In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

"Then let's begin."

"Your body obeys my command, your name will be bound to my covenant. If you follow the principles of the Holy Grail, then answer me, Gilgamesh."

Both sides agreed, and Kirei Kotomine then extended his palm, revealing the two Command Seals that he had just taken from Tokiomi Tohsaka.

"Similarly, I swear that your destiny will be infused with my blood. Kirei Kotomine, now you will be my new Master, so be grateful to me."

At that moment, Gilgamesh did not hesitate at all, and stretched out his palm to directly collide with Kirei Kotomine's Command Seal.

—Whoosh! !

A blinding red light suddenly flashed, and then powerful magic spread between the two of them. Gilgamesh completed his contract with Kirei Kotomine.

"Very well, the boring clowns have finally left the stage, and now it's my turn. Next, I will unleash my full power and wipe out every single one of those scoundrels who covet the Holy Grail! Kirei Kotomine, just watch."

"As a reward for your actions, once the matter is accomplished, I, the king, will mercifully bestow upon you the Holy Grail."

Sensing the completion of the new contract, Gilgamesh felt his body become incredibly full of magic. He spread his arms, embraced the sky above, and then laughed wildly.

"No objections, King of Heroes. Go ahead and cause a ruckus, let me experience more joy and continue to fill the void. For this, I am willing to become a clown to make you laugh."

The corrupt priest smiled.

The pleased king wore a mocking expression.

The connection between the two was brought infinitely closer at this moment.

Now that things have come to this, no one cares about Tokiomi Tohsaka, who lies in a pool of blood, probably long since consumed by the flames of betrayal, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

The war has begun.

……

Meanwhile, in the Tohsaka mansion, which is about to burn out and collapse in the flames.

Two figures, seemingly carrying something, hurriedly emerged from the raging inferno.

The jet-black Berserker carried Tokiomi Tohsaka as they ran relentlessly through the streets. Behind them, Kariya Matou noticed Tokiomi's faint, dying breath and kept slapping him across the face, trying to rouse the blood-loss-prone Tokiomi from his near-death state.

—Slap, slap, slap!

The crisp sound rang out continuously under the night sky, with more than a dozen slaps delivered in a row, to the point that Matou Kariya's palms were slightly sore.

However, this also managed to bring Tokiomi Tohsaka back to life from his shock. Perhaps it was a final burst of energy before death, but when Tokiomi Tohsaka opened his eyes and saw Kariya Matou appear in front of him, he thought it was a hallucination...

"It really is you... Kariya, I never thought I would meet you before I die..."

Even though he believed it was just an illusion, at the end of his life, Tokiomi Tohsaka used his last strength to tightly grasp Kariya Matou's hand, and then uttered his last words in a trembling voice.

“Be careful, Kirei… help me take care of… Gu, Aoi, Rin…”

His last words escaped his lips, and the last vestige of strength in his body turned into a pool of blood that spilled from the corner of his mouth. Tokiomi Tohsaka, in his final moments of lucidity, suddenly weakened again. Startled, Kariya Matou quickly slapped him again, hoping his previous tactic would have some effect. However, Kariya's slaps weren't Finn's life-giving water; they clearly couldn't forcibly pull the already dying Tokiomi back from the brink of death, and their effect was gradually fading.

"Damn it! Tokiomi Tohsaka, aren't you usually so arrogant? Aren't you always so stubborn? Get up now... What kind of logic is it to die so easily?!"

"If you die, what will happen to Aoi and Rin? How will they, a widow and her child, live? Didn't you say you'd give Aoi happiness? What are you doing now?! You should take care of your wife and daughter yourself! I came back to give you a good beating, and you just ran off like that! I won't allow this!!"

Looking at the dying Tokiomi Tohsaka before him, Kariya Matou felt a complex mix of emotions.

He was clearly his enemy, and he had ruined his life, making him a bastard he could never forgive.

But at this moment, seeing him about to die in front of him, Matou Kariya felt no joy at all, but rather endless sorrow and anger.

That damn bastard...

If I were to die like this, wouldn't I be unable to defeat him forever? How could I confront him face-to-face? How could I use my personality-correcting fist to correct his distorted beliefs?

Although she disliked this guy and sometimes cursed him to die, Matou Kariya couldn't feel happy at all when she thought about the scene of Sakura losing her father and Aoi losing her husband if Tokiomi Tohsaka died.

He didn't participate in the Holy Grail War to see Tokiomi Tohsaka die, but to personally teach him a lesson and to question him on Sakura's behalf...

If we just run away like this, what kind of talk is that?!

"Tokiomi Tohsaka, you bastard, you think you can die so easily? Not so easy!"

Fueled by burning rage, Matou Kariya and Berserker continued their frantic run through the streets with the dying man, but at their current speed, it was clearly too late to get Tokiomi Tohsaka to the hospital for emergency treatment.

So, in this critical moment, Matou Kariya anxiously looked around at the shops, trying to find a place where he could help.

"Huh? I've got it!!"

Finally, his anxious gaze abruptly stopped in front of a pet hospital.

"Berserker! We have to get there right now!"

He hurriedly shouted at Lancelot.

"—Arrrrrrrrrr!!"

Upon receiving the order, Lancelot smashed through the glass like a cannonball and rushed inside.

……

On the other side, at the Matou family's residence.

Seeing that he couldn't get through to Matou Kariya on the phone, Matou Zouken felt lost and confused.

"That brat, he didn't show up for the banquet we agreed on, where did he run off to?!"

Not long ago, he received a notification from Luo Wei that Matou Kariya had not taken Lancelot to the banquet, but had instead disappeared somewhere.

The thought that his useless offspring dared to openly disobey his orders at such a critical moment reignited Zouken Matou's anger.

He just spread his arms, ready to release his familiar to go out and bring that good-for-nothing back.

Suddenly, when he saw the news on TV about a fire caused by a gas explosion, he paused and then stopped completely.

Zouken Matou stared at the news on television with a strange expression, a bizarre possibility suddenly popping into his head.

'That brat Kariya, could he have taken advantage of the fact that no one was around and led Berserker to attack the Tohsaka residence?!'

Upon realizing this possibility, Zouken Matou's dry eyes suddenly widened.

※※※※※※※

……

……

P.S.: Updated 1W3, no holiday for New Year's Day.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Then, at the beginning of the month, while the double reward is still available, I'd like to ask readers for another round of monthly votes. Thank you.

To maintain the top spot on the new book charts, we will continue to add more chapters.

Thank you, and I wish everyone a prosperous and auspicious new year.

Chapter Sixty-Five: You Are Guilty (8 words)

The Holy Grail War—what an interesting name! Its essence is not some kind of magical ritual at all; it's a war filled with desire and conflict.

Here, any dirty and underhanded means are permitted, and any deceit and treachery seem perfectly reasonable. Contestants can use any means necessary, and that's precisely why it's touted as a dirty 'war,' rather than... a battle or something like that.

If there were any who initially underestimated the enemy or harbored wishful thinking in this inevitable war, those negative attitudes have now vanished.

After all, any magician who has witnessed the earth-shattering power and personally felt the domineering spirit and untamed arrogance of the ancient heroes should put aside their frivolous thoughts and seriously face everything that may come next.

However, even in such chaotic warfare, order still existed, though it was not true order, but merely a facade in the name of justice.

There are ironclad rules in the Holy Grail War that no one is allowed to violate or break.

That is, the balance maintained between reality and mystery must never be broken, which is what the mystical world often refers to as the principle of concealment in the demonic path, and these things must never be discovered by ordinary people.

However, the Master and Servant in this Holy Grail War have undoubtedly trampled this important rule into the ground.

Aside from the port battle on the first night, which barely adhered to this rule, all other actions caused quite a stir. Whether it was bombing the most luxurious hotel in Fuyuki City or brazenly piloting a golden airship through the sky, these deeds, to some extent, violated this tacitly agreed-upon ironclad rule.

He recalled his old friend, Tokiomi Tohsaka, and the earnest promise he made when he sought his help before the war began.

He will absolutely do his best to keep the Holy Grail War to a minimum in scale and scope, so that the battles of the Heroic Spirits will not disturb the people of the present world.

But now it seems like this wasn't accomplished at all?!

For a moment, Kotomine Risei couldn't help but wonder if Tohsaka Tokiomi had lost his mind because of the imminent victory, or if he had forgotten the promise Tohsaka had made to him.

But after thinking about it carefully, he quickly put the idea out of his mind.

After all, the years of contact and friendship cannot be faked. In addition, his son is now assisting Tokiomi Tohsaka, and he will definitely remind him of this important matter. So he must be overthinking it.

However, when Kirei Kotomine was mentioned, Risei Kotomine couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"Sigh, still no news all day. I wonder how Kirei and Tokiomi are getting along these days?"

In the dark and empty church, Kotomine Ryougi looked at the vast, deserted church with a complex mix of emotions. At that moment, a very ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart. He looked at the sky outside the church and silently prayed to God for the well-being of his son and old friend.

Now that the Holy Grail War is nearing its end, he can't help but worry because neither his old friend nor his son, who should have been reporting to him on time, have sent any messages.

But then I thought about it again. Tokiomi Tohsaka has his son Kirei Kotomine by his side, and he also has two Servants, so there shouldn't be any problems.

The lack of a message today might be due to other matters. He simply needs to wait here for them to come and take the final trump card at the last moment. These items will help them win the Holy Grail War without any doubt.

As Kotomine Ryou reached out and gently stroked her right arm, which was covered with red curse marks. Dozens of bright red Command Seals remained on it.

No one expected that the precious curse marks, which the Masters regarded as their trump cards, actually numbered in the dozens in the hands of this elderly priest who had never shown himself. If anyone could obtain these things, they would probably be able to sweep through this war without any tactics, right? However, what surprised them even more was that the Church's representative, who always touted justice and was full of benevolence and morality, was actually blatantly blowing the whistle unfairly. Even the victory of the Holy Grail War was promised to someone before it even began.

"Ugh……"

After waiting a while, Kotomine Risa let out a long sigh. With the completion of his prayer, the unease he had felt subsided considerably. He was about to return to his room to rest. But the next moment…

—Creak!

As the door hinges creaked as they turned, starlight from outside shone in through the windows and streamed into the church through the open door.

Just as the starlight was illuminating him, Kotomine Ryouko instinctively shielded his eyes, then stepped back slightly to avoid the gaze of the bright moon outside the door, moving his already guilty body away from the pure white light. In the process, he seemed to vaguely see a slender figure with black, tousled hair slowly walking towards him in the cold moonlight.

Kotomine Ryougi narrowed his aged eyes.

Tokiomi Tohsaka?

Qili?

No, none of them. The other person's posture doesn't match up at all. It seems to be just a stranger visiting the church.

"I'm sorry, the church is closed so late. If you want to pray or confess, or if you need any help..."