Chapter 28: Two Against One
Beneath an abandoned warehouse on the west side of Fuyuki City, there was a modest secret room of about fifty square meters. Candles flickered within, casting a dim, yellow light.
A priest sat on a wooden chair, a glass of red wine at his side, while various documents were spread across the table. Such a dull and confined space would make most people uncomfortable, yet this priest remained calm. This place was safe enough to keep him invincible for a short time.
The priest wore a puzzled expression as he read. Lately, he had been plagued by a vague sense of foreboding, as if someone was watching him. Yet the feeling felt unreal. This priest was Kirei Kotomine, and at the moment, he did not seem to be enjoying himself.
Boom!
An explosion rang out from the door. The priest on the wooden chair stood up, assuming a combat stance. A blur streaked past his eyes.
A sharp whistling sound followed, and Kirei Kotomine felt a stabbing pain in his back.
With a *pfft*, a long blade pierced through Kirei Kotomine's chest. He looked down at the bloodstained tip. There was no need to guess—his attacker was undoubtedly a Servant.
"It seems... I'm faster."
Su Xiao let out a long breath behind Kirei Kotomine. He had arrived so quickly thanks to his cooperation with Bubu Wang.
First, Su Xiao used the Duke of Annihilation to snipe at Stan and his two companions from a distance. Taking this opportunity, Bubu Wang, who had been tailing the trio, began sprinting at full speed toward Kirei Kotomine's location.
When Stan and the others broke out of the Duke of Annihilation's firing range, Bubu Wang immediately used [Wolf Clan Heirloom]. Su Xiao's earlier charge at Stan's group wasn't to fight them but to reach the starting point coordinates set by Bubu Wang.
After running for several minutes, Bubu Wang set an endpoint and used [Wolf Clan Heirloom] to drag Su Xiao to its vicinity, allowing him to overtake Stan's group and head straight for Kirei Kotomine.
As for whether Blood Gate had spatial abilities or scrolls, Su Xiao was gambling. He bet that Blood Gate, a fourth-rank adventure group, didn't possess high-tier spatial items or abilities. Abilities like instant teleportation weren't something fourth-rank could access.
After all, [Wolf Clan Heirloom] was a legendary-grade item with a rating of 508 points. Even so, to complete a teleportation with it, one needed to set a starting point and an endpoint. It wasn't a door to anywhere.
Su Xiao also had a spatial ability, Dragon Shadow Flash. While it allowed free movement, its range was only twelve meters.
From Su Xiao's understanding, spatial abilities that allowed free movement had short ranges. Longer-range ones were very slow and required setting up formations or designated coordinates. Abilities that could teleport over ten kilometers with pinpoint accuracy needed spatial coordinates, like [Wolf Clan Heirloom].
As for ultra-long-range spatial movement without setting up a formation, most were random. Unlucky individuals might end up inside a building, crushed by the space and structure.
If Blood Gate truly had an ability to instantly teleport near Kirei Kotomine, Su Xiao would accept this defeat. Such an ability or scroll wasn't something even fifth-rank contractors possessed.
Just as Su Xiao's blade pierced Kirei Kotomine's heart, a spider emerged from the ceiling of the basement, its eight eyes fixed on Su Xiao.
Above the basement, at the entrance of the abandoned warehouse, Naloy suddenly stopped and opened the adventure group channel. Using her authority as the team arbitrator, she issued an emergency message.
In Blood Gate's group channel:
Naloy (Team Arbitrator): "The team's main mission is about to fail. All members in the Holy Grail World must immediately leave the group."
...
This message appeared before all Blood Gate members in the Holy Grail World. Over a hundred members stood frozen in disbelief. Had they really lost? They hadn't even seen their enemy's face.
If an adventure group's main mission was about to fail, its contractors had one chance: endure a 60% reduction in all attributes and a 50% loss of all property as a penalty, forcibly leaving the group. Was this an emergency escape? No, it was a slow death.
In the basement, just as Su Xiao's blade pierced Kirei Kotomine's chest, a roar came from above. Stan and a pile of debris crashed down together.
As the roar echoed above, Su Xiao's long blade shifted. A faint blue light spread from Dragon-Slaying Flash as the focal point. Hundreds of fine blade auras expanded within Kirei Kotomine's body.
With a *shhh*, Kirei Kotomine's body shattered. Almost simultaneously, Blood Gate lost seventy-six members in an instant. They were forcibly teleported out of the Holy Grail World. These people no longer had the right to oppose Su Xiao. In fact, they would be reluctant to admit they were ever Blood Gate members. As for the other members, they hesitated only a moment before it was too late. The penalty for leaving was too severe.
In the basement, Stan stared at Kirei Kotomine's shattered body and his heart, once tainted by the Holy Grail's mud, now reduced to minced meat. The team's main mission had failed.
The veins on Stan's neck bulged. His fists clenched with a cracking sound.
"Damn it, what kind of plague god are you?"
Old Smoker walked calmly into the basement. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
"White Night, even if I lose, I won't die by your hand. Remember this, my name is Old Smoker."
Old Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke, a smirk on his lips. Even in death, he would die with dignity.
A chain materialized behind Old Smoker, piercing his back. Cracks spread across his skin like shattered porcelain, gradually peeling away. In an instant, Old Smoker turned to ash, dissipating into the air.
Even though Su Xiao had witnessed forced executions of contractors many times, the terrifying fluctuation of such an event still left a deep impression. If he ever sensed that fluctuation up close, it might mean his own end.
In the basement, Stan stared silently at Su Xiao. Strangely, he wasn't forcibly executed. A curvaceous figure leaped down from above—it was Naloy. She, too, wasn't executed. This made Su Xiao realize that the two likely had the authority to exempt themselves from mission failure. He had obtained something similar long ago and still had it stored. However, after using such authority, Stan and Naloy couldn't stay in this world for long, and all their gains in this world would be completely wiped out.
"Naloy, your biggest weakness is your soft heart."
Stan spoke. Earlier, when Naloy had used her team arbitrator authority to announce the impending mission failure in the group channel, that message wasn't just seen by members in the Holy Grail World but also by those in other derivative worlds. So many members leaving at once, with dozens forcibly executed, would inevitably draw attention from members in other worlds. This would cause turmoil throughout Blood Gate.
"I'm different from you. I'm not that ruthless. Those members may all be bastards and killers, but since they've followed me through life and death, I won't let them be forcibly executed without knowing what's happening."
Naloy's body began to change. Though she might be a bit promiscuous, she was undoubtedly a tough woman.
"Foolish mercy."
Stan ignored Naloy and turned his gaze to Su Xiao. The situation was simple now: two against one.