In the church, Kirei Kotomine remained as impassive as ever, as if nothing could surprise him.
Beside him, Gilgamesh lounged with his legs crossed, seemingly uninterested in anything.
After a while, Gilgamesh suddenly stood up and headed outside.
Kirei showed no reaction to this; he knew it was because Gilgamesh was bored and wanted to wander around like a street idler.
Kirei approved of such things... after all, even a dog needs to be let out for a walk now and then to avoid getting stifled.
"Next, I just need to wait for Cú Chulainn to return and see what intelligence he brings back," Kirei thought, a faint smile appearing on his face. "He's truly an amusing fellow. No matter how dissatisfied he is with me, he still has to work under my command."
With that thought, a twisted smile crept across Kirei's face.
However, this small pleasure was clearly not enough to excite him too much.
But he knew that soon, something far more pleasurable would occur... it wouldn't take long.
Yes, it wouldn't take long before he could revel even more.
"It's been ten years, Rin..." Kirei's expression grew increasingly distorted. "You've worked so hard in the Holy Grail War for your father's ideals. Soon, you'll discover the truth... discover who really killed your father. And when that happens, I can..."
The ultimate pleasure, emotions pent up for a decade, would finally erupt. At that moment, he would surely reach the pinnacle of ecstasy!
Moreover, this time there was also Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted son, that boy named Shirou Emiya!
"But if the Servant Shirou Emiya summoned is truly the King of Knights, that would be wonderful. If the King of Knights could utterly trample the King of Heroes, shattering all his delusions from these past years, it would be even more exquisite!"
Ten years ago, it was Gilgamesh who had awakened the emotions within him... that impulse for pleasure. Now, Kirei didn't mind making Gilgamesh part of his own pleasure as well!
At that moment, he suddenly froze. Just an instant ago, he had felt an overheating reaction from the Command Spells in his possession!
Yet he hadn't used a Command Spell, and a Servant couldn't activate them on their own!
Kirei quickly glanced at the hand where his Command Spells were hidden, only to find that they were losing their effect!
His contract with Cú Chulainn was breaking, as if something had directly severed the bond between them!
This situation typically meant only one possibility.
"Cú Chulainn is dead?!" When a Servant dies, the contract naturally dissolves.
But this was somewhat hard for Kirei to believe.
"How is that possible?!"
In that moment, Kirei even let out an involuntary exclamation, while his mind raced furiously.
"Wait, the orders I gave Cú Chulainn had no intent for a fight to the death. If he encountered trouble, he could contact me directly, or I could even use a Command Spell to teleport him back instantly... no problem at all!
"But now, he vanished without a word, taken out so swiftly that he couldn't even react. Who could have done this? Could it be Shirou Emiya's Servant?
"But what Servant could eliminate Cú Chulainn before he could even respond? What kind of overpowered existence was summoned?"
Kirei swiftly mentally sifted through all the legendary heroes he knew, but found no matches.
"Could it be an Assassin? But Shirou Emiya definitely summoned a Saber. Or perhaps someone else was secretly scouting the Emiya residence, encountered Cú Chulainn who arrived early, and ambushed him?"
He considered a possibility, but dismissed it immediately.
"No, impossible. With Cú Chulainn's strength and battle experience, being taken out in a single strike without time to react is hard to imagine.
"I'd sooner believe it was due to an overwhelming gap in power leading to an instant kill... but..."
After pondering for a moment, Kirei muttered his greatest doubt.
"What Servant could possess such immense power?"
Perhaps there was only one answer.
"Could it be that the Servant Shirou Emiya summoned isn't human, but a divine spirit?
"It's possible, after all. Gilgamesh himself is a demigod, and many heroes can be called demigods. Summoning an actual god isn't impossible, even if the difficulty is extreme and the probability minuscule. What if Shirou Emiya just happened to hit that slim chance?"
His thoughts had veered into absurd territory, but instead of worrying, Kirei began to laugh, exceptionally delighted.
"Hahaha! Excellent, truly excellent! Variables like this are what make things thrilling!"
Even after losing his Servant, he felt no fear and instead began contemplating other methods.
"Gilgamesh is a Servant from the previous war who lingered until now. Ritually, the Holy Grail summons a maximum of seven Servants for the Holy Grail War, but that's just the rule. No magus has ever tried summoning more...
"The Einzbern family hasn't attempted it either, and they should be familiar with the Grail's construction since their family built the ritual. Not engaging in such a cheating tactic might be because of some hidden risks..."
Thinking of those risks, Kirei smiled, very pleased.
"What do risks matter to me?"
With that, he descended to the church's basement and began setting up a new magic circle. He wanted to test if he could summon a new Servant.
Even if it failed, there would be no loss... he'd just need to consider a new way to intervene.
As for whom to summon this time? He had already decided: the one most worth summoning, the one who could bring him the greatest joy!
That was Tokiomi Tohsaka!
Using the relic his former teacher Tokiomi Tohsaka had given him, Kirei initiated the summoning ritual. How he hoped this attempt would succeed... but evidently, it failed.
The circle showed no response, as if refusing to acknowledge the relic at all.
Seeing this, Kirei sighed.
"A pity. The touching father-daughter reunion scene is gone. I was planning to have him do it himself in front of Rin."
Uttering such malicious words, Kirei tried again. This time, the circle reacted.
"It really is possible to summon more."
Kirei said in mild surprise, curious to see whom he would summon. Without a relic, it would likely be random, though perhaps a Lancer-class, since that spot was now vacant.
But at that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his hand, followed by something bizarre: his Command Spells began multiplying wildly, surging from three to twenty-one in an instant!
The vivid red Command Spells even covered his entire left arm!
On the ground, six additional magic circles appeared out of nowhere, making seven in total, each manifesting a figure!
"Ah, for Lady Jeanne..."
A low, somewhat frenzied voice came from the central circle, belonging to a gaunt man in armor... not particularly fine, mostly leather with only a few metal parts.
He had long hair, held a longsword, and looked toward Gilgamesh.
"Answering the Holy Grail's summons to set the Grail's wish back on the proper path... and to revive the great Jeanne!"
Looking at the man, Kirei felt a twinge of familiarity; he seemed to have seen this fellow before, though he couldn't quite recall where.
"Yes, for Jeanne, for the great Jeanne, any sacrifice is acceptable! So, let us seize the Holy Grail!"
A similar but more deranged voice followed.
It came from a hunched figure with bulging eyes, vaguely resembling the knight from before.
These two must be the same person!
"Gilles de Rais!" Kirei finally remembered who they were!
The Caster from the Fourth Holy Grail War!
"I am indeed Gilles de Rais, Master. For Jeanne, let us fight!"
The two Servants spoke in unison.
They even glanced at each other, sharing a relieved smile: "For Jeanne!"
"For a woman? Whatever. I'm only here to complete the task." A cloaked man, who looked like an Archer or perhaps a ranger.
"So, this time it's a direct mission from the Holy Grail? How peculiar... I didn't encounter anything like this last time..." A handsome man holding two spears, another familiar face.
Seeing him, Kirei showed surprise again.
He remembered this man: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, the Lancer from the Fourth Holy Grail War. It seemed he was summoned as Lancer again.
As for the green-clad ranger, it appeared to be Robin Hood, Archer class.
"Yahoo! My name is Astolfo! My class's Rider! And then... uh... nice to meet you!"
A voice full of energy from what looked like a girl in pink knight armor, cheerfully introducing themselves.
As for the cloaked, masked figure, Kirei knew him well... it was the Assassin he had summoned in the Fourth Holy Grail War: Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
The last one was a woman in a kimono, with white horn-like protrusions on her head.
She gave a faint smile, making one doubt if her class was assigned correctly.
"Servant, Kiyohime. Class Berserker... I come in response to the Holy Grail's summons!"
Summoning seven Servants at once, each with notable origins, left Kirei momentarily baffled about what was happening. Still, he recalled the clues from their earlier words.
"The Holy Grail's summons, to set the Holy Grail War back on track... What happened to the Holy Grail?" Kirei asked. He knew the Grail had its own consciousness, so what situation had driven it to this frenzied behavior?
"Someone is obstructing the Holy Grail's proper descent. The ritual is being delayed and cannot complete. If we finish the task, our wishes will be granted... With us seven as a team, eliminate the adversaries!"
Kirei smiled. This change had exceeded his plans once more, but at least the advantage was on his side now... seven Servants, all with him as Master. It was simply perfect!
...
After Cú Chulainn was locked into the magic circle, he found he couldn't even send a signal; he was utterly unable to communicate with Kirei Kotomine via the Command Spells. In that moment, he was completely trapped there.
After a brief panic, Cú Chulainn calmed down again. Looking at the person who emerged, he asked, "What is this?"
"A little summoning circle... hmm, I modified it. Now it's temporarily acting as a sealing circle. Don't struggle; not even you can break it. Even if I summoned a demon from hell, it couldn't resist this power."
Morpheus said, waving a hand. "Yo, we meet again, Mr. Lancer with Luck E."
"You can see my stats?!" Cú Chulainn asked in surprise.
"Who knows?" Morpheus shrugged, then leisurely approached Cú Chulainn... naturally, without entering the circle.
Cú Chulainn glanced at this Archer, then at the group of Servants nearby. Each one emanated impressive magical energy; none were pushovers!
Counting them, there were five, plus himself... six Servants from this Holy Grail War gathered here.
Facing five alone, he saw no hope of victory.
"Let's make a deal," Morpheus said, turning to Medea. "Lend me that dagger of yours."
Medea had already prepared Rule Breaker. At Morpheus's request, she handed it over immediately, even thoughtfully explaining how to use it.
Cú Chulainn, seeing the two whispering, frowned. "What deal do you want with me?"
"Just a moment." Morpheus said, then whirled and struck. Before Cú Chulainn could react, Morpheus's peculiar dagger had pierced his body!
"What are you doing?!" Cú Chulainn shouted, reaching for his weapon, only to feel a massive change in his body.
He sensed the connection with Kirei Kotomine severing... the contract crumbling in that instant!
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL