They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 211 The Tragedy of Kenneth
Clock Tower, London, England.

Inside the old and luxurious office, the air is filled with the unique aroma of aged parchment and expensive wood.

Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald rested his chin on his hands, his eyes closed, but his mind was clearer than ever before, browsing through the information in his mind at an astonishing speed.

This massive amount of "data" came from a man named Kayaba Akihiko.

The specific content involves anime, games, and novels, all of which are stories that take place within the world of Type-Moon.

And one of them happens to be related to him, or rather, his predecessor, a work called "Fate/Zero".

The Kenneth in this work is exactly the same as the one in the memories he inherited: Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald, a name that itself represents glory in the world of magic.

Born into the prestigious Archibald family of magic, which has been passed down for nine generations, he displayed amazing talent from a young age, and even created the "Moon Spirit Essence Liquid," a supreme ceremonial garment for the family, when he was just over ten years old.

At such a young age, he has already reached the "color" rank, which is second only to the Grand rank in the Clock Tower's rating system for magicians.

This talent, even within the Clock Tower teeming with elites and geniuses, earned him the reputation of a child prodigy, which speaks volumes about his gift.

Not to mention, he also has a fiancée from a similarly prestigious family, Sora U Nuada Sofiali, who is as beautiful as she is from a distinguished background.

He's incredibly talented, comes from an exceptional family, and has a beautiful and wealthy fiancée...

From any perspective, Kenneth is undoubtedly a winner in life, a darling of fate, and a rising star in the world of magic.

Even though he had thought so before, looking at his memories made him feel like it was all unreal.

However, all this glory and splendor came to an end with the ritual known as the "Holy Grail War".

According to his inherited memories and preliminary investigations, the so-called Holy Grail War is nothing more than a system designed by the three fallen starter families in order to reach the "Root" in a rural area called "Fuyuki" in the Far East.

What is the root? It is the ultimate goal that all magicians pursue throughout their lives, the "truth" that records all things in the universe, and its concept is quite similar to "Tao".

His predecessor decided to participate in this war not for any necessary or urgent reason.

On the contrary, it was more like a game played on a whim.

He simply wanted to add another anecdote, described as a "military achievement," to his already flawless resume.

After all, from the perspective of the Clock Tower of London, the center of world magic, the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City was like a top academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences overhearing a folk scientist claiming to have invented a perpetual motion machine—full of absurdity and laughability.

The only value was that it made this aristocrat of the academic world condescend to reap a meager military achievement, nothing more.

But it was precisely this mindset that led this child prodigy to his first and last Waterloo.

First, the relic he had meticulously prepared, enough to summon the "Conqueror King," was stolen by his good-for-nothing student, Waver Velvet.

Left with no other option, he had to settle for second best and summon Lancers using a different catalyst.

This was the first mistake, and the beginning of the tragedy's tragic fate.

Then, on the battlefield in Fuyuki City, he encountered a man named "Emiya Kiritsugu," a "magician killer" despised by all orthodox magicians.

The opponent did not play by the rules at all. First, they used bombs to destroy the workshop that the predecessor was so proud of, causing many of the formal costumes that the predecessor had prepared to be buried directly.

Given his predecessor's personality, he naturally couldn't stand such a huge loss, so he took the Heroic Spirit and went to settle the score all by himself.

Unexpectedly, Kiritsugu Emiya used a bizarre weapon called the "Origin Bullet." Under the effect of this bullet, the magic circuits of his predecessor were forcibly twisted, destroyed, and burned.

Then it just crashed...

If this was merely a strategic defeat, then what followed was a complete trampling of his dignity and personality.

Sora, his fiancée whom he considered his possession, after witnessing him become a cripple, cruelly broke his arm and stripped him of his last remaining Command Seals in order to gain control of the spearmen.

The tenderness and affection of the past have vanished, leaving only naked betrayal.

The most outrageous thing is that this arrogant and genius magician was forced to order his loyal servant Diarmuid Ua Duibhne to commit suicide in order to save the life of the woman who betrayed him.

And Kiritsugu Emiya, who had vowed to spare them, pulled the trigger without hesitation the moment he lost his last trump card.

Gunshots rang out, and the once-proud Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald fell from grace.

He died without any dignity, like a stray dog ​​that was trampled to death at will.

"Ah……"

Upon seeing this, Kenneth's lips twitched involuntarily.

When he first inherited the memories, he thought he was living the role of a protagonist who was overpowered by a dragon.

I never expected it to be like this...

If that were all, it would be fine.

After all, he was no longer that fool blinded by arrogance.

With the complete information provided by [Kayaba Akihiko], he knew everything about the Masters and Servants in this Holy Grail War.

As long as you master the abilities of your predecessor and make good strategic plans, not only will it be easy to save your life, but it will also be easy to win the Holy Grail War.

In the worst-case scenario, he could simply give up his so-called military achievements and announce that he would not participate in this damned war.

However, the real trouble came from something else.

In a story called Fate/Apocrypha, in a completely different parallel world, the Fourth Holy Grail War never happened.

Even so, his good-for-nothing student, Weber Velvet, still inherited his mantle and became the new monarch—El-Melloi II.

Not only in this world, but in all other works that involve future timelines, regardless of which timeline or story branch.

The fact that Weber Velvet became "Lord El-Melloi II" seemed to be an indisputable fact.

And the biggest, and only, prerequisite for this to hold true is... the death of him, Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald!
Although these works do not explicitly state it, given his predecessor's personality, it would be absolutely impossible for him to voluntarily relinquish the position of "monarch" to anyone.

His character seems to exist solely to pave the way for the boy named Webber Velvet, allowing him to ascend the throne over his own corpse.

In other words, the worst-case scenario he might have to worry about now is not just a Holy Grail War.

Rather, it is something grander, something more irresistible…

(End of this chapter)