My Fates Codex of Type-Moon Chapter 44

This spell, while not particularly difficult for self-hypnosis, was something most people were unwilling to do. Even temporarily, they didn't want to fragment their consciousness into meaningless pieces, and even fewer would do so voluntarily. However, Kiritsugu simply viewed it as the most efficient method of rest, so he often used this magic.

From a sensory perspective, dreamless sleep felt like an instant. After three hours of mental rejuvenation, Kiritsugu Emiya opened his eyes, regaining his rationality in a very short time. He sat up slightly and instinctively scanned his safe house.

In an instant, his expression froze, and his body tensed, not daring to move an inch.

Someone had bypassed the vigilance of others, even the Servant Saber, and infiltrated his safe house while he slept.

The small traps he had set were moved, and in some places, deep shadows had appeared under the blood-red sunset.

That appearance, that silhouette—

It was a bomb.

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Half an hour later, a tense atmosphere filled the reception room, the invisible pressure almost suffocating Irisviel.

The cause of it all was the several small cylindrical objects placed on the reception table.

They were trigger bombs, extremely vicious modern weapons for humans.

Kiritsugu Emiya, standing by the reception table, had a deep gaze as he slightly moved his aching limbs.

To avoid his own reckless actions triggering an explosion, he forced himself to maintain a half-upright posture. Through the contract with his Servant, he had Saber summon Maiya Hisau, who then broke through the wall to enter. Only then were all the bombs in the room safely disarmed.

"The analysis report is out. The bomb's tripwire is connected to the room door. The projected blast radius is small, only destroying the bedroom," Maiya Hisau concluded after disarming one of the bombs.

"So, it was a direct attack on me…" Even after narrowly escaping death, Kiritsugu Emiya's expression remained unchanged. He pondered as if it were none of his business and asked, "By the way, Iris, have you mastered the barrier spell of this forest?"

"Yes, no problem. I didn't find any flaws in the barrier, and the alarm and patrol functions are also normal… I'm sorry."

"It's alright. The larger the barrier spell, the more flaws it has. If someone focuses on infiltration, it's normal for it to be breached." After casually offering comfort, Kiritsugu Emiya continued his thoughts.

"Saber's curse is still not lifted, so is it Lancer's Master seeking revenge? No, he's a legitimate magus. Using bombs in front of him is an insult in itself. Archer's Master is the same."

"Rider's Master? No, setting aside that brat, Rider's personality wouldn't allow him to do something like that."

"Berserker's Master is suspected to be a member of the Matou family, but the Einzbern family has no enmity with the Matou family. The possibility of them finding this castle and attacking me in this manner is extremely low."

So, only two answers remain…

Such an obvious line of reasoning, however, caused shadows to appear on both Kiritsugu Emiya's and Irisviel's faces.

Assassin's Master, Kirei Kotomine.

Caster's Master, Sakutsuki.

It was laughable. Although these were both considered weak classes in the Holy Grail War, they brought immense pressure to Kiritsugu Emiya, who possessed the strongest class, Saber. Both Kirei Kotomine, with his elusive Assassin and considerable combat prowess who nearly captured Maiya Hisau; and Sakutsuki, who was comparable to a Servant, mysterious, and knew Kiritsugu's every move, were dangerous enemies in Kiritsugu's eyes.

Sakutsuki's base was unknown, and Caster, arguably his only weakness, was a girl who could kill Assassin with a single shot. Kiritsugu Emiya hadn't found a suitable opportunity to strike yet. However, Kirei Kotomine was different. He lied, claiming Assassin was dead, and brazenly hid within the Holy Church for protection.

Assassin's capture, and the loss of the contract with Kirei Kotomine, happened just a few hours ago. The Holy Church wouldn't be foolish enough to announce that Assassin was "truly" dead, so all Masters except Sakutsuki were still in the dark, believing Kirei Kotomine still held the trump card of Assassin for intelligence warfare.

With a sigh of helplessness and weariness, Kiritsugu exhaled the purple smoke from his lungs.

Even Irisviel didn't know that he and Maiya had a modified oil tanker hidden in a rented garage in the neighboring town. As a cheap weapon of mass destruction favored by terrorists, it was his trump card against the Matou or Tohsaka families if they adopted a siege strategy. If this thing were to charge into the Fuyuki Church where Kirei Kotomine was hiding, even the strongest Executor would be vulnerable…

Shaking his head, he cast the chaotic thoughts out of his mind, and Kiritsugu Emiya's thoughts returned to a state of calm.

The immediate priority was not these two potential rivals, but a more definite and dangerous fact.

"Iris, pack your bags and prepare to evacuate. Our base has been exposed."

"…Alright." After a brief silence, Irisviel got up and left. Before leaving the reception room, she looked back at Kiritsugu Emiya with an apologetic gaze.

In the end, she still hadn't voiced her guess.

It wasn't about theory or logic; it was simply a woman's intuition—the bombs were planted by Sakutsuki.

Not to kill her husband, but merely a malicious reminder, like a hunter in the jungle deliberately letting go of a prey for a more interesting hunt.

See, I've found you now.

Keep running, keep running… until the moment I catch you again.

Until then, please run with panic and fear, taking every step with all your might.

That young man with golden eyes was, in a sense, as cold-blooded as Kiritsugu Emiya.

[Since we are both striving for our own wishes, let us give our all to each other, with no room for holding back.]

[It's just a gamble with our lives. Once that wish surpasses our entire lives up to this point, then death is nothing to fear.]

When the seemingly passionate words became reality, Irisviel felt a deep unease once again.

It wasn't anxiety for a friend, but as a wife, worry for her husband.

Can Kiritsugu truly survive the confrontation between Kirei Kotomine and Sakutsuki?

Before she had even taken a few steps, the shouting that erupted from the conference room pulled Irisviel back.

"Kiritsugu Emiya, you are insulting Heroic Spirits. I was summoned to bleed in your stead, to minimize sacrifices, to replace an army with one person, to bear destiny and decide the outcome… This is the meaning of our existence as Servants. But why won't you entrust the fight to me?!"

The golden-haired girl shouted, her blue eyes filled with rage.

"The same goes for the attack on Lancer's Master and Sakutsuki last night. If anything had gone wrong, it would have already escalated into an irrecoverable tragedy. Even without such methods, Lancer had already agreed to fight me again! Not to mention, Sakutsuki and his Caster are not our enemies! Or perhaps, Kiritsugu, you don't trust your own Servant, you don't trust me?!"

The Magus Killer didn't answer the King of Knights' question, instead silently continuing to pack his equipment—even though such an action would only further escalate the conflict between him and his Servant. His expressionless face was like a mask, filling Irisviel with deep disgust.

This wasn't the Kiritsugu she knew.

If there is doubt, it must be corrected.

If the one you love does wrong, you must be the first to fight against their mistakes.

Even though we've become enemies, your words are still guiding me, Sakutsuki…

Irisviel closed her eyes, about to speak, when a sudden tremor in her chest tensed her entire body.

The forest barrier spell she had only recently mastered was pulsing strongly within her magic circuits.

This was an alarm.

Someone had invaded the Einzbern forest.

Honestly, I was kind of looking forward to Kiritsugu Papa going all out with firearms against mages… It's just a shame the power gap between Servants and Masters is too large.

The bloody wind of battle blew into the forest earlier than expected.

The Berserker, clad in black armor and with his face covered, let out a roar to the sky, squeezing broken words from his chaotic soul.

"...Ar...thur..."

Whose name was he uttering? From that intellect-distorted consciousness?

Not even the most resourceful strategist could draw conclusions from such fragmented clues, but his Master knew it all too well.

He had abandoned his pride and dignity, defiled his soul and personality, and was willing to become this grotesque figure, all in pursuit of that one figure.

"As expected, we're really alike..." Kariya Matou, wearing a hooded cloak that concealed his face, sighed and reached out, gently giving the black-armored knight a push forward.

"Go, do what you want to do."

The Master's strength was so insignificant, yet the Servant's eyes lit up with a red glow, and he tore through the air like a fired cannonball, heading for the Einzbern castle.

"Arthur—!!!"

The Master behind him turned silently and disappeared down the path he had come.

"Found them."

The Einzbern faction members gathered once more in the drawing-room—in front of Kiritsugu, Maiya, and Saber, Irisviel projected the intruder's image captured by the barrier onto the crystal ball.

Silent black armor plates danced, and the black mist staining the armor seemed to have absorbed all the resentment, coiling around the branches and leaves of the forest.

"Berserker, a participant from the Matou family..." Kiritsugu Emiya frowned.

This was completely contrary to his expectations. It should have been either Sakutsuki or Kirei who saw through the Einzbern stronghold. As creators of the Holy Grail system, the Matou family had no reason to become enemies from the start.

Or perhaps Berserker's Master had formed an alliance?

"Berserker has entered the interference range of the Area Effect," Irisviel's calm voice sounded.

"Hold off the intruder until we evacuate."

"Understood." Irisviel understood immediately. "Saber, defeat Berserker."

"As you command." The King of Knights' reply was extremely brief. By the time the others heard her voice, Saber's figure had already vanished from the drawing-room. Only the residual wind swirling behind her spoke of her conviction.

The moment Saber left, Kiritsugu Emiya, who had been silently organizing his weapons, spoke:

"Maiya, take Irisviel and leave the castle. Head in the opposite direction of Saber."

Upon receiving the instruction, Maiya nodded in agreement without a second word. Irisviel, however, couldn't hide the surprise on her face.

"I can't... stay here?"

"Since Saber is fighting at a distance, this castle is no longer safe. Because there might be someone who thinks the same way I do."

After Saber left, someone might indeed try to attack the Master remaining in the castle to gain an easy advantage. If the goal is to kill the Master, the best time to strike is when the Master and Servant are separated.

Which is easier to deal with—a Master protected by their Servant, or a Master guarding their own workshop? If Kiritsugu had to judge, he would choose the latter. If other magi came to the same conclusion, they would target Irisviel, who remained in the castle, upon seeing Saber fighting alone.

After concisely stating the reason, Kiritsugu Emiya fastened various hand grenades and small pouches of cursed bullets into the straps beneath his coat, one by one. He didn't look like a magus preparing for battle.

But anyone familiar with him would understand the extent of the psychological preparation this Magus Killer had undertaken upon seeing Kiritsugu's ritual gear, with the single-shot magic gun sheathed in its holster at his hip.

Irisviel felt uneasy that her husband would be leaving alone so soon after they had met, especially after learning that Kiritsugu was hiding his own unstable mental state, which worried her. But she also knew that accompanying Kiritsugu would only be a hindrance.

However, there were other factors contributing to her unease.

"..."

After calmly examining her own thoughts, Irisviel finally understood. The reason for her unease wasn't being separated from Kiritsugu, but about acting with Maiya. From Kiritsugu's perspective, he likely wanted Maiya to protect Irisviel. But deep down, she still couldn't completely shake off her resistance towards Maiya.

Yes, this was something she had felt from the beginning—the woman in black who handed everything over to Kiritsugu, remaining silent both just now and even now. This person was another cause of Irisviel's melancholy.

In today's meeting, her husband, Kiritsugu Emiya, had displayed a cold-blooded and ruthless demeanor that even Irisviel, who had been with him for nine years, found frightening and even disgusting.

No regard for human decency, no obligation as a magus, only tactics calculated by the equation of the survival of the fittest, like a hunting machine—after abandoning the warmth she cherished, every word and action of this Magus Killer made Irisviel feel a sense of unfamiliarity.

But in this meeting, Maiya Hisau remained completely unfazed, maintaining her silence. To her, the Kiritsugu of now was probably the original—the Kiritsugu Emiya she was most familiar with.

Could it be that the person closest to Kiritsugu Emiya now wasn't his wife, but Maiya Hisau...

Did she harbor feelings akin to jealousy in her heart?

However, Irisviel was certainly not so naive as to let personal feelings override Kiritsugu's opinion.

"I understand."

Just as she nodded dejectedly, a new prickling sensation flashed through her magic circuits.

This was a new feedback signal from the forest surveillance barrier.

"What is it, Iris?"

"...Kiritsugu, someone else has entered."

Saber became a silver gale, streaking through the woods.

The argument with Kiritsugu was now far behind her. Once on the battlefield, her spirit was like a sword. A sharp, flawless longsword that could cleave gold and cut jade, without a trace of confusion or hesitation.

Even though the wound on her left hand had not yet healed, her most relied-upon weapon was never her Noble Phantasm, but her conviction.

The maiden had always fought with honor, her reputation guiding her every step.

With such unwavering conviction, even the white dragon that dwelled on the island of Britannia would be slain by the holy sword in her hand.

The Servant's speed allowed her to cover several kilometers in just a few minutes, and the black-armored Berserker came into view.