A Saiyan's Journey

"Find that Berserker immediately! We still have a chance to save Irisviel!"

In the Einzbern Forest, Artoria held the Excalibur in her hand, its Wind King Barrier already dispelled. Her face was flushed with anger as she glared at Kiritsugu Emiya.

"She's been captured by the enemy—how can you just ignore this!?"

After Zuke had taken Irisviel away, Artoria naturally wanted to locate him as soon as possible to rescue her. However, Kiritsugu rejected her proposal and insisted they leave the Einzbern Forest to hide elsewhere instead.

This decision enraged Artoria to no end.

Kiritsugu's previous command for her to attack in Irisviel's direction had already infuriated her, but now he wanted to abandon Irisviel altogether.

"Saber, that guy won't kill Irisviel. Our top priority now isn't rescuing her but figuring out how to deal with that powerful Servant," Kiritsugu said, glaring at Artoria with a furrowed brow and an expression of deep impatience, as if she were a fool blinded by chivalry.

"Your attacks can't inflict any meaningful damage on him. We need to strategize on how to eliminate him."

"We can save her first and then think about our next move."

Artoria locked eyes with Kiritsugu, her tone firm and unyielding.

Despite Kiritsugu and Irisviel having spent a long time together in the Einzbern family, their bond didn't seem deep. Artoria suspected she herself might even have stronger ties to Irisviel.

After all, Kiritsugu was not like his original counterpart—a devoted husband. He was a man ruthless enough to abandon even his family for his ideals.

"Don't force me to use another Command Spell!" Kiritsugu warned, his frustration with Artoria boiling over.

From the start, he had known their personalities were incompatible. But he hadn't expected their differences to be this insurmountable. Her rigid knightly code clashed completely with his pragmatic worldview, and he even considered using another Command Spell to force her to leave.

Of course, Artoria didn't yet know that Irisviel was the Lesser Grail—the vessel for the Holy Grail's descent. So she couldn't understand Kiritsugu's reasoning when he claimed, "Zuke won't harm Irisviel," or why he seemed so trusting of an enemy.

"Oh? I thought you'd already left. But you're still here?"

Just as the two were locked in their standoff, Zuke's voice rang out from above, freezing them both in place with dread.

They looked up to see Zuke floating above the forest, smiling as he observed their quarrel.

"I even marked you with a locator, thinking I'd have to track you down. But this saves me the trouble."

"What are you talking about…?"

Artoria warily studied Zuke. Unbeknownst to her, a tiny crow flew from the nape of her neck and landed on Zuke's hand.

Indeed, before teleporting away earlier, Zuke had used his "Black Bird Lover" ability to release a crow and place it on Artoria as a marker. Unlike other Servants, Artoria couldn't dematerialize, so as long as the marker remained, he could find her anytime.

Zuke had expected Kiritsugu and Artoria to relocate. But their argument over whether to save Irisviel had stalled them in the same spot.

"Damn it…"

Kiritsugu's face darkened. He had known they should've left immediately. But Artoria's obstruction had kept him from escaping, and as a mere magus, he couldn't overpower a Servant's defenses.

Now Zuke had returned—without Irisviel or Rin Tohsaka, meaning he had likely hidden them elsewhere. Kiritsugu's plans to use Irisviel as leverage were dashed.

A cruel thought even crossed his mind: If only I'd planted a bomb on Irisviel to use as a threat.

Had Artoria known, she might have executed him herself.

Kiritsugu knew Artoria's attacks wouldn't harm Zuke significantly. But he wasn't about to surrender. Raising his hand, he prepared to use a Command Spell—only to feel a sharp pain in his wrist.

Thud.

His severed hand hit the ground, blood pooling as the Command Spell engraved on the back of it glowed ominously, indicating how close it had been to activation.

"Urgh…"

Kiritsugu, ever the battle-hardened soldier, remained focused despite the sudden loss of his hand. He reached into his coat with his remaining hand, intending to deploy a smoke bomb and escape.

But before he could act, a piercing pain shot through his chest.

"What…?"

Kiritsugu froze, looking up in disbelief.

Artoria stood before him, gripping Excalibur with both hands, the blade piercing through his chest. Her face was pale, her expression a mixture of horror and disbelief.

"This… isn't my will! I can't control my body!"

Yes, Artoria had stabbed Kiritsugu, but not of her own volition. Behind Zuke, the form of "Black Bird" had morphed into a shadowy replica of Artoria, mimicking her every movement.

Black Bird's Surface.

Using an ability borrowed from Shigechi's Stand, Black Bird could transform into anyone it had touched and forcibly control their actions.

Artoria's immense strength was meaningless against the Black Bird's power. As the Stand performed a thrusting motion, Artoria's body followed suit.

The result was Artoria killing her own Master.

"Excellent. As long as my Black Bird grows stronger, its control over others becomes absolute," Zuke mused, satisfied with this confirmation of his ability's dominance.

Below, Kiritsugu's gaze remained fixed on Artoria, his lips trembling as though to speak. But blood gushed from his mouth, and he slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Artoria stared blankly at her slain Master, her heart a whirlwind of emotion.

To be continued...

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