Unlimited Ambition

While it's true that it would be better for Sora to fight in my place since I've lost my fighting ability, how could a weak woman like Sora possibly win against such a fierce competitor?! Even someone like me, hailed as a prodigy throughout the Clock Tower, suffered such a great loss due to carelessness—if Sora were to participate in the battle, she would definitely be killed.

Thinking this to himself, Kenes refused, saying, "No, no, I can't give you the Command Seals—"

"What? I'm the woman who's going to marry into your family. Don't you trust me?" Sora said with dissatisfaction.

“No, that’s not it—it’s, well—it’s Lancer, that guy is very suspicious!” Kenneth quickly found a reason for himself: “Do you think Lancer would take your orders?”

“Why not?” Sora said confidently. “He’s fighting for the Holy Grail, isn’t he? As long as he’s bound by Command Seals, he probably won’t care about pledging allegiance to me.”

As he said this, a burning light shone in Sora's eyes.

“No—that’s not right!” Caines exclaimed. “I once asked him what his wish would be after obtaining the Holy Grail. He said he had absolutely no need for it—how could that be? He must be plotting something in secret—but whatever his plan may be, as long as I still have the Command Seals, I have nothing to worry about—”

Kenneth was still arguing incessantly to his fiancée, and he was even starting to convince himself of his own reasoning.

However, his fiancée, Sora, seemed impatient. She simply and gently raised one of his hands.

"You don't seem to quite understand your current situation, Kenneth."

Sora said to her fiancé, "I can't forcibly take away your Command Seals—otherwise, do you think I would still be wasting my breath talking to you?"

Then, very gently, Sora lifted Kenes's hand up to a height where Kenes could see it—and then, fiercely and mercilessly, slowly broke off one of Kenes's fingers.

"Ahhhhh?!"

He felt no pain at all—but it was precisely because he couldn't feel pain that he felt terrified. That sense of powerlessness, and the pain of being betrayed by the woman he loved, caused Kenes to let out a tiny, mournful howl from his throat.

"So, Kenes, are you willingly giving me your Command Seals, or do you want me to cut off your hand?"

Sora asked this question.

The answer is, of course, yes.

"See? You know what to do now." I said to Diarmuid, then snapped my fingers and vanished—while Diarmuid regained his mobility at the same time.

"You bitch!"

Immediately afterward, Diarmuid charged forward, his spear aimed directly at Sora's chest. The spear thrust was a one-way kill; it was a deadly move.

"Don't kill her!!!"

Seeing the situation rapidly deteriorate, Kenes roared in panic, "In the name of the Command Seals—"

However, at this moment, the transfer spell began to take effect, thus nullifying Kenes's command.

Sora was pierced in the chest by Diarmuid. The so-called "Yellow Rose" was so deadly that the wound was irreparable. Sora died just like that.

"How—how could this be?! Aa ...

Seeing his beloved woman die right before his eyes, the series of blows caused Kenes to suffer a mental breakdown and go insane.

"Master, Master?!"

Although the other party no longer possessed Command Seals, Diarmuid remained loyal to Caenes because he had sworn to serve him as his lord.

It feels like I acted impulsively and did something irreversible—

Seeing his master so sad, Diarmuid's heart pounded.

"—Die! You cursed bastard!!!"

Then, Caines shouted this at Diarmuid. However, because the Command Seal's casting was interrupted halfway through, the Command Seal returned to Caines's hands—the Command Seal's power is absolute—and thus, Diarmuid was once again killed by his lord.

Chapter Nineteen: The Swordsman Group Destroyed

On this day, Irisviel felt very unwell—not because of her monthly period, but because the part of her body that served as the Holy Grail began to function.

A group of heroic spirits had already perished in battle. Meanwhile, the Church of Sanctuary found the already cold bodies of the Kenes in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.

The genius of the Clock Tower, the star that everyone admired, fell silently from grace.

Kiritsugu Emiya found it somewhat difficult to accept. The feeling that the situation was spiraling out of control was incredibly unsettling. He also began to question whether they could even win this Holy Grail War.

And that heroic spirit, the so-called Knight King Astrea.

This is such a hassle, a real pain. I should never have recruited this guy as my Heroic Spirit.

Kiritsugu Emiya felt quite frustrated. So, even though he had abstained from cigarettes for a long time, he decided to have one just the other night.

So as not to disturb his wife and assistant, Kiritsugu went into the corridor, leaned against the wall, and lit a cigarette.

"Hey, Kiritsugu, having a smoke?"

After that, I came over, wearing a full yukata and playing with a water balloon, and greeted him.

"Ugh—cough cough cough cough—"

Then, in extreme surprise, I choked on a mouthful of smoke and almost died from it.

"You—you—how could you—"

However, after the initial panic, the child quickly calmed down—then pulled out a submachine gun, pulled the safety, and fired a burst.

"Well, they're being overly enthusiastic." I scoffed, and then the bullets seemed to be blocked by an invisible shield. They all fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Damn it—"

When one attack failed, the next move came. Kiritsugu Emiya snorted coldly, quickly drew his ceremonial pistol, loaded the bone powder firearm bullets known as the ones that could break all laws, and then pulled the trigger without hesitation.

So, you see—

The barrel exploded.

It was as if an invisible giant's hand had gripped the barrel of the matchlock musket; the next moment, the barrel was twisted into a pretzel shape, and the bullet exploded inside the chamber. The weapon that had been with Kiritsugu Emiya for decades was thus rendered useless.

"Can't you calm down a little?"

I frowned, then said, "Let's talk briefly. I mean absolutely no harm."

Although he didn't entirely believe me, Kiritsugu Emiya knew that if I wanted to kill him, it would be a matter of minutes—even if I used a Command Spell to summon King Arthur right now, it wouldn't stop me at all.

"What exactly is your intention, Your Excellency?"

"Before that, shouldn't we first provide a living room and a cup of coffee? — Oh, and extra sugar and extra milk, I like it sweet."

Emiya Kiritsugu was slightly speechless, perhaps because he had never seen such a shameless request before.

“Speak, Kiritsugu-kun.”

"……plz follow me."

"What happened—ah!?"

At that moment, Irisviel, who had followed the sound of gunfire, also witnessed this scene. As a participant in the battle at the docks a few days prior, the awe-inspiring sight of that silver-gray figure displaying such power, simultaneously suppressing several Heroic Spirits, was not something easily forgotten—yet she never expected that I would sneak in so silently. This filled Irisviel, who was monitoring the entire courtyard, with both shame and utter terror.

If the other party were truly hostile, we would probably have died several times over by now.

Irisviel thought so.

On this point, the couple understood perfectly. After exchanging a glance, they tacitly concluded: this guy probably didn't come here to fight.

However, it wasn't just Kiritsugu Emiya and his wife there—the legendary King of Knights, who had also rushed over upon hearing the commotion, let out a loud shout and burst out from a nearby bush—I mean, a corner of the wall—and raised the sword of victory and oath, shouting, "Demacia!"

"Well, such a sneak attack goes against the code of chivalry."

While it's debatable whether the Knight King's sudden appearance was a sneak attack or a surprise attack, the final result was undeniably a failure. I merely extended two fingers, and the sword of victory and oath was blocked. Just like Iskandar a few days ago, no matter how hard Astraea tried, she couldn't advance an inch further…

Damn it!

"—You bastard!"

Seeing that so many years had passed and Astria was still so unprogressed, I also got so angry. Then, Astria felt an irresistible force attack her, snatching the Sword of Victory and Oath from her hand. After that, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, a spasmodic pain that was completely uncontrollable and unbearable.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"...Wow, that's amazing."

Seeing that I had defeated the legendary King of Knights with a single move, Kiritsugu Emiya and his wife were speechless.

Half an hour later.

"So...you're planning to rent a house from us?"

Seeing the man in front of him lounging with his legs crossed, leisurely sipping coffee brewed by his wife, Kiritsugu Emiya thought he might have misheard. So he asked again.

"That's right. Don't worry, the rent is negotiable—and speaking of which, you're the one who blew up the hotel I was staying at. You should at least take some responsibility."

Looking at the reproachful look his wife gave him, Kiritsugu Emiya sighed inwardly. These important figures really are all mentally unstable… one after another, they're all like that.

"But--"

"—Let's consider this an alliance. How about it?"

With a single sentence, I refuted Kiritsugu Emiya's excuses.

"And you can see it too, right? In this Holy Grail War, with your mediocre skills, you have absolutely no chance of winning."

"……But……"

"You mean, the legendary Holy Grail can only grant the wish of one group of people, is that a trivial matter?"

"That's right, so no matter what, you and I will eventually have a battle..."

At this point, Kiritsugu Emiya couldn't continue. War? What war? There was absolutely no way they could win. And judging by the enemy's methods, it wasn't war, it was torture and slaughter.

"So—have you ever thought about changing to a different Heroic Spirit?"

"--What did you say?"

"That King Arthur—he's stupid, dumb, and useless, and he's completely incompatible with you, Kiritsugu—"

"—What did you say?! You heretic, you demon— Waaah—"

Immediately afterward, Astraea, whose stomach I had stomped on again, let out a groan and fainted once more.

"Please state your meaning clearly."

"The power of the Holy Grail... It's said to be able to summon legendary figures from various historical eras as Heroic Spirits... Kiritsugu-kun, could you give a brief assessment? Do you think I could be considered a legendary figure in history?"

Kiritsugu Emiya shuddered, immediately understanding my thoughts: "But... but is this really okay?"

"Well, should I tell you that I won the first and second Holy Grail Wars as a Heroic Spirit?"

Is that really the case?

“Of course—I mean, of course it’s true.” I laughed, giving him an expression that said, “I wouldn’t stoop to lying to you.” Then I said, “The two guys who worked with me back then both ended up quite well. One amassed a fortune and became a world-renowned tycoon. The other conquered a vast territory and became a king revered by all… So, Kiritsugu, think about it for a moment.”