After a brief hesitation, Irisviel nodded, 'I understand. I'll set off right away.'
["Wait a moment. You can rest a bit before that."]
Justeaze said softly, ["There happens to be a guest approaching here."]
'At a time like this, there's actually still a guest?'
Hearing the words of the Holy Maiden of Winter, Irisviel tilted her head slightly, her eyes filled with confusion.
After all, she had always stayed in the Einzbern Castle. As a homunculus, she had no friends. Not even anyone close to her.
And yet, the Holy Maiden of Winter was saying there was a guest?
After thinking for a moment, Irisviel seemed to vaguely realize something and said softly, "The person you're talking about, could it be…"
As a magus killer hired by the Einzbern family, in the eyes of outsiders, Irisviel and Emiya Kiritsugu appeared to be a married couple.
But only Irisviel herself knew that, rather than husband and wife, their relationship was closer to that of partners.
From the moment she learned of her identity as the "Lesser Grail," Irisviel had already prepared herself for her fate.
To collect the souls of Servants, and at the end of the Holy Grail War, use herself as the vessel to bring forth the Greater Grail, the so-called omnipotent wish-granting device, into Fuyuki, and use it to grant a wish, fulfilling the Einzbern family's desire.
Likewise, Emiya Kiritsugu had accepted the Einzbern family's employment for the sake of the Greater Grail.
Given his personality, he shouldn't come looking for her on purpose…
Irisviel subconsciously asked, 'The person you mean is… Emiya Kiritsugu?'
The Holy Maiden of Winter smiled and nodded.
["After the Greater Grail descended, my consciousness completely left it. Not long ago, he also summoned a Servant. If he wishes, he can definitely find you based on my aura."]
["Perhaps he's already on his way here now."]
Irisviel paused slightly, then gently shook her head and said softly, 'Lady Justeaze, let's go directly to Mount Enzo instead.'
["You don't plan to see him one more time?"]
Justeaze asked.
'He won't come.'
Irisviel said calmly.
Although it hadn't been long since Emiya Kiritsugu was hired by the Einzbern family, she still understood that man to some extent.
For the sake of his ideals, even knowing that she and Illya were here, he would still choose the Greater Grail. After all, how could a champion of justice abandon his ideals at such a critical moment?
Though they appeared to be husband and wife, they had no real marital relationship, and even their daughter was an artificial being… their so-called feelings had no foundation, and were naturally fragile.
The Holy Maiden of Winter fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
["Alright… then let's depart now."]
["If nothing unexpected has happened, a great battle should already have broken out over there."]
'All the Servants should have gone there, right?'
Irisviel said softly. Then, as if noticing a concerned gaze, she turned to look at her daughter.
In a gentle voice, she said, "Illya, stay here and wait for me. Mama will be back soon to keep you company."
Though there was still worry in her eyes, Illya nodded lightly.
"Will you see Saber where you're going, Mama?"
"I want to personally thank him again. If it weren't for him, maybe I wouldn't be able to see you anymore."
Irisviel paused for a moment, then said gently, "If I see Saber, I'll pass your words along to him. Don't worry."
After exchanging a few words, Irisviel gently patted the silver-haired girl's head. Then she stood up, left the room, and headed toward Mount Enzo.
———
Just as the Holy Maiden of Winter had predicted, a great battle had indeed broken out on Mount Enzo.
Holding the Sword of Promised Victory, Alvin, even with Sajyou Manaka's magical supply, still seemed to be struggling.
On one hand, Artoria, as the Red Dragon, was in no way inferior to him in terms of magical power. On the other hand, with other Servants interfering, it was naturally hard to determine a winner in a short time.
Of course, there was another reason. Alvin simply didn't want to fight this battle at all.
'They have no idea, if I had refused Sajyou Manaka just now, we'd probably already be fighting a darkened final boss version of her.'
Alvin sighed inwardly.
At the end of the day, although the Holy Grail War would inevitably reach a conclusion, weren't there still Servants hiding?
For example… Emiya Kiritsugu's side.
With that man's personality, there was no way he would retreat after such a commotion. He was probably hiding somewhere in the shadows right now, watching everything, waiting for the right moment to act.
"Lancer, go support Caster."
In the distance, Kayneth ordered Mordred to join the battle.
On one side was her father, on the other her mother… and now, in the clash between the Red Dragon and the White Dragon, she had to intervene and even assist one of them.
In the past, Mordred might have hesitated, or even refused Kayneth outright.
But before coming to Mount Enzo, she had already prepared herself mentally. Hearing the order, she immediately dashed toward Alvin.
Clang!
The golden holy sword collided with the greatsword crackling with red lightning. The brute force of the White Dragon forced Mordred to take two steps back.
She looked up at Alvin, opened her mouth, and said, "Father…"
"In the Holy Grail War, everyone has their own Master. No matter what choice you make, I'll support you, Mordred," Alvin said.
Mordred felt a bit moved. For her, Alvin's way of teaching was completely different from Morgan and Artoria. He had always guided her like a mentor.
She had felt guilty about attacking her father, but Alvin's words eased that burden.
At that moment, countless shadows suddenly surged behind Morgan, rushing toward Alvin.
This was one of the magecrafts of the Age of Gods. It seemed to come from all directions, sealing off everything in the space and making it impossible to move even a step.
Seeing this, Tohsaka Tokiomi couldn't help but admire it inwardly.
To be honest, when Archer had been eliminated in that way, he had once thought that no one could stop Saber in this Holy Grail War.
But now, it seemed that until the very end, it was still hard to say who the true winner would be.
Morgan le Fay and Artoria together, who in the Holy Grail War could be their opponent?
Alvin struggled violently, but the "chains" formed by shadows tightened even more. His magical power felt compressed, as if he were shackled by a thousand-ton weight.
"Don't worry. I won't attack you."
A faint smile appeared in Morgan's eyes as she said softly, "Once I deal with the Root Princess, using her as a sacrifice, the Greater Grail can still descend, right?"
After speaking, she turned to look at Sajyou Manaka, who was fighting Ishtar in the distance.
Normally, a Ruler could not interfere in the Holy Grail War.
However, there were exceptions. For example, if someone violated the rules first, the Ruler could then exercise their authority and even expel the offender from the war.
Kayneth looked at the enchanting yet extremely dangerous woman with some wariness.
He had long known Morgan was dangerous, but even Saber had been restrained by her magecraft, this woman truly was terrifying.
Crack!
Just as that thought crossed Kayneth's mind, he suddenly heard a sound like something breaking.
Then, more and more cracking sounds followed.
Golden magical power surged from Alvin's body, and his physical strength erupted like a vast ocean.
Bang!
Relying purely on brute force, he broke free from the restraints of Age of Gods magecraft, stepped forward, and shattered the shadowy vines spreading beneath his feet.
The space itself seemed to tremble violently, and the Masters present, including Kayneth, felt their hearts race.
It was said that the White Dragon's magical power was inexhaustible, but now it seemed that his physical body was even more unreasonable.
What Servant in this world could break Age of Gods magecraft with sheer physical strength? And the one casting it was Morgan le Fay, no less.
In the distance, Ishtar, who was holding back Sajyou Manaka, also noticed the commotion. She instinctively glanced over, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Ruler, I'll hold off Saber. You use your authority to deal with the black mud behind the Root Princess first!"
Morgan said in a low voice.
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Ishtar shot Morgan an annoyed glare, clearly displeased with her commanding tone.
But she quickly added, "Still, you're right… we need to deal with this black mud first to ensure fairness in the Holy Grail War."
As she spoke, she suddenly flew into the sky, raising her right hand in the shape of a gun and aiming at Sajyou Manaka.
This time, Ishtar was not in her full divine form, but merely inhabiting a human body compatible with her.
Even so, releasing her strongest Noble Phantasm once was not difficult.
In the air, vast amounts of magical energy began gathering wildly into Ishtar's body.
"It's over, Sajyou Manaka!"
At the same time, in the darkness, a pair of eyes was fixed on the battlefield.
Hidden in the shadows, Emiya Kiritsugu clenched his fist unconsciously. For the first time, a faint ripple of emotion appeared in his dull gray eyes.
He knew this battle was about to reach its conclusion.
Once the Root Princess died, it would be Saber's weakest moment. And the Greater Grail would also descend at that time.
This would be the best opportunity to fulfill his ideal.
Alvin seemed to sense something and instinctively looked up, his expression changing slightly.
There was no doubt, Ishtar had no intention of holding back. She planned to blast Sajyou Manaka to pieces along with everything else.
Yet Sajyou Manaka still wore a smile, though her eyes gradually turned cold.
"If you were a true god, that would be one thing. But you're just a parasite clinging to a human body, you're overestimating yourself, Miss Ishtar."
Facing Ishtar, Sajyou Manaka slowly raised her right hand.
In an instant, the shadows before her collapsed.
In the air, streams of magical energy seemed to surge toward the back courtyard.
Rumble!
Within the courtyard, a force was descending along with the sacrifice of Servants.
"She's summoning the Greater Grail!"
Kayneth quickly realized what was happening and blurted out.
Ishtar sneered, "Isn't it a bit too late to summon it now?"
Shatter!
With her magical energy fully gathered, she fired a dazzling beam of light toward the blonde girl below.
"An Gal Ta Kigal She!"
Boom!
The blazing beam seemed intent on obliterating both the black mud and its target. But at the same moment, in front of Sajyou Manaka, the omnipotent wish-granting device, the Greater Grail, slowly manifested.
Though it still appeared somewhat illusory, it was clear that if just one more Servant's soul were added, it would fully descend.
At that instant, the eyes of nearly everyone present burned with desire.
The omnipotent wish-granter, everyone had their own wish and reason for joining the Holy Grail War. Their struggle up to this point had all been for this very thing.
No matter what, they had to obtain it.
At this moment, even Emiya Kiritsugu, hidden in the shadows, was already beginning to stir.
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