章 53: Gilgamesh, You Took My Pillow, You're Done For!
It was nearing midnight.
Kurumi gazed up at the starry night sky, a faint orange halo surrounding the crescent moon, flickering like a candle flame in the wind.
She felt a bit restless.
One of her clones had been abducted.
Though Kurumi had lost clones before, this was the first time one had been kidnapped.
That golden guy—Gilgamesh—was such a pervert, always referring to people as mongrels and hounds, and never missed an opportunity to flirt whenever he saw her or Saber.
With Archer having regained a Master, the clones could not stop him.
Because the clone in question was currently absorbing the souls of Servants to prepare for the Grail, she couldn't enter the Shadow world like usual.
To prevent Gilgamesh from doing something perverted to her, Kurumi had immediately chosen Plan B—a quick costume swap.
[Irisviel's Attire] x 8
And then... she got kidnapped???
With the souls of Lancer and Berserker flooding into her clone's body, the clone was on the verge of collapse, its form barely held together as the Grail threatened to emerge.
Without the supply of mana from a formal magical contract, the clone had to rely on the costume to maintain its form. It couldn't send a signal back to the original, leaving Kurumi with few options but to wait.
She could either wait for Kiritsugu to locate the hideout of Archer and Kirei Kotomine, or wait for Kirei to activate the ritual for the Grail, giving the clone enough mana to send a message.
Otherwise, she could wait for the clone to break down entirely and use the Eighth Bullet to replay the event, then rush over to confront him.
The Holy Grail War had already reached its final stages. The only remaining enemies were Archer and Rider.
The quality of this round of Servants had been terrifyingly high. Once one more Servant was defeated, it would likely be enough to trigger the Grail's descent.
And Kurumi had her eyes on that golden pervert.
Their temporary base was at a residential house near the Fuyuki City Hall, the same place where the Grail had descended in the previous Holy Grail War. It was also the location Kiritsugu was most focused on defending.
Although places like Ryuudou Temple, the Fuyuki Church, or even the Tosaka mansion—located on the spiritual leyline in the mountains—were all potential ritual sites, Kiritsugu believed that Kirei, the man who found pleasure in pain, would choose the Fuyuki City Hall again, just as he did in the last war.
However, just to be safe, Kiritsugu had also planted large amounts of explosives at Mount Enzou and Fuyuki Church, while dispatching familiars and Kurumi's clones to monitor all three locations simultaneously.
Archer was the biggest wildcard, and Kiritsugu had no answer for Ea, the sword that could cleave the heavens and the earth.
Still, Avenger… she might give him a pleasant surprise.
Together with Maiya, they meticulously prepared everything.
Clack—
The sound of rubble shifting made Kurumi turn her head. She spotted Irisviel clambering up to the roof with the help of Saber, her face brimming with excitement.
Like a child playing with a new toy, Irisviel's expression was filled with joy and wonder as she climbed up the roof.
Since her birth, she had been confined to that frozen castle and had never done anything remotely so improper.
Irisviel sat down beside Kurumi, her posture graceful.
But that wasn't all. Soon, Sakura was also carried up to the roof by Saber.
Saber carefully handed Sakura to Irisviel and then stood guard behind them, ever dutiful.
The roof was now filled with beauties.
The slender girl, leaning slightly, was especially stunning, her beauty like the first snow of early winter—crystalline and pure. Her soft pink lips pressed together lightly, and a few strands of her slightly disheveled hair draped over her nose, slightly damp.
Underneath her jet-black bangs, her wine-red eyes sparkled with laughter.
Because that little one, like a kitten, had wriggled free from Irisviel's embrace and dashed straight into Kurumi's arms, burrowing deep into her soft bosom.
In this materialistic society, where human hearts had grown cold, only these pillows still offered warmth.
"Sakura, you know that's not the proper way to behave," Kurumi chuckled warmly as she pulled the little girl even closer into her chest.
"How come Sakura always gets to snuggle up to Kurumi when we're all B Cups?" Irisviel grumbled with mild jealousy, oblivious to the furious expression on the stoic knight behind her, whose distinctive ahoge stood tall and firm.
'Breasts may get in the way of fighting, but I still always win.'
"Because… Kurumi-nee-san is going to leave soon," Sakura mumbled, her small voice shaking everyone's hearts.
The Holy Grail War was nearing its end, an unavoidable fact.
"But, Kurumi-nee-san will definitely win, right?" Sakura looked up at Kurumi, clutching a strand of her dark hair, her heart at ease, no longer filled with the terror of abandonment she had once known.
"She's definitely going to win, right?" Sakura believed it with all her heart.
"Of course," Kurumi grinned, carefree and confident. "I'm the strongest."
"But come to think of it, is Kurumi an imaginary spirit?" Irisviel asked curiously. She had never heard of Kurumi in any legend, and her use of modern firearms as weapons was puzzling.
Without the fame of historical legends, Kurumi should've been considerably weakened by the Grail's system. And yet, she was ridiculously powerful.
Standing behind Irisviel, Saber stiffened. She had seen fragments of Kurumi's past in her dreams. That sorrowful history was something Saber knew Kurumi wouldn't want to bring up.
But if she said anything now, it would reveal to Kurumi that she had seen those memories.
Saber's gaze lowered quietly.
"Oh my, Iris is starting to trace back my origin, huh?" Kurumi teased, standing up with Sakura still in her arms, her touch as cool and soft as a flower. Her expression darkened slightly.
"I'm not an Heroic Spirit."
"I'm a Spirit."
…
The moonlight was soft and gentle, casting a faint glow on the scene.
The elegantly dressed silver-haired girl sat quietly beside the alluring dark-haired girl dressed in black, who held the sweetly sleeping young girl in her arms.
Even in a movie, it would be hard to find a group of women as stunning as these.
They looked out over Fuyuki, watching as the vibrant colors of the neon lights lit up the city in the night.
For that moment, they seemed detached from the world, beyond its disturbances.
As the sky slowly lightened, on the banks of the Mion River, in the cavern once soaked in blood…
Kirei Kotomine was hiding.
The moment his father, Risei, disappeared, Kirei knew that Fuyuki Church was no longer safe.
He had hidden himself in the workshop Caster had used.
It was well-hidden, and no one would think to look there.
Archer loathed such damp and grimy places. He had left immediately after dropping off the "vessel of the Grail."
But Kirei saw through it immediately—that was Avenger's clone.
After all, a homunculus wouldn't have a Servant's attributes.
He felt conflicted.
Kirei didn't want to make a wish on the Holy Grail, but he did want to wrest the Grail from Kiritsugu's hands.
He simply wanted to understand what kind of wish someone as empty as him was pursuing.
And most of all, he wanted to see that man's despair—Kiritsugu's wish shattered, the pain on his face.
That would surely bring Kirei endless satisfaction.
-48:03:21
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