Aozaki Aoko Case File

Credits: Resid Kuliyev

"It seems Kiritsugu Emiya has made his move," Aoko said, holding a remote control as she watched the emergency news broadcast on TV. "I thought he might be shameless, but I didn't expect him to be this shameless."

"That Magus, huh?" Touko frowned. "Although we're barely considered allies, this is just disgusting!"

According to reports from Fuyuki City TV, even though it's the off-season, there were still over four hundred guests inside the hotel. The unexplained explosion caused the entire hotel to collapse completely. Judging by the scene, it's unlikely there are any survivors.

"I hope that Kayneth guy doesn't die so easily," Aoko commented. "I want to see how Kiritsugu Emiya gets his comeuppance."

"Slaughtering innocent civilians is undoubtedly the lowest of the low!" Artoria's expression was icy cold. "Master, are we going to continue allying ourselves with someone like this?"

"Our contract is with the Einzberns," Touko said, blinking. "Not with Kiritsugu Emiya."

"Come on, Artoria, don't get mad over that lunatic," Aoko comforted her. "Unless Tokiomi Tohsaka teams up with Kiritsugu Emiya… Hmm, but that's impossible, right?"

"No, I think there's a good chance of that happening," Touko said. "No matter how conservative Tohsaka is, he's still one of the Three Great Families, isn't he? Compared to newcomers like us, allying with the Einzberns makes perfect sense."

"Hmm, that makes sense," Aoko crossed her arms and pondered. "Looks like I jumped to conclusions. Let's assume for now that Tohsaka and Emiya are in the same camp. That fits Kiritsugu's backstabbing nature quite well."

"So, what do we do?" Touko asked lazily, leaning back on a cushion. "Are we just going to stay hidden in the Ryuudou Temple?"

"Why not?" Aoko replied. "I don't see any need to take the initiative right now. Let the others fight among themselves first. Besides, our location hasn't been exposed yet. For now, just focus on helping that little Chaldea girl fix her body."

...

"How's it going, Lord El-Melloi II? Any findings?" Ritsuka Fujimaru asked, standing a bit away from the ruins.

"No… There's nothing unusual in the Matou estate," El-Melloi II replied, frowning as he crouched on the ground. "Or rather, the complete lack of traces here is the most unusual thing."

"According to Miss Aoko's intel, those Demon God Pillars were created by a magus named Zolgen Makiri, also known as Zouken Matou," Ritsuka said. "It sounds… eerily similar to what happened with Professor Lev."

["Exactly!"] Da Vinci chimed in through the communicator. ["It seems like these Demon God Pillars somehow imprint their self onto a specific family line, then awaken in a particular era to create Singularities."]

["And that means there's something wrong with this Singularity,"] Da Vinci continued seriously. ["The Magician here hasn't done anything with the Holy Grail, right?"]

"Right," Ritsuka confirmed. "She said that as long as we help her win the Holy Grail War, she'll hand the Grail over to us as a reward."

["That proves this Singularity's distortion isn't caused by the Grail but by something else,"] Da Vinci analyzed. ["And since Marisbury Animusphere exists in this Holy Grail War, this Singularity is a parallel timeline to ours, not the same one."]

"I suspect Zolgen Makiri might not be dead," El-Melloi II stood up and said. "We haven't seen him die with our own eyes, and Demon God Pillars aren't so easily eliminated."

"Where's Dr. Roman?" Ritsuka suddenly realized she hadn't heard from Roman in a while.

["Oh, I sent him off to rest,"] Da Vinci said. ["Ever since he spoke with King Solomon, he's been looking exhausted, so I forced him to go back to his room."]

["Honestly, how can Chaldea's doctor be the first one to get sick?"] Da Vinci joked with mock exasperation.

"From my memory, the Matou family's Master wasn't Zouken Matou, but Kariya Matou," El-Melloi II thought aloud. "But in this Singularity, I've learned that Zouken Matou was killed by the Tohsakas at the very start. That's why the Matou estate is in ruins."

"From what I investigated earlier, after the incident at the Matou estate, only two corpses were found, and neither of them was Zouken Matou or Kariya Matou," El-Melloi II continued.

"Miss Aoko mentioned that Zolgen Makiri appeared as a young man," Ritsuka said. "Could that young man be Kariya Matou?"

"No," El-Melloi II shook his head. "He is Zolgen Makiri, but his body may belong to Kariya Matou. After all, for magi, taking over someone else's body isn't out of the question."

"So, should we keep looking for Zolgen Makiri?" Ritsuka asked. "Our goal is to fix the distortion in this Singularity, after all."

"We don't have enough leads right now," El-Melloi II replied. "But I doubt the Demon God Pillars will abandon this Singularity and run away. As long as the Greater Grail remains, they'll have to resurface eventually."

...

To retaliate for the earlier attack, Kayneth and Waver, along with their Servant, left their workshop and rode the King of Conquerors' Gordius Wheel to the forest above the Einzbern Castle.

"A bounded field, huh?" Kayneth, seated on the chariot, looked down at the castle. "Lancer."

At his Master's command, Karna appeared in midair, nodded, and raised his Divine Spear.

With the spear aimed at the castle, Karna unleashed a dazzling light, channeling his magical energy flames into a single destructive blast.

This attack, powered by Karna's Noble Phantasm, was far beyond what modern magi or bounded fields could withstand.

As Kayneth had anticipated, the Einzberns' grand bounded field was shattered in an instant. However, as the blast neared the castle itself, it was blocked by eleven strange magical shields.

This was undoubtedly the work of a Servant. But wasn't the Einzberns' Servant supposed to be an Assassin? How could they possess magical defenses of this scale?

Semiramis, who had been finishing up her work, sensed the bounded field collapse. She immediately rushed to Irisviel's side and activated the eleven defensive spells to deflect Lancer's attack.

"It seems your husband has caused some trouble," Semiramis said to Irisviel with a smirk. "The enemy is quite powerful. Should I activate the Hanging Gardens early?"

"Eh?" Irisviel looked flustered. This situation was completely unexpected.

"I-I'll contact Kiritsugu right away."

"You… Never mind. I'll hold them off for now. You'd better make sure your husband makes a decision quickly." Semiramis was dissatisfied with Irisviel's lack of decisiveness. This woman was just too passive.