Kapitel 259: Kotomine Kirei

Arkhan pondered for a moment, then looked at EMIYA.

"Is Kotomine Risei that black-flame man and the mastermind behind all this?"

"No." EMIYA answered flatly.

"Then why did you kill him?" Arkhan asked with a puzzled tone.

EMIYA fell silent for a moment, contemplating how to explain.

"It might sound unbelievable, but it's true... Every time I faced difficulties during a mission, a mysterious voice echoed in my mind, guiding me to do certain things. And judging by the results, these actions would have a significant impact on the final outcome."

'Isn't that 'Eye of the Mind' or 'Intuition'? Strange, I remember Kiritsugu shouldn't have had these skills...'

Arkhan was contemplating when suddenly, his vision blurred, catching a glimpse of a white silhouette flashing behind EMIYA.

From the figure, it seemed to be a woman.

He turned to EMIYA, who still stared at him expressionlessly, seemingly unaware of the presence of the white silhouette.

"What's wrong? Is there something behind me?"

EMIYA looked back, but besides the old house and the overgrown courtyard, there was nothing.

Arkhan's eyes revealed a hint of complexity as he waved his hand.

"No, nothing. I just wanted to ask, besides killing Kotomine Risei, did that voice instruct you to do anything else?"

"Kill the homunculus next to Saber." EMIYA said emotionlessly.

Hearing that, Arkhan's mouth twitched slightly.

"Are you sure that was the instruction from that voice?"

EMIYA nodded silently.

"...Did you go through with it?"

"Tried once this morning, but failed."

"I see..." Arkhan fell silent for a moment, then asked. "Then, what's your plan now?"

"Naturally, I'll drag the mastermind out." EMIYA adjusted the hood on his head. "My knife injured him, and his magic circuits won't recover in a short time. By exploiting this, I can determine his true identity."

Arkhan contemplated for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"Have you considered that he might be a participant in this Holy Grail War?"

"I've considered that, but every Master has a powerful Servant protecting them. Even if I wanted to investigate, I wouldn't know where to start." EMIYA replied.

"Of course, it's impossible for you alone..."

Arkhan smirked slightly, a fox-like cunning appeared in his eyes.

"But what if you had me on your side?"

===

When Arkhan returned to the church, he sensed an unusual atmosphere inside.

Kayneth, Waver, and Iskandar stood on one side, while a man in black clothes and Cu Chulainn emanating a ferocious and murderous aura stood on the other. The tension between them was palpable, giving off the impression that they might start a fight at any moment.

"Mr. Kayneth, you're the last person my father saw before his death. In all fairness, you should assist us in the investigation and help us uncover the truth behind my father's death."

The man in black, Kotomine Kirei, spoke with an emotionless face. Despite his father's lifeless body lying in front of him, he neither wailed nor cried, giving off the impression that this man was suppressing sorrow and pretending to be strong.

"Investigation? Do you intend to throw me into the basement of the Burial Agency for some harsh interrogation or something?" Kayneth smirked slightly. "I've said it before; your father was killed by Assassin, and I have nothing to do with it. If you don't believe me—"

He arrogantly lifted his chin and pointed towards Arkhan, who was approaching them.

"Why not discuss it with my Servant?"

Watching Arkhan walking towards them, Kirei's expression remained unchanged. Only his pupils slightly contracted, while Waver visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment of silence, Kirei turned to Kayneth.

"Attacking the overseer is a clear rules violation of the Holy Grail War. Lancer's Master, if you continue to resist, even with violence, according to the rules, I have the right to gather the remaining Masters to subdue you."

Before Kayneth could respond, however, Arkhan chuckled and chimed in.

"I'm actually curious. How do you plan to gather other Masters to take us down? Do you think they're all a bunch of righteous partners ready to be swayed by your few words of justice?"

Hearing that, Kirei's expression became slightly more serious, and his gaze involuntarily shifted to the ground, specifically to the right hand of his dead father, covered in a series of crimson command spells.

These command spells, used in the previous Holy Grail War and never employed until its conclusion, were recovered by the Holy Church. They were protected by special incantations, and unless granted permission by the owner or someone who knew the incantation, no one could transfer these command spells.

The incantation was the greatest secret, not even revealed to Kirei, Risei's own biological son.

Noticing Kirei's expression, Arkhan, though maintaining a neutral face, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

His earlier words were a test to see if Kirei knew the secret incantation for the command spells. Previously, while inspecting Risei's body, he didn't find any signs of a hidden code of some kind, but he couldn't be sure if it was due to the sudden turn of events or if the incantation had been shared beforehand.

However, from Kirei's expression, it was evident that Risei had not disclosed the secret of the incantation.

Command spells could be used as the ultimate leverage, but without them, Kirei couldn't control other Masters.

Before Kirei could retort, Arkhan tossed something to him. Instinctively catching it, Kirei found a brass bullet stained with dark red blood.

"My Master made it clear—your father was killed by Assassin, and that is the evidence. If you doubt it, you can get a forensic report from any hospital, and I guarantee the results will match." Arkhan stated calmly. "I assume you wouldn't think my Master would resort to using a gun, such an unbecoming tool for a mage?"

Indeed, it was impossible.

Kirei understood the prideful nature of mages, as evident in his mentor, Tohsaka Tokiomi. For a Clock Tower's Lord, even more so, the use of a gun would be seen as a deviation from the correct path of magecraft, akin to blasphemy.

"Yeah, exactly! How could Professor Kayneth ever use a gun?" Waver grumbled from the side. Nobody in the room understood his teacher's dedication to magecraft better than him.

With his hands behind his back, chin slightly raised, Kayneth didn't bother to engage in such a trivial argument.

Kirei stared at the brass bullet in his hand and fell silent.