Kong's efficiency was frighteningly high. Toji had only handed him the commission that morning.
By the afternoon, two Curse Users had already been swayed by the offer.
It came down to Kong's deep understanding of how the black market worked.
He knew how to word missions to tempt without alarming, and he knew exactly which Curse Users were still active nearby.
But just as Toji had said, these small fry posed no real threat to the star plasma vessel under the protection of the Six Eyes.
The shikigami user who tried to ambush Suguru up close was sent flying by his sandbag-sized fists.
The perverted musclehead with a bread bag on his head got knocked out cold by Satoru, who had grown tired of playing around.
But Toji didn't care about their performance. He'd already found his real prey.
On campus, Kuroi Misato was rushing toward Riko's location.
Suguru, who had been with her, had been persuaded to go ahead and guard Riko first.
In Kuroi's eyes, she was just a maid, of no real value to Curse Users. It was Riko who needed their full protection.
But what she didn't expect was that she had been Toji's target from the start.
Thud.
Before she could even react, Toji appeared and knocked her unconscious with a single blow.
This maid, who had decent combat strength and could even trade blows with Curse Users, was brought down instantly.
Toji pulled out a rope, tied her up, then used her phone to take a picture and send it to Riko.
His actions were smooth, practiced. Clearly not the first time.
"Hey, come pick her up. Deal with her somewhere quiet."
He gave the address, then hung up.
Elsewhere, Kong Shiu stared at the phone. "Am I doing this mission or are you?"
He grumbled, but his professional instinct took over, and he quickly picked up Kuroi and handed her over to the Time Vessel Association.
By now, Kong had already figured out Toji's plan.
Under the night sky in the Nagasaki mountains, a car passed through several layers of barricades and stopped in front of a temple.
A Curse User stepped out from the gate.
"Hmm, not bad. You guys didn't poison the food, right?"
He examined the "takeout" with a satisfied grin, then sneered at the Assistant Supervisor who delivered it.
"No."
"Heh, who knows if you messed with it. Whatever. I'll just have those brats try it first."
The Curse User's smug attitude made the Assistant Supervisor glare with barely contained anger.
"What are you lookin' at?"
Before the Assistant Supervisor could respond, he took a Cursed Energy-charged punch to the face.
"Puh-ha!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he hit the ground.
The Curse User reveled in the violence.
"Stop screwing around. The boss is waiting."
His companion, hidden in the shadows behind him, finally spoke up.
"Tch, fine. You're lucky."
With that, he turned and walked back toward the temple.
"Damn it..."
The Assistant Supervisor pounded the ground in frustration before staggering back to the barricade line.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Huh?"
He looked up, startled by the voice.
Emiya stood before him.
"Thanks to you, I've gathered all the intelligence I need. Leave the rest to me."
His calm but powerful voice made the Assistant Supervisor's anger and frustration vanish.
"Please, Emiya-sama."
"Mm."
With a nod, Emiya vanished from the spot.
Thanks to his Clairvoyance and keen observation, he had already seen the two Curse Users and gathered enough information.
Judging by the Cursed Energy in that punch, he's no stronger than a Grade 2. The other one, called 'boss,' isn't any stronger either.
Earlier, when the food was delivered, the Assistant Supervisor's phone had stayed connected. So the intel about the "boss" had been clearly recorded.
Now that I've confirmed the strength of the Curse Users and identified the Special Grade Cursed Spirit…
Emiya began refining his rescue plan.
Inside the temple's main hall, within the Domain of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Kishimojin—
"Oh~ They actually managed to get it. This bread's a limited edition. I queued up several times and still couldn't buy it."
"That's because you always sleep until noon. You never make it on time."
The two Curse Users opened the meal boxes.
"Give some to the kids."
The boss spoke flatly from the side.
"Tch, what a waste."
Smack.
The other Curse User slapped him on the head.
"Don't be stupid. If you don't feed the kids, they'll starve. That woman said to keep them alive."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
He picked out a portion and walked over to the hostages.
"Here, eat."
The children shrank back at his threatening tone.
"I said eat, you little punks!"
He grabbed one of the kids, forced their mouth open, and shoved the food in.
"Wuwu…"
The child whimpered, tears flowing from the pain.
Just then, a terrifying figure appeared behind him.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Kishimojin.
A vengeful spirit born from a mother who lost her child a hundred years ago, twisted after death.
It collects and protects children, killing anyone who harms them.
And this Curse User had just become its target.
Due to the Binding Vow with Kenjaku, Kishimojin couldn't kill these Curse Users yet.
But punishment… was allowed.
"Ahh! AHHHH!"
The spirit's sudden presence threw the man into a panic.
"What the hell?! That woman said Kishimojin wouldn't target us for three days!"
"Idiot! She said it wouldn't kill us. Kishimojin's protecting the kids!"
The boss grabbed the screaming Curse User and dragged him toward the exit.
"Keep up! You want to fight a Special Grade Cursed Spirit too?!"
All three rushed out of the temple's main hall, escaping Kishimojin's Domain.
"Huff… huff… So that's a Special Grade Cursed Spirit? Damn…"
The boss glanced at the idiot he had to carry, grinding his teeth in frustration.
If this guy wasn't still useful, he'd have tossed him to Kishimojin on the spot.
But high above—far out of their sight.
Emiya saw all three emerge at once.
A rare opportunity.
He already had three arrows nocked to his bow.
(To be continued.)