Tohsaka Residence
At this moment, Tokiomi Tohsaka, who always prided himself on elegance and upheld it as his family's creed, felt an unusual turmoil within. Even he could clearly sense his own disarray.
Like the other participants in the Holy Grail War, Tokiomi yearned deeply for the war's prize—the so-called omnipotent wish-granting machine.
After all, obtaining the Holy Grail had become the final path for someone of his mediocre talent to reach the Root in this lifetime.
While passing down the family legacy was a vital part of magecraft's existence...
Even if he couldn't reach it himself, Tokiomi was willing to believe his talented descendants could achieve it in his stead. That way, he could rest in peace.
But compared to entrusting the task entirely to his heirs, Tokiomi, as a magus, longed to witness that miracle with his own eyes...
Thus, he staked everything—his hopes, his ambitions—on this Holy Grail War, praying for that miracle to manifest.
To ensure his victory, he had made thorough preparations long before the war began, sparing no effort in securing resources and a powerful Servant to pave his path.
In terms of connections, he reached out to his old friend, Risei Kotomine.
Risei was the priest of Fuyuki City's church and its overseer, tasked with safeguarding the secrecy of the mysteries, making him the natural supervisor of this Holy Grail War. His role was to mediate conflicts, ensure fair judgments, prevent exposure of the mysteries, and minimize excessive casualties.
Though Tokiomi had some reservations about "fair judgments," given that the two of them were the first to bend the rules...
Before the Holy Grail War began, Tokiomi leveraged his family's longstanding ties with Fuyuki's church to contact his old friend.
With reason and emotion, he used his sincerity to persuade Risei, securing extraordinary assistance.
He promised that all damages to buildings or cleanup costs during the war would be covered by the Tohsaka family. He also vowed to maintain the balance between reality and the mysteries, ensuring no major chaos would erupt during the war.
Facing his aging friend, Tokiomi didn't hold back, openly sharing his personal wish and the Tohsaka family's longstanding desire. He swore that if he obtained the Grail, his only wish would be to reach the Root, pledging never to do anything harmful to the world, justice, or the Lord.
Initially, as a devout follower of the Lord and the war's overseer, Risei was naturally reluctant to violate doctrine or act as a biased judge.
But under Tokiomi's tearful pleas and repeated assurances, seeing the younger man he'd watched grow up—almost a friend despite the age gap—Risei softened.
Considering Tokiomi's years of restraint, his contributions to Fuyuki's development, and his respect for Risei as his son's professor...
Faced with Tokiomi's earnest pleas, Risei couldn't refuse. He chose to turn a blind eye, agreeing to his wish.
His internal justification was that he trusted Tokiomi's character. The Grail's power was too dangerous—if it fell into evil hands, it could wreak havoc on the world. Tokiomi's wish to reach the Root was a common magus's pursuit, unlikely to harm the world.
If so, what harm was there in granting his request, given his years of effort?
Moreover, once Tokiomi reached the Root, Risei could retrieve the Grail, send it to the Church's headquarters for sealing, and eliminate the Holy Grail War's threat...
From the perspective of justice and humanity, wasn't this a good thing?
With this reasoning, Risei permitted his son, Kirei Kotomine, to join the Holy Grail War to aid Tokiomi's victory. He also promised to hand over the accumulated Command Seals from past wars to Tokiomi at the end to secure his win.
Tokiomi was deeply grateful for his friend's actions.
With such support, his confidence soared. To ensure victory, he spared no expense, acquiring a rare relic from Western Europe's magecraft circles—the [Shed Skin of the Primordial Serpent]—and used it to summon the mightiest Heroic Spirit, the king among kings, the hero among heroes, the oldest hero, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh.
When that radiant golden figure appeared, exuding disdain for all, Tokiomi's heart leapt with joy.
Though summoned as Archer rather than the optimal Saber class, Tokiomi deemed it sufficient.
After all, he had the overseer's favor, his disciple and Assassin aiding him, and now the King of Heroes...
A powerful Servant, ample Command Seals, and even the judge on his side?
He couldn't imagine any reason he'd lose. Who could stop him in this Holy Grail War? Who?!
By all accounts, it should have been that way...
But things didn't go as smoothly as he'd anticipated.
"What's with two Lancers appearing at once? Did someone perform an irregular summoning? And that golden Lancer's strength—suppressing the optimal Saber class head-on! Is the King of Heroes not the only exceptional Servant in this war?!"
He couldn't help but voice his frustration.
Even Tokiomi, who had been as steady as a rock, certain of his victory, panicked after witnessing last night's all-star lineup.
The Lancer god-slayer Fionn, who could suppress Saber King Arthur head-on, was one thing, but the irregularly summoned Lancer Scáthach, another renowned god-slayer, was undoubtedly an exceptional Servant as well.
Compared to them, even the Black Knight and the King of Conquerors who appeared later seemed less impressive.
Oh, and there was King Arthur, suppressed the entire time.
These Servants often have their legendary feats sublimated into special Noble Phantasms.
Noble Phantasms, the celebrated armaments from a Heroic Spirit's legend, are said to wield power far beyond modern magecraft, unleashing effects as grand as their myths.
The legends of these two god-slayers naturally included slaying deities—a heaven-defying feat—meaning they had strong advantages against anything with divine traits.
Unfortunately, Gilgamesh happened to possess top-tier divinity among Heroic Spirits, being two-thirds god and one-third human, making him nearly invincible in normal combat.
Thus, these two Celtic god-slayers were perfect counters to Gilgamesh.
This was why Tokiomi's face changed that night, forcing him to use a Command Seal to urgently recall Gilgamesh.
Even someone as mighty as the King of Heroes Gilgamesh, if besieged by two top-tier Servants with god-slaying traits, would likely fare poorly under such unfavorable compatibility, so Tokiomi had to be cautious.
The simultaneous appearance of Scáthach and Fionn cast a shadow over Tokiomi's once-confident heart.
"Even you, professor, are starting to waver..."
In the room, a young man in priestly robes clutched a cross, his expression calm as he looked at the sighing Tokiomi, his face showing neither joy nor sorrow, leaving his thoughts unreadable.
A day earlier, following Tokiomi's orders, he had commanded his Servant Assassin to attack the Tohsaka residence, only to be killed by Archer under everyone's watch.
Of course, this wasn't to exit the Holy Grail War. His Servant, Assassin Hassan of the Hundred Faces, was a unique entity with hundreds of personalities and bodies—losing one was trivial. This allowed Kirei Kotomine to remain hidden in the shadows.
To conceal Tokiomi's alliance and prevent other Masters from learning of the Church's bias, Kirei stayed away, never showing himself, instead remaining at the Tohsaka residence, using Assassin to gather intelligence.
Seeing Tokiomi's worried demeanor, Kirei, standing in the shadows, spoke.
"...Let's hope they don't have a Noble Phantasm to rival Ea."
Compared to his professor, Kirei's expression was far calmer.
Perhaps he had no interest in the so-called Holy Grail, only participating to help Tokiomi win it.
Even he wasn't sure what his own inner desire was.
"You're right, Kirei. It's too early to despair. Even god-slayers may not defeat the invincible King of Heroes."
Hearing Kirei's words, Tokiomi nodded slightly, recalling the situation carefully.
"The Einzbern family's Servant is King Arthur, Saber class. The Clock Tower kid is Rider, the King of Conquerors. Based on intelligence, the god-slayer Fionn is likely that Mineralogy Lord from afar. As for the irregularly summoned Queen of the Land of Shadows Scáthach... hmph, probably the Matou family."
"After all, aside from the Matou, who know the Holy Grail War's rules and secrets inside out, no other magus could so easily summon and command the Queen of the Land of Shadows. Perhaps they're even hiding a Caster as well."
Tokiomi snorted coldly, immediately targeting the Matou family, with whom he'd had little contact, marking them as his greatest threat in this war.
"...That's highly likely. According to recent intelligence from Assassin, there was an unusual mana surge at the Matou residence, possibly related to this."
Kirei nodded, agreeing with Tokiomi's suspicion.
"So, professor, what should we do now?"
"...It's almost certainly the Matou family stirring trouble... A god-slayer and a Caster—truly formidable foes. But given the situation, I have a proposal."
After careful thought, Tokiomi spoke.
"Please, go on, professor."
Kirei nodded slightly, awaiting Tokiomi's instructions.
"An alliance... how about it?"
He said directly.
"...An alliance?"
Kirei paused, but quickly grasped Tokiomi's intent.
After all, anyone could see that two Lancers in one Holy Grail War was abnormal—likely the work of the elusive Caster. Casters grow harder to deal with over time, their unpredictability unmatched.
Some could even bypass everyone to target the Greater Grail directly.
While others fought to the death, a Caster secretly tampering with the prize would be intolerable, especially since this Caster had already irregularly summoned Lancer Scáthach.
In such a short time, summoning the Queen of the Land of Shadows spoke volumes of their threat. If given more time to summon additional exceptional Servants, there'd be no point in fighting.
So Tokiomi planned to act swiftly, allying with other Masters to eliminate this major threat.
As for the ally...
The Einzbern family, who suffered a setback in last night's port battle, would be more anxious than him. This win-win plan was sure to gain their agreement.
With this thought, Tokiomi's worried heart gradually calmed.
"Ancestors bless me, no matter what, I must win this Holy Grail War and fulfill my family's wish."
He murmured softly, lifting his gaze to the window, his eyes growing resolute.
"With my friend's help and the King of Heroes as my trump card, no matter the opponent, I'll never surrender."
"The victory of this Holy Grail War belongs to me. Even if it costs my life, even if I fall on the path to truth, I'll have no regrets..."
Tokiomi whispered, clenching his fists, praying to his ancestors for guidance.
As his prayer faded, the images of his two daughters appeared unbidden in his mind.
...Rin, if I fail, the Tohsaka family's future rests with you.
And, Sakura...
How are you now? Stepping onto the path of magecraft, you'll surely find true happiness and joy, right?
You will, won't you?
***
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