A gloomy atmosphere hung over the pews of the church. Father Risei Kotomine, his hair white with age, looked at the heavy, demonic aura before him and gave a helpless, bitter smile.
It had been about an hour since the signal to summon the Masters was sent. Not a single Master had appeared at Fuyuki Church; instead, four familiars had gathered here.
Aside from Kirei Kotomine and Caster's Master, who had ostensibly withdrawn from the war, the murderer Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who knew nothing of magecraft, and the Tohsaka Family's rebellious daughter Tohsaka Rin, the other Masters had all sent "representatives."
"I had originally prepared some pleasantries, but for that, 'people' need to actually show up. So, I shall speak plainly."
After a brief prologue, the old priest continued speaking to the empty pews.
"The Holy Grail War, which can fulfill all your long-held wishes, is currently facing a major crisis. Originally, the Holy Grail only grants power to those people and Heroic Spirits who pursue it. However, a traitor has appeared among us. He and his Heroic Spirit have ignored the great cause of the Holy Grail, using the power granted to them to satisfy their own shallow desires."
The old priest, who had unconsciously slipped into a lecturing tone as soon as he opened his mouth, couldn't help but cough before continuing.
"Caster's Master has been identified as the culprit behind the recent string of serial murders and kidnappings in Fuyuki City. He uses his Servant to commit crimes without any attempt at concealment. I believe I do not need to explain the consequences of such a serious violation of the rules of secrecy."
Leaving traces of magecraft out in the open without any concealment was undoubtedly a threat to all practitioners of the mystic arts worldwide. Even Kiritsugu Emiya, who had no sense of pride regarding magecraft and used it purely as a tool, would not do such a thing.
"He and his Servant are no longer just your individual enemies, but a magical disaster threatening the normal progression of the Holy Grail War. Therefore, I am exercising my emergency supervisory authority to temporarily change the rules of the Holy Grail War."
While making the declaration in a solemn voice, the old priest rolled up his right sleeve to reveal his arm. One could see that his forearm, robust from his youth, was covered from elbow to wrist in tattoo-like patterns. To any Master in the Holy Grail War, it was immediately obvious what they were.
"These are the command spells recovered from past Holy Grail Wars, left unused by Masters who lost their Servants before the final battle."
Upon seeing this evidence, no one doubted Father Risei's authority as the supervisor any longer.
"I can transfer these reserve command spells to anyone at my own discretion. For those of you currently controlling Servants, you should know the importance and value of these marks, shouldn't you?"
Having established absolute authority, Father Risei gradually slipped back into a lecturing state, his tone becoming impassioned.
"All Masters are to cease all current hostilities and focus all efforts on exterminating Caster. At that time, I will select the person who eliminates Caster and his Master and award them an additional command spell as an exceptional measure. When Caster's elimination is confirmed, the Holy Grail War will resume."
After finishing the announcement, Father Risei added one more thing.
"Now, if there are any questions, raise them here."
But he immediately laughed to himself:
"Of course, that's only if you're capable of human speech."
Just as Father Risei was about to turn and leave, a voice that caught everyone by surprise rang out:
"Hey, hey, who says there's no one here? I wanted to protest when you first said no 'people' showed up, but I decided to stay quiet because I didn't want to listen to an old man's rambling. But saying there's no one who can speak human language is going a bit too far."
Even through the ears of a familiar, no one could mistake this voice—Tohsaka Rin!
Father Risei and all the familiars turned their gaze toward the source of the sound. On the previously empty pews, a beautiful woman in red had appeared at some unknown time, sitting on the bench with a poised, leisurely, and calm demeanor. This was also the first time Tokiomi Tohsaka had seen his eldest daughter, who had left home without permission two years ago.
When she left home, she was still just a child with lingering childishness. After only two years, she had become a peerless beauty, confident and composed. Her beautiful, spirited, and dashing youthful face made even Tokiomi Tohsaka sigh inwardly: the child has grown up.
She grew up a bit too fast...
"Father, there should be a plan regarding the method of subjugating Caster and the distribution method, right? Is it only the one who delivers the final blow to Caster who gets the command spell,
or is it distributed according to effort and contribution?"
Rin sat confidently and calmly in the pews as she questioned Father Risei, her composed manner showing not even a hint of unease.
This was the confidence of strength. I, Tohsaka Rin, am sitting here openly. Without the cooperation of three or more groups of Servants, there is no chance of victory against Rin. But is it possible for Servants to cooperate just to deal with one Servant? Obviously not.
Rin sat there with a commanding presence, invisibly overwhelming all the Masters who had sent familiars and dared not show their faces.
"In order for everyone to cooperate and prioritize maintaining the world's mystery, I will reward any Master who participates in the subjugation of Caster and makes a contribution with a command spell."
Now that someone had actually come out to speak plainly, the vague, indirect reward system was clearly no longer sufficient. Father Risei had to make things clear.
"I still have a question, Father. If Berserker and I fight to the death to take Caster's head, while others only kill a few tentacle monsters summoned by Caster, and everyone gets one command spell regardless, I don't think I need to be proactive about finding trouble with Caster. I could just wait until I see someone else fighting Caster, follow them to kill a few tentacles, or even kill the guy fighting Caster along with them. I'd get the kill and the command spell. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Veins popped on Father Risei's forehead. This girl's words were far too provocative. With her saying this, if he didn't clarify things now, those who intended to deal with Caster wouldn't dare to go.
"I will strictly supervise the process of Caster's subjugation. I will grant up to three command spells to the group that contributes the most, while those who are passive and only participate to get a command spell will absolutely not receive one. Everyone, the meeting is adjourned."
Father Risei directly issued the order to leave. A rustling sound emerged from the darkness—the sound of chairs moving, people standing, and footsteps departing mixed together before gradually fading away.
Rin shrugged with boredom, stood up, and turned to walk toward the church doors. As she reached the door, Rin suddenly asked:
"Father Risei, tell me, God is fair, isn't He?"
"Of course, the Lord loves all beings equally and is fair and merciful to all living things." Risei Kotomine didn't know what Rin meant, but he gave this answer naturally.
"Is that so? Then I think I probably understand why Caster hates God so much."
After saying that, she opened the door and left without a moment's delay.
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