Multiverse: Becoming a Giant of Light, Godslayer from the Start

As Ishtar was being swallowed by the thick mist, elsewhere, Kirei Kotomine was busy communicating with Tohsaka Tokiomi through a magical communication device. The battle between Ishtar and the King of Conquerors had broken out far too suddenly. To minimize civilian casualties, Iskandar had moved the battlefield to the central park in Fuyuki City. Because of that, Tokiomi, unable to share vision with his Servant, had lost all visibility on the battle's developments. Left with no choice, he had to rely on his ever-"loyal and trustworthy" student to relay the situation. The video feed hadn't had time to initialize, so the two had to rely on spoken word.

"What's the current situation?" Tokiomi asked with some concern.

Kirei glanced at the battlefield. The goddess, using her A+-rank skill [Mana Burst – Gem], was currently burning through Tokiomi's precious gemstone stockpile like water, overpowering the Command-Seal-boosted Rider with ease. And so, Kirei reported with utmost seriousness and "sincerity":

"Master, the battle situation is grim!"

"Rider managed to trap the goddess's Bull of Heaven with his Reality Marble."

"And now, Ishtar is being completely overwhelmed!"

If the goddess could hear how Kirei was selling her out, she'd no doubt be happy to fire off a Mountain-shattering Star of Venus directly at him. Tokiomi, hearing the report, was visibly surprised.

"Ishtar is that weak?"

"Ahem… I mean, she's that careless?"

"I thought she had other powerful abilities?"

Though the goddess hadn't formally disclosed her abilities to Tokiomi, during the previous night's battle, it had been obvious to him that she still held cards in reserve. So, he was naturally confused by Kirei's account. However, he never once doubted Kirei's reliability. He merely speculated that perhaps Ishtar's trump cards were limited in some way.

"She does have another trump card," Kirei muttered as he watched Ishtar summon a meteor to obliterate Rider's Noble Phantasm.

He paused for two seconds, then added, "But Rider neutralized it with his divine chariot."

"At the moment, Ishtar is in danger!"

Yes. Danger. Danger of laughing herself to death. With Lancer absent and her opponent's trump card dismantled, the goddess now stood before the King of Conquerors and laughed like a cat toying with a mouse.

She was arrogant beyond reason—so much so that even Tohsaka Tokiomi, from his distant location, could vaguely hear Ishtar's laughter echoing across the battlefield. "You say Ishtar is in danger, but all I hear is her laughing like a maniac," Tokiomi remarked suspiciously.

At this point, he still harbored no doubts about Kirei Kotomine's reliability—only found the situation somewhat odd.

"…"

Kirei paused for two seconds.

"The goddess's personality… even I can't quite figure it out," he said at last. It was the only explanation he could offer—there was no way to talk his way around this one. Yet, surprisingly, Tokiomi accepted the excuse in full.

"That's entirely possible. Her personality has always been a bit eccentric."

Tokiomi nodded thoughtfully. "Not to mention… Ishtar is notoriously crazy—ahem! I mean, she's always been a peculiar goddess."

"Besides love and harvest, she also holds the divine authority of war. It's not unthinkable that, when cornered, she might burst into laughter instead of panicking—yes, laugh!" Unable to help himself, Tokiomi ended up badmouthing his own Servant twice in one go. Though he found her manic laughter strange, even as her Master, he had never fully grasped her personality. Naturally, he wouldn't expect his student to explain her either.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "In that case, should I offer her some support right now?" He sought Kirei's opinion. As a Master, providing backup to one's Servant was his duty—especially since Ishtar was using his daughter's body as a vessel. Tokiomi was understandably more concerned.

So, when he heard Ishtar was supposedly at a disadvantage, his first thought was of the Command Seals on his hand. But Tokiomi was a composed man. Elegance was his style. Though far from the battlefield, and unable to assess the situation personally, he could always rely on the judgment of his "upright and loyal" disciple.

Looking toward the battlefield—where Ishtar was moments away from obliterating Rider with ease—Kirei, for once, spoke truthfully:

"There's no need to support the goddess at the moment."

Before Tokiomi could ask why, Kirei added smoothly: "Because I've already ordered Assassin to enter the battlefield."

"Don't worry, Master. I will make sure we defeat the enemy."

—Of course, he never said who the 'enemy' actually was. Tokiomi didn't ask, either. He didn't need to. He simply let out a satisfied sigh. How fortunate he was to have such a respectful and loyal student.

"I'll leave it to you then, Kirei."

Kirei smiled faintly. "Please leave everything to me, Master. Wasn't this the moment I've been waiting for ever since I joined the Holy Grail War?" The two shared a smile of mutual understanding. Meanwhile, the thick mist had already surrounded the goddess Ishtar. Assassin's Noble Phantasm requirements had finally been met.

Jack the Ripper—this little girl Servant—possessed two Noble Phantasms in total.

One allowed her to generate a poisonous acidic fog.

The other was a conditional anti-female Noble Phantasm that required three specific factors to be fulfilled for maximum effect.

—Night, fog, and a female target.

It was now night. The fog had been released via her first Noble Phantasm. And the target? Ishtar, goddess and woman. All three conditions were perfectly fulfilled. Which meant Assassin's Noble Phantasm could now be used at full power. But that still wasn't enough. She was going up against a goddess. Extreme caution was necessary.

And so, with Tokiomi still listening, Kirei touched the Command Seals on his hand and issued his order to Assassin:

"By the power of a Command Seal—enhance the Noble Phantasm!"

"By the power of a Command Seal—enhance the Noble Phantasm!"

"By the power of a Command Seal—enhance the Noble Phantasm!"

Three times in a row. He poured every ounce of the Command Seals' power into Assassin's Noble Phantasm. Kirei had wagered everything on this strike. Tokiomi, witnessing this through communication, was left speechless. To protect his daughter, Kirei had been willing to expend all three Command Seals without hesitation? Such loyalty. It was beyond commendable.

Tokiomi even thought back to how Rin had always seemed a bit hostile toward Kirei. He shook his head. After this war was over, he'd have to make sure Rin properly apologized to Kirei. That was the least she could do. Just as he was thinking this, the surge of magical energy disrupted the communication between them.

But Tokiomi didn't panic in the slightest. With Kirei in charge, he was confident everything would proceed smoothly. What he couldn't have possibly imagined was that, at that very moment, the goddess Ishtar—now reduced to only her gem magic after expending her other powers—was being simultaneously assaulted by two Servants.

On one side was the still-dangerous King of Conquerors, holding back for the right moment. On the other side was Assassin—elusive and untouchable, who could curse her with a mere swing of her blade…

…a blade that could potentially cause fatal, organ-removing, instant-death damage.

If Tokiomi had just used one of his own Command Seals at that moment, Ishtar might have been able to turn things around. Unfortunately, the ever-trusting Tokiomi chose to sit on the sidelines.

"That idiot Tokiomi really is a dumbass!" Having waited forever for support that never came, Ishtar was about ready to cough up blood. Even as a goddess, in this current Servant vessel, turning the tide was becoming incredibly difficult.

And to make matters worse…

Now that Kirei had used his three Command Seals, he looked down at his arm as communications went silent. Lifting his sleeve, he revealed dozens of blood-red Command Seals. They weren't his.

They'd been handed down to him by his father, Risei Kotomine, before the old man left.

Not even Tokiomi knew about them.

"By the power of a Command Seal!"

"By the power of a Command Seal!"

"…"

Expressionless, Kirei became a soulless Command Seal-launching machine. Even with Ishtar's Magic Resistance and divine resistance to curses…

Even a Noble Phantasm like Maria the Ripper, known for its instant-kill capabilities, shouldn't have been able to truly harm her but—

Despite Ishtar's divine core, even a goddess couldn't withstand the barrage when Kirei Kotomine became a literal Command Seal artillery.

Little Jack went berserk. In just under thirty seconds, her Noble Phantasm detonated ten times. By the time Su Mo arrived after settling things with Lancer, all he saw was the retreating silhouette of a tiny Servant… and the goddess, Ishtar, collapsed helplessly on the ground.

"What happened here?" Su Mo raised an amused eyebrow. He could still chase down that tiny Assassin if he wanted, but frankly, he was more curious about Ishtar's current state than wasting time on pursuit.

So, he crouched beside her, and with an exaggeratedly light and surprised tone, said, "Oh? Isn't this the Mistress of Heaven herself… the great goddess Ishtar?"

"We haven't seen each other for a day, and yet here you are—lying on the floor already?"

Now that was what you call cruelty with a smile.