"Maiya, are you alright?"
"I'm fine for now. I was a bit further away and dodged the blast's impact, but Irisviel..."
Communicating via radio, Kiritsugu, protected by Saber, barely managed to block the incoming attack at close range.
His deathly still expression, after grasping the situation, showed only a slight ripple before he began contacting his other partner.
"You!"
Beside him, Saber, clad in her Knight's armor, glared furiously.
She looked at this "heartless" man, unable to accept that he could go to such lengths.
To gain a sliver of a chance at "survival," he was willing to abandon the lives of his family.
"If you want to say something, I suggest you ask yourself why you didn't detect a new Servant in the sky during the battle."
"You only reacted after the opponent launched their attack."
"Even you, in that situation, wouldn't have been able to protect her, would you?"
His pupils trembled imperceptibly as Kiritsugu retorted.
Kiritsugu Emiya was an extreme realist; he would only make the most correct choices.
In the previous situation, perhaps letting Saber stay put would have protected his wife, albeit with injuries, but he himself would also face the risk of death.
To avoid that crisis, he would naturally have Saber protect him, rather than gamble on that slim chance of survival.
Although this might appear cold and ruthless to outsiders, this was simply his way.
Furthermore, he had good reason for his actions.
After all, he had implanted Saber's Scabbard within Irisviel, so even if she took a direct hit from a bombardment, she still had a certain survival rate.
"!"
Confronted with such a retort, and unable to fully grasp Kiritsugu's thoughts, Saber had no counter-argument.
She had indeed been remiss in this regard, failing to detect the hidden attacker in time. Truth be told, she had no reason to blame Kiritsugu.
He had simply chosen the most direct and realistic approach.
(The bombardment from high altitude.)
(What kind of Servant was that, exactly?)
The unannounced attack left Kiritsugu frowning with worry.
The opponent's straightforward actions indicated that they completely disregarded the "chivalry" that Saber valued.
Yet, he still had to go to the scene to confirm Irisviel's condition.
Whether she lived or died, there needed to be a conclusion.
Otherwise, if the Scabbard were exposed there, it would also be a major problem.
But sending Saber would easily allow her to see it.
In the short term, he didn't want to return the Scabbard, which possessed "life-saving" ability, to the Knight King.
However, the enemy in the sky clearly hadn't left, and he couldn't risk being sniped again to go and check.
With that kind of power, he wasn't confident he'd survive if caught in the blast.
Various conditions intertwined, seemingly creating a "deadlock"...
"Rider, it seems... nobody died?"
Sitting inside the machine, Waver cautiously watched his Servant's expression before speaking.
He had boasted earlier that this "Gundam" was powerful, but the results seemed to indicate it hadn't achieved the desired effect?
"Servants aside, how did that woman manage to survive?"
Lelouch frowned as the screen displayed the retrieved footage.
It was something he had anticipated might happen, that legendary heroes could potentially survive.
But an ordinary Master shouldn't reasonably have survived such an explosion intact.
"Her injuries seem to be slowly recovering?"
"It doesn't look like healing magic; is it something else?"
Noticing the anomaly, Lelouch and Waver gained some insight.
"Rider, Assassin took her and ran off. Aren't we going to pursue?"
Waver spoke, watching the figure swiftly carrying her with one arm around her waist.
"There's no point. That last attack already drew their attention. Even if we pursued now, we couldn't use this machine."
After all, it concerned the so-called "secrecy." Bombarding an uninhabited beach was one thing, but "bombarding" a city would draw a lot of animosity.
Lelouch wasn't foolish enough to risk being ganged up on for such a thing.
"If we pursue alone, even though Assassin is injured, it could easily provoke interference from the other observer."
That certain Servant who had been standing on a lamppost watching the battle had already caught Lelouch's attention. To remain unharmed during the bombardment, that individual must possess considerable skill.
"Let's stop for now. Tonight's results are already quite excellent."
"We've confirmed Saber's true Master and injured Assassin. That's more than enough."
The machinery concealed in the sky began to recede, and the obscuring clouds gradually dispersed, revealing the pure white moonlight.
"What?"
"It's over already?"
Gilgamesh stood on the lamppost, watching the departing figure, his tone filled with displeasure.
He had only just started watching, and they were already done fighting. It was quite a letdown.
"Well, never mind. That light just now..."
"...did show this King a very interesting scene."
Touching his chin, Gilgamesh savored the image of Irisviel's continuous healing.
If he hadn't seen wrong, that might have been...
"Assassin, why did you bring this woman back?"
"She should just be a smokescreen released by Saber's Master."
"To have luckily survived that explosion, she truly has a strong will to live."
Kirei Kotomine had just finished discussing future plans with Tokiomi Tohsaka and returned to his residence to find Kenshin had placed the injured Irisviel on the carpet.
Her pale skin and tempting body were exposed, but neither of the two men in the room had any inclination to ogle.
Without offering a superfluous answer, Kenshin simply leaned against the headboard, breathing heavily.
He had truly taken a direct hit from that magical cannon. Honestly, if not for his will to survive, which made him dodge at the last moment, he might have truly died if he had stayed put.
But even so, in that explosion, his right arm was blown off, and he sustained considerable injuries all over his body.
Under normal circumstances, he might have already been facing the stage of withdrawal.
"Injuries... What is this?!"
Kirei Kotomine merely glanced at him, then noticed the crucial issue with Irisviel's body.
"She truly hid something extraordinary."
Unable to resist reaching out to touch her, Kirei Kotomine realized.
"Ugh."
Whether from pain or a moan, Irisviel had yet to awaken from the aftereffects of the explosion...
"Berserker, what was that just now?"
Lying in bed, Matou Sakura, who had already fallen asleep, was startled awake. Her uneasy heart found peace when she saw Berserker sitting beside her.
The uncle's face, revealed after he took off his helmet, was so mature.
"..."
Receiving no verbal response, as if he couldn't speak at all, the Servant could only communicate through subtle gestures and expressions.
"Mm, it's nothing."
"With you here, nothing will be difficult."
With an unprecedented sense of security, Matou Sakura said with a smile.
"Oh, right, I had a dream just now."
"A story about a hero who constantly helped others, defeated an evil dragon, helped a friend restore his country, and saved the world."
"How amazing."