I'm Shenji, what are you doing?

It is more than 30 kilometers away from Fuyuki City in a straight line to the west.

A national highway runs from east to west, cutting through mountainous areas far away from human habitation. On both sides of the national highway is a lush green forest that seems to have been forgotten by the overwhelming wave of residential development.

This is an area with many mysteries. At first glance, it seems to be state-owned land, but in fact it is private land owned by a foreign-funded enterprise whose existence is uncertain. If you carefully collect information about this land, the first thing you will know are some wonderful urban legends.

Legend has it that there is a "Dream City" in the deepest part of this dense forest.

Of course this is just a silly story.

Although this forest has not yet been developed, it is not far from Fuyuki City and can be reached by car in an hour. If there really was such a strange castle, how could it not cause a sensation? In fact, several people have conducted land surveys in this primeval forest several times in the past, but no traces of artificial structures were ever found.

But every few years, someone brings up this legend.

In front of children who venture into the forest with half a sense of fun, as well as lost hikers, a magnificent ancient stone castle suddenly appears in the thick fog. Legend has it that the castle is a very incredible mansion. It is empty and looks like a ruin, but it is clean and spotless, and it does not look like an uninhabited place at all.

No one would take this legend seriously. At best, it would be published as one of the pages of some third-rate magazine’s special summer supernatural issue that had no topic to write about.

Only a handful of magicians know that this castle is real.

The "Magic City" welcomes its master every sixty years and becomes a wartime base.

This castle is protected by layers of illusions and magic barriers. It is an alien space that is absolutely impossible to be discovered by the outside world except by accidental circumstances. Those who know the true origins of this castle will call this deep forest the "Einzbern Forest".

At that time, the Holy Grail War was taking place in Fuyuki City. The patriarch of the Einzbern family, Yubusta Kuhayed, was unwilling to establish a stronghold in the territory directly under the jurisdiction of the archrival Tosaka family, so he resorted to financial resources and bought it out. The spiritual place closest to Fuyuki City serves as the base of the Einzbern family. It was the eve of the Third Holy Grail War and also the tense period before the outbreak of World War II.

It is said that they used the entire vast virgin forest as a barrier to isolate it from the outside world, and built a sub-city there from Einzbern itself. From this we can get a glimpse of their family’s amazing financial resources and deep persistence. The Tohsaka family is busy working just to buy land as an intermediary or work secretly in the local area, but this is the most ironic thing.

There is no doubt about the isolation effect of the barrier. If Scathach hadn't determined the general range and direction by tracking Irisviel, Justeza might not have been able to find the specific location of the forest even if she had lived in Fuyuki City for a few more years. .

In addition to isolation, the barrier also has an early warning function. Once someone enters the barrier, they will be discovered by the person who controls the barrier. However, because the foundation of the barrier was Einzbern's magic and alchemy, Justeza spent some time and found a way to avoid triggering the warning mechanism and sneaked into the castle without alerting anyone.

The inside and outside of the castle were very clean, and the entrances, halls, and corridors were decorated with vibrant flowers, making it completely unimaginable that no one had lived here for sixty years.

In the conference room of the castle, Justeza saw her clone, and she sighed several times in a row.

A long conference table occupied most of the conference room. Irisviel and Emiya Kiritsugu each occupied a long side. Saber and Kuu Maiya each stood behind one person, motionless and silent as sculptures. This wordless silence made the air in the conference room increasingly dull.

A map of Fuyuki City was spread on the conference table. On one side of the map were the compiled information on each Master and Servant. One of them was held in Irisviel's hand. This should be the reason why she sighed.

"Kotomine Kirei."

Yes, this is the information that Emiya Kiritsugu collected as quickly as possible about the agent who attacked Kuu Maiya last night.

"The son of Supervisor Kotomine Rimasa, and a disciple of Tokiomi Tokiomi."

"Born in 1967, he has been on holy land tours with his father, Rimasa Kotomine, since he was a child. He graduated from San Ignazio Seminary in Manresa in 1981, skipped two grades, and was still the chief? Really? What a remarkable person.”

Kiritsugu nodded displeasedly at his wife's comment.

"If he continues like this, he is very likely to become a cardinal. But he suddenly gave up the opportunity to get ahead and volunteered to enter the Holy Church. There are obviously more and better choices, why should he destroy his future and choose the internal organization of the Holy See? Woolen cloth?"

Although the Holy Church bears the name of the church, it is only an integral part of the entire Vatican Holy See. It is a secret organization of the Holy See dedicated to achieving special purposes.

"Is it influenced by his father? Both he and his father belong to the Eighth Mystery Society of the Holy Church."

The remains and blood of saints, the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus, and the 30 silver coins received by Judas are called holy relics. And the secret agency that exists to recover and manage the sacred relics scattered around the world is the "Eighth Mystery Society".

Hearing Irisviel's opinion, Kiritsugu still shook his head.

"If that's the case, he should have joined the Eighth Mystery Society from the beginning. However, before he was in the same department as his father, he went through three changes and was appointed as the agent. At that time, he was only a teenager. This This job cannot be done without considerable consciousness and perseverance. It is the bloodiest department of the Holy Church, responsible for combating heretics, and can be said to be the lair of Shura evil spirits. Obtaining the title of 'Agent' means that he has accepted The cruel training as a human weapon is the first level of killer."

From this aspect, Kirei Kotomine is very similar to Kiritsugu Emiya. The former magician killer Emiya Kiritsugu was the "actor" on the side of the Magic Association.

"Perhaps he is a fanatical believer. Because he is young and his mind is too simple, there are many examples of him being overly superstitious and unable to extricate himself."

Kiritsugu shook his head at Irisviel for the third time.

"Probably not. If so, this guy's resume in the past three years cannot be explained. If his faith is pure, it is impossible to transfer to the Magic Association. Even if he is more loyal to the organization than to the doctrine and accepts the orders of the church, but he has My attitude towards practicing magic is too serious.”

Irisviel continued to read the information and read the summary of Kotomine Kirei's abilities at the end - the types of magic he has learned include alchemy, seance, summoning, divination, and healing magic, even surpassing his master Tosaka Toki. minister. .

"This Kotomine Kirei is indeed a bit strange, but is it worthy of your attention? Although he seems to have many talents, there is nothing particularly superior to him."

“That’s what makes me care more and more.”

Looking at Irisviel who couldn't understand, Kiritsugu patiently explained.

"Every kind of magic is studied to the point where it is just one step away from being first-class, but then he immediately changes to other types without any hesitation, and throws away the results of painstaking study as garbage."

"He has chosen a lifestyle that is many times more intense than others. However, this man does not feel 'enthusiasm' at all in his life..."

"This man is dangerous."

Emiya Kiritsugu came to this conclusion, and after a while, he added another sentence.

"A terrifying guy, more terrifying than Tohsaka and El-Meloy."

Seeing her husband's solemn expression, Irisviel unconsciously tightened her clothes, and Kuu Maiya's eyes became more and more dangerous.

This terrifying man has set his sights on the man who is most important to them.