The reason why Kayh suddenly became so hostile toward Kariya was simple: what happehe previous night.

  If La hadn't interfered, Iskandar might have eliminated Artoria entirely.

  Instead, their efforts were reduced to nothing more than a ridiculous performahey gained nothing, and worse, Diarmuid had suffered a humiliati.

  No wonder Kayh was so resentful.

  ---

  Zhang Jiao g Chihiro and asked, "Chihiro, what's your choice for this question?"

  Chihired slightly. "What do you think?"

  Zhang Jiao thought for a moment before replying fidently, "Well, I think we should go with A."

  Chihiro raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised that Zhang Jiao had nded on the correswer. "Why?" he asked, genuinely curious.

  Zhang Jiao expined, "From Matou Kariya's voice after the bck s, it's clear that he lost trol. People do anything when they lose trol."

  "From his st words, you tell there's malivolved. So, d D probably be ruled out."

  "As for the remaining two options, I think B is less likely."

  "Despite everything Kariya does have genuine feelings for Tohsaka Aoi. It's not just about appearances with him."

  "That leaves A."

  "Impressive!" Chihiro gave Zhang Jiao a thumbs-up.

  He hadn't expected Zhang Jiao to uand Kariya's mi so clearly. Truly, he was worthy of being a seasohinker.

  ---

  [The time for answering questions ends. Resuming the video.]

  [Video tinues.]

  [The dark s returo reveal Matou Kariya straddling Tohsaka Aoi, his hands tightly gripping her neck.]

  [Her struggles gradually weakened until they stopped pletely.]

  ["Ahhh!!!"]

  [Matou Kariya suddenly snapped out of his rage, clutg his head aing out an anguished scream before stumbling away like a zombie.]

  [All of this was witnessed by Gilgamesh and Kotomine Kirei, who were watg from the shadows on the sed floor.]

  [Gilgamesh swirled his gss of red wine, as if enjoying a fine py.]

  [The correswer is A.]

  [gratutions to Chihiro, Hassan of the Hundred Faces, Zhang Jiao, and Sigurd for obtaining 3 Saint Quartz.]

  [Waver and Emiya Kiritsugu answered incorrectly and will have 1 Saint Quartz deducted.]

  Matou Kariya: "No, this is fake! This has to be fake!"

  His voice cracked with despair as the realization of his as in the video shattered him.

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Silence!"

  Tokiomi's fury alpable. Seeing his wife nearly strao death filled him with rage.

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "You cimed you would protect Aoi. Is this your version of prote?!"

  Matou Kariya: "No, no! The video isn't real! It's all Gilgamesh and Kotomine's plot against me!"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Did they force you to attack Aoi?! No! This is entirely your fault!"

  Matou Kariya: "Shut up, Tokiomi! This is all because of you!"

  The Tohsaka sisters, Rin and Sakura, watched the argument unfold, their faces pale with fusion.

  Tohsaka Rin: "How could this happen..."

  Tohsaka Sakura: "Mother…"

  For the two girls, the argument and Kariya's breakdowhem uain of how to see him anymore.

  Waver: "Teacher, didn't you say B was the right answer?"

  Kayh: "How is this my fault? Who could've predicted Kariya would spiral into such madness?"

  Even Kayh couldn't his head around why Kariya, who had supposedly cherished Aoi, would turn violent against her.

  The shift in his behavior was staggering.

  Emiya Kiritsugu: "If I 't have it, I'll destroy it. I didn't think Matou Kariya would actually be this extreme."

  [The se shifted to a hospital ward.]

  [Tohsaka Aoi y motionless in a bed.]

  [A doctor informed the young Tohsaka Rin that her mother had bee atose and might never wake up again.]

  Emiya Kiritsugu: "Though he didn't kill her ht, the oxygen deprivation caused severe brain damage. Holy, it's worse thah."

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Kiritsugu, keep your mouth shut!"

  Emiya Kiritsugu: "I'm only stating the facts. Her sciousness wasn't sealed, but the brain damage made her vegetative. She won't wake up again and likely won't live long."

  [Time passed in the hospital room. Tohsaka Rin grew from a child into a young woman.]

  [Aoi's dition worsened day by day until her heart monitor dispyed a ft line.]

  [The video ended.]

  Tohsaka Rin: "Mother… she died in the end."

  Matou Kariya: "Aoi, no… how could this happen?!"

  He sobbed untrolbly.

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Kariya, this is all your fault!"

  Tokiomi couldn't bear to imagihe hardships Rin would face, living aloer losing both parents.

  As for Kotomine Kirei, Tokiomi could only hope the Kirei in the video would meet his end during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Otherwise, Rin's future would be bleak.

  The Kotomine Kirei in the video had clearly fallen. He wouldn't show Rin kindness, much less care for her properly.

  [gratutions to Waver and Emiya Kiritsugu for answering two questions correctly and receiving 1 Saint Quartz. Chihiro, Hassan of the Hundred Faces, Zhang Jiao, and Sigurd have answered three questions correctly and earned 3 Saint Quartz.]

  Waver: "Chihiro, you and your team swept the board today, huh?"

  Chihiro: "It's all about trying. Sometimes you turn a bicycle into a motorcycle. You should try it ime."

  Waver: "No thanks. I don't have your luck."

  [The first round of questions is over. The sed round begins now.]

  [This is a cssificatioion. Watch the following video and cssify the tent as instructed.]

  Waver: "Cssificatioion? What does that even mean?"

  Kayh: "Stop asking pointless questions. Just watch."

  [Video starts.]

  ["This is a story about the Holy Grail and humanity's desire to fulfill their wishes."]

  [As the narration ended, a fg fpped in the wind, and the se ged to show a womaed in a car.]

  [The woman's face was strikingly familiar.]

  Waver: "Saber, is that you?"

  Kayh: "No, look at the braid. That's Joan of Arc."

  Bluebeard: "Ah! My holy maiden!"

  Bluebeard: "Joan of Arc, I've finally found you again!"

  Waver: "Joan of Arc is alive in the present day? Or has she been summoned as a Servant?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Look at the surroundings. It seems like Europe."

  Kayh: "Indeed. Could this be another summoni?"

  Chihiro couldn't help but mutter internally, Is this a trailer for Fate/Apocrypha?

  This wasn't the first time something like this had appeared.

  ["My name is Jeanne d'Ard I am the ruler of this Holy Grail War."]

  ["My duty is to oversee the rules of this Holy Grail War."]

  [The se ged to show a duel between two figures.]

  [One was a knight in white armor—Mordred.]

  [Her oppo was a muscur man with white hair and a glowing blue core in his chest.]

  [The two cshed, their ons radiating red and blue light as they struck each other.]

  Artoria: "Sir Mordred…"

  Waver: "Her oppo looks formidable. I wonder who he is."

  Sigurd: "That man… he seems familiar."

  ["This is not just a story of Servants, nor simply one of Masters…"]

  [The video shifted rapidly, showg a series of Servants appearing oer another.]

  [A tall, thin man with white hair emerged from the darkness.]

  [A street in a small town showed a stily cd white-haired boy drawing two curved daggers from his back.]

  [A pink-haired figure holding a spear rode a griffin through the sky.]

  [A massive man wearing what looked like an iron cage over his head rampaged through a forest.]

  [A figure in a strange golden mask struggled to cover a shattered part of it.]

  [A an in a green outfit crouched in a tree, quietly.]

  [Aly dressed old man raised his arms dramatically in a barren field.]

  [A woman in ire blocked an attaside a grand hall.]

  [A girl wearing a wedding dress and a horn on her head swung a massive hammer through the smoke.]

  [A man in greeleman's attire held a book, shouting an intation.]

  [A fsh of light streaked across the s as a taur loosed an arrow from his bow with incredible precision.]

  [Fag an onsught of attacks, a young man with green hair pressed forward fearlessly.]

  ["This is our war!"]

  [A white-haired priest in a red robe smiled gently, exuding a calm and ominous aura.]

  ["Then please, begin your performance."]

  [The video ended.]

  Kayh: "What oh is this? All of these… they 't all be Heroic Spirits!"

  El-Melloi II: "Do you really o ask? It's obvious that they are."

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "What kind of Holy Grail War is this? So many Servants are participating!"

  Tohsaka Rin: "Isn't it just like our situation?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "No, it's different. Our situation only has extra Servants because of the Q&A system."

  Kayh: "This appears to be a pletely different kind of Holy Grail War, likely in another world. Regardless, I've never heard of a rge-scale flict like this before."

  [The narrator spoke again.]

  ["This is the Fourth Holy Grail War, taking p a parallel world."]

  ["For reasons unknown, this Holy Grail War has bee a battle between seven Red Servants and seven Bck Servants."]

  Kayh: "This is also the Fourth Holy Grail War?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "But isn't the Fourth Holy Grail War supposed to occur in Fuyuki City? This one seems to be happening somewhere in Europe."

  ***

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