---
Well, this worked out nicely. She wouldn't be taken advantage of while dying — but she would be thoroughly enjoyed while alive.
Maiya Hisau didn't stay shocked by Haruka Kasugano's healing magic for long. She immediately raised her hand and struck toward his head in retaliation.
But Haruka Kasugano's physical abilities were no longer what they once were. A mere injured person's attack meant nothing to him. He casually grabbed Maiya's slender wrist and neutralized her strike with ease.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Kiritsugu Emiya will be here soon. I'm not going to violate you on the spot," Haruka Kasugano said with a grin.
Smack!
He knocked Maiya unconscious with a palm strike, then slung her over his shoulder and leapt back into his own residence next door.
Although Maiya wasn't particularly beautiful and didn't have much presence—
She still met the system's target criteria.
If sleeping with her meant rewards, why refuse free gains?
So far he had only dealt with Sola and Aoi Tohsaka. The rewards he'd obtained weren't nearly enough to defeat the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, nor subdue Artoria.
Too weak. Far too weak.
Even scraps of power were worth taking.
He had just hidden Maiya when he heard the roar of a car outside.
Kiritsugu had sped back.
He rushed into the warehouse. Seeing it completely empty, he froze.
What happened…?
Didn't Saber say Maiya was here?
Where was she…?
Kiritsugu felt utterly lost.
Had Rider made her disappear from existence?
A wave of helplessness washed over him. He sat on the stone steps outside the warehouse, holding his head in despair.
From the other side of the wall, Haruka Kasugano watched and couldn't help laughing.
Sorry.
I'm going to take every woman you care about.
Not just Irisviel and Maiya — I'll take your daughter Illya too. And even Taiga Fujimura, who secretly admires you.
Children choose. I take them all.
Hehehe…
---
Meanwhile—
Artoria sped through Fuyuki City on her motorcycle.
She finally spotted Iskandar.
Iskandar was wandering through the sky with Waver.
"Rider! Stop right there!" Artoria shouted angrily.
Iskandar heard her call and stopped on a rural road.
"Saber, what's the matter?" Iskandar asked with a smile.
"Hand Irisviel over!" Artoria demanded.
"Huh? Who?" Iskandar scratched his head in confusion.
"Stop pretending — die!" she roared.
She raised her sword high and unleashed her Noble Phantasm at full power.
"Ha! Don't think I'm afraid of you!" Iskandar shouted excitedly, driving his chariot straight toward her.
Boom—
Golden light shot into the sky. The entire city of Fuyuki could see the dazzling radiance.
---
Atop a high building, Kirei Kotomine and Kariya Matou watched the scene unfold.
At their feet lay the unconscious Irisviel.
"It seems Saber has successfully clashed with Rider. The plan succeeded. Rider's chariot is destroyed — he won't be able to defeat Archer now," Kirei smiled.
"I've already used two Command Spells for you. What about your promise?" Kariya urged impatiently.
"Of course. I've arranged everything. You can go to the church now. Tokiomi Tohsaka is waiting for you there," Kirei replied with a smile.
Kariya limped toward the church.
After the pitiful fool left, Kirei carried Irisviel to the sewers.
It was the place where he had summoned Assassin. According to previous investigations, that mysterious Caster had once hidden there to evade pursuit.
So Kirei decided to hide Irisviel there as well — somewhere Kiritsugu would never find.
After settling her in, Kirei hurried back to the church.
Gilgamesh was already waiting on the second floor, leisurely holding a glass of wine.
"Kirei, I do hope the show you arranged will satisfy me," Gilgamesh said with a grin.
Kirei merely smiled.
Together, they looked down at the church hall below, waiting for the drama to begin.
Soon, Kariya entered, limping.
He saw Tokiomi Tohsaka seated in the front row, back facing him.
"Tokiomi Tohsaka! Today you die!"
He angrily grabbed Tokiomi's shoulder.
Click—
In that instant, Tokiomi fell forward, revealing the fatal wound hidden by the back of the chair.
He was already dead.
"What? What's going on? How could this be?" Kariya was stunned.
At that moment, Aoi Tohsaka appeared at the church entrance.
"Kariya… you…" she said, frozen at the sight.
Kirei had called her here earlier.
Upstairs, Kirei smiled in satisfaction at the perfect timing.
Kariya panicked.
The woman he loved had just seen him holding her husband's corpse.
She would misunderstand.
But in his nervousness, he couldn't explain himself properly.
"Aoi… I… it's not like that… this is Tokiomi's fault…" he stammered.
Aoi walked forward blankly and knelt before Tokiomi's cold body.
"Did you kill him?" she asked coldly.
"No… don't… please…" Kariya became incoherent.
He was terrified she would hate him.
Suddenly—
Aoi burst into laughter.
"He's dead! He's actually dead! Then… he can't stop me from having an affair anymore! I won't have to abort this child! Haruka Kasugano… I can finally be with him openly! Hahahaha!"
She began laughing hysterically.
Kariya, Kirei, and Gilgamesh were all stunned.
This script… wasn't how it was supposed to go.
---
Knowing Kirei's plan to frame Kariya, Haruka Kasugano hurried to the church after tying up Maiya.
He was worried about Aoi.
If events followed the original storyline — where Kariya, misunderstood by Aoi, strangled her in a breakdown and left her mentally damaged — that would be disastrous.
He was just 1% away from fully conquering her. He couldn't let anything go wrong now.
When Haruka Kasugano reached the church entrance, he saw Aoi kneeling before Tokiomi's corpse — and Kariya's predicament.
This was bad. If Aoi started insulting Kariya and mocking his idea of love, he'd lose control.
But instead—
She laughed maniacally.
"Hahaha! He's dead! No one can bind me anymore!"
**[Ding! Aoi Tohsaka's moral restraints have been completely removed. Affair Progress +1%]**
**[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Aoi Tohsaka's affair progress has reached 100%! You have successfully cuckolded Tokiomi Tohsaka!]**
**[Reward: One-time Noble Phantasm — "Fragarach (Answerer)!"]**
Effect: A counter-specialized weapon. Against an opponent's attack, it possesses the ability of guaranteed preemptive strike through reversal of causality.
Upon activation, it will always hit before the opponent. By twisting causality, it rewrites the order of events so that the user's attack becomes absolutely first. Since a defeated opponent cannot counterattack, this sword can nullify any offensive move. The ultimate counter-attack armament.
**[Reward: Mystic Code — "Rune Gauntlets"!]**
Rune Gauntlets: Engraved with runes, harder than tungsten steel. They can further amplify speed and power beyond that durability, allowing one to pierce a heart barehanded.
Seeing the rewards, Haruka Kasugano couldn't help but gasp.
He hadn't expected a Noble Phantasm as a reward.
Even if it was one-time use, it could save his life against a Servant.
And it was Bazett's trump card — the weapon that once killed the King of Heroes.
How unexpected.
He had thought Aoi would be destroyed by Kirei's scheme.
Instead, it helped him complete her conquest.