The time was ripe. Saber took aim at the moment when Berserker lost his weapon, then raised her sword above her head, aimed it at Berserker's defenseless helmet, and slashed head-on!
It was an all-out blow worthy of the name of the sword-wielding Heroic Spirit, and it was enough to make people believe that the winner had been decided. Because of this, Saber was particularly surprised when the blade was stopped in the void.
That's right, Berserker raised his hands and caught Saber's sword with his bare hands!
Seeing that Saber was a little stunned by this sudden situation, Shirou hurriedly shouted to her.
"Saber, don't let Berserker touch your sword!"
Hearing this reminder, Saber suddenly realized what it meant to have her weapon exposed to Berserker's ability. She shuddered, leaving her inner shock behind, and then kicked the Black Knight's chest armor with all her might, knocking him several meters away!
"... Judging by your skills, you must not be a nameless knight. I ask you!" Saber asked, puzzled. "Since you can recognize me as King Arthur, then you should report your origin with the glory of a knight!"
As Saber blurted out these words, she suddenly heard an inexplicable metallic sound coming from the pitch-black armor.
Click-click-click...
There was no doubt that it was Berserker's voice, and the armor shrouded in the black mist that permeated him was trembling.
"You... Could it be...?"
Saber relied only on her intuition, vaguely feeling that she had guessed the identity of the knight, but she couldn't believe it.
"Lancelot..."
...
The silence of the night enveloped the Tohsaka Mansion. After being seriously injured, he left the Einzbern castle and used healing magecraft to almost exhaust the potential of his body in exchange for the ability to move. Tohsaka Tokiomi dragged his exhausted body back to the empty Tohsaka Mansion.
He opened the door and walked through the hallway into the living room. Tokiomi lay on the soft sofa, his body sinking deep into the cushions, and began to think about his next countermeasures.
"I didn't expect Emiya Kiritsugu to have such a trump card, and he almost killed me..."
Tokiomi was annoyed that he had not made these preparations in advance, but regret did not help. Thankfully, even though his physical strength was almost gone, there were still many gems that stored a lot of magical energy. In the next battle, he could only squander these gems.
Tokiomi thought so. After sitting for a while, there was a noise outside the door.
With a "creak," the door opened, and walking in against the misty moonlight was Kotomine Kirei, covering the wound on his chest. Behind him followed the golden Heroic Spirit—Gilgamesh, whose eyes were cold.
Gilgamesh had no anger or any other emotion on his face or in his eyes, as if he didn't care about today's events at all.
"I'm sorry, King, for I have disturbed your leisure." Tokiomi hurriedly got up and saluted his superior.
"Hmm."
Gilgamesh glanced down at him slightly but didn't say anything, and his body dematerialized directly.
Then, Tokiomi looked at Kotomine Kirei.
"Kirei, how is your body?"
"It's no big deal. Archer has already helped me with treatment. I'm sorry that this mission failed."
In Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, there was a panacea that could restore his injuries instantly, which was a great blessing for Kotomine Kirei. Seeing that Kirei was still safe and sound, Tohsaka Tokiomi nodded and smiled.
"It's a pity that your operation against Einzbern failed, but you've done a good job, and there's no need to blame yourself for it."
Although there is no one else in the mansion except Tokiomi, the reception room is still spotless and tidy. Maybe it's some low-level familiar manipulated to do the cleaning work; even in such a fierce wartime, he can still maintain such calmness, which is really worthy of the family head.
Kotomine Kirei thought so in his heart. And Tokiomi's tolerant attitude also made Kirei bow his head deeper.
"I'm ashamed to have caused you so much trouble, Mentor..."
Then, Kirei raised his head, saw the sincere and enthusiastic gaze in Tokiomi's eyes, and said to himself...
"It's because of the Holy Grail War that we met, but no matter what, I'm very proud to have a disciple like you."
Hearing this, thinking of Archer's task of killing Tokiomi before coming back, Kirei suddenly wanted to laugh uncontrollably, and his body shook regardless of it.
But Tokiomi, who didn't understand the disciple's true intentions at all, still said sincerely:
"Although there is such a thing as aptitude, your serious cultivation attitude as a seeker is deeply admired even by me as a teacher. Kirei, in the future, you will continue to fight for the interests of the Tohsaka family, just like your father. How about it?"
"I couldn't ask for more."
Kirei smiled and nodded. In the past three years, Tokiomi, who has always misunderstood his disciple's personality and inner world, has also misunderstood the meaning of Kirei's smile. So he said even more happily:
"You are a reassuring person. I want my daughter to learn more from you, and after this Holy Grail War is over, you will be able to guide her as Rin's master."
Then Tokiomi took a letter that had been placed in the corner of the table and handed it to Kirei.
"... Mentor, what is this?"
"It's relatively simple, but it's a will or something." Tokiomi said this helplessly and smiled bitterly. "Just in case... In case something happens to me. I'm writing here to hand over the headship of the Tohsaka family to Rin, and you to serve as her guardian until she reaches adulthood. As long as you hand over this letter to the Clock Tower, the Association will naturally handle the rest of the matter."
This time Kirei was not just offering a perfunctory verbal agreement but a very serious acceptance of the responsibility entrusted to him by Tokiomi from the heart. After all, Kirei is also a man of the cloth. It is his duty to honestly and firmly carry out the responsibilities entrusted to him by others.
"Please leave it to me. Even if the disciple's ability is limited, he will definitely do his best to take care of your daughter."
"Thank you, Kirei."
Although the words were short, you could hear the deep gratitude contained in them.