Elena quickly put on her puffy coat once more and stood firm as she waited for the inevitable confrontation that would be upon her in a few seconds.
Slowly but surely she could see the two shadows turning the corner and the visages of her father Argus Manadek and his companion Mr. Gil. They looked at her with caution and surprise, surprised to see her there perhaps.
"Elena!" Manadek yelped out in surprise, immediately rushing over to her and embracing her with one arm "oh my beautiful girl you are unharmed."
Elena returned the embrace but took note of her father's appearance. He didn't look out of the ordinary with the exception of his left hand which was entirely covered by a leather glove, in fact only that hand specifically was covered.
"Of course I am unharmed dad" Elena said as she pulled away from the embrace.
"And what are you doing here?" Gil asked her with a voice full of suspicion and condescension.
Elena sighed, trying her best to put on a neutral and composed expression as she steeled for the following conversation.
"Richter is dead" she stated simply.
Neither her father nor Gil seemed terribly shocked by that revelation. But rather they looked puzzled and uncertain.
"How did you find out about this? And who…" Manadek questioned before he was interrupted by Elena.
"Fallow ratted him out. I went to see what became of Sakura Matou in the hospital and encountered Shirou and Rin there. Fallow showed up and told them that Richter was responsible for miss Matou's current condition."
And once more Manadek didn't seem too surprised by this sudden turn of events. Almost as if he had foreseen this happen. He put his cane under his arm and with his right hand began to ruffle over his bald head, as if he was thinking.
"If that is so then who killed Arefal?" Manadek asked.
"I think I can hazard a guess boss," Gil said out of nowhere "I think it was Rin Tohsaka."
Manadek turned to Gil with a puzzled look "and what makes you think as such Mr. Gil?"
Gil's smug expression came in an instant "because Rin and Sakura are sisters. Tokiomi allowed for the Matou family to adopt Sakura since he was only interested in raising one of his daughters as a successor."
Elena watched the scene unfold with baited breath. She wanted to ensure her father didn't get inside the hospital and find Richter's mangled corpse. It was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.
"That makes sense. Young Miss Tohsaka came here for revenge and it seems she got it" Manadek concluded.
"And I was too late to stop her and believe me I've tried" Elena told him.
Manadek smiled at her warmly all the while Gil just cast a suspicious glance over at her.
"That being said. I think I know where she might have gone too" she said.
Raising an eyebrow in response, Manadek asked "continue daughter?"
Elena smiled smugly "well I did tell Shirou in the hospital room to look for Excalibur. I've been helping him harness his connection with King Arthur for a while now."
"And how have you done so?" Gil asked crossing his arms and looking at her with distrust.
"Well I don't wear my hair like this for no reason" Elena pointed out with a smug grin, pointing to her hairstyle. Manadek now finally seemed to connect the dots.
"She had the same hairstyle when I saw her. Clever girl Elena, I am so proud of you" Manadek said heartfelt and smiling warmly.
"But back to the point. Rin Tohsaka overheard it and I'm willing to bet that after dealing with Richter here she would immediately go to Shirou who is looking for the sword. And I know where he might be looking?"
"Well don't keep us in suspense anymore daughter please do tell."
Elena stood firm as she said.
"Ryuudou Temple. Maybe if you're quick you can make it there before Rin Tohsaka does and use her. After all if Shirou does manage to find the sword I very much doubt he will ever hand it over…unless…"
Manadek turned to Gil "Mr. Gil I want you to make haste to Ryuudou Temple this instant and make sure you intercept miss Tohsaka. But no harm is to befall her is that clear?"
Gil smugly smiled and responded with "crystal clear boss."
And he immediately set off running, disappearing from sight quickly and leaving Manadek and his daughter alone. He turned to her and walked over.
"Elena my gratitude towards you cannot be put into words. Thanks to you and your amazing work I can finally save the world. Oh dear daughter I…"
A single tear fell down Manadek's cheek which he quickly wiped away.
"Come with me daughter. I want you to be there alongside me when I find the sword" he said extending his right hand to her.
"I'm sorry dad," Elena apologized, moving his outstretched hand back "I'm going to stay here and clean up the mess. Make sure that it can't be traced to us. I know El-Melloi is already on to us but the less he can pin on us the better. You go and claim your destiny."
Manadek's face faltered a bit, a mixture between understanding and disappointment etching itself on it.
"Why did you tell him to not harm Rin Tohsaka? She's a Magus why suddenly the compassion?" Elena asked him.
Manadek turned his head looking up at the sky. "Because your brother asked me too. He asked me that no harm should befall her. I don't know what that witch has done to him but…I want to honor his wishes."
Elena shrugged and crossed her arms "hoodwinking Kerrion isn't exactly hard."
Manadek snickered "no indeed it is not" he said as he took hold of the necklace around his neck. It was hard shaped and he opened it. Elena knew what it meant.
In it was a photo of her and Kerrion as children. One of the few photos they where actually on together. It was made when she was twelve right after watching the Lion King for the first time. Both of them where so happy that her dad couldn't resist not making a picture of them.
That was all before he was attacked.
Manadek smiled warmly as he looked at the picture he kept close to his heart before he turned back to his daughter.
"Elena I….I know…I know I have faltered as a father over the years. And you have every right to be upset, disappointed and angry with me and I don't blame you one bit. But know this my dear girl. All I've done and that I'm about to do is for you, for your brother. So you may live in a world without monsters. A world where what happened to me will never happen to you."
He reached out with his hand and caressed her cheek. She looked at him, meeting his eyes.
"I know dad" she responded.
Manadek smiled at her and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"I love you Elena, my beautiful daughter."
With those words he turned around and began running too. Elena remained stoic until he was out of sight and as soon as he was she immediately turned and ran back into the hospital. Up the stairs she ran until she came across the grizzly sight of Dr. Richter's body laying there motionless against the corner wall.
She walked over to him and reached forward into the breast pocket of his lab coat. From it she found a set of keys. She took them and left for the nearby left.
As she went around the many drawers in the now unruly and damaged labs she opened them all one by one until she came across one where she saw a faint red light coming from.
"Shirou…I hope you find the sword and fast…" she mumbled to herself as she opened the drawer to reveal what was inside.
Waver Velvet waited patiently as the hotel elevators took him to the right floor he needed to be on.
As he stepped out he saw through the windows that afternoon was nearing its end. The day seemed to go by so fast as he had spend it in Rin Tohsaka's house going over all his notes as well as the notes she had given him. Like this hotel where the Four Kings where apparently operating out of.
He soon came to the room he had been told Manadek was in. With some simple magic he managed to open it and stepped inside.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary upon first glance. But as he looked closer and towards the couch he notice something very strange. A pool of dried blood right on the carpet. He couldn't see how long it had to have been there. He knelt down to inspect it closer.
"Goodness Manadek what have you been doing?" Waver wondered.
"Nothing that concerns you El-Melloi!" he suddenly heard.
He was quick to turn as he saw something hurling his way. He ducked and the knife launched his way became stuck in the couch behind him. He looked up and saw his attacker in the door opening.
"Kerrion Manadek" Waver said as he stood up.
"El-Melloi" Kerrion responded grabbing another knife from his belt and reading it for a throw. Waver was faster and pointed his finger, blasting a quick magical strike from it towards Kerrion.
However before it Kerrion's non-throwing hand began to glow as his magical circuits flared up "trace on!" and he put it forward and created a shield to block Waver's blast.
He then aimed his knife and hurled it. Waver jumped backward and dove behind the couch where the knife once again etched itself into.
Waver looked around hastily. There was no where he could hide. Like a rat in a corner he was stuck.
"I don't even need to kill you here El-Melloi. Very soon my father will accomplish his plan and then monsters like you and the one before you will never hurt anyone ever again. But the opportunity to inflict the same pain your predecessor inflicted on my father is too good to pass up and…"
Kerrion's gloating was interrupted by a sudden ringing. Waver kept himself completely silent behind the couch as he heard Kerrion answer the phone.
"Yes father what is it? Ryuudou Temple is it? I will be there as soon as possible."
Waver listened closely as the call was quickly started and ended. And even more so he was surprised he could hear the sound of running and it was leaving the room. He waited for a good minute until he couldn't hear it anymore before peaking over the couch.
Kerrion had ran off as soon as he got the call, completely leaving Waver alone. The Magus counted his blessings as he was at Kerrion's mercy not just a minute earlier but apparently whatever this call was, it was important enough for him to ditch his attack.
Waver breathed in and continued his research. At least he knew where to go now when he had what he needed.