FATE: Target of Grand Master

Kirei Kotomine glanced at Julius, who had turned to stone, then looked at Xia Yan and said, "Originally, I was going to punish Julius, the one who initiated the illegal battle, but it seems there's no need for that anymore. As for you, although you were passively involved in the battle, a violation is a violation, and you must be punished."

"Hey, you fake priest! My musician was clearly acting in self-defense, why should he be punished!"

Before Xia Yan could even open his mouth to argue, Nero had already spoken up in defense of him.

"Fake, fake priest... No, I am a genuine priest, and my faith in the Lord is unwavering!"

Kirei Kotomine reacted unexpectedly to the way Nero was addressed, but he mainly emphasized his faith.

"Then dare you swear in the name of your Lord that your judgment just now was completely impartial and utterly just?"

Nero pressed his advantage, attempting to blackmail Kirei Kotomine with his faith.

"These are the rules of the Holy Grail War of the Moon. I'm just following the rules. If you feel it's unfair, you can file a complaint, but I don't know if there's a window for handling complaints."

Kirei Kotomine is also a seasoned veteran, skillfully avoiding the topic of the Lord with his rhetoric.

"cut."

Seeing that he hadn't gained any advantage, Nero pouted slightly in dissatisfaction.

"Then let me explain the verdict regarding this illegal battle. Julius, the Master on the Assassin side, was the one who initiated the war and bears the main responsibility. However, since he is already dead, there is no need to punish him further."

Kirei Kotomine paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Saber's Master, Xia Yan, was the one on the defensive in the battle. Although he retaliated in self-defense, he did violate the rules. However, given the extenuating circumstances, the punishment is to inform Xia Yan's next opponent of the true name and abilities of his Servant, Nero Claudius."

After hearing this, Xia Yan pondered in his heart that if the next opponent was a combination from the original FE work, then revealing Nero's information wouldn't be a big deal. It would simply mean that both sides were in an unlocked state. However, if the opponent was another Master, even without revealing any information, just by seeing each other's Servants, they would basically know everything about each other.

So, all things considered, this punishment doesn't seem to have much of an impact.

"By the way, your next opponent's name is Julius Berchisco Xavi."

"Um?"

Xia Yan was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"Father Kotomine, are you saying that although I'm supposed to be punished by revealing information about my next opponent's Servant, since I just defeated my next opponent, this punishment is essentially meaningless?"

"Hey, you can't say that. There will still be punishment, and it must be carried out, it's just that it won't cause you any actual loss."

Xia Yan understood Kirei Kotomine's meaning. After all, the other party was an AI with supervisory responsibilities, and the supervisory procedures had to be carried out to the end. However, Kirei Kotomine seemed to have enjoyed a good battle and satisfied his desire for pleasure, so he gave Xia Yan some appropriate care.

"Thanks."

Xia Yan never expected that one day he would express his gratitude to Kirei Kotomine.

"No need to thank me, I was just making a fair judgment. By the way, I have something else to tell you."

Xia Yan nodded, signaling Kirei Kotomine to continue.

"You should already know that this trial uses a one-on-one elimination format, divided into three stages: qualifying rounds, elimination rounds, and the final round, right?"

"Okay, I understand."

"Then let me tell you how many rounds there are in each of these three stages. There are three rounds in the qualifying stage, two rounds in the elimination stage, and one round in the final. Only those who make it to the final are eligible to leave. If you want to take the summoned Servant with you, you must win the final."

As expected, the elimination rate in this special trial will be extremely high.

According to Kirei Kotomine's information, passing this trial requires at least 5 rounds of one-on-one combat, which is 1 in 32, or 3.125%. The conditions for taking away a Servant are even more stringent, requiring 6 rounds of one-on-one combat, reducing the probability by half again to 1 in 64, or 1.5625%.

This is without even counting the Masters who haven't awakened yet. It seems that after this trial, even the major Master groups will suffer significant losses.

This might also be a form of indirect suppression by BB against the tightly knit Master groups.

"And this is for you."

Kirei Kotomine took out a key.

"This is the key to your room, which you can use for resting during this Holy Grail War. The room is located on the second floor. This Holy Grail War will be held every other day. Your first battle was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but since you defeated your opponent early, you will have an extra day to prepare and rest before the second round begins."

After Xia Yan took the key from his hand, Kirei Kotomine turned around and prepared to leave.

"By the way, the enemy for each round will appear at the BB slot machine in the lobby on the first floor. Remember to check it the morning after you defeat your opponent each round."

After delivering the necessary information, Kirei Kotomine walked alone in the direction that served as both the entrance and the exit.

"Can we trust what that dubious priest said?"

Nero clearly did not have a good impression of Kirei Kotomine.

"He is indeed the AI ​​supervising this Holy Grail War, so the credibility of this information is quite high. Moreover, this information is not particularly private; its authenticity can be easily determined with a simple verification. I don't think Kirei Kotomine would need to deceive us in such an obvious way."

"Hmm. I trust your judgment. Now, I have a suggestion."

Xia Yan looked at Nero and said, "Your Majesty, are you suggesting we go back to the resting room to recuperate?"

"Mmm."

Nero nodded, seemingly pleased that his Master had the same idea as him.

"I have to admit that after the battle just now, I'm not in the best condition. Fortunately, we have two days to rest, which should be enough for me to recover to my peak condition."

With Nero's words, Xia Yan was somewhat relieved of his worries about her condition.

"Let's go then."

Xia Yan prepared to leave the square with Nero as well.

"Please wait a moment, player."

Nero called out to Xia Yan, then walked alone to the statue of Julius and shattered it with a single sword strike.

"My friend, you cannot show the slightest mercy when dealing with enemies. Even if he has been petrified, there is still a way to break free. I made the mistake of being too merciful in my previous life, and you must not follow in my footsteps."

Although Nero's behavior was different from the image of him who always had a smile on his face, Xia Yan thought that it wasn't wrong to have such thoughts, considering that the Rose Emperor's life was full of intrigue and darkness.

Nero clapped his hands, as if he had just finished cleaning the room, and a smile returned to his face.

"You can go now."