How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

The two groups, who had just parted ways, each brought their teammates and saw each other again outside the motel.

"..."×4

What a coincidence, you live here too?

Chapter 295 The Justice of Twenty-Eight People

Police station, chief's office.

"Director, I've confirmed with my sister. She is the doctor in charge of the special isolation ward. The patient in there is a little girl, 10 years and 3 months old, named Kuangqiu Chun."

Bella, acting as the director's adjutant, answered a few times on her phone before hanging up and turning to Orlando with a blank expression.

"It is indeed as Frat Escaldes said; strange markings have appeared on Tsubaki Kaguya's hands, which should be the Command Seals bestowed upon her by the Holy Grail as her Master."

"So, she summoned the Servant while she was unconscious... is that what you mean?"

Orlando tapped thoughtfully on the surface of his desk.

"Yes, judging from the current situation, I think the Servant himself may be acting alone."

"...Where are the Kuicho couple? Shouldn't they be the couple participating in the Holy Grail War? Why is it their daughter instead? What does this have to do with them still living at home?"

The situation was constantly being sorted out and intelligence was constantly being collected, but new questions kept popping up one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Using police power to interfere in a hospital... doing so without knowing the true identity of the Servant summoned by the other party is no different from jumping directly into a trap!

Using massive magic to blast the entire ward away... No, that won't do!

Orlando dismissed his thoughts.

He formed an alliance with his twenty-eight monster subordinates, establishing a shackle on their shared stance of justice, so their righteousness must be guaranteed...

Even if it means sacrificing that girl, it must be done in a way that can be called just. If it cannot be said that there is no other way, he must first rule out that option.

what can we do about it……

……

It was close to midnight.

Apart from the central district, other parts of Xueyuan City are basically devoid of the bustling, sleepless city atmosphere.

Especially in the suburbs on the outskirts of the city, there are hardly any decent buildings in the area except for a motel.

The low-rise buildings cannot block the view of the high-rise buildings in the city center in the distance, and there are places to leave discarded materials everywhere.

The only motel was built on the side of a road with little traffic.

Compared to usual... even at dawn, the number of people and cars in this place seems excessively small.

Especially compared to the dazzling city center from this side, this place seems to exist in a completely different world, so quiet.

In this silent space where time seemed to stand still, nine figures dressed in simple suits suddenly emerged slowly from the darkness.

"The spell has been confirmed. There are no barriers around, no traces of magic being used, and no signs of unstable magical energy," one of them reported to the man standing in the center.

This is a group of magician mercenaries.

They divide the magicians' magic crests, and when it comes to battle, the 'king' who holds one half of the magic crest will, at the cost of greatly reducing the magic circuits and lifespan of his subordinates, use a special force to pull their abilities to the same level as his own.

Now, the 'king' stood in the center of his subordinates who held the remaining eight magic seals, somewhat puzzled by their report.

"...We haven't come to the wrong place, have we?"

Weren't they commissioned to seize the Master's authority and participate in the Holy Grail War in Snowfield City?

After arriving in Snowfield City, they spent nearly a day setting up an intelligence network throughout the city before finally finding the hiding place of one of the Masters—the motel in front of them.

It looks dilapidated, and there are no protective or alarm measures in place around it...

Is this really the base of magicians belonging to the modern magic department called "El-Melloi's Classroom," which is part of the "Clock Tower" magic cave, as mentioned in the intelligence?

Would a Master of the Holy Grail War act so leisurely without setting up any barriers or protection?

Shaking his head, the 'king', despite his doubts, immediately issued orders to his subordinates.

"First, confirm the target's correct location. Soldiers one through three, go to the second floor of the hotel to investigate. Soldiers four through six, investigate the first floor."

"Number Seven, Number Eight, and I will go and occupy the administrator's room. We will use hints to get the administrator to reveal information, and then we will deal with him. We will also deal with the witnesses in the same way. Do you understand?"

"I understand." ×9

"Okay—hmm?"

The 'king' was about to nod when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Did you get an extra voice reply to him?

The 'king' looked up in confusion and glanced around.

one two Three……

One 'king' and eight 'soldiers'...that's the correct number—wait!

Where the hell did this 'king' come from?!

The 'king' stared in horror at the other version of himself mixed in with his men... This was also the last image he ever saw.

The next second, his consciousness, like a desktop computer that had been unplugged, suddenly plunged into darkness.

Yudu stood not far away, watching as all the mercenaries fell down, leaving only a bewildered fake 'king' still standing there, unaware of what had happened. Then, he and the dark magic girl who had been summoned to replace her master and cast several hypnotic spells returned to the room while maintaining the illusion magic.

Let's leave the rest to Flat's Servants. Judging from Flat's reaction, they probably think these people are here to find them!

So who exactly sent these people to deliver the food?

Do you look down on the combat power of Servants so much?

Kozman Special Orthodontic Center.

Faldius: "Achoo!"

"Hmm... those idiots should have run into Flat by now, right?"

……

Perhaps it was because I had experienced so much and was so tired that day?

Ayaka Sajo slept from the early morning until the afternoon before waking up.

She woke up feeling numb after missing brunch, and the feeling of hunger only lasted for a short while after waking up before quickly disappearing.

Yudo left the Black Magician Girl behind at noon, went out to get some takeout, and the two of them ate to their hearts' content.

Of course, he also managed to get a portion of Ayaka Sajou's share from the Black Magic Girl by taking food from her mouth.

However, by the time she woke up, she was completely cold.

What good can you get from cold fried chicken?

However, despite her empty stomach, she ate it all while the black magician looked on with longing.

As for the dark magician, he returned at dawn.

According to him, the police chief seemed to have been preoccupied all night with figuring out how to deal with Tsubaki and her unknown servant, so he neither went to buy fried chicken for Caster nor had anyone else do so, and therefore Caster's hideout was not found.

It's possible that Caster isn't somewhere an ordinary person could go; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to call Orlando at all, he could have just ordered takeout.

Surely the chief of the Xueyuan City Police Department can't be so poor that he can't even afford to order fried chicken?

Chapter 296 Procedure? What procedure?

The police operation didn't begin until nightfall.

Even though he had once attacked the overseer of the Holy Church, Orlando still valued the secrecy of magic very much.

The operation was scheduled for the night when few people came to the hospital. He arranged for his police officers to block off the streets, and the twenty-eight monsters set up a barrier to repel people. Only after everything was ready did he bring Flat, who had come to meet him, into the scene.

It's just that he went to the church's stronghold during the day to look for that incredibly powerful priest but failed to find him; otherwise, they would all be standing on the rooftop platform of the church next to the hospital right now.

Furthermore, Orlando heard from several nuns in the church, who were suspected to be under the priest's command, that the priest had not returned since he went to investigate the unknown plague yesterday.

He reasonably suspected that the priest had probably already fallen to the hands of that unknown follower, and now the person... no, the body was probably somewhere in this hospital, probably already rotting away.

With a cold laugh, Orlando was just about to lead his team into the hospital with Flat, intending to deal with the group of Servants and their Masters and then look for the priest's body, when he suddenly noticed a considerable commotion on the road in front of the hospital.

"What happened?" he asked his adjutant Bella instinctively, while simultaneously enhancing his eyesight with magic and looking toward the center of the commotion.

The moment he looked over, he knew that his question had been somewhat unnecessary.

Because he saw it.

Not only did they see it, but they also got a clear view of the three-headed dog, which was the same size as a mature elephant and spewed out leaping, dark blue breath.

And the man standing on its back, holding a bow wrapped in strips of cloth, with a calm and composed demeanor.

……

You Du and his group did not join Orlando's expeditionary force with Flat, so they did not gather at the main entrance of the hospital, but instead chose the ping-pong platform on the roof of the church next door.

However, before he came up, he overheard the nuns telling Orlando that Hansa had not yet returned, which surprised him somewhat.

It's been a whole night, is that priest still lying dead in the ward?

Hasn't he already dealt with the Servant who pulls people into dreams?

Or was the priest in the hospital room with the child?

Orlando, as the police chief, also signed a righteous pact with the twenty-eight monsters, meaning he couldn't forcibly occupy the place without the consent of the Holy Church personnel, but Youdu is different.

Without asking any questions, he flew up with Ayaka Sajou and observed the situation at the hospital from this almost perfect vantage point.

Alcides, who rode out on a three-headed dog, naturally did not escape his eyes.

Ayaka Sajou looked at Alcides at the hospital and thought the Servant looked dangerous, with a worried expression, but Yuu Watari only felt excited.

As soon as he saw the great bow in Alcides' hand, he guessed that he was the servant who had shot an arrow at Gilgamesh from outside the city yesterday.

"They're here, they're here after all!" Yu Du raised an eyebrow, his face beaming as he continued to scan his surroundings, trying to see if there was anyone else besides Alcides.

"I knew someone would notice what the police station was doing! There might be other Masters' familiars watching the area around the police station all along!"

Ayaka Sajou, who hadn't quite understood what she was hearing, nodded. She watched as Alcides casually fired an arrow as a threat, blasting a small crater about ten meters wide into the asphalt and engulfing several people in the blast. She couldn't help but speak up.

"Saber, that Servant... are you alright?"

She knew, of course, that all harmful actions were prohibited during Yuwatari's Noble Phantasm duels, but seeing the power of Alcides' casual arrow, Ayaka Sajo was a little worried that Yuwatari might be seriously injured before he could even activate his Noble Phantasm...

Not to mention, judging from Yuto's appearance, it seems he plans to wait for a few more enemy Servants to appear... If there are too many people, in the midst of a chaotic battle, can he really guarantee that he won't be ambushed by other Servants before he can unleash his Noble Phantasm?

"Don't worry, Master—"

Yuuto was about to use his past achievements in the Holy Grail Wars to describe to Ayaka Sajou just how incredibly strong he was, but before he could even finish his sentence, he saw Alcides standing there, forcefully drawing his bow towards the ten-story-high hospital.

Oh wow, so they're not planning to go through the proper procedures and are going to just take care of the hospital and the target group together?

He could only swallow his unfinished words. Seeing this, Yuuto dared not expect Flat's servant and the police to take the arrow for him.

He was, after all, a guy who dared to shoot an arrow at Gilgamesh from more than ten kilometers away to provoke him. If you said he didn't have something real, Yudu would absolutely not believe it.

After all, if he weren't strong enough, this guy wouldn't be here now; he would have been taken care of by an enraged Gilgamesh yesterday.

So he quickly opened the extra deck box, pulled out a card, and threw it towards the hospital without even looking at it.

"Stop it, Hope!"

Moon Goddess Shield!

The card, which flew out like a dart, shone brightly in the darkness. A platinum-gold warrior, bringing hope, emerged from that light. As he spun around, the iron wings behind him transformed into a crescent moon, blocking his path and the arrow that had torn through the air.

clang!

The deafeningly loud crack echoed through the street, and many ordinary police officers couldn't help but cover their ears in pain.

They felt as if their eardrums were emitting a piercing, mournful sound for a moment...

The sound was so loud that one might worry whether such a thin shield, especially in mid-air, could actually block that arrow, which sounded incredibly powerful.

But their worries were unnecessary; the arrow was firmly blocked by the Moon Goddess's shield.

"Servant?"

Alcides looked at the platinum-colored warrior who had suddenly appeared and hovered in mid-air above the hospital, having just easily blocked his full-force arrow.