I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

Even more unbelievable is that this amateur magician actually moved in as a live-in son-in-law (a son-in-law who marries into his wife's family)...

Actually, it's not that Kiritsugu Emiya had a powerful backing or that he achieved great things as a magician.

In fact, the Einzbern family, with its long-standing tradition, wouldn't even consider the tiny bit of magic that Kiritsugu Emiya possessed a worthy opponent.

Kiritsugu Emiya gained the favor of the Einzbern family because of his nickname—'Magician Killer'.

That mad dog who would stop at nothing to take the lives of magicians, infamous throughout the magic world, a lunatic who would flock to any place in the world where there is war.

The Einzberns are a race that is not good at fighting. Their expertise in magic lies in alchemy, and they are particularly skilled in artificial human technology. It can be said that they are a group of scholars who do not know how to fight at all.

In fact, most magicians are like this, immersed in their own research field, living the monotonous life of tech geeks and research fanatics.

Among all magicians, the Einzbern family is the one that takes this 'gentle scholar' trait to the extreme.

According to the old view, a magician's future achievements are determined before birth.

The older the bloodline, the better the magic circuits that can be passed down to the descendants, and there are also magic imprints that each generation has spent their life's work to complete.

The so-called magic mark is a completed magic that has been preserved in a special way. It is a family legacy that can only be inherited by blood relatives.

It must be mentioned that the bloodline of magicians' families generally deteriorates after about five hundred years.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that a magical lineage like the Einzbern, which has been passed down for thousands of years, has reached the realm of gods and demons.

For this reason, the Einzbern family holds a very high position among magicians.

Once you have a grasp of the world of magicians, you can understand how incredibly shameful it was for the Einzbern family to recruit a rogue magician like Kiritsugu Emiya.

It's like marrying a stray dog ​​as a son-in-law.

In fact, the Einzbern family did indeed take in Kiritsugu Emiya as a hunting dog.

All this is to win the upcoming Fourth Holy Grail War, bring the Greater Grail of Fuyuki back to the clan, and realize the Third Law 'Soul Materialization'!

For them, obtaining the Holy Grail and completing the Third Law is the highest priority and the guiding principle above all else.

Let alone taking in one or two stray dogs, even if they were all turned into stray dogs, people would probably sit down and seriously consider the feasibility of it.

Who told them that their individual combat strength was so weak?

In previous Holy Grail Wars, I was always the unlucky guy who got crushed and beaten by the first opponent.

Compared to the humiliation of being able to see the Holy Grail but having no chance of obtaining it, the situation with Kiritsugu Emiya is not so unbearable.

At night, the old magician, the lord of Winter Castle, waited before the altar for Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel to arrive.

Yubstakuhaid von Einzbern, since succeeding to the position of the eighth patriarch, has generally been referred to as 'Ahad'.

This old man, with his white hair and beard, has lived for almost two centuries by continuously prolonging his life.

He was a staunch supporter of Justessa Rislesi von Einzbern, the previous leader of the Holy Grail War, and one of the many participants in the establishment of the Holy Grail War system, having witnessed the holding of three Holy Grail Wars.

Now, it is Ahad who is leading the Einzbern family, who have moved from the search for the Holy Grail to the Holy Grail War, and the relics he ordered to be found in Cornwall nine years ago have finally arrived.

When he received the package, Ahad was beaming with excitement, as if he had encountered a second spring in his life.

After Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel arrived on time, Ahad gestured to the long, black cabinet that was placed on the altar and bound in an exaggerated manner.

"Using this as a medium, we can definitely summon the strongest Servant as a Sword Spirit. If it weren't for the limitations of the Holy Grail War, even the legendary Holy Sword Wielder wouldn't be impossible to summon. Kiritsugu, just consider this the greatest aid the Einzbern family can offer you."

Upon hearing this, Kiritsugu Emiya, still maintaining his expressionless demeanor, nodded stiffly.

Ahad then turned his gaze to Irisviel, who stood respectfully beside Kiritsugu Emiya, and slowly asked:

"Irisviel, how is the equipment?"

Irisviel looked down at the ground and, upon hearing Ahad's question, replied:

"There are no problems at all; it functions perfectly even in Fuyuki."

The Wish Machine, the Omnipotent Cauldron, exists only as a spirit and has no physical form. Therefore, in order for it to descend as a physical form of the Holy Grail, a vessel of the Holy Grail must be prepared.

Therefore, the battle among the seven Servants for the Holy Grail can also be called a séance.

The task of preparing artificial Holy Grail vessels has been carried out by the Einzbern family for generations since the beginning of the Holy Grail War.

In this Fourth Holy Grail War, the task of preparing the equipment fell to Irisviel, so she had to go to Fuyuki City, Japan with Kiritsugu Emiya and stay on the front line of the battlefield at all times.

Old Man Ahad's eyes flashed with a frenzied intensity. He nodded solemnly, glanced up at the ceiling, and then let out a deep breath.

"This time, we must kill all six Servants and their Masters! This time, we must achieve the Third Magic—Soul Materialization!! We must fulfill the ultimate wish of the Einzberns, a wish that has lasted for thousands of years!!!"

"Yes!" X2

Although Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel both disapproved of Ahad's thousand-year-old obsession, they still responded.

The Einzbern family risked everything to obtain the Holy Grail, simply to gain definitive proof that their millennia-long quest had not been in vain, and simply to verify the existence of something definite.

However, for them, the purpose of summoning the Holy Grail was no longer a consideration.

"It doesn't matter. Just do as you wish, and let me help your clan achieve the Heaven's Cup that your clan has been pursuing." Kiritsugu Emiya thought to himself. "But it's not just that, because I will use the Omnipotent Cauldron to fulfill my long-cherished wish."

The seeds of rebellion were sown from the very beginning.

However, no one knew that in the end, this Holy Grail War, which involved a power struggle between several factions, had no winner.

Because the Holy Grail, the ultimate prize, had long been corrupted and degraded, losing its original meaning.

Chapter Two: Recruitment! Seven-day period! Job: Fighting!

After Ahad left, Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel opened the long, black cabinet and were immediately drawn to the contents inside.

It was a magnificent scabbard made entirely of gold, decorated with dazzling blue enamel, and engraved with long-lost fairy script. Despite the passage of a thousand years, it still showed no signs of decay.

This is the scabbard of the legendary sword wielded by King Arthur—Avalon!

It is said that this scabbard can heal the wearer simply by being worn, and can even freeze the body and stop aging, provided that its original owner provides the magic.

In other words, as long as you discuss it properly with the summoned Servant, the scabbard itself can be used as a Master's Noble Phantasm, which can greatly increase the survival rate, at least in the Holy Grail War.

After taking a deep look at the golden scabbard, Kiritsugu Emiya let out a slight breath and glanced at his wristwatch.

"Time is running out; it's time to summon the Servant."

It sounded like a grand ceremony, but the actual setup was extremely simple, as all Kiritsugu Emiya had prepared was a bucket of mercury.

On the floor in the center of the chapel, a strange magic circle was etched out with mercury.

It was a beautiful pattern of a six-pointed star within concentric circles, surrounded by several mysterious runes of unknown meaning.

"Is such a simple ceremony enough? Won't there be any problems?"

Irisviel stood aside, watching Kiritsugu Emiya's every move. She seemed somewhat surprised by the simplicity of the preparations.

"While we can't relax too much, summoning a Servant doesn't really require a particularly large-scale séance."

While checking whether the lines drawn with mercury were distorted or crooked, Kiritsugu Emiya gave an explanation to the extremely curious Irisviel.

"Because what truly summons Servants to the human world is the Holy Grail, while what we magicians need to give up is the magic power to keep the Servant in the human world and make them materialize to fight and kill."

Irisviel nodded knowingly, feeling the sacredness she once held for the ritual of summoning heroic spirits instantly shatter.

"So, magic arrays are merely a necessary formality?"

"That's right, it doesn't matter what material is used to draw it. Whether it's mercury or an expensive gem solution, it won't affect the summoning result. Even chicken blood will work the same way."

Kiritsugu Emiya squatted on the ground and examined the newly drawn magic circle for a moment. He was very satisfied with the result he had completed, so he stood up and placed the sword sheath, which was a sacred relic, in the center of the magic circle.

Meanwhile, in the basement of the Tohsaka family's residence in Fuyuki City, Japan.

Tokiomi Tohsaka was carefully inscribing a magic circle with a solution made of gemstones, while his good apprentice Kirei Kotomine stared intently at the holy relic placed in the center of the magic circle.

At first glance, it looks like a piece of cloth from a mummy, but it is actually said to be a fossil formed from the skin shed by the first snake that could shed its skin in the ancient times.

The thought of the Servants that might be summoned through this filled Kirei Kotomine with a sense of dread.

That is an absolutely terrifying existence. If Tokiomi Tohsaka has indeed summoned that Servant, then the outcome of this Holy Grail War will be a foregone conclusion.

Because this will be the strongest Servant, and even in previous Holy Grail Wars, few Servants could rival it.

Kirei Kotomine finally understood why Tokiomi Tohsaka was so confident, and also understood why his father, Risei Kotomine, who was the supervisor of the Holy Grail War, had been flirting with the head of the Tohsaka family so early on.

Oh no, it's collusion!

If it's a Servant, then probably none of them could win against the Heroic Spirit chosen by Tokiomi Tohsaka.

Possessing the original prototypes of almost all Noble Phantasms, she can choose the appropriate Noble Phantasm to fight based on the characteristics of each Servant, making her a terrifying Servant killer. (When Omniscient Star is activated)

That is Gilgamesh, the oldest hero-king in human history, an ancient king with two-thirds godhood and one-third human status!

However, the Tohsaka family seems to share a common genetic problem: they are cautious and meticulous in their work, but they always make unbelievable mistakes at extremely important moments.

Commonly known as a family heirloom that can drop the ball.

Because it is deeply ingrained in the genetic sequence, it seems impossible to correct it later in life.

So usually it was Kirei Kotomine who corrected him, but this time Kirei Kotomine did not correct Tokiomi Tohsaka's mistake, but watched with great interest from the side.

As is widely known, the Tohsaka family is famous for its magnificent gem magic, and gems acquire magical power after a long period of time.

Such gems are usually formed naturally and are quite precious, but the Tohsaka family has mastered the method of making such gems.

However, in order to win this Holy Grail War, Tokiomi Tohsaka took out all his treasured gems and melted them into a solution.

You should know that most magicians can use mercury to draw summoning circles, although there are also those who are so poor that they can't even afford mercury.

For example, right now in the park of Fuyuki Town's new capital, a short and weak magician is drawing a magic circle using fresh chicken blood.

He had practiced the program countless times beforehand, drawing four magic circles—disappearance, retreat, etc.—to form a summoning array.

"Absolutely no mistakes are allowed!"

The diminutive magician clenched his tiny fists to encourage himself, his expression unusually resolute.

Webber Velvet is a magician at the Clock Tower. Lacking a powerful family background, he has always been looked down upon by the magicians at the Clock Tower.

This time, he stole the relics of his mentor Kenneth, who was originally preparing to participate in the Holy Grail War, in order to win the Holy Grail War and prove his talent and value.

Waver wants to obtain the strongest Servant, and he already knows how great a Heroic Spirit his stolen relics will summon.

A dry, half-rotten piece of cloth, a corner of a cloak that once draped over the shoulders of a king.

Alexander the Great, the conqueror who annihilated the Archaeological Dynasty of Persia and established the world's first great empire, spanning from ancient Greece to northwestern India!

At this moment, incantations chanted in different places and for different targets sounded almost simultaneously, because this was the best time of day for summoning when magic was most active and abundant.