"Illya~"
Irisviel was completely stunned—and embarrassed—by Illya's bold declaration.
She quickly pulled back her right hand that Leon had kissed, then hurriedly covered Illya's mouth to stop her from saying anything even more shocking.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!"
Illya struggled, but she was no match for the strength of an adult like Irisviel.
"I'm very sorry! She's just a child and doesn't know better. She was only joking—please don't take it seriously!"
A faint blush spread across Irisviel's fair cheeks, like a ripening apple that made one want to take a bite.
Kiritsugu finally snapped out of it and moved to shield Irisviel and Illya behind him.
From what had just happened, the man before them clearly could have taken advantage of Kiritsugu's momentary hesitation and killed both him and Irisviel.
But he didn't.
Eliminating all unreasonable explanations…
The attraction of the Greater Grail toward Masters and Servants meant that Leon's earlier statement about his purpose might actually be true.
Even so—
Kiritsugu's natural vigilance made it nearly impossible for him to trust Leon.
Leon didn't care.
He merely shrugged and turned his gaze toward the battlefield where Artoria and Matou Kariya were clashing.
Aside from wanting to see Artoria with his own eyes—
Leon also intended to place Irisviel, the human-shaped Grail vessel specially cultivated by the Einzbern family for this war, under his own control.
And there was another thing inside her body that he wanted.
Avalon - The Everdistant Utopia
The Everdistant Utopia.
Within the Fourth Holy Grail War, it was the strongest defensive Noble Phantasm that could be obtained with relative ease.
Its wielder would not age.
All injuries would rapidly heal.
And when fully activated, it could ignore all physical and magical interference—甚至 reflecting attacks entirely.
An absolute defense.
In Leon's mind, it was basically the Captain America Vibranium Shield — Pro Max Ultra Edition.
That shield relied on narrative conveniences.
But Avalon's invincibility was explicitly written into its lore.
Even if it surely had limits—
For Leon's current stage of strength, it was still an invaluable treasure.
I really want it…
But not now.
Because once Servants began dying in the Holy Grail War, their magical energy would return to the Grail.
And as the Grail vessel, Irisviel would suffer the corresponding impact.
Her body would begin irreversibly collapsing.
By the time the final Servant returned to the Grail, her body would completely disintegrate and transform into the Grail itself.
Now that the war had begun, signs of that collapse had already started appearing.
That was why Kiritsugu had implanted Avalon inside Irisviel's body.
Its healing power slowed the deterioration of her vessel.
Although the sheath could only display its true power when held by its rightful owner—Artoria, it still granted powerful regenerative effects even in ordinary circumstances.
During the Fifth Holy Grail War, Emiya Shirou repeatedly survived near-fatal injuries thanks to Avalon's healing ability.
In fact, he even had to draw magical energy from his own Servant to restore himself.
Truly ridiculous.
"Saber's Servant."
"Why not release your Noble Phantasm?"
"Is Invisible Air really such an inconvenient thing to maintain?"
"What?!"
Leon casually exposed the identity of the Noble Phantasm hiding Artoria's sword.
Kiritsugu's already tense expression immediately cracked.
"Why do you know about Saber's Noble Phantasm? Since summoning her, we have never revealed that information to anyone."
Irisviel asked in shock.
Nearby—
Artoria was also distracted by Leon's words.
However, she had no time to question him.
While fending off Kariya's relentless assault, she continued watching Leon from the corner of her eye.
Then—
A faint smile curved Leon's lips.
"Well…"
"Isn't it obvious?"
As he spoke—
A silver ripple spread through the empty space beside him.
Leon reached his hand into it.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present—
He pulled out a golden holy sword.
"That's—?!"
Boom—
Artoria froze in shock for a fraction of a second.
Kariya seized the opportunity and kicked her away.
While flying backward, Artoria twisted her body midair.
Her sword, still wrapped in Invisible Air, stabbed into the ground.
Using both her feet and the blade as brakes, she barely stopped before crashing into Kiritsugu and Irisviel.
But that moment allowed her to see Leon's weapon clearly.
The true Holy Sword.
Her emerald eyes trembled violently.
Her heart wavered.
For an instant, it felt as though she had returned to that twilight battlefield she never wished to remember.
Light began to seep from the surrounding earth.
The glow flowed toward the sword in Leon's hand.
"That light…"
Kiritsugu instinctively reached out.
But the nearly tangible rays slipped through his fingers.
"So beautiful…"
Illya made the exact same gesture.
She stretched out her hand to touch the light.
But the golden radiance behaved like lively fairies of light with their own will.
Instead of drifting away, they lingered affectionately around Illya—
circling her for a long time—
before finally flowing into the sword Leon held.
Among everyone present—
Irisviel was the first to regain her composure.
"This golden sword…"
"It embodies the noble dreams carried in the hearts of warriors who died on battlefields across the past, present, and future."
"Its former wielder took pride in that will and upheld that faith until the very end."
"And now, another bearer of that sword stands before us."
"The name of that sword is—"
"Excalibur."
Artoria cried out in disbelief.
"Why is it in your hands?! I clearly asked Bedivere to return the Holy Sword to the Lady of the Lake!"
"Who knows?"
Leon shrugged.
"When the Sword in the Stone broke, you were able to obtain the Holy Sword from the Lady of the Lake."
"So why can't I do the same?"
"King of Knights — Artoria Pendragon."
"That's impossible…"
Artoria's worldview was shaken.
Suddenly she asked—
"Where is Merlin? Without Merlin's guidance, how could you possibly find the Lady of the Lake's domain?"
"No comment."
"By the time I realized it, the sword was already in my hands."
Leon casually waved the Holy Sword of the Planet in front of Artoria.
Then—
Under her longing gaze—
He tossed it back into his system space.
"Well?"
"Does the identity of a Holy Sword bearer earn your trust?"
"Artoria."
"You, who once wielded this sword, should understand its meaning better than anyone."
Standing 194.5 cm tall, Leon walked up to the 154 cm King of Knights and looked down at her.
Artoria stared back without yielding.
"What do you want?"
Leon answered calmly:
"There is a rather troublesome Servant in this Holy Grail War."
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