Chapter 70: Kotomine Kirei – Phase Two.
[You intend to weaken Cu Chulainn's fighting will in order to win this match.]
[However, Kotomine Kirei has seen through your intentions and ordered Lancer to "commit suicide" so that Archer on the team can take the field.]
"Sorry for making you all witness this scene..."
EMIYA lets out a deep sigh and reluctantly steps onto the court.
"As the only one on the team with even a bit of common sense, I won't deliberately make things difficult for you, nor will I strike lethally. It's just a game of volleyball—there's no need to fight to the death. In other words..."
EMIYA reveals a serious gaze and says in a forthright, upright manner:
"You just need to focus on dealing with that sadistic Priest. Personally, I'll only maintain the bare minimum defense for our side and won't actively launch fierce attacks toward you."
"...Yes, thank you very much!"
Hearing this, Eikou cannot help but feel a sense of respect.
As expected of EMIYA—he truly carries the bearing of an adult, far more mature in how he handles things than the other two.
And thinking about it carefully, perhaps the only person who could truly make EMIYA fight ruthlessly all the way to the end is none other than himself.
[Archer EMIYA: His strength as a Servant does not rank among the very top, but having experienced many Holy Grail Wars and being adept at coldly formulating tactical plans, he is the type of opponent you absolutely do not want to encounter.]
[Fortunately, he usually acts like a dependable big brother who looks after his juniors, does not deliberately make things difficult for you, and moreover deeply dislikes Kotomine Kirei.]
[Therefore, EMIYA has no intention of going all out. At present, the one you truly have to face is only Kotomine Kirei.]
[To be precise, at this moment it is you and Caenis confronting him together—two against one, making the situation slightly more favorable for you...]
[However...]
"I see."
Kotomine Kirei nods and calmly rubs his neck lightly.
"Archer, if you do not intend to act, then it should be fine for me to get a bit serious, shouldn't it? Two against one puts an old man like me at even more of a disadvantage."
With that said, the Priest clenches his fists. Dark crimson magical energy, nearly turning black, violently surges out from the magic circuits within his body, like murky, evil sludge overflowing outward. The magic circuits clearly visible on his skin are dyed a ferocious black-red color.
In that instant, the Priest seems to tear away the calm, steady outer shell of a civilized man, revealing the savage instincts of a ferocious beast.
"This Priest..."
EMIYA tightly furrows his brows and subconsciously takes a step back. "They're just training—does it really need to be taken this seriously? You really have no sense of restraint befitting your age!"
"Because it's interesting."
The Priest bares his teeth in a grin, smiling with evident delight. "After all, I am human. Isn't it only natural to devote myself fully to enjoying the pleasures of the world?"
"Trampling others just for fun—your tastes are truly awful."
Servant EMIYA says coldly.
Kotomine Kirei merely smiles, those pitch-black eyes shifting to look at Eikou opposite him.
"Of course, I also very much want to test the potential of this shounen. If I drive him into a corner, how will he react? Will he surrender in humiliation, or will he think of every possible way to confront me? I'm truly curious about that. If he cannot overcome my trial, then there is no way he can defeat that King of Uruk."
"Haa—"
Sensing the filthy tide of magical energy surging toward him, Eikou, standing opposite, feels a bit uneasy and clenches his teeth tightly.
Looking at the Priest who has trained his body to the absolute limit and is now further covered in black mud, fear inevitably rises within him.
[Kotomine Kirei activates [Protection of the Faith (Unique)] and [Angra Mainyu: Malicious Feasts], greatly increasing his overall power.]
[He activates [Undying Bahloo EX], gaining Battle Continuation and Noble Phantasm Power Up, preparing to launch a fierce offensive against you.]
This is bad—the enemy has entered Phase Two!
Unbelievable. Could it be that the violent chain of attacks just now was truly nothing more than casual play to this Priest?!
Eikou activates True Name Discernment.
A die falls to the ground.
[You have activated True Name Discernment, inspection (check) successful.]
[...]
[Alterego Grigori Rasputin (Kotomine Kirei)]
[You have seen through the true nature of Kotomine Kirei's Spirit Origin.]
[An Alterego born from the fusion of the Russian Mad Monk Grigori Rasputin, the Three-Headed Evil Dragon Azdahaakha, the Three-Headed Serpent Bahloo, together with the Fuyuki Priest Kotomine Kirei; a Pseudo-Servant whose dominant psyche is Kotomine Kirei.]
[At present, you have a possibility of defeating Kotomine Kirei, but that possibility is not high.]
Damn it, this kind of patchwork has gone way too far already. No matter who the character is, you just stuff them all into the Spirit Origin, huh? You call yourself a Priest, but everything stitched into your Spirit Origin is nothing but monsters. You really are the most detestable thing in the Throne of Heroes!
Eikou rants madly in his heart.
Looking at that Priest, with magical energy surging violently as if wrapped in filthy substances, his scalp cannot help but tingle.
The feeling that directly engaging him right now would still be far too early…
But things have already reached this point—how could he possibly surrender so easily?
Cu Chulainn has withdrawn, Servant EMIYA is fighting half-heartedly, and right now is precisely the moment with the highest probability of defeating Kotomine Kirei!
"Tch…"
Eikou clenches his fists tightly and glares straight at his opponent.
The stronger the defeated enemy, the better the Skill obtained will definitely be!
[You still choose to continue fighting.]
[You exchange glances with Caenis. From beginning to end, she has never once thought about retreating; on the contrary, she has developed extremely strong interest in this enemy who exudes overwhelming pressure.]
[Then let Round Three begin—it may very well also be the final Round.]
[Facing Kotomine Kirei in Serious Mode, you dare not harbor even the slightest bit of carelessness, using every Skill you currently possess.]
[All self-enhancement Skills, as well as support Skills that enhance Caenis, are activated without holding anything back.]
[Caenis's power is greatly increased!]
[This Round, you will serve first.]
"…Here."
Eikou tosses the volleyball to Caenis, signaling for her to serve.
"Caenis, listen to me,"
he says with an extremely serious expression. "After the match starts, you don't need to think about anything else besides attacking. No matter how that Priest smashes, I will definitely be able to receive it. I'll handle defense—you just need to go all out on offense."
"Oh?"
Caenis is slightly startled, her beautiful deep-blue eyes curiously observing him.
"What's there to be surprised about? This is a very reasonable tactical division."
Eikou explains. "Kotomine Kirei's Noble Phantasm is extremely disadvantageous for you as someone with Evil Alignment, so the only option is for me to shoulder it. It just so happens that I have a lot of Defensive Skills. Besides, you don't only have a Noble Phantasm, and compared to defense, you also prefer attacking more, right?"
"That may be so, but this brat…"
Her blue eyes sweep over Eikou, clearly revealing doubt and concern. "Are you really going to be okay? That guy doesn't look like an easy opponent. It's not something you can just shrug off by saying 'I have many Defensive Skills.'"
"Ha ha, well, there's nothing that can be done about that. After all, having me defend is still more appropriate. There's one thing I can guarantee you: as long as I haven't fallen, don't even think about him scoring even a single point."
Eikou wipes the sweat from his forehead and adjusts his breathing. This is the first time he has continuously deployed so many buff Skills; his magical energy is almost completely depleted.
In truth, even he himself doesn't truly have the confidence to block all of Kotomine Kirei's attacks, but as a teammate, the first thing he must do is to provide his teammate with a full sense of security.
"In short, just trust me boldly."
He breaks into a very relaxed smile.
"…Then can I trust you, Caenis?"
…