The battle was overwhelmingly one-sided.
To the onlookers, the feat of extinguishing the initial flames was a remarkable display of magecraft. Yet, as if that were the extent of his limits, Karma Kirigaya found himself being steadily driven back by the Enforcers.
Indeed, the Enforcers were overwhelming the man known as Karma Kirigaya.
'They're certainly strong. These Enforcers aren't ordinary... but this confirms it.'
Even as I maneuvered through the exchange, I maintained a recursive loop of analysis, dissecting the information they had gathered regarding my existence.
'If they truly knew I held the rank of a Magician or possessed the Rinnegan, Cornelius Alba wouldn't have launched such a reckless offensive. They would have staged a proper encirclement or used my family as collateral for a Geas. Since they haven't… it means they are still blind to the true depth of my Mystery.'
Perhaps they believed the rhetoric I fed the Einzberns—that my True Magic was unstable or a mere counterfeit of the Third. Or perhaps they assumed my ability to manifest was being suppressed by the Counter Force even more severely than Aoko-nee's. That was likely the extent of their appraisal.
'Or perhaps they intend to kidnap me, seeing me as a familiar face that can be used to negotiate with the El-Melloi faction and Waver. It seems they have no connection to Godword…'
While these thoughts raced, the Enforcers continued their relentless pressure.
Spells of Flame magecraft swirled around me, seeking to incinerate my form, while Bazett—her fists and elbows reinforced by the power of Runes—methodically targeted my joints and vitals. Anonymous Enforcers utilized Wind-attribute spells to carve wounds into my flesh, coordinating with Cornelius Alba to burn me and hamper my mobility.
Nothing seems to be going right. After a brief mutter of annoyance, I lunged toward Bazett, but with practiced ease, she caught my arm and hurled me toward a stone wall.
"I believe those ribs are broken."
"By now, I hope you have realized the gap in our strength. Rest assured, we have no intention of killing you until the business is concluded."
"…Hah, is that so? Then I can breathe a little easier."
A moment later, I detonated my own body.
…What? I never once said that was my actual physical body.
As the Enforcers cried out amidst the billowing flames and smoke, frantically chanting defensive incantations, Bazett used a Rune—the nature of which was unclear—to clear the screen and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Back to back! Form a circular ward!"
The magi followed her command instantly, eliminating their blind spots. The Enforcer specialized in Wind magecraft manipulated the currents to sweep away the lingering smoke.
Countless questions surged through Bazett's mind.
'How could he possess such a level of puppetry?'—a logical doubt. 'He must be in league with Touko Aozaki!'—a logical deduction. 'How do we secure him now?'—a tactical projection. All these thoughts drifted through her mind before she arrived at the simplest conclusion: respond to the situation as it develops. She reinforced her body with Runes once more.
[◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎!!!!!!]
Regrettably, it seemed she hadn't anticipated the possibility of hundreds of beasts surrounding them.
Over a hundred chimeras resembling feral hounds hemmed them in. Above, in the darkening sky, a monstrous bird hovered, looking as though it were ready to unleash a localized thunderstorm. Atop the largest bird, which wore a mask-like face, sat my true self, flanked by six puppet-paths. Bazett looked up, her expression turning vacant.
"What use is reclaiming authority over the leylines? The right of management was already mine from the start."
Even if these were third-rate leylines, their Magical Energy far exceeded that of a mere 'human.' As long as I implanted the necessary receptors, I could facilitate the flow of prana and execute magecraft to my heart's content.
Mifune City was already my Workshop, and they had stepped right into the belly of the beast.
"Don't panic! They're just chimeras!"
"Just chimeras... So that's how they appear to you."
Dozens of massive, multi-eared hounds barked savagely before lunging.
Bazett, at the vanguard of the triangular formation, used her Rune-reinforced physical strength to tear the dogs into bloody fragments. However, those fragments immediately writhed and coalesced, regenerating and dividing into dozens of new hounds within seconds. The strange birds in the sky began raining down lightning and egg-like bombs. Meanwhile, a chameleon-like summon hidden between the walls and manhole covers extended its tongue, crushing the leg of the Wind-mage Enforcer.
"It seems the biodiversity is a bit lacking. Let's add another species to the mix."
From my perch high above, I dropped buffaloes and rhinoceroses the size of small houses right into the center of their formation. Cornelius Alba attempted to incinerate them, only to be trampled underfoot until not a trace of him remained.
The scent of scorched earth and blood hung thick in the air. Two magi were already incapacitated, yet the number of summons showed no sign of thinning. On the contrary, as if to mock their formation, the beasts encircled them and toyed with them one by one.
The intermittent lightning strikes and bomb shells eroded their mental fortitude. The relentless assault of the hounds denied her any opportunity to deploy her Noble Phantasm, Fragarach.
Before long, Bazett's body was covered in bite marks from the feral dogs and bruises from the chameleon's tail. The other Enforcers were either unconscious or incapable of standing.
Finally, when the last magus standing—the one who had held out longest alongside her—fell as his shoulder was torn by a hound, I slowly guided the bird down to the ground.
By the time I landed, she was exhausted, leaning against a wall and catching her breath. I met her gaze with a thin smile.
"It's clear now that the Department of Policies truly knows nothing about me. This has been valuable data, Ms. Bazett."
"I think I understand why the Clock Tower lacked records of your existence… however, this battle is my victory…!"
In that instant, she reached out, a blue sphere materializing in her hand.
Resembling a blade attached to a circular jewel, it surged with prana as it flew toward me. At my reaction speed, dodging was an impossibility; in fact, it was a weapon for which the very concept of 'dodging' did not apply.
But nothing happened.
"How…!?"
"I know it well. *Fragarach: Answerer*. A Noble Phantasm that activates when the opponent uses their 'trump card.' It's a conceptual rule-breaker that reverses causality, ensuring the opponent dies for using their best move… but it has a weakness, doesn't it?"
Regrettably, my summoning is merely mundane magecraft to me. My 'main' remains the Deva Path's *Shinra Tensei*.
"What... how can that level of magecraft... be nothing more than a footnote to you...?"
"Your words just confirmed it. You really don't know who I am."
Using *Shinra Tensei* to finally knock Bazett unconscious, I unsummoned the beasts scattered across the street and stored the Enforcers inside the Naraka Path.
"Now then, shall we move on to the deduction?"
Bazett's skill was exceptional.
Though they weren't Phantasmal Species of the Age of Gods, she had shredded dozens of hound summons that Touko Aozaki claimed would trouble dozens of second-rate magi. Even then, she had the strength left to fire Fragarach at me.
But she was ignorant of my capabilities from the start. She took it for granted that I wouldn't use the Third Magic, and the personnel assigned to her were merely support. She had been operating under the assumption that I possessed no direct combat viability.
"Going back to the beginning… **'Someone'** provided information about me to the Department of Policies."
That **'Someone'** suggested to the Department that I was harboring Touko Aozaki, who is connected to the Root, and slipped in hints about me during the briefing.
Magecraft, the Root—likely something of that magnitude. Upon hearing this, the Department sent Enforcers to verify the claim and arrest Touko Aozaki at the location provided. Capturing me, a person potentially linked to True Magic, was a secondary objective.
But... would they really send such a meager force to capture a Magician? If we look at it through that lens, the interpretation changes.
They didn't come for the 'fake Magician' who uses the Third Magic; they came for a suspect who might have ties to the Root. If I were innocent, they could simply kill me to cover their tracks; if I were guilty, they could target my family.
That's why they sent Bazett. As an elite Enforcer, she was a guarantee in a fight against Touko Aozaki, and the backup team only had to assist her or escort me.
So, who was the informant?
"Three points. First, the Clock Tower accepted his report to a degree, but he does not trust the Clock Tower."
More accurately, he is using the Clock Tower.
He has clear information on me but failed to specify my combat power or my true nature. The Clock Tower either doubted his claims or simply believed him and sent second-tier troops regardless.
This excludes everyone I have a personal relationship with or who knows me well.
Those people know my combat strength—or can at least estimate it—and they would know Bazett wouldn't be enough to secure me.
"Second… that guy knows exactly who I am."
If the opponent had done this simply to test me or to act as an enemy, they should have introduced me to the Department as 'Karma Akabane.'
Kayneth and Waver know me as Karma Akabane. The only person who might guess my true name, Kiritsugu Emiya, is currently under my protection in Misaki City.
"Third. That guy is part of the Clock Tower."
Therefore, he used the Clock Tower—the largest pawn he could move—to expose my identity and apply pressure.
Let's summarize.
Who belongs to the Clock Tower, knows my true identity, distrusts the Clock Tower, and views me as an enemy?
I know the person who fits all those criteria.
The head of the Department of Archaeology (the 11th faculty) at the Clock Tower. A man respected within the organization for his diligence. And his true identity—a terminal of the Demon God King, the Grand Order destined to incinerate the Human Order.
"Lev Lainur... It seems Marisbury has already begun the Demi-Servant experiments."