Diarmait waved his hand.
"Hmm~ You don't understand this, do you? My Master knows everything about the existence of this Holy Grail War. Not to mention Assassin and his fellow Servants, the Servants of other classes know it even better."
Tamamonomae said proudly.
"Why do we need to use the plural word to refer to Assassin?"
Diarmait gradually realized that there might be more than one Assassin, but he couldn't be sure.
"Hassan the Hundred Faces, his treasure 'Delusion', can reproduce the essence of his multiple personalities in his lifetime, and can split his spirit into hundreds or even more. I'm not sure about the exact number, or rather, even Hassan the Hundred Faces himself doesn't know. Because it is split, each one is the original body. Because of this feature, his total amount of magic power remains unchanged, and it keeps decreasing with the number of splits. Now he is just a few 'powerful humans'."
Yuzhongjin explains Assassin's abilities.
"In other words, the Assassin who died first was just a sacrifice that the other Master specially prepared to attract our attention?"
Diarmait also understood instantly.
"You see, his brain works better than yours."
Miojin turned around and looked at Tamamonomae. When she had talked to the latter about this matter, the latter had been asking questions and her mind was completely unable to change.
"Woooooo~"
Tamamonomae poked each other with their index fingers.
"Just for the sake of asking, do you know Saber's ability?"
Diarmait asked shyly.
"As a knight, is this really okay?"
Yuzhongjin asked back with a smile.
"The battle of intelligence is also a factor in winning or losing, and it does not conflict with the code of chivalry. Besides, the other party must have known my ability. I have no other options. The Noble Phantasm will most likely not be effective. I can only guard against the other party's Noble Phantasm and simply exchange martial arts."
Diarmait admitted it frankly.
"Then you don't have to worry. Saber's one hand can no longer exert its full strength, and her strongest Noble Phantasm cannot be used in this state."
Yuzan continued, "But even so, the chances of you losing are still greater than the chances of Saber losing."
"It seems that the new Master looks down on me. Even if my opponent is the legendary Knight King, I will not retreat easily."
Diarmait raised his two guns, intending to let Yuzhuanjin see his skills clearly.
"The Command Seal, that pure essence of magic, can cover the curse of "Yellow Rose of Certain Destruction" in a short period of time. If it is Saber's Master, he will seize the opportunity without hesitation. You will face more than one Saber."
Yu Zhuanjin reminded him, and then said: "But you don't need to be on guard. After all, the purpose of our trip is not to fight a life-and-death battle..."
……
About thirty kilometers west of the bustling streets of Fuyuki City, there is an east-west national highway that crosses the mountains far away from the village and rarely visited by people.
On both sides of the national highway is a dense forest. This forest area seems to have been forgotten by the surging land development boom and looks abrupt.
Deep in the forest lies a "mythical city".
The castle only welcomes its owner who enters to participate in the war once every sixty years.
The outside of the castle is shrouded in multiple layers of illusions and magic barriers, but this effect only affects ordinary people without abilities.
This is a strange space. People who know the details of this castle call it the Einzbern Forest.
The Holy Grail War was being held in Fuyuki City at that time. The head of the Einzbern family felt that it was an inappropriate strategy to set up a base in the direct territory of the mortal enemy, the Tosaka family, so he made full use of the family's financial resources to buy out the spiritual vein closest to Fuyuki City. That was the eve of the Third Holy Grail War, and it happened to be the tense period before the outbreak of World War II.
When night fell, Emiya Kiritsugu stood on the castle wall and looked out at the brightly lit city with a melancholy look on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking about.
"Kiritsugu?"
Irisviel stood behind Emiya Kiritsugu and noticed that her husband was in trouble.
"Eri." Leaning against the railing, Kiritsugu Emiya slowly turned around.
Irisviel raised her head, but when she saw Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes, which were filled with sorrow, she suddenly became at a loss.
In Irisviel's eyes, Emiya Kiritsugu's expression was like that of a wounded and helpless child, holding back tears, as if he was forced into a desperate situation. He was far from the image of a powerful magician killer, and was just a weak and cowardly man.
"Kiritsugu, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing this, Irisviel was confused. This was also the first time she saw the other person with such an expression.
"..."
Emiya Kiritsugu said nothing, but stretched out his hands and hugged Irisviel tightly, his chest trembling.
"If I……"
Alice felt her husband hugging her tighter, even causing her a little pain. At this moment, she heard his faint questioning voice: "If I decide to abandon everything and escape from here at this moment, Alice, will you leave with me? Leave this place of fighting?"
Irisviel could never have imagined that a man like Emiya Kiritsugu would ask such a question. She was so shocked that she was speechless for a moment. It took her a long time to come back to her senses and ask, "Illya's child is still in the castle. What should she do?"
"We will go back to the castle and bring her out. Anyone who stands in our way will be killed without mercy." The voice was brief and crisp, yet full of despair.
There is no doubt that Emiya Kiritsugu was not joking. He was serious and added: "From now on, I will give everything for our family and protect you and Illya with my life."
Now, Irisviel finally understood the desperate mood of the man in front of her. Kiritsugu, her life partner, was facing the biggest battle of his life and had been forced into a situation where he had no way out.
He is no longer the Kiritsugu of nine years ago, no longer the cold and heartless hound, no longer the killing machine that honed himself endlessly.
Kiritsugu has changed, become more fragile, and in order to achieve that very cruel ideal, he has pushed himself into such a situation.
The key to Emiya Kiritsugu's change was none other than Irisviel.
His wife and daughter should not have been involved in Emiya Kiritsugu's life.
Originally, Emiya Kiritsugu had nothing to lose, and he didn't even feel pain. It was because he was that kind of man that he became extremely strong, pursued the world's lofty ideals, sacrificed everything for it without hesitation, and became an extremely cruel warrior.
Now Emiya Kiritsugu wants to go back to the past and be his former self, but as he looks back on the past, an irreconcilable contradiction has emerged deep in his soul.
The nine years he had known Irisviel had completely changed him, and he had endured a considerable amount of pressure and pain just to maintain his past cold-blooded image.
He was so exhausted just trying to preserve himself that he didn't even have the energy to communicate with the Knight King.
Irisviel was in great pain. The man she loved deeply was suffering, but she could do nothing to help him because she was the one who made him suffer. She could only ask herself feebly, "Can we escape? Us?"
"You can escape. There is still a chance."
Emiya Kiritsugu answered immediately.
But this statement is not credible.
That was just self-deception said just to keep some hope in my heart.
"you are lying."
Irisviel pointed this out, and said gently and cruelly, "That is impossible, Emiya Kiritsugu. You cannot escape. You will never forgive yourself for giving up the Holy Grail and the ideal of saving the world. You will definitely be the final judge and sentence yourself to death."
He lowered his head, and the strength of the hug was decreasing, all of which showed Emiya Kiritsugu's powerlessness. He himself understood this point. He had no choice long ago.
"I'm scared……"
While crying, Emiya Kiritsugu expressed his inner thoughts like a child: "I may lose the battle. I sacrificed you and left Illya aside, but the most dangerous guy, Kotomine Kirei, has already pointed his spearhead at me. That guy is the opponent I least want to meet!"
Although the heartless man had not yet made a move, Emiya Kiritsugu still saw his own shadow in him.
Kiritsugu Emiya is neither a hero nor a samurai, but a killer. He does not have the courage and pride to compete with others with his life, and is a coward.
As such, his goal is to carefully and cautiously secure victory and the right to survive with minimal risk.
For a hunter, the biggest nightmare is to become the prey in the eyes of others.
But despite this, if it was Emiya Kiritsugu nine years ago, he would definitely not even frown, but would calm down and concentrate on thinking about the best countermeasures.
This is the strength of Kiritsugu Emiya when he has no loved one to lose. But now he is afraid of losing his loved one. When he faces a battle again, the fear of losing his loved one has gradually evolved into his fatal weakness.
"I won't let you fight alone."
Irisviel said gently, “I will protect you, Saber will also protect you, and Maiya will also be by your side.”
At this moment, she could not do anything. If there was anything she could do, it was just to hug the other person so that Kiritsugu could get a brief comfort.
Irisviel prayed silently in her heart. It didn't matter if the prayer was useless, as long as it could just extend the time a little, so that she could use her meager strength to try her best to heal the other person's pain.
However, even such a time disappeared in less than half a minute.
Irisviel's chest suddenly palpitated violently. She felt the forest's barrier being broken and the magic circuit vibrating repeatedly.
"Are you here already?"
Emiya Kiritsugu noticed Irisviel's abnormality and obviously understood the situation.
Loosening his hand, with a firm look in his eyes and a cold tone, the magician killer returned to this world again.
"Ah."
Irisviel nodded slightly.
"Get ready to fight."
After getting himself ready, Emiya Kiritsugu walked down the wall.
……
The one who broke through the barrier of the Einzbern Forest was Lancer, who was following Yuzhongjin's orders.
The one who fought against him was naturally Saber.
The two sides decided the outcome of the undecided match two days ago.
"Lancer, you are still alive." Artoria tightly grasped the invisible sword and stared straight at Diarmait.
"Due to some special reasons, I had to change the Master, but fortunately, the new Master has a good temper. Let me have a good sparring with you."
Diarmait also stared at Artoria.
The whirlwind of battle blew up, and Diarmait, as a Lancer, took the initiative to attack, and tried to suppress Altria, the hexagonal warrior, with the speed unique to a spearman.
The clanging sound of metal collisions continued to echo in the empty space.
Artoria held the sword in one hand, and when she received Diarmait's first move, she couldn't help but take a half step back. The opponent's strength became even stronger after the change of master.
Thrust, thrust, and then a volley.
Altria's "intuition" can block it all. Although she can't take it with force, it is still no problem for her to relieve the force by shifting the angle.
……
At the edge of the Einzbern Forest, Tamamonomae looked around while holding a sniper rifle, and then put on a magic detection goggles. These were all her specially made equipment.
Even if Assassin has "Breath Blocking", as long as the data records are clear, their marks can be found.
"one two Three……"
Tamamonomae looked at the dark shadows in the distance and finally found five Assassins. These assassins came to gather intelligence on Lancer, Saber and even their masters.
If these miscellaneous soldiers are not killed, it will be inconvenient for Yu Zhuanjin to enter the battlefield for the time being.
"...Let me give you a ride."
Tamamonomae smiled her natural smile.
Aim, snipe, and finally pull the trigger. The hot bullet shoots out, accompanied by a "bang" sound.
Assassin, who was moving at high speed, heard the unusual noise and immediately alerted the rear, but the bullet had shattered his bone mask and shot him in the head directly.
"One."
Tamamonomae confirmed that the opponent had been sniped and immediately switched positions to look for a new sniping point.
"what happened?"
The remaining four Assassins felt a clone being killed, but they only heard a gunshot.
"He is a magician from the Einzbern family."
An Assassin speculated.
As a magus who also uses guns, they only know that he is a magus killer hired by the Einzbern family.
……
"Ah!"
Emiya Kiritsugu sneezed.
Image: "Young Sakura", Location: "Images/"
