A Saiyan's Journey

If the situation involved a normal Heroic Spirit, Kiritsugu Emiya's plan might not have seemed so problematic.

To protect Irisviel, the Lesser Grail, the Heroic Spirit would need to stand in front of her and endure the A++ rank anti-fortress Noble Phantasm's attack.

If the opponent dodged, causing Irisviel's death and the Lesser Grail's disappearance, it wouldn't matter—after all, under normal circumstances, Artoria stood no chance of defeating Zuke.

Thus, this plan was Kiritsugu's last desperate gamble. He hoped to inflict some damage on Zuke, giving himself a slim chance of victory.

As for Irisviel's opinion… Kiritsugu could only assume she would agree with him.

Back at the Einzbern mansion, whenever Kiritsugu spoke to Irisviel about his ideals, she always expressed support for his vision of justice.

If so, wouldn't she understand the necessity of taking risks for his ideals?

"It seems Kiritsugu doesn't care much about your safety," Zuke remarked, chuckling as he observed the light gathering on the Excalibur in Artoria's hands.

"Artoria is more concerned about you than Kiritsugu is. She clearly wants to resist this command and avoid releasing her Noble Phantasm at you."

Artoria's struggling movements and expressions betrayed her internal conflict. She must have been mentally trying to explain the situation around Zuke to Kiritsugu.

In other words, there was no misunderstanding. Kiritsugu had knowingly issued the command despite being aware Irisviel was near Zuke.

Irisviel's expression grew complicated. She hadn't expected Kiritsugu to be so ruthless.

Initially, the Einzbern family had intended to recruit Kiritsugu through marriage, even considering having Irisviel bear the next Lesser Grail.

However, they later decided that a naturally born Lesser Grail would be too difficult to modify physically. Instead, they created the next Lesser Grail using alchemy—hence the homunculus Illyasviel.

Even so, Irisviel and Kiritsugu had raised Illya together, sharing discussions about their ideals during that time.

Irisviel admired Kiritsugu's pursuit of justice and supported him, despite knowing the Holy Grail War would ultimately lead to her death.

Yet… seeing Kiritsugu so indifferent now, ready to order Artoria to attack her, left Irisviel heartbroken.

Even Artoria, who had only known her for a few days, sought to protect Irisviel. How could Kiritsugu, after years together, be so cold?

"Though it's just clever strategy, I must admit, he guessed correctly. I truly can't let you die."

At that moment, Zuke knelt in front of the half-reclined Irisviel, placing a hand on her shoulder with a smile.

"...Eh?"

Pulled from her complex thoughts by Zuke's words, Irisviel froze. She suddenly noticed the environment around her had changed.

Boom!!!

The next moment, Artoria, unable to suppress herself any longer, swung the Excalibur with force. A torrent of light erupted from the blade, surging forward.

In an instant, the forest before her was obliterated by the overwhelming magical blast. The ground cracked, the clouds split apart, and the scene resembled Moses parting the sea.

The Excalibur demonstrated its true might, but Artoria felt no joy.

Her grip on the sword faltered as she turned to look behind her—where Kiritsugu emerged from the shadows of the forest.

"Why did you use a Command Seal to give such an order?"

Artoria's voice was hoarse, her tone laced with suppressed anger toward Kiritsugu.

Although her time with Irisviel had been brief, she had come to pity the homunculus, who had never left her family's home since birth.

Earlier that day, when they arrived in Fuyuki City, Artoria had sworn to protect Irisviel.

Yet now, under Kiritsugu's merciless command, she had been forced to unleash her Noble Phantasm in Irisviel's direction—even if Zuke was the primary target, Irisviel had undoubtedly been caught in the blast.

Were it not for her concern over Irisviel's safety, preventing her from acting rashly, Artoria might have struck Kiritsugu down with her sword right then and there.

"This was the only way to threaten him," Kiritsugu responded coldly. "Your strength alone cannot harm him. Using Irisviel's safety to force him to take the attack head-on was our only option."

Kiritsugu's expression showed no remorse for his actions.

"Irisviel would understand if she knew."

"You…!"

Artoria gritted her teeth. She had sensed incompatibility with Kiritsugu from the moment she was summoned, but his heartlessness exceeded even her worst expectations.

"There's no need to view yourself as committing an unforgivable sin," Kiritsugu continued, glancing at the now-devastated forest where Artoria's Excalibur had struck. The ground appeared as if it had been plowed, but nothing remained there.

Zuke and Irisviel were nowhere to be seen.

This sight made Kiritsugu's fingers tremble slightly.

He understood that, given Zuke's demonstrated resilience, even taking the full force of Excalibur shouldn't have left no trace behind—not even a fragment of a corpse.

Moreover, with Avalon hidden within Irisviel's body, it should have remained even if her body was destroyed.

The desolation before him meant Zuke must have evaded Excalibur's blast entirely—and done so while taking Irisviel with him.

To escape such a massive attack range… could Zuke possess teleportation abilities or a similar Noble Phantasm?

Kiritsugu's expression darkened. Zuke, along with Irisviel, had vanished without a trace. Yet Kiritsugu knew one thing for sure: Zuke wouldn't spare him.

If teleportation was within his capabilities, Kiritsugu could think of no means to eliminate him. Was surrender truly the only option?

…

To be continued…

Advance 50 chapters are up on my Patreon!

Btw, Hoi Ningen, FBI is after you after going through your search history. Hand over your Power Stones to me so I can bribe them for you winks.

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