In the Fourth Holy Grail War, almost every Master had an obsession.
Kiritsugu, who wanted to save the world.
Kirei, who sought the meaning of his own existence.
Tokiomi, who pursued the Root.
Kayneth, who valued the honor of a magus.
Waver, who yearned for others' recognition.
Kariya, who loved by extension.
And… the killer Ryūnosuke Uryū, who was killed by Takatsuki from the start, simply pursuing so-called art.
In some ways, Takatsuki felt he understood these people's desires and obsessions, and could roughly infer their thoughts.
But how could one truly understand a person by merely watching an anime or observing only a part of their behavior?
Just like the Gilgamesh, who considered himself the strongest, Takatsuki, in a way, also committed the sin of arrogance.
Or rather… he underestimated human nature too much.
One such instance was Kariya, who was nowhere to be seen the next morning.
Since they lived under the same roof, Takatsuki couldn't keep his Observation Haki active all the time, so he didn't know when Kariya had left.
At least, it wasn't until Takatsuki hadn't seen him open his Observation Haki for an entire morning that he realized the seriousness of the problem.
Kariya… was gone.
And… even the Nen he had left on Kariya to prevent his betrayal and to always locate him had disappeared.
"Did something happen?"
Durandal, after training and showering, changed into a set of clothes and entered the living room.
"Kariya is gone; something bad might have happened."
Takatsuki didn't hide it and spoke directly: "I originally thought that after saving Sakura and curing him, he wouldn't seek revenge on Tohsaka Tokiomi anymore. But now it seems I might have underestimated his hatred for Tokiomi."
In fact, it wasn't just hatred; a large part of why he hadn't acted before was because he lacked the ability.
But now he had that ability.
If Kariya's Servant was an honorable Heroic Spirit with self-awareness, it would be fine, because an honorable Heroic Spirit wouldn't carelessly harm innocent people.
However, Lancelot was currently berserk and lacked consciousness, only instinct. Beyond that, he would completely obey Kariya's commands, so Lancelot could be used to do whatever he wished.
"Then should we… go to the Tohsaka residence now?"
Durandal wasn't clear about the exact details of the conflict between Kariya and Tokiomi, but she knew over the past few days that there was a grudge between them.
With Kariya missing, there was a high probability he had gone to Tokiomi's place.
"No, we're going to the Holy Church!"
Takatsuki thought for a moment and gave an unexpected answer.
Durandal didn't ask or question, simply nodding: "Okay, are we leaving now?"
"Yes, let's go now. Have Medea stay home to look after Sakura; just the two of us will go."
Even if they were in spirit form, there was a high chance of exposure at the Holy Church, so not bringing Medea was the best option.
Takatsuki didn't know if the fact that Lancelot was a true Berserker had been exposed, but he would find out once they got there.
Kariya hadn't returned for so long, and his Nen had lost its response, so it was highly likely he had met his end at the Tohsaka.
Takatsuki didn't know how he, with a Servant, could have fallen, but without the worms, he was just an ordinary person with magic power. Being ambushed and killed by Assassin wasn't impossible.
After instructing Medea, Takatsuki didn't tell Medea or Sakura about Kariya and Tokiomi, and immediately took Durandal towards the Holy Church.
Kotomine Church… was the Fuyuki City branch of the Holy Church, with Father Kotomine Risei, an elderly man skilled in Bajiquan, as its priest.
In this Holy Grail War, he served as the supervisor.
Or rather, in every Holy Grail War, there was a Holy Church member acting as supervisor.
Although the Holy Church and magi were at odds, they couldn't eliminate them, so they could only supervise their existence to ensure they didn't cause too much impact on the world.
Therefore, Kotomine Risei's work was partly to maintain the fairness of the Holy Grail War, partly to clean up the damage caused by the Holy Grail War, and to supervise the Masters, gathering others to jointly resolve those who acted recklessly, caused destruction, or indiscriminately killed people.
And protecting Masters who withdrew and sought protection was also the Holy Church's duty, because these people still had Command Spells. As long as they found an uncontracted Servant, they could form a new contract, so they would also be targeted by others.
Therefore, the area around the Holy Church was a completely neutral zone.
And today, two uninvited guests arrived here.
"Berserker and Berserker's Master…"
Kotomine Risei looked at the two people at the Holy Church entrance: "Is there something you need here?"
Even as a supervisor, he couldn't confirm the Heroic Spirits' locations or information. They could only confirm whether a Servant of that class had been summoned, but not even if they had died.
"Father, we are here regarding Tohsaka Tokiomi."
"Tohsaka Tokiomi?"
Kotomine Risei was as shrewd as an old fox. Although he had secretly colluded with Tokiomi, he feigned ignorance.
"What do you want with me regarding the head of the Tohsaka?"
Takatsuki didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked around and, without using Supreme King Haki to eliminate the familiars, said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Can we go inside?"
Kotomine Risei was about to say that Servants couldn't enter, but then he remembered that Takatsuki in front of him was stronger than a Servant, making the rule about Servants not entering less meaningful. So he allowed Takatsuki and Durandal to enter the church.
"So, what exactly is it?"
After closing the church doors, Kotomine Risei looked at Takatsuki.
But Takatsuki didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he looked around before saying, "Where is your son, Kotomine Kirei?"
Kotomine Risei's pupils constricted slightly. Just as he was about to deny something, Takatsuki interrupted him.
"Never mind, it doesn't matter if you don't mention him. If he's not with Tohsaka Tokiomi, then it's fine. If he is with Tohsaka Tokiomi, then I want to ask… Father Kotomine Risei, where is Tohsaka Tokiomi now?"
Slowly turning around, an invisible aura pressed down on Kotomine Risei.
"Berserker's Master, I don't know what you are talking about. As a supervisor, how could I know the whereabouts of other Masters? And even if I did, as a supervisor, I couldn't tell you."
Kotomine Risei said without changing his expression. He remained calm, not because he possessed the power to contend with Takatsuki and Durandal, but rather because he lacked such strength, and because of his own position; he represented not an individual, but the Holy Church.
"Heh, supervisor." Takatsuki scoffed derisively: "Do you think no one knows that your son, Kotomine Kirei, was chosen by the Holy Grail a few years ago? You concealed it then, letting your son apprentice under Tohsaka Tokiomi, and then, just before the Holy Grail War was about to begin, you staged a Master-disciple falling out in front of everyone, and then sent the Assassin with cloning abilities to die. Do you really think everything you did could fool everyone?"
"…" Even with his entire plan exposed, Kotomine Risei maintained a poker face: "I don't know what you're talking about, but if you want to sland—Gah!"
Kotomine Risei's words were cut short as Takatsuki suddenly grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up, even startling Durandal beside them.
"Old man! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking! Do you think I wouldn't dare to touch you?! I don't believe you haven't investigated us. Have you found out my background? Do you think if I touch you, the Holy Church can really avenge you?!"
Takatsuki's last words were truly the final straw, because Kotomine Risei really hadn't found any information on Takatsuki. He had only assumed that Takatsuki was a reclusive magus, difficult to trace, but that he could be found with some time.
But listening to his words… it seemed that wasn't the case.
Just as he was about to say something, the church door suddenly burst open.