Tohsaka residence.
'So this is where you've been hiding, Archer.'
A woman in plain clothes looked down at her target. Nobunaga stared at the western-styled house from the nearest hill. She found the house itself pretty interesting, made in a western theme for a Japanese magi family. It was a shame she was planning to level it to the ground soon. Avenger was far away for Archer to sense her but within a safe enough distance for the Japanese Servant to act if needed. It might be the territory of a magus with high-level protections against a normal magus, but she was a Heroic Spirit. Some bounded field wouldn't stop Oda Nobunaga.
'According to Kayneth, one of the Assassins had no problem sneaking through the defence systems. The main issue is Archer and his Gate. However, it isn't like I'm going to fight him right now anyway.'
She changed into her battle armour, as dozens of arquebuses appeared around her. She made several formations with them and aimed. She wasn't Assassin to sneak up to Archer and his master. Besides, she wasn't there for that anyway. Archer's master knew about the true purpose of Servants and Nobunaga was still angry after learning about her role as glorified fuel. She couldn't burn down the city, fine, but she could and would burn one of three founding family masters.
'Tokiomi Tohsaka wanted to spend the entire war in the safety of his house? War isn't that simple, magus. If you want to win, you have to put in the effort.' If the Master of Archer wouldn't leave his basement, Avenger would be more than happy to bury him in it.
Oda Nobunaga raised her katana and pointed it at the house before her. At her command, dozens of rifles fired as one, raining down bullets at unsuspecting targets. It was unlikely to be enough to kill that bastard Archer or his Master, but it would be enough to destroy the building.
***
A couple of minutes before that.
Tokiomi Tohsaka sat behind his desk in his office, looking down at the old papers before him. His ancestors left behind information related to previous Grail Wars and Servants who had participated in them. Maybe there, the current head of Tohsaka would find the best method of dealing with the enemy Rider and his Noble Phantasm. He took one of the old diaries, trying to see if he had missed anything.
"Are you sure there was nothing else, Kirei?"
His loyal student shook his head. After what happened last night Kirei no longer had any Assassins under his command. While it was a shame to lose such valuable assets, Tokiomi was rather pleased with how things turned out.
'Now we know about his Noble Phantasm, at least. A Reality Marble, troublesome but still manageable if we play our cards right. Not to mention, with the Assassins gone, I don't have to worry about Kirei doing something undesirable.' Tokiomi was confident in the loyalty of his student and son of an old friend, but as a magus, he has always been mindful when dealing with people related to the moonlight world.
"I reported everything I saw, sir," Kirei said with this monotone voice of his. Tokiomi sighed but asked.
"Very well, in that case, Kirei. What do you think is the best course of actions for us?"
His student thought about it for a moment before speaking.
"Allowing king Gilgamesh to deal with other Servants would be the best choice if you desire to end this war quickly. Without a doubt, his highness is more than enough to defeat others." Tokiomi chuckled.
'That might be true, Gilgamesh is the strongest Servant after all. But Archer is the hardest Servant to control, with the expectation of Berserker. I already used one Command Seal. And he could still learn about the Servants' purpose as fuel for the Heaven's Feel ritual. It isn't hard to imagine how king Gilgamesh would react.' Tokiomi didn't want to see his city destroyed at the hands of his own Servant. Gilgamesh would be kept in the dark about secrets behind the Grail War for the sake of Fuyuki.
"I'm pleased you think so highly of his highness, but it would be better if Archer remains in my mansion for a few more days. Caster is still on the run and the other Masters are still trying to hunt him down, it would be safer to approach the Master of another founding family and form an alliance."
"Who you have in mind, sir?"
"Hmm, the Matou and Tohsaka families have a treaty outside of the Grail war...but considering Berserker's chosen Master, I would prefer to avoid needless contact with Kariya. I still can't understand what he wants from this war. That poor fool left the moonlight world and now suddenly wants to fight in this war."
Kirei stayed silent. Unknown to his master, Kirei managed to learn what Kariya Matou was fighting for. As his student, Kirei should have reported it to Tokiomi but someone recommended against it. During one of their unofficial meetings, Gilgamesh asked him to be silent about the fate of Sakura Tohsaka. Kirei didn't know why he had listened to Archer or why he had a pleasant feeling when thinking about how Tokiomi would react to the truth.
Kirei couldn't understand why such cruel and evil thoughts made him feel satisfied.
"So. You would team up with Saber?"
The Master of Archer nodded.
"Yes, while I don't like the idea of working with someone like the Magus Killer, I will endure it for the sake of victory."
"How kind of you, sir." Tokiomi laughed.
"By the way, Kirei. What are you going to do now? With the Assassins gone you're no longer a Master of Grail War." The younger Kotomine clenched his arm, his Command Seals still present. He didn't know why they were there. His Servants were dead but his highness reassured him that Kirei still has a role in this war.
"I will return to Italy. My role here is done and there is nothing to keep me in Japan." Kirei wasn't even able to meet the infamous Magus Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya. Either his father or events wouldn't allow him to find the man who should have been as empty as Kirei himself. "This war has been taxing on me, I would like to return to Europe as soon as possible."
"Oh, yes. I can imagine you want to see little Caren as soon as possible." Tokiomi nodded, but Kirei showed no emotion. In fact, if not for his Master, Kirei would have forgotten he had a daughter.
"Right. Anyway, I have come here to give my final report before leaving, sir."
"Stop. There is something I want to give you, Kirei." Tokiomi quickly said before turning away and pulling out a box."You have been a huge help in this war and I would like to reward you with something special. My family has had it for a long time but I'm sure it would be better suited for someone like you-"
However, before Tokiomi had been able to show what was inside the box, Kirei jumped forward and covered his master. The Japanese magus didn't have time to react or ask what was going on when suddenly windows behind him exploded as hundreds of bullets penetrated the house.
When Tokiomi opened his eyes, he found himself on the floor. Kirei was kneeling next to him in a protective position. The Master of Archer looked around the room. It was a mess, everything was ruined and a fire had broken out. Glass shards from the windows were scattered around two men but none of them hurt Tokiomi. Soon he saw another person in the room. Gilgamesh was standing in front of them. They only saw his armoured back while the king of Uruk was staring at whoever was outside.
"You have a lot of nerve to attack me in my own sanctuary, Avenger!" The blonde servant shouted with an annoyed tone.
'Avenger?'
Tokiomi stood up from his position and walked closer to a giant hole at his house. He let out a frustrated groan when he saw the state it was in, with the garden and the main building on fire. The Tohsaka residence was now in disastrous shape and it would likely take weeks to repair the damage. However, soon he noticed the female Servant who caused all of this. The Avenger was standing on the hill overlooking the mansion, the same vantage point that Kirei had used to send one of Hassans to his death at the start of this war.
The redheaded woman was surrounded by dozens of arquebus rifles, all aimed at them. A feral smile appeared on her face as she spoke.
"Archer! My Master and I have noticed that the coward next to you would rather spend the war hiding in his home rather than fight like a proper warrior. If your Master doesn't have the courage to fight like a man, what does that say about you?"
Gilgamesh clenched his teeth but stayed silent. Kirei handed Tokiomi his stuff and spoke.
"His highness materialised to shield us when she opened fire." Tokiomi nodded but stayed silent, impressed by Archer's actions.
"My servant is a Magus, they rarely have any backbone, to begin with. Besides, I don't see your Master either, barbarian." Gilgamesh smirked. "Where is the mongrel?"
Avenger clicked her tongue.
"He has better things to do than be here. Unlike you, Lelouch and I are going to win this war."
"So." The gold portals appeared next to Gilgamesh as he started to activate the Gate of Babylon. "Do you want to challenge me here and now?"
"Do I look like Saber to you? I don't have chivalry nonsense to prevent me from winning this war. Umu, if you want to die by my hand, you would have to catch up with me." As Avenger said it, she started to transform in spirit form." And I would advise you to hurry up unless your Master wants to see this city on fire."
Gilgamesh fired several of his treasures at her but it was too late. Avenger transformed into her spirit form and disappeared, leaving the Tohsaka house a complete mess. Archer clicked his tongue before he turned to his master.
"Tokiomi, I hope you aren't naive enough to think that your previous plan will work anymore." Master of servant said nothing."Others are starting to realise what game you're playing and they aren't going to let you continue it. Now, it is time for us to act."
"But your highness!"
"Silence! The enemy had attacked you in your own house and she had threatened to burn your city. Do you have any pride?! No more sitting and waiting for the other mongrels to finish one another off. We need to act. Besides." The new gold portal appeared but this one was bigger than others before it. Gilgamesh pulled out a new treasure, something that made even Kirei and Tokiomi freeze in place."I haven't used Vimara for a long time."
A massive vehicle, the likes of which the two Magi had never seen before, appeared in the air. The Vimara looked nothing like modern jets. It resembled something akin to the arrowhead, and of course, it was gold. Gilgamesh walked towards his throne.
"Let us go, Tokiomi. It is time to punish this mongrel for daring to challenge the King of Heroes." Tokiomi let out a tired sigh before turning to Kirei.
"Kirei, deal with the police and whoever else comes to check my home. And try to salvage anything valuable, please."
His student said nothing and only nodded. He simply looked on as the Master and Servant left him behind dealing with this mess. However, an idea popped in his head. Once he was done with this task, he could join Gilgamesh and Tokiomi at their hunt. It was mostly to provide support to his teacher but, assuming fate was on his side, Kirei might finally be able to meet the Magus Killer.