It is more than 30 kilometers west of the downtown area of Fuyuki City.
A national highway runs east-west, passing through a mountainous area far from human habitation. On both sides of the highway are dense, lush forests that seem to have been forgotten by the overwhelming wave of residential development.
This is an area with many mysteries. At first glance, it looks like state-owned land, but in fact it is private land owned by a foreign-owned company whose existence is uncertain. If you seriously collect information about this land, the first thing you will know is some strange urban legends.
Legend has it that in the deepest part of this dense forest, there is a "Dream City".
This is of course just a boring joke.
Although this forest has not been developed yet, it is not far from Fuyuki City and can be reached in an hour by car. If there really is such a strange castle, how can it not cause a sensation? In fact, people have conducted land surveys in this primeval forest many times in the past, but never found any traces of artificial buildings.
But every few years, someone always brings up this legend.
In front of the children who set out into the forest for adventure with a half-hearted desire to play, and the lost picnic visitors, a magnificent old stone castle suddenly appeared in the thick fog. It is said that the castle is a very incredible mansion. It is obviously empty and looks like a ruin, but it is clean and spotless, and it does not look like an uninhabited place at all.
No one would take this legend seriously. At best, it would be published on one page of a summer special issue on the supernatural in some third-rate magazine that had nothing to write about.
Only a very small number of magicians know that this castle is real.
Every sixty years, the "Magic City" welcomes its master and becomes a wartime base.
The castle is protected by illusions and magic barriers, and is a space that is impossible to be discovered by the outside world except by accident. People who know the true origin of the castle call this deep forest the "Einzbern Forest".
At that time, the Holy Grail War was being held in Fuyuki City. The head of the Einzbern family, Eubusta Kuhaid, was unwilling to establish a base in the territory directly under the mortal enemy, the Tosaka family, so he resorted to financial resources and bought out the spiritual vein closest to Fuyuki City as the base of the Einzbern family. It was the eve of the Third Holy Grail War and the tense period before the outbreak of World War II.
It is said that they used the entire vast primeval forest as a barrier to isolate it from the outside world, and rebuilt a sub-city from the Einzbern itself there. This shows the amazing financial strength and deep persistence of their family. It is ironic that the Tosaka family is busy working as an agent for purchasing land or doing covert work in the local area.
The barrier's isolating effect is unquestionable. If Scathach hadn't determined the approximate range and direction by tracking Irisviel, Yustisa might not have been able to find the specific location of the forest even if she had lived in Fuyuki City for a few more years.
In addition to isolation, the barrier also has an early warning function. Once someone enters the barrier, they will be discovered by the person controlling the barrier. However, because the foundation of the barrier is Einzbern's magic and alchemy, Yustisa spent some time to find a way to avoid triggering the early warning mechanism and sneak into the castle without alerting anyone.
The castle was clean inside and out, and the entrance, hall, and corridor were decorated with vibrant flowers, making it hard to imagine that no one had lived here for sixty years.
In the conference room of the castle, Yustisa saw her own clone, who was sighing several times in a row.
A long conference table took up most of the meeting room. Irisviel and Emiya Kiritsugu each occupied a long side. Saber and Hisau Maiya stood behind each person, motionless and silent like a sculpture. This silent silence made the atmosphere in the meeting room increasingly depressing.
A map of Fuyuki City was spread on the conference table, and on one side of the map were organized files of various Masters and Servants. Irisviel was holding one of the files in her hand, which was probably the reason why she sighed.
"Kotomine Kirei."
Yes, this is the information that Kiritsugu Emiya collected at the fastest speed about the agent who attacked Hisau Maiya last night.
"Son of Supervisor Kotomine Risei and disciple of Tōsaka Tokiomi."
"Born in 1967, he has been on pilgrimage with his father, Kotomine Rimasa, since he was a child. He graduated from the Sant'Ignazio Seminary in Manresa in 1981, skipping two grades, and is now the head of the seminary? He is truly an amazing person."
Kiritsugu nodded unhappily at his wife's comment.
"If he continues like this, he will most likely become a cardinal. But he suddenly gave up the opportunity to make a name for himself and volunteered to join the Holy See. There are obviously more and better options, why would he ruin his future and choose the internal organization of the Holy See?"
Although the Holy Sepulchre Church is named after the church, it is only a component of the entire Vatican and a secret organization of the Vatican specifically established to achieve special purposes.
"Was it because of his father's influence? He and his father both belong to the Eighth Mystery Society of the Holy Church."
Holy objects such as the remains and blood of saints, the nails of Jesus' crucifixion, and the 30 silver coins that Judas received are called holy relics. The secret agency that exists to recover and manage the holy relics scattered around the world is the "Eighth Secret Society".
After hearing Irisviel’s opinion, Kiritsugu still shook his head.
"If that's the case, he should have joined the Eighth Mystery Society from the beginning. However, before he was in the same department as his father, he went through three changes and was once appointed as an agent. He was only a teenager at the time. This job cannot be done without considerable awareness and perseverance. It is the bloodiest department of the Holy Church, responsible for the fight against heretics, and can be said to be the nest of Shura demons. The title of "Agent" means that he has received cruel training as a human weapon and is a first-level killer."
From this perspective, Kotomine Kirei and Emiya Kiritsugu are very similar. Emiya Kiritsugu used to be a magician killer, the "agent" of the Magic Association.
"Maybe he's a fanatic. There are many cases where people become overly superstitious and unable to extricate themselves because of their young age and simple mind."
Kiritsugu shook his head at Irisviel for the third time.
"That shouldn't be the case. If that's the case, this guy's record over the past three years doesn't make sense. If his faith was pure, he wouldn't have joined the Magic Association. Even if he was more loyal to the organization than to its doctrines and accepted the church's orders, his attitude towards magic training is too serious."
Irisviel continued to read the material, and saw the summary of Kotomine Kirei's abilities at the end - the types of magic he had learned included alchemy, spirit summoning, summoning, divination, and his achievements in healing magic even surpassed his master, Tōsaka Tokiomi.
"This Kotomine Kirei is indeed a little strange, but is he worthy of your attention? Although he seems to have many talents, he is not particularly superior to others."
"That's what's getting to me more and more."
Looking at Irisviel who was unable to understand, Kiritsugu explained patiently.
"They studied every type of magic until they were just one step away from being first-rate, but immediately switched to another type without any regrets, throwing away the fruits of their laborious study as garbage."
"He chose a lifestyle that was many times more intense than others, but this man had no sense of 'passion' in his life;..."
"This man is - dangerous."
Emiya Kiritsugu came to this conclusion, and after a while, he added another sentence.
"A terrifying guy, scarier than Tousaka and El-Melloi."
Seeing her husband's solemn expression, Irisviel unconsciously clenched the corner of her clothes, and Hisahi Maiya's eyes became more and more dangerous.
This terrifying man has set his sights on the man who is most important to them.