Night had fallen outside Fuyuki City.
"Hmph, they've already fled?"
Staring at the deserted Einzbern Castle, Kayh snorted in frustration.
As soon as darkness fell, Kayh had eagerly gathered his allies to seek "revenge" on Emiya Kiritsugu. But upon arrival, he found the castle pletely empty.
The Saber team had already evacuated.
"Haha, looks like we've made a wasted trip," Iskandar ughed. "It seems Kiritsugu is quite a shrewd Master."
"Seems tonight's operation was in vain after all…" Waver sighed, gng helplessly at Kayh.
He uood why Kayh was so furious with Emiya Kiritsugu, but he hadn't expected him to mobilize such a rge force. They had brought everyohree Masters and four Servants.
From the sheer number of batants, it was obvious that Kayh was determio front Kiritsugu directly.
"As long as the Holy Grail War isn't over, he'll have to show himself sooner or ter," El-Melloi II remarked calmly. "Sihere's nothing here, let's just retreat for now."
"Fine," Kayh ceded relutly.
With no trace of where Emiya Kiritsugu's team had gone, Kayh had no choice but to accept the situation aurn with the others.
However, what they didn't know was that deep in the nearby forest, Assassin's spirit form lingered, their every move.
Following the quiz session that afternoon, Kiritsugu and his team had realized that Einzbern Castle was promised and quickly decided to relocate. Staying there was too dangerous, with a high risk of being surrounded.
Of course, not everyone had left.
Assassin, in spirit form, had remained behind, hidden and watg for any intruders.
After witnessing the alliaween the Lancer and Rider fas, Assassin reyed the information immediately.
Emiya Kiritsugu frowned upon receiving the report.
"This is… troublesome," he muttered, his expression tense.
It wasn't just the alliahat ed him. Now, both fas possessed two Servants each, meaning Kiritsugu no longer held a numerical advantage.
From this point onward, he would have to exercise even more caution.
The Einzbern group's new hideout was the future Emiya residen Fuyuki City.
Located in the northern distriiyama Town, it acious estate with three buildings: a main house, a vil, and a ste house.
inally owned by the Fujimura Group, Fuyuki City's promi yakuza family, Kiritsugu had bought it from their boss, Raiga Fujimura, as a backup hideout before the Holy Grail War began.
---
Kayh: "Emiya Kiritsugu, where are you hiding, you cowardly rat!"
Kayh: "You think you're so powerful, yet you don't even have the ce to face me!"
With no sign of Kiritsugu, Kayh's frustration spilled into the group chat, but his taunts were met with silence.
"Kiritsugu, are you alright?"
Irisviel asked softly, notig his tense expression.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Kiritsugu replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Let's stay put tonight and monitor the situation here."
With Kayh and his group so riled up, it was better for him to remain hidden and avoid any unnecessary risks.
And so, the sed night of the Holy Grail assed quietly, despite the tension simmerih the surface.
---
The following day, around noon.
---
[Ding! The question-answering session will begin in ten minutes. Please prepare.]
[Ding! New members "So-ui," "Valkyrie," and "The First Emperor" have joihe group chat.]
As usual, the system pulled new members into the group at the start of the session.
But that third name caught everyone's attention.
The First Emperor?
Chihiro and Zhang Jiao exged looks of surprise.
Their suspis from yesterday were firmed, that shadowy figure they'd glimpsed really was an a ruler. But her of them had expected it to be the First Emperor.
Still, Chihiro had a feeling this was the case.
Although this First Emperor was likely the one from pan-human history and not the Lostbelt version, his purpose was likely simir.
A Ruler. An arbitrator.
Now Chihiro uood why the First Emperor had appeared in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
The suppression forces must have sent him down to maintain order.
After all, the Fourth Holy Grail War was being increasingly chaotic.
By now, five additional Servants had appeared.
Rider's Red Hare, Assassin's additional Heroic Spirit, Caster's El-Melloi II, Archer's Ishtar, and now the "Valkyrie," who was most likely Brynhildr, summoned as Lancer.
If a Saber and Berserker were added, they could form airely new set of seven Servants.
With things this out of trol, it was no wonder Aya had deployed a Ruler to monitor the situation.
Furthermore, the overall quality of the Servants in this war was unusually high, warranting a powerful figure to keep bance.
Many Rulers were divine in nature. Letting a god desd would only provoke Gilgamesh's pride.
And figures like Jeanne d'Arakusa Shirou, though strong, cked the renown or authority to stabilize the situation effectively.
Given all this, the First Emperor was the ideal choice.
---
Waver: "This First Emperor… could it be that person?"
Chihiro: "It should"
Waver: "Really? I 't believe we have anendary figure in the group!"
The King of querors: "Little Master, who is this 'First Emperor'?"
Waver: "If I'm right, this is the man who created the title of 'Emperor' itself, the first Emperor of a, and perhaps the first true Emperor in the world—Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor!" (T/N: My Emperor QSH, man I loved using him to solo battles (mostly LB runs lmao) ba the days, grailed him to Lvl 100, max 4 star fous. Those were the good old days before Castoria and Co)
The First Emperor: "Oh? I didn't expect a fo know so much about my identity."
The First Emperor: "Indeed, I am the First Emperor of a. I ehe turies of chaos, uhe six kingdoms, and achieved a legacy rivaling the a sages—the Qin Shi Huang!"
The King of querors: "Hahaha! So this is the world's first Emperor!"
Hero King: "Hmph. Another upstart who cims a throne?"
General Tiangong: "Hero King, mind your tone! His Majesty the First Emperor isn't someone you should insult!"
