"Rider, just as you predicted, Emiya Kiritsugu is making his move."
Inside their residence, Waver recalled the surveillance familiar and addressed Lelouch, who lay shirtless on the bed, torso wrapped in bandages.
"He has no other window."
"Archer and I are injured. Berserker won't intervene for now."
"This is his best chance to settle the score personally. In his position, I'd do the same."
Propping his head on one hand, Lelouch's lips curled into a knowing smirk.
"To kill Assassin and Kotomine Kirei?"
"Indeed. They did murder his wife and assistant."
Waver could see the logic. Archer, their nominal ally, was too injured to provide backup.
Assassin and Kirei were effectively isolated.
Why would Kiritsugu let such an opportunity slip?
Furthermore, the Rider who had been a constant source of worry was also combat-incapable due to his injuries.
Whether it meant eliminating Assassin or seizing the Dragon Ball from Kirei, the timing was ideal.
"We only just survived that chaos last night, and barely half a day later, it's already come to this?"
"There really is no peace."
Sighing, Waver could only watch events unfold. Rider was in no condition to fight.
"Hmm? Huh? Rider?"
A triple-take. Waver gaped as Lelouch sat up and began pulling on his usual attire.
"Stop gawking. We're heading out."
"But... you?"
"I'm injured and can't fight directly, but that doesn't mean others can't do it for me."
Recognizing that familiar "cold smile" on Lelouch's face, Waver instantly recalled his "domination" magecraft.
"With a chess piece as useful as Kotomine Risei... it would be criminal not to exploit him."
Click-clack!
Checking the magazine, chambering a round. In a small motel room, Emiya Kiritsugu methodically serviced his firearms.
"Rider's familiar has withdrawn."
Saber watched from nearby and informed him.
"Ignore it."
"A Rider who's lost his Noble Phantasm and is wounded can do nothing even if he knows what I'm planning."
Kiritsugu didn't care about being detected. But this was, in fact, a critical "misjudgment."
Lelouch had concealed his cards too well. With Geass still unrevealed, Kiritsugu had no way to factor it into his intelligence. A crucial blind spot.
"You're going after Kotomine Kirei personally?"
"Are you going to stop me, Saber?"
"No. If this is to avenge Irisviel and Maiya, I won't stand in your way."
Studying the haggard man before her, Saber understood the turmoil simmering beneath his surface.
This assault wasn't merely about seizing a Dragon Ball.
Kiritsugu wanted Kotomine Kirei's life.
The debt owed for his wife and assistant had to be repaid.
Saber, too, had her own purpose. She wanted to settle things with Assassin and reclaim the scabbard.
With Avalon in hand, she'd have the confidence to face both Archer and Berserker.
"Avalon." Also known as "The Everdistant Utopia."
The ultimate Noble Phantasm that only Saber could activate while in possession of the scabbard.
Its power was staggering: an absolute defense that transcended all physical and parallel-world interference. Even magecraft of the highest order couldn't reach it.
Not even Gilgamesh's Ea could scratch it. An attack that could rend worlds bouncing back harmlessly -- that alone spoke to its ferocity.
Unfortunately, Kiritsugu had never known Saber possessed such a trump card. He'd been using the scabbard as a mere mystic code, squandering its true potential.
"This time, I will settle things with Assassin!"
Hearing his Servant's confident declaration, Kiritsugu felt some measure of reassurance.
After the chaos of the extermination battle, with Rider and Archer both out of commission, this was the perfect interval to resolve matters with Kirei.
With that resolve, he led Saber out the door.
But unbeknownst to them, Kotomine Kirei was about to encounter something entirely unexpected.
"Ugh!"
"This is--"
His body was locked in place. His father, Kotomine Risei, had seized his unguarded hands and wrenched them behind his back, preventing any escape.
Staring at the Servant who had materialized before him, Kirei went blank.
Rider.
Why was he at the Church?
His first instinct was to flee and use a Command Spell to summon Assassin.
But he never imagined Risei would betray him.
The old man was no pushover. Kirei had learned his martial arts from this very man.
'What a blunder... I should have kept Assassin with me at all times.'
But who would have expected their own father to turn traitor?
Especially here, in the Church. In their own "home."
"Well done."
"It is nothing, my King. Your command takes absolute precedence."
Catching the exchange, Kirei understood immediately.
Rider had another hidden card none of them had known about.
"The Master of Assassin..."
"You'll do nicely as a starting point."
"By Command--"
Just as Kirei began to invoke his Command Spell, he saw red light flicker in Rider's eyes.
Cough cough...
"Rider!"
Taking temporary shelter inside the church, Lelouch had no intention of leaving just yet. Exposing himself now might tip off certain parties.
"Rushing here without the Knightmare was... pushing it."
Without his mech, traveling on foot was brutal for Lelouch's already frail constitution. Especially while injured.
But for the plan that came next, it had to be done.
Kirei was now under Geass control, imprinted with an absolute directive.
A simple order.
Kill Emiya Kiritsugu. No matter what.
"My King..."
"Before you depart, I have vital intelligence to report."
"I believe it will prove most useful to you."
The father-son pair knelt before him in deference. Lelouch waved them on.
For him, any Master caught off guard by Geass was as good as eliminated. Just like Assassin's swordsman, who could slaughter Masters as easily as cutting vegetables.
When it came to neutralizing Masters, Lelouch and Kenshin were the perfect "assassins."
One operated on the mind. The other operated on the body.
"Regarding my teacher Tokiomi's Servant Gilgamesh, and the true identity of Berserker's Master--"
Even the first sentence seized Lelouch's full attention.
"Huh? Berserker's Master?"
Waver was floored. This was explosive intel he'd never expected Kirei to possess.
They'd fought this entire war without once seeing that mysterious Master.
Waver had started to wonder whether they even existed.
"Yes."
"Her true identity is the adopted daughter of the Matou family, and the second daughter of my teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi."
"Now known as Matou Sakura. A six-year-old girl."
The revelation made Lelouch's brow furrow deeply.
"A six-year-old Master?"
Waver's mind went completely blank.
A six-year-old girl sustaining a Servant as powerful as Berserker?
What kind of monster was she?
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]