Chapter 20: 20 Target
Tohsaka Residence.
Usually calm and composed, Tohsaka Tokiomi was now drenched in sweat, his hands trembling uncontrollably, betraying his inner turmoil.
Listening to Gilgamesh's threats, feeling the abrupt cut in their communication, and the instant destruction of his surveillance familiars, Tokiomi didn't need an explanation to know what had transpired.
"Damn it… Archer actually went this far!"
Disgusted with Tokiomi, Gilgamesh had killed all the familiars sent to observe the battlefield, and as if that wasn't enough, he left a threatening message before forcefully severing their connection.
"Tokiomi! I advise you to recognize your position. This King never tolerates interference in his actions, not even from his own Master!"
"If you dare to continue overstepping your bounds, then this King will personally teach you what it means to respect your ruler. Hmph!"
No one could meddle with Gilgamesh's decisions, not even Tokiomi, his Master. This point was painfully clear, and even Kirei Kotomine, standing nearby, could feel the undisguised murderous intent emanating from the King of Heroes.
As Gilgamesh's Master, Tokiomi was sweating profusely, chilled by the realization.
Gilgamesh had been serious.
If Tokiomi dared to use a Command Seal to stop him, it might succeed in summoning him back, but once Gilgamesh returned, he would undoubtedly kill him.
Though their time together hadn't been long, Tokiomi had learned enough about this ancient Heroic Spirit's temperament.
Perhaps due to the timing of the summoning, this version of Gilgamesh wasn't as arrogant and brutal as described in legend. He was easier to get along with, possibly closer to the period when he sought the plant of immortality and gained enlightenment in mythology.
Even so, Gilgamesh in this state was still not someone to be provoked lightly. If Tokiomi tried to interfere with his actions, it would unquestionably cost him his life.
There was no doubt about that.
But with such reckless behavior... acting independently and following his whims, how could a Servant like this win the Holy Grail War?
Tokiomi had already secured so much support before the war even began, yet here he was, facing new problems. How could he not be furious? But under the oppressive weight of the King's presence, he didn't dare to make a move.
So now, all he could do was silently pray for Gilgamesh's victory.
"Father…"
As Tokiomi pondered, a small hand tugged at his suit.
"What is it, Rin? Why are you still awake at this late hour?"
Seeing his daughter, Tokiomi exhaled deeply and maintained his dignified composure in front of her.
"Father, Sakura has been asleep for a long time. Is she really okay?"
Patting Tohsaka Rin's head, Tokiomi smiled and reassured her.
"Don't worry, Sakura is receiving treatment. When she wakes up, she'll be all better."
The medicine Sakura drank was given by Gilgamesh, which reassured Tohsaka Tokiomi.
Due to Zouken Matou's modifications and the crest worms' irreparable damage to Sakura's body and mind, the treatment process had become exceptionally difficult.
Even though healing was possible, Zouken's incomplete modifications to Sakura's body had caused trauma to her imaginary number affinity. Continuing with the treatment could further harm her magical abilities and even leave her with long-term health issues.
For Tokiomi, this was hard to accept. If it were just a loss of magical talent, he could let his daughter live a peaceful and happy life, but damaging her constitution would affect her more deeply, something he, as a father, couldn't bear.
Seeing the harm done to his daughter only intensified his hatred for Zouken, to the point where he wished he could kill him with his own hands.
Thus, when he summoned Gilgamesh, Tokiomi boldly made a request, offering to serve as his vassal throughout the Holy Grail War in exchange for a miracle to save his daughter.
Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh looked at him with some surprise but didn't reject the plea. This wish wasn't excessive; compared to the greed of others, it was a reasonable request. He considered it a reward for his summoning.
Gilgamesh then retrieved a medicine from the Age of Gods from his treasury and had Tohsaka Sakura consume it.
"Your daughter hasn't woken up because her body is healing itself while she sleeps. She'll be fine."
"Sakura…"
Thinking about the harm done to his daughter, Tokiomi felt a pang of pain in his heart. But recalling Gilgamesh's gift, the hand gripping his cane slowly relaxed.
Forget it… Let him be.
With Kirei and himself covering things, there shouldn't be any major issues.
After soothing his daughter to sleep, Tokiomi sat back on the sofa and asked with some confusion, "By the way, Kirei, what happened tonight? Why didn't Assassin follow the plan? It seems they haven't even been scouting near the docks."
Kirei Kotomine replied, "Master, it's not that Assassin didn't come. The King had already left the Tohsaka residence before Assassin arrived."
"The King again… Never mind."
"There's something else. It seems Assassin is being constantly eliminated by a particularly fast Servant. Not long ago, she reported losing contact with most of her duplicates near the docks."
Assassin was being swiftly wiped out?
"In such a short time, they were able to detect and eliminate multiple Assassins. This means the Servant hunting them must possess high agility and excellent presence detection skills."
"Many Servants have already appeared in this Holy Grail War... Saber, Archer, Rider, Lancer, and Berserker."
"Since these individuals have all shown themselves and haven't had time to hunt down the Hassans, the only one left who could be responsible for killing Assassin on a large scale is the last unseen Servant, Caster."
"However, it's hard to imagine a Caster, reliant on magical fortifications, possessing such perceptive and agile abilities to eliminate Assassin so quickly."
"I see… It seems that this Caster is also a formidable enemy."
Tokiomi thought with a sense of helplessness.
His carefully laid plans were not only disrupted by Gilgamesh, but now his network of spies and hidden agents was being eradicated. Coupled with his Servant's unpredictable behavior, he couldn't help but feel uncertain about the future.
Though he didn't know how Caster was accomplishing this, he couldn't allow it to continue.
"Kirei, you mentioned earlier that Caster's Master is likely an ordinary person caught up in the Holy Grail War, right?"
"Yes, Master."
Kirei Kotomine nodded and replied, "Lancer's Master is a Lord from the Clock Tower, Rider also belongs to a student from the Clock Tower, and the Einzbern family controls the Saber slot. As expected, the Matou family summoned Berserker, so Caster's Master is most likely that ordinary person."
"An ordinary person, huh? That's better… Then send Assassin to quietly approach and kill that intruder! Caster's abilities are quite troublesome for Assassin, so he must be eliminated," Tokiomi Tohsaka calmly uttered these ruthless words as he gripped his cane.
"…"
Kirei did not respond to the order. His gaze remained steady as he began to think.
After pondering for a moment, he realized this didn't align with the principles of a priest, especially since Roy seemed to be a believer as well.
Killing between believers, if not motivated by issues of faith, could lead to damnation. As he considered this, Kirei felt that such an action conflicted with his role as a clergyman. He questioned Tokiomi, "Master, this doesn't align with the teachings. He's also a follower of the Lord, and he's an ordinary person. Isn't this a bit too cruel?"
Cruel?
"No, it's not cruel. Although he may have been involuntarily drawn into this conflict because of the Holy Grail, regardless of the cause, he has now entered a realm he shouldn't have. Whether for the sake of preserving the secrecy of magecraft or securing victory in the Holy Grail War, he must be completely eliminated, whether he is involved willingly or not."
"…"
Must he be eliminated no matter what? This truly is cruel, Master. Is this how magus operates?
Even though it seemed wrong, Tokiomi's reasoning wasn't entirely incorrect. Everything he did was to lay the groundwork for winning the Holy Grail War. Although this approach conflicted with the church's doctrines, Kirei didn't care much about dogma. Since he was Tokiomi's disciple, he naturally followed his orders.
"…Understood, Master."
After listening to Tokiomi's explanation, Kirei nodded and prepared to carry out the plan.
"Oh, Kirei, since Caster's Master is an ordinary person, they're likely hidden inside Caster's workshop, but we don't yet know the level of protection around it, so it's best not to take unnecessary risks."
"What do you mean, Master?"
"Send Assassin to kill him, but don't deploy too many. Just send a few of the most elite Assassins for the assassination. If they succeed, all the better. If not, at least we'll have tested Caster's strength."
With just a few words, Tokiomi had already treated Assassin's life as expendable. However, he didn't care about this. Assassin's individual strength wasn't impressive, but their large numbers made them ideal as disposable pawns.
Besides…
As the Master, why should he care about the feelings of mere Servants?
If not for Gilgamesh's unique nature, he wouldn't even care about him.
In his eyes, whether it was Assassin or Archer, they were merely tools to obtain the Holy Grail.
For now, they needed to be kept in check, but once the goal was achieved, they would no longer matter.
Rubbing the Command Seals on the back of his hand, a cold gleam flashed in Tokiomi's eyes.
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