Shinji knew this man. He was the target of Shinji's trip, Kotomine Kirei.
Because of his background and experience, Kotomine Kirei has an unusual obsession with the magician killer Emiya Kiritsugu. In the original world line, Kotomine Kirei detected Kiritsugu's existence by installing a camera on his familiar, and has been keeping an eye on Kiritsugu ever since. After Kiritsugu's death, he transferred his feelings to Kiritsugu's adopted son Emiya Shirou. (Xiaowu)
The same is true now. Kirei, who sneaked into the warehouse street himself, felt the presence of "his kind", and the result of the battle in the warehouse street gave him the best opportunity.
The effect of Diarmuid's Yellow Rose curse was obvious. The remaining six servants were intact, but Saber had one hand sealed at the beginning of the war, which was very disadvantageous. For the Einzbern camp now, the top priority is to eliminate Lancer, the source of the curse, as soon as possible.
So Kirei lay in wait at Kenneth's base, waiting for the attackers to arrive.
The mantis' target is the cicada, and the oriole's target is the mantis, and the oriole is Kotomine Kirei.
Although the person he was waiting for here was not Emiya Kiritsugu but someone else, Kotomine Kirei could be sure that this person was acting according to Kiritsugu's instructions and was the key to finding Emiya Kiritsugu.
Maiya's eyes quickly swept over the seemingly defenseless Kotomine Kirei, memorizing his features firmly in her mind.
"Why are the people from the church here?"
"No, this is not the right reaction!"
Maiya's answer brought a great sense of disharmony to Shinji. Just as Kirei was obsessed with Kiritsugu, Kiritsugu was also quite wary of Kirei, and even his two women were hostile to Kirei.
"It's impossible that Hisau Maiya doesn't know Kotomine Kirei, but she doesn't seem to be pretending. What's going on?"
Even facing Maiya's gun, Kirei did not show any sign of uneasiness, and said calmly: "Miss, the person I'm looking for is not you. I just want you to answer me a question - where is the person who should come here in your place?"
Before she could finish her words, Maiya’s gun fired three times.
The 9mm military pistol is not weak, but it is not strong either. So in order to effectively kill the opponent, three shots to the abdomen are the key. Compared with the tiny fatal point that can kill instantly, it is more effective to attack the easy-to-hit position to cause serious injury. This is the iron rule of shooting as a killing technique.
But the bullet did not hit the internal organs under the monastic uniform, but the hard concrete floor.
Even if Kotomine Kirei's evasive movements were incredibly fast, they would not be faster than the supersonic speed of the bullet. This happened because he had predicted Maiya's thoughts before she pulled the trigger and acted in advance. What should be more amazing than his skills was Kotomine Kirei's judgment of tactics.
He was able to anticipate the timing of Maiya's shooting and calmly dodge the bullets. This was an ability that surpassed that of ordinary people, whether in the secular or mystical world.
Not only that—the person who turned over and dodged at that moment was not Kirei but Maiya.
Her right hand was covered in blood, and the pistol that should have been in that hand fell to the ground with a metallic sound.
Her eyes, full of surprise, were fixed on the pillar that she had been leaning against. The sharp blade stuck in the pillar was flashing a cold light.
The thin blade, which is more than one meter long, reminds people of weapons used in fencing, but the hilt is very short for a sword.
"Black Keys!"
Shinji, who was hiding at the entrance of an elevator, narrowed his eyes. This was Kotomine Kirei's representative weapon, and also a throwing weapon used by the agents of the Holy Church. In a certain money-sucking mobile game, the "Black Key" was made into three kinds of costumes, which filled the card pool and were complained by countless players as the "Nine Keys of Dugu", and were regarded as a symbol of bad luck.
It was this weapon that scratched the back of Maiya’s right hand and knocked her pistol down. Kirei threw this weapon while dodging the pistol bullet.
At this moment, Shinji was extremely grateful to Scathach for his hellish training. Without this training, he probably wouldn't even be able to see Kirei's movements clearly - Kotomine Kirei was the most outstanding agent of the Holy Church, and there were very few pure-blooded humans whose physical skills were stronger than his.
Although it was a weapon thrown by hand, it had the power to penetrate a reinforced concrete pillar. Even so, it only knocked down Maiya's pistol, and had no intention of taking her life. He deliberately used such a great force, presumably to seize the opponent's weapon while also destroying his fighting spirit, and it would be best if he could capture him alive—after all, Maiya had not yet answered the question Kirei had asked just now.
"You're quite skilled. Pretty agile."
After the reversal of offense and defense, Kirei, who had completely taken the initiative, walked slowly and leisurely and spoke.
In his hands, there was another Black Key. The long blade of the Black Key was a semi-solid object made entirely of magic power, and when carrying it, one only had to hold the small hilt. No one knew how many Black Keys Kirei carried under his wide monastic robe.
As one of the basic anti-heretic equipment of the Holy Church's agents, the Black Keys are naturally powerful, but relatively difficult to use. Those who can skillfully use their power must be masters with very high skills. Kotomine Kirei is impeccable in this regard. Even the "Burial Unit" which is the ultimate force of the Church and is full of monsters may not be able to surpass him in the use of the Black Keys.
Hisau Maiya is neither a magician nor a warrior, she is just a soldier. She lost her pistol and did not have time to assemble her sniper rifle. She has no resistance in front of Kotomine Kirei and may be captured alive by Kotomine Kirei in just a few tens of seconds. She has no chance to escape and may not even have the chance to commit suicide. The gap in combat power is so huge that it is despairing.
Maiya’s ears vibrated slightly, as if she received some kind of communication through her headphones, but she did not answer.
Shinji knew that Maiya was not unable to do so, but was unwilling to do so. The call came from Emiya Kiritsugu, and she didn't want this dangerous man to get close to Emiya Kiritsugu.
At the same time, Kotomine Kirei slowly approached Maiya, and the outcome had already been decided.
—No way!
"It's about time."
Shinji held his breath and took out a toy from under his cloak.
Yes, to most people, this is a toy. The main body has been matte-finished, and it is shaped like the letter "Y". The two ends of the fork are tied with elastic hoses - yes, this is the slingshot that many boys loved to play with when they were young.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it, but it does not know the slingshot is below.
Whether Huang Que can achieve his goal depends on whether Shinji, the "slingshot", agrees.
PS: Like Kenneth, Tōsaka Tokiomi did not consider ordinary people and technological means. He had to use communication magic even though he had a phone. If Kotomine Kirei had not reminded him, he would not have thought of dismissing the servants at home.