This was neither the final battlefield of Fuyuki Civic Center nor the original worldline.
Before the Holy Grail War, aside from assisting his teacher in catching petty thieves who stole materials, Kirei had been steadily training in magecraft until the war began.
However, Kiritsugu Emiya was different. Due to his connection with "Shirou Emiya," he had been greatly affected by Sakatsuki, a chaos-inducing butterfly whose wings had flapped hard enough to send massive ripples through his life. The butterfly effect had completely reshaped his fate.
Beyond simply being forced to upgrade his arsenal in response to escalating challenges, the most significant impact on Kiritsugu was his revised assessment of his future enemies' combat strength.
As someone who had long roamed the underbelly of society and assassinated numerous magi, Kiritsugu had never imagined an opponent capable of conjuring two gigantic swords that covered the sky or summoning a Reality Marble akin to a forbidden spell, capable of overpowering an entire magus family within their own workshop. Thanks to this, Kiritsugu had once been under immense pressure, believing that all his opponents in the Holy Grail War would be monsters like Sakatsuki.
But on the flip side, precisely because Sakatsuki's display was so overwhelming, Kiritsugu had become unfazed by anything he might encounter in the Holy Grail War.
Thus, when faced with Kirei's lightning-fast assault, Kiritsugu seized a brief opening from his mortal enemy, activated Innate Time Control at the cost of his own body, dodged the punch, and counterattacked with gunfire!
When Kirei blocked with his Black Keys while growling, "Useless," Kiritsugu acknowledged the Executor's superior reflexes—but he remained unfazed.
Because, thanks to Sakatsuki's foresight, he had ample time to prepare for this battle. What Kirei didn't know was that inside Kiritsugu's Calico pistol magazine, apart from the first round being standard ammunition, the rest were all specially crafted necromantic bullets!
A simple Black Key infused with mana was breached in an instant, and even his enchanted robe, reinforced with protective spells, failed to withstand the effects of a bullet imbued with at least two bars of magical energy. In a cascade of sparks where magecraft clashed with magecraft and science countered science, the high-velocity bullet, carrying over a thousand pounds of kinetic energy, broke through the final line of defense and tore into the Executor's muscles, honed through years of rigorous training.
Despite the excruciating pain, Kirei did not retreat instinctively. Instead, he calculated Kiritsugu's accelerated movements in real-time, reached his conclusion before the pain could cloud his thoughts, and continued his assault!
The second punch missed as well. In the blink of an eye, the black-clad assassin had moved just beyond Kirei's reach, his left hand firmly holding the trigger, relentlessly firing cursed bullets at the priest.
"Time Alter, Triple Accel."
If this continued, even the monster-like Executor would have his abdomen completely perforated, eventually losing combat capability from excessive blood loss.
Thus, Kirei gritted his teeth and activated his third Command Spell.
Using the physical reinforcement magecraft taught by Tokiomi, magical energy surged through his body, accelerating his neural reflexes and enhancing the explosive power of his right biceps, brachioradialis, and pronator teres. Employing expert footwork, Kirei evaded the bullets' trajectory, his forearm twisting into a spiraling weapon. The sheer force of his strike stirred the air into a whirlwind as he relentlessly pursued his opponent.
Just as Kiritsugu dared not advance a step forward, Kirei found himself unable to retreat. His victory lay solely in the martial arts he had honed over the years.
However, what awaited him was neither a bullet nor a gun barrel—but rather an object Kiritsugu pulled from his coat, resembling a human heart. As the black-clad man yanked a pull-ring eerily similar to muscle fibers, he hurled it toward Kirei's landing point.
The moment Kirei recognized the object's true nature, his pupils shrank. Without hesitation, he stomped the ground, enduring the tearing pain of the recoil as he leapt backward, curling his body to minimize exposure.
His previous description of the object had been incorrect—more precisely, it was a grenade crafted from a magus's heart. A product of necromantic magecraft, created by processing the heart of a slain magus with additional enchantments, embedded with their fingernails and teeth. Upon detonation, the scattered remains would carry curses similar to Gandr shots, burrowing into the enemy's body.
And Kiritsugu had just pulled the pin made of muscle fibers!
The explosion roared through the narrow corridor. Kiritsugu, having anticipated this, had already retreated. Kirei, however, could only channel all his magical energy into his robe, desperately reinforcing its defensive enchantments.
The deafening sound of shattering filled the air as scattered nails and teeth splintered window frames, punctured walls, and obliterated doors. Even the reinforced robe, bolstered by mana, was unable to withstand the relentless assault. With a final, agonizing tear, it was rendered useless.
When the dust settled, what lay before Kiritsugu was a battered, blood-soaked Executor. Yet, despite his grievous wounds, Kirei remained standing, seemingly still capable of fighting.
There was no other word to describe him. To endure such punishment and still stand—it was as if he could take on Dead Apostles single-handedly. What kind of sheer, unwavering conviction had tempered his flesh and blood into such a terrifying weapon?
But even so, the distance between them had widened. With no means to defend against bullets, the victor was already decided.
With this thought, Kiritsugu aimed his gun at Kirei and mercilessly pulled the trigger.
Water had already risen to his chest.
The endless cascade from the skylight showed no sign of stopping, and the dark chamber felt like a sealed bottle, trapping Waver Velvet inside—until he drowned.
At the same time, Waver's fingers finally touched the sole of his shoe.
The old me would have already succumbed to panic, wouldn't I?
The thought flashed through his mind. Taking advantage of the brief moment before the water sealed his mouth and nose, Waver whispered.
As an experienced Executor, Kirei had indeed confiscated all of his mystical artifacts. However, there was one underhanded trick that Kirei had never anticipated—one that only a magus of weak innate talent would resort to.
Using modern technology as a conduit for magecraft.
If his teacher ever saw him embedding flowers into dung, he would surely explode in rage. But precisely because of this, Waver had secured his one chance at survival.
With the simple incantation, a dagger adorned with golden patterns appeared in his hand.
Perhaps even Sakatsuki himself was unaware—during the first half of the Banquet of Kings, an impostor posing as him had slipped this dagger into Waver's possession.
Extracted from Lancer's Noble Phantasm, this cursed blade prevented wounds from healing. And at this moment, it was the perfect counter to the Chains of the Serpent.
Twisting his wrist awkwardly, Waver sawed at the chain binding him. Though his technique was clumsy, the instant the blade touched the icy serpent skin, its golden patterns flared. With a sharp, agonized hiss, the Chains of the Serpent snapped, unable to regenerate.
Repeating the process, Waver freed his ankles. Then, like a half-drowned dog, he scrambled toward the door—only to find it locked.
With his restored stamina rapidly depleting, he realized he was still doomed to drown.
Please, Rider—save me!
Just as Waver was about to give up, the door—his beacon of hope—shattered!
A violent surge of water thrust him out of the room. Coughing and gasping, Waver wheezed.
"Whoever you are... th-thank you..."
"No need. I am merely following my master's orders."
A cold, unfamiliar voice.
As Waver looked up at his savior, his eyes widened in shock.
"You—you're Assassin?!"
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