How About You Guys Find a Different Savior

She was still dressed as a beautiful woman in men's black attire.

"Irisviel?"

Realizing that something had changed, she let out a low gasp.

At that moment, a violent explosion sounded from outside.

Chapter 67: Sudden Change

A few minutes earlier.

Looking at the Einzbern Castle hall, as devastated as it was two days prior, Xi Jianxi couldn't help but scratch his head.

If anything, it was unavoidable. To repair it to its original state in such a short time would require a considerable amount of magical power, or financial resources.

Besides, during the Holy Grail War, who would have that kind of free time?

Following the ruined steps carpeted in red, Xi Jianxi and Morgan ascended.

"Although the magic has been dispelled, we don't know how far those people have progressed in this time," Morgan said.

She didn't bother to check the results of the magic, as she had no interest in that.

"In other words, it's highly likely they've all been neutralized," Xi Jianxi said, carefully sensing the atmosphere within the castle. "What if someone came out before the 'Lost Will' was dispelled?"

Morgan seemed stumped. "That's truly hard to say."

She had indeed met people who could endure to the end in the 'Lost Will' without losing their minds.

But after facing an incredibly real scene before their eyes, and instead of self-harming or blaming themselves, they took actions completely beyond common sense and walked out, what could be seen then?

"...Perhaps, they would see what other subjects saw." A hint of helplessness was in her smile.

Without a single case to reference, Morgan couldn't make a definitive judgment.

"How about you confirm it yourself?" Xi Jianxi asked.

"Is this the time for such things?" Morgan frowned.

"Also—"

Just as Xi Jianxi was about to agree, the aura from the corner of the corridor made him freeze, and he quickly stopped talking and rushed out.

Kirei.

And on his shoulder, he was carrying a silver-haired woman.

Irisviel von Einzbern.

"What do you intend to do, Kirei?" Xi Jianxi pointed his sword at Kirei. "Do you intend to continue the Holy Grail War?"

Kirei revealed a strange smile. "I certainly don't want to be told that by you, who launched an attack overnight, Xi Jianxi."

"Tsk..."

"But I still have to thank you and your Servant. I don't know what kind of magic that was, but thanks to you, I benefited greatly." Kirei had a nauseating smile on his face. "It's precisely because of that that I know what I should do now."

Xi Jianxi couldn't help but click his tongue. "What you call 'what you should do' is kidnapping someone's wife?"

"Don't you know yet? This woman is the Lesser Holy Grail provided by Einzbern for this Holy Grail War." Kirei's attitude became increasingly shameless. "I'm merely securing the smaller one first, and then I'll go secure the larger one."

"You've changed, Kirei Kotomine," Xi Jianxi sighed softly, his tone filled with disgust.

If what he said was true, then the reason for the change in Kirei Kotomine's demeanor was likely the 'Lost Will'.

The priest who had originally adhered to morality had quietly transformed into a scoundrel who delighted in evil.

"You haven't changed at all, still unable to let go of irrelevant people," Kirei remained unfazed. "Entrusting that child to you now seems to have been a very correct choice."

Xi Jianxi narrowed his eyes. "I'm not in the mood to discuss Karen right now. Put down Irisviel quickly, or else—"

"Unfortunately, I can't promise your request like I used to." Kirei glanced at the corridor blocked by Xi Jianxi.

At the end of the corridor behind them was the castle window.

It was probably about four stories high, so it was perfectly fine.

Sensing Kirei's motive, Xi Jianxi moved ahead of him, intending to cut the priest, who had undergone an unknown transformation, in half.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two shortened to just one step. Golden light appeared from the void. Xi Jianxi quickly stopped and retreated, swinging the sword in his hand to block.

Noble Phantasms of various forms were repelled, hitting the wall. The shattered and collapsing wall kicked up a thick cloud of dust.

A strong wind from behind blew away the smoke and dust.

It was Morgan's magic.

But more than that, Xi Jianxi looked at Gilgamesh, who was slowly appearing. He grinned and took off a dark hat from his head.

The attack that had just blocked Xi Jianxi from killing Kirei was released by him.

That should also be a Noble Phantasm. Until the golden Servant appeared, Xi Jianxi hadn't sensed his presence in the corridor.

Gilgamesh, who was always extremely ostentatious, choosing to conceal his presence made it hard not to feel more apprehensive.

"To think you'd trouble me, the King, to come to your aid. You've become quite audacious, Kirei."

While speaking displeased words, Gilgamesh's attitude carried no killing intent; instead, it seemed as if he greatly admired Kirei.

"Normally, we wouldn't need to trouble King of Heroes himself, but that person's response is as swift as ever." Kirei looked at Xi Jianxi with a smile. "It's inevitable for a hastily changed plan to have flaws."

Snap—

The sound of a bolt being pulled back.

From the adjacent room, Kiritsugu Emiya emerged, gun aimed at Kirei's back.

"Let Irisviel go," Kiritsugu commanded coldly, but the bloodshot veins in his eyes still betrayed his exhaustion.

The Lost Will had taken a significant toll on his mental state.

His assistant, Maiya Hisau, hadn't even regained consciousness yet.

"Hmph, mere mongrels." A vortex flared up beside Gilgamesh, and multiple Noble Phantasms targeted both Kiritsugu and Xi Jianxi.

Kirei said, "Wait a moment, King of Heroes. If we fight here, we can't guarantee the Lesser Holy Grail won't be destroyed along with it."

"Then what do you propose?" Gilgamesh replied leisurely. "As a reminder, as long as the core is secured, the container itself doesn't really matter."

"You're right, it is rather inconvenient to withdraw with this woman," Kirei loosened his grip. Irisviel slid from his shoulder, and he roughly grabbed her by the neck.

Kiritsugu's finger rested on the trigger, about to pull it. He wasn't sure if he could bypass Gilgamesh and hit Kirei.

The oblivious priest aimed at Irisviel's heart, a smile of pleasure spreading across his face.

He applied sudden force with his right hand.

The trigger was pulled, and bullets poured out, only to be blocked by an invisible wall surrounding Gilgamesh.

Bang—

Artoria, fully armored, heard the explosion outside and violently burst through the door, only to witness a scene that made her gasp for breath.

Kirei's hand pierced Irisviel's chest as if it were paper, and he pulled something out from within.

A vividly red fruit.

Without a doubt, Kirei had taken the core of the Lesser Holy Grail—Irisviel's heart.

He casually threw the heartless Irisviel towards Artoria, as if discarding useless trash.

"Irisviel!"

With a cry, Artoria had to lunge forward to catch her, creating a gap in the barrier between her and Kiritsugu.

Gilgamesh snapped his fingers.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Holy Relic

A dazzling light erupted, blinding everyone.

When the light faded, the dead-end corridor was gone, as were Kirei and Gilgamesh. They must have used a low-grade Noble Phantasm that interfered with the senses.

Xi Jianxi and Morgan lowered their defensive stances.

"Irisviel!"

Kiritsugu dropped his gun and ran towards his wife.

On the other side, Xi Jianxi also rushed towards Artoria.

There was still time; if he used the Age of Gods Rune now, he could easily save Irisviel even without her heart.

However, when he reached her side and looked at Irisviel, who had been snatched from Artoria's embrace by Kiritsugu, he froze.

Artoria was the same.

The wound had vanished. The area where her heart should have been was completely intact, leaving only her chest stained with blood.

It was as if the act of her core being stolen had been a collective illusion.

"The wound... healed?" Artoria felt a hint of confusion.

She wasn't sure if this was the extraordinary regenerative ability unique to the Einzberns' homunculi.

"Have the Einzbern homunculi evolved to this point?" Xi Jianxi was also quite astonished.

Kiritsugu held his wife tightly, causing Irisviel, who was gradually waking up, to let out a pained groan.

"Kiritsugu..."

She raised her hand and caressed her husband, who was crying like a child.

"I see, so that's what was used as the Holy Relic to summon Artoria," Morgan, who had followed them at a leisurely pace, stated a certain secret with a knowing tone.

"Eh..." Artoria looked up in confusion.

Kiritsugu Emiya, holding his wife, remained silent.

Irisviel was gradually understanding what had happened. She hadn't lost consciousness just now; she had simply been suddenly abducted and was too weak to react.

Logically, losing her heart should have been a fatal outcome.

However, Kirei's action to restrain Saber had inadvertently saved her life.

That was what Morgan referred to as "that."

She pushed herself up from her husband's embrace, looking apologetically at the knight who had protected her so diligently.

"I'm sorry, Saber. I've been keeping this from you," Irisviel apologized. "Originally, Kiritsugu was supposed to have this, but he gave it to me because he was afraid something might happen to me."

"What...?" Artoria was still a bit out of sorts.

She had just experienced the 'Lost Will,' and one chaotic event followed another.

Artoria couldn't quite keep up for a moment.

"'Avalon'," Morgan said nonchalantly, leaning against the wall. "It's surprising that you managed to find the scabbard in this era, as it was supposed to be lost without a trace."

Silence fell in the hallway for a moment.

Xi Jianxi felt it wasn't the time to discuss the matter further, so he said to the group, "For now, let's put this topic aside. Irisviel has just narrowly escaped death and needs to rest. Also, there have been too many unexpected events tonight, and our original plan has been disrupted."

"So... you're not going to continue attacking us?" Irisviel asked weakly.

"We originally decided to take action because your side disagreed with the plan we proposed, and we wanted to avoid any further complications," Xi Jianxi said, shrugging with his sword in hand. "But it seems someone else was hatching their own plans... That's the real complication."

"Indeed," Irisviel didn't argue.

They were on opposing sides, after all. If they couldn't cooperate, then eliminating the other side first made sense.

But now that a new common enemy had appeared, a temporary truce was the best course of action.

Especially that strange magic.

It had plunged everyone in the castle into an illusion.

Clearly, they were no longer in a position to continue fighting Xi Jianxi's faction.

Kiritsugu didn't say much, simply picked up his wife and carried her back to their room. After placing her on the bed, he went to find clothes to change into.

He had no intention of discussing either the matter of the scabbard or the stolen core of the Lesser Holy Grail with anyone else.