Emiya Kiritsugu Begins to Explode

"Maiya, how's it going over there?"

Amidst the crowd below Fuyuki Hotel, Kiritsugu walked with the flow of people while speaking on the phone. On the other end of the line was his assistant, Hisau Maiya.

"They're in position. The target shows no signs of moving."

"We managed to handle two groups at once... Keep monitoring."

"Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Kiritsugu glanced toward Fuyuki Hotel.

Last night, on the first night of the Holy Grail War, a battle took place at the harbor. Although only two groups—Naoki and Kayneth—actually appeared, in reality, nearly all Servants and Masters were secretly observing the battle using their own methods.

Unlike most people who only watched the fight between Servants, Kiritsugu watched until the end, including the scene where Naoki and Kayneth reached an agreement. Even after the two left together, Kiritsugu and Maiya followed from behind.

Thanks to the magical props created by Caster, their presence went unnoticed throughout the process. It was only now that Kiritsugu sighed, realizing that Magecraft was more useful than modern technology, especially since Caster used Magecraft from the Age of Gods.

After pinpointing the residences of Naoki and Kayneth, Kiritsugu began preparing a way to deal with them. After an afternoon of preparation, a large number of bombs had been planted on the middle floors of Fuyuki Hotel. All he needed to do was press the detonator button in his pocket, and all the bombs would explode, destroying most of the hotel in an instant.

Kiritsugu knew that Kayneth had set up a large number of magical defenses on the upper floors of the hotel. From a mystery standpoint, it had already become a foreign workshop with no hope of survival. It was highly unlikely that other Magus could easily break through.

However, no matter what, this was only a defensive project effective against Magus. It had almost no resistance to physical interference. If the entire hotel collapsed, these barriers would be completely ineffective. Kayneth and Naoki, who had no other means of defense, would also perish in the fire caused by the explosion.

"Everyone has been evacuated! No one is left in the hotel!"

The shouts of the police echoed in the distance.

To ensure that ordinary people wouldn't be affected, Kiritsugu used suggestion Magecraft to spread the news that Fuyuki Hotel would be attacked by terrorists. Now, those who remained in the hotel were left to die.

Putting his hand in his pocket, Kiritsugu pressed the button to detonate.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

On the middle floors of Fuyuki Hotel, loud explosions shattered the silence of the night!

The steel castle made of cement and steel bars crumbled in an instant under the impact of the weapons of war. The fragile glass shattered and scattered like fireworks, and countless fragments fell from a height of hundreds of meters!

"AAAAH!"

"It really exploded!"

"Get out of there! You'll get hit!"

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Chaos erupted among the crowd, with shouts, screams, and the sound of frantic footsteps... all the usual noises of disaster rang out incessantly, and the entire scene instantly turned into utter chaos!

Kiritsugu might have been the only one who remained calm amidst the turmoil. He gazed at the collapsing upper floors with his listless eyes, then took out his phone again and called Maiya: "How's the situation?"

"The target didn't move until the end and didn't escape the hotel."

"Free-falling from a height of 150 meters, no matter what barriers you use to defend yourself, you won't survive. Besides, the bombs were mixed with magical bombs enhanced by Caster... You'll be obliterated." Kiritsugu took a drag from his cigarette, paused for a moment, then added: "Maiya, keep monitoring for three hours."

"Understood—Kiritsugu, the target has appeared."

"What?"

The sudden change in Maiya's words startled Kiritsugu.

Could they have escaped this situation?

"It's Saber and the Master. There's no sign of the Lancer team."

"You keep monitoring the hotel."

"Understood. The Saber team is heading southeast."

After hanging up the phone and putting out his cigarette, Kiritsugu sighed, "It's not that easy to solve—I'll leave the Saber team to you, Caster. Just eliminate the Master, okay?"

"Of course."

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

*BAM!*

Landing on the roof of a building, Arthur turned and looked at the hotel engulfed in flames. "What a commotion... could this be the work of another Master?"

"Cough… Cough… It might be… Kiritsugu… Cough!"

Although Naoki covered his mouth and nose with something immediately after the explosion, he still accidentally inhaled smoke when Arthur carried him away from the hotel, coughing violently several times before finally recovering.

Covering his throat, the burning sensation made Naoki frown uncomfortably.

"By the way, Arthur, where are Kayneth and Lancer?"

"I don't know. It was an emergency. I only had time to protect you, Master. However, with Lancer there, nothing will happen. —And Master, I've got your back."

"I can't see anything with this blindfold on!"

Grabbing the sealing cloth, Naoki turned around.

"But... blowing up an entire building at once is Kiritsugu's style."

"Kiritsugu? Master, do you know who the attacker is?"

"I'm afraid that apart from me, this Holy Grail War won't proceed without a Magus like him. You've seen that he can even use explosives to defeat his opponents. Although I'm a bit curious about how Kiritsugu knew where we were, we should leave here immediately."

Naoki didn't know if Kiritsugu knew he was still alive. If he did, he should be looking for him right away. For safety reasons, it would be better to relocate the base immediately.

As for Kayneth, during the Holy Grail War, to avoid breaking the contract, the other party would surely come to him on their own initiative.

'Relocating the base... the safest place right now, no, the place that can best hide one's traces... is only that place.'

Naoki climbed onto Arthur's back.

"Let's head to the ruins of the Matou family, Arthur."

"Understood."