Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover

Ig-Alima, Sul-sagana.

Their true names are "Green Field Cutting Through the Thousand Mountains," and "The Horizon of Dawn that Purifies the Seas," following the principles of 'separation' and 'purification.'

Even though Sakatsuki only projected the essence of these two divine weapons, they were once enough to sever the ley lines of the Einzbern Castle, preventing Acht from controlling the central magecraft workshop.

For both magecraft workshops and magus, losing contact with one another is fatal. This means the magecraft workshop could only launch basic autonomous counterattacks, while the magician loses the workshop's advantages, relying solely on their own strength to confront the enemy.

Had Sakatsuki projected these two massive swords from the start, the three mana furnaces sustaining the 32-layered magecraft workshop would have been overwhelmed by a higher level of mystery, crushed, and ultimately, the entire workshop would have lost its energy and ceased to exist.

But that would be like Kiritsugu blowing up an entire building—bypassing the process and directly destroying the workshop itself. That wasn't Sakatsuki's intention, so he had no plans to project these god-forged swords.

Well, that was the... original plan.

However, in this alternate world, seeing the vast army of Dragon Tooth Soldiers, who could resist the urge to use a large-scale AOE attack?

Moreover, this was in the alternate world, where whatever happens wouldn't affect the real world. Sakatsuki had no psychological burden whatsoever!

With his gigantic swords, he easily swept through the helpless Dragon Tooth Soldiers, their destruction giving Sakatsuki a sense of satisfaction.

It was like a grass-cutting spree, and once the last Dragon Tooth Soldier was obliterated, this alternate world, painstakingly crafted, also disintegrated, turning into dissipated magic.

Before the alternate world faded, Sakatsuki retrieved the twin swords. When he returned to the observation point, Kayneth was stunned to find that Sakatsuki was completely unscathed, his golden eyes shining brighter, filled with anticipation.

It was as if a king was looking down, asking, "What's next? What other interesting tricks do you have for me?"

That pure and unfiltered gaze, seen through his familiars' surveillance, sent an unprecedented pressure surging through Kayneth's heart. The blond magus clenched his trembling fists, a rare sense of defiance flaring within him.

"Then, as you wish..."

Behind him, the invisible, intangible, yet seemingly full of endless malice, wraiths screamed. The moment Kayneth lifted the restraints, they vanished, rushing to another being on the floor.

***

At the Hyatt Hotel, downstairs.

Guests were jolted awake by the blaring fire alarm and ushered outside to the parking lot. The crowd gathered their expressions a mix of fear, grogginess, and discomfort from the cold. Hotel staff hurriedly moved among them, checking names.

"...Mr. Archibald! Mr. Archibald, are you here?"

The front desk staff called out loudly, looking for the last group of guests whose names hadn't been checked off. Everyone in the hotel was very concerned about this VIP, who had booked an entire floor of the penthouse suite. In some sense, he was the most important person in the hotel, and they didn't want anything to go wrong.

"Mr. Archibald! Are you here?"

"...Yes, I'm here. Please, don't worry."

A calm and steady voice responded from behind. The front desk staff turned around, confused, only to find that the person speaking was an unremarkable Japanese man in an old coat.

The joke didn't seem funny at all. As the front desk staff was about to scold him, the man's eyes froze him in place. There was a mysterious allure that prevented him from looking away, and even speaking was impossible.

"I am Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. My wife and I have already taken refuge."

The foreign, oriental-sounding voice was calm and clear, and under the influence of magecraft, the front desk staff's thoughts became fuzzy. He believed the man without question.

"...I see. Ah, yes, that's right. You've already taken refuge."

The staff marked "safe" on the guest list and sighed in relief. After their brief interaction, he no longer felt any doubt or suspicion.

Kiritsugu Emiya watched the staff hurriedly leave to assist the other evacuees, then moved away from the crowd, making sure no one noticed him. He pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"I'm ready. What about you?"

"No abnormalities, you can act at any time."

On the other end of the phone was his partner, Maiya Hisau, stationed in a high-rise building under construction across from the Hyatt Hotel. From there, she could monitor Kayneth's every move.

Kiritsugu exhaled slowly, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket with one hand and entering a string of numbers into his phone with the other. He hesitated slightly before pressing the final key and glanced at the brightly lit hotel building.

After the plan was changed, the bomb setup was completed far quicker than expected—indeed, by the time Sakatsuki arrived at the Hyatt Hotel, Kiritsugu had already prepared everything for the building's demolition.

Had the explosion gone off then, not only would Lancer's master, Kayneth, have fallen from 150 meters, which would have been fatal no matter what magical defense was in place, but also Caster's master...

Unfortunately, he had deliberately increased the bomb's power for the first floor.

A near-zero distance blast—there was no way Sakatsuki could have escaped unscathed.

Despite such a good opportunity presenting itself, Kiritsugu kept silent, choosing to wait as the guests evacuated before finally initiating the explosion.

Why wait?

Had he not already decided to make himself a Scale of Judgement, making this Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City the last bloodshed of humanity? The people in the hotel were necessary sacrifices for that.

But...

—Was that really the whole truth? Wasn't there a hint of sentimentality, an unconscious desire to protect the innocent evacuees?

If that was the case, such a naïve sentiment could very well cost him his life on the battlefield.

To quell the brief moment of doubt in his heart, Kiritsugu lit another cigarette.

Just then, a distant, ethereal voice pierced his thoughts, sharp as an arrow to his heart.

"Miss Illya? Is Miss Illya here?"

***

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