Chapter 17: Gilles de Rais's Revenge

"What do you mean, he's missing?"

At the Fujimura residence, chaos had erupted because the scar-faced man hadn't been able to pick up Broly from school.

"Miss, when I went to the school, that's what they told me. I checked the surveillance footage at the school gate, and Broly left on his own."

The scar-faced man spoke somewhat innocently.

In Japan, elementary school students typically go home by themselves, so Mifune Elementary School wouldn't deliberately stop a child from leaving.

This led to the scar-faced man, who had received the early dismissal notice but went to pick up Broly at the usual time, finding out that the boy was no longer at the school.

The scar-faced man couldn't find Broly, and with the kidnapper and murderer still on the loose in Fuyuki City, Fujimura Taiga, who had just returned from school, was furious.

"Didn't the school call you to pick him up earlier?"

Fujimura Taiga grabbed the scar-faced man by the collar, her eyes practically wanting to tear him apart.

"I..."

The scar-faced man didn't know how to respond. At the time, he had thought it was fine to let the boy stay at the school until the usual pickup time.

"Taiga, let him go. There was some business in the group this afternoon, and I had him run an errand for me."

Just as Fujimura Taiga was about to hit him, Fujimura Raiga stepped in to defend the scar-faced man.

"Grandpa..."

"I know you're worried, but panicking won't help. Blaming others won't solve the problem either. The most important thing now is to find a solution."

Fujimura Raiga calmly explained to his granddaughter.

"So, what should we do now?"

Fujimura Taiga asked.

"There are surveillance cameras around the school. With our connections in the Fujimura group, we can access that footage. So, we need to find someone to retrieve the surveillance footage and track the boy's movements after he left the school."

"Then hurry up!"

"I've already sent someone to do that. Based on the surveillance, the boy snuck onto a train heading to Fuyuki City's West Station."

"Huh?"

Fujimura Taiga was surprised, while Fujimura Raiga wore an expression that said, *"This is your grandpa's expertise."* He was teaching his granddaughter how to remain calm in a crisis.

"And then?"

"If you were me, what would you do?"

"I'd find Broly."

"But what if there's no more surveillance footage?"

"I'd go look for him myself."

"Wrong. Your individual strength is limited. You need to mobilize the entire Fujimura group to search. And it's not just about finding the child. The biggest danger to children in Fuyuki City right now is the serial kidnapper and murderer. We need to track that person down too, and use our connections to get the police involved in the search."

Fujimura Raiga's explanation of how to handle this emergency left Fujimura Taiga stunned.

Seeing his granddaughter's stunned expression, the old man was satisfied and continued, "These are things ordinary people can't do. If an ordinary person goes missing, it takes 48 hours to file a report, and even then, it's often hard to get results.

But the Fujimura group is different. We can mobilize our people to search and use our connections to get the police to help.

So, Taiga, do you see the importance of having a powerful organization now?"

Fujimura Taiga: "..."

"Grandpa, what you're saying makes sense, and I'm starting to agree that having a powerful group is a good thing. But right now, that's not the point. I just want to know, has Broly been found?"

"Not yet, but we should have news soon."

"So, no? That's not good. I need to go out and look for him..."

"Taiga, is it time to eat?"

As Fujimura Taiga was asking about the last known location of the boy, Broly descended from the sky. He landed in the backyard and, seeing the people inside the house who hadn't noticed him, walked over and asked his "sister-wife."

"Who has time to eat now? We need to... Huh?!"

Fujimura Taiga stopped mid-sentence and turned around, along with everyone else, to look at Broly, who had suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

"Wait, you're back?"

The scar-faced man asked.

"Yes, I'm back."

Broly nodded.

"Where have you been, you little rascal? I was so worried when I heard you went missing."

Fujimura Taiga rushed over, hugged him, and asked.

"I went with my desk mate from school to look for her other friend. On the way, she treated me to takoyaki.

And in the end, she even gave me her portion of takoyaki. It was really delicious..."

Broly recounted his after-school adventures, but his description focused heavily on the taste and toppings of the takoyaki, while glossing over the less important details.

"If you're going out with friends, you need to tell an adult, okay? Otherwise, people will worry about you."

Seeing Broly safe and sound, Fujimura Taiga relaxed but still scolded him.

"Okay, I understand."

Broly nodded obediently.

"Good. Now, let's go eat."

She ruffled his hair and led him to the dining hall.

"Old Master, this..."

"Call everyone back. No need to keep searching."

Fujimura Raiga waved his hand. Broly's disappearance had been an unexpected event, but at least it had shown his granddaughter the benefits of having a powerful organization. And with the boy safely back, there was no need to waste more effort searching for him.

---

"The guy looks like he was hit by a truck."

The missing children had been found and taken back, but the police still needed to process the scene and the suspect's body. The investigators frowned as they looked at the young man's body, which was embedded in a shattered wooden crate, his abdomen almost completely destroyed.

They had seen many crime scenes, but this one was particularly bizarre. It was impossible to deduce what had caused such damage.

"Regardless, this is likely the prime suspect in the recent home invasions, child abductions, and murders in Fuyuki City.

Take detailed photos of his face. We'll need to investigate his identity later and see if we can find any concrete evidence."

The officer in charge of the scene gave his orders, but when he turned around, he noticed his subordinates weren't responding.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

He turned back and saw his men being strangled by tentacled monsters.

They were suspended in mid-air, struggling desperately but unable to break free.

"M-monsters?"

The officer's eyes widened, and he took two steps back, only to bump into the gruesome corpse behind him.

"Let my men go."

He drew his gun, trying to threaten the monsters into releasing his subordinates.

"How did this happen?"

But before he could fire, a voice filled with shock and disbelief came from behind the sea demons.

"This place is dangerous."

A man in a blue robe, ignoring the officer's warning, walked briskly into the bar.

His bulging eyes made him look like a goldfish, and he passed by the sea demons without any resistance.

"Ryūnosuke Uryū, my Master. I never thought you would die before me."

Gilles de Rais's eyes were filled with sorrow. A Master who shared his artistic vision and passions now lay before him as a corpse.

"But you died for art. I'm sure you sacrificed yourself for it!"

Since the sea demons didn't stop him, and this man was talking to a dead body, the officer realized something.

"Are you working with this kidnapper and murderer? Are you controlling these monsters?"

The officer pointed his gun at the man.

"Make those monsters release my colleagues, or I'll shoot."

The officer threatened. Some of his men were already losing consciousness, and he had to act.

"Hmm?"

Gilles de Rais looked down at the officer, who only came up to his chest, and asked, "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone mourning the dead?"

He reached out toward the man's head but didn't grab it, just held his hand in front of his face. "But you don't seem to have any artistic sense, so I'll forgive you."

Gilles de Rais muttered an incantation. The officer didn't understand what he was doing and shouted, "I told you to make those monsters release my colleagues. Did you hear me?"

"Dark Sacrifice, Sea Demon Summoning."

A magic circle formed, and the sacrificial material was the officer in front of him.

"What is this? What are you doing?"

The officer felt a sudden, intense pain and his expression changed.

"Rip~"

Before he could pull the trigger, a sea demon burst out of his body.

He died, his flesh devoured by the monster that had emerged from within him.

"Ryūnosuke Uryū, the gods are unjust to let a great artist like you leave the stage so early. But don't worry, you still have me.

I, Gilles de Rais, swear that I will make the divine agent who caused your premature exit leave this world's stage in the same way."

Gilles de Rais plunged his hand into the body of one of the officers being strangled by a sea demon and pulled out a still-beating heart.

He chanted another incantation, and as the heart, used as a sacrificial material, burst, the blood carried the dead man's resentment and, through magic, pointed in a specific direction.

---

"Fog? No, this is a magical phenomenon!"

Through Assassin's vision, Kirei Kotomine, stationed at the Fuyuki Church, noticed Caster moving with a group of sea demons.

The man still showed no regard for secrecy, even intensifying his actions by parading through the streets with his familiars.

Anyone they encountered was killed without hesitation and used as material to summon more familiars.

"What a madman!"

While informing Tohsaka Tokiomi of Caster's new actions, Kirei Kotomine also had his Assassin knock out innocent bystanders along the route and move them out of harm's way.

This wasn't out of any goodwill to save people but to prevent Caster's familiar army from growing any larger.

"What? Caster summoned a large group of familiars and is parading through the streets?"

Upon receiving the news, Tohsaka Tokiomi felt his blood pressure spike. As the head of the Tohsaka family, the most prominent magus family in Fuyuki City, it was his duty and responsibility to maintain the secrecy of magecraft.

Caster's actions, parading through the streets with a large group of familiars, were a direct challenge to his authority as a magus.

At this point, could the Holy Grail War even be called a secret ritual? Should they just give Caster a loudspeaker and let him announce it to the world?

"Is Caster's Master insane, letting his Servant do this? Doesn't he fear being targeted by the other Servants?"

"Master Tokiomi, with all due respect, that pair has always been insane, ever since the Holy Grail War began."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. So, what's their goal? Causing such a scene, do they just want to make themselves a target?"

"Based on Caster's route, he and his familiar army are heading toward Saber's new location. For some reason, Caster has been targeting Saber. Master, should we intervene and stop Caster now?"

After reporting Caster's intentions, Kirei Kotomine asked for instructions.

"If they're going after Saber, then let them be. We'll use Caster's madness as a test of Saber's strength.

However, continue having Assassin clear the route of bystanders. If too many civilians die, it'll be hard to cover up."

Tohsaka Tokiomi didn't stop Caster's actions but instructed his disciple to minimize civilian casualties for easier cleanup later.

Gilles de Rais, guided by the blood of resentment, moved unimpeded through the streets of Fuyuki City's old district, thanks to Kirei Kotomine's Assassin silently clearing the way of innocent bystanders.

"Kiritsugu!"

In the new safehouse, Artoria sensed something unusual in the air and rushed into the house, only to find her Master, Kiritsugu Emiya, had also noticed the strange magical presence.

At that moment, Kiritsugu had already assembled a submachine gun. Seeing Saber burst in, he turned to Maiya Hisau, who was still recovering from her injuries, and instructed, "Protect Irisviel. Saber and I will handle this."

Under the moonlit night, the streets were shrouded in mist, and dark clouds obscured the moonlight. But as the moonlight broke through, Caster and his army of sea demons appeared at the end of the street. The number of familiars was even greater than during the attack on the Einzbern Castle.

"Heretic, how many innocent lives have you taken this time?!"

Seeing the massive horde of sea demons, Artoria felt nothing but rage. Though she was not from this era or this country, her chivalric spirit made her furious at the sight of such heinous acts.

"Oh, what a coincidence! To think I would reunite with the beautiful saint here. It seems fate has arranged for you to return to my side. But, my saint, tonight I am not here for you. I am here for revenge!"

"Huh?!"

Both Artoria, who had stepped out to face the enemy, and Kiritsugu, who was already on the rooftop with his rifle, let out sounds of surprise.

"My Master, Ryūnosuke Uryū, a great artist of this world, was brutally murdered in an unnamed bar. My magic has guided my army of vengeance here. Step aside, saint. Tonight's stage has no role for you."