Marvel: Trading with Worlds

"FBI, open the door!"

Boom!

The door of a Chinese restaurant was violently kicked open. Several FBI agents, armed and clad in body armor, stormed in.

Before the owner could even react, he was slammed to the ground. His uniform was ripped off, and a knee pressed down on his neck.

"Search for the suspect!"

"No one in the kitchen!"

"There's no one upstairs!"

"Sir, no sign of the suspect. No traces of recent activity either. Continuing with the search."

As the reports came in, the owner's face turned red, his thick neck bulging in pain.

The FBI chief frowned slightly, pointed at the struggling man on the ground, and said, "Question him. Kotomine Kirei comes here often—this might be one of his regular hideouts!"

The owner was taken away for interrogation, and the entire restaurant was sealed off. The FBI began a full-scale search of the premises.

This was only a small part of the chaos unfolding in Fuyuki City. One by one, the places Kirei had been known to frequent were being raided.

Upon discovering his connection to the Church, the local chapel was shut down. Jeanne d'Arc, who had visited the church twice, was brought in by the Fuyuki police for questioning.

She was stunned by the interrogation. Why were the Fuyuki authorities suddenly so interested in Kotomine Kirei? Yet from their words, she could tell they viewed him as a highly dangerous criminal.

Whether Kirei was truly a criminal or not had nothing to do with her. Her duty was to maintain the Holy Grail War.

Still, even Jeanne could tell that the War could no longer proceed as planned. So many civilians and authorities were now involved in the hunt for Kirei. If the existence of the Holy Grail War was exposed, the consequences would be disastrous.

"What exactly is going on…?" Jeanne sat in the police station, lost in thought.

Despite multiple interrogations, the police couldn't prove she had any real connection to Kirei. Still, they found her actions—especially visiting the church twice at night—suspicious.

Until she gave a clear explanation, Jeanne wasn't allowed to leave.

"Should I escape and regroup with the remaining Servants? No… the Holy Grail War is still ongoing. But hiding it from the public isn't my responsibility."

The task of keeping the War secret fell on the Three Great Families and the Church. It wasn't Ruler's job to worry about what civilians knew.

Even if the truth got out, there was little the "Common people" could do. Most Servants were far beyond the capabilities of modern armies. In Jeanne's eyes, bullets posed almost no threat to them.

After a single day in custody, Jeanne broke out of the police station with overwhelming force. This act instantly raised her profile, and now she was a top suspect—second only to Kotomine Kirei.

"Why are you here? We both know you don't want to see me."

Kain was working on Zero Tail when Tohsaka Rin showed up unannounced. Though she'd been visiting the Matou house frequently lately, she had gone out of her way to avoid him.

Considering the fallout with Archer, it made sense she saw Kain as an enemy. Kain, focused on Zero Tail, had no idea what Rin and Sakura had been discussing.

"Thank you… for helping Sakura."

Rin took a deep breath, then bowed low in front of Kain. Her tone was genuinely sincere.

"I learned from Sakura what she went through in the Matou household. If not for you, she'd still be suffering…"

Thinking about it made Rin's blood boil. She was from one of the Three Great Families, just like the Matous. She had sent Sakura there only so she could inherit the family's magecraft—but she had never imagined the nightmare that followed.

She had studied the Matou magecraft herself. For someone like her, three months would've been enough to inherit the crest. There had been no reason to throw Sakura into that hell.

The real reason? Matou Zouken. That old bastard's twisted preferences.

"It's nothing," Kain replied. "But she told you all that? Seems like you two are getting along again."

He inspected Zero Tail's body, then looked at Rin.

"So, want to help me? At this point in the Holy Grail War, you must have a good idea who's going to win."

"Hmph. Gratitude is one thing—but forming an alliance? I'm not someone you can just recruit casually!" Rin crossed her arms, her pride intact.

Tohsaka Rin suddenly snorted coldly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Thank you. But don't think I've forgotten the grudge of being forced to make my Servant commit suicide."

She narrowed her eyes. "Still, as a reward for saving Sakura, I'll help you with two favors—free of charge. Don't overthink it. It's just repayment. Also, what's that heart you're working on? Have you started down the path of a necromancer too?"

"You don't even know about the Holy Grail—something the Tohsaka family has pursued for generations—and yet you dare call yourself a Master? You're really something," Kain scoffed.

He seemed irritated for a moment, then waved it off.

"Forget it. If I ask you for help, it'll just end up being Tsunade's contribution anyway, and then she'll start nagging me again."

What Holy Grail? You think I'm some gullible child? Rin clicked her tongue.

"You're still worried about your wife? That's a change. Definitely not how you used to act," she said. "But what happened with the police… was that really your doing?"

"You know about that?" Kain asked.

"Of course I do. Kotomine Kirei is my legal guardian. If the Tohsaka family didn't still have influence in Fuyuki City, I would've been taken away too!"

Rin saw the flicker in Kain's eyes and realized she'd guessed correctly.

In recent days, aside from Jeanne d'Arc, the Tohsaka family had suffered the most fallout. Since Kirei was her guardian, the FBI, Interpol, and other agencies were treating her as an accessory to the supposed terrorist attacks.

She had only avoided arrest by using the Tohsaka family's connections and concealing herself with magic.

"It was my mistake. I overlooked that. I'll handle it later. You can go home tonight," Kain said apologetically.

Tsunade hadn't come to him in days, so he had assumed the Tohsaka family hadn't been affected. Now that he thought about it, Tsunade had probably gone out just to relax.

"But I have to admit," Rin said with a smirk, "you really got him. Kotomine Kirei must be losing his mind right now."

She pictured Kirei scrambling like a rat and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Don't laugh," Kain said sharply. "You've been lied to for years. You of all people should be hoping he doesn't get caught. If he's arrested, how will you avenge your parents?"

Rin's smile froze. Her expression changed in an instant.

"What… what do you mean by that?" she asked. "What does this have to do with my parents? They're both—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Kain quietly set aside Zero Tail's body and looked back at her.

"What happened to them?" he asked.

Rin clenched her fists, saying nothing. She knew—Kain wouldn't say something like that unless he knew.

"Were you summoned in the last Holy Grail War?" she asked.

"No," Kain replied, "but I know what happened. Very clearly. Even the part where you came here secretly to save someone—and ended up being saved yourself."

Rin's eyes widened. The memory hit her like a wave. Years ago, she had come to Fuyuki City to save a classmate. Almost no one knew. Only her late mother had known.

If Kain hadn't said it, she might never have remembered.

"Is my parents' death… connected to him? To Kotomine Kirei?" she asked quietly.

"It's more than connected. He's the one who did it."

Kain continued:

"Kirei gave you a knife once, didn't he? Said it was from Tohsaka Tokiomi, passed down to you? Well, it was the same knife he used to kill Tokiomi—he stabbed him in the back."

"Then, using Tokiomi's corpse, he manipulated Kariya Matou—the Master from the last war. He drove Kariya into despair, and in that state, Kariya strangled your mother, Aoi Tohsaka, to death."

As he finished speaking, Kain could almost feel Rin's fury radiating from her. Her fists trembled so violently they could've cracked bone.

After a long silence, Rin looked up.

"Why? Why would he do something like that?"

"For pleasure."

Kain's voice was cold. Unforgiving.

"Killing his teacher. Forcing Kariya—who loved your mother—to murder her with his own hands. That's how Kirei entertains himself. That's why he participates in the Holy Grail War."

"Are you kidding me? Just for that reason? Unforgivable!"

The fury in Tohsaka Rin's heart was nearly uncontrollable. She had been deceived for ten years—taught and raised by the very man who had murdered her parents. The more she remembered those long years of learning under Kotomine Kirei, the more disgusted she felt.

"I'm going to find him!"

If anyone knew Kotomine Kirei best, it was Tohsaka Rin. Aside from her, he had interacted with almost no one on a personal level.

"Wait—take this," Kain called out, stopping her before she could storm off. He handed her a small alchemic artifact.

"Kotomine Kirei has two powerful Servants. If they manage to hold Tsunade back, you'll be in danger. Use this the moment you find him—I'll come to support you."

Rin hesitated. Despite not having fully forgiven Kain in her heart, she was already receiving so much help from him.

"This is a debt. I'll repay you later," she said, accepting the item.

After saying a quick goodbye to Matou Sakura, Rin left the Matou residence.

She had a few ideas about where Kirei might be hiding and was planning to check each one personally. She hadn't shared this information with the authorities earlier because she didn't want civilians involved in the Holy Grail War.

But now that she knew Kotomine Kirei was her true enemy, she no longer intended to hold back. Even if it was in broad daylight, she would track down that filthy bastard and kill him with her own hands.

"Other than Kirei, the rest are just scattered pawns... even if they're demigods. Then again, how many demigods can there really be?" Kain muttered, shaking his head.

He poured the excess polluted energy from the Black Holy Grail into Zero Tail's body.

The Einzbern family had half-withdrawn from the Holy Grail War. The artificial intelligence overseeing things hadn't yet noticed, but Illya—now stripped of her role as a vessel—had already been turned into an ordinary little girl. The Holy Grail had been removed from her body by Kain.

While her magic circuits remained intact, all artificial modifications were undone. Illya was now no different from a normal human child of seven or eight, and she would grow naturally from now on.

She only awaited Kain's victory to share in the results of the Holy Grail. Though she understood what the Holy Grail War truly sought, Illya—now human—no longer held the ideals or personality of the "Maiden of Winter."

She was more like an ordinary girl now.

Thanks to this, Kain had sent Hercules back to the Holy Grail without using the polluted Black Grail to summon him again like he did with Saber.

Zero Tail was nearly complete—a Servant-killer, pure and refined. With it, Kain had no shortage of power.

As for the Holy Grail itself...

Kain picked it up, examining it.

It resembled a heart on the outside, but its core was a complex and intricate magical barrier—a masterwork of the Yusan lineage.

"If it can't be given form, it's hard to accept," he muttered.

With that, Kain reshaped the heart into the form of a finger and fused it into his body.

Transforming himself into a living Holy Grail had always been one of his ambitions.

Though it came with the risk of losing human functionality, this risk was something even Matou Sakura had come to accept.

The polluted energy of the Grail was being absorbed by Zero Tail, whose body Kain had layered with additional seals and magical runes—double protection.

With the Lesser Grail acting as a stable medium, Kain could now reach beyond the boundaries of this world.

If it weren't for the limitations of the system, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. And now, he didn't even possess his original body.

While the body of a Servant closely resembled his own, there were still key differences.

As for whether he could contact the Marvel world, Kain remained uncertain—despite being the signal transmitter himself. Although Tsunade had become a Servant, things still didn't align exactly with what he had expected.

While Kain was rubbing his brows in thought, Sakura Matou suddenly knocked on the door. A moment later, her head peeked in.

"Mr. Kain…"

"Is something wrong?"

"I suddenly feel very… connected to you, as if there's some sort of link."

Upon hearing this, Kain immediately understood what she meant. He felt it too. Now that the Black Holy Grail inside Sakura had been purified of its tainted energy, it was almost indistinguishable from a normal Holy Grail—naturally, Kain could sense the connection.

"Don't worry about it," Kain said, waving his hand dismissively. "Everything will stabilize soon."

He sent Sakura off—at this stage, she just needed to stay quiet and serve as the "mascot."

Kain then changed his clothes, sprayed on some perfume, and altered his face.

Meanwhile, Kotomine Kirei was finally starting to feel the pressure. He hadn't expected so many people to be involved in the manhunt for him.

At first, he hadn't taken the situation seriously. He used magic to dispose of several FBI agents who tracked him down and then fled.

But the pursuit kept escalating. Eventually, even police dogs were deployed—brought in from neighboring cities.

Now, Kotomine Kirei had no choice but to keep running. After he eliminated the last group of pursuers, the next wave came in teams of ten rather than three. While they still didn't pose a direct threat to him, if he kept killing, the situation would only get worse. He'd be cornered eventually.

"Have you found any news, Lancer?" Kirei asked as he stepped into a residential home currently under construction—Claudia's friend's house in Japan. For now, it served as a safe place, but who knew how long that would last.

"The situation isn't looking good, Master," Cú Chulainn said as he materialized, his expression unusually serious. "There are just too many people after you. The police have dropped everything else—they're focused entirely on your capture."