In the end, in Kayneth's view, this was a Holy Grail War participated in by seven magi.
'Using physical means… explosives?'
'Who would do something so lacking in a magus's spirit?'
"And… you just said there are eight Servants in this Holy Grail War?", Alvin said faintly, "Then could there be more than eight?"
If a Ruler could appear, no one could guarantee something else strange wouldn't happen as well.
Kayneth froze for a moment.
Suddenly, he remembered something very important.
In previous Holy Grail Wars, the appearance of a Ruler always meant the war had encountered an extremely urgent and special situation.
And this time, the Holy Grail War had indeed produced very powerful Servants. But if that were all, would it really cause a Ruler to descend?
Kayneth opened his mouth, about to speak.
BOOM!
Yet just as he did, along with a rapid beeping sound, a deafening explosion echoed through the building.
———
The Tohsaka Family Mansion—
In the darkness, two pairs of eyes met. The moment he saw the woman in front of him, Gilgamesh clearly froze.
Although her outfit was completely different from the useless goddess in his memory, one could even say her clothes tonight were very modern, Gilgamesh still recognized her identity at first glance.
After a brief moment of surprise, he spoke in a cold voice:
"So it's you. I didn't expect you to appear in the Holy Grail War. That truly surprises me."
The goddess of the sky of Uruk, Ishtar.
No one had expected that the eighth Servant who appeared tonight, suspected to be of the Ruler class, would actually be this useless goddess.
"My King, do you know her?"
Tokiomi Tohsaka finally could not hold back and asked.
"Have you never heard of this goddess's deeds? Or are you simply too ignorant?"
Before Gilgamesh could answer, Ishtar had already looked Tokiomi up and down. She raised her proud white chin slightly and said, "To not even know my name, it seems your Master isn't that impressive, Goldie."
Daring to call Gilgamesh by such a teasing nickname in a Holy Grail War, so far only Ishtar had done so.
When he heard that name, Tokiomi's eyelid twitched slightly. He cautiously glanced at Gilgamesh, expecting the King of Heroes to be angered.
Unexpectedly, Gilgamesh only gave Ishtar a cold glance and snorted, "In a Holy Grail War, anyone who possesses my relic can summon me."
"But you… To manifest as a Ruler, what exactly was the Holy Grail thinking?"
At the end of his words, his tone carried open mockery.
In life, Ishtar had been notoriously greedy. Back in Uruk, she often sneaked into Gilgamesh's treasury. For such a greedy goddess to descend as a Ruler after death, the irony was hard to ignore.
"And… why were you summoned by the Holy Grail?"
Gilgamesh soon spoke again.
Logically speaking, Ishtar belonged to Gaia's side. The Holy Grail War should not be able to summon a Servant at the level of a true god.
Yet here she was, alive and well before his eyes.
'What exactly is going on?'
"Didn't you notice?"
Ishtar lifted her eyes. In the darkness, her sapphire-blue pupils shone brightly, and a charming smile curved her lips.
"I didn't descend into this Holy Grail War as a Servant. To be honest, its system isn't enough to let the real 'me' descend."
Gilgamesh looked her over calmly and said, "Temporarily attaching yourself to a magus of the present era to manifest?"
"To accept the Holy Grail's summoning, you really went all out, useless goddess."
Ishtar raised her face. Her pale golden eyes held a faint smile, yet the innate sense of divinity and authority around her still inspired awe.
She looked at Gilgamesh with a smile, "Since you can manifest and come out to play, what's wrong with me accepting a summoning to relax a little?"
"I can't be summoned directly, but if I attach myself to someone, cheating a little to descend isn't difficult."
Not long ago, when Sajyou Manaka conducted a Heroic Spirit summoning, she had accidentally summoned Ishtar. However, that was not her true self, only a split body.
Moreover, that split body could not manifest directly. It needed to descend by attaching itself to someone highly compatible with her.
And coincidentally, in this Holy Grail War, there was a girl extremely compatible with Ishtar.
"Hmph! Hearing the word 'cheating' from a Ruler is quite refreshing."
Gilgamesh sneered.
Meanwhile, Tokiomi stared at Ishtar. After a brief moment of looking at her, he seemed to recall something important. His eyes slowly widened.
"You… you're Rin?"
No wonder he had felt a strange sense of familiarity from the moment he saw her.
Looking carefully, 'This girl's clothes and appearance, isn't this like Rin?'
After Ishtar attached herself to Rin, the two seemed to have formed a special fusion, causing her appearance to become that of a grown-up version.
Though her temperament was different, there was no doubt, this was Tohsaka Rin.
'So Rin didn't go missing. After Ishtar attached to her, she left home on her own?'
Thinking of this, Tokiomi's feelings became complicated.
One daughter was adopted into the Matou family and ran away. The other had now also effectively run away from home, 'What exactly is going on?'
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't do anything to your daughter."
Ishtar cast Tokiomi a cold glance, "You didn't even know your daughter was kidnapped. As a father, you've truly failed."
"If I hadn't found this suitable body in time, you might have already lost one daughter."
Tokiomi frowned, "Who kidnapped my daughter?"
"A young man named Ryuunosuke Uryuu. According to him, he's killed several children recently. Your daughter was one of his targets."
Ishtar said calmly, "When I attached myself to your daughter, he was in the middle of a Heroic Spirit summoning ritual, and your daughter was the sacrifice."
"That's impossible!"
Tokiomi's first reaction was disbelief.
Leaving aside whether Rin had been captured, this Holy Grail War already had eight Servants, including the Ruler. What could this Ryuunosuke Uryuu possibly summon?
"Didn't this Goldie beside you tell you? Someone altered the Great Holy Grail's rules, trying to make this Holy Grail War produce even more Servants. Once more Servants die, the Great Holy Grail will gain even greater magical power."
"Because her actions were too dangerous, I descended as a Ruler to interfere in this war."
Ishtar said lightly, "However, when I manifested, Ryuunosuke Uryuu had not managed to summon a Servant."
Before Tokiomi could respond, she continued, "Because before him, someone else had already summoned the ninth Servant."
'The ninth Servant?'
Tokiomi hesitated at first, then his expression gradually grew serious.
There was no doubt that the girl before him was both his daughter and the Ruler of the Holy Grail War possessed by Ishtar.
As a Ruler, she had to be fair and would not lie about such matters.
In other words, this Holy Grail War had nine Servants?
Excluding the eliminated Berserker and the neutral Ruler, there were still seven Servants remaining?
'Who exactly is the Master of the ninth Servant?'
"Useless goddess, you didn't come here tonight just to reminisce with me, did you?", Gilgamesh's cold voice sounded.
Ishtar's gaze returned to him. After looking him over for a moment, she withdrew her eyes dismissively and said lightly, "You think too highly of yourself, Goldie."
"I came here partly because, as Ruler, I have the right to inform all Masters about the changes to the Holy Grail War's rules. And partly… because I was asked by the original owner of this body. She doesn't want her father worrying about her disappearance."
Gilgamesh froze for a moment. Then, as if he had heard an amusing joke, he burst into laughter.
"The goddess of the sky actually listening to a child and coming to report her safety?"
"That doesn't sound like something you would do, Ishtar."
At the end, his crimson eyes quietly stared at her.
"Have you changed your nature, or are you plotting something?"
Gilgamesh knew Ishtar too well. Back in Uruk, they had dealt with each other many times. He knew she was far from kind.
For her to come here willingly, no matter how he thought about it, she must have some purpose.
Yet just as he thought this, Ishtar clicked her tongue dismissively and said lightly, "Think whatever you like. Not everyone is as aloof and heartless as you."
"If that guy were here, he'd probably prefer that I handle it this way."
If it had been the Ishtar of the past, she might not have bothered to come explain things to Tokiomi.
But because of her current identity, and because of someone's preferences, the goddess who was no less arrogant than Gilgamesh had ultimately agreed to Rin's request.
'That guy?'
Confusion flashed in Tokiomi's eyes. Before he could think further, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out.
His heart jumped. He quickly stood and walked to the window. Looking out through the glass, he saw thick smoke rising from a direction in the new district.
At the same time, police sirens echoed through the quiet night of Fuyuki.
'What happened?'
Beep! Beep! Beep!
His phone suddenly rang.
Tokiomi answered. From the other end came Kotomine Kirei's low voice, ["Teacher… Not long ago, a Master in the new district blew up a building. Lancer and her Master seem to have been inside."]
Both Servants present had sharp hearing. After hearing this, their eyes narrowed.
A strange light flashed in Ishtar's sapphire eyes as she said faintly, "The Holy Grail War is supposed to be a secret affair belonging only to magi. That person went too far."
Normally, Masters could kill each other in the Holy Grail War. But the premise was that they could not cause too much disturbance, especially not attract public attention.
That was common understanding among all magi.
Yet the Master who blew up the building clearly had no intention of following that rule.
"Afraid of Lancer and hoping to kill her Master directly? It seems they're someone willing to do anything for victory," Gilgamesh's tone carried disdain.
The King of Heroes always acted alone and had absolute confidence in himself. He looked down on cheap tricks like ambushes.
"Also, besides Lancer, another Servant was reportedly present at the scene."
Tokiomi's thoughts stirred, "Who?"
"Saber."
Gilgamesh froze slightly. Ishtar's brows also lifted.
Normally, Masters in a Holy Grail War would not live in the same building. If this was a coincidence, it was far too coincidental.
Could it be that Saber and Lancer were secretly cooperating?
As the Ruler of the Holy Grail War, she could not simply ignore that.
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