How About You Find Another Savior

However, Kiritsugu had miscalculated one thing: the extent of Kirei's physical training.

Though the flashbang's intense light and noise had disrupted Kirei's vision and hearing, Kiritsugu's retreating footsteps were still mixed into the noise—and Kirei caught them.

Then, moving faster than Kiritsugu, Kirei caught up to him. Unable to see or hear clearly, he nonetheless drove a rock-hard hook into Kiritsugu Emiya's chest.

Thankfully, Kiritsugu's magecraft was still active, and he barely avoided a direct hit to his heart. Even so, he heard his ribs crack as inertia sent him flying into a tree.

Too badly injured to raise his weapon and fight back, Kiritsugu watched Kirei approach step by step. He vaguely saw Maiya preparing to fire from the darkness, but he had no way to stop her from taking the risk.

But Kirei, whose vision and hearing were gradually returning, suddenly retreated.

Xi Jianxi appeared amid the familiar flock of crows.

Interception

Lancer's Master had already withdrawn.

This was another fact confirmed after Xi Jianxi unleashed a grand magecraft that wiped out Caster's Sea Monster in one stroke, indirectly grievously wounding its summoner and forcing Caster to retreat.

After telling Lancer about it, Xi Jianxi returned to Einzbern Castle with Artoria and the sole surviving boy.

The hall was a complete mess, enough to leave even Xi clicking his tongue.

Morgan had shown Kayneth no mercy. Although Kayneth had relied on the Moon Cell Essence to escape the hall in a sorry state under Morgan's successive attacks, she had not even used her full strength. He had completely forgotten the pride he had displayed when he entered, declaring victory already his.

Seeing the severe damage around them, Xi somewhat regretted choosing the hall as his landing point when he teleported back.

Fortunately, Artoria said nothing, though she did seem slightly troubled by the extent of the destruction.

But Xi Jianxi had no desire to pay for it. He had indeed made money, enough to give two children a comfortable life, but that did not mean he was willing to use it to compensate for the losses suffered by other factions in the Holy Grail War.

It would be a real pain if Einzbern tried to extort compensation from him.

And so, Xi's next task was to rush to the next battlefield and support Irisviel's husband, Kiritsugu Emiya.

He intended to sell them this favor and shut Einzbern's mouth before they could ask him for damages.

"Xi... Jianxi..." Kirei's recovering vision allowed him to make out the familiar figure who had appeared.

Xi did not rush to attack. "Sorry, but Saber's Master asked me to save this man. How about we leave it at that?"

"I see. I thought you had merely agreed to a truce. I never expected you to form an alliance." Kirei understood.

Judging the matter was outside the scope of his concern. Tokiomi believed Xi merely needed a truce so he could focus on dealing with the Lancer faction, and Kirei had accepted that conclusion.

"War is like that. Sometimes you ally with others, and sometimes you oppose them." Xi smiled faintly. "It has been four years since we last met. After your wife died, you entrusted your child to me."

Kirei's expression did not change. "At this point, do you intend to threaten me with that child?"

"Even if you wanted me to, I wouldn't use Karen as a hostage." Xi snorted. He had adopted Karen out of consideration for an old friend's sake.

But she was a good child, and he did not regret having a daughter like her in the slightest.

"Still, you've been in Fuyuki for so long. Now that we've finally met, aren't you going to visit your own child?" Xi continued the small talk.

Kirei lowered his eyes. "There is no need."

Since he had entrusted Karen to Xi's care, Kirei believed he should no longer concern himself with her, even if they were blood relatives.

As for Xi insisting on joining the Holy Grail War, he had no one to blame but himself.

"You really are as heartless as ever." Xi narrowed his eyes. "You won't back down?"

Kirei assumed a stance and silently watched Xi. "I have business with that man. Do not interfere. Even if we are old friends, there is no room for discussion."

"Oh, is that so?" Xi turned slightly and slowly raised his right palm between himself and Kirei.

"Make your move." Kirei's voice carried no emotion.

"Then let's give it a try!"

The moment Xi finished speaking, Kirei charged at him.

There were more than five steps between them, yet the tall Executor crossed that distance in a single step.

That footwork, which made it seem as though he could glide across the ground without moving at all, was called Living Step, a secret technique of Baji Quan.

Clad in priestly robes, Kirei glided into Xi's safe range like the Grim Reaper. With the power of all eight directions concentrated in his fists, he struck directly at Xi's shoulders, intending to cripple his arms.

"...No... way..." The still-conscious Kiritsugu muttered in a voice only he could hear.

He could tell how powerful Kirei's attack was. It would have been enough to kill any Magus.

Yet Xi blocked it.

With only his right hand.

Not only did he block it, but the instant they made contact, he turned sideways and caught Kirei's arm, dissipating the force of the attack and letting his opponent slide past him.

"Clench your teeth!"

Like swinging a flail, Xi gripped Kirei's arm, spun once on the spot, and hurled him away.

Kirei flipped in midair and landed on the ground. He slid backward through the dirt before finally stopping when he crashed into a tree trunk.

The next second, Xi charged at Kirei at the same speed, closing in directly before him.

A punch carrying enough speed and force to split the air collided head-on with Kirei's fist, and the resulting sonic boom made the surrounding branches shake violently.

After all, Kirei had one more arm. He used the opportunity to throw a left punch.

Having trained his body to its limits, the Executor had a clear understanding of his own strength.

Yet even so, he felt Xi's body possessed a toughness beyond anything that could be described as forged steel.

Even when he struck Xi's comparatively weaker arm, Kirei felt as though he had hit the hardest rock. Xi did not budge an inch.

Had he reinforced his body with Runes?

Kirei guessed inwardly.

His fists came as swiftly and fiercely as cannon shells, but Xi blocked every single one at an even faster speed.

Then Xi caught one opening, seized Kirei's fist, and leaped up to block his other fist with his knee.

Just as Kirei intended.

But as he prepared to break free from Xi's right hand with explosive force, agonizing pain and the sound of bones shattering came from his trapped fist. The strongest part had been crushed. The unexpected pain forced a low growl from Kirei's throat despite his clenched teeth.

Xi Jianxi had forcibly crushed the bones in Kirei's clenched hand.

Using the same move again, he grabbed Kirei's arm and yanked his entire body into the air. As Kirei fell, Xi's side kick struck him in the abdomen.

Kirei bent over as blood sprayed from his mouth and flew deep into the forest. A moment later, a violent crash sounded.

"...I may have gone too far. Was I just feeling jealous?" Xi secretly felt a little guilty.

He knew Kirei would not die, but he had hit him much too hard without meaning to... Was it because of Karen?

Was he angry because Kirei did not want to see his own child? Or, as Karen's current father, did he need to prove he was stronger than Kirei before he could raise her with peace of mind?

Wondering whether he had wronged Karen somewhat, Xi brushed aside the thought and turned to check on Kiritsugu Emiya.

When he saw the unconscious Kiritsugu being helped to his feet by Maiya, Xi could not help muttering.

"You had backup and didn't say so earlier... Forget it."

Strike While the Iron Is Hot

"How is Kiritsugu...?"

Irisviel looked at her husband lying on the bed in shock and asked Xi Jianxi, who was examining him.

"He managed to avoid Kirei striking a vital point, but his ribs and internal organs suffered varying degrees of damage." Xi pressed a hand against Kiritsugu's chest.

After he removed his hand, a glowing healing Rune remained behind.

"With this Rune, he should recover enough to get out of bed and walk around after roughly a day and a night," Xi said. "He is a Magus with an inherited lineage, after all. The Magic Crest he inherited began deploying treatment on its own the instant he was seriously injured."

Even so, the treatment's effectiveness was highly conditional.

First, it depended on the magical energy of the person bearing the Crest, and second, on the Crest's own quality and level.

If he suffered a fatal wound, Kiritsugu Emiya would have virtually no chance of surviving.

At most, Xi's Rune could provide continuous treatment on the premise that the man had not already died.

"Thank you very much." Irisviel was at a loss for words.

She knew her husband was wary of Xi, but it was entirely different from his wariness toward Kirei.

The opponent's strength was far too unpredictable, so it was best to avoid a direct conflict from the start whenever possible.

"Don't worry about it. I only wanted to earn you a favor." Xi shrugged. "That means I won't be responsible for the damage to the castle, right?"

Irisviel froze for a moment before nodding with a wry smile. "Of course..."

With Einzbern's wealth, that level of damage was not something they needed to care about at all.

But the Master before her clearly had a way of thinking utterly unlike that of a Magus. All she could do was smile helplessly and accept his obvious implication.

Afterward, Irisviel left Maiya to tend to Kiritsugu, while she and Xi went to the adjoining sitting room.

Artoria and Morgan were both there, drinking tea.

"I heard Caster has already fled. My husband is certainly composed enough to have the leisure to treat someone from another faction." Morgan held her teacup and spoke with elegant amusement. "Aren't you worried someone else will defeat Caster?"

"It doesn't matter who defeats him. I don't need that one Command Spell." Xi stood with one hand on his hip. "Besides, you have some nerve calling me leisurely. Are the legendary royals and nobles all this free?"

Morgan calmly glanced at Xi. "What, were you hoping I would do nothing but wait outside?"

"That isn't what I meant." Unable to argue with her, Xi turned toward Irisviel and Artoria. "As you just heard, Caster has escaped. He probably realized the situation was bad the moment I successfully unleashed that large-scale magecraft and withdrew ahead of time."

Artoria nodded. "It couldn't be helped. Caster said from the start that he had made thorough preparations. That likely included a way to retreat safely."

"He talked big, and that was all the courage he had." Xi could not help sighing.

At that moment, Irisviel asked, "Then what should we do next? The operation to defeat Caster has failed, and he may continue committing atrocities. As for the alliance between our two sides..."

Kiritsugu had been seriously injured this time because they had faced the enemy in haste with insufficient intelligence. Even after recovering, his combat ability would be somewhat diminished when he returned to the battlefield.

If possible, Irisviel wanted to maintain the alliance for a while longer, at least until the other factions had been defeated.

"I don't mind. After all, I spared Kayneth for the time being because Lancer helped us earlier." Xi looked at Morgan. "It would have been better if you had just killed him on the spot."

"Wouldn't it be more satisfying to settle something like that yourself?" Morgan calmly accepted the criticism. "It seems I misunderstood. My husband prefers to have others do his work for him."

"...Forget it." Xi truly could not handle her.

Morgan kept calling him "my husband." At home, he could just let it go in one ear and out the other.

But now, with Irisviel and Artoria right in front of them, every time she called him that, Xi felt goosebumps falling all over the floor.

He was not thick-skinned enough for that.

Especially with someone like Artoria present, someone directly connected to Morgan.

—Directly connected?

Xi suddenly froze. As he relaxed after the battle, the dream from last night resurfaced in his mind.

The End, the Land of Rain... What kind of place was that?

There should not have been any mention of such a place in the legends of King Arthur.

But legends were legends. Records everywhere were contradictory and vague, so Morgan...

"What are you thinking about?" Morgan asked as she sipped her tea.

Xi came back to himself and only then realized that he had been standing there lost in thought while everyone else watched him.

He glanced at the untouched cup of black tea beside Artoria and thought, You were fighting like a stormy sea yesterday, yet today you can sit together and drink tea. Your relationship isn't actually that bad, is it?

"Nothing. I just think it's best to strike while the iron is hot." Xi turned and said decisively, "Since it isn't dawn yet, why don't we deal with Lancer's Master?"

"My husband really is warlike."

Though she spoke with mild teasing, Morgan rose without the slightest hesitation, making the others feel that this Master and Servant were remarkably in sync.

"Still, continuous fighting inevitably brings exhaustion. After driving off Caster and that Executor, do you have any strength left?" Morgan raised another crucial question.

Xi answered lightly, "The same applies to Kayneth. If you hadn't held back, he would have died in the hall already. Everyone has been worn down. It's fair."

Even if he had barely escaped with his life, the wide variety of magecraft Morgan had unleashed in that brief minute was more than enough to heavily drain Kayneth, who had been exhausted from defending himself.