Chapter. 30 The second day Ends.

Only a little light from the evening sun penetrated through the thick curtains. The room was dark despite good lighting. Maxwell sat at a table, his gaze resting on a stranger. He was in Masaki's house, at a round table, to be precise, blowing smoke rings from his pipe. But he was not afraid. Why should he? After all, he was sitting opposite a like-minded person, someone who also had the goal of destroying the Holy Grail.

Glasses filled with stars of white wine, but they had not been touched for some time. Shiro, the woman in white, had not drunk anything; despite Masaki offering it to her over and over, she refused to consume even the slightest amounts. No one knew why, and she did not answer any questions. Zoro, on the other hand, well, it would not be an understatement to say that his corner would be littered with bottles if Maxwell had not intervened. Many would sleep under a grave because of the amount the pirate was taking in.

"Isn't it great, Maxwell?" announced Masaki. "The Regulator of the Fuyuki church has called a meeting tomorrow. A fantastic time for a counterattack, don't you think?"

Contrary to the magus' expectation, unease gripped the older gentleman. How could Masaki have known to speak with the father of another church? Maxwell had not revealed he was a follower of the church, as many masters did not approach them with joy.

"I don't know; we can't just break the sacred rules. Besides, a myriad of Servants will go to this meeting. Only a fool would attempt the impossible."

"Or someone sure of his victory. With Shiro's skills and your unique warrior, we can't lose."

"Indeed, I wonder which of the two you are."

"Maxwell, believe me, the gods are in our favor. For years, I have been working towards this moment. Now all it takes is someone to help crush the remaining obstacles."

Maxwell shook his head. Even though he didn't always agree with the directions of the faith, he could hardly turn his back on the church he had served since childhood.

"You should know better than anyone that this war is different than any other. Why are you so obsessed with a place of rules and protection?"

"Isn't that clear?" asked Masaki, slightly surprised, taking a sip of wine. "No one expects an attack on neutral territory. Especially not when all the masters gather there."

"But isn't that exactly our problem? No Master will let this insolence go unpunished. I couldn't think of a greater crime. Servants sense if their masters are in danger, and they will by no means miss Shiro sneaking behind the border of the church. She is not an assassin, but a noble warrior of our Goddess," Maxwell responded.

Zoro had already noticed Shiro while she was still miles away. In a small compound like the church, it seemed impossible that a Servant could smuggle in there under watchful eyes.

"That may be so; however, Shiro is a special case. Without giving too much away, I can guarantee she will sneak in. Of course, I'm aware that all the other Servants will notice as soon as she appears inside, so we would only have a small window of time to isolate and eliminate everyone."

Maxwell shook his head. "You should know better than anyone that I can't blindly follow someone without even a hint of their plans."

"But that's exactly why I chose you," Masaki interrupted him. "There is hardly anyone who knows people better and can speak more from experience than you. You don't blindly follow anyone; you think calmly about any situation. I wouldn't just ask you if it wasn't foolproof."

Masaki's troubled face was inevitable. Tomorrow was a chance to eliminate a large number of enemies and obtain the growing Grail. But alone, this battle would end in a hopeless disaster. Shiro was an extremely powerful spirit, but she alone was far from being enough.

Maxwell shook his head, and Masaki could only barely crack a smile.

'He's as stubborn as the old magi in the clock tower. I'll have to think of something to convince him.'

"I see you've already made your decision, but the help I need is only in the second part of my plan. If something goes wrong, no one will know we met. What do you say?"

"I'm sorry, but I swore to abide by the rules when I participated in the war. I will follow them as long as they are mandated by the church."

"Haha, then let me ask you one more question. What would you say if we didn't break any rules at all?"

The first time Maxwell raised his eyebrow, the gentle expression under his wrinkles straightened, and it became clear that he would follow the next words attentively.

"Oh, and why do you think that?" he asked, gesturing for Masaki to continue.

"The church is a neutral refuge and should offer protection to absolutely everyone. But how can they fulfill that role if they are fighting alongside other masters?"

The first time, Maxwell froze like a computer. 'Impossible... The church would never abuse God's words. Would it?'

Slowly, he put his hand on the table. "Do you have concrete evidence? Your accusation is hopefully not baseless."

Masaki smiled and made a finger sign with his hand. "Would you be so kind as to fetch the pictures?"

Shiro made her way to the hallway, where the lights had already gone out. 'I see, Maxwell, so you have an emotional attachment to the church. But why is that...'

Zoro watched Shiro closely; she slowly left the room and could be heard rummaging around in a drawer. His eyes were closed, but his senses swam around the entire property. If she made even one wrong move, he would immediately storm out of the mansion with Maxwell. Shortly after Shiro left the room, she returned, holding some photos between her fingers that were ruthlessly thrown on the table.

"The word has spread among masters; Assassin has passed away. For this reason, Kirei went to seek the protection of the church. However, yesterday we were able to take a picture of Assassin scouting the harbor while we fought Archer. He is a fierce opponent. How can the church claim to protect masters when they are allied with one or maybe more? The greed of the Grail has infected even the Regulator!"

"It, it can't be..." muttered Maxwell, speechless. A chill spread through his body as if someone had pierced his heart. How could a like-minded person under God's head ever go so astray? It shocked him that any words stuck in his throat. Had Masaki lied? There was no reason for Maxwell to believe the magus, but photos don't lie.

His eyes wandered to the golden cross hanging around his neck, and his back shuddered with anger as it pulsed in unison. With a smile, Masaki saw the uncertainty and cracks spreading through Maxwell.

"I say we punish the church and also take out all the other masters at the same time. We can't let a more powerful alliance form."

"How many other masters know about this?"

"I don't know exactly. We only got the information late last night. But it can be assumed that some already know about it. The church behaves strangely, and I can only assume they laid out a trap."

Maxwell widened his eyes. "That means all those who come will die!"

Any human life has unimaginable value. All the more so for Maxwell as the leader of a small church in Denmark. It would be his home, the place of faith, that took responsibility for the deaths of many young souls.

"We must do something about this immediately!" he screeched.

"All the Magus who agreed to participate in the war know the dangers. They all possess the ability to think and the will to fight. To win, we must take advantage of this unique opportunity. Don't you understand? It is useless to warn all the masters. More innocent people will be drawn into the war the longer it goes on."

"But..."

'My Lord, please stand by me in such difficult times! One of your houses has strayed from the right path, but is it right to exploit this shamelessly? Shouldn't we rather try to lead them back to the proper way?'

The pride Maywell saw in his task that he had carried on his shoulders for half a hundred years... It felt like a part of him was drying up and dying. How was it possible to contradict the voice of God? Most of all, he would like an answer that did not destroy his way of life.

While Maxwell was making a desperate speech in his mind, Zoro straightened up for the first time. The worried face did not escape him; with a clearing of his throat, he tried to attract attention.

"Isn't it a bit late to decide? The fact is, it will end in a bloodbath tomorrow. We don't know where the other masters are, nor will we be able to convince everyone. Those who have not seen injustice with their own eyes will never follow the truth. Whether we take advantage of it or not...the church will win."

"Your servant is right, Maxwell," but this sentence only caught him a nasty look that shook his deepest bones. "It would be too late to intervene now. Nobody can oppose an Archer's power, especially when they are laying a trap. And when we launch an obvious attack, we'll be seen as a general enemy."

"All right," Maxwell replied with an aching pain. "I will lend you our strength."

"Wonderful! But don't worry about it. I won't need your strength until the first stage of our plan is completed."

From a drawer on the side of the wall, Masaki dug out an enlarged map. It showed the surrounding area of the church. Paths marked with red lines led along the landscape until they finally reached the church.

"But first, let's drink!"

Immediately, Zoro grabbed a new bottle and sat down in a corner, but even though he appeared drunk to the common eye, he was very much on guard against Shiro. Her mere presence made his skin tingle.