Maiya painfully climbed through a nearby window into a room, escaping danger.
She quickly contacted Kiritsugu Emiya.
"Kiritsugu… I was ambushed. Lancer's Master was rescued."
"Do you know who took her?" Kiritsugu asked.
"No… he wasn't in our files. He seems to be a magus as well."
"I see… perhaps a bodyguard from El-Melloi. I had planned to use that woman to force Kayneth's surrender. We'll have to revise our strategy against Lancer," Kiritsugu sighed—but did not lose resolve.
"Understood… sorry."
After hanging up, Maiya examined her abdominal injury.
Several ribs were broken.
She rested briefly before forcing herself to leave.
…
Haruka Kasugano carried Sola to the apartment he had rented earlier in Fuyuki.
He tossed her onto the bed and examined her injuries.
The severed arm couldn't be saved—but for magi, losing an arm wasn't a big issue.
They could easily use a magical prosthetic. Modern magecraft prosthetics were indistinguishable from real hands. At worst, they could buy a genuine replacement from the renowned puppeteer Touko Aozaki.
As for now—
A missing arm made resistance much harder, didn't it?
Heh heh heh.
However, the system's mission required him to gain control over her. Simply imprisoning and violating her probably wouldn't count as completion.
Better to wait until Sola woke up.
For now, there were other important matters to handle.
As soon as Haruka Kasugano locked Sola's room from the outside, he saw Circe materialize in the living room of the rented apartment.
She was drenched in sweat, lying sprawled on the sofa, looking extremely weak.
"What's wrong with you?" Haruka Kasugano hurried over in concern.
"It's nothing… I just summoned too many high-level demonic beasts this time and completely drained my mana… I'll be fine after some rest…" Circe said with a bitter smile.
Although her mana was supplied by the system, it replenished gradually and normally—only compensating for Haruka Kasugano's lack of magic circuits.
Circe's own mana capacity was still limited, and her recovery speed was average.
Summoning the Chimera this time had practically emptied her reserves.
Haruka Kasugano scratched his head, feeling unlucky. "I still have other things to do. If I run there, I definitely won't make it in time. Can you move me?"
"Then rest for now. I'll figure something out myself."
Hearing that, Circe quickly protested, "Wait… I'm just low on mana. I only need a little replenishment!"
"Hm? How do you replenish it?" Haruka Kasugano asked.
The next second, Circe grabbed his collar and pulled him down onto the sofa.
Pressing his shoulders with both hands, she leaned close to his ear and said in a soft, seductive voice, "Don't move. Leave the mana replenishment to me…"
Then her lips met his.
Haruka Kasugano immediately felt warmth and softness envelop him.
Circe's scent was utterly enchanting.
Her kissing skills were astonishing—he was overwhelmed almost instantly.
Human bodily fluids contain rich magical energy, and Circe replenished her mana by absorbing Haruka Kasugano's through a kiss.
Of course, there were more efficient ways to replenish mana—but pressed for time, she didn't resort to those indescribable methods.
After a full five minutes of kissing, Circe finally pulled away.
Compared to her earlier weak state, she now looked much more energized.
The replenishment had clearly worked well.
Still a little unsatisfied, Circe gently touched her lips with slender, pale fingers. Her face was flushed, her eyes hazy with lingering emotion.
"Little piglet! I'm full of energy now. So, where are we going?" she asked with a smile.
Haruka Kasugano hadn't expected her to be so proactive. He hadn't even started trying to win her over yet.
He couldn't tell whether this development was good or bad.
"Let's go—we're heading to the Church!" Haruka Kasugano said with a grin.
"Mmm~!"
Circe then lifted him up and swiftly headed toward the Church.
Inside the Church
Inside the Church, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, now in a wheelchair and wearing the prosthetic arms sent by Aozaki Touko, was negotiating with the overseer, Kotomine Risei.
"You're aware of the recent battle situation. My Lancer made the greatest sacrifice! He even gave up one of his Noble Phantasms! Do you know how much that will affect my future combat capabilities?" Kaynethpressed aggressively.
"I strongly demand that this Command Seal be given to me!"
Risei looked displeased, but he had little choice. Lancer had indeed sacrificed the most—not only losing a Noble Phantasm, but also restoring Saber to full strength.
Given the circumstances, he couldn't refuse.
"Very well. I agree that Lancer contributed the most. I will grant you one Command Seal."
Risei extended his fist toward Kenneth.
He began chanting a spell, and his fist started glowing.
Soon, a brand-new Command Seal appeared on the back of Kenneth's hand.
He could once again command Lancer.
Although Sola was technically a co-Master, it did not prevent him from controlling Lancer.
Kaynethlooked extremely pleased.
Seeing this, Risei impatiently turned to leave. "That's enough. You may go. Continue fighting in the Holy Grail War."
But just as he turned around, Kaynethpulled out a handgun from his pocket and fired.
Bang!
Risei collapsed instantly.
"Hahaha! I can't let you keep handing out Command Seals to others. You'll just have to take a nap!" Kaynethlaughed.
"This thing's pretty useful… I have Saber's Master to thank for teaching me how to use a gun!"
Then he wheeled himself out.
About half an hour later, Circe and Haruka Kasugano arrived at the Church.
"Hey, the rules of the Holy Grail War say I'm not allowed to enter," Circe said.
"It's fine. There shouldn't be anyone left inside—at most, just a corpse," Haruka Kasugano replied with a smile.
He ran in and, sure enough, found Risei's body lying there.
Upon checking, the body was already cold.
However, before dying, Risei had written several blood letters on the ground: "Jn24."
It was meant as a code for his son, Kotomine Kirei.
The code referred to the transfer incantation for Command Seals between overseers.
Command Seals, once created, do not disappear without cause. After each Holy Grail War, they gather in the overseer's possession.
Risei currently possessed dozens of Command Seals accumulated from previous wars.
Haruka Kasugano had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by.
He remembered that "Jn24" referred to the Gospel of John, verse 24. He had looked it up days ago in preparation.
So he began reciting it.
Soon, under the spell's effect, the dozens of Command Seals on Risei's body transferred onto Haruka Kasugano's right arm.
"Hahaha! Command Seals are such good stuff~! The more, the better~!"
He looked toward Circe outside the door.
With so many Command Seals… even if they had time limits, it would be enough to keep her obedient and affectionate toward him, wouldn't it?
Heh heh heh!
After finishing up, Haruka Kasugano quickly left the Church.
He wasn't worried about Kirei discovering what happened here.
At this moment, Kotomine Kirei was secretly observing the duel between Matou Kariya and Tohsaka Tokiomi.
According to the original story, aside from his special interest in Kiritsugu Emiya, the person Kirei found second most interesting in this Holy Grail War was Kariya Matou.
Through Assassin's surveillance, Kirei discovered that Kariya was utterly ordinary.
He joined the Holy Grail War because he loved Tokiomi's wife and wanted to save little Sakura, who had been adopted into the Matou family.
He had made a deal with Matou Zouken: if he won the Holy Grail, Zouken would return Sakura.
To improve his magical aptitude, he accepted the implantation of Crest Worms, enduring inhuman torment.
Kirei found Kariya's miserable life deeply fascinating.
Under the influence of Gilgamesh, he gradually came to understand his own heart—
He took pleasure in the suffering of others.
Watching Kariya's painful struggle filled him with delight.
Tonight was Kariya's decisive battle against the man he hated most—the one who took his childhood sweetheart and sent Sakura into hell: Tokiomi Tohsaka.
"It's all Tokiomi's fault!" Kariya roared.
He ordered Berserker Lancelot to hijack a U.S. military jet and attack the Hero King riding his golden vessel in the sky.
To fully engage Lancelot, Gilgamesh ordered Tokiomi to jump off the golden craft.
Thus, on the bridge above the tram tunnel, Tokiomi and Kariya began their duel.
Kariya accused Tokiomi of sending Sakura into hell.
Tokiomi replied calmly:
"Their mother was an excellent vessel to bear two daughters of such outstanding potential."
"But a mage's inheritance passes through a single line. I could only choose one. What would you have me do?"
"At that moment, the old man of the Matou family extended an olive branch, asking to adopt one as heir."
"I thought—among the three founding families pursuing the Holy Grail, wouldn't there then be two carrying Tohsaka blood?"
"In the next Holy Grail War, both sisters could participate. That's a two-in-seven chance! How wonderful!"
"Bastard! You want the two sisters to kill each other?!" Kariya roared.
"To die for the Tohsaka family's long-cherished wish—isn't that decided the moment they're born?" Tokiomi smiled.
"You outsider—how could you understand the romance of magecraft?"
"You tore apart a mother and her daughters over your so-called magecraft! You made them cry! You deserve to die!" Kariya screamed.
He then charged recklessly at Tokiomi.
But Tokiomi's fire magecraft was the perfect counter to Kariya's insect magecraft.
Before long, Kariya was defeated.
Kirei watched from the shadows, filled with pleasure.
Seeing Kariya's helplessness and hearing his anguished cries excited him.
Soon, Kariya collapsed, gravely wounded, falling into the tunnel below.
Although the Chimera had been destroyed, Lancelot lost control after Kariya's defeat.
After destroying Gilgamesh's golden vessel, he turned and charged toward Artoria Pendragon on the river.
The battlefield descended into chaos, everyone forced to join forces against the mad Berserker.
After wasting considerable time, Artoria, Diarmuid, and Iskandar finally managed to defeat Lancelot, who then dematerialized and fled.
Tokiomi stood on the bridge, watching the Servants' distant battle.
Satisfied, he left.
For him, eliminating Caster tonight was already enough.
After Tokiomi departed, Kirei quietly entered the tunnel and carried away Kariya.
Kariya's injuries were severe—without help, he would eventually die.
But when Kirei saw him, he felt compelled to save him.
He didn't quite know why.
Yet deep inside, he felt—
Letting him live would bring even more entertainment.