"He's still not dead... Tsk. This really is not as handy as a dagger."
Hassan of the Hundred Faces walked over to Risei Kotomine and found that the old priest was still alive, stubbornly clinging to his last breath.
"Shirou, this is all because you insisted on making me use a weapon I'm not comfortable with."
"I actually failed an assassination. That's a disgrace I've never suffered before…"
"The Old Man of the Mountain's reputation is ruined now. How are you going to make up for that?"
Hassan of the Hundred Faces shot the red-haired boy a resentful glare.
"Sorry. It's because I'm an unqualified Master."
"Hey, Shirou."
Brushing that aside, Shirou walked over to Risei Kotomine.
He raised his left hand and used Magecraft, and an emerald green glow lit up the night.
"You're not going to kill him?"
Hassan of the Hundred Faces frowned slightly.
"You're too soft, aren't you?"
"If there were something to gain from it, that would be different... But even if I kill him now, I do not get anything out of it, right?"
Without looking up, Shirou replied,
"I have no interest in killing someone who can no longer resist."
"I do not object to killing in battle. I even think killing is the most efficient way to settle a conflict."
"But once the fight is over, there is no reason to keep fixating on taking the enemy's life."
"Someone like Ryuunosuke Uryuu is another matter, but this guy is not so vile that he absolutely has to die. So I'm not going to kill him."
As he spoke, the bullet that had pierced Risei Kotomine's chest appeared in Shirou's palm as though by magic.
"Even though he was trying to kill you just a moment ago?"
Hassan of the Hundred Faces said,
"That's a strange view of life and death. If it were me, I could never stay as calm as you."
In the way the boy handled an enemy's life, she sensed a kind of detachment.
A second ago they had been trying to kill each other, yet the moment the battle ended, he immediately shifted into the perspective of an observer.
Anger, hatred...
Those impulsive emotions that so easily ruled human thought did not affect Shirou's judgment.
Shirou himself probably had not noticed it, but he placed every life on the scales called self with equal weight.
That way of doing things was almost like...
The purple-haired female Assassin curled her lips into a teasing smile.
"Shirou, in some ways, you really are a lot like Archer."
"Huh? Why would you suddenly say something so disgusting?"
"...Hmph."
"That said, we cannot let Risei Kotomine keep interfering in the Holy Grail War."
"Once the ritual is over, we'll hand him over to people who can judge him."
After giving Risei Kotomine some basic emergency treatment, Shirou left him in Hassan of the Hundred Faces' care and instructed her to hide the priest somewhere no one would find him.
After that, Shirou entered the Einzbern territory with Sella and Leysritt.
During that time, Sella continuously used Magecraft to treat him, healing his right arm.
Not long after entering the forest, they found Saber and Rider still in the middle of their battle.
The King of Conquerors stood atop the Gordius Wheel, laughing boisterously as he ravaged the battlefield, while the King of Knights sprinted through the forest below.
It was a bizarre sight, suspended between the night sky and the earth.
As the chariot tore wildly through the air, countless bolts of violet lightning came crashing down, exploding across the ground.
The forest had long since lost its natural shape. As far as the eye could see, there was only scorched earth, all of it the work of the King of Conquerors alone.
"This looks bad. Saber is being pushed back... Not being able to fly really is a fatal weakness."
Hidden in the brush, Shirou watched the battle with a hand on his chin.
The homunculus maids had come up behind him as well, and Sella asked in confusion,
"Saber... why isn't she using her Noble Phantasm?"
The King of Knights wielded the strongest holy sword. If she released her Noble Phantasm, she should be able to win. And yet she was doing nothing but desperately evading Rider's attacks, with no sign of trying to clash Noble Phantasms with him.
Shirou explained,
"Saber's Noble Phantasm has the greatest firepower, but releasing it takes time."
"Rider's Gordius Wheel, on the other hand, is a Noble Phantasm known for its mobility."
"In a direct clash, The Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur, is unquestionably stronger. But that only matters if she can fully release it."
"And this time her opponent, the King of Conquerors, may look careless, but he is actually a very shrewd strategist. He's waiting for an opening. The moment Saber tries to release her Noble Phantasm…"
"She probably would not even get the 'Ex' out in Excalibur before the chariot ran her over."
"In other words..."
"Yeah. Saber is probably trying to wear down the divine bulls."
"Iskandar's Noble Phantasm, Gordius Wheel, can unleash lightning endlessly thanks to the authority of the son of Zeus, but stamina is still limited."
"The moment the bulls start to slow down, that will be Saber's chance."
Shirou continued,
"Saber's tactics are fine, but Rider's behavior is strange."
"He clearly has the initiative in this final battle, yet he is not rushing at all."
"He is letting his own Mana and the bulls' stamina keep draining away, slowly giving up his advantage... What exactly is Rider planning?"
The boy seemed to realize something, and suddenly his expression cleared.
"So that's it... Seriously, that won't do, Rider."
"You're actually thinking of taking a lion into your ranks... Be careful it does not turn around and bite you."
"Shirou, aren't you going to help?"
The moment Leysritt asked, the other maid sharply cut in.
"...Shirou only just recovered from such serious injuries. How could he possibly join a battle that dangerous!"
At that, Leysritt looked at Sella in puzzlement.
"Sella, are you... worried about Shirou?"
"Wh...!"
Flushing red, Sella hurriedly protested,
"N-no, it is not like that! The Mistress ordered us to protect Shirou. That is all!"
"...I see."
Leysritt noticed that until not long ago, Sella had still been addressing him formally as Shirou-san, but now she was calling him by name.
Sella secretly glanced at Shirou, only to find his eyes sweeping across the battlefield.
"What is it?"
"No... something just feels strange..."
Shirou frowned slightly.
...
Rider's chariot circled above the forest at a height of roughly twenty to thirty meters.
Instead of using his control of the skies to charge Saber directly, he kept unleashing lightning like a bomber.
The bolts were tremendously powerful, but Saber's footwork was sharp enough that she kept slipping past wave after wave of attacks.
Even Rider's own Master found his approach strange.
Why would Rider throw away the speed advantage of the chariot and choose to drag things out against Saber from long range?
"Hey, Rider..."
"Mm. Since you are my Master, I suppose I should at least tell you first in a situation like this."
Rider seemed to have already seen through Waver's doubts, a fearless smile on his face.
Without taking his eyes off Saber, he spoke to the boy beside him.
"I want to defeat the King of Knights fair and square in a Noble Phantasm clash."
"Saber has complete confidence in her Noble Phantasm. She must believe she cannot possibly lose in a direct contest of Noble Phantasms."
"That is exactly why, at the moment she decides to release her holy sword, I intend to defeat her with my own Noble Phantasm."
"Why would you do that?" Waver asked in disbelief.
"If victory is decided through a clash of Noble Phantasms, then the loser will accept that defeat from the bottom of their heart."
"And if that happens, Saber may yet change her mind and join my ranks."
Rider said it with a completely serious smile.
Waver frowned and could only let out a long sigh.
So that was it after all.
To Rider, a powerful Hero was a treasure far more worth pursuing than the Holy Grail itself.
"...Tell me, do you really want Saber that badly?"
"Yes. I want her very much."
Rider nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"She is a true star of the battlefield, yet no one has ever understood her, and so she has never been able to show her true worth."
"I know what I see. Only by joining my army can she truly shine."
In the past, Iskandar had defeated kings and mighty generals this very way more than once, ignoring their authority and wealth and seeking only their souls.
That was why he was the King of Conquerors.
He did not exterminate to the last man, nor did he trample the weak. He simply defeated every enemy who stood in his path. That was the form of victory he embodied.
What right did a mere Master have to criticize the path of such a king?
"I understand, Rider. Then win your way."
Waver let out a sigh, as though he had finally made peace with it, and said those words.
This was not resignation.
No one could say for certain that the next time they faced Saber, Rider's condition would still be better than it was now.
If that was the case, then rather than worrying over numerical odds of victory, Waver would stake everything on Rider's fighting spirit.
The King of Conquerors had always overturned common sense with sheer impossibility. If anyone could charge all the way to the end in his own way, then it was that same extraordinary boldness and freedom that would seize the truly valuable chance at victory before them.
Keeping a stiff expression, Waver told himself exactly that.
Rider broke into a rough, hearty grin.
"Boy, it seems you are finally beginning to understand what kingship truly is."
At that very moment, Saber also slowed to a stop.
The Heart of the Red Dragon would never grow tired from this much movement.
She believed the moment had come. She was certain now.
Rider understood at once.
"Light is at the other end of the world — conquer! Via Expugnatio!"
The King of Conquerors released the True Name of his Noble Phantasm, and the divine bull chariot suddenly erupted with lightning far greater than anything it had shown before.
"Invisible Air."
Almost at the same instant, Saber released Invisible Air.
The blazing, radiant breath of the star tore through the night in an instant, lighting up the earth and shining against the violet lightning filling the sky.
"Ex..."
Holding the golden holy sword high in both hands, Saber compressed Mana filled to the absolute limit into a single slash of light.
At the same time, Rider pulled hard on the reins and sent the Gordius Wheel diving toward the knight girl on the ground.
But then.
"Boom!!"
A thunderous explosion rang out not far away.
Saber's eyes widened.
She immediately realized what had happened. Even at the cost of the backflow of Mana tearing into her own body, she forcibly stopped the release of her Noble Phantasm, then burst forward in a surge of Mana toward the source of the explosion.
"Irisviel!!!"
When she rushed to her Master's side, she found Irisviel still standing where she had been, safe and unharmed, one hand pressed to her chest, her face still pale with lingering fear.
"Are you all right, Irisviel!?"
"Eh...? I'm fine, but what just happened?"
Irisviel understood the situation even less than Saber did.
She had been fully focused on the clash between Saber and Rider, supplying Mana to her King of Knights while praying for her victory in her heart.
Then, without warning, an explosion had suddenly gone off in midair about ten meters from where she was standing.
Irisviel had almost been caught in it, but in the end, she came through safely.
"What was that? Is there a new enemy?" the silver-haired homunculus asked uneasily.
Saber frowned slightly, swept away the smoke around her with a single stroke of her sword, and walked toward the site of the explosion.
Then she saw the metal fragments scattered across the ground.
Though their shape was no longer recognizable, Saber still knew at a glance that they were pieces of a shattered blade.
At the sight of that, Artoria's lips curved upward in quiet relief.
"...Thank you, Shirou."
...
"Haa..."
Shirou slowly let out a breath and lowered the black longbow in his hand.
The moment he stepped into the forest, he had sensed something deeply unsettling.
Irisviel had previously told Shirou the routes through the bounded field. He linked up with the forest barrier, much of which had already been destroyed by Rider, and investigated further.
Just as he thought. The intruders in the forest were probably not limited to Rider and his Master.
He still did not know exactly who it was, but one absolute answer had already surfaced in his mind.
Another Assassin had come.
And the target was probably Irisviel's life, taken under cover of Rider's noisy assault.
Shirou was certain now. Assassin was after Irisviel.
The enemy possessed a Presence Concealment skill even higher than Hassan of the Hundred Faces. Shirou knew he was nearby, yet he could not pinpoint his exact location.
So Shirou projected a bow and a sword.
While Saber and Rider were preparing for their final clash, Shirou had his own task to handle.
He forged the sword into an arrow and set it against the bowstring.
Pushing his concentration to the absolute limit, Shirou began listening for even the slightest disturbance in the area around him.
This was one of the few talents he could truly claim as his own, aside from martial skill and cooking.
Shirou was exceptionally good at focusing his mind.
The strain on his thoughts far exceeded what an eight-year-old body should have been able to bear, and blood began to run from his nose without him even noticing.
Then, in that instant, a gunshot rang out from deep within the forest.
Shirou identified the source of the shot at once, and released the bowstring.
"...!"
Calling it a divine feat would not have been an exaggeration.
In less than a tenth of a second, Shirou calculated the bullet's trajectory from the point of the shot to its target, Irisviel, even accounting for the lead of the snipe.
Then he fired without hesitation.
That miraculous arrow struck down the bullet aimed at Irisviel's heart with perfect accuracy.
"Northeast. Eight hundred meters."
After relaying the enemy's exact location to Leysritt and Hassan of the Hundred Faces, Shirou collapsed from exhaustion into Sella's arms.