The first to react was Lord El-Melloi II, whose soul bore the wisdom of Zhuge Liang.
"Though it may sound impolite to say so, Saver's power is so overwhelming that she has no need for an alliance."
While his words were meant to console, they also struck a heavy blow to morale.
Still, those present were not people unused to despair. Every one of them had endured countless brushes with death, and thus, many truths could be spoken openly among them.
"So, this is merely my conjecture," Kirei Kotomine said calmly. "But I once investigated the Matou family's situation…"
He produced two photographs and handed them over. The first showed a tall building standing intact; in the second—taken from the same angle—the structure had vanished completely, leaving behind only a massive crater.
"What happened here?"
After closely examining the photos, none of them detected any traces of magical forgery. Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya opened his laptop and quickly hacked into nearby surveillance feeds to pull related footage.
The images confirmed it—the area had indeed been completely destroyed.
Judging by the timestamps, it had occurred overnight, without alerting a single soul, wiping out one of the three founding families of the Holy Grail system.
Such destructive power left everyone present with the same unspoken conclusion about who was responsible.
"However, if it was Saver's faction who did it," El-Melloi mused, "then why would a surviving member of the Matou family persuade Tokiomi Tohsaka to withdraw from the Three Kings Alliance?"
That question had no clear answer. None of them could have imagined the tangled web of connections between the Tohsaka and Matou families, nor the deep-rooted conflict festering within the Matou lineage itself.
Still, there was little point in dwelling on it. For now, their most pressing issue was how to handle the King of Heroes' forced withdrawal.
"I'll go."
A low, cold voice came from behind.
Everyone turned to see Kiritsugu Emiya, clad in a black coat, with Maiya Hisau following silently at his side.
Kirei Kotomine glanced at him. "Oh? As expected of the man known as the Magus Killer, have you already decided?"
"At this point, there's only one option—kill him." Kiritsugu's gaze shifted toward the King of Heroes. "Without the interference of a Servant, dealing with a traditional magus won't be an issue for me."
"Unless he uses a Command Seal to order me to protect him, I'll simply look the other way," Gilgamesh replied without hesitation. "This king will not tolerate a treacherous vassal."
"That's more than enough."
Kiritsugu nodded coolly, the killing intent in his voice sending chills down the spines of Ritsuka Fujimaru and Waver Velvet.
This cold, ruthless man might have had flaws as a human being—but as a weapon of assassination, he was terrifyingly efficient.
Especially when hunting magi—that was his area of expertise.
He was intimately familiar with the structure and logic of magecraft, had no hesitation in using modern weaponry, and possessed the mystic weapon Origin Bullet, which countered magi perfectly.
Even Lord Kayneth, one of the Clock Tower's Twelve Lords and wielder of the supreme mystic code Volumen Hydrargyrum, had fallen to him—and Tokiomi Tohsaka's magecraft skill was decidedly inferior to Kayneth's.
Now, Kiritsugu even had a private understanding with the King of Heroes.
If he killed Tokiomi before any Command Seal orders could be issued, his mission would be complete.
Any other Servant approaching the Tohsaka-controlled territory would immediately trigger its magical alarms—but a man without magical signatures like Kiritsugu would draw no attention.
For him, this mission was far from difficult.
Even the King of Knights, who usually opposed Kiritsugu's methods, remained silent this time. Though she still held fast to her knightly ideals, she had grown—
And growth, in its truest sense, meant understanding what must be sacrificed.
However—
"This still isn't enough."
Lord El-Melloi II frowned deeply. "If we simply kill Tokiomi Tohsaka, Archer will lose his mana supply. Even if he possesses independent action capability, he won't be able to contribute much to the upcoming battles."
"Indeed, that's a serious issue," the King of Conquerors agreed, nodding gravely. "The manifestation of a Heroic Spirit alone demands an immense amount of mana—especially for us, who must coordinate our Noble Phantasms to activate Ionioi Hetairoi, the God-Slaying Army. The mana cost is far beyond what a normal Servant requires."
"To put it simply, killing Archer's Master isn't difficult—but Archer himself remains an indispensable force in our fight against Saver."
Kirei Kotomine then pointed out an even sharper concern. "If Tokiomi Tohsaka is killed and the rest of us still fail against Saver, then the matter ends there. But if we succeed—then whoever gains control of Archer will effectively command two Servants. That individual would hold an overwhelming advantage in the remainder of the Holy Grail War."
Thus, the question arose: who should take possession of Archer's Command Seals?
"On that matter," Gilgamesh declared, folding his arms before extending one toward a certain individual, "this King already has a preferred candidate."
With a confident gesture, he pushed forward Ritsuka Fujimaru, who had been quietly standing in the back all this time. "When Tokiomi Tohsaka dies, I shall forge a contract with Ritsuka Fujimaru of Chaldea as my new Master. Once our battle concludes, I will withdraw from the Holy Grail War."
The declaration caught everyone off guard—but after a moment's thought, they realized it was indeed the most reasonable arrangement.
"So, you've had this plan from the start, King of Heroes," Kirei Kotomine remarked, narrowing his eyes.
He cast an unreadable glance at the ordinary-looking young man and the short-haired pink-haired girl standing beside him. From outward appearance alone, there was nothing remarkable about Ritsuka Fujimaru, and thus Kirei could not comprehend why the King of Heroes had made such a choice.
Still, from the perspective of the Holy Grail War, the distribution of power was sound.
"Since you've already made your arrangements," Kirei said after a pause, "I should also offer something in return."
He straightened slightly, his expression calm yet deliberate. "Now that I stand in opposition to my former mentor, there's no need to conceal his lies any longer. Gilgamesh, and everyone else here—allow me to reveal the truth of the Holy Grail War that you have yet to know."
...
"Where is this?"
When Satsuki led Iphis to an old, slightly dilapidated warehouse, the latter looked confused.
"Since you've decided to join the Mage's Association, you'll need sufficient ability to protect yourself…"
Satsuki's gaze turned toward the warehouse door, her eyes flashing with a faint light.
Click~
A soft sound came from behind the worn wooden door, and Satsuki was the first to push it open and step inside.
Once they entered, Iphis realized that the interior was far larger than it appeared from the outside.
The building's structure was not complicated—it resembled a library, with rows of bookshelves arranged neatly on either side, stretching deep inward.
From the sheer number of volumes, it was clear that while it couldn't compare to a grand archive, it was far too extensive for a single household.
The interior had been well-ventilated and cleaned. A thin layer of red carpet covered the wooden floor, effectively muffling the creaks beneath their feet.
"When did you prepare a place like this?"
Iphis casually drew a book from one of the shelves. Even before opening it, she could sense the faint fluctuations of magical energy emanating from its cover.
"These are grimoires? Where did you gather them from?"
"Some spoils of war," Satsuki answered lightly. "They hold little value for me—but you'll find them useful."
Upon hearing that, Iphis immediately understood.
She returned the book as if it were something filthy, her expression one of distaste. "These must be the Matou family's grimoires, right? But from what that Kariya Matou said, their magecraft focuses on insect manipulation…"
Her expression soured further. "You expect a lady to learn that sort of magic? Don't you have anything better?"
"There are two rows of shelves here," Satsuki explained. "The left contains the Matou family's works, and the right contains those of the Tohsaka family. I've already sorted them based on difficulty and value."
She continued, "Both families possess long magical lineages, and their archives are not limited to a single field. The reason most of their descendants show similar abilities is because their family traditions have limited their development paths."
Hearing this, Iphis nodded in reluctant understanding. Still, having met Kariya Matou up close before, his condition was etched painfully into her memory.
It was impossible not to feel uneasy. Thus, she chose the first shelf on the right.
Although the shelf was nearly twice her height, for someone with magical aptitude, retrieving a book was no issue.
However, after only a few seconds, Iphis stared at Satsuki with a face full of despair.
"You're sure this is a beginner's textbook?"
"Yes."
"But without a teacher, I can't understand any of it! There are too many technical terms."
"I've already arranged that."
"Arranged…? Why not teach me yourself?" Iphis muttered.
Satsuki was calmly flipping through another grimoire—its cover inscribed with characters Iphis couldn't decipher. From the overwhelming aura of power radiating from it, the book likely qualified as a forbidden tome.
Without looking up, Satsuki replied, "Because I'll be traveling through multiple different worlds. The most basic definitions of magecraft only apply within a single world. From a universal standpoint, they're meaningless to me."
In other words—she didn't understand them either.
Flip~
Turning another page, Satsuki added, "But you're different. Your path is bound to this body. If you wish to continue forward, you'll need to strengthen your foundations."
"The path of this body… You mean the Third Magic?"
"Not just that."
Satsuki continued, "From what I've learned of this world's magical systems and the Einzbern family's progress, they could never have advanced the Third Magic to this level alone."
She glanced at Iphis. "But you're different. Within the core of the Great Grail, the original consciousness of this body still lingers. You have potential."
"You mean that person—Justeaze?"
"So you're familiar with her, I see."
"Of course," Iphis said with a rueful tone. "That woman is practically my opposite—as All the World's Evil, I'm everything she isn't. After we came into contact within the Grail once, we've never exactly gotten along since."
"Is there any chance of communication between you two?"
"…The difficulty's about the same as destroying Saver."
"Technically speaking, a little lower."
...
Whoosh~
A sudden, biting gust of wind made Kiritsugu Emiya frown.
He stood on the rooftop of a public apartment complex, clad in his signature black coat.
His target was approximately eight hundred meters away.
Unlike ordinary buildings of simple construction, the rooftops of apartment complexes were designed mainly for waterproofing and earthquake resistance, not for convenience of use. This design made the top floor somewhat peculiar.
Though entering it had been a challenge, once inside, he would rarely be disturbed.
Hiding behind the water tower meant he couldn't be seen from below—an ideal location for sniping or an ambush.
Unlike the secluded Einzbern Castle or the isolated Matou residence, Tokiomi Tohsaka's home was much closer to where ordinary people lived.
That, however, was rather uncharacteristic for a magus—after all, "concealment of mystery" was one of their most fundamental principles.
But the Tohsaka family was different.
First, there was an old legend in the Mage's Association: the Tohsaka ancestor's master had once been a Magician—one known only in the most classified archives, referred to by the name "Jewel Lord."
Because of this connection, the Association often turned a blind eye to the Tohsaka family's behavior.
The Tohsakas held considerable influence within the Holy Church as well, and as the disciple of a Magician, they enjoyed special favor from the Association.
The Tohsakas' authority over the lands of Fuyuki stemmed from their relationship with both organizations.
In other words, the Tohsaka family's background was far deeper than that of the other two founding families.
Their magecraft—based on gemstones—necessitated constant contact with ordinary society, as gemstones required steady access to raw materials. Otherwise, the family would have to devote endless time to mining meaningless quantities of ore on their own.