Chapter 273: The faster, the better
The fear and drowsiness of the customers who had been suddenly pulled out of their sleep by the fire alarm and gathered outside the parking lot, combined with the cold outside, made them wear complicated expressions. Amid these people, hotel employees were boisterously scurrying about.
"...Mr. Archibald! Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald! Is he here?"
Of all the names registered on the client list, there was only one person whose presence had not been confirmed; the bellhop was calling him with a frantic voice. Everyone recognized this generous customer who had reserved the entire top floor of the towering hotel. In a way, this was the person they least wanted to be in danger.
"Mr. Archibald! Are you here?"
"- I'm here. Don't worry."
A resonant voice came from behind the bellhop, but when he turned around, he was confused. The person talking to him was a Japanese man wearing a coat of an old style.
This joke is too much. The furious bellhop was about to yell at him - but was captivated by the man's eyes.
This man possessed an indescribable and mysterious force of attraction; the bellhop was unable to avoid his eyes and could not speak.
"I am Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. My wife Sola is with me."
Declared this unknown Japanese man in a clear voice. And the bellhop accepted this without giving any suspicion as if hypnotized.
"... Is that true? Ah, yes. That's right."
After the bellhop checked a tick in the 'escaped' section of the list, finally confirming that all the customers were safe, he exhaled a long sigh. All his suspicions as he spoke to Archibald earlier and his feelings that something was wrong disappeared without a trace.
Watching the employees continue to attend to the other customers, Emiya Kiritsugu left the chaotic crowd. His hypnotic suggestion to an ordinary person with no magical resistance whatsoever should not be broken in a short time.
After walking to a murky dark area some distance away from the hotel, Kiritsugu pulled out the cell phone in his pocket while probing the surroundings to make sure no one was watching. Cell phones were very common among people and have been of great help to Kiritsugu. It is a wireless device for simple but useful communication, and holding one will not arouse anyone's suspicion.
First, he had to contact Maiya, who was stationed for surveillance.
"All set on your end?"
"No irregularities. Ready."
Maiya's position is a tall building under construction looking diagonally from Fuyuki's Hyatt Hotel. From there, it is possible to clearly see Kayneth's room; that was the position Kiritsugu designated for her.
Kiritsugu sighed lightly and reached for his cigarette box with one hand, punching numbers into the cell phone with the other.
"Stop this."
Bang!
Kiritsugu's instincts acted unconsciously. He grabbed the pistol he kept and fired in the direction of the voice.
His pupils dilated as he saw that he had missed by thousandths of an inch, even though that shouldn't be possible. No one in this world could move faster than Kiritsugu's bullets at such close range, except....
A Servant.
"It's useless. Your shots are too slow."
Zoe wasn't too keen on wasting time. Drako had informed her about Kiritsugu's plans to collapse the building, and she had decided to stop him. Even though Drako had only given her the order to kill Kayneth.
There was always the possibility that one person would be left inside the building. That was why Zoe had decided to stop Kiritsugu.
Among Drako's Servants, including him, it could be said that she was the only one who had aspects of a hero. That is to say, Zoe's sense of justice was far greater than that of her companions and her Master.
"Who are you, what do you want, who sent you?"
Kiritsugu sensed that this girl did not want to kill him, so he immediately tried to get as much information as possible.
Zoe dropped her head at Kiritsugu's questions. Answering was too annoying, so she simply ignored it.
"Kayneth El-Melloi is already dead. You don't have to destroy the building. No, that sounds too soft. Let's see, if you try to set off the explosives, I'll kill you."
(Remember that Zoe is talking in Japanese, so she is not talking with "thee" and so.)
Kiritsugu tensed the most and began to think carefully.
She might be lying. Even if she wasn't telling the truth and Kayneth was alive, the explosion might not kill him. Besides, he might actually lose his life if he tried to set off the explosives.
If Kiritsugu dialed an empty number with the specially prepared cell phone, he would activate the detonator of a C4 bomb.
The bomb would cause a very small explosion, to the point that the blast's sound could not even be heard from outside the hotel. What would echo in the night would be the terrifying sound of the reinforced concrete shattering and collapsing.
Now, Kiritsugu had a difficult decision. Did he believe the girl or not?
No, even if he didn't believe her, was it worth the risk of not believing her?
Kiritsugu finally made up his mind. He threw the cell phone on the ground and destroyed it with a stomp.
"Okay, I'm out."
Zoe nodded and turned to leave.
"Can you at least tell me the name of your Master?"
Kiritsugu asked one last question.
"Drako."
After saying her Master's name, Zoe left the place so quickly that Kiritsugu could not discover her presence.
Kiritsugu contacted Maia again.
"Stand down. We cancel the mission."
"But..."
Maia's incredulous voice could be heard coming out of the cell phone.
"We cancel the mission."
Kiritsugu cut the call, saying more words was unnecessary. He left the place without looking back, not regretting not having carried out his plans.
Suddenly he saw the sound of a child crying, and Kiritsugu's attention was stolen.
The child's mother walked past Kiritsugu holding a child who could not stop crying from fear. Both of them were wearing pajamas, looking quite miserable in the dark night.
Kiritsugu kept looking at the backs of the mother and child... until his hand was burned by the flame of his cigarette, and then he caught their attention again. Kiritsugu threw the already largely burnt cigarette on the ground and covered it with his foot.
Emiya Kiritsugu felt a little confused; sentimentality is definitely unacceptable to him. This kind of weak feelings would directly threaten his life. But he can't face that failure with composure no matter what.
Yes. Even if he didn't want to admit it, the reality was this- Kiritsugu saw the figures of Irisviel and Illyasviel in the figures of the retreating mother and son.
Emiya Kiritsugu once believed that one could not differentiate between sacrifices. All life was equal, so choosing the path that led to the fewest sacrifices was fine. In his view, the lives of women and children received no special treatment.
The Holy Grail could be used to save the world. And Kayneth is a target that must be eliminated to obtain the Holy Grail. There are about a thousand people in Fuyuki's Hyatt hotel, and the Holy Grail should be able to save at least five billion people. Kiritsugu could have completely eradicated these tenants together with Kayneth if it was necessary to do so.
Then why did he need to set a fire before causing this disturbance?
In the beginning, he thought this would have been the most obvious tactic. Kayneth had set many traps specifically to protect against an ambush, so as a tactic against his strategic defense, it definitely brought good results. The prodigy magus proudly contained his iron wall. Still, he never thought that the entire castle would be destroyed, so he stayed inside.
But was his true intention limited only to this?
Was his sentimental hope that the innocent tenants would escape in time now only showing itself unconsciously?
This truly is fatal romanticism. If he were on the battlefield, this kind of sentiment would definitely lead to his death.
To sustain the wavering feelings in his heart, Kiritsugu once again lit a cigarette.
He has deteriorated. Although he doesn't know exactly how much weaker he is now, today's Emiya Kiritsugu has definitely deteriorated compared to nine years ago. If this continued, then he might not be able to obtain victory in the Holy Grail War. No matter what, not restoring the cold judgment of before is unacceptable - the faster, the better.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone