A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

Chapter 230 Taking the Command Seals

Seeing the fleeting ruthlessness in Kenneth's eyes, Kotomine Risho finally sighed. After all, in this Holy Grail War, the Church, as the supervisor, and the Tohsaka family, as the host, were in the wrong. If it were a normal Holy Grail War, Kenneth would have lost, and even if he died, it would have been because he was inferior in skill. The Lord of the Summoning Department probably wouldn't have made things difficult for them.

But now, the Holy Grail War has taken an unexpected turn, and Kenneth has fallen victim to an unforeseen force. The nature of the situation is entirely different now. Offending a monarch, especially the monarch of the Summoning Department, is something they cannot afford to do. Therefore, seeing that he couldn't fool the other party, Kotomine Risatsu had no choice but to agree.

“Alright, I admit you are qualified.” After saying that, Kotomine Ryougi stood up, walked to Kenneth, pulled down the sleeve of his right hand to reveal the Command Seals engraved all over his forearm, and said, “Then, Lord Kenneth, please extend your hand.”

Seeing this, Kenneth finally smiled, raised his recently replaced prosthetic right hand, and Yan Fengli placed his hand on the back of Kenneth's hand, and began to chant:

"You all drink this."

"Because this is the blood I shed for many, the blood of my covenant."

"to forgive sins"

After the chant was finished, many of the Command Seals on Kotomine Risuke's arm lit up with a light. Then one of the seals began to dim, and when the arm was removed, a new Command Seal reappeared on the back of Kenneth's hand.

"Hehe... Hahaha!" Kenneth's laughter turned somewhat manic as he looked at the Command Seals that had been "lost and found." Kotomine Risa turned to the side, unable to bear looking directly at Kenneth's crazed expression, and said, "Then, please continue to fight for glory as your Master."

“Of course,” Kenneth replied briskly.

Upon hearing this, Kotomine Ryougi prepared to return to his own rest room.

"boom!"

He had only taken a few steps when a sudden burst of gunfire rang out. In an instant, Kotomine Risatsu felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body, and he collapsed onto the church floor. A sharp pain shot through his waist, and at that moment, Kotomine Risatsu knew exactly what had happened. Kenneth… he had gone mad. He had actually dared to kill the priest of the Holy Church, the overseer of the Holy Grail War.

Meanwhile, Kenneth gritted his teeth and spun his wheelchair, struggling to get out, muttering to himself, "I only have one Command Seal now, and the situation is dire. In this situation, I absolutely cannot let anyone else get a new Command Seal, especially that damned guy!"

"And you... Tokiomi Tohsaka, Risei Kotomine. If it weren't for your two incompetence, allowing such despicable people to disrupt this war, how could I have fallen to this state! And Kiritsugu Emiya... Dio... you all deserve to die... you all deserve to die!"

Kenneth's face was filled with resentment and malice; he was determined to undo everything. If he could win this Holy Grail War and obtain the Holy Grail, his magical circuits would be restored, his shame would be completely washed away, and he would reclaim all his glory!

"Really? Kenneth, it seems that the previous shot hasn't completely sobered you up yet."

However, at that moment, a familiar voice that Kenneth hated vehemently rang out from directly in front of them, and at the same time, a familiar figure slowly walked in through the main entrance of the church.

"Emiya Kiritsugu!!" Seeing that familiar face appear before him, Kenneth immediately pointed his gun at Emiya Kiritsugu, and at the same time, he prepared to use his Command Spell to forcibly summon Diarmuid.

Kenneth knew very well that even he, with his magic circuits, had stumbled in a ditch, let alone now that he was crippled. He was just resentful and somewhat regretful that the holy mark he had finally obtained was going to be wasted here.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, weren't you in that fortress in the sky? Why... why are you here!?" Kenneth questioned aloud, while secretly using a Command Spell to summon Diarmuid.

“I don’t need to explain to a dead man,” Kiritsugu Emiya said calmly.

"Dead? You're the one who's dead! Lancer is finished...!" Kenneth had just activated his Command Spell when a sharp pain shot through his neck, and then his consciousness went dark. He saw a short-haired woman appear behind him; it was she who had knocked him unconscious.

"Well done, Maiya." Kiritsugu Emiya never intended to fight Kenneth head-on from the beginning. He had just met up with Maiya not long ago, and after conducting some examinations to confirm that Maiya's body had not been tampered with by magic for the time being, he took Maiya with him to meet up with the mysterious person in the sewers.

The mysterious figure initially targeted the Holy Church, as he had intelligence that the Masters would be gathering there that evening. However, on the way, they unexpectedly spotted Kenneth alone, so the three of them secretly followed him. Upon arriving at the Holy Church, they overheard Kenneth and Risei Kotomine's conversation and discovered that the Masters had already headed to the Sky Fortress.

Just as the three were about to gather more information, an unexpected incident occurred: Kenneth suddenly shot and killed Kotomine Risei. However, Emiya Kiritsugu acted decisively, deciding to capture Kenneth alive. Thus, the current situation unfolded.

“Very good, this person is still alive.” At this moment, the mysterious figure suddenly appeared where Kotomine Ryou was lying. Emiya Kiritsugu frowned slightly and said, “Still alive? The Overseer is in cahoots with Tohsaka Tokiomi. Since he’s not dead, let’s send him to meet his master.”

“No, Kiritsugu Emiya, come here right now. This guy is of great value to you,” the mysterious man said.

Although Kiritsugu Emiya didn't know what use an old man who was about to die could have, he still came to the mysterious man.

"Hold out your hand, hurry up, it'll be too late if you wait any longer." At this moment, the mysterious man grabbed Kotomine Risei's right arm, which was covered with Command Seals, with one hand, and extended his other hand to Emiya Kiritsugu, gesturing for him to place his hand on his palm.

"Could it be..." Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly recalled the scene of Risei Kotomine giving Kenneth the Command Seals, and extended his hand to the mysterious figure. The mysterious figure pressed Kiritsugu Emiya's and Risei Kotomine's hands together and began to whisper and chant. However, the content of the chant seemed slightly different from Risei Kotomine's earlier chant. Soon, the Command Seals on Risei Kotomine's right arm emitted a bright light, and then all the Command Seals on his arm disappeared.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya stared in astonishment at the numerous Command Seals appearing on his arm. It was as if someone had suddenly been given an inexhaustible mountain of gold. With this, if he acquired just one more powerful Servant, victory in the Holy Grail War would be practically guaranteed.

"How do you feel now? Are you satisfied with my generous gift? This is the capital I have to help you obtain that powerful Servant." The mysterious figure said slowly, "It's not just that Caster who has the ability to steal Command Seals and Contracts. Therefore, I strongly support you killing Tokiomi Tohsaka. Only in this way can you obtain the strongest Servant in this Holy Grail War—Gilgamesh."

"I see. That saves us the trouble of persuading that arrogant King of Heroes." Kiritsugu Emiya nodded, but the apprehension in his eyes deepened. While he was pleased that his partner possessed such abilities to help him, this power ultimately belonged to someone else. Today, he could help him seize Command Seals, but who knew if he would later steal them back?

"It seems that we can only continue with our current actions, but we need to figure out a way to deal with this mysterious guy." The people Kiritsugu Emiya trusted most were himself, followed by Irisviel, Illya, and Maiya. After that, he almost never trusted anyone else.

"Now that the Command Seals have been taken, this guy is useless." Kiritsugu Emiya pulled out a submachine gun from his robes, preparing to kill Kotomine Risei completely to eliminate any future threats. He even planned to destroy Risei's brain to prevent any magus from discovering through his dying memories that he had stolen a large number of Command Seals, thus preparing a defense against him.

"Hmm, do as you please... get out of the way!" The mysterious man was about to let Kiritsugu Emiya attack Ryougi Kotomine, but suddenly, as if sensing something, he kicked Kiritsugu away. Then, several "whoosh" sounds were heard as several hidden blades pierced the floor where Kiritsugu Emiya was standing.

"This is... Hassan's hidden blade! Hassan, who was guarding this area, has noticed our movements. Let's go!" The mysterious man took a step back, and then countless hidden blades shot out from the shadows again, attacking the mysterious man, Kiritsugu Emiya, and even Maiya.

"Maiya, take Kenneth away. I'll cover your retreat! Time Control!" Kiritsugu Emiya immediately unleashed his specialized magic, accelerating his body to fire at the shadowy positions from which the hidden blades had just been aimed at him. As for the mysterious figure, he too vanished into the shadows, engaging the Hassans in close combat, producing a crisp, metallic clang.

Chapter 231 Kirei Kotomine's Trial

Under cover, Hisau Maiya quickly pushed Kenneth's wheelchair out of the Sanctuary Church. Shortly after Hisau Maiya left, Emiya Kiritsugu and the mysterious figure also left. Several Hassans continued to chase after the three, and at that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows within the Sanctuary Church.

That person was none other than Kirei Kotomine, who had been teleported to the ground. He had witnessed everything that had just happened. As expected, things had unfolded exactly as his master had predicted, except for one slight difference: the mysterious Assassin Servant had managed to steal the Command Seals, giving them to Kiritsugu Emiya instead of Kirei himself.

“These slight differences could very well be detrimental to your plans, sir. I must report this to you immediately. However… I should complete the trial you have given me first.” Kirei Kotomine slowly walked up to his father, Risei Kotomine.

"Kirei...Kirei..." Seemingly sensing a familiar presence approaching, Kotomine Risei, coughing up blood, tried to raise his hand to touch his son, whom he had always regarded as a saint and a source of honor, but he couldn't do it at all. Even the Command Seals that should have been passed down had been ruthlessly taken away. This old man was about to return to the Lord's embrace with his regrets in the last moments of his life.

"What exactly is this feeling in my heart? Seeing my father die, pain? Regret? It seems so, but it's also different from what I believe. What exactly is this trial that the adults were talking about?" Kirei Kotomine squatted down and quietly watched his father, Risei Kotomine, die, doing nothing, like an artist appraising the value of a work of art.

Then, an emotion welled up within Kirei Kotomine, an emotion he knew all too well—joy, the kind of joy that adults had taught him. Even the arrogant Gilgamesh, intentionally or unintentionally, would subtly remind him to discover the joy within himself.

Yes, Kirei Kotomine had long known that he enjoyed relishing the suffering of others, deriving pleasure from their misfortune, pain, and despair. And now, witnessing his father's death, especially a death tinged with regret, the bittersweet feeling almost made him laugh out loud. But…

But why? Why does this emptiness linger behind the joy? It's as if this pleasure, like duckweed, hasn't taken root in my heart or soul, ready to vanish at any moment. Is it because… it wasn't enough? The death of my dearest loved one—wasn't that enough? What level of desperation would satisfy my inner elation? And… why do I still feel a trace of pain and regret?

Suddenly, Kirei Kotomine remembered the question Wang Chong had once asked him: "Is it because you didn't experience your wife's death?"

Yes, my father was murdered, and my wife committed suicide. Their deaths were of their own making, and had nothing to do with me. But what if… I had personally caused all of this?

Suddenly, Kirei Kotomine's body trembled violently, and his pupils began to well up with tears. He was like a desperate survivor in the desert, desperately searching for water. Now he saw it, he saw that oasis, and overwhelmed with excitement and emotion, he couldn't help but shed tears. The tears even dripped onto Risei Kotomine's face.

“Keeley…is Kidley crying? That’s wonderful…I thought I’d never see Kidley, who is so emotionally deprived, cry. If my death can bring back Kidley’s feelings, then I’ll be content. Lord, is this your final comfort to me? Thank you…”

As Kirei Kotomine lay dying, feeling the tears falling onto his face, he felt a sense of relief. The Holy Grail War, reaching the Root, and all regrets were unimportant. The Lord had already bestowed upon him the greatest gift before his death, and that was enough.

However, Kotomine Risei would probably never have imagined that Kotomine Kirei's tears weren't from pain, but rather... excitement. This is perhaps the most ironic thing of all.

It was at this moment that Kirei Kotomine made his move. Even though his father was about to die, he wanted to participate; he wanted to strangle his father with his own hands before he died. He saw it too, he saw his father's sudden smile of relief. Ah, Father, you must still believe that your son is that ascetic saint, right? Then, when I destroy all of this with my own hands, what kind of despair will flow from your eyes, bringing me joy, bringing me pleasure?

Then, Kirei Kotomine abruptly stopped. Because in her heart, there was still one question unanswered: the trial that Lord Wang Chong had given her.

Is this my trial? To kill my own father with my own hands? If it were that simple, Lord Wang Chong would have only needed to give the order. I would have gladly agreed and ultimately put my father to death. So why make it so complicated, and why make me witness my father being killed by Kenneth first?

At that moment, he remembered a sentence that Lord Wang Chong had specifically reminded him of earlier that day. It was also the sentence he had spoken when they first met and he ate his favorite Mapo Tofu: "Kiri, there is one thing I must make clear: you may enjoy the misfortunes, pain, and despair of others, but you must not pursue them."

"Never forget your original aspirations, your soul."

"Don't become... a slave to pleasure."

In an instant, Kirei Kotomine suddenly understood. It was like a traveler who thought he had found an oasis in the desert, only to discover with the help of a guide that it was just a mirage built in the air. And that guide was about to lead him out of this desolate desert to a truly blissful oasis.

"So that's how it is... So that's what this trial is all about... So that's the real reason why the master reprimanded me today. Have I been chasing after that false happiness for so long without even realizing it? No wonder this pleasure feels so empty... This is not the true happiness I'm pursuing at all."

Kirei Kotomine clenched his hands, then, as if he understood something, he mobilized the black mist power that Lord Wang Chong had personally given him, and then directly sprinkled it on the dying Kirei Kotomine.

"The suffering of others is just dessert; it can never truly fill me, it will only make me their slave. I, Kirei Kotomine, am the one who will follow you, the true god, and ascend to heaven with you, to the land of true happiness."

"Awaken, my father, in the name of God I awaken you! From this day forward, you will be a member of my lord's ranks! Hahahaha!" Kirei Kotomine understood, he understood everything, and at this moment the power of the black mist on his body suddenly increased, filling his body with power. He knew that all of this was a blessing from passing the trial of the master!

……

"Ding—Congratulations, host! Your villainous underling, Kirei Kotomine, has successfully brainwashed his father, Rimasa Kotomine, using the black mist, making him a member of your faction. Reward: 150 points. Your current villain points are 9350." The system notification appeared.

"Hmm? It wasn't for nothing that I trained him so hard, Kirei Kotomine. Your final choice did not disappoint me. After all, if you had truly degenerated into the original character who only knew how to kill, inflict pain on others, and pursue pleasure, even with 100% loyalty, it would have been difficult for me to keep you by my side."

After learning this information, Wang Chong simply smiled. If Kirei Kotomine's side was successfully resolved, it meant that Kiritsugu Emiya's side was also proceeding smoothly according to his plan.

"Now, only this princess remains. Once I deal with Bai Ji, I can return to the Hanging Gardens and completely set everything up. I can complete my elaborate deception, and then everything will be over." Wang Chong thought to himself, and unconsciously threw another punch at Arcueid beneath him.

"boom!"

"Have you... had enough?"

"!?"

Chapter 232 Oh no, someone's trying to steal Jotaro's script!

"Have you... had enough?"

The sound came from beneath him, and at the same time, an arm that should have been a bloody mess, torn to pieces, grabbed Wang Chong's right arm, which was about to strike again. It held on firmly, without allowing Wang Chong's arm to break free or budge.

Wang Chong's expression turned slightly cold. He sensed that Arcueid's strength beneath him... had actually increased again? Why was that? His own strength hadn't increased, so why was Arcueid's strength rising?

Before Wang Chong could think any further, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen, and he was instantly sent flying. Looking at his pierced abdomen, Wang Chong knew that with his current physique, recovery wouldn't be difficult, but this was the first time he had ever suffered such a serious injury.

Before he could think further, a figure appeared in front of Wang Chong like a ghost, followed by a bloody claw reaching for him.

"Smash—Valudo!"

Without hesitation, Wang Chong activated Time Stop. The Stand World once again displayed its golden filter effect, freezing time across the entire world. Afterward, Wang Chong exhaled and looked at the figure before him.

All the bones had been restored, but the flesh on the bones was still twisted and broken, making it look rather terrifying. However, that fierce, crazed, and incredibly excited look left a deep impression on Wang Chong.

"Truly worthy of being the princess of the True Ancestor Clan, the true representative of the planet's will. This strength is truly inconceivable. No wonder we can only deal with her by using some countermeasures."

Wang Chong recalled how Roya dealt with Arcueid in the story. First, he took advantage of Arcueid's weakened origin after being split by Tohno Shiki 17. Then, he used some mechanisms and connections between the Dead Apostles and the True Ancestors to successfully usurp Arcueid's origin, completely weakening Arcueid and rendering her planetary support ineffective.

All I can say is that if Arcueid's power isn't banned, it will continue to grow stronger in ways it can't even imagine.

“As long as Time Stop exists, I can remain invincible… But then, I’m afraid I’ll be stuck here tonight? Tsk, this is really troublesome. Is this your biggest trump card? The Suppression Force.” Wang Chong’s gaze grew colder and colder. Without hesitation, he was determined to defeat Arcueid once again in Time Stop’s home turf.

"Muda muda muda muda!" Wang Chong smashed all the bones again, and then made time flow again.

"Bang!" Arcueid's figure was once again blasted back into the mountainside, just like before. Wang Chong didn't dare to be careless either, and instantly arrived at the spot where Arcueid had fallen. But as soon as he arrived, he found that Arcueid was nowhere to be seen in the crater.

"How is this possible?!" The moment this thought crossed his mind, his spider senses went off with alarms, and the danger of death loomed.

"Za Warudo!" Wang Chong trusted his intuition and immediately activated his Stand ability, instantly unleashing the golden filter once again from the Stand world. Just then, Wang Chong felt a slight pain in the back of his head.

"Ha...ha..." Wang Chong immediately took a step forward, covered the back of his head, panting heavily, and turned around to look behind him. He saw Arcueid appear behind him like a ferocious demon, the blood on his index finger coming from the hole he had just been pierced.

Almost, just a hair's breadth away, Arcueid pierced the back of Wang Chong's head. However, it's highly likely that Bard's blessing granted him invulnerability.

"What on earth is going on?" Wang Chong looked at Arcueid, the one who attacked him. He had just shattered Arcueid's bones during the time stop, but why was Arcueid recovering so quickly this time? Not only were his bones completely restored, but his body was even in better condition than before.

"With this speed... it's become even stronger. What's going on? I only used the power of time stop, so why has Arcueid's power increased again? Could it be that... although Arcueid cannot perceive the attack of time stop, it is misjudged as an extremely powerful attack, and thus Arcueid's limit is increasing wildly?"

Wang Chong quickly discovered this only reasonable explanation, and now he was somewhat hesitant to continue using time-stop to attack Arcueid.

"By the way, System. System, do you know what's going on right now?" When in doubt, ask the system. Since you're unsure of the reason, why not ask the system for the cause?

"Host, just as you guessed, although Arcueid cannot sense the power of time stopping, the damage she suffered is real. Almost the smallest unit of time could shatter her bones. Since she survived such an attack, Arcueid's mechanism will naturally raise the upper limit to this level of attack. As a result, the strength of her bones, her recovery ability, and even her combat power will be significantly improved."

The system spoke.

"Damn it, are you kidding me? I originally thought it was just that I couldn't kill it, but now it's become that I can't even fight it. How come in other timelines, when Tohno Shiki cuts Arcueid, Arcueid becomes weak, but in my case, it's that the more I fight, the stronger it gets?" Wang Chong clicked his tongue and said with dissatisfaction.

"Host, that's because Tohno Shiki truly killed Arcueid once, which caused Arcueid's weakness. Although it appears to have been cut into 17 pieces, rather than destroying the body itself, he killed Arcueid by cutting the death line first, thus preventing the light body phenomenon from occurring. Conversely, you, host, do not possess such a rule-based method of immediate death and cannot kill your opponent before destroying their body," the system explained.

"What if I kill Arcueid in time stop?" Wang Chong asked, frowning.

"No, host. Destroying the physical body doesn't mean killing the True Ancestor. Destroying the physical body is only the first step in eliminating the True Ancestor. As the True Ancestor yourself, you should know this clearly. If you wanted to kill the True Ancestor royal family through normal means, you would have to directly confront the changes in the light body. Only by destroying the light body can you truly kill the True Ancestor royal family once," the system explained.

"Therefore, although the host has the means to stop time, if the means are only conventional, it is inevitable to cause the phenomenon of light bodies."

"Tsk, is running away the only option? No, I still have the power of ruin. There's no other way but to use the power of ruin to forcibly brainwash him now." Wang Chong planned to combine the power of ruin with time stop to see if he could forcibly control Arcueid.

"You absolutely mustn't, host! Don't forget, Arcueid is the body and agent chosen by someone. With your current strength, even if you used up all the ruined power in the Holy Grail, you wouldn't be able to completely brainwash Arcueid. In fact, it might even cause Earth Princess to descend prematurely. At that time, you'll be facing Arcueid giving 100% effort," the system quickly warned.

"This won't work, that won't work, so am I only supposed to use time stop to escape? Rely on escaping and time stop to buy time?" Wang Chong rubbed his temples. At this moment, he had to admit that he had underestimated Arcueid. Was it because he had been too arrogant due to everything going smoothly before?

"I'm afraid that won't work either, host..." the system said helplessly.

"What? We can't even escape now?" Wang Chong exclaimed angrily.

"Yes, I don't recommend that you continue using the power of time stop. Admittedly, time stop is an inaccessible realm for most Servants and even humans. Even Arcueid is no exception. But time stop doesn't mean that the planetary will can't understand it; after all, this is a means and power that even a god-level deity can use. Therefore, if you use time stop frequently, I'm afraid... you'll have to face your own Jotaro." The system made a rare, humorous joke, but it wasn't a very funny one.

"Damn it!" So I really am following Dio's script? It turns out that even when I use Time Stop, Arcueid continuously gets stronger, allowing her to move within the Time Stop's range as well. What's the point of fighting then? I have absolutely no advantage.

"Therefore, host, based on my advice, you cannot use too many support abilities now, otherwise the increased power that Arcueid unlocks will be all-encompassing, and you simply won't be able to withstand it. You can't use time stop, and you can't even use invincible invincibility, as these will mindlessly and rapidly increase Arcueid's limit," the system said.

"Hiss..." This really made Wang Chong gasp, and he seemed to feel Arcueid's body starting to tremble slightly from the prolonged time stop. The system wasn't lying; if the time stop continued, Arcueid would soon be using Jotaro's script to "sunbathe" (i.e., endure the effects of time stoppage).

Chapter 233 A Pair of Madness and Loneliness

"Then am I doomed? Ha, the Counter Force, what a fine Counter Force." Wang Chong couldn't help but sneer, his heart beginning to darken. Actually, he wasn't truly doomed. With the support of numerous powers, he could simply go completely insane, staging a massive cataclysmic event in the Type-Moon world to survive and accumulate villain points, and see if the Counter Force was more powerful, or if his power of destruction and villain points were more inexhaustible.

But in doing so, he would become no different from a demon, a monster driven to madness and ever-growing strength. This was not the outcome Wang Chong desired. If he truly intended this, he would have created disaster long ago. Although Wang Chong now acknowledged that he wasn't a good person, he hadn't completely lost his conscience. Well, he still had some, but not much.

"Host, there's no need to worry so much. We have a plan to resolve our current predicament," the system said at this moment.