"Master, shouldn't we be searching for and subjugating Caster right now?" Lancelot, in his spiritual form, watched Rin with some confusion as she enjoyed a steak in a luxurious restaurant.
The knight of the lake, having regained his sanity, had also regained his righteous heart. Whether as an upright and brave knight or a chivalrous wanderer, he could not tolerate Caster's actions of indiscriminately slaughtering the innocent with magecraft and taking pleasure in the killing.
"Berserker, it's daytime now. With our fighting style, we're bound to be exposed no matter how we fight, especially when dealing with a reckless madman Servant like Caster, which really ties our hands. Besides, instead of painstakingly searching for him, it's better to wait for him to come out himself." Rin responded to Lancelot's question through their mental link without a change in expression, enjoying her lunch while looking at the ruins of a building not far away.
Last night, the Hyatt Regency, Fuyuki City's most luxurious hotel, exploded, causing a massive fire. Surprisingly, there were no casualties, and the entire building was leveled. Lancer's Master, Director Kayneth, who was stationed there, went missing and is currently unaccounted for.
Rin wasn't surprised by this incident, as the arsonist was undoubtedly Kiritsugu Emiya. After all, in the original work/canon, these two were also the first to clash. Even if her appearance caused some influence, Saber was still injured by Lancer's Gae Buidhe. Until Lancer was defeated, Saber couldn't fully recover her strength. Therefore, whether for maximizing benefits or following the original plan, Kiritsugu Emiya would first attack Kayneth.
However, although Kayneth was missing, he didn't die so easily. No matter what, despite being inflexible, he was indeed a genuine Color Rank Magus, one of the twelve Lords of the Clock Tower.
With twenty-four layers of Bounded Field, which could be called a magical fortress, three specialized magical furnaces belonging to Kayneth, and dozens of evil spirits and specters summoned in place of hounds, he even transformed the space beneath the corridor into another dimension. Building such a perfect magical array in less than a day truly lived up to Kayneth's reputation as a child prodigy. If one were to force their way in without the unique effect of End Magic to dismantle mysteries, even Rin wouldn't claim it would be easy.
But this was a war, not a magic competition. Kiritsugu Emiya simply pressed the detonation button after the crowd had been evacuated. All of Kayneth's meticulously arranged magical defenses were destroyed along with the entire building.
It was unexpectedly a bit amusing… Rin picked up the stemmed glass beside her and took a sip of the red wine to hide her schadenfreude.
Looking at the swirling red liquid in the glass, Rin seemed to see her own reflection in the mirror-like surface.
Kiritsugu Emiya… This man was not heartless. He had love, family affection, and every emotion a human being should possess. He once even contemplated abandoning his dream, giving up the Holy Grail War, and taking his wife and daughter far away, living the rest of his life solely for them.
Unfortunately, thoughts are just thoughts. Not to mention that both Irisviel and Illya had short lifespans due to being Homunculus, and the first person who couldn't forgive him for abandoning his dream of pursuing justice would be himself.
He was a man whose fingertips didn't tremble due to emotion. No matter how strong his feelings, when he pulled the trigger, there would be no hesitation. It must be said that as a killer, he was truly too qualified.
Rin still found it difficult to decide how to treat Kiritsugu Emiya. She didn't dislike the man who sacrificed everything to save humanity; it was just that their beliefs were irreconcilable. Rin wanted to change all the tragedies originally set in this world, so wasn't Kiritsugu Emiya also a tragedy?
Alas, perhaps only after witnessing the true nature of the Holy Grail, which he considered the sole hope for saving all humanity, would he abandon that extreme idea.
Forget it, don't think about it too much for now. If nothing unexpected happens, tonight will also be very lively. Let's look around first. We can't just completely ignore Caster. Even if I don't plan to be a savior, I can't let him harm those innocent children.
Draining the last drop of red wine from her glass, she wiped the oil from her lips with a tissue and rose to leave the high-end Western restaurant.
"Let's go, Berserker. We'll go find Caster's lair first. Even if we know he'll appear tonight, we should at least try to search."
"Yes, Master."
Rin vaguely remembered that Caster's base was in a reservoir within a river outlet along the Weiyuan River. Following the river upstream from the estuary should quickly lead them to it.
Lancelot, moving at high speed in his spiritual form, quickly sent a signal to Rin. Rin, following the location Lancelot provided, swiftly arrived at the designated spot: a dark corner with a drain outlet nearly three meters in diameter, looking exactly like an underground tunnel.
Looking at the gloomy drain, Rin couldn't help but frown slightly. Her keen dragon-blooded sense of smell detected an lingering scent of blood. It seemed this was indeed the place.
"Master, according to your instructions, the residual magic from the river water is flowing out from here."
"Hm, I already sense it. This is the place. Let's go, Berserker. Although I don't intend to be an agent of justice, I hate meaningless sacrifices. Hmm? A Bounded Field…"
A magical Bounded Field was set up a few steps into the drain. It wasn't anything too profound, merely a warning Bounded Field. It was likely that Caster would immediately flee with Ryuunosuke Uryuu if any Servant touched it.
"Hmph, a petty trick." Rin smiled disdainfully, a flicker of magic gathering at her fingertip. She flicked it towards Caster's magical Bounded Field. The moment the End Magic touched the Bounded Field, it seemed to be corroded, and a layer of its dim glow peeled away.
It wasn't a Cracking, nor was it destruction, but a mysterious technique similar yet different from grand magic like Reality Marble. Reality Marble invades the real world with a mental landscape, while End Magic directly launches an invasive analysis on the Bounded Field.
Magic without mystery is meaningless. After the Bounded Field was destroyed, a pervasive smell of blood rushed into their nostrils. It seemed that Bounded Field also had the effect of masking odors.
"Ugh—"
Lancelot materialized. The upright knight of the lake was furious at Caster's actions. However, one thing surprised Rin: Lancelot was still holding the dazzling 'chunjun (ancient sword name)' he had obtained from Gilgamesh yesterday.
Well, now that she thought about it, Gilgamesh couldn't retrieve the noble phantasm once Lancelot got it. And Lancelot hadn't let go of this sword since he acquired it. This was an unexpected bonus. Next time they faced Gilgamesh, they wouldn't have to specifically search among the noble phantasms he threw out for one that could break through defenses.
"Berserker, let's see what Caster is up to."
"Ugh—!"
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