"So Caster's Master has been dead from the very start?"
"Correct."
Having taken temporary refuge within the Church, Tohsaka Tokiomi received intelligence from Kotomine Risei, Kirei's father.
Gilgamesh had thoroughly chewed him out, and his meticulously prepared magecraft workshop at home had been demolished in the King's rage. The Church was his only safe haven for now.
"By our estimates, if Caster hasn't located a ley line or other means of replenishing magical energy, he'll be eliminated before long."
"Lancer's Master is also dead. We've detected no evidence of her forming a new contract with another Master. She's a non-factor."
"All you need to do is have Kirei and Assassin coordinate with Archer to defeat Berserker. Victory will be within reach."
As the overseer of this war, Kotomine Risei was supposed to maintain strict neutrality. But his relationship with Tohsaka Tokiomi had resulted in blatant favoritism.
A referee colluding with a competitor. The unfairness to everyone else was self-evident.
"But Berserker's Master remains completely unidentified."
"We suspect it's someone from the Matou family, but we can't confirm."
That most enigmatic pair was giving Tokiomi headaches.
He'd considered luring them out under the pretense of an alliance, but the other side had simply ignored every overture.
The Tohsaka and Matou families weren't exactly on hostile terms, making the silence all the more puzzling.
"Simple enough. I have a method to draw them out."
After hearing the full picture, the old priest's face broke into a smile.
"Oh?"
Tokiomi trusted Risei implicitly. If the man was volunteering a plan, it was already fully formed.
"Have Kirei order Assassin to hunt down either Caster or Lancer."
"?"
Tokiomi's brow furrowed, then smoothed as comprehension dawned.
He grasped what Risei intended.
"Both of them are teetering on the edge of elimination due to insufficient magical energy and the loss of their Masters."
"If they're then attacked by another Servant, survival instinct will force them into extremes."
"And when that happens, the Church intervenes."
The benevolent smile never left Risei's face as he continued.
"Once either Caster or Lancer is driven to kill ordinary civilians for mana, the Church issues a bounty. All remaining Masters and Servants are rallied for a joint extermination."
"The reward for participation: one additional Command Spell."
"No Master would refuse that incentive. And at that point, I can help you personally confirm Berserker's Master's identity."
"You'd also legitimately gain one extra Command Spell."
Exactly as Tokiomi had suspected, the old man's abacus was clicking away.
"The window is narrow."
"We must act before any other Master forms a new contract with Caster or Lancer."
"Given Assassin's capabilities, cornering those two won't be difficult."
A flawless plan, contingent only on Caster and Lancer remaining Masterless. Otherwise, the entire scheme collapsed.
"Flush out Berserker's Master, eliminate an unstable element in Caster or Lancer, and recoup Command Spells."
"Three birds with one stone."
"After that, we have Archer pin down Berserker while Assassin assassinates the Master. Checkmate!"
"Once Berserker is removed, the remaining Saber and Rider pose no threat."
A smile creased Tokiomi's lips. He could almost see victory on the horizon.
The Root.
The destination every magus yearned for.
This time, he would succeed!
"I'll contact Kirei immediately and have Assassin begin hunting Caster or Lancer."
"Assassin, how did the mission go?"
"Found them. More than expected."
"Good. Don't alert anyone for now. Come back first. The teacher has a new assignment."
Having received Tokiomi's instructions, Kirei recalled Kenshin.
"Hunt down Caster or Lancer?"
Hearing the new objective, Kenshin paused with a hint of confusion.
"The teacher specified: pursue, but do not kill."
"We need to push one of them to the very brink of death."
Kirei explained carefully.
"This feels less straightforward than it appears."
The assassin's honed instincts told Kenshin a web of conspiracy lurked behind this assignment.
"It's preparation for the next phase. The teacher intends to use Caster or Lancer as bait to flush out Berserker's Master."
"Hmm?"
"By forcing one of those two Servants to violate the rules, the Church summons a joint extermination."
"In other words, you want me to drive Caster or Lancer into killing innocent civilians?"
His gaze turned cold. Kenshin had parsed their intentions.
He'd been implanted with the same knowledge as every Servant: "mana replenishment through murder" was a possibility. But only in the most extreme scenarios would any Servant choose that path.
"Your face is full of disapproval."
"Of course it is!"
As Battousai, the Kenshin of old might have shrugged it off. But his experience with Tomoe had permanently altered his stance on involving innocents. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never harm the uninvolved.
And this, engineering a situation to force another Servant into slaughtering civilians, was something he fundamentally could not accept.
"Hear me out before you refuse. I won't use a Command Spell."
Reading the killing intent in those eyes, Kirei, who understood his Servant's temperament, preempted a confrontation.
"As a priest, I despise this method as well."
"But right now, I cannot openly defy my teacher and my father."
"Try to understand my position, Assassin."
Growing more attuned to the importance of emotion, Kirei employed precisely the right approach.
"So... we comply, but not necessarily in the manner they've prescribed."
"?"
Credit where due: Kirei's roundabout persuasion disarmed Kenshin's killing intent.
"What matters is that Caster or Lancer bears a 'charge.'"
"Fabricated crimes were hardly rare in feudal times, were they?"
Silence. Kenshin understood the implication.
This approach, at least, he could stomach.
There was no actual need to make Caster or Lancer kill civilians.
Kenshin simply had to stage a pursuit, then "witness" one of them committing murder.
With the Church vouching for the charge, the summons for joint extermination would proceed unimpeded.
Whether Caster or Lancer had actually killed anyone? That fact was irrelevant.
They were merely pieces on the board.
No matter how they protested or argued their innocence, the outcome was already decided.
"The teacher has already dispatched familiars to locate them."
"As soon as we have Caster or Lancer's position, we move."
"Be on standby."
Maintaining a blank expression, Kirei studied Kenshin and experienced, for the first time, what it truly meant to feel one's "blood run cold."
That wave of murderous intent. Worthy of the Battousai name.
'So emotions really are essential.'
Had he shown even a flicker of hesitation or rigidity, Assassin's blade would have taken his head before any Command Spell could form on his lips.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]