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

Chapter 225 Victory or Loss
"Admit defeat, Kiritsugu Emiya..."

Kenneth's voice echoed through the twisted woods, calm as if stating an established fact.

He approached slowly, each step landing on an invisible node, and the entire space seemed to pulsate around him with his breath.

The silvery [Moon Spirit Essence Liquid] spread out beneath his feet into a complex and profound array, its radiance flowing and transforming the area into his private domain.

……

On the other side, Kunlun
"So that's how it is. Using that object as a 'counting rod' to forcibly connect to the underlying structure of the [Thought Compass]... he actually succeeded?"
Moreover, this Qimen formation..."

Upon seeing this, the immortal exclaimed in admiration.

Western magic originally borrowed the power of gods, who were like pre-packaged software in the computer of the world; by following specific steps, specific results could be obtained.

For example, praying to the god of fire can make something burn.

After the gods faded away, Western magicians could only use magic as a medium, and through the programming language of the magic foundation, they could write their own programs, that is, specific magic spells.

To achieve more functions, a more complex spell structure is needed, which places higher demands on the magician's magic circuits.

Their side, however, chose a different path, joining forces to develop and run a massive 'virtual machine'—the [Thought Disk]!
This virtual machine is a self-contained world with its own rules and immense computing power.

The so-called "mind magic" is not about writing programs from scratch, but about directly calling "ready-made software" that has already been packaged by predecessors within this virtual machine!
The "thought key" is the 'authority key' for accessing these software programs. The higher the authorization level, the greater the computing power that can be accessed, and the more powerful the program functions that can be used.

Although Kenneth did not have a thought key, he had a deep understanding of the Five Elements and Qimen Dunjia.

In addition, the mercury-based computing device beneath its feet, once connected to the Thought Disk, gave it the characteristics of a sub-host of the Thought Disk.

Later, using Qimen Bagua as the foundation, the techniques were reconstructed, resulting in what we see today.

"Truly... a genius beyond compare..."

Thinking of this, the immortal exclaimed in admiration. This monarch of the Clock Tower was only in his twenties, yet he possessed such attainments; it was truly unbelievable.

The magic was so exquisite, it was as if it had been refined over countless years...

……

next moment……

The moment Kenneth finished speaking, Kiritsugu Emiya moved.

He whirled around, his arm rising with a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, the dark muzzle of his gun pointed at Kenneth.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

boom!
What was fired was not an ordinary bullet, but a magician's Mystic Code that embodied the concepts of "severing" and "binding" of Kiritsugu Emiya's origin—the [Origin Bullet]!
This is his greatest asset as the "Magician Killer," a deadly weapon capable of causing any magician's magic circuits to go berserk, even to the point of self-destruction.

However, just as the bullet was about to hit Kenneth, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The space in front of the bullet rippled like water, and the deadly [Origin Bullet] vanished into thin air, as if swallowed by another dimension.

The next instant, it suddenly reappeared behind Kenneth, shooting into a giant tree in the distance with its remaining force, without causing any ripples.

Space transfer!

Kiritsugu Emiya's pupils suddenly contracted, but he had no time to think.

At the very moment the bullet disappeared, a silver blade shot out like a venomous snake from the flowing Moon Spirit Essence on the ground, drawing a beautiful yet deadly arc.

Pfft——!
Warm blood splattered as Kiritsugu Emiya's hand holding the gun was severed at the root, flying out along with the black "Contender" gun, crashing heavily onto the withered leaves a few meters away.

On the back of his hand, the three bright red Command Seals, symbolizing his Master status, stood out starkly in the dim light of the forest.

……

On the other side, a fierce battle is raging between Scáthach and others.

Artoria's Excalibur clashed fiercely with Scáthach's magic spear, sparking dazzling flashes. But at that moment, a sudden, overwhelming sense of weakness, originating from the depths of her soul, gripped her.

The invisible pathway that connected her to her Master and provided her with magic in this world was broken without warning.

"Emiya... Kiritsugu..."

She let out a muffled groan, her body staggering, and the once indestructible sword strike instantly revealed a fatal flaw.

How could such a once-in-a-millennium change escape Scáthach's all-seeing magical eyes?

The Queen of the Shadow Kingdom smiled slightly, and her attack suddenly became several times more fierce. The crimson magic spear transformed into countless spear shadows, pouring down on the Knight King who had lost his strength like a storm!

……

"Ah ah ah ah ah--!"

A heart-wrenching wail erupted from Kiritsugu Emiya's throat.

It wasn't just the excruciating pain of losing an arm, but the despair that came from the depths of his soul, stemming from the complete collapse of his ideals and beliefs.

The reason he resorted to any means necessary, the reason he bore all the sins, and the reason he placed his hopes on the elusive miracle of the Holy Grail was because he had long realized that he could not save anyone or realize his naive yet heavy dream of becoming a "partner of justice" by his own strength alone.

The Holy Grail was his only hope.

Now, the loss of the Command Seals means that this only hope has also vanished.

"How ugly, you comrade of justice..."

Kenneth shook his head and walked step by step toward the man lying in a pool of blood, as if admiring a worthless work of art that he had personally shattered.

But just as he was about to reach the guard Kiritsugu, a sudden change occurred!

Several black objects sliced ​​through the air and were precisely thrown from the shadows to Kenneth's head.

boom! boom! boom!
Accompanied by several muffled thuds, what exploded was not deadly shrapnel, but thick smoke enough to obscure all vision.

In the instant the smoke filled the air, a lithe falcon, entirely constructed of silver threads, silently swooped down from the sky, its sharp talons like hooks, aiming straight for the immobile Kiritsugu Emiya on the ground, clearly intending to take him away from this perilous place.

however……

Just as the silken falcon was about to touch Kiritsugu Emiya, the [Moon Spirit Marrow Liquid] flowing on the ground suddenly sprang up a mercury tentacle, striking the falcon's body with perfect precision.

As if possessing a life of its own, the mercury began to rapidly infiltrate and assimilate along the silk threads that made up the falcon.

The silk-thread falcon let out a silent cry of despair and struggled violently, but all in vain.

In just one second, the infection was complete.

The silver liquid metal filled and reconstructed along the veins of each thread, and finally, a lifelike new falcon made entirely of mercury appeared in mid-air.

It gracefully flapped its metal wings, and the resulting gust of wind instantly dispersed all the smoke.

Kenneth calmly extended his arm, and the mercury falcon obediently landed on his shoulder, its cold metallic eyes scanning the surroundings.

The remaining [Moon Spirit Essence] transformed into strong ropes, binding Kiritsugu Emiya, who had completely lost the ability to resist, tightly.

"Two ladies,"

Kenneth's voice carried clearly into the deep shadows of the forest.

"I think you wouldn't want Kiritsugu Emiya to die so meaninglessly, would you?"

As he spoke, two figures, one in black and one in white, finally emerged slowly from behind the tree where they were hiding.

It was none other than Kiritsugu Emiya's most loyal assistant, Maiya Hisau, and his one and only love in this life, Irisviel von Einzbern...

(End of this chapter)