Fate/Zero: A Different Path

Chapter 20

Flame wreathed in and out of her darkned form, akin to a dragon's breath as the surrounding space was scorched beyond recognition

Avenger is agitated. Even more so at what she'd just heard

"It seems as though the Matou has fallen to Emiya's assault last night"

Reading from the report, Irisviel calmly commented beside her. The Homunculus crossed her legs as she observed the articles shown inside, in which detailed the recent happenings within Fuyuki provided from their intelligence gathering efforts

12 hours ago, an explosion was noted to have happened in East Fuyuki near the Matou's residence. Several smaller eruptions were reported to local police, lasting from 9 to 9:20 PM in consecutive blasts in the surrounding area

The culprit are most likely Servants who engage with each other in battle, hypothesized from the upturned patches of land and enormous Mana residue found at the scene afterward

"Standard household intrusion. No resident alive. No worthy artifacts stolen. What is left of them is only sheer, unadultered carnage"

The outside is one thing, but the inside of the manor is another

"The use of non-magic weaponry indicates the assailant's identity to be the Magus Killer. Various gathered evidence also seems to support this conjecture"

"Tch. So it's that guy"

"I was right, after all. He's quite accomplished at that he does"

Irisviel calmly flipped to the next page, revealing a set of images detailing the scene in close scope

Matou Kariya has been killed, his head blown off clean with a pellet-type shell shot from a 12 Gauge at point blank range. 

It was, however, an immaculate death compared to the type of injuries suffered by his elder

Zouken died of extreme Mana congestion. His body was reported to be in the last stage of swelling and allegedly exploded in his fight with Kiritsugu Emiya - Something that an experienced Magus could tell is not natural

And then there is the third victim

Irisviel's eyes narrowed as she turned to the last page

"Sakura Matou. Born 2nd March 1988. Originally Sakura Tohsaka, she is transferred to the Matou house as part of the deal to pay off the debt between them"

"What?" Avenger's eyes widened. She leaned back "So he killed a goddamn kid. I'm impressed"

"Kill would be an understatement" Her Master replied

"Now what exactly did he do?"

"The girl's body was heavily mutilated. She has mismatched part of her flesh cleaved off, cut into five pieces, disembowled, before ritualistically stabbed on a pike in a pentagram formation atypical of a summoning rite. The only thing that confirm of the girl's death before the process is the bullet wound within her chest"

"I see"

Avenger rubbed her chin. 

"Now I'm not a professional inspector or something, but that doesn't exactly sound right"

"Indeed" Irisviel set down the stack of paper on her hand and frown. Her crimson red eyes gleamed with interest "Kiritsugu Emiya from what I heard is an assassin with impeccable efficiency in killing people, but needless brutality just doesn't seems like his thing"

Or is it actually a tacticit warning to the remaining Masters, in the hope of scaring them away should they face the unfortunate consequence? 

As excited as she found herself at the prospect, irisviel is still not convinced of her conjecture