First Floor.
The trails of a trench coat billowed past as the man rushed through the empty halls of the building. Stopping at a corner, he eyed the left and right, ensuring no one was waiting for him in an ambush while scanning the walkway for traps.
It wouldn't be an unfounded concern, considering the place was still under construction. With the main structure in place, but the internals still weren't as furbished, many tools, equipment, and crates lined the empty rooms and halls. He wouldn't put it past the brat to have boobytraps hidden in every corner. The only saving grace to this was that there were no civilians in sight, be it inside or near the vicinity of the building itself.
'Clear,' Kiritsugu mentally noted to himself before dashing through the adjacent hall.
With Maiya taken, he only had himself to rely on in this. On the hand, he had his M950 and single-shot Thompson Contender pistol. He would've opted to go heavier with gear, but because he wasn't sure what the hell he was dealing with, he opted to go light and flexible. Calico and Contender in hand, he peeked around another corner with both, ready to fire, before advancing further into his foe's base. Muffled footsteps and paced-yet frustrated breathing were all that could be heard of his person.
'To think that boy would join the fray himself.' Kiritsugu contemplated the move. 'He managed to use Rider as a distraction good enough to fool Saber. Either he was working with Rider's Master or the big oaf was tricked by him.'
Kiritsugu wasn't one to overestimate his opponents, but he couldn't relegate Lamperouge as just another boy way in over his head like Waver Velvet. No. He was more akin to the psychopath that was Caster's Master, if not less random with his targets.
'He's most likely hiding on the top of the building. With any luck, Iri should be there as well.' With Maiya unaccounted for, or maybe with them, that limited his options severely.' Repeating the Hyatt Hotel trick isn't an option for me anymore. Dammit!'
Disgruntled, he continued sneaking around the cameras and disabling the ones he could from their blind spots. If he had a second pair of hands, he could've ordered Maiya to use a familiar or pinpoint the less arduous route. But as circumstances stood, he had to go solo. Not only that, but he had a time limit. Or, as much time as Saber could buy on her own distracting the Avenger Servant.
Just as he reached the end of the floor, a resounding ding caught his attention. Guns were immediately trained on the elevator doors that swept open. But instead of finding a person, the thing that caught his eyes were the barrels within.
And a small alarm clock counting down from the single-digits to zero atop it.
"Shi—!" Not wasting a second to widen his eyes in shock, Kiritsugu ducked to the corner he'd just come from, evading the explosion from the improvised explosive device.
BOOM
The entire hallway rumbled somewhat as a gout of flame burned the freshly painted walls to ash. A small snap, sudden screeching noise, finally ending with a distant crash had him peeking out of his hiding spot. From his safety corner, he found that the elevator itself was gone, the line holding it up had snapped due to the ensuing fireball.
Kiritsugu was momentarily appalled. Not for the explosion itself, but to think the boy had timed the elevator's arrival precisely with his in this exact hallway.
"What in the hell am I dealing with…?" He couldn't help muttering to himself.
"A fine welcome to you, Magus Killer!" said a voice echoing over the centre's PA system. "Or would you rather I refer to you by name, mister mercenary Emiya Kiritsugu? My apologies, but it seems the elevator I sent for you is out of commission. A pity you were unable to catch it in time. We could've resolved everything sooner too!"
'Hmph. How original,' Kiritsugu held back his snarl as he ignored the taunt and started looking for the stairs. No sense in speaking to a man he couldn't see. And once he'd find him, there was enough said behind a bullet through the head.
"Oh come now. It's no fun if there's no response at all. While I may not hear you, you could at the very least act surprised with my gift."
He was surprised, sure. But why give his attacker any satisfaction in it? Kiritsugu popped a shot into the distance as soon as he rounded the corner. A small spark and the shattering of glass killed another camera, the boy's only eyes in this building. But instead of heading down that very corridor, he opted to move to a maintenance catwalk he found in the building's blueprints. Security hadn't yet touched on this particular pathway, meaning no cams.
The misdirection wouldn't last, however. It would only buy him time.
"Quite the unorthodox knight-in-shining-armor, aren't you, Mister Emiya." The boy's voice echoed from the nearest speaker. "The princess awaits at the top to be rescued, yet here you are, skulking in the shadows. As the warlock that you need to vanquish, I find your methods a bit… lacklustre."
'And you've quite a flair for the dramatic.' Kiritsugu wondered if he could try and bait the boy via his arrogance but shut down that idea not a second later. 'No. Stick to the plan. Stay calm. Stay on target.'
Peeking out the next exit, he snuck back into the building's main hall and climbed up the stairs. Passed the first flight, he clicked his tongue upon spotting the debris blocking the second flight up. He had to find another set of stairs up. That or risk another elevator explosion. Opting for the former, he swiftly dashed down the long winding halls.
He most definitely passed by another camera but missed his chance in taking it out when he spotted yet another oddity between him and the cams.
Two small boxes the size of handheld radios on either wall of the hall. Stopping in his tracks, he grabbed a nearby forgotten toolkit and tossed it passed the anomalous boxes. Upon the kit shattering out and its contents spilling forth, something clicked and both small boxes exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. From his cover, he had to duck his head away when nails and small screws peppered the walls and shattered a nearby window. Looking back at the blast radius, a sizable hole had torn open the ceiling, knocking down debris in his path once more.
"Son of a…" his eyes narrowed towards the red light of the security cams.
"So? What do you think? Exciting, isn't it? I'm quite the accommodating host, as you can see. This entire complex has become my castle, and you're its invader. Could you perhaps humour me and play along with the script?" Kiritsugu's response was shooting down the camera and rushing to find an alternate path upwards. "Such a spoil sport… I try to be nice, yet you continue to be a killjoy."
Kiritsugu had no retort for a brat playing games. He was fighting a war. And he was going to make sure he'd win. For the sake of all.
"How disappointing a person you are…" the taunts continued. "Acting tough and soldiering on… despite the outcome of this war already being decided, but oh well… If you wish to save those who are important to you, then come to the 25th floor."
'A clue?' Kiritsugu scoffed. 'No, a trap. An obvious one to boot.'
But considering he had no other hints as to Maiya and Iri's whereabouts, he had no choice. The boy knew he knew he had no choice. It was an open challenge. One he had no choice but to accept.
Upon spotting the second stairwell, he eyed the place and surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary, and neither was a Servant waiting from the shadows. Thinking it was clear, he started climbing… only then to backtrack and kick off hard against the steps like his life depended on it. A resounding click near his foot told him he triggered a pressure trap that he had no humane chance of escaping.
"Kuh—Time Alter: Double Accel!" triggering his self-contained Reality Marble, he swatted a falling grenade that came from the bannister of the floor above. A window shattered and he'd just barely ducked down before an explosion from the outside was heard. This time, Kiritsugu could barely control his anger. "Goddamned brat… where in the hell did he get such equipment?!"
Another camera must've picked up on his reaction as the boy spoke once more. "Be careful now. I had quite the time making preparations for your arrival. If it's any reassurance, not every floor is booby-trapped."
Kiritsugu could practically feel the boy's arrogance poking his patience. 'Damned brat.'
But resolved as he was, the man dusted his trench coat and soldiered on. Not slowing down nor giving up, he continued to avoid and evade as many traps as he could.
All for the sake of killing the boy playing god.