The plot of Fate/Zero continued, quickly arriving at the scene where Kiritsugu Emiya bombed the hotel where Kayneth was staying...
"…What's going on? Is something wrong?"
Kayneth's fiancée, Sola, wore a puzzled expression as she heard a sudden knock at the door.
Kayneth walked over calmly, and after listening to the person outside, he spoke unhurriedly:
"The waiter outside says there's a fire downstairs, and the front desk advises us to evacuate immediately. It seems to be a minor fire, but the locations of the fires are very scattered, which suggests arson."
"Arson? And at this exact time?"
"Hmph, this is no coincidence," Kayneth sneered.
"This is clearly a tactic to drive people away. The opponent is a magus who doesn't like to engage in a decisive battle amidst a crowd of bystanders."
Hearing this, Sola grew visibly nervous.
"Then... is it an attack?"
"Most likely," Kayneth replied. "It's probably the same guy who wasn't satisfied after the Warehouse District and is coming back for more. How amusing. Perfect, we were planning to deal with them anyway, right, Lancer?"
"Yes, indeed," Lancer nodded affirmatively.
He already had a hunch about who their attacker was.
Among the seven Masters, the only one who would act so hastily was Saber's Master, who had been inflicted with Gáe Buidhe's curse. And Lancer himself had been eager to face the proud King of Knights in a life-or-death duel.
"Lancer, head down to the lower floors to intercept them. But don't just send them packing right away. Since we have guests, let's properly show them around my workshop, shall we?"
Evidently, Kayneth had thoroughly transformed this hotel into his operational base, filling it with magical barriers and various familiars. Any opponent who dared enter would be corroded by its terrifying setup.
"Since all the other residents have been evacuated, we have no reason to hold back. Go all out," Kayneth said, letting out a hearty laugh.
Instead of feeling anxious about the incoming enemies, he grew more and more exhilarated.
As a prodigy and genius in magic, Kayneth was fully confident in defeating any foe who came directly at him. He was even ready to revel in his victory and bask in the praise of his fiancée.
Unfortunately, his opponent never intended to face him head-on from the very beginning...
As Kiritsugu completed his setup outside the building, a loud explosion echoed, and the hotel where Kayneth was staying collapsed in an instant.
"Wha— You can do that?!"
"My god, is this something a human would do?!"
"Pfft, I was all set to watch a grand magical battle, and then this happens? Seriously?"
"As expected of the man known as the Magus Killer—he never planned to win with conventional magus tactics."
"So cool… Even though it's such a despicable method, it's inexplicably awesome…"
"But I doubt Kayneth will go down so easily. A character that smug isn't leaving the stage just yet, and Lancer definitely won't be an easy opponent either."
Various exclamations and discussions erupted in the grand plaza of the Imperial Mage Academy. Clearly, the mages who had eagerly anticipated a magical duel were utterly shocked by this unexpected turn of events.
Meanwhile, a smaller group of mages with some knowledge of alchemy began dissecting the scene:
"That explosion didn't seem to involve magic or a magic circle."
"Yeah, it looked more like a magical overload spreading from a central source, possibly caused by inducing a chain reaction in a material storing vast amounts of magical energy."
"Is that really it? It feels like there's something more unique about it..."
"..."
Compared to the discussions below, the high-ranking Arch Mages observing from the Mage Tower focused on entirely different aspects...
"Did you hear what Kirei Kotomine said earlier? He claimed the path to the Root leads outside the world, and those only concerned with the inner world are mere mortals. In that sense, the Holy Grail is a tool for reaching outside the world. Its so-called wish-granting power might be an additional feature, meant for altering the inner world."
At this, the previously dismissive Arch Mage retorted, "Oh, here we go again. What nonsense about the inner and outer worlds? Years ago, the renowned mage Brengo spent years traveling the globe and conclusively proved the Earth is round. The Holy Grail couldn't possibly punch a hole in the sky and take us outside some so-called world! That's pure fantasy—or worse, unknowable speculation!"
Hohenheim, the Head of the Academy and Administrator of the Mage's Tower, merely shook his head and gazed upward.
"And how do you know that our world isn't merely a shell? Sure, we mages refuted the Church's geocentric model with the spherical Earth theory, but does that mean we truly understand our world? To this day, none of us have ever breached the firmament to reach the outer reaches of the sky."
"That just proves the sixth rank is our limit! Once someone—maybe even one of us—breaks through to the seventh rank or beyond, we'll eventually reach the heavens!"
"The heavens? So you're already assuming another world lies beyond the sky? In that case, the Root described in the film might be a similar place."
"..."
As the once-dismissive Arch Mage fell silent, the other mages continued watching the movie, their minds now filled with endless questions.
Soon, the film progressed, revealing that Kayneth had indeed survived the explosion, as many had predicted. As the scene transitioned to Kotomine Risei's announcement of the bounty on Caster, Fate/Zero ramped up to its next major action sequence.
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