Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"You've already gone far away. You can't do this, kid. If you want to be my master, you should at least have the courage to stand up to the gods."

"It's normal to be scared, right? Facing that kind of—"

The word "monster" stuck in his throat, and Weber swallowed hard.

"In the end, didn't you also avoid war?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Weber regretted them.

From a rational perspective, Rider's approach of using rhetoric to avoid conflict is not wrong.

The opponent is a terrifying being capable of single-handedly defeating the Knight King and the Radiant One, and even a Heroic Spirit like Iskandar would find it extremely difficult to contend with him alone.

"Indeed, I initially had the idea of ​​avoiding war."

Unexpectedly, Iskandar nodded seriously at Webber's offhand remark.

"That's not something you can just go and try without any preparation."

“Rider......”

"But things are different now."

Iskandar patted Webber on the shoulder and grabbed the reins.

"Hold on tight."

"Huh? Wow—"

The bull leaped into the air, the chariot roared, and with Webber in tow, Iskandar took to the skies.

He will now thoroughly investigate information regarding the Third Holy Grail War.

He basically believed what Zheng Jing said.

Iskandar didn't think that a hero like Zheng Jing would be deceived on such information.

Iskandar is willing to give his all for a chance to pursue his dream again.

but......

If this is a complete hoax, the Conqueror King will simply show his anger.

"By the way, kid, what class do you think he is? It seems like the only ones left are Berserker and Caster."

"--I have no idea!"

Webber, who had finally managed to steady himself on the chariot, shouted in response.

Not only did he not know.

That night, almost all the Masters who participated in this Holy Grail War did not know the answer to this question.

The Masters who want to know the answer are, like Waver, facing some more pressing troubles.

For example, when he was trying to appease Gilgamesh.

For example, Kenneth, who was furiously yelling at Diarmuid.

For example, Emiya Kiritsugu, who is being glared at by the King of Knights.

such as--

Kirei Kotomine was directly confronted by Zheng Jing.

Are you really sure that the person outside will stop there?

In the church's prayer hall, the Assassin, shrouded in shadow, posed a question to his Master.

"It's shameful to admit, but we didn't even realize how that person discovered us... Discovering us is tantamount to realizing your father's dereliction of duty as a supervisor, and even..."

"It's alright."

Standing beneath the cross, Kirei Kotomine's empty eyes reflected the flickering candlelight.

His unwavering composure left Assassin somewhat impressed.

She asked her master why he didn't avoid it.

The Master answered, "Because I am not afraid."

Why aren't you afraid?

Is it because they were born without fear, or because they have traversed too many hellish situations to develop such composure?

Regardless, this time, even Hassan herself couldn't help but sincerely admire the Master she had chosen...

For a [Proxy], this is truly outstanding!

Chapter 101: Only Kill, No Saving

Even heretics would praise Kirei Kotomine as his proxy, so it's no wonder his father, Risei Kotomine, was so proud of him.

Unfortunately, Kotomine Risei didn't have the time to listen to the Assassin's heartfelt praise at that moment.

"This old man is Kotomine Risei, paying respects to... Your Excellency."

Standing in the cemetery, looking at Zheng Jing who was carrying a stick, the old man with a full head of white hair clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

In order to cultivate himself, he once traveled across the ocean and arrived at that vast land in the East.

There, he not only received much guidance and inspiration in his spiritual practice, but also learned a great deal about the local customs and culture.

Five years ago, he returned there to collect relics for Tokicho.

According to some innocent children, Rina Kotomine heard that during children's winter and summer vacations, popular TV dramas would be broadcast on television. Among them, there was one drama that was watched every year...

Even Kotomine Risei was fortunate enough to have watched a few episodes.

—But he never imagined that one day he would meet this person, whom he had only ever seen in books and on television, in this way!

Kotomine Risei, who had formed a deep friendship with the then head of the Tohsaka family during the Third Holy Grail War as a supervisor, knew that this person should absolutely not, and could not, appear in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki.

Can......

He wouldn't dare gamble.

Faced with this powerful figure who had just crushed Saber and Lancer to pieces at the mouth of the Mien River less than ten minutes ago, and then killed the Assassin clone who couldn't escape in time with a single blow, suppressing nearly half of the Servants with overwhelming strength, Kotomine Risei simply didn't dare to gamble!

Knowing that the fact that Assassin was still alive had been exposed, he originally wanted his son to take his servant and leave the church first, to temporarily avoid the sharp edge of this person who might come at any time.

But the other party arrived so quickly that he only had time to rush out and barely manage to meet them in the cemetery outside the church.

"May I ask what brings you here, Your Excellency?"

Seeing Yan Fengli's expression, Zheng Jing chuckled softly, his hands resting on his staff.

“Old man, I won’t make things difficult for you. Just tell your good-hearted but rebellious son to hand over his servants, and I, Old Zheng, will clean up this mess for you with one blow, so you can preserve your reputation in your later years.”

"...This old man is dull and does not understand what Your Excellency is saying."

Kotomine lowered his face and bent down even lower to Zheng Jing.

“My son was indeed chosen and became a Master, but his Servant, Assassin, was shot dead on the spot by a member of the Tohsaka family. Now that he has lost his Master status, he has come to my church seeking protection. Whether as a father or as the Overseer, I—”

"Ok?"

He grabbed Kotomine Risei's wrist and pulled him, causing the middle-aged man, who was still in good health, to stumble.

"Hmph, old man Li Zheng, I, Old Zheng, only gave you a slight hand because I took pity on your arduous cultivation. Do you really think my golden eyes are blind?!"

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, you..."

When Zheng Jing glared at him like that, even Kotomine Risei couldn't help but show a hint of panic.

"Let me let you know that my reputation as the intelligence chief Zheng Jing is not for nothing! You, Yan Fengli, have already failed to see the true nature of your rebellious son and have made the mistake of misjudging people. Now that you have become the supervisor, you have secretly aligned yourself with Shichen Laodeng before the war has even begun. What crime should you be punished for this? Hmm?"

Li Zheng was startled.

Although anyone who has witnessed Archer shooting down Assassin's clone at the Tohsaka residence might be able to connect him to Tokiomichi, the fact that he could say these things so decisively in such a short time makes it seem to Kotomine Risei that, rather than speculating, this person in front of him seems to have known about their plan all along!

"This—Your Excellency, you—"

"Enough with the nonsense, old man Li Zheng. Do you want to save face for yourself, or do I want to save face for you?"

Seeing that Zheng Jing was clearly determined to kill, Li Zheng steeled her heart and was about to try to use her authority as a supervisor to take a gamble when she heard the church door creak open not far behind her.

"Please release my father."

"Kiri?! You!"

Seeing that her son had actually come out like this, Li Zheng was truly flustered.

He knew that even if Kirei and Assassin wanted to leave, at this distance, they would probably be caught and killed by Zheng Jing as soon as they stepped out of the church.

Conversely, as long as Kirei and the Assassin are still in the church, he can try to do something with the Church's backing.

"Hey, you've got guts."

After releasing Kotomine Risei, Zheng Jing looked at the expressionless Kotomine Kirei and tapped his shoulder with his golden cudgel.

"Considering you still have some courage, do you have anything else to say?"

“You just said that my father failed to see through my true nature.”

Gazing at Zheng Jing, Kirei Kotomine's dark eyes seemed to glow slightly in the moonlight.

"What is my true nature in your opinion?"

"Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Please answer me before you take my life."

Zheng Jing scoffed.

—The next moment, the Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand suddenly extended and stabbed behind him!

"puff!"

A muffled thud.

A headless corpse lay on the ground.

A flower of flesh and blood blooms.

Behind Zheng Jing—no! All around Zheng Jing, figures wearing skull masks, some tall, some short, some fat, some thin, slowly occupied the dark corners of the cemetery.

The unlucky guy whose brain was just smashed by Zheng Jinggang was one of them.

"To be honest, my cultivation is still far from complete; I've only just begun, so..."

With a flick of his Ruyi Jingu Bang, Zheng Jing grinned and laughed out loud at the hundred ghosts walking in the night.

"This club is only for killing, not for saving."

This battle—

No, this doesn't even qualify as a "battle".

Kirei Kotomine's servant is Hassan-Sabbah.

To be precise, it was the nineteenth Hassan al-Sabah, the assassin leader known as the "Hundred Faces".

He possesses a Noble Phantasm called "Delusion Illusion," which allows him to split himself into dozens of independent individuals with different abilities and personalities. At first glance, it seems to be a Noble Phantasm that can instantly give him a numerical advantage.

But in reality, because it separates itself, the upper limit is fixed from the beginning.

The more it splits, the weaker each individual becomes.

Of course, if the Master is the target of assassination, even an individual created by splitting the Master to the extreme can still pose a sufficient threat to the Master who is human.

However, if the target is a Servant, the effect will be very limited.

Not to mention, at this very moment, Bai Mao Hassan has no choice but to face Zheng Jing.

This can undoubtedly be described as a massacre.

The sacred church, now, resembles some demonic lair, breached by that magical staff—

Wielding it, a whole host of demons and monsters will perish!

Sweep away a horde of demons and monsters!

--"call."

In the blink of an eye, the staff that had wiped out the demons, enveloped in a foul stench, suddenly stopped right above Kirei Kotomine's nose.

Looking at him, Zheng Jing tilted his head.