Tohsaka Residence.
In the darkness, two gazes locked onto each other.
When Gilgamesh saw the woman who came into view, he was clearly stunned for a moment.
Although her attire was different from the incompetent goddess in his memory… it could even be said that her outfit tonight was very 'modern,' he still recognized her identity at first glance.
After a brief moment of surprise, Gilgamesh spoke coldly.
"..So it's you… I didn't expect you to appear in the Holy Grail War. This is somewhat beyond this king's expectations."
The one in front of him was none other than...Uruk's goddess of the heavens, Ishtar.
No one had expected that the eighth Servant who appeared tonight, suspected to be of the Ruler class, would be this incompetent goddess.
"..King, do you know her?"
At this moment, Tohsaka Tokiomi beside him finally couldn't help but speak.
"Have you never heard of this goddess's deeds? Or is it because you're too ignorant?"
Before Gilgamesh could respond, Ishtar sized up the man with a glance, slightly raising her proud snow-white chin, and said. "..To think you haven't even heard of this goddess's name. It seems the Master who summoned you isn't much, Goldie."
Daring to call Gilgamesh by a teasing nickname like this in the Holy Grail War...up to now, only Ishtar had done so.
Upon hearing this address, Tohsaka Tokiomi's eyelid twitched slightly.
He cautiously glanced at Gilgamesh, expecting the Hero King to be enraged by this.
Who would have thought, the latter only gave Ishtar a cold glance and snorted: "..For the Holy Grail War, as long as one possesses this king's holy relic, anyone can summon this king."
"..But you… to think you could manifest as a Ruler. What was the Holy Grail thinking?"
At his final words, his tone carried undisguised mockery.
And it wasn't just Gilgamesh being Gilgamesh, looking down on living being...
It's just Ishtar was notoriously greedy in life, and during the Uruk period, she had sneaked into Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon more than once…
For such a greedy goddess to manifest as a Ruler after death.
…It's somewhat ironic.
"..And… why were you summoned by the Holy Grail?"
Soon, Gilgamesh spoke again.
Logically speaking, Ishtar is from Gaia's side.
In principle, the Holy Grail War should not be able to summon a 'divine spirit' level Servant.
Yet now, Ishtar was indeed standing lively before his eyes.
..What exactly is going on?
"..Haven't you noticed?" The latter raised her eyelids, her strikingly vibrant deep blue eyes flicking, her lips curling into a charming arc.
"..I didn't descend into the Holy Grail War as a Servant…
After all, its scale isn't enough to let the real 'me' manifest."
Gilgamesh coldly scrutinized Ishtar for a moment and said calmly: "Temporarily attaching to a mage in the present world, manifesting in this way?"
"To accept the Holy Grail War's summoning, you really spared no expense, incompetent goddess."
Ishtar lifted her face, her pale golden eyes carrying a faint smile.
Yet her innate divine and majestic aura still inspired an inexplicable sense of awe.
She smiled at Gilgamesh and said: "..Since even you can manifest to have fun, what's wrong with me accepting a summons to take a stroll?"
"..Although I can't be summoned directly, if I attach to someone… it's not hard to cheat a little and manifest."
Not long ago, when Manaka Sajyou was performing a Heroic Spirit summoning, she accidentally summoned Ishtar… However, it wasn't the real her, just a mere avatar.
And this avatar couldn't manifest directly but needed to 'attach' to someone highly compatible with her to descend.
And as it happened, in this Holy Grail War, there was a girl extremely compatible with Ishtar.
"..Hmph… Hearing the word 'cheat' from a Ruler's mouth is quite novel."
Gilgamesh sneered.
..
..
At the same time, Tohsaka Tokiomi beside him stared at Ishtar.
After a brief gaze, it seemed as if he suddenly recalled something important, and his eyes slowly widened"..You… you're Rin?!"
Yes, no wonder from the first moment he saw her, he felt an inexplicable familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
Thinking carefully, this girl...whether in her attire or appearance… wasn't this his daughter, Tohsaka Rin?!
Only, after Ishtar attached to Tohsaka Rin, the two seemed to have formed some special fusion, causing her appearance to resemble an older version of herself.
Though her aura was different, there was no doubt… this was undoubtedly Tohsaka Rin!
So Tohsaka Rin didn't go missing but ran away from home after Ishtar attached to her?
Thinking of this, Tohsaka Tokiomi felt a complex mix of emotions.
What the hell is happening to both of his daughters..one ran away after being sent to the Matou family, and now the other could be considered to have run away…
What was going on?
"..Don't misunderstand, I haven't done anything to your daughter."
Ishtar suddenly gave Tohsaka Tokiomi a cold glance and said. "Not even knowing your daughter was kidnapped… as a father, you're quite a failure."
"..If I hadn't found this suitable body, you might have already lost a daughter."
Hearing this, Tohsaka Tokiomi frowned slightly and said.
"..Who kidnapped my daughter?"
"..A young man named Ryunosuke Uryuu. According to him, he's already killed several children recently… Your daughter was one of his targets."
Ishtar said indifferently.
"..When I attached to your daughter, he was performing a Heroic Spirit summoning ritual, and your daughter was the sacrifice."
Tohsaka Tokiomi instinctively said: "..How is that possible?!"
His first reaction was disbelief, even finding it somewhat fantastical.
Whether Tohsaka Rin's kidnapping was true or not aside, in this Holy Grail War, counting the Ruler, there were already eight Servants…
What could this Ryunosuke Uryuu summon?
"..Didn't the Goldie beside you tell you? Someone altered the Greater Holy Grail's rules, trying to make this Holy Grail War produce more Servants… Once more Servants die, the Greater Holy Grail can gain even more immense magical energy."
"..Because her actions were too dangerous, I descended as a Ruler to intervene in this Holy Grail War."
Ishtar said indifferently.
"..But when I manifested, Ryunosuke Uryuu didn't manage to summon a Servant."
Before Tohsaka Tokiomi could speak, she continued: "..Because before him, someone else had already summoned the ninth Servant."
The ninth Servant…?
Tohsaka Tokiomi hesitated at first, then his expression gradually grew grave.
Undoubtedly, the girl before him was both his daughter and now the arbiter of the Holy Grail War, possessed by Ishtar.
As a Ruler, she must be fair and just, and wouldn't falsify information…
In other words, this Holy Grail War had a full nine Servants?
Excluding the already eliminated Berserker and the neutral Ruler, there were still seven Servants?
Who was the Master of this ninth Servant…?
"..Incompetent goddess, you came here tonight specifically, surely not just to catch up with this king, right?"
At this moment, Gilgamesh's cold voice rang out.
Ishtar's gaze returned to Gilgamesh.
After sizing him up for a moment, she withdrew her gaze with a dismissive air and said indifferently.
"..You think too highly of yourself, Goldie."
"..I came here, on one hand, because as Ruler, I have the right to inform all Masters about the change in the Holy Grail War's rules.
On the other hand… it's also at the request of this body's original owner, who didn't want her father to worry about her disappearance."
Hearing her words, Gilgamesh was clearly stunned for a moment, then, as if hearing an amusing joke, he burst into laughter.
"..To think… the goddess of the heavens would actually listen to a child's words and come specifically to report her safety?"
"..This doesn't seem like something you'd do, Ishtar."
At his final words, his crimson eyes quietly fixed on Ishtar.
"..Should I say you've changed your nature, or are you scheming something?"
Gilgamesh knew Ishtar too well.
After all, the two had crossed paths many times during the Uruk period, so he was well aware that the latter could hardly be called a benevolent goddess.
Coming here proactively now… no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like she had some ulterior motive.
But just as Gilgamesh thought this,
he heard Ishtar scoff dismissively, saying. "Think whatever you want, but not everyone is as high and mighty as you, with no trace of human warmth."
"..If that guy were here, he'd probably prefer me doing this too."
If it were the old Ishtar, she indeed might not have bothered to come to Tohsaka Tokiomi to explain this…
But due to her current identity and a certain someone's preferences, this goddess of the heavens, whose arrogance was no less than Gilgamesh's, ultimately agreed to Tohsaka Rin's request.
That guy…?
Tohsaka Tokiomi's eyes carried a hint of confusion, but before he could think further, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out, causing his heart to skip a beat.
He quickly stood and walked to the windowsill.
Looking through the glass and gazing upward, he saw thick smoke billowing from a certain direction in the new city district.
At the same time, the sound of sirens echoed through the quiet Fuyuki.
What's going on…?
Beep beep beep beep…
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang.
Tohsaka Tokiomi answered the phone and heard Kirei Kotomine's low voice from the other end.
"..Teacher… not long ago, a Master blew up a skyscraper in the new city district. Lancer and her Master seem to be in that building."
Both Servants present had sharp hearing, and upon hearing this, they both narrowed their eyes.
Ishtar's deep blue eyes carried a trace of something unusual, and she said quietly: "..The Holy Grail War is supposed to be a secret matter among mages… This guy's gone a bit too far."
Under normal circumstances, mages in the Holy Grail War could indeed kill each other… but the premise was not to cause too much commotion, especially not to attract the attention of ordinary people.
This was a common understanding among all mages.
However… this Master who blew up the skyscraper didn't seem to have any intention of following this rule.
"..Because they fear Lancer, they hope to directly kill her Master?
Looks like someone who'll stop at nothing for victory."
Gilgamesh's tone carried a hint of disdain.
This Hero King always acted alone, and because of his absolute confidence in himself, he completely looked down on underhanded tactics like sneak attacks.
"..Also, aside from Lancer, there's suspicion that a second Servant was spotted at the scene."
Tohsaka Tokiomi's mind stirred, and he instinctively said: "..Who?"
"..Saber."
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