Aozaki Aoko Case File

Due to blood flooding his lungs, Tokiomi Tohsaka spoke haltingly and indistinctly. It took Kayneth a while, frowning as he listened, to figure out that one crucial word Tokiomi was trying to utter was "pocket." This was largely thanks to Tokiomi's accent, which wasn't as peculiar as that of other Japanese people.

Kayneth searched Tokiomi's pockets and eventually found a small bottle glowing faintly blue in the inner pocket of Tokiomi's jacket.

Kayneth stared at the bottle in stunned silence, his hand trembling slightly as he held it. He realized that the contents of this small bottle were worth more than the cost of the three mana furnaces he had rented—combined.

However, after a brief internal struggle, Kayneth's pride ultimately triumphed over his greed.

He turned Tokiomi over, propped him up at a suitable angle, and opened the priceless bottle, pouring its entire contents into Tokiomi's mouth without hesitation.

Kayneth didn't care whether this would cause Tokiomi to choke to death. If he hadn't misjudged, the liquid in the bottle would have made it impossible for Tokiomi to die from something as trivial as choking.

What happened next, however, left Kayneth acutely aware of just how much he'd sacrificed for the sake of his aristocratic pride. Before his very eyes, the critically injured and near-dead Tokiomi Tohsaka—whose magic circuits had been destroyed—began to regenerate.

This wasn't just some elixir of life or a high-level regeneration spell. It was closer to the concept of time reversal—practically magic itself.

Every drop of blood and every fragment of flesh that Tokiomi had lost began to return to his body, trembling as they reassembled. Even the bullet from the Origin Bullet, which had inflicted such grievous wounds on him, was forced out by the rapidly regenerating flesh. It clattered to the ground with a soft thud.

In a matter of seconds, Tokiomi's body was completely restored to its original state. But just as he was about to prop himself up on the ground to thank his honorable opponent from the Clock Tower, something unexpected occurred.

The time reversal affecting Tokiomi's body didn't stop! Although his consciousness remained unaffected, his physical state rapidly regressed to a younger and younger version of himself.

The fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes vanished, and his body—slightly burdened by age—became lighter and more agile. Even his meticulously trimmed beard began to disappear, bit by bit.

Not only was Kayneth dumbfounded, but Tokiomi himself was in a panic. He realized that the speed of his body's time reversal was accelerating. Was this potion going to reverse him back to being a fertilized egg!?

However, as it turned out, Tokiomi had overthought it. The mysterious potion ultimately stopped his physical regression at around the age of ten—making him look about the same age as his daughter, Sakura.

Just as both Tokiomi and Kayneth were rendered speechless, Karna returned from searching for the attacker. He first shook his head at his Master to indicate that he hadn't found the assailant. Then, with a puzzled expression, he turned to look at the boy clad in an adult-sized burgundy suit.

"Master, who is this child?" Karna asked.

"...He is my opponent, Tokiomi Tohsaka," Kayneth replied, his expression complicated. "I didn't anticipate this outcome either."

After some discussion, Kayneth ultimately decided to accept young Tokiomi's invitation to visit the Tohsaka household to discuss their next strategy and to receive a reward for saving Tokiomi's life.

Since Gilgamesh's Vimana had been destroyed by Karna, both Tokiomi and Kayneth were wrapped in Mercury Magecraft and carried by Karna as he flew to the Tohsaka residence.

However, upon returning home, Tokiomi was met with another shocking and terrible piece of news.

His apprentice, Kirei Kotomine, had sent a report stating that the overseer of Fuyuki Church—Kirei's father, Risei Kotomine—had been murdered. Moreover, the arm containing numerous Command Seals from past Masters had gone missing.

"This is serious trouble, Mr. Tohsaka," Kayneth said, rubbing his forehead as he sat on the sofa in the Tohsaka mansion's living room. "Someone dared to pull off something so audacious…"

"It's probably because Father Risei revealed the total number of Command Seals on that arm when he issued the bounty last time," the young Tokiomi said in a crisp, youthful voice. "While we were engaged in battle, someone infiltrated the church, killed the overseer, and stole the Command Seals."

"Do you have any leads on the perpetrator?" Kayneth asked.

"For starters, it's impossible for either of us sitting here to have done it," Tokiomi said, crossing his arms—a posture that, due to his now-small stature, looked rather comical. "Miss Blue is also unlikely. If she wanted to do it, she would've done so directly when she came to claim the bounty. No one could've stopped her, and besides, a Magician of her caliber wouldn't stoop to such actions."

"My student, Waver Velvet, is also unlikely," Kayneth added. "Especially since he has already failed. His Servant, Rider, is now dead."

"That leaves only two suspects: the unknown Master of Berserker, who was the first to be killed, and Emiya Kiritsugu, the Master of Assassin," Kayneth continued, "as well as Marisbury Animusphere, the Master of Caster, King Solomon."

"The answer is obvious," Kayneth concluded. "It's not that Marisbury couldn't do something like this, but that the despicable Magus Kiritsugu is far more suspicious."

"To be honest, Lord El-Melloi," Tokiomi said, frowning, "I once signed a self-binding contract with Emiya Kiritsugu, the Einzbern Master. But clearly, he must have found a way around the contract. It seems highly likely that he orchestrated the ambush on me. At the same time, he could have sent his Servant to assassinate Father Risei."

Despite their shared fury and frustration, there was young Tokiomi—now without a Servant—and Kayneth—whose Servant Karna was greatly weakened after sacrificing his golden armor—could do about Emiya Kiritsugu, who was now safely holed up in the floating Einzbern Castle.

The two Masters could only exchange weary, silent glances while Karna stood loyally at Kayneth's side, saying nothing.

"Oh, right. I have yet to give you your reward for saving me, Lord El-Melloi," Tokiomi said after some thought. "Though it may seem like I'm using you as a tool, I've decided to give you the two remaining Command Seals I have."

With that, Tokiomi revealed the back of his hand, where two bright red Command Seals glowed faintly.