"Irisviel!"
The moment Saber saw Roland, an instinctive warning made him unleash his surging magical energy, wrapping his entire body in silver-white armor woven from mana.
The erupting mana whipped up a gale before settling into Saber's hand, forming an invisible blade.
He entered combat readiness almost instantly, but for a knight desperate to protect someone, it was still too late.
Although Mana Burst would let him cross that short distance in an instant, the Magic Circles hovering overhead were already primed, ready to rain down destructive beams at any moment.
The witch in purple robes seized Irisviel's shoulder, pulled her back, and raised the shining wand in her hand.
"Stay back, Saber, or I can't guarantee your Master's safety."
"You despicable fiend!"
Irisviel was the Master he had sworn to protect. Saber could hardly stand by while her life was threatened, so he could only force down his fury and lower his weapon slightly.
"It's still daytime. Are you planning to violate the rules of the Holy Grail War?"
Irisviel spoke calmly. "Expose yourselves like this, and even if you eliminate us, you'll become everyone's target. The Church might even put a bounty on you, making you the enemy of every Master."
"Heh. Homunculus, if that's what you're worried about, you're seriously underestimating me. The instant you bumped into my Master, I deployed a concealment Barrier."
Only then did Irisviel realize that despite Saber having assumed a combat stance, no one was looking their way. In fact, only their group remained nearby; everyone else had unwittingly left the area.
"So you're Caster's Master?"
I let my guard down. I never expected Caster's Master to take the initiative.
According to experience from past Holy Grail Wars, Heroic Spirits of the Caster Class generally hid in a fortified position and waited to reap the benefits. She had never expected this war's Caster team to be so bold.
"Since you aren't planning to kill me immediately, what do you want from us?"
Although she had always appeared frail, Irisviel had prepared herself for death the moment her purpose in this Holy Grail War shifted from fulfilling Einzbern's long-cherished wish to securing Illya's future.
She met Roland's gaze with astonishing courage, as though life and death no longer mattered to her.
"My original priority would have been Saber's contract."
Roland spoke calmly.
"That is absolutely impossible. You can take my Command Spells, and you can take my life, but you cannot take my Servant."
"Oh? Are you doubting whether I can do it?"
"No. Someone capable of finding Einzbern's route in so little time and taking my Master hostage would never be that shortsighted."
"I'm merely stating a fact." Irisviel's eyes shone. "Even if you really possess the power to sever the contract between a Master and a Servant, it makes no difference. My contract with Saber isn't something you can end merely by cutting our magical connection."
"Exactly. I will never acknowledge a vile, evil man like you as my Master!"
Saber glared at Roland and declared firmly, "Master, give me your orders. Even if it means defeat, I will obey your command-even if you order me to unleash my Noble Phantasm here and take them down with us."
Those words made Medea frown. A moment later, Rule Breaker appeared in her hand.
Once the contract was severed, even the mighty Saber would not have enough mana left in his body to sustain himself for long, and he would disappear.
But Irisviel's words interrupted her.
"There's no need, Saber. You don't need to unleash your Noble Phantasm. You only need to run. Just run."
Irisviel's voice was gentle yet resolute. "Please, if there's nothing you can do, run away. Your mana reserves are full right now. As the strongest Class, if you focus entirely on escaping, Caster won't be able to catch you. When that happens, I'm sorry for the trouble, but please form a new contract with Illya. Please."
"Irisviel..."
Saber gripped his sword tightly. Twice now-twice the person he was meant to protect had fallen into danger, and he had been unable to do anything.
"Don't look so frightening. You're making me seem like some irredeemable villain."
At that, a hint of mockery touched Roland's lips, and his voice gradually turned cold.
"Faced with a despicable thief, I still haven't killed her on the spot. There isn't a more compassionate Master than me."
"A thief?"
Saber looked puzzled, but Irisviel's expression abruptly tightened.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"You're quite stubborn. Well, does your body say the same thing?"
Roland seized Irisviel's hand. Sensing something amiss, she instinctively cried out and tried to struggle, but it was useless. His current strength was far beyond anything she could resist.
An immense, peculiar surge of mana flooded Irisviel's body. A tingling warmth erupted from that point and spread throughout her with the flowing mana, reaching all the way to her skin.
"Hah... hah..."
Hot breaths escaped Irisviel's lips, and a bewitching crimson flush colored her pure, delicate face.
Her rounded thighs trembled until they could no longer support her, and she collapsed into Roland's arms.
Even though her will still urged her to resist, her dazed mind could no longer relay those commands. Her eyes seemed veiled in mist, making her look vulnerable and alluring.
Roland supported Irisviel's soft body and whispered into her ear.
"This is the trace the fire demonic qi left inside you. Even as a vessel, you can feel its power, can't you?"
Throughout this, Irisviel seemed entranced, gazing only at Roland's eyes, as splendid as rubies.
"Originally, I was going to take you away today, no matter what. But you're lucky. I never imagined the Einzbern Family could actually do something useful."
As the Lesser Grail, Irisviel's importance was beyond question. Killing her before the Grail manifested would cause every Master to fail outright, just as in the Third Holy Grail War.
That was an outcome Roland could not accept. He had no interest in waiting another ten years. This time, he needed at least a guaranteed wish.
Thus, no matter what, Roland had to keep her under his control, whether openly or in secret.
Yet while examining her body just now, he had suddenly discovered something.
-Irisviel was special.
It was not simply that she was a clone of the Winter Saint, who served as the Greater Grail's core. Beyond her function as the Lesser Grail, Einzbern had incorporated other technologies into her.
Namely, receptivity to fire demonic qi. Demonic qi was extremely corruptive, and even if Einzbern sought to exploit it through gestation, doing so was far from simple.
To prevent the demonic-qi embryo from running wild, Irisviel's body had been made highly compliant with Roland's fire demonic qi, to the point that obedience had become instinctive.
Roland smiled faintly, extended his index finger, pressed it against Irisviel's lips, and transferred his demonic qi into her.
As though answering a call, Irisviel clutched her burning lower abdomen. Even through her clothes, she could feel strange patterns moving across her skin as if they were alive.
Then he simply released Irisviel, letting her slump helplessly to the ground.
Irisviel covered her mouth and stared at Roland in disbelief, her pupils trembling involuntarily.
"What did you do?"
Unable to tolerate any more, Saber raised his lowered blade again, but Roland spread his lips into an utterly wicked grin.
"As its owner, I merely left my personal mark on what belongs to me, to prevent another thief from coming along."
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