Chapter 89: [89] Observing Mifune
"Ripple Dash—"
"Time Alter - Triple Accel!" Emiya Kiritsugu watched as Kazuya rushed towards him and, gritting his teeth, activated his Innate Time Alteration, quickly moving to the side—
"I already guessed—" Kazuya said as he jumped down, spreading his Ripple in all directions from the ground—
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
However, in the next moment, the surroundings were once again filled with poison gas.
Emiya Kiritsugu wanted to use the same method as before to force Kazuya to stop using his Ripple.
But it was too late—
"Ripple Dash—!"
"Ugh—" Blood spurted from behind the gas mask as Kazuya, using his Ripple, hit him squarely. Emiya Kiritsugu had suffered significant injuries from using Triple Accel and hadn't recovered yet. He didn't have Avalon, and the damage from using Triple Accel was already quite lethal. He hadn't managed to evade this strike successfully!
On the other side, Kazuya, having confirmed that his attack had hit, immediately held his breath and ran away.
Although he could remove the gas mask from Emiya Kiritsugu's face, he decided against it. After all, there was still one more person outside who needed to be dealt with.
A person named Maiya Hisau...
...
"What... is going on?" Shoji Asami, who had just returned after buying something, widened her eyes as she looked at the familiar street that had now turned into something unrecognizable!
Most importantly, the house she had been keeping an eye on, Kurokawa Kazuya's house, was in ruins.
The door seemed to have been blown open by something.
...
Inside the room—
Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau were tied up and leaning in a corner of a room.
"Well, I'll leave the later arrangements to you. The ropes will automatically come off in about an hour. Don't forget to clean up after me by then."
Kazuya sighed in relief.
The ropes on the two of them weren't really bindings but rather just wrapped around them. However, occasional flashes of golden light on them indicated that they were infused with Ripple energy—
Kazuya had transferred almost all his Ripple onto the ropes, tying them up. But... when he said one hour, he knew from several experiments that they wouldn't last that long!
Before that...
He had to take his sister and run.
Emiya Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't understand why this person hadn't killed them... He had merely knocked them unconscious with the power of the Ripple just now and even treated Emiya Kiritsugu's injuries from using Triple Accel...
Was this person really a good person? No... not at all!
He couldn't be considered a good person by any means. That was evident from his previous actions. Otherwise... from what he had just said, it was clear that this guy didn't understand mysteries or the rules of the mystic world. He had even serialized [Fate/Zero] in that JUMP despite not knowing about the rules of the mystic world. He probably hadn't considered whether it might implicate the magazine.
The scary thing was this—it wasn't that he had thought about it but still went ahead; rather, he hadn't thought about it at all.
Although, according to the rules of the magical world, they couldn't lay a hand on that magazine. After all, which of these major corporations didn't have well-connected magus at the top?
But even so, [Fate] was still being serialized. This could only mean... that unknown magus was expecting chaos.
However, this person had let them go for now, sparing someone who might become an enemy in the future.
Emiya Kiritsugu opened his mouth but ultimately didn't ask for the reason.
Soon, the ropes lost their effectiveness and automatically came off.
Outside, a large number of police and fire trucks had gathered.
"...Well, let's consider it done. I gained some information and helped him with this."
He knew hint Magecraft.
Directly hinting to these people that there had been a gas explosion here.
...
"We're here." After bringing his sister to Mifune City, Kazuya booked a hotel.
Although they could stay at their own property here, it hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and it was bound to be covered in dust. So, for tonight, they could make do with the hotel.
"Onii-chan, why are we here?" Kazumi, who had been picked up directly from school, asked in confusion.
"Well, you'll find out tonight."
Kazuya smiled and said, "Get some rest... We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Okay."
Kazumi was a bit puzzled but soon fell asleep in her bed. She didn't know why she felt so tired.
On the other side...
Kazuya also felt that something was off.
He felt a bit drowsy...
Generally, this shouldn't have happened. Tomorrow, he would be able to meet Shiki, and he should be excited, not falling asleep so easily.
It couldn't be this simple to just want to sleep.
What... exactly...
Kazuya's eyelids were fighting against each other, and it didn't seem impossible for him to fall asleep the next moment.
"No... Stay awake..."
Kazuya propped up his head.
He had spared Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau during the day. There was no need to kill them...
Maybe if it were before, he might have been willing to act, but that was in the past.
Shiki... wouldn't kill.
Even simply killing someone would be an unbearable sin in her eyes, a burden that no one could bear...
Although it seemed that magus weren't considered people and could be killed, he didn't want to leave any grudges behind by killing just one person. Letting both of them go would leave doubts and maybe even gratitude.
If he really wanted to pursue her, to pursue Shiki, he absolutely couldn't kill anyone. He couldn't let her feel burdened by his actions. Otherwise... he had to change himself first.
He felt he was still lacking something before. He had to change himself...
Only then could he be with her... just seeing her, hearing her voice, would make him happy. Nothing else could compare.
That's what he had always thought.
So... to be worthy of her...
"Ugh..."
No, he couldn't... His consciousness became even hazier.
He shouldn't have stayed at this hotel; he should have gone straight there. Originally, it was just to clear his mind a bit, and he couldn't be so impolite as to rush over... but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
Incredibly fast.
Was this... some high-level Magecraft?
Even his own Ripple Breathing couldn't clear his mind!
"Stone Mask... No... I must use the Pillar Man's body now, I must use it immediately—if I use it—"
Kazuya accessed the system.
However, in the next moment—before he could retrieve what was inside—he was already falling down.
In the next moment—when he opened his eyes, he saw the man with rainbow-colored long hair amidst a sea of flowers.
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