyes locked dead onto Kiritsugu.
Kirei Kotomine.
"I've finally found you..." The corners of Kirei's mouth curled into an excited arc. "The Magus Killer whom both my father and my mentor, Tokiomi, fear so much."
Kiritsugu bit down on his unlit cigarette, his gaze dark and brooding.
He could sense it—this man was dangerous.
"Why did you save that girl?" Kirei suddenly asked, seemingly in no rush to attack. "According to your modus operandi, if you had aimed that shot at the girl just now, the probability of success would have been one hundred percent."
"Yet attacking Kayneth carried the risk of being automatically blocked by Volumen Hydrargyrum."
"Didn't you also intervene and interrupt my next attack, saving her?"
Kiritsugu replied coldly, "In the end, it's simply because the man in front of me is more of an obstacle."
"Makes sense."
Kirei took a step forward, the Black Keys in his hands gleaming with a cold light. "I thought you were sympathizing with that mother and daughter. It seems I was mistaken."
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!!*
Kiritsugu abruptly pulled the trigger, unleashing a dense hail of bullets like a torrential downpour.
Instead of retreating, Kirei advanced. He brandished the Black Keys so flawlessly that he deflected every single incoming bullet.
His thoroughly tempered body, bolstered by magical energy, erupted with astonishing speed.
*Crash!*
The two figures violently clashed atop the residential building.
Magecraft and martial arts, firearms and Black Keys.
A destined duel was breaking out.